Bret Saberhagen | Baseball Prospectus

Years	IP	W	L	SV	SO	ERA	WARP
16	2562.7	167	117	1	1715	3.34	40.9

Standard

YEAR	TEAM	AGE	G	GS	IP	IP-SP	IP-RP	W	L	SV	BS	QS	BQS	PA	H	R	ER	HR	TB	BB	UBB	HBP	SO	ERA	FIP	FRA	VORP	WARP
1984	KCA	20	38	18	157.7	103.3	54.3	10	11	1	1	9	1	634	138	71	61	13	212	36	32	2	73	3.48	3.62	4.53	8.4	0.9
1985	KCA	21	32	32	235.3	235.3	0.0	20	6	0	0	23	3	931	211	79	75	19	313	38	37	1	158	2.87	2.95	3.89	28.1	3.0
1986	KCA	22	30	25	156.0	146.3	9.7	7	12	0	0	10	1	652	165	77	72	15	247	29	28	2	112	4.15	3.20	4.22	22.6	2.4
1987	KCA	23	33	33	257.0	257.0	0.0	18	10	0	0	19	4	1048	246	99	96	27	390	53	51	6	163	3.36	3.66	4.24	38.3	3.8
1988	KCA	24	35	35	260.7	260.7	0.0	14	16	0	0	21	4	1089	271	122	110	18	403	59	54	4	171	3.80	3.13	3.97	31.3	3.4
1989	KCA	25	36	35	262.3	260.0	2.3	23	6	0	1	30	1	1021	209	74	63	13	305	43	37	2	193	2.16	2.54	3.11	52.6	5.7
1990	KCA	26	20	20	135.0	135.0	0.0	5	9	0	0	14	0	561	146	52	49	9	203	28	27	1	87	3.27	3.03	3.90	18.7	2.0
1991	KCA	27	28	28	196.3	196.3	0.0	13	8	0	0	19	2	789	165	76	67	12	237	45	40	9	136	3.07	3.14	3.63	34.5	3.7
1992	NYN	28	17	15	97.7	93.0	4.7	3	5	0	1	7	0	397	84	39	38	6	124	27	26	4	81	3.50	2.87	3.61	11.3	1.6
1993	NYN	29	19	19	139.3	139.3	0.0	7	7	0	0	12	2	556	131	55	51	11	192	17	13	3	93	3.29	3.10	3.67	22.6	2.7
1994	NYN	30	24	24	177.3	177.3	0.0	14	4	0	0	18	3	696	169	58	54	13	259	13	13	4	143	2.74	2.69	3.64	37.8	4.1
1995	COL	31	9	9	43.0	43.0	0.0	2	1	0	0	2	2	206	60	33	30	8	98	13	12	5	29	6.28	5.39	5.62	5.5	0.6
1995	NYN	31	16	16	110.0	110.0	0.0	5	5	0	0	11	0	452	105	45	41	13	169	20	18	5	71	3.35	3.99	4.19	11.2	1.5
1997	BOS	33	6	6	26.0	26.0	0.0	0	1	0	0	0	0	120	30	20	19	5	57	10	10	2	14	6.58	5.95	6.64	-0.3	-0.1
1998	BOS	34	31	31	175.0	175.0	0.0	15	8	0	0	18	0	725	181	82	77	22	289	29	28	6	100	3.96	4.31	4.83	27.8	2.7
1999	BOS	35	22	22	119.0	119.0	0.0	10	6	0	0	10	0	480	122	43	39	11	191	11	11	2	81	2.95	3.37	4.17	27.6	2.6
2001	BOS	37	3	3	15.0	15.0	0.0	1	2	0	0	1	0	64	19	11	10	3	32	0	0	1	10	6.00	4.56	4.44	2.5	0.3
Career			399	371	2562.7	2491.7	71.0	167	117	1	3	224	23	10421	2452	1036	952	218	3721	471	437	59	1715	3.34	3.30	4.01	380.7	40.9

Advanced

'opp' stats - quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.

YEAR	Team	Lg	G	GS	IP	FRA	FRA+	TAv	oppAVG	oppOBP	oppSLG	oppTAv	BABIP	PPF	PVORP	PWARP	VORP	WARP
1984	KCA	MLB	38	18	157.7	4.53	92	.238	.270	.332	.414	.274	.245	94	8.4	0.9	8.4	0.9
1985	KCA	MLB	32	32	235.3	3.89	110	.230	.266	.333	.421	.275	.269	94	28.1	3.0	28.1	3.0
1986	KCA	MLB	30	25	156.0	4.22	107	.255	.270	.336	.424	.274	.304	97	22.6	2.4	22.6	2.4
1987	KCA	MLB	33	33	257.0	4.24	113	.237	.272	.339	.442	.272	.274	99	38.3	3.8	38.3	3.8
1988	KCA	MLB	35	35	260.7	3.97	111	.258	.269	.333	.407	.276	.302	101	31.3	3.4	31.3	3.4
1989	KCA	MLB	36	35	262.3	3.11	127	.214	.266	.331	.395	.271	.255	98	52.6	5.7	52.6	5.7
1990	KCA	MLB	20	20	135.0	3.90	111	.252	.264	.331	.398	.267	.314	101	18.7	2.0	18.7	2.0
1991	KCA	MLB	28	28	196.3	3.63	118	.227	.270	.336	.414	.274	.261	99	34.5	3.7	34.5	3.7
1992	NYN	MLB	17	15	97.7	3.61	102	.242	.266	.333	.388	.269	.280	95	9.8	1.1	11.3	1.6
1993	NYN	MLB	19	19	139.3	3.67	116	.232	.275	.341	.417	.268	.278	96	22.6	2.3	22.6	2.7
1994	NYN	MLB	24	24	177.3	3.64	121	.218	.281	.345	.433	.267	.298	99	33.6	3.2	37.8	4.1
1995	COL	MLB	9	9	43.0	5.62	103	.279	.282	.347	.452	.276	.344	125	6.2	0.6	5.5	0.6
1995	NYN	MLB	16	16	110.0	4.19	105	.249	.269	.338	.427	.265	.268	95	11.6	1.1	11.2	1.5
1997	BOS	MLB	6	6	26.0	6.64	67	.310	.286	.360	.457	.283	.281	100	-0.2	-0.0	-0.3	-0.1
1998	BOS	MLB	31	31	175.0	4.83	106	.245	.277	.346	.448	.275	.280	102	27.2	2.7	27.8	2.7
1999	BOS	MLB	22	22	119.0	4.17	119	.235	.284	.354	.459	.272	.296	96	28.1	2.6	27.6	2.6
2001	BOS	MLB	3	3	15.0	4.44	103	.280	.271	.341	.448	.271	.320	93	2.5	0.3	2.5	0.3
Career		MLB		371	2562.7	4.01	111	.239	.272	.338	.422	.272	.281	98	375.9	38.7	380.7	40.9

Statistics For All Levels

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	SV	G	GS	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	GB%	BABIP	H/9	BB/9	HR/9	K/9	WHIP	ERA	VORP	WARP
1984	KCA	MLB	10	11	1	38	18	157.7	138	36	73	13	53%	.245	7.9	2.1	0.7	4.2	1.10	3.48	8.4	0.9
1985	KCA	MLB	20	6	0	32	32	235.3	211	38	158	19	52%	.269	8.1	1.5	0.7	6.0	1.06	2.87	28.1	3.0
1986	KCA	MLB	7	12	0	30	25	156.0	165	29	112	15	53%	.304	9.5	1.7	0.9	6.5	1.24	4.15	22.6	2.4
1987	KCA	MLB	18	10	0	33	33	257.0	246	53	163	27	50%	.274	8.6	1.9	0.9	5.7	1.16	3.36	38.3	3.8
1988	KCA	MLB	14	16	0	35	35	260.7	271	59	171	18	44%	.302	9.4	2.0	0.6	5.9	1.27	3.80	31.3	3.4
1989	KCA	MLB	23	6	0	36	35	262.3	209	43	193	13	44%	.255	7.2	1.5	0.4	6.6	0.96	2.16	52.6	5.7
1990	KCA	MLB	5	9	0	20	20	135.0	146	28	87	9	47%	.314	9.7	1.9	0.6	5.8	1.29	3.27	18.7	2.0
1991	KCA	MLB	13	8	0	28	28	196.3	165	45	136	12	46%	.261	7.6	2.1	0.6	6.2	1.07	3.07	34.5	3.7
1992	NYN	MLB	3	5	0	17	15	97.7	84	27	81	6	44%	.280	7.7	2.5	0.6	7.5	1.14	3.50	11.3	1.6
1993	NYN	MLB	7	7	0	19	19	139.3	131	17	93	11	47%	.278	8.5	1.1	0.7	6.0	1.06	3.29	22.6	2.7
1994	NYN	MLB	14	4	0	24	24	177.3	169	13	143	13	49%	.298	8.6	0.7	0.7	7.3	1.03	2.74	37.8	4.1
1995	NYN	MLB	5	5	0	16	16	110.0	105	20	71	13	47%	.268	8.6	1.6	1.1	5.8	1.14	3.35	11.2	1.5
1995	COL	MLB	2	1	0	9	9	43.0	60	13	29	8	41%	.344	12.6	2.7	1.7	6.1	1.70	6.28	5.5	0.6
1997	BOS	MLB	0	1	0	6	6	26.0	30	10	14	5	31%	.281	10.4	3.5	1.7	4.8	1.54	6.58	-0.3	-0.1
1998	BOS	MLB	15	8	0	31	31	175.0	181	29	100	22	38%	.280	9.3	1.5	1.1	5.1	1.20	3.96	27.8	2.7
1999	BOS	MLB	10	6	0	22	22	119.0	122	11	81	11	38%	.296	9.2	0.8	0.8	6.1	1.12	2.95	27.6	2.6
2001	BOS	MLB	1	2	0	3	3	15.0	19	0	10	3	31%	.320	11.4	0.0	1.8	6.0	1.27	6.00	2.5	0.3

Injury History beta

Date On	Date Off	Transaction	Days	Games	Side	Body Part	Injury	Severity	Surgery Date	Reaggravation
2001-08-08	2001-10-07	60-DL	60	49	Right	Shoulder	Inflammation	Rotator Cuff	-
2001-03-30	2001-07-27	60-DL	119	101	Right	Shoulder	Recovery From Surgery	Partial Rotator Cuff	1999-11-14
2000-04-04	2000-10-02	60-DL	181	162	Right	Shoulder	Recovery From Surgery	Partial Rotator Cuff Tear	1999-11-14	-
1999-11-14	1999-11-14	Off	0	0	Right	Shoulder	Surgery	Partial Rotator Cuff Tear	1999-11-14	-
1999-08-18	1999-09-12	15-DL	25	23	Right	Shoulder	Inflammation	Frayed Rotator Cuff	-	-
1999-06-08	1999-06-23	15-DL	15	14	-	Foot	Laceration	Required Sutures	-	-
1999-05-07	1999-06-01	15-DL	25	23	Right	Shoulder	Strain		-	-
1997-04-02	1997-08-22	60-DL	142	128	Right	Shoulder	Recovery From Surgery	Anterior Capsule	1996-05-28	-
1996-04-02	1996-09-30	60-DL	181	162	Right	Shoulder	Surgery	Anterior Capsule	1996-05-28	-
1995-10-25	1995-10-25	Off	0	0	Right	Shoulder	Surgery	Labrum	1995-10-25	-
1993-08-03	1993-10-04	60-DL	62	57	Left	Knee	Surgery	Medial Meniscus	1993-08-09	-
1992-08-02	1992-09-11	15-DL	40	35	Right	Fingers	Inflammation	Tendinitis Index Finger	-
1992-05-16	1992-07-19	15-DL	64	55	Right	Fingers	Inflammation	Tendinitis Index Finger	-	-
1991-06-13	1991-07-13	15-DL	30	26	Right	Shoulder	Inflammation	Rotator Cuff Tendinitis	-	-
1990-07-16	1990-09-21	15-DL	67	63	Right	Elbow	Surgery	Bone Chips	1990-07-23	-
1986-08-10	1986-09-06		27	25	Right	Shoulder	Inflammation		-	-

Compensation

Year	Team	Salary
2001	BOS	$4,500,000
2000	BOS	$4,500,000
1999	BOS	$3,500,000
1998	BOS	$1,600,000
1997	BOS	$1,100,000
1996	NYN	$5,133,333
1995	NYN	$4,883,333
1994	NYN	$3,883,333
1993	NYN	$3,000,000
1992	NYN	$2,950,000
1991	KCA	$2,950,000
1990	KCA	$1,375,000
1989	KCA	$1,250,000
1988	KCA	$1,100,000
1987	KCA	$740,000
1986	KCA	$925,000
1985	KCA	$150,000
1984	KCA	$40,000

Years	Description	Salary
18 yr	Previous	$43,579,999
18 yr	Total	$43,579,999

Service Time	Agent	Contract Status
	Dennis Gilbert

Details

3 years/$12.5M (1999-2001), plus 2002 option. Signed extension with Boston 9/98. 99:$3.5M, 00:$4.5M, 01:$4.5M, 02:$4M club option. 2002 option guaranteed at $5.5 million with 90 starts or 525 innings from 1999-01, or 60 starts or 350 innings in 2000-01. Boston declined 2002 option.
1 year (1997), plus 1998 option. Signed by Boston as a free agent 12/9/96 (minor-league contract). Base salary of $0.5M in majors. $0.6M roster bonus with one day on active roster. 1998 club option at price of 1997 earnings ($1.6M). Performance bonuses based on starts (up to 25) and innings (up to 200) may increase value of contract to $3.5M.
3 years/$15.38M (1994-96), plus 1997 club option. Signed extension with NY Mets 3/93. $2.5M signing bonus. 94:$3.05M, 95:$4.05M, 96:$4.3M, 97:$5M club option. Saberhagen additional $479,656 in deferred salary each year from 1994 to 1996. Acquired by Colorado in trade from NY Mets 7/95. As part of the trade, Saberhagen agreed to defer remaining salary and will receive $250,000 annually from 2004 to 2028. Colorado declined 1997 option 10/96.
3 years/$8.9M (1991-93). Signed extension with Kansas City 11/89. $0.6M signing bonus. 91:$2.75M, 92:$2.75M, 93:$2.8M. Acquired by NY Mets in trade from Kansas City 12/91.
2 years/$2.35M (1988-89), plus 1990 club option. Signed extension with Kansas City 2/9/88 (avoided arbitration, $1.2M-$0.95M). 88:$1.1M, 89:$1.25M, 90:$1.375M club option. May earn additional $50,000 in performance bonuses based on starts and innings. May earn additional $0.15M in award bonuses.
1 year/$0.74M (1987). Renewed by Kansas City 3/87.
1 year/$0.925M (1986). Won arbitration with Kansas City 2/86 ($0.925M-$0.625M).
1 year/$0.15M (1985)
1 year/$40,000 (1984)
Drafted by Kansas City 1982 (19-480) (Grover Cleveland HS, Reseda, Calif.).

BP Annual Player Comments

No BP Book Comments have been found for this player.

BP Articles

Bret Saberhagen is referenced in the following articles.

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Title	Author	Date
In A Pickle: How Great Thou Bart	Jason Wojciechowski	2013-05-17
The Lineup Card: 10 Interesting Excerpts from Scouting Reports	Baseball Prospectus	2013-05-15
Overthinking It: Ranking Rivera	Ben Lindbergh	2013-03-22
Western Front: They Took Their Turn	Geoff Young	2013-02-04
The Lineup Card: 11 Comeback Player of the Year Candidates for 2013	Baseball Prospectus	2013-01-16
Transaction Analysis: Dodgers Go Big for Greinke	Sam Miller	2012-12-10
The Lineup Card: 9 Winter Meetings Memories	Baseball Prospectus	2012-12-05
Painting the Black: The Rewritable Alex Rios	R.J. Anderson	2012-07-16
Baseball ProGUESTus: No No-No, No Cry	Craig Glaser	2012-05-29
Inside The Park Blog: Big 3s: The Complete List	Bradford Doolittle	2012-05-24
Inside The Park: About Big Threes in Baseball	Bradford Doolittle	2012-05-24
Prospectus Hit and Run: Beckett and Hyde	Jay Jaffe	2012-05-16
Between The Numbers: The Prorating Game	Colin Wyers	2012-05-04
Prospectus Hit and Run: Bartolo Colon and the Comeback Kids	Jay Jaffe	2012-04-23
BP Unfiltered: Support The Hall of Very Good	Marc Normandin	2012-03-20
Preseason Value Picks: First, Third, and DH for 3/13/12	Michael Street	2012-03-13
Painting the Black: Braves Still Building the Wight Way	R.J. Anderson	2012-03-06
Prospectus Hit and Run: The Keltner All-Stars, Part II	Jay Jaffe	2012-01-16
The Lineup Card: 9 Memories of Frank Viola	Baseball Prospectus	2011-12-14
Transaction Analysis: Dan Duquette Lands in Baltimore	R.J. Anderson	2011-11-07
The BP Wayback Machine: Every Team Has a Special GM, Except the Cubs	Steven Goldman	2011-10-22
The Lineup Card: 11 Disastrous Acquisitions	Baseball Prospectus	2011-08-24
Overthinking It: Justin Time	Ben Lindbergh	2011-08-11
The BP Wayback Machine: Houston, We Have Beltran	Joe Sheehan	2011-07-28
Baseball ProGUESTus: Should the Bucs Be Buyers?	Rob Neyer	2011-07-22
BP Unfiltered: Clean Clemens?	Chris St. John	2011-07-14
Prospectus Hit and Run: Bad-Start Starter Six-Pack	Jay Jaffe	2011-04-29
Overthinking It: Bartolo Colonoscopy	Ben Lindbergh	2011-03-24
Baseball ProGUESTus: The Impact of World Series Starts (or How Much Was Jack Morris Really Worth?)	Sean Smith	2011-03-04
The BP Broadside: Every Team Has a Special GM, Except the Cubs	Steven Goldman	2011-02-16
Fantasy Beat: Hot Spots: Starting Pitchers	Bill Baer	2010-12-17
World Series Prospectus: Fall Classic Memories	Baseball Prospectus	2010-10-27
Spinning Yarn: The Glavine Line	Mike Fast	2010-10-14
Changing Speeds: Closing Time	Ken Funck	2010-09-30
Contractual Matters: Opening Act	Jeff Euston	2010-09-13
Seidnotes: Let's Go for a Free Pass	Eric Seidman	2010-08-04
Checking the Numbers: To Subtract or Divide	Eric Seidman	2010-07-21
Seidnotes: K/BB Ratio Redux	Eric Seidman	2010-07-14
Seidnotes: The K/BB Ratio	Eric Seidman	2010-07-08
Prospectus Hit and Run: Chugging Toward Cooperstown	Jay Jaffe	2010-04-09
Team Health Reports: Colorado Rockies	Will Carroll	2010-03-16
Contractual Matters: Freakonomics	Jeff Euston	2010-01-14
Prospectus Hit and Run: From One to the Other	Jay Jaffe	2009-10-29
Prospectus Hit List: Comebacks and Shutdowns	Jay Jaffe	2009-09-18
Prospectus Preview: Saturday's Games to Watch	Caleb Peiffer	2008-08-30
Every Given Sunday: Deadline Day Afters	John Perrotto	2008-08-03
Prospectus Preview: Wednesday's Games to Watch	Caleb Peiffer	2008-05-14
Prospectus Preview: Monday's Games to Watch	Caleb Peiffer	2008-05-12
Team Health Reports: Seattle Mariners	Will Carroll	2008-02-28
Prospectus Matchups: Putting Cys in Motion	Jim Baker	2008-02-01
Prospectus Matchups: Turnover	Jim Baker	2007-09-18
Lies, Damned Lies: Rookies and Cycles	Nate Silver	2007-08-23
Lies, Damned Lies: Slotto Bonanzas, Part Two	Nate Silver	2007-08-19
Future Shock: Risers and Fallers, American League	Kevin Goldstein	2007-07-06
The Class of 2007: The Pitchers	Jay Jaffe	2007-01-09
Prospectus Today: My Hall of Fame Ballot	Joe Sheehan	2007-01-05
Transaction Analysis: October 8-19	Christina Kahrl	2005-10-20
Prospectus Notebook: Royals, Twins	Baseball Prospectus	2005-10-19
Prospectus Notebook: ARI, MIN, TEX	Baseball Prospectus	2005-09-14
Can Of Corn: No Walks for You	Dayn Perry	2005-06-01
Team Health Reports: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Will Carroll	2005-02-08
Prospectus Today: The Meetings, Day One	Joe Sheehan	2004-12-11
Lies, Damned Lies: Comparables	Nate Silver	2004-10-21
Prospectus Matchups: Dodging Checkmate	Jim Baker	2004-10-15
Teams: A Critical Guide: Rare Dick Weik Mention Edition	Steven Goldman	2004-09-22
Prospectus Triple Play: Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals	Baseball Prospectus	2004-06-30
Prospectus Today: Houston, We Have Beltran	Joe Sheehan	2004-06-25
Aim For The Head: Hidden Perfect Games Mailbag	Keith Woolner	2004-05-26
Marginal Payroll/Marginal Wins: 1990-1994	Doug Pappas	2004-04-12
Prospectus Triple Play: Anaheim Angels, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers	Baseball Prospectus	2004-03-04
You Could Look It Up: 1984 Part III: Ghostbusters	Steven Goldman	2004-02-19
You Could Look It Up: 1984 Part I: Sparky Was Watching	Steven Goldman	2004-02-17
The Class of 2004: Analyzing the Pitchers	Jay Jaffe	2004-01-14
Playoff Prospectus: Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees	Joe Sheehan	2003-09-30
Lies, Damned Lies: Estimating Pitch Counts	Nate Silver	2003-04-23
Testing the Nexus: Pitcher Age and Workload Effects	Lee Sinins	2003-04-16
Testing the Nexus: Pitcher Age and Workload Effects	Will Carroll	2003-04-16
Larry Walker and the Hall of Fame: Larry Walker and the Hall of Fame	John Brattain	2002-03-08
Doctoring The Numbers: Doctoring the Numbers: Improvement Ratio	Rany Jazayerli	2002-03-06

BP Chats

Date	Question	Answer
2012-01-12 13:00:00	Which pitchers stand out as personal favorites that never panned out like you thought they would? (PepeShady from St Paul)	Bret Saberhagen. Kevin Appier. I was sure both of them would be Hall of Famers. Though if Jack Morris gets in, I may start pushing their candidacies a little harder. Apparently you never know. They can get back on the ballot, right? More recently, I had high hopes for Brett Anderson. I guess he may yet fulfill those. Erik Bedard...I sense a theme. I've been a big Gavin Floyd fan for a while, and though he's been good, he's never broken through to great. On a much lower tier, Chad Gaudin. (Mike Fast)
2011-06-20 14:00:00	Kirby Puckett is what I base that on. And Koufax, too, now that you bring him up. Does JAWS account for people being stopped right in their prime? I'm guessing not, perhaps because there are so few. But are there comparables to Kirby and Doc who didn't make it? I suspect there's just such a strong psychological at play there for voters. (Richie from Washington)	Puckett had two World Series rings and 10 straight All-star appearances. As good as Halladay is, he doesn't have that. Now, by considering peak and career, JAWS is built to allow for stopped-in-prime comparisons, and yes, Halladay is above the standard on that front (49.1 peak, with the average SP at 47.7). There aren't a lot of voters basing their decisions on JAWS, though - the great majority are still paying heed to more traditional numbers. The annals are full of fast-starting pitchers who didn't make the Hall along the lines of Gooden. Denny McLain won his second Cy at 25 and didn't get in. Bret Saberhagen has two Cy Youngs and won't get in. Johan Santana probably won't get in barring a miraculous comeback from shoulder woes. (Jay Jaffe)

BP Roundtables

Date	Roundtable Name	Comment
2010-10-06 10:00:00	2010 Playoffs Day One	I was going to ask a question about super-control pitchers being at a disadvantage against high-quality postseason offenses. Then I remembered that Bret Saberhagen was MVP of the 1985 World Series. (Steven Goldman)

Baseball Prospectus

Biographical

Bret Saberhagen PRoyals

Career Summary