Saberhagen was a 19th round draft pick in 1982, and despite those odds reached the majors in 1984. He went 10-11 that year, then won 20 the next year as the Royals won the World Series against all odds, with a lousy offense but one of the great pitching staffs ever. Saberhagen was the Cy Young winner and World Series MVP that year, with 2 World Series wins.
The rest of his career was up-and-down, with years of spectacular success alternating with years of struggle or arm trouble. Saberhagen was almost always effective when he could pitch, but that was often more difficult than it should have been. He won 23 in 1989 to win another Cy Young, but those were his only two 20-win seasons. He went from KC to the Mets, the Rockies (briefly) and the Red Sox, until his arm would no longer function. But he pitched 16 years in the big leagues, and posted a 126 ERA+, showing his astonishing effectiveness.
Saberhagen earned 143.09 ratings points.
Saberhagen's stats: 167-117, 3.34 ERA, 1715/471 K/W ratio. posted by Shawn Weaver at 9:19 AM
