Betances and Banuelos. For years, we heard these names bandied about, like a siren song for a Yankee fan base -- and front office -- desperate for an infusion of youth to a pitching staff that had long been weighed down by overpriced, over-the-hill arms.
As if their supposed talent and confirmed lack of oldness weren’t appealing enough to the yearning faithful, they had an additional hook as an odd couple. Brooklyn’s own Dellin Betances was a giant, at 6 feet 9 inches and 260 pounds. Mexican-born Manny Banuelos, meanwhile, was essentially small enough to fit in Betances’ back pocket.
Year in, year out, we’d hear about how these two professed phenoms who’d joined the most renowned organization in pro sports in their teens were thriving, far away from the Big Apple’s ultra-bright spotlight. One had dominated in a simulated game in Tampa -- by the way, were they facing actual batters in these events, or were their opponents simulated too? -- while the other had wowed Yanks pitching guru Billy Connors with his pinpoint control in a throwing session. (I never understood how Connors maintained his Yoda-esque reputation despite never turning out a decent pitching prospect.)
And yet, each season would pass with Betances and Banuelos still out of sight, if not out of mind, toiling in the minors as they moved into their mid-20s. Inevitably, Yankee fans started to wonder if the two not-so-young-anymore hurlers actually existed, and, if so, if there was even the slightest chance they wouldn’t follow the unfortunate path of the long line of Bronx Bomber prospects gone to seed, including the immortal Hensley Meulens, Brien Taylor, Matt Drews, Eric Duncan -- OK, I can see you’ve had enough.
Banuelos never pitched in the Bronx, as he was dealt to the Braves earlier this year. By then, though, Betances had improbably become a star-in-the-making.
And, after the season the 27-year-old reliever has had in leading the Yanks back to the postseason, you can drop the in-the-making. While the aging team has been frequently felled by inconsistent play and injury endured by some of its biggest names, Betances has been the constant, serving as the incredibly effective bridge between a crew of starters that averaged less than six innings per outing (and completed only three games all year) and closer Andrew Miller.
While Betances was arguably the team’s MVP all season long, any debate went out the window when first baseman Mark Teixeira was lost for the season after fracturing his right leg in August.
Though the towering righty still walks a few too many hitters, he’s been largely unhittable in 2015 while striking out roughly 40 percent of those he’s faced.
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The Yankees have relied heavily on Betances, and they’ll likely do so even more in the playoffs. Lucky for them, after waiting a near eternity for his arrival, the former phenom has shown that he’s more than up to the task.
