CLEVELAND — Cleveland is a city of milestones for Bartolo Colon.

Nineteen years ago, it was where Colon received his first call-up to the majors with the Indians, the team that signed him as a 20-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 1993. It was where he first emerged as an ace, earning his first of three career All-Star selections in 1998. It was where he became a father for the first time.

The 42-year-old Colon will revisit those roots when he starts for the Mets in their series opener against the Indians Friday night at Progressive Field. It won't be the first time Colon has returned to pitch against his former club. Since leaving Cleveland, Colon has faced his original team 11 times, going 6-4 with a 3.84 ERA.

Even so, it's a place that continues to carry special significance for Colon. The origins of his successful 19-year career with eight different teams can all be traced back to that Midwestern city.

"Cleveland is one of the most important teams for me and my family," Colon told NJ Advance Media in Spanish. "That's where I came up. Cleveland gave me the opportunity to become who I am today on the mound. I'm very proud of the Cleveland organization."

Colon broke into the majors with the Indians in 1997 as a hard-throwing right-hander with a blistering upper-90s fastball. After an rocky rookie campaign, Colon enjoyed a breakout season the following year, going 14-9 with a 3.71 ERA and earning an All-Star nod.

Still, Colon relished his time there for personal reasons as much as professional ones. Cleveland became the birthplace of not only his fame, but also of his first two sons.

"I have a lot of memories that are related to my first two kids being born in Cleveland," Colon said.

Colon, who now resides in Clifton, N.J., with his wife and four sons, said he'd like to take his kids back to Cleveland one day to show them the city where they were born. He hopes to plan a visit for them in the near future, when they aren't busy with school.

After anchoring the Indians' pitching staff for six seasons, Colon was traded to the Montreal Expos on June 27, 2002, in exchange for a package of prospects that included Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips. Colon said he learned a tough lesson that day about the unpredictable nature of baseball.

"It was really difficult for me because they told me that I was going to be with that team until the very end," Colon said. "One week later, they traded me. From then on, I began to learn that baseball is a business. No one is ever secure with a team."

When Colon left Cleveland, he departed as a certified ace. Now, he returns more as the godfather of a pitching staff full of them. No longer is he a power pitcher, but rather a finesse starter with an array of fastballs and pinpoint accuracy.

Still, Colon remains a respected veteran in the Mets clubhouse, serving as an invaluable mentor to the team's Latino players, especially relievers Jeurys Familia and Hansel Robles.

"He's very humble and a great person," outfielder Juan Lagares said in Spanish. "He's someone who we can all learn from. He's always talking with everyone, and it's very easy to learn from people like him. He's always open, and he gives us the confidence to ask him anything."

Colon returns to Cleveland closer to the end of his career than to the beginning, but he arrives with a chance to reach yet another milestone, one that's a testament to his longevity and sustained success in the majors.

With 218 career victories, Colon is only one win shy of matching Pedro Martinez as the second-winningest major-league pitcher to ever come out of the Dominican Republic. Colon currently sits third on the list, behind only Hall of Famers Juan Marichal (243) and Martinez (219).

The moment promises to be special not only for Colon, but also for his fellow Dominican teammates.

"I would feel really good, and I think it would be a great achievement to match a mark set by another compatriot," Antonio Bastardo said in Spanish. "Pedro Martinez is a great person. Having two Dominicans with the same win total would fill me with pride."

Colon came close to achieving the feat in his first start of the season on April 10, pitching six innings of one-run ball, but he took the loss after the Mets fell, 1-0, to the Phillies. His next chance will be Friday, on the very same field where his career began 19 years ago.

While Colon acknowledged that tying Martinez in Cleveland would be a privilege, he also knows it's not a given. He knows nothing is ever guaranteed in baseball.

"It would be really special," Colon said. "But when I go out to pitch, I'm not going to say I'm going to win because the other pitcher or the other team that we're facing is going out there to do the same thing. They want to win, too, so like I always say, may the best win."

Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.