ESPN: Why are baseball fans so willing to forgive the many sins of Bartolo Colon

quote:

---

On the surface, it's surprising that baseball fans have chosen Colon as the one to adore. He's a 43-year-old pitcher with a Santa Claus physique and a complicated past: steroids, a nontraditional elbow surgery, a second family. But that's exactly what has happened with Colon the past two seasons. In the twilight of his career, at an age when most great baseball players are limping home, both physically and spiritually, Colon has become something of a national treasure, our round mound of mirth.

His jolly stretching exercises, his graceful pirouettes, his wild swings that send his helmet flying, they've all become part of his legend. Colon is the human GIF that keeps on giving.

On May 18, just a week after Colon belted his historic home run, the New York Post published a quintessential tabloid scoop: Colon, who has four children and has been married for 21 years, was being hauled into family court in Manhattan for his failure to pay child support to a Washington Heights woman who was revealed to be the mother of two additional children. The Post described the messy affair as the unmasking of Colon's "Secret Family."

Within a week, the controversy -- if it even rose to such a level -- had all but died. It was almost reminiscent of 2012, when Major League Baseball suspended Colon for 50 games after he tested positive for testosterone while a member of the Oakland Athletics. He served his suspension, re-signed with the A's, pitched well and made the American League All-Star team the following year. Today, the suspension rarely comes up, unless you mention it to someone in baseball who enjoys speaking his mind.

"Why is he still pitching so well? Steroids, obviously," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, then held a poker face for a full five seconds before breaking into a mischievous smile. It was a joke, he said.

"It's kind of hypocritical, isn't it? What does that say about society?" Showalter continued, commenting on why controversy sticks to Colon like Teflon. "Some people would say it's forgiving. Others would say as long as you pitch well, it doesn't matter."

---