MINNEAPOLIS _ The Yankees will face an old friend Tuesday night when Bartolo Colon takes the mound for the Twins.
Old in that Colon played for the Yankees in 2011 and old in the sense Colon is, well, old.
Certainly in terms of baseball years: 44.
But Joe Girardi, the Yankees manager when Colon put up an 8-10 record with a 4.00 ERA in 2011, said he wasn't surprised the right-hander is still going.
"I know it kind of defies logic but Bartolo's mechanics have always been pretty simple and his control has been really good," Girardi said. "He uses more pitches now than he did before, he uses his breaking ball and changeup more now than he did, but I'm not really surprised. I think to say anyone's pitching at 44 you're surprised, but if you were going to say someone was going to do it, I'm not surprised it's Bartolo."
Colon, 44-34 with a 3.90 ERA the previous three seasons with the Mets, started 2017 with the Braves, but was released on July 6 after going 2-8 with an 8.14 ERA in 13 starts. He signed a minor-league deal with the Twins a day later, making it 10 teams in 20 years for which Colon has played.
Tyler Clippard, a teammate of Colon's with the Mets in 2015, said players have for several years marveled at the pitcher's "longevity."
"The ability to pitch into your 40s," Clippard said, "is something special. And the thing I was always impressed with, from afar and then being on his team, the command of his fastball. His ability to command the baseball was really impressive to me."
