Bartolo Colón
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAR : Bartolo Colón
Bartolo Colon (born May 24 1973 in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the Cleveland Indians (1997-2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago White Sox (2003) and Anaheim Angels & Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004-present). He bats and throws right handed.
Biography
A big prospect coming from the Dominican Republic, Colón was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1993 and made his major league debut on April 4, 1997.In his first season, Colón did not quite live up to his expectations, going 4-7 with a 5.65 ERA. He would live up to those expectations soon after. In his real breakthrough 1999 season, one year after helping his Indians to the 1998 American League Championship Series, even in a lost cause against the Yankees, Colón finished 18-5, pitching over 200 innings with 161 strikeouts and a 3.95 ERA in innings pitched.
In 2000, Colón eclipsed his strikeouts number by 51, ending with 212, but at the same time he posted a career-high 98 walks. It was clear he was developing as a pitcher, but he had to learn to get his control back. 2002 was his best season to date, but it came in two cities: Cleveland and Montreal. Just prior to the 2002 trade deadline, Colón and Tim Drew were traded to the Montreal Expos in exchange for Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips, and prospects Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee. Colón finished 2002 with a combined 20-8 record and a 2.93 ERA, including only 76 earned runs with just 70 walks in 233 innings, three shutouts, and eight complete games. After that season, every team in the league wanted him, but only a few were willing to bid high enough to obtain him. Before the 2003 season, Colón was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of a three team deal also including the New York Yankees. He finished 2003 with a 15-13 record. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Anaheim Angels. Colón won 18 games with Anaheim in 2004. In addition to being considered one of the best right-handed starters in the American League, his 2005 salary with the Angels was $11,000,000. During the 2005 season, he went 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA, and gained his first Cy Young Award.
Career statistics
Between 1997 and 2005, Colón has compiled a 139-82 record with 1435 strikeouts and a 3.94 ERA in 1819.2 innings.Cy Young Award
On November 8, 2005, Colón won the American League Cy Young Award after his 21-8 season with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was listed first on 17 ballots and second on the other 11 for 118 points in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He led the league with wins, and easily beat out second-place finalist, closer Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, who had 68 points, and third-place finisher Johan Santana. Colón was the first Angels pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since Dean Chance in 1964.Highlights
- 2005 AL Cy Young Award
- Two-time All-Star (1998, 2005).
- Won his only start of the 1998 ALCS pitching a four-hit, one-run complete game.
- Has won six hot dog eating contests in a row in his native country.
- Currently needs two weight scales to get an accurate weight assessment.
External links
- [ESPN (profile and 2005 statistics)]
- [Baseball-Reference.com] - career statistics and analysis
- [Yahoo! News - Angels Colon Wins AL Cy Young Award]
|- style="text-align: center;"
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.