Dellin Betances (/ˈdɛlɪn bəˈtænsɪs/; born March 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and New York Mets from 2011 to 2021. Betances was named an MLB All-Star from 2014 to 2017.
Betances was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan. His parents, Jaime and Maria, immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. Jaime is a boxer and drives for a car service. Betances has two older brothers and a younger sister. Spanish was Betances' first language. The family moved to the Lower East Side when he was ten years old.
Betances attended many New York Yankees games with his family as a child. At the age of 10, Betances attended the perfect game of then-Yankees pitcher David Wells in 1998, sitting with the Bleacher Creatures. He credits his family taking him to Yankee games with his choosing baseball over basketball. He played baseball in the summer in the Youth Service League.
Betances attended Progress High School within the Grand Street Campus in Brooklyn, New York. As a freshman, Betances was 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall, and could throw a fastball as fast as 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). He played in a summer developmental league with future teammate Adam Ottavino, who was a couple of grades older, and Ottavino described him as very tall and lanky, saying he matured into his well-built 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) structure as he got older.
By his junior year in 2005, Betances could throw upwards of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h). In 2005, Betances was named an Aflac All-American, the first player from New York City to receive the honor. He also played for the Team USA Junior National Team. By his senior year in 2006, Betances was 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall. SchoolSports.com rated Betances as the tenth best high school prospect in 2006.
With the money Betances received in his signing bonus, he purchased a house for his parents in Teaneck, New Jersey. Betances has been married to Janisa Betances since 2018. They had a son in February 2019.
MLB All Star 2017 New York Yankees | MLB All Star 2016 New York Yankees | MLB All Star 2015 New York Yankees | MLB All Star 2014 New York Yankees |
2011 |
2013-2019 |
2020-2021 |