Robertson, star reliever with a big heart, retires after 17 seasons

When David Robertson first came onto the scene as a Yankees rookie in 2008, the baby-faced kid from Alabama didn’t quite have the look of someone who was ready for the pressure cooker of a late-inning relief role.

In Robertson's Major League debut -- June 29, 2008, against the Mets at Shea Stadium -- it was obvious how nervous he was pitching in front of 56,277 fans. It was barely two years after the Yankees took him in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB Draft.

His outing wasn’t terrible -- he allowed one run on four hits in two innings while striking out one. But his nerves were abundantly clear for all to see, as he uncorked a wild pitch to the backstop and fumbled his way through the postgame interviews with a deer-in-the-headlights look. It would have been easy for anyone watching to think that Robertson didn’t have enough heart for the job.

Almost two decades later, it’s plain to see that they would have been wrong, because he would show time and time again what he had on the inside.

Robertson, 40, announced his retirement Friday after pitching parts of 17 years for eight teams. He pitched in the postseason in 10 of those seasons while also helping Team USA win the 2017 World Baseball Classic, and he was part of the silver-medal team in the Summer Olympic Games in 2021.

Robertson’s toughness began to come through in 2009 as a key member of the last Yankees World Series championship team. His penchant for creating and escaping late-inning trouble earned him the nickname “Houdini.”

Ironically, that nickname proved hard to escape, even as Robertson became a more efficient and reliable reliever. In 2011, Robertson made the American League All-Star team and earned Cy Young and MVP votes while pitching to a 1.08 ERA in 70 games. After two more seasons as one of the league’s top setup men, he replaced Mariano Rivera as the Yankees’ closer in 2014 and saved 39 games, his first of three consecutive seasons of 30-plus saves.

“Even in all the years he set up for Mo, David was a closer in the moment that you needed him,” former Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “There was no moment that was ever too big for him. I always had the utmost confidence in him.”

And while doing all of this on the mound, Robertson's most impressive work was happening off the field.

In 2011, when deadly tornadoes ripped through Alabama and hit his hometown of Tuscaloosa, David and his wife Erin felt compelled to do something. So they started High Socks for Hope, The David and Erin Robertson Foundation. The name was a nod to David’s signature fashion trait, the way he wore his baseball pants pulled up to his knees with his long sock-covered calves showing.

The immediate goal was to help the local families in their backyard who lost their homes in the blink of an eye. But it turned into something more far-reaching. As hurricanes, super storms and other natural disasters forced people from their homes, the guy with the high socks was finding ways to give others hope when they needed it most.

David and Erin didn’t just raise the money that helped rebuild the homes. In some ways, that was the easy part. The gut-wrenching part was being on the ground and helping people with the cleanup after Mother Nature’s destruction. Gathering industrial strength garbage bags, shop vacs and other cleaning supplies -- and then watching families tearfully throw away photo albums, antiques and other precious keepsakes that had been destroyed.

Just like a true reliever, David doesn’t mind coming in to clean up. He once jumped in on a home rebuild in the Chicago area to install drywall and work on the roof.

Along the way, David’s heart continued to show as he and Erin also took up causes for homeless veterans, terminally ill children, pancreatic cancer research -- the disease which took Erin’s dad in 2016 -- and much more. In recognition, David was twice nominated for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

To date, High Socks for Hope has helped build and furnish some 20,000 homes in 17 states, and they are currently working to help rebuild homes in Jamaica that were destroyed by Hurricane Melissa last fall.

“I just don’t think David gets the credit he deserves for all the things he does,” Judy Holland, executive director of High Socks for Hope, said. “His heart is huge. He jumped straight in and has never given up on it.”

Reliever is a term that seemed to fit Robertson perfectly. Whether it was on the mound or in a pile of rubble that used to be someone’s home, he entered to help clean up the mess. It wasn’t always easy, but he got the job done.

In the baseball sense, that part of his life is now over. But in real life, that relief role continues.