Bret Saberhagen vs Bob Tewksbury: Career Stats Comparison

Bret Saberhagen (1984–2001) and Bob Tewksbury (1986–1998) — both came up during the 1980s, so the matchup is a direct one. Bret Saberhagen compiled 167 wins and 1,715 strikeouts; Bob Tewksbury put up 110 wins and 812 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Bret Saberhagen

Pitcher · 1984–2001
Wins
167
Losses
117
Strikeouts
1,715
ERA
3.34
WHIP
1.14
IP
2,562
View Bret Saberhagen's full profile →

Bob Tewksbury

Pitcher · 1986–1998
Wins
110
Losses
102
Strikeouts
812
ERA
3.92
WHIP
1.29
IP
1,807
View Bob Tewksbury's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic Bret Saberhagen Bob Tewksbury
Wins 167 110
Losses 117 102
Games 399 302
Games Started 371 277
Complete Games 76 31
Shutouts 16 7
Saves 1 1
Strikeouts 1,715 812
Walks 471 292
Hits Allowed 2,452 2,043
Home Runs Allowed 218 142
Innings Pitched 2,562 1,807
ERA 3.34 3.92
WHIP 1.14 1.29
K/9 6.02 4.04
BB/9 1.65 1.45

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bret Saberhagen outpaces Bob Tewksbury 53,065 to 25,586 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,122 vs 1,828 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Bret Saberhagen
53,065
Career Pitcher PIV · 3,122 per season (17 seasons)
Bob Tewksbury
25,586
Career Pitcher PIV · 1,828 per season (14 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Bret Saberhagen — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19892.16 ERA23-6, 193 K in 262 IP
19942.74 ERA14-4, 143 K in 177 IP
19852.87 ERA20-6, 158 K in 235 IP

Bob Tewksbury — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19922.16 ERA16-5, 91 K in 233 IP
19913.25 ERA11-12, 75 K in 191 IP
19863.31 ERA9-5, 49 K in 130 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Bret Saberhagen leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Bob Tewksbury owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Bret Saberhagen. PIV agrees: Bret Saberhagen grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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