Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is an All-Star this season and deservedly so. He's also pitching on Sunday, making him ineligible to pitch in the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday. Thus, the NL gets a replacement and that replacement will be Mets starter Bartolo Colon.
Colon was named the replacement by his manager, Terry Collins.
Colon, 43, is pitching in his 19th big-league season and this marks the fourth All-Star trip for the former Cy Young winner.
This season, Colon is 7-4 with a 3.28 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings. He re-signed with the Mets this past offseason on a one-year, $7.25 million deal and has been invaluable, especially in light of Matt Harvey's woes.
Perhaps the most entertaining aspect here is the spread in Colon's All-Star Games. He was first an All-Star in 1998, along with the likes of Mo Vaughn, Juan Gonzalez, Bernie Williams, Darin Erstad and the immortal Rolando Arrojo.
Colon is the oldest All-Star this season. The youngest, Corey Seager, was four years old when Colon made his first All-Star Game.
