Bartolo Colon and Ichiro Suzuki Hoping To Play in 2017
The two oldest players in MLB this season, Bartolo Colon and Ichiro Suzuki, would both like to play in 2017.
Bartolo Colon is a national treasure (like Nicolas Cage, only better). He has the body of a professional wrestler with the nimble footwork of dancer. When he goes to the beach, he undoubtedly sports a Speedo. He’s Chris Farley dancing next to Patrick Swayze in the Saturday Night Live Chippendale’s skit, a big man with an amazing ability to move his body. If you doubt his dexterity, just think back to this impressive behind-the-back flip for the out at first.
At 43, Colon is the oldest active player in baseball and currently ranks just outside the top 20 among pitchers in the National League (21st in Baseball-Reference WAR, 22nd in Fangraphs WAR among starting pitchers). His career seemed to be nearing the end seven years ago, when he was a 36-year-old pitcher with a 4.19 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 12 starts with the Chicago White Sox. Instead, he’s been an above-average pitcher every year since.
Not only has Colon continued to defy age-related regression on the mound, he’s actually improved his hitting over the last two seasons. From his rookie year in 1997, through 2014, Colon hit .076/.081/.082, with no home runs in 173 plate appearances. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, his batting line has skyrocketed to .121/.136/.178 and he hit his first career home run, shown here:
The New York Mets have had some issues with their rotation this year. Matt Harvey was ineffective (4.86 ERA) and injured (starting just 17 games). Steven Matz’s status for the rest of the season is unclear as he deals with a shoulder problem. Logan Verrett has been forced into duty in the starting rotation, but has an ERA over 5.00.
Despite all of these problems, the Mets’ starting pitchers are third in baseball in ERA and first in Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP). Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have been the top two starters on the Mets, but 43-year-old Bartolo Colon has also been a key factor in the team’s success on the mound. Bartolo leads the team in starts and innings pitched and is tied with Syndergaard in wins. Kudos to the big man!
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Bartolo Colon is aging well, perhaps not like a fine wine, but maybe a good whiskey. He’s been just as good this year as he was the last two years. He doesn’t strike out a ton of guys, but he walks very few, and isn’t killed by home runs. He doesn’t seem ready to hang up his spikes anytime soon and has acknowledged he would like to come back for the 2017 season. His contract is up at the end of the year, so he’ll be a free agent.
The free agent class that Colon will be a part of does not include any top tier starters. According to MLB Trade Rumors, there are 16 free agent starting pitchers available and 12 others who have either a club option or could opt out of his current contract. The best of the free agent starters without a club option or an opt-out might actually be Bartolo Colon. He’s at least on the same tier as a guy like Jeremy Hellickson or Doug Fister. He should get a contract somewhere, which is great news for baseball fans everywhere. All hail Bartolo!
The second-oldest active player in baseball, Ichiro Suzuki, has also said he would like to play in 2017. Ichiro is the anti-Bartolo Colon. He’s the number one standing next to Bartolo as the number zero. Ichiro is fit, fast, and flexible. Physically, he looks like he could play another 10 years.
Ichiro joined the 3,000-hit club early this year and currently sits 27th on the all-time list. He’s eight hits behind Rafael Palmeiro and 11 behind Lou Brock, so he has a chance to finish this season in 25th place. If he comes back next year, he could set his sights on Rod Carew (3,053 hits), Rickey Henderson (3,055), and Craig Biggio (3,060).
There are some warning signs, though. Ichiro was tremendous in the first half of the season. At the All-Star break, he was hitting .335/.412/.390, with a .367 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP). Since then, his bat has gone limp. He’s hit .224/.283/.327, with a .275 BABIP in the second half. Ichiro’s second half of 2016 looks all too similar to his entire 2015 season (.229/.282/.279, .257 BABIP). His hitting was so bad in 2015 that he was a below replacement-level player. His defense and base running couldn’t make up for his lack of production with the stick.
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The Marlins have a $2 million option they can pick up to bring Ichiro back next year. At the All-Star break, it looked like a no-brainer. The way he’s hit since makes it a question mark whether the Marlins will (or should) pick up that option. Here’s hoping Ichiro can find the magic again. Baseball is more fun when Ichiro Suzuki and Bartolo Colon are in the game.