2011 Rockies Player Review: Rafael Betancourt

by Greg Stanwood on Jan 13, 2012 11:00 AM MST in Rockies Player Reviews

A better closer than he, they or you ever thought.

After being acquired to set up for Huston Street in the later months of the 2009 season, Rafael Betancourt has been a wonderful staple in the Rockies' bullpen. Incredibly consistent performance, strong presence on the mound, age not yet a concern... it may be fair to say that despite the typical bullpen ups and downs, the only thing that's truly frustrated Rockies fans about this pitcher is his... "deliberate" pitching pace (something that's never bothered me personally, what works, works). Through his first two years in Colorado, we've seen him reliably back up Street in the 8th inning setup role, and coming into 2011, Betancourt was slotted there once again immediately, despite concerns about Street after an injury-plagued 2010.

The Rockies had acquired Matt Lindstrom from the Astros, not (just) with the intent to satisfy the organization's Matt quota, but to be the primary buffer in case Street had to leave the ninth inning role due to injury or ineffectiveness. A former closer himself, the team felt Lindstrom profiled better for the role than Betancourt, who had also not been given a significant chance to close during the 2010 season. Everyone felt Betancourt fit for the eighth, and that is where he would stay, whether a closer was needed or not. And yet, come the merciful end of 2011, it was Betancourt who found himself closing for the Rockies for the final six odd weeks of the season. Why?

The easy answer to this question is that Betancourt forced the issue. After an extraordinary 2010 season that saw him put up the best K/BB ratio in team history, expectations were high. Early on in 2011, he met them for for the most part. After an excellent April and an average May, Betancourt struggled the most during the period of June not long before the All-Star Break. Hits increased, walks increased, strikeouts declined. By this point, the disappointment relating to the grand downfall of the team since its first two weeks of play was largely focused on other places, including an inconsistent and homer prone Street at closer, making the wall seem less noticeable. By the time it had come time to start throwing around the idea of looking elsewhere for a closer, Betancourt had exploded through that barrier past Lindstrom and successful rookie roleplayer Rex Brothers into first in line for the 9th.

And did he ever respond.

From the All-Star Break through the end of the season, Betancourt walked exactly one batter. ONE BATTER, over 27 innings, that included six weeks in the closer's role where he didn't walk a single batter to end the season. Coincidentally, the pitcher recorded the exact same inning count as he did in 2010 (62 and a third), and that stretch of extreme control led him to cap out at 8 walks for the season, once again matching his incredible 2010 total. His strikeout rate did decline from its 2010 peak, but remained well over a batter an inning at 10.51/9. The 2011 season also saw significant improvement in his home run and ground ball rates. Betancourt's 2011 may not have been quite as flashy as his 2010, but it was a darn good season of relief pitching, especially in that second half and as a closer.

Grade: B+ - Last week when I wrote Rex Brothers' review, I sang his praises for the most part, arguing that despite not getting regular opportunities to pitch in high leverage situations due to the already deep bullpen, his debut season was mostly a resounding success and an easy choice for me as the Rockies' 2011 Rookie of the Year. And yet, I couldn't advocate just handing him the closer's role out of the gate because of the continued presence of Betancourt. Rafael will turn 37 this year; Brothers is only 24, but with no immediate signs of Betancourt slowing down (no joke intended), I have no problem with either of these two beginning 2012 as our closer.

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I think he should get extra credit for his locker room performance!

The off-season sucks.
That is all.

by DAWNMARIE01 on Jan 13, 2012 1:01 PM MST reply actions

that 44/1 K/BB from the start of July until the end of the season is unbelievable

"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage." ― Thucydides

by TomCat009 on Jan 13, 2012 1:28 PM MST reply actions

The thing I love most about Betancourt

is his penchant for 3 and 4-pitch strikeouts. He seems to have this philosophy on an 0-2 count that says, “I could waste a couple in the dirt here, or maybe a foot outside. But that would just give back the count and reduce my advantage in a big way. So here’s my best pitch, see if you can beat me.”

I would love it if this could somehow rub off on the Rockies’ starters.

by Northsider1964 on Jan 13, 2012 2:41 PM MST reply actions

And the rest of the bullpen while we're at it

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by jrockies on Jan 13, 2012 5:37 PM MST up reply actions

B+?

Betancourt has been my favorite Rockie since arriving in 2009.

Although I usually had been more interested in SS (example = Zoilo Versalles), 2B (example = Rod Carew) or CF as heroes (I’m old…I like bunts and avg and always hustling as opposed to home run derbies), and whereas I hate steroid player history, I nevertheless….

Love watching Betancourt play baseball

Awesome is reading/watching/listening to coverage of how smuch time he takes to throw the ball, because it is those “slow” moments when he shows that he is baseball. I would rather watch the ball thrown back to the mound when he is out there than see home run. There is just much knowledge, history, and voice in his consideration of each pitch. Each time he take the ball, I feel not only good for the Rockies, but as if I am watching the completely development of baseball beautiful-history compiled into one guy.

Since 2009, if you’ve heard some crazy homeless-looking old dude in the left field decks screaming for Rafael to come out, and often in Spanish, it might have been me. My daughter makes fun of me. She would say, “Barmes coming up soon. Head to the john, unless you wanna look at the stars.” But later in the game, around inning six, she says, “Let’s go get something. We gotta be back so we can watch Betancourt.” Of course, we weren’t always sure that he would come out….we were just hoping ..but eventually it became an almost guarantee!

Thanks for reading. Pitchers were never my thing, but this guy is awesome. Any team would be very lucky to have him. Not trying to belittle your “B+” …just posting huge approval of a guy throwing for his life.

by holidayelsie on Jan 13, 2012 6:52 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

His pitching pace doesn't bother me. I only pointed it out because somebody else would have if I didn't.

Betancourt was given a B+ because I believe the amount of relievers in baseball that deserve an A are limited to about 10-15 players. I could see an argument for an A-, but B+ feels more comfortable to me.

All of the grades we award on the site attract controversy of some kind. I feel my rating is fair, and as you see in the article, I am quite pleased with Betancourt’s performance in our uniform.

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by Greg Stanwood on Jan 13, 2012 7:54 PM MST up reply actions

I love the guy too

But that stretch he had in late May/early June was really bad, so the grade is fair. Otherwise, his season was off-the-charts.

by Northsider1964 on Jan 13, 2012 9:18 PM MST up reply actions

yep!

for me your write-up was fine…obvious that you didn’t mind his pace…sorry if i put you on defense…was just trying to applaud the guy, as my old man’s eyes see him as under-rated or at least under-talked-about. maybe there is a metric for internet-words-per whip-minus-such-and-so for relievers, and i could just be trying to raise that count stat.

have always liked your contributions here, and if you get involved in the comments, i stop z-ing through and read. your knowledge way way beyond my perspective!

by holidayelsie on Jan 13, 2012 8:28 PM MST reply actions

I thoroughly enjoy Raffy's pitching

The exasperated remarks about his pacing from the opposing teams’ commentators became one of the few bright lights in a very dim season. For one thing, no matter how often they saw him, they always complained about it, at length, because they couldn’t think of anything else to talk about while he was in his delivery.

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Haters gonna hate. (with optional vuvuzela)

by KelseyC on Jan 15, 2012 2:24 AM MST reply actions