Bartolo Colón - Big Sexy: Bartolo Colón: In His Own Words

Im sitting on the roof of my Hummer, my legs dangling through the skylight into the back seat. The car is slowly winding downhill on the main road of the place where I grew up: El Copey, part of Altamira, a town in the northernmost province of the Dominican Republic. Lining the sidewalks on either side of me are the short, colorful buildings Ive seen here since I was a little boy. Straight ahead of me in the distance is one of the areas many, many large mountains.

They say that when Christopher Columbus showed up, he saw the landscape and said, Look at the heights! Thats about what Altamira translates to in English.

I am not alone on this road. Im completely surrounded by people. I cant count how many. It seems like everyone from Altamiraand plenty more from other places, north and south, like Puerto Plata and Navarreteis out here celebrating with me.

I was just named the Cy Young Award winner as the best pitcher in the American League for the 2005 season. As the car moves forward, people jump up to shake my hand and give me high fives. I know and love many of them. The rest know me and love me, too, I guess.

The reason they love me today is that I bought cases and cases of beer and put each bottle up for sale at just one Dominican peso, or about thirty-three American cents. In my hands is a bottle of rum. Soon it will be replaced by a sparkling cider.

At the outdoor community recreation area where the parade started, theres a big sound system that I had set up blasting music, and theres tons of foodmounds of rice and beans and roasted chicken and pork, everything. Riding below me is my wife, and in a few cars behind me are my parents, my brother and five sisters, and my three sons. My fourth will arrive in three years.

This parade is only about the midway point of the celebration. Three days ago, I was at the nearby field I had built, which would become the center of the Bartolo Coln Baseball Academy, where teenage boys train to become Major League Baseball players like me. A representative of mine in the United States called me while I was at the field. He said I needed to be ready for a phone call from Major League Baseballs main office. Many of my best friends were with me, and there was a lot of noise, so I locked myself into a car, where it was quiet. They all followed me and stood around the car. The phone rang, and the voice on the other line said, Mr. Coln, congratulations, youve won the Cy Young Award. I was overcome with emotion, and I could not speak. My friends were tapping on the window, saying, Bartolo, what is it? What did they say? The only thing I could do was smile and give them a thumbs-up. When I did that, they screamed. They knew what it meant.

That was when the party began. Word spread through the town, and people started coming together.

I went to the farm where my mother and father live to tell them the news. Of course, my mom and dad were always very supportive of me, and they cried from the excitement.

I was again speechless. My father told me to jump up and down three times to snap myself out of it. I always listen to my fatherwell, almost alwaysso thats what I did, and it worked. Later, when I received the Cy Young Award plaque, I gave it to him and my mother.

After talking to them, I went for a stroll to my friend Minos house. I needed a quiet place again, for another phone calla conference call with reporters from the US. When that was over, I finally went into town for some fun.

In the days leading up to my trip down the three-kilometer parade route through Altamira, the party continued, as it did for a few days afterward. In the years sincewhile I continued my career and after I threw my last pitch in the Majors on September 22, 2018there would be many more parties, in Altamira and elsewhere, celebrating me and my career.

My life hasnt always been one big party, though. Before I became a professional ballplayer, there were a lot of hardships, no different than those of many people in the Dominican Republic and around the world. And during my time as a pitcher, I experienced many struggles and tragediessome no different than those of others, some very unique and at times impossible to comprehend.

But it all began, fittingly, in a land of steep valleys and incredible peaks.

I was born on May 24, 1973, the third child to Miguel Valerio Coln and Adriana Morales De Coln. I have two older sisters, a younger brother, and two younger sisters. My five siblings and I lived in a three-room house in the hills of El Copey. Our home was about the size of a two-car garage, give or take, with a living room and two bedrooms. At night we slept two to a bed, each with the others feet next to their head. We were all very close and got along well.

The kitchen and the bathroom were outside, behind the house. For entertainment, we had a black-and-white TV, but most of the time we were outdoors. For funand for foodI would throw rocks at fruits on trees to get them to fall to the ground. I did this very often with coconuts, though sometimes they wouldnt fall. When that happened, I would climb the tree and pull one off the branch.

My family and I never felt like we needed anything more than what we had. There was always food on the table, even though there was not a lot of money to spend. Every year for Christmas, Mom and Dad bought each of us one outfita pair of tennis shoes, pants, and a shirtto wear on Sundays. The rest of the days I wore sandals, shorts, and T-shirts, mostly, which were bought whenever there was an opportunity.

What is there to say about my parents? Both my father and mother were very good to me. They raised their children to believe in God, to give thanks to Him for both the good things and the bad things that happen in life. My mom and I had a very special bond. She took great care of all her children, but for me, she was always the person I could joke around with. We laughed together and had some good times. My father is a little more serious and old-fashioned, but hes also very smart and kind in his own way. Hes an excellent person, and everyone in the town loved him when I was a boy. He always wanted the best things for me, and from him I learned everything, especially how to work.

Next to the house was my fathers grocery store, where he sold rice, beans, sugar, all the items youd expect. But his specialties were avocado, coffee, and cacao, because behind our house he had a field with trees that grew them.