Rafael Betancourt has a torn UCL

By Craig CalcaterraAug 27, 2013, 8:53 AM EDT
3 Comments

It’s not just promising young starting pitchers who need Tommy John surgery. Veteran relievers sometimes do too. The news on Rockies’ reliever Rafael Betancourt:

 

Bad break for Betancourt, who was already on the 15-day disabled list due to the elbow.

This could be the end of the line for Betancourt. He’s almost 39 and he won’t be under contract after this season. If it is the end, he leaves an 11-year career in which he was one of the most reliable and, for some reason, one of the more unheralded setup men (and occasional closers) in the game.

Long time NL umpire Dutch Rennert has died

MLB.com
By Craig CalcaterraJun 19, 2018, 10:36 AM EDT
19 Comments

MLB.com reports that long time umpire Dutch Rennert has died at the age of 88.

Rennert retired as a National League umpire after the 1992 season, so a lot of you didn’t get a chance to see him. But believe me, if you got a chance to see him in action, you’d remember him. He had one of the most distinct strikeout calls in history. He’d go turn to the side, go down on one knee, point with purpose and bellow “STRIKE . . . ONNNNNNEEEEE!”

It was quite the scene, man:

 

I used to love it when Rennert called a game I was watching on TV. I always knew the count.

Rest in Peace, Dutch. I cannot vouch for the peace of whoever is on the cloud next to yours, though.