Bret Saberhagen, baseball player, 1984-2001

Bret Saberhagen

Born: 4/11/1964 in Chicago Heights, IL, USA

MLB Debut: 1984-04-04 | Final Game: 2001-08-07

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 160 lbs

Full name: Bret William Saberhagen

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Biography

Bret Saberhagen, born in 1964, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1984 to 2001. He was known for his exceptional control and ability to pitch deep into games, finishing his career with a record of 167-117 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.34. Over the course of his time in the league, Saberhagen amassed a total of 1,715 strikeouts and recorded one save, showcasing his versatility on the mound. His pitching style was characterized by a smooth delivery and a mix of pitches that kept hitters off balance. Saberhagen's career was highlighted by numerous accolades, including two Cy Young Awards and an All-Star selection on three occasions. He was particularly noted for his performance in the postseason, where he earned the World Series MVP award. His contributions were pivotal during the late 1980s and early 1990s, a time when pitching dominated the game, and he remains a significant figure in the history of the Kansas City Royals, the team with which he achieved much of his success. Bret Saberhagen's legacy continues to influence aspiring pitchers, marking him as one of the standout hurlers of his era.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
167 117 399 371 76 16 1 2562.7 2452 952 218 471 1715 3.34 0

Career ERA 3.34 vs. league average 4.13 across their career seasons — 19.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1984 KCR AL 10 11 38 18 2 1 1 157.7 138 61 36 73 3.48 3.81 (+9%) -
1985 KCR AL 20 6 32 32 10 1 0 235.3 211 75 38 158 2.87 3.89 (+26%) -
1986 KCR AL 7 12 30 25 4 2 0 156.0 165 72 29 112 4.15 3.97 (-5%) -
1987 KCR AL 18 10 33 33 15 4 0 257.0 246 96 53 163 3.36 4.29 (+22%) -
1988 KCR AL 14 16 35 35 9 0 0 260.7 271 110 59 171 3.80 3.73 (-2%) -
1989 KCR AL 23 6 36 35 12 4 0 262.3 209 63 43 193 2.16 3.71 (+42%) -
1990 KCR AL 5 9 20 20 5 0 0 135.0 146 49 28 87 3.27 3.86 (+15%) -
1991 KCR AL 13 8 28 28 7 2 0 196.3 165 67 45 136 3.07 3.91 (+21%) -
1992 NYN NL 3 5 17 15 1 1 0 97.7 84 38 27 81 3.50 3.75 (+7%) 2167.3
1993 NYN NL 7 7 19 19 4 1 0 139.3 131 51 17 93 3.29 4.19 (+21%) 3870.8
1994 NYN NL 14 4 24 24 4 0 0 177.3 169 54 13 143 2.74 4.51 (+39%) 8054.3
1995 NYN NL 5 5 16 16 3 0 0 110.0 105 41 20 71 3.35 4.45 (+25%) 1182.6
1995 COL NL 2 1 9 9 0 0 0 43.0 60 30 13 29 6.28 4.45 (-41%) -1060.4
1997 BOS AL 0 1 6 6 0 0 0 26.0 30 19 10 14 6.58 4.39 (-50%) -998.1
1998 BOS AL 15 8 31 31 0 0 0 175.0 181 77 29 100 3.96 4.43 (+11%) 911.3
1999 BOS AL 10 6 22 22 0 0 0 119.0 122 39 11 81 2.95 4.71 (+37%) 4286.6
2001 BOS AL 1 2 3 3 0 0 0 15.0 19 10 0 10 6.00 4.42 (-36%) -37.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
403 190 13 23 4 0 0 1 0 13 49 0.121 0.177 0.142 0.319 -843.5

Career AVG .121 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 53.7% below league average.

Career OBP .177 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 46.2% below league average.

Career SLG .142 vs. league average .402 across their career seasons — 64.7% below league average.

Career OPS 0.319 vs. league average 0.732 across their career seasons — 56.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1984 KCR AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 KCR AL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 KCR AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 KCR AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 KCR AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 KCR AL 39 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 KCR AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 KCR AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 NYN NL 17 28 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 0.107 — — — — 0.0
1993 NYN NL 19 45 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 10 0.111 — — — — -408.1
1994 NYN NL 24 58 7 10 2 0 0 1 0 4 14 0.172 .269 (-36%) .338 (-33%) .424 (-51%) .763 (-43%) -435.4
1995 NYN NL 16 35 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 0.114 — — — — 0.0
1995 COL NL 9 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0.071 — — — — 0.0
1997 BOS AL 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1998 BOS AL 31 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1999 BOS AL 22 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2001 BOS AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1999 ALCS BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 ALDS1 BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1995 NLDS1 COL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1985 ALCS KCA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1985 WS KCA 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000
1984 ALCS KCA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 4 10 10 0 54.0 54 28 11 38 4.67

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1999 ALCS BOS 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 5 1 1 5 1.50
1999 ALDS1 BOS 0 1 2 2 0 3.7 9 11 4 2 27.00
1998 ALDS1 BOS 0 1 1 1 0 7.0 4 3 1 7 3.86
1995 NLDS1 COL 0 1 1 1 0 4.0 7 5 1 3 11.25
1985 ALCS KCA 0 0 2 2 0 7.3 12 5 2 6 6.14
1985 WS KCA 2 0 2 2 0 18.0 11 1 1 10 0.50
1984 ALCS KCA 0 0 1 1 0 8.0 6 2 1 5 2.25

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 399 371 203 415 24 26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1984 KCA P 38 18 15 22 1 1
1985 KCA P 32 32 22 38 2 4
1986 KCA P 30 25 14 26 2 0
1987 KCA P 33 33 21 34 2 5
1988 KCA P 35 35 15 34 3 3
1989 KCA P 36 35 21 36 4 1
1990 KCA P 20 20 16 28 1 2
1991 KCA P 28 28 17 30 2 2
1992 NYN P 17 15 7 26 0 2
1993 NYN P 19 19 14 30 2 0
1994 NYN P 24 24 13 34 2 1
1995 NYN P 16 16 6 26 0 3
1995 COL P 9 9 2 8 1 0
1997 BOS P 6 6 1 2 1 1
1998 BOS P 31 31 13 20 1 1
1999 BOS P 22 22 5 18 0 0
2001 BOS P 3 3 1 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 399

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1998 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1994 Pitcher of the Month July
1991 Player of the Week Week of 1991-08-31
1989 Cy Young Award
1989 Gold Glove P
1989 Pitcher of the Month August
1989 Pitcher of the Month September
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-09-15
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-09-29
1989 TSN All-Star RHP
1989 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1987 Pitcher of the Month April
1987 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1985 Babe Ruth Award P
1985 Cy Young Award
1985 Pitcher of the Month July
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-07-12
1985 TSN All-Star RHP
1985 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1985 World Series MVP

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2001 BOS AL $5,000,000
2000 BOS AL $4,500,000
1999 BOS AL $3,500,000
1998 BOS AL $3,800,000
1997 BOS AL $500,000
1996 COL NL $5,612,991
1995 NYN NL $5,562,990
1994 NYN NL $4,647,249
1993 NYN NL $3,000,000
1992 NYN NL $2,950,000
1991 KCA AL $2,950,000
1990 KCA AL $1,400,000
1989 KCA AL $1,350,000
1988 KCA AL $1,100,000
1987 KCA AL $740,000
1986 KCA AL $925,000
1985 KCA AL $150,000
Total Career Earnings $47,688,230

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1994 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 42.0 140 0
1994 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 1.0 392 0
1989 Cy Young Award AL 1st 138.0 140 27
1989 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 82.0 392 0
1985 Cy Young Award AL 1st 127.0 140 23
1985 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 45.0 392 0