Bartolo Colon hit by 102-mph line drive, but his 'big belly' saved the day
It’s a good thing that Texas Rangers starting pitcher and ageless wonder Bartolo Colon is a hefty man.
If not for his sizable stomach, the 44-year-old might have been seriously hurt by a scorching line drive off the bat of Mariners batter Jean Segura.
In the bottom of the fourth inning of the Rangers’ 4-1 win on Wednesday, Segura hit a 102-mph line drive right back to the pitcher’s mound. The ball looked like it bounced off Colon’s gut before rolling away.
Amazingly, Colon was able to recover in plenty of time to retrieve the ball and fire to first to get the out.
The Rangers’ coaching staff came out to the mound to check on him, but Colon was clearly fine, and he even smiled before facing the next batter.
After the game, Colon credited his “big belly” with helping protect him from a potential injury.
“The important thing is we won the game and I was able to get the out,” Colon told reporters through an interpreter, according to The Associated Press. “He got me on the side. It was not in the middle. And I have a big belly, so I can (handle) it.”
It was a good thing that Colon wasn’t hurt, because it meant he was able to continue what turned into arguably his best start of the season.
Colon went seven-and-two-thirds shutout innings, giving up just four hits and no walks.
“Everything was working. My curve, my fastball, my slider — everything was working,” Colon said.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister thought about letting Colon finish the eighth, but decided that with the top of the lineup coming up and the Rangers clinging to a 1-0 lead, it was time to make a call to the bullpen.
“We felt he did his job,” Banister said. “He got us to where we wanted him to go. He was at 90-plus pitches, he had done his job.”
Colon wanted to finish the inning, but he understood that it wasn’t his call to make. “I wanted to finish the eighth inning, but that decision was not mine,” Colon said. “Manager makes that decision, and everything came out the right way.”
He might not have gone eight full innings, but his performance was still impressive. It even left the Mariners in awe.
“It’s unbelievable. He’s not tricking you. He just executes and gets the job done,” said Seattle slugger Kyle Seager.
Mariners manager Scott Servais expressed similar sentiments.
“You shake your head and really marvel at what Bartolo Colon still is able to do,” Servais said. “You see him moving the ball (in and out). Then you look up and once in a while he’ll still pop a 91-92 mph fastball. That is the ‘art of pitching,’ is what he’s doing. It’s not just the command, it’s the late movement and adding and subtracting to different pitches.”
With Wednesday’s start, Colon lowered his earned run average for the season to a solid 2.82. He’s struck out 32 batters and walked just four in 51 innings of work.
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