Yankees' Betances breaks Rivera's strikeout record
If it seems like Dellin Betances has struck out batters at an historic pace this year, it's because he has.
The hard-throwing right-hander ingrained himself in New York Yankees lore Wednesday after striking out Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier to break Mariano Rivera's team record for most punchouts by a reliever.
[Courtesy: MLB.com]
Betances added one more "K" in the eighth inning to up his total to 132 for the season - besting Rivera's mark of 130 set in 1996. Perhaps most impressive about the feat is the incredible pace Betances has struck batters out this season.
Here's a comparison between the two Yankee relievers' record-setting seasons:
YEAR | PLAYER | IP | ERA | SO | K% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Dellin Betances | 87.2 | 1.33 | 132 | 40.0% |
1996 | Mariano Rivera | 107.2 | 2.09 | 130 | 30.6 % |
Entering play Wednesday, Betances led all major-league relievers in FanGraphs' wins above replacement with 3.1.