By Mike Berardino

Pioneer Press

In many ways Bartolo Colon is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Not only to the media and the Twins’ fan base, which delights in tracking everything from the 44-year-old’s pitching exploits to his cryptic statements delivered with the help of a team-issued translator, but to his 10th and latest employer as well.

In addition to his work on the mound, where Colon will make his seventh start for the Twins on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he has made himself available to young teammates — pitchers and hitters — for regular sessions filled with wisdom and humor.

“It’s not like Kirby Puckett, where you know where he is in the clubhouse all the time,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I just think it’s more subtle. It’s kind of ongoing throughout the day. Might be at the lunch table, which he visits a couple of times.”

Molitor paused and waited for the wave of laughter to arrive, which it soon did.

“He doesn’t take himself too seriously,” Molitor said. “I think at times we all get a little too tightly wound about who we are and where we are in the game. It takes a little pressure off.”

Even when he’s not in the room, Senor Joke provides much-needed comic relief and levity in the midst of an unlikely postseason push. All this for the pro-rated minimum salary of $222,185.80 for the final 76 days of the regular season.

The Atlanta Braves are on the hook for the remainder of his $12.5 million salary after releasing him in June. How funny is that?