‘MLB: The Show’ Trolled Fans With A (Sadly Fake) Bartolo Colon Cologne Ad

At 45, Bartolo Colon (aka Big Sexy) is a baseball folk hero and avatar for pudgy middle-aged dreamers, but he’s also coming off of two mediocre seasons in a row. And without a minor league contract (and an invite to spring training) heading into February, and with the league locked in its second straight veteran free agent freeze out, the sun may be setting on Colon’s career. But the people over at MLB: The Show don’t seem like they’re ready to let go.

On Monday, the MLB: The Show Twitter account told followers to “keep an eye” on the account today. Many assumed they’d get the chance to learn more about the upcoming MLB: The Show 19 with a full a gameplay trailer. Instead, they got a commercial for (the sadly fake) Bartolo Colon Cologne featuring the haunting whisper of Bartolo’s name and the even hauntingier sight of him in action before it becomes clear that this is basically a trailer for a trailer (the full gameplay trailer is set to arrive on February 5). Expert troll job? Perhaps, but you can’t put a price on the joy one gets from seeing Bartolo do his thing. Something we may never see again… unless he takes his glove (and his bat) and heads for international leagues and independent leagues, like the great Julio Franco, another legend who may, for all we know, still be swinging somewhere.

If nothing else, this bit of smoke and mirrors and big sexiness also gives San Diego Studios and the MLB: The Show team a little bit more time for 2019 cover athlete Bryce Harper to decide on a team for next season (and, quite possibly, the next decade), giving the game a chance to put Harper front and center in the gameplay trailer in his new threads. Which, for purely aesthetic reasons, needs to be the maroon accented baby blue Phillies throwbacks from the ’80s.