Bartolo Colon has officially announced the end of his playing career, which included 21 Major League seasons. Reporter Hector Gomez seemingly broke the news back in June, though Colon’s agents denied that their client was retiring just yet. However, the Mets announced Friday that Colon will retire as a Met on September 17, as part of a tribute day in his honor at Citi Field.

The 50-year-old Colon pitched in the independent Mexican League as recently as the 2021 season, but he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018. As such, the right-hander will close the book on his memorable career with 565 career MLB games with 11 different teams, a 4.12 ERA over 3461 2/3 innings, four All-Star appearances, the 2005 AL Cy Young Award, and one career home run. Colon won 247 games, the most by any pitcher born in the Dominican Republic.

Colon’s MLB career began in Cleveland in 1997. Though he struggled to a 5.65 ERA in 94 innings as a rookie, he would quickly become the club’s reliable workhorse, pitching to a 3.91 ERA (122 ERA+) with a 4.00 FIP over 819 innings during the 1998-2001 campaigns. He got off to a phenomenal start in 2002, with a 2.55 ERA that was 72% better than league average, before being shipped to Montreal in a deal that saw Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Lee Stevens sent to the Indians. The deal was a blockbuster at the time, and Cleveland went on to benefit from both that trade package and its related trade tree for years afterward.