Bret’s Back in the Ballgame

Bret Saberhagen took the mound Friday night for the Boston Red Sox, going back to that mountaintop to see the promised land. Time to go one pitch at a time.

It had been 22 months since he had been in a major league game. First pitch to the Angels’ Rickey Henderson: strike.

It had been 15 months since he had reconstructive shoulder surgery. Second pitch: strike.

Seemed like old times, didn’t it? Then reality set in.

Henderson walked and stole second. Tony Phillips doubled, scoring Henderson. Welcome back, Bret.

This comeback had been months in the making, but seemed to take minutes to unravel. Think his rehabilitation took forever?

Saberhagen gave up four runs and threw 40 pitches in the first inning Friday--about half his allotted amount.

Yet, he sprinted out of the dugout for the second inning and retired the side in order. At this point, Saberhagen, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, is not easily deterred.

“I’m 33 years old,” said Saberhagen, who starred at Cleveland High in Reseda. “My friends and family all told me I had to try this so I won’t look back with regret later on. If I have some years left, it’s now.”

Whether he does is still a question, one the Red Sox hope to have answered by the end of the season.

Saberhagen went four innings at Anaheim Stadium, throwing 86 pitches and giving up the four first-inning runs. He was the losing pitcher in the Angels’ 8-5 victory.

It was a blur of mistakes at first.

After four batters, he had given up two hits, one walk and hit a batter, plus made a throwing error. Retirement couldn’t be all that bad.

Saberhagen then settled down and began mixing in his curveball. He retired nine of 11 batters before leaving the game.

He will likely start again in five days, as the Red Sox try to determine if it is worth picking up his option.

Boston signed him during the off-season to a minor-league contract, worth $500,000, with the promise of another $600,000 if he made it back to the major leagues.

It was a bargain price for a guy who was one of the best in baseball while playing for the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets from 1984-94. But that was before the extensive shoulder surgery in May of 1996.

“I assumed I would be back long before this,” said Saberhagen, who was the World Series most valuable player with the Royals in 1985. “The doctor didn’t. I didn’t realize how much work it was going to take.”

There were setbacks this spring and Saberhagen showed little improvement. He even had to stop throwing entirely at one point.

Still, he said he never thought of quitting.

“I have only one World Series ring,” he said. “That can keep you going.”

It wasn’t until June that it began to pay off.

Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan changed the workout schedule, having Saberhagen throw more long toss. Things improved rapidly after that, to the point where he made his first of five rehabilitation starts on July 7.

He returned to the major leagues Friday for the next step.

“Even when he was only 50%, you could see that he understood pitching,” Kerrigan said. “Even when he could throw only 20 pitches off the mound in spring training, you could see it. He really understands the value of making one pitch at a time.”