NO REGRETS
Betances won’t back down from comments; union boss calls Levine ‘unprofessional’:
TAMPA — Dellin Betances is ready to move on. A day after a war of words broke out between Yankees president Randy Levine and Betances and his agent following the team’s arbitration victory over the All-Star setup man, Betances was glad to get back to baseball. “I’m in a good mind-set as far as myself. No one has more confidence in me than myself,” Betances said Sunday at Steinbrenner Field following the team’s spring training workout. “I feel good in that area. I don’t regret anything I said yesterday. I just had to get it off my chest. I did, and like I said I’m just trying to put it behind me.” Levine ripped Betances’ agent, Jim Murray, for demanding closer money for his client, saying the amount had “no bearing in reality.” Levine added that Betances was being “used” by his agent in an attempt to change the marketplace. Tony Clark, director of the Players Association, called Levine’s comments “unprecedented and unprofessional.” Betances will earn $3 million in 2017, the highest amount ever for a firstyear arbitration-eligible setup man. He and his camp filed for $5 million. Betances was ready to move on then, but Levine’s comments did not sit well with him.
The Yankees said how much they loved Betances, “but then they take me into a room and they trash me for about an hour and a half. I thought that was unfair to me, especially given I feel like I’ve done a lot for this organization,” he said.
The flame-throwing righthander, who earned the league minimum ($507,500) last season, said he doesn’t feel the need to speak to Levine about the situation.
Asked about a potentially awkward situation that could arise if he saw Levine, Betances responded, “You don’t see him as much, so I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Betances, who is entering his age-29 season, has made the All-Star team in each of the last three seasons. Over that span, he has the highest WAR of any reliever in baseball (8.5), ahead of both Aroldis Chapman (8.0) and Andrew Miller (7.3).
“I’ve talked to him a couple times since I’ve seen him on Saturday,” Joe Girardi said. “My thought on Dellin: It just happened yesterday and everything is fresh
in his mind. This kid is a fierce competitor, this kid is a great teammate, this kid has always given us everything he has, and I think he’ll continue to do that. I’m not really concerned about that. I think sometimes you get in a certain situation and it’s fresh and you have to sort through your emotions as a person, as a player. He’ll do that and I think he’ll be just fine.”
Betances, who has also led all relievers in innings (247) and strikeouts (392) over the past three seasons while pitching to a 1.93 ERA suggested after Levine’s comments that he may only want to pitch one inning during games since the Yankees only view him as essentially an eighth-inning guy.
“Obviously, we’ll see what happens,” Betances said. “Like I said with the arbitration, I don’t really want to talk about it. But you have to be smarter about things, and that’s how I take it.” Asked if he’s still angry about what transpired, Betances responded: “It’s not as easy. I’m not going to get over it as easy. I’m not going to sit here and say today is a different day for me, but I was just glad I was able to come out here and get some work done. That kind of takes some of the stress off your mind and puts you at ease.” Betances will depart Yankees’ camp on March 5 to participate for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. He plans to throw batting practice Wednesday and then get into a spring game earlier than usual.
He isn’t concerned about having to dial it up in March against high-quality competition, saying he went to the Dominican a little longer, and already faced hitters to build arm strength in preparation. He feels he’ll be ready for the upcoming season earlier as a result of the WBC.
“I’ve gotten a lot of support,” Betances said. “I’ve talked to a lot of guys. A lot of people called me, texted me to make sure I’m good, and they’re just trying to make sure I’m good and focused on what I need to do, which I am, and just putting everything behind me.”
Betances struggled in September, allowing 13 runs (10 earned) in 8.1 innings. He will again set up for Chapman, who returned on a five-year, $86 million deal.
“It sucks for me that I had a bad month to end the season,” he said.
“Obviously, I would’ve loved to pitch better, but at the end of the day everybody that knows me knows that I love to win, so obviously adding Chapman back to the team helps the team out and that’s what I’m about. I want to win, and hopefully we can bring something here (a World Series) like he did with the Cubs last year.”