It's only been one year since Mariano Rivera retired, and already his illustrious career is being put in the rearview mirror by New York Yankees All-Star rookie Dellin Betances.
Betances, 26, notched two strikeouts on Tuesday night in a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, giving him 132 Ks for the season. This breaks Rivera's team record of 130 strikeouts as a reliever set in 1996. What is even more impressive is that Rivera used 107⅔ innings to reach that career high. Betances did it in only 87⅔ innings.
"Just to be mentioned around his name, you are talking about the best closer, the best reliever in the game," Betances, who grew up in New York rooting for the Yankees, said after the record-breaking achievement. "Just to be in the same breath as him, you know I take thrill in that. As far as innings, he did it with one pitch so I think that is more amazing."
Betances has struck out more than 50 percent of the batters he's faced, and is currently 32nd in strikeouts, despite pitching the least amount of innings out of anyone in the top 40.
"He's been awesome for us all year," Derek Jeter said. "It seemed like Mo pitched two innings every time toward the middle to end in '96. Dellin has been doing the same thing. He has pitched a lot of innings. The thing with him is that anytime he gets guys on base he's capable of getting out of trouble because he can strike guys out."
Betances' 6-foot-8 frame, power pitches and propensity for strikeouts has some thinking that he could be the Yankees regular closer next season, should David Robertson leave the team in free agency.
Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes, "Just before the Yankees went on their trip to Baltimore and Tampa Bay, Robertson acknowledged the Yankees had a shot at the hometown discount last winter. But the expected calls never came, so Robertson, making $5.2 million in his walk year, said he was content to play it out and see what happens."
Robertson has put together 37 saves with a 2.88 ERA this season.
Regardless of what ends up happening, Betances is just excited to be doing well.
"I'm just honored and thrilled," he said. "I'm kind of speechless. It is incredible everything that has happened to me, to be here in this situation, to be a part of history, I could not be more thankful."
