SAN DIEGO -- It's undeniable: even Cooperstown sees Bartolo Colon's first career homer as a legitimate slice of history.
The Hall of Fame has requested items from Saturday's Mets game against the Padres, in which Colon hit the first home run of his 19-year career. Though Colon plans to keep his bat -- he'll never use that 34-inch, 28-ounce piece of lumber again, he said -- and the home run ball that the team secured from Mets fan Jimmy Zurn of La Mirada, Calif., the club plans to donate other items to the Hall this week.
Colon keeps a game ball from each of his victories -- now 221 and counting, second all-time among Dominican-born pitchers. But his collection most certainly did not include a home run ball until late Saturday night, when the Mets tracked down Zurn and his family in the left-field stands.
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Zurn, a local high school baseball coach and lifelong Mets fan, asked for nothing in return for the ball, which ricocheted into his hands. But he, his wife Sarah and two children had an opportunity after the game to meet Colon, who hoisted 5-year-old Ryan Zurn into his arms for a picture.
"It's his ball now," a grinning Zurn said after the game.
The Mets do plan to send the Zurn family a care package of memorabilia, in addition to the items they are donating to the Hall.