Bartolo Colon

Guide Note:

Bartolo Colón is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. In 2005, while a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Colón won the Cy Young Award in the American League.

Fast Facts

1. Born: May 24, 1973
2. Hometown: Altamira, Dominican Republic
3. Signed: 1993 by Cleveland Indians
4. All-star appearances: 2
5. Cy Young Award: 2005

A native of the Dominican Republic, Bartolo Colón was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1993, and made his major league debut with the team in 1997. In 2002, just prior to the trading deadline, the Indians traded Colón to the now-defunct Montreal Expos. In a strange coincidence, Colón went 10-4 for the Indians, and 10-4 for the Expos, finishing the season with a 20-8 record. In 2003, Colón was again traded, this time to the Chicago White Sox, and the following year, he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

On the Angels, he achieved his greatest professional success—the Cy Young Award—and his greatest professional setback— a torn rotator cuff injury sustained during the 2005 playoffs. The injury kept the hurler out of commission for most of the 2006 season, and in 2007 his numbers were far off of his career mark. In 2007, Colón signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. As of April 2008, Colón had not made the Red Sox roster and was continuing to pitch in the minor leagues.