Bret Saberhagen Charity Autograph page

Note: A letter has been sent on April 25, 2008 to this athlete to provide their contact and charity information. Once we receive their response, their information will be entered below. This has been done to ensure that the information is correct and to protect the athlete's privacy in case they do not want their information to be posted on the Internet.

Contact Information (where autograph requests should be mailed to):

Contact Person and/or Name of Organization _____________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________

Charity Information:

Name of charity or charities the donations go to __________________________________________

Signing Habits:

1) If you sign items for free, what are the maximum number of items you will sign for free? ___________

4) What can fans do to make it easier for you to sign their items? __________________________________________________________________

Donation Charges:

Item	Price	Item	Price
Cards		Flats up to 8x10
Flats up to 16x20		Baseballs/small footballs
Magazines		Flats larger than 16x20
Mini Helmets		Football/Basketball
Large Helmet		Bats
Jerseys		Inscriptions
Other _________		Other _________

Who should the check/money order be made out to: __________________________________________

Bret Saberhagen's Message to the Fans

Biography

Bret William Saberhagen (pronounced /ˈseɪ̪bɚˌheɪ̪ɡɨn/; born April 11, 1964 in Chicago Heights, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. His nickname was 'Sabes.'

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Pitcher

Born: April 11, 1964 (1964-04-11) (age 44)
Chicago Heights, Illinois
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 4, 1984
for the Kansas City Royals
Final game
August 7, 2001
for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Win-Loss record 167-117
Earned run average 3.34
Strikeouts 1,715
Teams
Kansas City Royals (1984-1991)
New York Mets (1992-1995)
Colorado Rockies (1995)
Boston Red Sox ((1997-1999), 2001)

Career highlights and awards
3x All-Star selection (1987, 1990, 1994)
World Series champion (1985)
2x AL Cy Young Award winner (1985, 1989)
Gold Glove Award winner (1989)
2x AL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1985, 1989)
1985 World Series MVP
1985 Babe Ruth Award
1998 AL Comeback Player of the Year
1998 Tony Conigliaro Award

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Career
Saberhagen was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 19th round of the 1982 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on April 4, 1984. He made an immediate impact with the team, compiling a 10-11 record and 3.48 ERA. The Royals made the postseason but lost to the Detroit Tigers. Saberhagen pitched well in his first postseason start, giving up two runs in 8 innings.

In 1985, the 21-year-old Saberhagen established himself as the ace of the staff, going 20-6 with a 2.87 ERA, leading the Royals to a World Series championship (and being named MVP of the Series along the way, pitching two complete games in the Series, including a shutout in Game 7), and winning the American League Cy Young Award. He was also the subject of much media attention during the Series as his wife gave birth to his first son, Drew William, on the same night of the infamous Don Denkinger call. Saberhagen developed an odd pattern of successful years in odd-numbered years (1985, 1989, 1991) and poor performances in even-numbered years. In 1986, he was 7-12 with a 4.12 ERA. In 1987, another odd-numbered year, Saberhagen had an excellent year, going 18-10 with a 3.36 ERA. That record, however, was disappointing because Saberhagen had entered the All-Star break with a 15-3 record and another Cy Young Award seemingly in the bag. He pitched in the 1987 All-Star game, but he suffered a shoulder injury that hampered his second-half performance.

In 1988, the pattern continued as Saberhagen went 14-16 with a 3.80 ERA, the second most losses in the American League. The following year, 1989, he showed flashes of his old brilliance by compiling a record of 23-6 with a 2.16 ERA, leading both leagues with 12 complete games, and finishing third in strikeouts. Before his July 26, 1989 start against the Boston Red Sox, Saberhagen had a record of 9-5. Over the next two months, he compiled a record of 14-1 with four shutouts. Only once in a game over that period did a team score more than two runs. He also led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeout to walk ratio. For his efforts, Saberhagen won his second Cy Young Award as the American League's best pitcher.

Despite a 5-7 record, Saberhagen was selected to the 1990 American League All-Star team, primarily due to his 1989 performance. Saberhagen rewarded the selection as the winning pitcher in the 2-0 American League triumph. Saberhagen only started one post All-Star game before being shelved for most of the rest of 1990 with an injury.

In 1991, he went 13-8 with a 3.07 ERA and pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on August 26, 1991. On December 11, 1991, he was traded along with Bill Pecota to the New York Mets in exchange for Kevin McReynolds, Gregg Jefferies, and Keith Miller.

He posted several solid seasons, winning 14 games for the New York Mets in the strike shortened 1994 season and winning 15 games for the Boston Red Sox in 1998. Also in 1994, he had more wins than walks. No other pitcher (as of 2005) pitching more than 150 innings had accomplished this feat since 1919. [1]

In 1995 he joined the Colorado Rockies as a much-heralded ace. He struggled throughout the year, plagued by injuries and unable to adjust to the high altitude. While the Rockies made the playoffs as the National League Wild Card team, Saberhagen lost his only start, Game 4 of the NLDS when the Rockies were eliminated by the Atlanta Braves on their way to a World Series win.

After missing the entire 2000 season, Saberhagen attempted a comeback in 2001 but pitched in only three games. He retired at the end of the season.

In 2005, he was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.

In 2006, Saberhagen was named to the 2007 ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. He stated if he were voted in, he would not attend the ceremony because he believes Pete Rose should be inducted. Saberhagen finished with 7 votes, well short of the amount needed to stay on the ballot next year.

In 2006, he began coaching the Calabasas High School Coyotes Varsity baseball team, in Calabasas, CA. He was a primary contributor to the building of a first-class baseball field for the Varsity team there. His younger son Dalton played on the Freshman team at that time and Saberhagen's goal was to coach his son when he moved up to Varsity. However, a constant set of battles with the Las Virgines Unified School District administration--among other reasons--caused him to resign his coaching duties in October of 2007.

Bret Saberhagen's Hit & Fun
Bret Saberhagen at one time opened and operated a sports entertainment facility featuring Major League-caliber indoor batting cages, pitching mounds, bowling, laser tag, and arcade games. The 30,000-square-foot sports center was located at 580 Montauk Highway in West Babylon, New York nearby Saberhagen’s Babylon, New York estate. The facility’s façade was shaped like Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers and designed by Steven Ray Fellman of Amityville, New York.

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Source: Wikipedia.org at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bret_Saberhagen

Bret Saberhagen

Contact Information (where autograph requests should be mailed to):

Charity Information:

Signing Habits:

Donation Charges:

Bret Saberhagen's Message to the Fans

Biography

Send mail to thedigitalauthor@aol.com with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: 05/09/08

Send mail to thedigitalauthor@aol.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 05/09/08