{"id":652,"date":"2026-05-07T17:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/remembering-bartolo-colons-home-run-the-most-improbable-swing-of-the-last-decade\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T17:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:03:56","slug":"remembering-bartolo-colons-home-run-the-most-improbable-swing-of-the-last-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/remembering-bartolo-colons-home-run-the-most-improbable-swing-of-the-last-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Bartolo Col\u00f3n’s Home Run, the Most Improbable Swing of the Last Decade"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ten years ago Thursday, Bartolo Col\u00f3n took one of the greatest swings in baseball history.<\/p>\n

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O.K., maybe not. But it is certainly among the most memorable of the last decade.<\/p>\n

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On May 7, 2016, Col\u00f3n-42 years old at the time-started his sixth game of the season for the Mets, a Saturday evening tilt on a beautiful night at Petco Park in San Diego. The night began how many Col\u00f3n starts went over the years. He retired all three Padres he faced in the bottom of the first inning, and after the Mets sent eight hitters up in the first two frames, Col\u00f3n dug into the batter’s box with two outs in the second. <\/p>\n

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Col\u00f3n stepped up to the plate that night with batting stats so bad they might not be safe for work. He was 0-for-9 with six strikeouts to start the 2016 campaign. Over the first 17 seasons of his career, Col\u00f3n owned a .093\/.100\/.102 slash line with just 20 total hits in 237 plate appearances. Just two of those 20 hits went for extra bases, and both were later in his career-a double in 2014 and another in ’15. <\/p>\n

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That “power surge” Col\u00f3n found in his early 40s rolled into that fateful night in 2016.<\/p>\n

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Shields, working a 1\u20131 count, fired in a 90-mph fastball right down the heart of the plate. “Big Sexy” tossed the barrel of the bat at the ball and, yes, the impossible happened. <\/p>\n

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“It’s outta here! Bartolo has done it!” the Mets’ announcer said on the broadcast. The impossible has happened!”<\/p>\n

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10 years ago today, the impossible happened.@BColon40 | #LGMpic.twitter.com\/hHbvLqiSbP<\/p>\n

– New York Mets (@Mets) May 7, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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If you can’t believe it’s been 10 years, you’re not alone. Col\u00f3n had the same thoughts. <\/p>\n

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It’s really been that long <\/p>\n

– Bartolo Col\u00f3n (@BColon40) May 7, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Col\u00f3n, who was a four-time All-Star pitcher (including that year in 2016) and won the 2005 AL Cy Young award, called that swing “the biggest moment in my career.” <\/p>\n

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“We all kind of said, ‘What would we do if Bartolo hit a home run?'” Mets second baseman Neil Walker said that night. “That made everyone’s career to witness that.” <\/p>\n

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VERDUCCI: With Less on His Plate, Shohei Ohtani Is Off to Historic Start on the Mound<\/h3>\n

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Fun facts to know about Bartolo Col\u00f3n’s improbable home run and batting career<\/h2>\n

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