Adiós, Bartolo

[Edgy MD]

As announced during the game last evening, Bartolo Colón will be "returning" to the Mets on something like one of those one-day-contract deals, in order to "retire" as a Met.



While NFL teams use such occasions to create a press event, a baseball team like the Mets can turn it it into a promotional day, with a giveaway longsleeve and everything.

The real story here is, obviously, the Mets stealing from The Crane Pool (again). While there's particularly nothing novel about punning on Colón/cologne, I think they used a base photo for their image from the same series of shots that The Crane Pool used.



https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/bartolo-cologn1.jpg>

[metirish]

Dunno, feels like a stretch and a PR grab

[kcmets]

They should give him an AB and see if he still can jack one ought here.

[Edgy MD]

=metirish post_id=133198 time=1690644985 user_id=72]
Dunno, feels like a stretch and a PR grab

[metirish]

Yeah , not hating on Bartolo , love him of course , curious to see how many games the Mets will be behind by September 17 and how many will show up

[Frayed Knot]

I've always found the whole contrived 'Retire as ...' thing to be meaningless nothingness ... but it's also harmless so what do I care.

[Cowtipper]

I was really hoping he'd pitch in the majors at 50. The last time we got close was Jamie Moyer in 2012, when he was 49. Colon pitched in the Mexican League as recently as 2021, when he was 48.

[Chad ochoseis]

He played for 11 different teams, and he wasn't prime Bartolo with the Mets. Very much an honor that he wants to retire as a Met, even if it's just symbolic.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Bartolo has un-retired, yall. He was apparently the 16th overall pick in the draft in Dubai's new league (Baseball United), and he'll pitch at age 50 for a team called the Monarchs.



I saw this on instragram (@baseballunited and @karachimonarchs) but hilariously find nothing else on it when googling Bartolo's name along with Dubai.



They did a vid where's he's tossing a ball up and down in slow motion and he looks regal in the Monarchs tight-fitting, baby blue uni.



Edit: Bartolo hype vid here —>

Baseball United (@baseballunited) • Instagram reel

WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM

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baseballunited on October 23, 2023: "BIG SEXY in Karachi @bcolon40 😤👑".

[metirish]

Cano

[Benjamin Grimm]

Four teams in the league (I think): The Cobras, the Monarchs, the Falcons, and the Wolves.



https://www.baseballunited.com/teams/https://www.baseballunited.com/teams/



I don't know how the other "national teams" factor in.

[nymr83]

More "sportswashing" as it was put in the Saudi soccer thread. Disappointed to see Bartolo involved.

[kcmets]

Not clicking on stories about baseball in Dubai.



Hopefully there's not DH, so Bartolo can take some hacks!

[DocTee]

Other notable Baseball United signings:



Didi Gregorius

Pablo Sandoval

Andrelton Simmons



Limited owners include Barry Larkin, Mariano Rivera, and Adrian Beltre.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I'm a little curious about all this. The teams are named after cities in different countries (four so far - India, Pakistan, two in UAE) and I read the mission is to spread baseball in the Middle East and South Asia using existing cricket grounds modified for baseball. I just watched a vid with the president (yes, why I don't know either) and he talked about trying to export baseball to GCC countries (I think these: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) and the Indian subcontinent (which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives).



The president sounds kinda sleazy (sorry, bro). His introduction by his new wife (the league VP) was awkward and he talked about the demographics of baseball fans being ideal because they're better educated, have better jobs and make more money than cricket fans and they have great habits around content consumption. He's a rich dude (American of Pakistani and Indian descent) with rich partners definitely trying to make themselves richer, but it feels to me like they're trying to capitalize on a giant whole in a perceived market and if it was going to be strictly a sports washing operation, IMO they'd probably never leave Dubai or Saudi. They wouldn't need to. I think they really believe baseball can take off in these places.



We named a few MLB guys, but the #1 pick overall was Karan Patel, apparently the first player of Indian descent to drafted in MLB. This will be wayyyyy more impactful for kids in India than a guy like Robinson Canó. I don't know if any of this works, but it'd be pretty cool if India became the next Japan or South Korea from a baseballing standpoint.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

MLB is excited about the SS Toronto drafted in the first round this year, a 1st generation American with Indian-born parents including a cricket-playing dad. I forget his name but has star potential and a grandmother in India

[A Boy Named Seo]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: MLB is excited about the SS Toronto drafted in the first round this year, a 1st generation American with Indian-born parents including a cricket-playing dad. I forget his name but has star potential and a grandmother in India

Oh yeah, I remember reading about that guy. Big hype, cool story.

[Edgy MD]

So it's not really "Dubai's baseball league" as reported above, but an international league with two teams in Dubai. Although I'm guessing a big chunk of controlling interest and governance will indeed be based in The United Arab Emirates, even if the president is American.



I hope I'm wrong about that.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Edgy MD wrote: So it's not really "Dubai's baseball league" as reported above, but an international league with two teams in Dubai. Although I'm guessing a big chunk of controlling interest and governance will indeed be based in The United Arab Emirates, even if the president is American. I hope I'm wrong about that.

Yeah, my bad. I guess the first showcase is in Dubai, but in the video, the prez stated that he wanted it to be the first "truly international, multi-nation, cross-country league" so it definitely sounds like they want it to grow to the other areas and countries he mentioned in the region.



I bet you're not wrong that the whole biz is Dubai-based.

[Lefty Specialist]

Dubai? Bet there aren't a lot of day games with the roof open.