David Robertson just finished another successful season in the Yankees’ bullpen. That’s been a regular occurrence in his 11-year MLB career, with a stop in Chicago as well. Robertson, 34 in April, owns a 2.88 career ERA and a 12.0 K/9. Several years ago, David and his wife Erin founded High Socks For Hope, a non-profit organization focused on disaster relief as well as helping homeless, disabled or destitute veterans. We urge MLBTR readers to consider a donation.

Earlier this month, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Robertson was choosing to represent himself in free agency. MLBTR reached out to Robertson and asked for his thought process behind this unique decision. His guest post follows.

At this point in my life and career, no one else understands my wants and needs more than myself. After recognizing this, I made the decision to forgo using an agent since I no longer feel as though I need a middle man. I know what I want in a contract, I’m aware of what I can offer to teams, and teams are aware of my abilities.

I’m sure there is a lot of speculation regarding my choice. One thing I want to address is that this decision has nothing to do with my former agent. He is a great guy and has become a close friend of mine. He did a great job representing me for over a decade and I will always appreciate that. But I believe all players need to pay close attention to what they do and their own career path. I wouldn’t recommend self representation to just anyone – heck I wouldn’t recommend it to the majority of players. However, being a guy that’s hung around long enough to know what I can offer a team and what I would like in return, I feel I’m best suited to have all the discussions necessary to figure out my next contract.

A lot of people have and will question my decision. It’s not common to see a player take this path and I’m aware of that and the potential obstacles I may face by doing so. But in the end, I made this decision for myself and my family and for now I’m going to stick with it. I believe I have a lot to offer a team on and off the field and I know I will end up in the right place.