50-year-old former Cy Young Award winner to get official retirement ceremony

Bartolo Colon hasn't pitched in MLB since 2018 when he was with the Texas Rangers, and while he spent just three of his 22 seasons in Queens, he was a fan favorite and a legend in many Mets fans' eyes.

Colon made his fourth and final All-Star team during his last season with New York in 2016, finishing the year 15-8 with a 3.43 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 128 strikeouts in 191 2/3 innings across 34 games (33 starts). Even as he approached his mid-40s, Colon continued to showcase his elite control, leading baseball with his minuscule 1.5 walks per nine innings.

The Dominican remained one of the most likable players in MLB through the end of his career, due in large part to his infectious personality and impressive (albeit hilarious) highlight reel moments.

Colon spent the first five-plus seasons of his career with the Cleveland then-Indians, debuting as a fresh-faced, skinny 23-year-old in 1997. He made his first All-Star team in 1998 and was traded along with former first-round pick Tim Drew to the now-defunct Montreal Expos in June 2002 in a deal that saw Cleveland get future AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee, multi-Gold Glove Award winners and All-Stars Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens.

Colon closed out the year with Montreal and played one year with the Chicago White Sox in 2003, before signing with the then-Anaheim Angeles. Colon pitched four seasons with the Angels (winning the 2005 AL Cy Young) before splitting 2008-2013 with the Boston Red Sox, White Sox again, New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.

He was suspended 50 games starting in August 2012 after testing positive for synthetic testosterone but returned to make his third All-Star team in 2013. Colon played for the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Braves in 2017, before suiting up for the Rangers the following season.

After not being offered a contract by a big-league team in 2019, he signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League in February 2020, but their season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was reported that Colon was hoping to rejoin MLB in 2021, but he's pitched for Acereros de Monclova the last two seasons.

With 247 career wins and 2,535 strikeouts -- plus a Cy Young Award and four All-Star honors -- Colon is likely to get a handful of votes for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame once he's eligible. His 4.12 ERA and 1.31 aren't quite good enough for enshrinement though.

When Colon returns to Citi Field in August, however, baseball fans will remember how much the game has missed "Big Sexy."