Atlanta Braves pitcher Bartolo Coln is driven by his love for the game. This story is also posted in Spanish. Ico Files. Read it here. THE CRACK OF the bat draws a sardonic cheer from the Citi Field crowd. It isnt the thunderclap of a moonshot, or even the sharp whack of a liner. Nevertheless, the 2. Bartolo Coln, the now 4. Met, fan favorite and notoriously awful hitter, has somehow made contact. Colns grounder is easy work for the shortstop. So, rather than sprinting, Coln jogs three quarters of the way to first base, turns and jogs back to the Atlanta Braves dugout all while holding on to his bat. Bisbol Experience is ESPNs season long look at how the game and Latino culture intersect. More from Bisbol Experience Introducing Bisbol Experience Bienvenidos a Bisbol Experience Manny Machado is the face of baseballs new identity En Contra de la Rutina Bisbol Experience 5. At 5 foot 1. 1 and 2. Coln looks out of place on a ballfield even when hes not carrying a pine around the basepaths. Yet here he is, with 2. Image/covers/driver-san-francisco/driver-san-francisco-image110352.jpg' alt='Driven Game' title='Driven Game' />Hall of Famer Juan Marichal as the winningest Dominican pitcher in history. Hes a four time All Star, a Cy Young winner, the last remaining active former Montreal Expo and the subject of countless GIFs and You. Tube videos celebrating his accomplishments, round belly and penguin like gait. Driven Game' title='Driven Game' />Colns only homer has become the subject of unusual tributes, including a USA Today oral history, a Topps collectors edition baseball card and a video mash up combined with footage from The Natural. This start in Queens on April 5 is the pitchers homecoming. During the previous three seasons, Coln played an integral role in the Mets resurgence, which saw them make the playoffs in consecutive years. As a Met, Coln averaged 1. ERA and a WHIP of 1. When he signed with the Atlanta Braves, Mets ace Noah Syndergaard tweeted a crying emoji. After this game a two hit, one run, six inning effort for Coln Braves manager Brian Snitker is asked if anyone told Coln he was supposed to drop the bat. Snitker laughs. At his age, with 2. This was not the first time Coln has laid claim to a big league bat for longer than necessary. It brought to mind nothing so much as his famous home run, at a game last May at Petco Park off a 9. James Shields fastball a moment that Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen called one of the great moments in the history of baseball during the broadcast. The impossible has happened. Bartolo Coln has gone deepColn, the oldest player to hit his first home run in major league history, smiled the moment he made contact. For a split second, he appeared to want to drop his bat instead, he lifted it up above his waist. Sig Cap Removal Tool. Whether from compulsion or lack of experience, Coln held on to the stick until he was halfway up the first base line. Or maybe it was something else maybe it was just because he likes holding a baseball bat so damn much. Bartolo Colon has become something of a cult icon in baseball. Pouya DianatAtlanta Braves. THIS SEASON MARKS Colns 2. His hometown of Altamira, Dominican Republic, is a sleepy, farming town of 2. Coln at its entrance. As a child, he spent afternoons and weekends under the hot Caribbean sun, picking beans and transporting heavy bags across town for his father. From childhood, he was very strong, his father, Miguel Valerio Coln, told The New York Times. He was capable of pulping up to 1,0. As a break from the labor, Coln would drop his bags of beans and play a few innings of baseball with neighborhood kids. They used balls made of cloth. Driven grouse shooting is a field sport of the United Kingdom. It is popular because it provides a challenge due to the rapid flight of the grouse. Lean Value Sires is a boar stud providing quality genetics for the show pig industry, located in Kenton, Ohio. He learned accuracy throwing rocks at coconuts and mangoes. He would play until it was time to pick up the sack and work. He enjoys the game. Whenever he pitches, it looks like he doesnt have bad moments, says Braves ace Julio Teheran, a 2. When he gets an out, he enjoys it. When he gives up a homer, hes usually the same person. Watching Coln play, one gets the sense that baseball whether its in a World Series game or playing catch during a workout reminds him of home. During the offseason, he says, he plays in a Friday night softball league as a hitter of course, he says, he hits homers. A photo of him dressed in his softball uniform, crushing a line drive, can be seen on his Facebook page, above the caption, At bat. Theres also a video of him coming off the field holding a softball. Driven Game' title='Driven Game' />The caption What I likeIm a happy man, he says, through an interpreter. I get the opportunity to work, and thats why I want to go out and play. I want to keep doing that. Colns obvious love for the game not to mention his body type, long a focal point for haters and adulators alike has made him something of a cult icon in baseball, even despite a banned substance suspension and a varied career Coln has thrown fewer than 1. Out of love, fans nicknamed him Big Sexy. To ridicule him, The New York Post ran an article under the headline, LARDBALL. Ive always been confident in my athleticism and my body type, Coln says. In the winter of 2. Mets twice sent infielder Ruben Tejada to a fitness and nutrition camp to help him lose weight. A few months later, after seven scoreless innings, Mets manager Terry Collins took Coln out of the game. As Coln walked into the dugout, he stopped in front of Tejada, grabbed two fistfuls of his own belly and jiggled his paunch up and down. Hes just such a great personality, says Alex Rodriguez, Colns former teammate and the toughest hitter Coln says he has ever faced. In a game that sometimes misses a little flair, I think hes graced the game. But even with an obvious joy for the game, his struggles, both personal and professional have occasionally forced him to question whether he would continue to play. At the beginning of this decade, Coln says, he was mentally psyched out of baseball. In 2. In 2. 01. 0, he blew out his shoulder again. In 2. 01. 4, his mother died of breast cancer. I was going through some. Visual Basic Beginner Program on this page. At the time, I really wasnt thinking about baseball at all, but, fortunately, I had some friends and family members who encouraged me to get back into it. Ill be the first to tell you that Im surprised Im still pitching. THE BRAVES, AT least, are happy that he is. This is a pivotal year for Atlanta. The club opened a 6. Sun. Trust Park. Its managers only previous major league experience was the final 1. Coln is the teams No. Teheran. I see him huddle up with guys all the time, Snitker says. Guys are tapping into him and what he has to offer. Theyre crazy if they have a resource like that and they dont use him. Of course, even Colns veteran presence comes with a child like joy. His first interaction with future Braves teammate Dansby Swanson came last year in a late September game with playoff implications. Coln took a strong start into the seventh but was pulled after Swanson hit a two out single. Walking back to the dugout, Coln stopped and stared at Swanson with whom hed never interacted. When their eyes met, Coln threatened to maul the rookie. He was jabbing at me like he was going to bum rush me or something, Swanson says. It was pretty funny because he was laughing while he did it. During a session in spring training, Coln and reliever Arodys Vizcaino tossed to each other from 6. Coln is often seen with his 2. I wish I could have his approach, Vizcaino said through an interpreter. It seems like he takes it all in stride.