Cy Young Profile: Bret Saberhagen, 1989

Pitcher, Kansas City Royals

Age:  25 (Apr. 11)

6^th season with Royals

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 160

Prior to 1989:

Born in Chicago, Saberhagen was raised in California. He played baseball at Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda where he pitched and played shortstop. He compiled a 24-2 high school pitching record that was capped by a no-hitter in the West Valley League championship game. Despite questions regarding his velocity he was chosen by the Royals in the nineteenth round of the 1982 amateur draft, Saberhagen first was assigned to the Florida Instructional League where he posted a 7-2 record with a 2.35 ERA. With teams at the Class A and AA levels in 1983 he was a combined 16-7 with a 2.55 ERA and 130 strikeouts. He advanced to the Royals at age 20 in 1984 and appeared in 38 games, 18 of them starts, finishing with a 10-11 tally and 3.48 ERA. A control pitcher with a fastball, curve, slider, and changeup he entered 1985 as part of a promising pitching rotation. The Royals won the AL West and league pennant, and Saberhagen contributed a 20-6 mark with a 2.87 ERA and 158 strikeouts. He was the MVP of the come-from-behind World Series triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals. In addition he won the AL Cy Young Award. Saberhagen and the Royals experienced difficulties in 1986, with the team dropping under .500 in a third-place finish and the pitcher posting a 7-12 record in an injury-riddled season. Saberhagen got off to a 15-3 start in 1987 on his way to an 18-10 tally with a 3.36 ERA and 163 strikeouts and he was an All-Star for the first time. He had a rough year in 1988 in which he compiled a disappointing 14-16 record with a 3.80 ERA and 171 strikeouts while leading the league by giving up 271 hits over 260.2 innings.

1989 Season Summary

Appeared in 39 games

P – 36, PR – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 36

Games Started – 35 [4, tied with Jeff Ballard, Roger Clemens & Mike Moore]

Complete Games – 12 [1]

Wins – 23 [1]

Losses – 6

PCT - .793 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [2, tied with Kirk McCaskill]

Innings Pitched – 262.1 [1]

Hits – 209 [17]

Runs – 74

Earned Runs – 63

Home Runs – 13

Bases on Balls – 43

Strikeouts – 193 [3]

ERA – 2.16 [1]

Hit Batters – 2

Balks – 1

Wild Pitches – 8 [14, tied with Jim Abbott, Storm Davis & Frank Tanana]

League-leading wins were +2 ahead of runner-up Dave Stewart

League-leading complete games were +2 ahead of runner-up Jack Morris

League-leading win percentage was +.020 ahead of runner-up Bert Blyleven

League-leading innings pitched were +4.1 ahead of runner-up Dave Stewart

League-leading ERA was -0.41 lower than runner-up Chuck Finley

Midseason Snapshot: 8-4, ERA - 2.61, SO – 100 in 127.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 8 IP) at Oakland 9/30

10+ strikeout games – 3

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 7 IP) at Baltimore 9/17

Fielding

Chances – 61

Put Outs – 21

Assists – 36

Errors – 4

DP – 1

Pct. - .934

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

Gold Glove

8^th in AL MVP voting (82 points, 21% share)

AL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Bret Saberhagen, KC: 138 pts. – 27 of 28 first place votes, 99% share

Dave Stewart, Oak.: 80 pts. – 1 first place vote, 57% share

Mike Moore, Oak.: 10 pts. – 7% share

Bert Blyleven, Cal.: 9 pts. – 6% share

Nolan Ryan, Tex.: 5 pts. – 4% share

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Royals went 92-70 to finish second in the AL Western Division, 7 games behind the division-winning Oakland Athletics. The pitching staff led the league in fewest home runs allowed (86). The Royals got off to a 16-8 start and remained in contention until the last week of the season. The fine pitching staff, anchored by Saberhagen, was offset by the club being shut out 18 times.

Aftermath of ‘89:

1990 was a down year for Saberhagen, although he was an All-Star selection, and he missed time due to elbow surgery. He ended up at 5-9 with a 3.27 ERA while starting just 20 games. A shoulder injury put Saberhagen on the Disabled List for a time in 1991, but he was effective when he did pitch, going 13-8 with a 3.07 ERA that included a no-hitter against the White Sox in August. Having made $2.95 million in ’91 as part of a long-term contract that the Royals wanted to unload, Saberhagen was traded to the New York Mets in the offseason as part of a five-player deal. In his first year with the Mets in 1992, he started slowly and caught fire until suffering a finger injury. Saberhagen ended up appearing in only 17 games and posted a 3-5 record with a 3.50 ERA. He was awarded a three-year contract extension for $15.4 million. Always prone to be a prankster, he got himself in trouble in 1993 for setting off a firecracker in the vicinity of reporters and for spraying bleach at reporters in the clubhouse, which resulted in a fine and suspension. He was further hindered by a knee injury that required surgery and ended up at 7-7 with a 3.29 ERA while starting 19 games. Saberhagen rebounded in the strike-shortened 1994 season with a 14-4 record and 2.74 ERA with 143 strikeouts while walking only 13 batters over the course of 177.1 innings pitched. He was an All-Star and placed third in NL Cy Young voting. With the Mets performing badly in 1995, Saberhagen was dealt to the playoff-bound Colorado Rockies at the end of July and went a combined 7-6 with a 4.18 ERA and 100 strikeouts over 153 innings. Following major shoulder surgery, he missed the entire 1996 season. Saberhagen returned in 1997 as a member of the Red Sox organization, pitching for three minor league clubs before joining Boston late in the season. He was effective for the Red Sox in 1998, going 15-8 in 31 starts with a 3.96 ERA and 100 strikeouts. In an injury-plagued 1999 season Saberhagen was 10-6 with a 2.95 ERA and 81 strikeouts. Hindered by injuries, he rehabbed at the minor league level in 2000 and finished out his major league career by appearing in three games with the Red Sox in 2001, after which he called it quits. For his major league career Saberhagen compiled a record of 167-117 with a 3.34 ERA, 76 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 1715 strikeouts over 2562.2 innings. With the Royals he was 110-78 with a 3.21 ERA, 64 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 1093 strikeouts over 1660.1 innings. In 10 postseason starts he posted a 2-4 record with a 4.67 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 54 innings. Saberhagen was, in addition to being a two-time Cy Young Award-winner, a three-time All-Star. He received one Gold Glove for his fielding prowess.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.