Kansas City Royals: Every Cy Young Award Winner in Royals History
By trevb
Royals’ Cy Young Award Winners
1985: Bret Saberhagen
Many KC Royals fans have either heard of or remember the homegrown heroes that led Kansas City to a World Series title in 1985. One of those greats was Bret Saberhagen, a homegrown pitching ace that gave the Royals serious offensive leverage.
In his first Cy Young winning season, Saberhagen recorded a 2.87 ERA, 76.9 win percentage, and had 158 strikeouts. Simply put – Saberhagen was dominant that season and was a stud during the World Series. He started two games for the Royals and posted a sparkling 0.50 ERA in those two starts. He allowed one run off of 11 hits in the 1985 World Series and had a 2-0 record.
No other Royal has repeated his two time Cy Young awards, and no Royal probably ever will.
One Cy Young Award is impressive enough, but Saberhagen won another one in 1989. The Royals weren’t World Series champions that year, but Saberhagen could have pitched them to another title had the team been better.
During that 1989 season, Sabes pitched in 36 games (35 starts) and had a win-loss record of 23-6. His ERA was 2.16, the best in his long career, and he pitched 262.1 innings, also the most in his career.
Saberhagen would go on as being arguably the best pitcher in Royals history. No other Royal has repeated his two time Cy Young awards, and no Royal probably ever will. Considering the Royals have shifted their attention to the bullpen, it is hard to see another Royal repeating what Saberhagen did.
This is why his name holds great significance at home and why he truly is forever Royal.