10 years ago, Bartolo Colón made glorious Mets history with his first and only home run

“You watch him take batting practice, and he’s got very good hand-eye coordination,” third baseman David Wright said at the time. “You see him hit some in BP and think to yourself, ‘What would happen if he ever did it in a game?’”

That question was answered in Colón’s 19th MLB season and a mere 17 days before his 43rd birthday.

Colón became the oldest player in MLB history to hit his first career home run. The previous record-holder, 40-year-old Randy Johnson, had held the distinction for more than a decade.

The day after Colón’s colossal clout, the Daily News hailed him as “BART RUTH” in a backpage headline.

Colón made sure to let his one-and-only home run sink in, taking 31 seconds to round the bases.

Memories of the incredible moment have lived on much longer.

“The three years I have been here, I was chasing one,” Colon said after that game. “Even in my Montreal days I was chasing one … but I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen.”

Colón pitched for 11 teams during his MLB career from 1997 to 2018, including the crosstown Yankees in 2011.

The right-hander finished 247-188 with a 4.12 ERA and won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Colón was 41 when he debuted with the Mets in 2014. He spent three years with them, including a 2016 season in which he earned his third and final All-Star selection.

Armed with impeccable command, Colón demonstrated staying power long after his mid-90s fastball lost a few ticks. He quickly became a favorite among Mets fans and teammates alike.

“There was one day I came into the clubhouse, and there was a T-shirt that says ‘Big Sexy’ on it,” Colón said in 2023.

“I look at it, and I’m like, ‘Who put this on my chair? I think they’re calling me fat.’ Then [Noah] Syndergaard came up to me and was like, ‘No, that’s a good thing.’ The nickname stuck and I ended up liking it.”

And the Mets made a lasting impact on Colón — so much so that he officially retired with them in 2023.

“Once I was done there,” Colón said before his retirement ceremony in Queens, “this was the fan base that accepted me the most and supported me the most.”