At some point in his 21-year career, Bartolo Colon took on the moniker of "Big Sexy." It's a nickname that's been attached to him for long enough that it became the title of his upcoming book, Big Sexy: In His Own Words.
But for an alias that is now attached to the pitcher, it wasn't something anyone called him until fairly recently, as he recounts in his upcoming book.
Bartolo Colon in his book, "Big Sexy: In His Own Words," on his nickname:
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) May 7, 2020
"Noah Syndergaard just started calling me Big Sexy in 2015, and the name stuck. I don't think I'm sexy, but if the fans like the name, I like it, too."
There's so much to like about that response. There's Colon's humility about his personal beauty, the fact that this nickname is all of five years old and deference towards understanding that he has no power in overruling the will of his many adoring fans -- and given the number of teams he's been on throughout the years, it's safe to say he has quite a few of them.
In a career that has spanned over two decades, Colon played for the Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, Anaheim Angels, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. While he's been a pitcher that entire time, perhaps the most notable moment of his baseball career happened four years ago today, when he hit the first home run of his career.