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Two-sided season
Injury takes shine from Saberhagen's fine season
Posted: Saturday October 16, 1999 05:58 PM
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Boston's Bret Saberhagen underwent shoulder surgery during the 1996-97 season. Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
BOSTON (AP) -- There is baseball after the dream duel. And some pretty good pitchers, too.
It's not Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens, but Sunday's Bret Saberhagen-Andy Pettitte matchup of stars who have overcome problems is still intriguing.
"They are all important at this particular time," Saberhagen said.
Amid much hype and hollering by fans, Martinez faced Clemens in Game 3 of the best-of-7 AL championship series Saturday..
The buzz should have faded by the time Saberhagen and Pettitte try to improve on their seasons of struggle and success.
Saberhagen had three different stints on the disabled list but finished with a 10-6 record and 2.95 ERA. Pettitte nearly was traded to Philadelphia but stayed in New York, had five wins and a 1.76 ERA in August and ended at 14-11.
"Over the last couple of years I have kind of been in that same situation where they seemed like they talked about trading me," Pettitte said. "So the only thing was this year it was intensified a little bit more and I really did feel like that I might be gone."
With the deal with the Phillies in the works, Yankees manager Joe Torre and general manager Brian Cashman were able to persuade owner George Steinbrenner to keep the lefty.
"I was pleased that he allowed us to make that decision," Torre said. "Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and myself basically could not shake the memory of how well he has pitched in postseason and in very important games."
In the 1996 World Series, Pettitte pitched eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Atlanta that gave New York a 3-2 lead. In 1998, he pitched shutout ball in the Game 4 World Series clincher against San Diego.
And in Game 2 of this year's division series sweep against Texas, he allowed one run over 7 1-3 innings of a 3-1 victory. It was a high point in a season in which he left the team to visit his father, who was having heart problems in Houston.
"It is tough to listen to trade rumors," said Pettitte, who ended the season at 14-11 and has 81 wins in five seasons. "I felt that I was able to block that out and continue to try to work on my pitching, try to figure out what I was doing wrong."
Torre said Pettitte was throwing his pitches well, but "it was just a matter of how aggressive he was going to be."
If Pettitte thought he'd be pitching for a different team, Saberhagen felt he might not be pitching at all.
He was just 21 in 1985 when he won the AL Cy Young award and was MVP of the World Series with the champion Kansas City Royals. But he missed all of 1996 and most of 1997 following shoulder surgery.
He was 15-8 for Boston in 1998, but fraying of the rotator cuff in his shoulder forced him to the disabled list for the third time this year on Aug. 23.
"If we weren't in contention I probably would have kind of shut it down at that particular time," Saberhagen said. "Really seemed like I went through spring training four different times this year."
He went 3-0 in September and finished the season with 11 walks in 119 innings. But he had two poor starts in the division series against Cleveland, walking four in 3 2-3 innings.
"My arm felt good for the first time in a while and I think that I was caught up with the way that the shoulder was feeling and not really concentrating on pitching," Saberhagen said.
He might need surgery in the offseason but he works hard at his rehabilitation.
"He is a warrior," Red Sox manager Jimy Williams said. "He has been through a tremendous amount of pain and hard work and coming to the park early."
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