Royals World Series hero Bret Saberhagen was a difference-maker for the Red Sox

In 1985, 21-year old Bret Saberhagen went 20-6 with a 2.87 ERA and league-leading 1.06 WHIP for the World Series winning Kansas City Royals. The righty scooped his first of two American League Cy Young Awards and copped the Fall Classic MVP trophy, allowing a lonely earned run across two complete games.

With the Royals making their first World Series appearance in nearly three decades starting Tuesday night, Saberhagen’s clutch performance in ’85 serves as a reminder Kansas City organization which, as  constructed by John Schuerholz, once served as a model.

By 1996, Saberhagen had endured an up-and-down professional career marred by injuries and address changes. He missed the entire ’96 season following reconstructive surgery to his shoulder. Not to be deterred, Boston GM Dan Duquette, known popping the hood on all manner of has-beens (he signed Steve Avery a month later) inked Saberhagen to an incentive-laden deal.

‘We’ve got a chance for a significant contribution from Saberhagen,”  Duquette crowed. ”He’s a potential Cy Young winner.”

The righty sure didn’t look like one as he made his way back  in ’97. A Red Sox team without an ace (they had lost Roger Clemens to free agency the previous offseason) patiently awaited the three-time All Star’s debut, as he racked up five rehab starts across three levels of the Minors, allowing just 14 hits and four earned runs over 22 innings. When he joined the big club, he failed to reach the fifth inning in four of his six starts, posting a 6.58 ERA and a weak 14:10 K/BB ratio. Saberhagen clearly wasn’t the same pitcher who had jumped out of 80’s baseball cards with his wily delivery and floppy hair. It seemed like the Red Sox had to exercise caution to keep his arm from falling off.

Saberhagen did make the rotation out of spring training in ’98. Still pretty fragile, he went 4-0 in April, posting a 1.96 ERA in four starts totaling 23 innings. After a messy May, the veteran really dialed in for Jimy Williams‘ Wild Card-winning club. He eventually wound up 15-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 31 regular season starts, going seven full innings seven times, including stifling Cleveland’s thunderous lineup to  four hits and a walk, with seven strikeouts, in an LDS loss.

He won the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year and the Tony Conigliaro Award for his performance. And as 1999 approached, Saberhagen found himself the #2 starter behind Boston ace Pedro Martinez.

The numbers were even better. But while he compiled a 10-6 record with a 2.95 ERA, he hit the disabled list on two separate occasions. Williams and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan only twice allowed his pitch count to creep over 100. Saberhagen was breaking down again; his parting shot was a quality start against the Yankees in the ALCS, going six full and allowing a single earned run on four hits and a walk, striking out five. Again, like his team that postseason, Saberhagen took the loss.

He would miss the entire 2000 campaign.

My favorite Bret Saberhagen Red Sox moment was perhaps the most bittersweet. After a year and a half on the shelf, the righty climbed the hill at Fenway for a late-July turn against the Chicago White Sox. As I drove home from the Barnstable County Fair, my radio described the scene as Saberhagen mowed down ChiSox hitters, throwing 53 of 74 pitches for strikes, showcasing a 94-mph fastball and limiting the opposition to three hits, a walk, and a lone run over six. For a flagging Red Sox squad with Martinez on the shelf, it was vintage Saberhagen.

That was the last we’d see of vintage Saberhagen. He got mauled his next two times out, joked with Jim Rome that manager Williams “(drew) straws every morning” to determine the lineup for the upcoming  ballgame (Williams’ response, “I draw straws ’cause I drink milk,” was classic Jimy-wocky), Williams was canned, the Sox collapsed, and Saberhagen called it a career.

The Bret Saberhagen of July 27, 2001 was the essence of his Red Sox tenure. “He’s a potential Cy Young winner” had lingered between my ears through every throwback performance, every DL stint, every time it was reported his arm was falling off, until it was painfully clear that Saberhagen’s shoulder had enough. In the meantime, the righty was a key component (when healthy!) for a competitive Red Sox organization over his five injury-plagued seasons.