Minnesota Twins top 2017 moments: Big Sexy’s Goodbye

The Minnesota Twins had an incredible run to the playoffs in 2017. Let’s remember some of the best moments of the year!

The Minnesota Twins had an incredibly fun season to follow as a fan. To close out the calendar year of 2017, we will take a look back at some of the biggest moments of the season!

Our next moment really happened because of a bad reason, really. The Twins had injuries throughout the starting rotation, mixed with ineffectiveness, and they were desperate for anyone who could provide innings. When Bartolo Colon came available, the Twins brought in Big Sexy, and they were rewarded.

Colon’s 2017 season

The 2017 season was Bartolo Colon’s 20th in the major leagues. He signed with the Atlanta Braves in a pursuit of the record for wins by a Dominican-born pitcher. The opening to the season, however, was not pretty, and the Atlanta Braves designated Colon for assignment with an 8.14 ERA over 13 starts.

Colon came to the Twins in early July, and he provided exactly what the team needed at the time. While not amazing in ERA, Colon’s performance through August was exactly what the team needed, as he went 4-2 with a 4.09 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and a 10/33 BB/K over 9 starts, and most importantly, he threw 55 innings in that time, giving the Twins just over 6 innings per start.

He struggled in September heavily, but for one final moment in a Twins uniform, he was brilliant.

The game

The final season series against Detroit included many different crazy moments. Detroit’s Austin Romine had played all nine positions in a game in one of the games of the series. Miguel Sano made his first plate appearances in over a month. However, the peak of the weekend was what could have possibly been the final start of Bartolo Colon’s career on the final day of the regular season.

The Tigers at this point had locked in the #1 overall draft pick in the 2018 draft with the worst record in baseball, so their final game’s lineup didn’t include some of their top players, like Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, and Victor Martinez. The Twins did start all their guys, but got the starters out after a couple of at bats in the most part.

Colon came out a bit shaky in the first inning, taking an abnormal 19 pitches to get through the first inning, in spite of only facing four hitters. The Twins quickly spotted him to a lead with back to back doubles by Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer to lead off the game.

Colon calmed down, getting through the 2nd in order on 13 pitches. He used just 12 pitches to get through the 3rd, in spite of one of them being a solo home run allowed to Alex Presley.

Colon made short work of the 4th inning, getting the Tigers in order with 2 strikeouts on just 12 pitches. He faced a double that snuck down the left field line by Bryan Holaday in the 5th, but he worked around it. The 6th inning was yet another moment of brilliance, as Colon got a 1-2-3 inning on just 7 pitches.

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Manager Paul Molitor had every intention of pulling Colon in the top of the 7th to allow him the recognition he was due, and after he got Jeimer Candelario to weakly ground out to first base for the first out of the inning, he was pulled.

Colon received a standing ovation from Twins fans, recognizing him not only for his excellent start on the day, but also for his incredible 20-year career as well. On his way off of the field, Colon shared an embrace with former teammate and first base coach for the Tigers at the time, Omar Vizquel.

His line for the game was 6 1/3 innings pitched, 1 run allowed on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 4. He threw just 83 pitches to make his start, 55 of them strikes.

Next: How offseason deals affect the Twins' plans

Big Sexy is looking for an opportunity to pitch in 2018. With 3 more wins to tie Juan Marichal as the winningest pitcher of Dominican descent, he will likely keep trying until he gets that accomplished!