Román Colón
Román Benedicto Colón is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Royals. He also played in the KBO League for the Kia Tigers and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League for the Chinatrust Brothers. He is tall and weighs, and bats and throws right-handed.
Professional career
Atlanta Braves
Colón was signed as an amateur free agent by the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and began his professional career with the Dominican Summer League Braves in. In, he ranked first in the Gulf Coast League in runs allowed and earned runs, 5th in innings pitched, 4th in hits allowed, 2nd in games started. In, he ranked 3rd in the Appalachian League in runs and games started, 4th in earned runs and first in hits allowed and losses.In, Colón was named by the organization as the Jamestown Jammers's Pitcher of the Year. He led the team in wins and strikeouts and tied for the team lead in innings pitched. Colón missed all of with an injury. Healthy again in, he was promoted to the Macon Braves on May 3 from extended spring training. He had the 9th best walks per 9 innings ratio in Macon history and struck out a season high 7 batters three times. He struck out 6 in 6 innings on May 18 against the Asheville Tourists for his first win of the season.
Colón put together a solid season in, going 9–8 with a 3.59 ERA. In the two seasons after his arm trouble, he walked just 64 batters in 291 innings with 185 strikeouts. Colón pitched a complete game on June 2 versus the Frederick Keys. He also struck out a season-high eight batters on May 6 against the Winston-Salem Warthogs.
In, Colón was named Greenville Braves Pitcher of the Month in April. He finished 1st on the club and 3rd in the Double–A Southern League in wins, going 11–3. Colón earned a win in his first Double–A start in a 3–1 victory against the Chattanooga Lookouts on April 9. He won his first 3 decisions before losing back to back starts on May 12 and May 17, giving up 8 runs on 16 hits over 12 innings. He went 6–3 in 12 starts and was 5–0 with 2 saves in 27 relief appearances. However, Colón closed the season by winning his final 7 decisions and did not allow a run over his final 13 appearances of the season from August 1 through September 1. He earned his first professional save by firing a perfect inning in a 5–3 win at Jacksonville on July 23.
Colón pitched at three different levels in and ended the year with Atlanta. With the Triple–A Richmond Braves, he went 4–1 with a 3.65 ERA in 51 appearances and was Richmond Pitcher of the Month for July, going 2–0 with a 1.33 ERA. Colón walked just two batters after July 1 with Richmond and did not allow a run over his last six appearances, from August 4 to August 17. He was recalled by Atlanta on August 18 and made his major league debut August 21 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching the eighth inning. Colón did not allow a hit and fanned two. He earned first career win on August 30 versus the San Francisco Giants with a scoreless ninth inning. Colón suffered his first MLB loss on September 9 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Colón had filled in admirably in an injury depleted Braves rotation in 2005, holding the Chicago Cubs to one run in seven innings on July 5.
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers acquired Colón from the Braves in exchange for Kyle Farnsworth at the July 31,, trade deadline. He spent most of his Tigers tenure in the bullpen before making two spot starts in September, and was shelved after that with stiffness in his throwing elbow. In, he appeared in 20 games for the Tigers.Colón started the season on the disabled list. During a rehab assignment with the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens, he was involved in an altercation with fellow pitcher Jordan Tata. During the course of the fight, Colón attempted to punch Tata and instead landed a punch to the face of Jason Karnuth, the Mud Hens closer who was trying to intercede and break up the fight. The resulting injury caused Karnuth to be admitted to the hospital and undergo plastic surgery to his face. According to his wife, who filed an assault report against Colón on her husband's behalf, Karnuth required a titanium plate to be screwed into his head. Karnuth missed most of the 2007 season as a result of the injuries. The Tigers suspended Colón for 7 days after the incident. On January 15, 2008, Colón pleaded no contest to an assault charge and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.