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Bret Saberhagen

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Bret Saberhagen
Pitcher
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
April 4, 1984, for the Kansas City Royals
Last appearance
August 7, 2001, for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Win–Loss record167–117
Earned run average3.34
Strikeouts1,715
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Bret William Saberhagen (Template:PronEng; born April 11, 1964 in Chicago Heights, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. His nickname was 'Sabes.'

Early years

Bret Saberhagen attended Grover Cleveland High School, located in Reseda, California. Saberhagen starred in both basketball and baseball. In 1982, during Bret's senior year, he pitched a no-hitter and was the winning pitcher in the Los Angeles City Championship game, played at Dodger Stadium.[1]

Baseball career

Saberhagen was drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals in the 19th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft and made his Major League debut on April 4, 1984. He made an immediate impact with the team, compiling a 10–11 record and a 3.48 ERA. The Royals made the postseason but lost to the Detroit Tigers. Saberhagen pitched well in his first postseason start, giving up two runs in 8 innings.

In 1985, the 21-year-old Saberhagen established himself as the ace of the staff, going 20–6 with a 2.87 ERA, leading the Royals to a World Series championship (and being named MVP of the Series along the way, pitching two complete games in the Series, including a shutout in Game 7), and winning the American League Cy Young Award. He was also the subject of much media attention during the Series as his wife gave birth to his first son, Drew William, on the same night of the infamous Don Denkinger call. Saberhagen developed an odd pattern of successful years in odd-numbered years (1985, 1987,1989, 1991) and poor performances in even-numbered years. In 1986, he was 7–12 with a 4.12 ERA. In 1987, another odd-numbered year, Saberhagen had an excellent year, going 18–10 with a 3.36 ERA. That record, however, was disappointing because Saberhagen had entered the All-Star break with a 15–3 record and another Cy Young Award seemingly in the bag. He pitched in the 1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but he suffered a shoulder injury that hampered his second-half performance.

In 1988, the pattern continued as Saberhagen went 14–16 for the Royals with a 3.80 ERA, the second most losses in the American League. The following year, 1989, he showed flashes of his old brilliance by compiling a record of 23–6 with a 2.16 ERA, leading both leagues with 12 complete games, and finishing third in strikeouts. Before his July 26, 1989 start against the Boston Red Sox, Saberhagen had a record of 9–5. Over the next two months, he compiled a record of 14–1 with four shutouts. Only once in a game over that period did a team score more than two runs. He also led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeout to walk ratio. For his efforts, Saberhagen won his second Cy Young Award as the American League's best pitcher.

Despite a 5–7 record, Saberhagen was selected to the 1990 American League All-Star team, primarily due to his 1989 performance. Saberhagen rewarded the selection as the winning pitcher in the 2–0 American League triumph. Saberhagen only started one post All-Star game before being shelved for most of the rest of 1990 with an injury.

In 1991, Saberhagen went 13–8 with a 3.07 ERA. On August 26 of that year, he no-hit the Chicago White Sox 7-0 at Royals Stadium; to date, the no-hitter is the last thrown by a Royal. [2] On December 11, 1991, he was traded along with Bill Pecota to the New York Mets in exchange for Kevin McReynolds, Gregg Jefferies, and Keith Miller.

He posted several solid seasons, winning 14 games for the New York Mets in the strike shortened 1994 season and won 15 games for the Boston Red Sox in 1998. Also in 1994, he had more wins than walks. No other pitcher (as of 2005) pitching more than 150 innings had accomplished this feat since 1919.[3] His stint with the Mets was not without controversy; on July 27, 1993, Saberhagen sprayed bleach into a group of reporters. After admitting his role in this incident, Saberhagen donated one day's pay to charity and apologized to fans and the media.[4]

In 1995 he joined the Colorado Rockies as a much-heralded ace. He struggled throughout the year, plagued by injuries and unable to adjust to the high altitude. While the Rockies made the playoffs as the National League Wild Card team, Saberhagen lost his only start, Game 4 of the NLDS when the Rockies were eliminated by the Braves on their way to a World Series win.

After missing the entire 2000 season, Saberhagen attempted a comeback in 2001 but pitched in only three games. He retired at the end of the season.

Post-playing career

In 2005, he was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.

In 2006, Saberhagen was named to the 2007 ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. He stated if he were voted in, he would not attend the ceremony because he believes Pete Rose should be inducted. Saberhagen finished with 7 votes, well short of the number needed to stay on the ballot next year.

In 2006, he began coaching the Calabasas High School Coyotes Varsity baseball team, in Calabasas, California. He was a primary contributor to the building of a first-class baseball field for the Varsity team there. His younger son Dalton played on the Freshman team at that time and Saberhagen's goal was to coach his son when he moved up to Varsity. However, a constant set of battles with the Las Virgines Unified School District administration—among other reasons—caused him to resign his coaching duties in October 2007. Prior to the 2008 season, Saberhagen returned as the head coach of the Calabasas Varsity baseball team.

Bret Saberhagen's Hit & Fun

Bret Saberhagen at one time opened and operated a sports entertainment facility featuring Major League-caliber indoor batting cages, pitching mounds, bowling, laser tag, and arcade games. The 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) sports center was located at 580 Montauk Highway in West Babylon, New York nearby Saberhagen’s Babylon, New York estate. The facility’s façade was shaped like Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers and designed by Steven Ray Fellman of Amityville, New York.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Still Bringing Heat". CNN. April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "Sports American League (Baseball) Baseball AL West Division Major League Baseball - SI Vault". Vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ "'Professor Radke' leads by example - MLB - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. June 17, 2005. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  4. ^ Frey, Jennifer (August 11, 1993). "BASEBALL; Saberhagen Belatedly Admits to Bleach Squirt - The". New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
Preceded by American League ERA Champion
1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by American League Wins Champion
1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by No-hitter pitcher
August 26, 1991 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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