Bartolo Colon, who turned 47 on Sunday, doesn't want to retire just yet. The right-hander, who last pitched in the big leagues in 2018, is holding onto the idea of getting another shot in Major League Baseball. Colon told ESPN's Marly Rivera earlier this month that he hopes to pitch one more MLB season, and if he was able to choose the team, he would want to pitch for the New York Mets.

"I thought that last year maybe I would have the opportunity," Colon told Rivera. "I know that if it didn't happen last year, this year would be less likely. I'm getting older and the game is all about the young pitchers coming up. When you get older, teams no longer need your services."

Colon's last stint in MLB came with the Texas Rangers two years ago. He finished the year with a 7-12 record and 5.78 ERA in 146 1/3 innings pitched. In his last season in the majors, Colon carried a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Houston Astros. During the winter, Colon had signed a deal with the Monclova Acereros of the Mexican Baseball League, but he's yet to pitch in a game for them due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Colon, nicknamed "Big Sexy" and listed at 285 pounds, spent three seasons with the Mets, from 2014 to 2016, and he told Rivera that he would want to finish his MLB career in New York.

"That Mets team was really something special," Colon told Rivera. "I've played with 10 teams, but with the Mets, the way all those players treated me, how that entire franchise treated me, from the front office to the kitchen staff, it was amazing. And Mets fans are the best. In the beginning, when they laughed at me every time my helmet fell off, at first I felt uncomfortable. But when I saw how much the fans enjoyed it, I asked for a bigger batting helmet so that it would fall more because it was so much fun for them!

"..."If it was up to me, I would retire with the Mets. I would like my career to end in New York."

The veteran hurler made a total of four All-Star games, including in 2016 at the age of 43, while with the Mets.

Since making his MLB debut in 1997 with the Cleveland Indians, Colon has a 247-188 record in 565 total games, with 552 games as a starter. His win total is the most wins by a Dominican-born pitcher in MLB history, and his wins also rank for the most by any Latin-born pitcher in MLB history. 

Colon has played for 11 different teams in 21 MLB seasons and earned the American League Cy Young Award in 2005 with the Los Angeles Angels, finishing with a league-best 21 wins and 3.48 ERA. But since 2016, Colon has not recorded a season ERA below 5.78.