The last time the Kansas City Royals made the postseason, their ace pitcher Bret Saberhagen was a 21-year-old, second-year budding superstar.
He won 20 games and the 1985 American League Cy Young Award, and went on to be the World Series MVP that season. In the midst of that World Series run, he also became a first-time father.
His son Drew, born Oct. 26, 1985 - the day of Game 6 of the World Series - is now the Willmar Stingers’ manager.
Bret had already won Game 3, and the day after Drew was born would pitch a five-hit shutout in Game 7 to give the Royals their first world championship.
“(Becoming a father) was a great distraction,” Bret said. “It was a situation where I was able to take my mind off the game. I just had my first kid and it was kind of a getaway. I think it helped me out quite a bit.”
Bret played for the Royals through the 1991 season, which coincided with the early years of Drew’s life.
“I lived in Kansas City until I was 7,” Drew said. “Those are my first memories of baseball, at Kauffman Stadium and watching the Royals. I remember always being up in the stands with my mom when all the other kids were in the family room playing. It was cool to be one of the few kids who actually wanted to watch the games.”
Drew grew up a Royals fan, but said he always liked whatever team his dad played for, particularly the Red Sox, who Bret played for from 1997-2001.
Both Saberhagens are in Kansas City tonight and Wednesday for Games 1 and 2 at Kauffman Stadium.
“It’s been really special,” Drew said. “I’ve been more of a college baseball fan, but this has kind of gotten me back into it. Just the way the team plays, even if you’re not a Royals fan I think a lot of people are getting behind this team.”
Drew has an additional rooting interest in Royals’ closer Greg Holland, who he was college teammates with at Western Carolina.
“Greg was a walk-on throwing 86-88 mph,” Drew said. “The coach took a chance on him and he got better and better. The year he got drafted (10th round in 2007) he was at 92-94 mph.”
Holland developed into one of baseball’s best closers, saving 46 games for the Royals this season with a 1.44 ERA.
For Bret, the Royals’ run has been a chance to return to Kansas City and enjoy the festivities.
“It’s kind of all been fun and games stuff and doing some appearances,” Bret said.
Comparing 1985 to this season, Bret said the atmosphere is much different.
“There’s so many more people involved,” he said. “The stadium’s bigger - there are a lot more seats and it sounds a lot louder. (In 1985) I couldn’t really tell how much excitement was going on because I was in the thick of things. Now I’m on the other side and getting the chance to be a big fan and really enjoying it.”
Bret’s 1985 season was arguably the best of his career - he won the Cy Young in ’85 and ’89 - when he went 20-6 with a 2.87 ERA.
The Royals won the American League West and beat the East-champion Toronto Blue Jays in seven games to advance the World Series and face the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis won Games 1 and 2 behind strong starts from John Tudor and Ken Dayley, putting the Royals on the ropes early.
But Bret helped to turn the tide in Game 3, pitching a complete game with eight strikeouts and one run allowed. After St. Louis took Game 4, the Royals won three straight, capped by Bret’s second complete game of the series.
The 1985 Royals were in and out of trouble the entire postseason, but the 2014 Royals have had few issues.
They beat the Oakland A’s in a nailbiter of a wild card game on Sept. 30, but since then have swept the powerhouse Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series and the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series.
“These guys are playing unbelievable baseball,” Bret said. “Way better than we were playing (in 1985). We had to take two series to seven games, and these guys are playing like they’re up against a high school team. It’s no cakewalk, but they’ve been making it look pretty easy.”
Drew tentatively returning to manage Stingers Drew Saberhagen said Monday that it’s a good bet he’ll be back for another turn managing the Willmar Stingers.
“It’s going to take something crazy to happen for me to not be back,” he said.
He was the pitching coach at USC Upstate during the spring but has hung up his coaching shoes in order to work on his real estate license in South Carolina, but the Stingers are the exception.
“I would love to come back and try to duplicate and get a little bit closer than we did last year,” he said.
He said it should be a familiar Stingers team in 2015.
Though nothing is confirmed, the team has been in talks to bring back several players from 2014 including Nick Rivera, Sean Beesley, Dan Motl, Brian Pruett, Jack Ross and Andrew Towns.
“The guys meshed so well and had such a good time, they wanted to come back and try to finish what we started,” Drew said. “Some of these guys had other opportunities and they wanted to come back to Willmar. It shows what the organization is about and how well the city treats them.”
