Bret William Saberhagen (born April 11, 1964 in Chicago Heights, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher.

Career

Saberhagen was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 19th round of the 1982 amateur 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 3.48 ERA. The Royals made the postseason but lost to the Detroit Tigers. Saberhagen pitched well in his only 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 --an award he would earn again in 1989, after going 23-6 with a 2.16 ERA.

Saberhagen enjoyed mixed success during the rest of his career, including the years in between his Cy Young awards. In fact, he had three losing records (1986, 1988, 1990), though in fact his ERA was better than the league average those years. On the other hand, he posted several solid seasons otherwise, winning 14 games for the New York Mets in the strike shortened 1994 season and winning 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. ^*

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

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

Accomplishments

• All-Star (1987, 1990, 1994)
• AL Cy Young Award winner (1985, 1989)
• Finished 3rd in National League Cy Young Award voting (1994)
• Finished 8th in AL MVP voting (1989)
• Finished 10th in AL MVP voting (1985)
• World Series MVP (1985)
• AL Gold Glove Award winner (1989)
• Led AL in ERA (2.16) and wins (23) (1989)
• Pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on August 26, 1991
• Honored with the Tony Conigliaro Award (1998)

Teams

• Kansas City Royals (1984-1991)
• New York Mets (1992-1995)
• Colorado Rockies (1995)
• Boston Red Sox (1997-1999, 2001)

External links

• Bret Saberhagen at:
  • Baseball Library
  • The Baseball Page
  • Baseball Reference

1964 births | Living people | 1985 Kansas City Royals World Series Championship Team | 1987 American League All-Stars | 1990 American League All-Stars | 1994 National League All-Stars | Boston Red Sox players | Colorado Rockies players | Gold Glove Award winners | Kansas City Royals players | Lowell Spinners alumni | Major league pitchers | Major league players from Illinois | MLB pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter | New York Mets players | People from Illinois