Former New York Met pitcher Bartolo Colon threw out the first pitch before the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets Sun May 7, 2025 at Citi Field in Flushing NY. Colon had superstitions while playing baseball and retired at 50 years old from baseball. (AP News file photo)

From my Baseball Notebook: Bartolo Colón superstition and retirement at 50

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The 2025 season is history, and the Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series. If you miss baseball already, I have some good news for you from one of my old baseball notebooks.

Bartolo Colón was one of the most superstitious Latino players that I’ve ever met. For this Dominican, his superstition was to mold the chewing gum into different shapes, sometimes into a small ball, and to insert into his glove before going to the mound.

One per game, before each game.. This became well known among his teammates, but there was no violation of any regulations because he inserted the chewing gum ball inside his glove, not outside. It could not be seen by any camera.

Bartolo pitched for 21 years in the Major Leagues until he was 50 years of age. He pitched for a total of 11 different teams, including the Oakland A’s at 39 years old. When he arrived in 2012. I spoke to this quirky and smart baseball player numerous times, before and after games; he was always cordial, insightful, and at times very funny.

In his first season with the A’s, during Spring Training in Arizona, he was in the dugout next to Cuban rookie Yoenis Céspedes; he helped Yoenis communicate because Yoenis spoke very little English. But he was always playing pranks and cranking jokes, sometimes Yoenis would put his hands up in the air and say “Oye chico tú eres comendiante ó pitcher” trans- “Hey man, are you a comedian or a pitcher?”

Bartolo once told me, “Pienso retirarme a los 60 años”. trans- “I am thinking of retiring at 60. He was 10 years short on his prediction, and he said Adiós to the game at 50! He always said he lasted this long because he enjoyed the game very much, loved working hard on his craft, and valued his friendships with other players. With the A’s, he especially enjoyed tutoring the younger pitchers.

At the beginning of his career, Bartolo regularly hit 95+ mph on his fastball. Toward the end of his career, control was his trademark, yet he remained a very efficient pitcher.

He was colorful and had a good reputation, and he won 247 games during his excellent career. In 2005, when he was a pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, he won the Cy Young Award as the American League’s best pitcher. In 2016, as a testament to his character, Bartolo won the “Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town” Award given by the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Hitting: Bartolo Colón hit his one career home run at Petco Park in San Diego on May 7, 2016, as a pitcher for the New York Mets. He hit it off pitcher James Shields, a two-run shot in the top of the second inning, and at 42 years and 349 days old, he became the oldest player to hit his first major league home run.

Career accomplishment. The Latino pitcher with the most wins in Major League Baseball is Bartolo Colón, who retired with 247 wins. The Dominican-born pitcher played for 21 seasons across 11 different teams before retiring at the end of the 2018 season. His 247 wins are two more than Dennis Martímnez (245) and four more than Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (243)

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com