Happy 28th to number 68, the big man Dellin Betances.
Born in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and raised on the Lower East Side, Betances grew up a Yankees fan and regularly attended games with his family. In 1998, at the age of 10 years old, he was sitting with the Bleacher Creatures when David Wells pitched his perfect game. His favorite player growing up was Bernie Williams. He credits these family outings to Yankee Stadium as the reason he pursued baseball over basketball. With the money he received from his signing bonus, he purchased a house for his parents in Teaneck, New Jersey.
The only thing more impressive than his story is his 2014 campaign. In a Spring Training game against the Blue Jays, he came in with the bases loaded and Jose Bautista at the plate. He struck out Bautista and caused Edwin Encarnacion to flyout, stranding all three base runners. On September 17th, he broke the record for most strikeouts by a Yankees reliever passing some guy named Mariano Rivera. He made 70 appearances out of the pen with a 5-0 record, a 1.40 ERA, and his 135 strikeouts led all other relievers in the league. He finished third in voting for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, behind Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker and White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu. He was elected to the All Star game, becoming the first Yankees rookie pitcher (along with Masahiro Tanaka) to do so since Spec Shea in 1947. He made it back to the Midsummer Classic in 2015 with his 1.50 ERA and 131 strikeouts.
His arsenal is getting more and more lethal. He can blow one by you at 100 MPH and the next pitch has the bottom drop out right in front of you. He comes into his fifth year in the Bronx with a 11-4 record, 1.78 ERA and 13.8 strikeouts per 9 innings.
