David Robertson (baseball)

High school

Robertson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and played his first three years at Central-Tuscaloosa High School. He was a 2-year starter for the Falcons at shortstop and pitcher. He helped lead his team to back-to-back area titles, as well as back-to-back 6A State Playoff appearances. After his junior year, Central High School was split into three smaller high schools, and Robertson attended Paul W. Bryant High School. He led the Stampede to an area title and the Class 5A State Playoffs in the school's first year of existence.

College

Robertson played college baseball at the University of Alabama. As a freshman in 2005, Robertson appeared in a team-high 32 games with three games started. He compiled a 7–5 record with 8 saves and a 2.92 earned run average (ERA). He led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) by limiting hitters to a .183 batting average. He was named Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American by Baseball America.

In his sophomore season, Robertson helped lead the Crimson Tide to their 25th SEC Championship. He appeared in 29 games, compiling a 4–4 record with a 3.02 ERA. He led the SEC with 10 saves. Due to Robertson being 21 at the time of the 2006 draft, he was a draft-eligible sophomore and was drafted in the 17th round by the New York Yankees. He played summer league in Cape Cod and was named Most Valuable Player of the Cape Cod League playoffs.

Minor leagues

Robertson was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 17th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.

In 2007, pitching for three minor league teams, he was 8–3 with 4 saves and a 0.96 ERA in  84 ¹⁄₃ innings, allowing 45 hits while striking out 114 batters. In 2008, pitching for two minor league teams, he was 4–0 with 3 saves and a 1.68 ERA in  53 ²⁄₃ innings, allowing 28 hits while striking out 77.

2008

On June 28, 2008, the Yankees called him up from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the Triple-A International League. On August 28, 2008, the Yankees optioned him back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with an earned run average of 6.31. He was recalled back to the majors on September 13. He appeared in 25 Major League games in 2008 going 4–0 with a 5.34 ERA.

2009

After starting the 2009 regular season in Triple-A, Robertson was recalled to the majors on April 16, 2009, to replace Xavier Nady, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The next day he was optioned back to Triple-A to open a roster spot for Juan Miranda. On May 25, 2009, he was again recalled to the majors to replace reliever Brian Bruney. Robertson finished the season with a 3.30 ERA and 13.0 strikeouts per 9 innings in  43 ²⁄₃ innings.

In the 2009 playoffs, Robertson entered two games in high-pressure situations with multiple runners on base, once in the ALDS and once in the ALCS, and managing to escape the inning without letting any runs score. Robertson received the win in both games. The Yankees won the 2009 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies.

2010

Robertson finished the 2010 season with a 3.82 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per 9 innings in  61 ¹⁄₃ innings.

In Game 6 of the 2010 ALCS against the Texas Rangers, Robertson relieved Phil Hughes in the 5th inning and surrendered a two-run home run to Nelson Cruz which gave the Rangers a 5–1 lead; the Rangers would win the game 6–1 to take the AL pennant.

2011

The Yankees entered the 2011 season with the additions of Pedro Feliciano and Rafael Soriano. Robertson lost out to Joba Chamberlain to be the 7th inning specialist who manager Joe Girardi wanted to bridge to Soriano and closer Mariano Rivera. Injuries to Feliciano, Soriano and Chamberlain put Robertson in the 8th inning setup role, where he achieved 55 strikeouts halfway through the season. Robertson was named to the 2011 American League All-Star roster replacing David Price for his first All-Star appearance. He finished the season with 100 strikeouts, becoming the first Yankee reliever since Rivera (in 1996) to record 100 strikeouts in a single season. Robertson finished his breakout season leading the league in ERA (1.08) and holds (34), along with a 13.5 strikeouts per 9 innings ratio (2nd in the AL), and an MLB-leading adjusted ERA+ of 410. He received exactly one point in the voting for both the AL Cy Young Award (the only non-starter or non-closer with a vote) and AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award (the only reliever with a vote). Robertson also won the This Year in Baseball Setup Man of the Year Award.

2012

In January 2012, the Yankees and Robertson agreed on a 1-year non-guaranteed contract worth $1.6 million, plus another $25,000 in incentives.

When Rivera went down with a season-ending injury in May 2012, Girardi announced that Robertson and Soriano would share the duties of closing games for the remainder of the season. Robertson himself would be placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 15 after a he strained a muscle in his rib cage, twelve days after Rivera's season-ending ACL injury. He returned to action on June 15, but after several appearances became the setup man for Soriano. Robertson finished the 2012 season 2–7 with a 2.67 ERA and 2 saves in 65 games.

2013

In 2013, Robertson served as the 8th inning specialist (setup man) behind Rivera. He appeared in 70 games during 2013, going 5–1 with 3 saves and a 2.04 ERA.

2014

Rivera retired after the 2013 season. During spring training in 2014, Robertson was named the Yankees' closer. On April 7, 2014, Robertson was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a groin strain. Robertson had a successful season in 2014 as he compiled a 3.08 ERA and was successful on 39 out of 44 save attempts. In his lone season as Yankees' closer, Robertson garnered praise as a worthy successor to Rivera. On November 10, Robertson officially declined the Yankees' $15.3-million qualifying offer for the 2015 season, making him a free agent.

Chicago White Sox

After the 2014 season, Robertson became a free agent. He subsequently agreed to a four-year, $46 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.

2015

Robertson served as the White Sox's closer during his tenure in Chicago. In his first season with the White Sox, Robertson compiled a 6-5 record with 34 saves, a 3.41 ERA and 86 strikeouts in  63 ¹⁄₃ innings. He blew seven saves but struck out 34.4% of batters and lowered his walk rate to a career-best 5.2%.

2016

In his second season as the White Sox's closer, Robertson earned 37 saves, pitching to a 5-3 record and 3.47 ERA while striking out 75 batters in  62 ¹⁄₃ innings. Robertson suffered seven blown saves, with his strikeout rate falling (10.83 K/9) and walk rate rising (4.62 BB/9).

2017

With the White Sox in rebuilding mode, Robertson became enshrouded in trade rumors during the offseason and regular season. Robertson was nearly traded to the Washington Nationals for Jesus Luzardo and Drew Ward; however, the deal was not completed due to disagreements regarding finances. Robertson pitched  33 ¹⁄₃ innings for the White Sox in 2017, compiling a 4-2 record with 13 saves and a 2.70 ERA before getting traded to the Yankees.

Return to the New York Yankees

On July 18, 2017, the White Sox traded Robertson, Todd Frazier, and Tommy Kahnle to the New York Yankees for Blake Rutherford, Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin, and Tito Polo. In his first appearance since the trade, Robertson struck out the side in the seventh inning to preserve a 5-1 lead against the Seattle Mariners.

Pitching style

With an overhand delivery, Robertson throws a four-seam fastball typically at 92–93 mph. Robertson's main off-speed pitch is a curveball in the low 80s. Infrequently, he throws a circle changeup to left-handed hitters in the mid-high 80s. Although Robertson's fastball speed is not unusually high, his long stride toward home plate during his delivery appears to "add" 2 mph to his fastball by shortening the ball's time in flight. His fastball also has a "natural cut" to it, making it appear as if he is throwing a cut fastball.

Robertson has always had a high walk rate (about 1 every 2-3 innings over his career), but this is mitigated by an outstanding strikeout rate; Robertson has averaged at least one strikeout per inning in every year of his career so far. His high strikeout rate has proved useful in critical late-inning situations — in 2011, Robertson struck out 14 of the 19 hitters he faced with the bases loaded and allowed only one hit. His tendency to invite trouble by walking batters, only to escape it by getting strikeouts, earned him the nickname "Houdini."

Personal life

His brother, Connor, formerly played for the Oakland Athletics and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Robertson married Erin Cronin in January 2009. They have two children, Luke Joseph, born August 2012, and Violet Grace, born July 2017.

Robertson and his wife started a charitable foundation called "High Socks for Hope" to help the victims of Robertson's hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama deal with the tornado strikes in 2011. Robertson agreed to donate $100 for every strikeout he recorded in the season. For his work, Robertson was nominated for the 2011 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.