Rangers’ Bartolo Colon takes a 102-mph line drive to the stomach, laughs it off
Texas Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon was dominant on the mound during the Rangers’ 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
The 44-year-old veteran gave his team a masterful 7 2/3 innings of shutout pitching. However, his performance Wednesday was overshadowed by the effective use of his stomach.
During the fourth inning, Colon’s stomach took a hit from a line drive off the bat from Mariners’ Jean Segura. The line drive was clocked off at 102 mph, and there was no way for Colon to dodge it.
Colon was still able to record the out by picking up the ball and tossing it to first base. He laughed it off as the Rangers staff checked on him.
The hit looked painful, but the fearless Colon credits the size of his belly for not making the hit painful and most importantly, recording the out.
“The important thing is we won the game and I was able to get the out,” Colon told the Associated Press through an interpreter. “He [Segura] got me on the side. It was not in the middle. And I have a big belly, so I can [handle] it.”
Colon, soon to be 45, still has it in him.
Twitter: @edmgonzalez
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