What years did Rafael Betancourt play?

Rafael Betancourt played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2015.

Was Rafael Betancourt a pitcher?

Yes. Rafael Betancourt pitched in the major leagues, recording 38 wins and 724 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Rafael Betancourt hit?

Rafael Betancourt hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Rafael Betancourt play for?

Rafael Betancourt played for 2 teams: the Cleveland Indians (2003–2009) and the Colorado Rockies (2009–2013, 2015).

What were Rafael Betancourt's career stats?

In 680 games, Rafael Betancourt went 38-37 with a 3.36 ERA, 724 strikeouts, 685.2 innings pitched, and 75 saves.

What was Rafael Betancourt's salary?

Rafael Betancourt's last recorded salary was $1,000,000, in 2015. His highest recorded salary was $4,250,000, in 2013, and his lowest was $305,200, in 2004. The Salary History table lists each season from 2004 to 2015.

What position did Rafael Betancourt play?

Rafael Betancourt played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Rafael Betancourt and how much did he weigh?

Rafael Betancourt was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 215 pounds.

What was Rafael Betancourt's career ERA?

Rafael Betancourt finished with a 3.36 career ERA, going 38-37 with 724 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Rafael Betancourt have?

Rafael Betancourt recorded 724 career strikeouts.

Is Rafael Betancourt in the Hall of Fame?

No. Rafael Betancourt has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rafael Betancourt

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2003-2015)

Rafael Betancourt was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2015 for the Cleveland Guardians and the Colorado Rockies, a span of 13 seasons. Across 680 career appearances, he went 38-37 with a 3.36 ERA, 724 strikeouts, and 75 saves. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 20765.5.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 38–37

ERA 3.36

WHIP 1.11

SO 724

Pitcher PIV 20765.5

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 215 lb
Born: 4/29/1975 in Cumana, Sucre, Venezuela
MLB Debut: 2003-07-13
Last Game: 2015-08-22

Full name: Rafael Jose Betancourt

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Career Pitching Statistics

Rafael Betancourt — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
38	37	680	0	0	0	75	685.2	596	256	71	164	724	3.36	20765.5

Career ERA 3.36 vs. league average 4.22 across their career seasons — 20.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rafael Betancourt Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
2003	CLE	AL	2	2	33	1	38.0	27	9	13	36	2.13	4.40 (+52%)	428.1
2004	CLE	AL	5	6	68	4	66.2	71	29	18	76	3.91	4.46 (+12%)	2568.8
2005	CLE	AL	4	3	54	1	67.2	57	21	17	73	2.79	4.29 (+35%)	2940.4
2006	CLE	AL	3	4	50	3	56.2	52	24	11	48	3.81	4.53 (+16%)	1269.8
2007	CLE	AL	5	1	68	3	79.1	51	13	9	80	1.47	4.47 (+67%)	4544.4
2008	CLE	AL	3	4	69	4	71.0	76	40	25	64	5.07	4.32 (-17%)	-134.6
2009	CLE	AL	1	2	29	1	30.2	25	12	15	32	3.52	4.32 (+19%)	441.7
2009	COL	NL	3	1	32	1	25.1	17	5	5	29	1.78	4.32 (+59%)	1533.6
2010	COL	NL	5	1	72	1	62.1	52	25	8	89	3.61	4.08 (+12%)	2516.4
2011	COL	NL	2	0	68	8	62.1	46	20	8	73	2.89	3.94 (+27%)	2232.3
2012	COL	NL	1	4	60	31	57.2	53	18	12	57	2.81	4.01 (+30%)	1341.9
2013	COL	NL	2	5	32	16	28.2	26	13	11	27	4.08	3.87 (-6%)	463.7
2015	COL	NL	2	4	45	1	39.1	43	27	12	40	6.18	3.96 (-56%)	619.1
Career · 13 seasons			38	37	680	75	685.2	596	256	164	724	3.36	—	20,765

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Rafael Betancourt — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
680	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .414 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .742 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rafael Betancourt Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2003	CLE	AL	33	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2004	CLE	AL	68	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2005	CLE	AL	54	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	CLE	AL	50	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2007	CLE	AL	68	1	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2008	CLE	AL	69	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	CLE	AL	29	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	COL	NL	32	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2010	COL	NL	72	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2011	COL	NL	68	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2012	COL	NL	60	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2013	COL	NL	32	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2015	COL	NL	45	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 13 seasons			680	1	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Rafael Betancourt — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Rafael Betancourt — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
2009	NLDS2	COL	3	.000
2007	ALCS	CLE	5	.000
2007	ALDS2	CLE	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Rafael Betancourt — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	0	10	0	0	12.1	9	7	2	12	5.11

Playoff Pitching by Year

Rafael Betancourt — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2009	NLDS2	COL	3	2.1	2	1	1	3	3.86
2007	ALCS	CLE	5	8.0	6	6	1	6	6.75
2007	ALDS2	CLE	2	2.0	1	0	0	3	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1360 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Rafael Betancourt — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	348	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	332	1	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Rafael Betancourt — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	348	347.0	314	131	77	344	3.40
Away	332	338.2	282	125	87	380	3.32

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rafael Betancourt — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2015-08-22	COL	NYN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015-08-21	COL	NYN	—	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	0
2015-08-19	COL	WAS	L	1.0	2	2	2	1	2	0
2015-08-14	COL	SDP	—	0.2	2	3	3	1	1	1
2015-08-11	COL	NYN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015-08-09	COL	WAS	—	1.0	1	1	1	1	3	0
2015-08-05	COL	SEA	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0
2015-08-04	COL	SEA	—	0.1	2	3	3	1	0	0
2015-08-02	COL	STL	—	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0
2015-08-01	COL	STL	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rafael Betancourt — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	680	0	24	34	1	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rafael Betancourt — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
2003	CLE	P	33	1	2	0	0
2004	CLE	P	68	2	3	0	0
2005	CLE	P	54	3	3	0	0
2006	CLE	P	50	2	1	0	0
2007	CLE	P	68	2	4	0	1
2008	CLE	P	69	2	6	1	0
2009	CLE	P	29	2	1	0	0
2009	COL	P	32	1	1	0	0
2010	COL	P	72	3	4	0	0
2011	COL	P	68	1	1	0	0
2012	COL	P	60	3	1	0	0
2013	COL	P	32	0	6	0	0
2015	COL	P	45	2	1	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rafael Betancourt Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	680

Salary History

Rafael Betancourt's recorded salaries total $24,049,100 over 11 seasons, 2004 to 2015. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Betancourt's career ran from 2003 to 2015. No salary is recorded for 2003.

Rafael Betancourt — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2015	COL	NL	$1,000,000
2013	COL	NL	$4,250,000
2012	COL	NL	$4,000,000
2011	COL	NL	$3,775,000
2010	COL	NL	$3,775,000
2009	CLE	AL	$3,350,000
2008	CLE	AL	$2,050,000
2007	CLE	AL	$840,000
2006	CLE	AL	$365,300
2005	CLE	AL	$338,600
2004	CLE	AL	$305,200
Total recorded salary (partial)			$24,049,100

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Rafael Betancourt (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Rafael Betancourt

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Rafael Betancourt: the record in brief

According to the bio, Rafael Betancourt debuted on July 13, 2003 and played a final game on August 22, 2015. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Indians (2003 to 2009) and the Colorado Rockies (2009 to 2015). Betancourt played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Born on April 29, 1975, in Cumana, Sucre, Venezuela, Betancourt was listed at 215 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Rafael Betancourt was the playing name; the full given name is Rafael Jose.

Betancourt pitched in 680 games, starting 0, and finished with a 38-37 record and 3.36 ERA. The totals include 724 strikeouts and 75 saves. Against a 4.22 league ERA for the same years, Betancourt was 20.4% better. No season topped the 5 wins of 2004. 2010 produced Betancourt's most strikeouts, 89. Betancourt saved 31 games in 2012, the season high. 2007 was Betancourt's sharpest full season, a 1.47 ERA against the league's 4.47. Betancourt's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 20,765.5.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rafael Betancourt

What years did Rafael Betancourt play?: Rafael Betancourt played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2015.
Was Rafael Betancourt a pitcher?: Yes. Rafael Betancourt pitched in the major leagues, recording 38 wins and 724 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rafael Betancourt hit?: Rafael Betancourt hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Rafael Betancourt play for?: Rafael Betancourt played for 2 teams: the Cleveland Indians (2003–2009) and the Colorado Rockies (2009–2013, 2015).
What were Rafael Betancourt's career stats?: In 680 games, Rafael Betancourt went 38-37 with a 3.36 ERA, 724 strikeouts, 685.2 innings pitched, and 75 saves.
How much did Rafael Betancourt earn in his career?: Rafael Betancourt's recorded salaries total $24,049,100 over 11 seasons, 2004 to 2015. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Betancourt's career ran from 2003 to 2015. No salary is recorded for 2003.
What was Rafael Betancourt's salary?: Rafael Betancourt's last recorded salary was $1,000,000, in 2015. His highest recorded salary was $4,250,000, in 2013, and his lowest was $305,200, in 2004. The Salary History table lists each season from 2004 to 2015.
What position did Rafael Betancourt play?: Rafael Betancourt played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rafael Betancourt and how much did he weigh?: Rafael Betancourt was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 215 pounds.
What was Rafael Betancourt's career ERA?: Rafael Betancourt finished with a 3.36 career ERA, going 38-37 with 724 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rafael Betancourt have?: Rafael Betancourt recorded 724 career strikeouts.
Is Rafael Betancourt in the Hall of Fame?: No. Rafael Betancourt has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.