Rafael Jose Betancourt (born April 29, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball relief pitcher.

Betancourt was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox on September 13, 1993.

[1] After sitting out the 2002 season due to right elbow surgery, Betancourt signed with the Cleveland Indians as a minor league free agent on February 6, 2003.

[2] He began the season with the Double-A Akron Aeros, making 31 appearances and posting a 1.39 ERA, 16 saves and 75 strikeouts in 45+1⁄3 innings.

[1] On July 23, 2009, Betancourt was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor league pitcher Connor Graham.

On December 7, 2009, Betancourt accepted the arbitration offer from the Rockies, returning to the team from free agency.

[11] Eight days later, it was announced that Betancourt would undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Despite concerns that the injury may end his career, manager Walt Weiss stated that Betancourt would continue pitching.

[15] He made his return to the Rockies' bullpen on April 6, tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two in Colorado's 10–0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

[18] Betancourt's best pitches were a 90–94 MPH four-seam fastball, and a slider which was often mistakenly called a slurve.

He would constantly move his hands around and then tug on his baseball cap (sometimes doing it nine times) prior to throwing the next pitch.