At age 34, four-time MLB All-Star retires.
When he played for the New York Yankees, Dellin Betances was not only once among baseball's top relievers.
His consistent high velocity, on the other hand, helped usher in the modern era, when relief pitchers routinely throw close to 100 miles per hour.
Betances' injuries and struggles with control eventually caught up with him. Betances announced his retirement on Wednesday, at the age of 34.
Betances made two appearances for the Yankees in 2011. He was in the minors for the majority of 2012 and 2013. Betances was announced as a reliever prior to the 2013 season.
He made the Opening Day roster in 2014 and thrived right away. From 2014 to 2017, Betances was named to the American League All-Star team every year.
Betances appeared in 349 games for the Yankees from 2014 to 2018. During that time, he had a 2.22 ERA, a 1.018 WHIP, and 607 strikeouts for a K/9 rate of 14.6.
And, despite throwing hard and playing in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, he only allowed 25 home runs in that span, for an HR/9 rate of 0.6, which is significantly better than the league average.
While Betances was primarily used as a set-up man, he did save 36 games during that time period.
Betances only made one appearance in 2019 due to injuries. He signed with the New York Mets after the 2019 season. Betances appeared in 15 games in 2020, recording a 7.71 ERA and a 2.057 WHIP.
He also had more walks than strikeouts and innings pitched, issuing 12 free passes in 11.2 innings while striking out only 11 batters.
Betances made one appearance for the Mets in 2021. In 2022, he signed a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he never made it to the majors before retiring.