Dellin Betances Sets Single-Season Yankees Record for Strikeouts by a Reliever

On Wednesday, Dellin Betances' 2014 season went from great to historic. In a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees reliever picked up his 131st and 132nd strikeouts of the season, with the former placing him first in the Yankees' single-season record books among relievers.

He is among greats, sitting ahead of Mariano Rivera and Goose Gossage, per MLB Fan Cave:

ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand had Betances' and Derek Jeter's thoughts on the record:

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"Just to be mentioned around his name, you are talking about the best closer, the best reliever in the game," said the 6-foot-8 Betances, who grew up in New York, sitting in the stands as a Bleacher Creature. "Just to be in the same breath as him, you know I take thrill in that. As far as innings, he did it with one pitch so I think that is more amazing."

"He's been awesome for us all year," Derek Jeter said. "It seemed like Mo pitched two innings every time toward the middle to end in '96. Dellin has been doing the same thing. He has pitched a lot of innings. The thing with him is that anytime he gets guys on base he's capable of getting out of trouble because he can strike guys out."

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Entering the night, Betances had struck out 130 batters in 86.2 innings. His 13.55 strikeouts per nine innings ranked third among pitchers with at least 60 innings pitched, according to ESPN.com.

Daniel Barbarisi of The Wall Street Journal pointed out that Rivera needed 20 more innings to set the previous mark:

Rivera does still have the advantage in one category. According to Ace of MLB Stats, the 13-time All-Star holds the franchise record for most relief appearances with at least three strikeouts:

Of course, Rivera and Betances pitched in radically different offensive climates. According to FanGraphs, the average strikeout rate in 1996 was 16.5 percent. Through the 2014 season, that figure is up to 20.3 percent. The average ERA is also down almost a full run, from 4.61 in '96 to 3.76 in '14.

Don't let that take away from Betances' accomplishment, though. The 26-year-old has been one of the best middle relievers in the league this year. His 1.66 FIP is first on the Yankees and second in the major leagues among pitchers who've thrown at least 60 innings, according to FanGraphs.

Betances has a long way to go to match the career accomplishments of Rivera, who will be remembered as perhaps the best closer in the history of the game.

However, the 2014 All-Star looks to have a dominant career ahead.