Chad Bettis

Lore & Background

Bettis attended Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas, and was named to the all-region team before his senior season. He played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2008. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the eighth round of the 2007 MLB draft but did not sign. The Colorado Rockies selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft. He missed the 2012 season due to a shoulder injury. In 2013, MLB named him the fourth best prospect in the Rockies system. He made his MLB debut on August 1, 2013, allowing five runs in five innings and taking the loss. He transitioned to relief in 2014 but struggled with a 9.12 ERA before being demoted. He returned to starting in 2015. In 2016, he spent the entire season in the Rockies' rotation with a 4.79 ERA over 189 innings. In December 2016, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, underwent surgery, and later required chemotherapy. He returned to pitch on August 14, 2017, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves. In 2019, he struggled and was moved to the bullpen, finishing with a 1–6 record. He was outrighted off the Rockies roster on October 30, 2019, and elected free agency. He signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees on February 16, 2020, and announced his retirement on June 25, 2020.

In Their Own Story

The August night was warm, the kind of Colorado evening where the sky stays purple long after the sun drops behind the Flatirons. The Rockies were down by one in the bottom of the seventh, and the Coors Field crowd—that particular, slightly raucous Denver crowd—was leaning over the rails in the left-field bleachers. Then the broadcast camera panned to the batter's box, and there he was: the beard, the hair catching the stadium lights, the stocky frame coiled like a spring. The crowd noise swelled, not because of a stat line, but because of the *look* of him. He took the first pitch. The second. The third was a fastball, and he swung with both hands extended, the bat a blur, and the ball left the park with a sound like a car door slamming. The left-field seats erupted. Bettis jogged the bases with that unhurried, almost smug stride, the hair swaying, and the whole stadium was on its feet not for a record, but for a feeling. For a night, the Rockies weren't a franchise. They were a character, and the character had just hit the ball into the sky.

Reader's Guide

Chad Bettis was a pitcher, not a hitter. He played only for the Colorado Rockies in MLB. His MLB career spanned from 2013 to 2019. No physical description is provided in the source.

Did You Know?

• Bettis was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December 2016 and returned to pitch seven scoreless innings on August 14, 2017.
• He was named the fourth best prospect in the Rockies system prior to the 2013 season.
• Bettis and his wife, Kristina, had a daughter in April 2017.