1985
Born April 9, 1985
Birmingham, AL, USA
David Robertson Marquee
b. April 9, 1985 · New York Yankees 2008–2014, 2017–2018, Chicago White Sox 2015–2017, Philadelphia Phillies 2019, 2022, 2025, Tampa Bay Rays 2021, Chicago Cubs 2022, New York Mets 2023, Miami Marlins 2023, Texas Rangers 2024
David Robertson has appeared in more than 880 major league games and has never started one that mattered. He came up with the Yankees in 2008, spent the next several years setting up for Mariano Rivera, and inherited the closer's job in 2014 when Rivera retired.
The 2011 season brought his only All-Star selection and a stretch in which he stranded runners at a rate that earned him the nickname Houdini. He has since pitched for nine other organizations, some of them more than once, and has kept a career earned run average under 3.00 while doing it.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1985, Robertson has struck out 1,176 batters in 894 innings and saved 179 games. He won a championship with New York in 2009 and remained active in 2025.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 2011 |
| This Year in Baseball Setup Man of the Year | 1 | 2011 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | NYY | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | NYY | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | NYY | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | NYY | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | NYY | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | NYY | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | NYY | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | CHW | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | CHW | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | CHW/NYY | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | NYY | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | PHI | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | TBR | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | CHC/PHI | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2023 | MIA/NYM | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | TEX | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | PHI | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 881 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | NYY | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 30.1 | 29 | 18 | 15 | 36 | 5.34 |
| 2009 | NYY | 2 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 1 | 43.2 | 36 | 16 | 23 | 63 | 3.30 |
| 2010 | NYY | 4 | 5 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 61.1 | 59 | 26 | 33 | 71 | 3.82 |
| 2011 | NYY | 4 | 0 | 70 | 0 | 1 | 66.2 | 40 | 8 | 35 | 100 | 1.08 |
| 2012 | NYY | 2 | 7 | 65 | 0 | 2 | 60.2 | 52 | 18 | 19 | 81 | 2.67 |
| 2013 | NYY | 5 | 1 | 70 | 0 | 3 | 66.1 | 51 | 15 | 18 | 77 | 2.04 |
| 2014 | NYY | 4 | 5 | 63 | 0 | 39 | 64.1 | 45 | 22 | 23 | 96 | 3.08 |
| 2015 | CHW | 6 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 34 | 63.1 | 46 | 24 | 13 | 86 | 3.41 |
| 2016 | CHW | 5 | 3 | 62 | 0 | 37 | 62.1 | 53 | 24 | 32 | 75 | 3.47 |
| 2017 | CHW/NYY | 9 | 2 | 61 | 0 | 14 | 68.1 | 35 | 14 | 23 | 98 | 1.84 |
| 2018 | NYY | 8 | 3 | 69 | 0 | 5 | 69.2 | 46 | 25 | 26 | 91 | 3.23 |
| 2019 | PHI | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5.40 |
| 2021 | TBR | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 12.0 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 4.50 |
| 2022 | CHC/PHI | 4 | 3 | 58 | 0 | 20 | 63.2 | 39 | 17 | 35 | 81 | 2.40 |
| 2023 | MIA/NYM | 6 | 6 | 62 | 0 | 18 | 65.1 | 53 | 22 | 25 | 78 | 3.03 |
| 2024 | TEX | 3 | 4 | 68 | 0 | 2 | 72.0 | 53 | 24 | 27 | 99 | 3.00 |
| 2025 | PHI | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 17.2 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 4.08 |
| Career | — | 68 | 46 | 881 | 1 | 179 | 894.1 | 674 | 291 | 365 | 1176 | 2.93 |
On this day & linked events
2008
Major-league debut: David Robertson
David Robertson made a major-league debut on June 29, 2008.
Image: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0