Bartolo Colon just sent social media on fire with response to NY Mets admin's tweet

The New York Mets were fortunate to have one of baseball's greatest gems, Bartolo Colon, don their uniform for three years. At the time, Colon was in the twilight of his 21-year career, but you wouldn't know it as he was still a bulldog on the mound even if he was a ways away from his Cy Young peak. But when it comes to Bartolo, it's not the exploits on the mound, but one of the most simultaneously shocking and heartwarming homers of all time.

That moment occurred on May 7, 2016, when at 42 years and 349 days old, Big Sexy set the record for being the oldest player to hit his first career home run when he deposited a James Shields' pitch deep into the Petco Park left field stands. The Mets took to social media to celebrate the 10-year anniversary, drawing a hysterical response from the big man himself.

Colon, who turns 53 on May 24, might not be wrong. Someway, somehow, if he were to lace up his cleats today, fans would be elated while feeling an odd wave of confidence.

Bartolo Colon's response was a welcome distraction to the Mets' current struggles

It wasn't just Mets fans who reacted with glee to Colon's tweet. The four-time All-Star played for 11 different teams over his career, with fans from nearly every one of those fan bases pleading for him to return.

The universal DH is still relatively new, but it's hard to imagine pitchers hitting prior to 2022. There had been a decent number of pitchers who had become (relatively) decent hitters over their careers. Former Met Mike Hampton is regarded as one of the best-hitting pitchers of all time, retiring with a .246 average and 16 career homers.

For Colon, hitting was mostly a foreign concept to him when he arrived in Queens in 2014. Prior to that, he had almost exclusively played in the American League, save for the second half of 2002 when he was traded to the Montreal Expos.

Still, he wanted to be a good hitter, or at least, not a complete zero at the plate.

"Oh, he [Colon] works. He takes pride in it. He works his butt off. Out of his five-day cycle, he probably hits three out of the five days, and probably takes 40 to 50 swings a day. He's a strong guy. He's got tremendous hand strength. When he squares it up, it goes. So we're not surprised he hit a home run. We're surprised he hit it in a game," then-Mets assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler said at the time.

The beefy hurler had hit some batting practice home runs, but for him to hit one in an actual game was an electric moment for his fans and teammates alike.

After the game, Colon explained his approach at the plate in a hilariously authentic manner. He said, "Anytime I see a fastball, I swing hard, because I'm not a curveball hitter."

Colon proved to be one of the Mets' best and most entertaining free-agent signings ever. He gave fans endless enjoyment and gave Howie Rose one of the best calls of his career when he said, "They're timing Colon with a sundial," in 2015, as the fan-favorite chugged to second base with an RBI double.

And now, he's given fans one last laugh as they try to forget that their abysmal offense ranks 29th in the majors in runs scored and 26th in homers. With numbers like that, maybe they should take Bartolo up on his offer, and if he really does have something left in the tank. It can't be much worse than what we've been seeing recently, and it's guaranteed to be more entertaining.

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