David Robertson

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.

David Alan Robertson (born April 9, 1985), nicknamed "D-Rob", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Miami Marlins.

Robertson played college baseball for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

After his junior year, Central High School was split into three smaller high schools, and Robertson attended Paul W. Bryant High School in Tuscaloosa, graduating in 2004.

He led the Stampede to an area title and the Class 6A State Playoffs in the school's first year of existence.

Robertson enrolled at the University of Alabama and played college baseball for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

As a freshman in 2005, Robertson appeared in a team-high 32 games with three games started.

He compiled a 7–5 win–loss record with eight saves and a 2.92 earned run average (ERA), and set the single-season rookie record for most strikeouts (105).

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, Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, and Collegiate Baseball Magazine Freshman All-American.

He was drafted by the Yankees in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2008.

In 2006, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and was named the most valuable player of the playoffs in Yarmouth-Dennis' championship season.

Due to Robertson being 21 at the time of the 2006 MLB draft, he was a draft-eligible sophomore and the New York Yankees selected him in the 17th round.

He signed with the Yankees for a $200,000 signing bonus.

In 2007, pitching for the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League, the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League, he was a combined 8–3 with four saves and an 0.96 ERA in 84 1⁄3 innings, allowing 45 hits while striking out 114 batters, averaging 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Robertson was a 2007 mid-season South Atlantic League All Star.

He was third among minor league relievers, with a .154 opponents batting average.

In 2008, pitching for Trenton and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the Triple-A International League, he was 4–0 with three saves and a 1.68 ERA in 53 2⁄3 innings, allowing 28 hits while striking out 77, averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

He was named the International League's "Best Reliever" of 2008 in Baseball America's Best Tools survey.

On June 28, 2008, the Yankees called Robertson up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

On August 28, the Yankees optioned him back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 6.31 ERA.

He was recalled back to MLB on September 13.

He appeared in 25 MLB games in 2008, going 4–0 with a save and a 5.34 ERA, and 51 strikeouts in 34 innings, averaging 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Robertson was a member of the Yankees team that won the 2009 World Series.

Pitching for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2009, he was 0–3 with two saves and a 1.84 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 14 2⁄3 innings, averaging 15.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

After starting the 2009 regular season in Triple-A, Robertson was recalled to MLB on April 16, to replace Xavier Nady, who had been 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, he was again recalled to MLB, to replace reliever Brian Bruney.

Robertson finished the season 2–1 with a save and a 3.30 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 43 2⁄3 innings, averaging 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings (among pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched, the second-best ratio in MLB behind Jonathan Broxton (13.50).

He was named an MLB All-Star in 2011.

In 2012 he pitched two scoreless innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

After Mariano Rivera retired, Robertson served as the Yankees' closer in 2014.

He signed with the White Sox as a free agent after the 2014 season and was traded back to the Yankees in July 2017.

Robertson signed with the Phillies as a free agent after the 2018 season.

Robertson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and played his first three years of high school baseball at Central-Tuscaloosa High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

He was a two-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.