Four-time MLB All Star retires at 34

Not only was Dellin Betances was once one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball during his time with the New York Yankees, but his consistently high velocity helped usher in the modern era, where relief pitchers frequently throw close to 100 miles per hour. Unfortunately for Betances, injuries and struggle with control eventually caught up to him. And on Wednesday, it was announced that Betances had retired at only 34.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the news.

The MLB world remembered Betances‘ short-yet-brilliant career following the news of his retirement.

Betances came up with the Yankees for two appearances in 2011. He spent all of 2012 and most of 2013 in the minors. During the 2013 season, it was announced that Betances would be a reliever. He made the Opening Day roster in 2014 and flourished immediately. Betances made the American League All-Star team every season from 2014-2017.

From 2014-2018, Betances appeared in 349 games for the Yankees. He posted a 2.22 ERA and 1.018 WHIP in that time with 607 strikeouts for a K/9 rate of 14.6. And despite throwing hard and playing in the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, he allowed only 25 home runs in that period for a HR/9 rate of 0.6, well better than the league average. And while Betances was used primarily in a set-up role, he did save 36 games in that window.

Injuries limited Betances to only one appearance in 2019. Following the 2019 season, he signed with the New York Mets. In 2020, Betances appeared in 15 games, posting a 7.71 ERA and 2.057 WHIP. He also had more walks than both strikeouts and innings pitched, issuing 12 free passes in 11.2 inings with only 11 strikeouts.

Betances appeared in only one game for the Mets in 2021. He signed a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 but never made it to the majors before retiring.

[Jon Heyman on Twitter]