What years did Bret Saberhagen play?

Bret Saberhagen played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 2001.

Was Bret Saberhagen a pitcher?

Yes. Bret Saberhagen pitched in the major leagues, recording 167 wins and 1715 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bret Saberhagen hit?

Bret Saberhagen hit 0 career home runs with 23 hits.

What was Bret Saberhagen's career batting average?

Bret Saberhagen batted .121 over his career, with 23 hits in 190 at bats.

How many RBI did Bret Saberhagen have?

Bret Saberhagen drove in 1 runs in his career.

What was Bret Saberhagen's career ERA?

Bret Saberhagen finished with a 3.34 career ERA, going 167-117 with 1,715 strikeouts.

Bret Saberhagen

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1984-2001)

Bret Saberhagen was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 2001 for 4 teams, including the Kansas City Royals, a span of 18 seasons. Across 399 career appearances, he went 167-117 with a 3.34 ERA and 1,715 strikeouts. Bret Saberhagen was a 3-time All-Star, a 2-time Cy Young, a World Series MVP, a Gold Glove, and a Babe Ruth Award. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 53065.4.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated September 2, 2026

W–L 167–117

ERA 3.34

WHIP 1.14

SO 1,715

Pitcher PIV 53065.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 160 lb
Born: 4/11/1964 in Chicago Heights, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1984-04-04
Last Game: 2001-08-07
Awards: 3× All-Star · 2× Cy Young · World Series MVP · Gold Glove · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Bret William Saberhagen

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bret Saberhagen — 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	2,452	952	218	471	1,715	3.34	53065.4

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

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bret Saberhagen Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1984	KCA	AL	10	11	38	18	2	1	1	157.7	138	61	36	73	3.48	3.81 (+9%)	707.6
1985	KCA	AL	20	6	32	32	10	1	0	235.3	211	75	38	158	2.87	3.89 (+26%)	6200.2
1986	KCA	AL	7	12	30	25	4	2	0	156.0	165	72	29	112	4.15	3.97 (-5%)	3184.8
1987	KCA	AL	18	10	33	33	15	4	0	257.0	246	96	53	163	3.36	4.29 (+22%)	4305.6
1988	KCA	AL	14	16	35	35	9	0	0	260.7	271	110	59	171	3.80	3.73 (-2%)	4489.8
1989	KCA	AL	23	6	36	35	12	4	0	262.3	209	63	43	193	2.16	3.71 (+42%)	8709.9
1990	KCA	AL	5	9	20	20	5	0	0	135.0	146	49	28	87	3.27	3.86 (+15%)	2881.7
1991	KCA	AL	13	8	28	28	7	2	0	196.3	165	67	45	136	3.07	3.91 (+21%)	4193.6
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%)	-1051.1
1997	BOS	AL	0	1	6	6	0	0	0	26.0	30	19	10	14	6.58	4.39 (-50%)	-992.8
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%)	-36.9
Career · 17 seasons			167	117	399	371	76	16	1	2,562.2	2,452	952	471	1,715	3.34	—	53,065

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Bret Saberhagen — 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	.121	.177	.142	.319	-811

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 .319 vs. league average .732 across their career seasons — 56.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bret Saberhagen Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1984	KCA	AL	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	KCA	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	KCA	AL	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	KCA	AL	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	KCA	AL	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	KCA	AL	39	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	KCA	AL	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	KCA	AL	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	NYN	NL	17	28	0	3	0	0	1	9	.107	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	NYN	NL	19	45	2	5	1	0	5	10	.111	—	—	—	—	-394.3
1994	NYN	NL	24	58	7	10	2	1	4	14	.172	.269 (-36%)	.338 (-33%)	.424 (-51%)	.763 (-43%)	-416.9
1995	NYN	NL	16	35	2	4	1	0	1	8	.114	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	COL	NL	9	14	1	1	0	0	1	4	.071	—	—	—	—	0.0
1997	BOS	AL	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1998	BOS	AL	31	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1999	BOS	AL	22	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2001	BOS	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 17 seasons			403	190	13	23	4	1	13	49	.121	—	—	—	—	-811

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bret Saberhagen — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
10	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bret Saberhagen — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	SO	AVG
1999	ALCS	BOS	1	0	0	0	.000
1999	ALDS1	BOS	2	0	0	0	.000
1998	ALDS1	BOS	1	0	0	0	.000
1995	NLDS1	COL	1	1	0	0	.000
1985	ALCS	KCA	2	0	0	0	.000
1985	WS	KCA	2	7	1	4	.000
1984	ALCS	KCA	1	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bret Saberhagen — 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

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

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (802 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bret Saberhagen — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	195	75	5	10	0	0	.133
Away	208	115	8	13	0	1	.113

Pitching — Home / Away

Bret Saberhagen — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	194	1284.0	1201	451	211	870	3.16
Away	205	1278.2	1251	501	260	845	3.53

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bret Saberhagen — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2001-08-07	BOS	OAK	L	4.0	7	3	3	0	5	0
2001-08-02	BOS	LAA	L	5.0	9	7	6	0	2	2
2001-07-27	BOS	CHW	W	6.0	3	1	1	0	3	1
1999-10-01	BOS	BAL	—	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1999-09-24	BOS	BAL	L	7.0	5	1	1	1	8	0
1999-09-18	BOS	DET	W	6.0	2	0	0	0	4	0
1999-09-12	BOS	NYY	—	5.0	3	1	1	0	5	1
1999-08-17	BOS	OAK	L	2.0	6	4	3	0	1	1
1999-08-11	BOS	KCR	W	8.0	4	3	3	0	3	2
1999-08-06	BOS	LAA	W	5.0	6	1	1	2	7	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bret Saberhagen — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	399	371	203	415	24	26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bret Saberhagen — 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 Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bret Saberhagen Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	399

Awards & Honors

Bret Saberhagen — 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

Bret Saberhagen — 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

Bret Saberhagen — 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

Most Similar Players

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Career Spans

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Frequently Asked Questions about Bret Saberhagen

What years did Bret Saberhagen play?: Bret Saberhagen played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 2001.
Was Bret Saberhagen a pitcher?: Yes. Bret Saberhagen pitched in the major leagues, recording 167 wins and 1715 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bret Saberhagen hit?: Bret Saberhagen hit 0 career home runs with 23 hits.
What was Bret Saberhagen's career batting average?: Bret Saberhagen batted .121 over his career, with 23 hits in 190 at bats.
How many RBI did Bret Saberhagen have?: Bret Saberhagen drove in 1 runs in his career.
What was Bret Saberhagen's career ERA?: Bret Saberhagen finished with a 3.34 career ERA, going 167-117 with 1,715 strikeouts.