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Texas Rangers: Bartolo Colon FINALLY accomplishes his beloved record

By Travis Koch

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 07: Bartolo Colon #40 of the Texas Rangers in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington on August 7, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 07: Bartolo Colon #40 of the Texas Rangers in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington on August 7, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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21-year veteran Bartolo Colon is now the winningest Latin American pitcher in MLB history. He accomplished the feat in an 11-4 Texas Rangers win Tuesday night.

Bartolo Colon took the mound Tuesday night hoping to become the winningest Latin American pitcher in Major League Baseball history. A win would have given him number 246 in his career, placing him ahead of former Montreal Expos’ great Dennis Martinez. It took some patience from Colon, something the 21-year veteran certainly has, but the Texas Rangers offense eventually backed him to an 11-4 victory.

Bartolo Colon got his 246th career win. He is now THE winningest Latin American pitcher in MLB history.

I use the word “FINALLY” in the title not because it took Colon 21 years to accomplish the feat. A record previously held by a pitcher that last pitched in 1998 is clearly a tough one to conquer. More power to Bartolo for persevering through multiple seasons in which he’s been well past his prime to overtake Dennis Martinez as the record holder. Actually, I use the word “FINALLY” because it took Colon six starts and 38 days to get from win #245 to win #246.

Texas Rangers
HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 15: Bartolo Colon /

For awhile there it was concerning whether or not he would be able to win another game this season. Big Sexy has lost a lot of steam over the past two months, justifiably so as he’s now thrown over 3,400 innings in his career. Though, eventually he would toss a quality outing and get ample support from his offense. Those two things occurred last night.

Bartolo Colon credited the record as his fuel to keep playing. Now that he holds the record, you wonder if 2018 will indeed be his final big league season. Don’t count on it. People have been expecting Colon to retire for who knows how many years. He’s 45 years old for crying out loud!

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It makes sense for him to call it quits after this season. Yet, why predict a retirement from one of the least predictable players to ever play the game of baseball? At the end of the day, Bartolo Colon will do whatever he wants. If he wants to play again come 2019, you best believe at least one MLB team will be willing to take a flyer on him.

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