Originally Posted by
nsacpi
MLB.com: One of your notable offseason acquisitions was a 43-year-old starting pitcher. What most attracted you to Bartolo Colon?
Coppolella: John Hart had a long history with him, signed him 25 years ago. John knows who this person is; I've seen it firsthand as he beat us with the Mets year after year. He's a great teammate, somebody you can count on for innings, and he has a chance -- he's 13 wins away from the D.R. record for starting pitchers, 16 away from the Latin record for starting pitchers. Say that he can hang in there for two or three more years, he has a shot at the Hall of Fame. This is a special guy.
Guys just love having him on the team. There's a lot of good things. He will help our young guys in two ways. One, he will help teach them about the game. If I'm a young Braves pitcher and I see this guy at 43 years old, what I'm saying to myself is, "How do I do what he's doing? Why is he still in the game at 43? He must be doing a lot of things right, let me find out what."