The longest tenured and oldest active major league baseball player, Bartolo Colon, recently announced he will play in 2019.

Colon, 46 in May, will return for his 22nd major league season. He is currently a free agent, after spending all of 2018 with the Texas Rangers. The Rangers were Colon’s 11th MLB team.

In 2018, Colon was a somewhat reliable starter for a below average Rangers pitching staff, going 7-12 with a 5.78 ERA. As of now, Colon’s free agent market seems limited, but there is a solid chance a team will take a shot at him by the end of the winter.

Colon was originally signed in 1994 by the Indians at 21 out of the Dominican Republic. Colon spend three seasons in the minors, and made his major league debut in 1997 with the Indians. He was with Cleveland until 2002 when he was traded to the team formerly known as the Montreal Expos, where he remained until the end of the season. He spent one year with the White Sox before signing a four year contract with the Angels, and was very successful, winning Cy Young in 2005. In 2008, the end of his contract with the Angels, Colon was an aging 35. However, the Red Sox signed him to a one year contract. This followed through twice more after, when the Yankees and White Sox signed him. Then, in 2012 as a 39 year old, Colon was signed to the Athletics, where he stayed until 2014.

“I’d love to see Bartolo sign in St. Louis. He’d quickly become one of my favorite players,” junior Garrison Hoff said.

Colon did not stop there. In the winter of 2014, as a 41 year old, Colon signed a three year contract with the New York Mets, and was a staple in their rotation, even hitting his first home run as a 43 year old in 2016. He was the oldest MLB player ever to hit their first major league home run. After his contract concluded, he signed with the Braves, was released in June 2017, and was picked up by Minnesota to the end of the season.

“Colon is a fan favorite; he is going to be loved wherever he goes,” junior Brandon Yates said.

Colon has one major reason for pitching into his late 40’s, and that is his legacy. Colon has said that he wants to retire the all time winningest pitcher out of the Dominican, and has now passed Luis Tiant for that honor. Now, each time Colon wins, he breaks his own record, and puts it farther out of reach for those chasing him.

It is to be seen where the 5’11”, 285 pound Colon will play in 2019.