SAN DIEGO — The Hall is calling, but Bartolo Colon isn’t sure if he will answer.
A day after Colon entered the record books as the oldest player in major league history to hit his first major league homer, the 42-year-old righty was debating, according to a club spokesman, whether he will send memorabilia to Cooperstown, as has been requested, to commemorate the event.
Colon has already made it clear he intends to keep the magic bat — it will become a trophy that goes unused again — and ball that was retrieved from a Mets fan in the left-field seats at Petco Park. But he could donate some combination of his jersey, cap and spikes to the Hall of Fame.
In a moment you almost had to see to believe Saturday, the rotund right-hander crushed a James Shields fastball for a homer, highlighting the Mets’ 6-3 victory over the Padres.
Colon, whose at-bats have become must-see over his last three seasons since returning to the National League, became the oldest player, at 42, to hit his first major league home run. The previous oldest was Randy Johnson, at 40 years old for the Diamondbacks in 2003.
“Once I hit I knew it was gone,” Colon said. “The ball in San Diego travels well.”
Colon, who conducts postgame interviews through an interpreter, answered one question in English.
“No shot,” he said, when asked about the possibility of breaking Barry Bonds’ all-time home run record.
Lightning struck twice in the same place.
Neil Walker was absent from Sunday’s starting lineup for the Mets, a day after he pounded a ball off his right shin, aggravating a bruise he previously suffered on a foul tip in the same spot. Walker made a pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth inning and struck out.
The veteran second baseman is hoping he can start Monday’s game.
“There’s a significant amount of swelling,” Walker said before the Mets beat the Padres, 3-2 at Petco Park. “It hit right above the leg guard, the exact same spot with two swings. We are trying to flush some of the stuff out.”
The day off was Walker’s second in three games, with Wilmer Flores starting at second base.
“He could have gotten some treatment and tried to play, but right now, I don’t know that it’s worth the chance to run him out there and have that leg get hurt any worse,” manager Terry Collins said.
The fact David Wright reached base five times on Saturday didn’t sway Collins into inserting him into Sunday’s lineup. Collins has been diligent about resting Wright in day games following night games as he manages his spinal stenosis.
“We’ve asked him to be honest with us, how he’s feeling, so we don’t lose him for a month,” Collins said. “One of the things he told me, one of the times it bothers him worst is a day game following a night game, so we decided at this time of year we’re not going to take a chance on it.”
Collins said he was “absolutely” surprised Wright had started 24 of the team’s first 29 games.
“We had no idea coming out of spring training how much he was going to be able to play and he didn’t either,” Collins said. “To give him three in a row and let him have a day has been pretty good so far.”