20 YEARS LATER: GREAT MEMORY SABERHAGEN'S NO-HITTER FOR CLEVELAND HIGH IN '82 CITY TITLE GAME WAS EARLY PREVIEW OF BIG-LEAGUE STARDOM.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Three years after the greatest night of his life, Bret Saberhagen pitched the Kansas City Royals to their only World Series Championsip, beating St. Louis 11-0 on a five-hitter in Game 7.

A few thousand miles away in Southern California, Glen Newhouse watched from home and uttered the words, ``I knew it.'' Scott Drootin smiled and said, ``I told you so.'' And Leo Castro thought to himself, ``Some things never change.''

While millions of baseball fans from across the nation were getting their first glimpse of the Royals' Saberhagen, the then-21-year-old, fresh- faced phenom from the San Fernando Valley, baseball fans from Woodland Hills to Northridge were experiencing a sense of deja vu.

Three years before Saberhagen's gallant effort in the World Series, he took the mound on a sultry night at Dodger Stadium as a member of the Cleveland High of Reseda baseball team, and proceeded to pitch the only no-hitter in the 63-year history of the L.A. City Championship baseball game, leading the Cavaliers to a 13-0 victory over Pacific Palisades. It was a performance so convincing, at least one fan thought he was watching a future Hall of Famer, and thousands of others simply looked on in awe.

Saberhagen was in such command that night, only a misplayed grounder by second baseman Tom Brandt kept him from a magical perfect game. He retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced by mixing an explosive fastball with a combination curve-slider that danced and darted and kept Palisades off balance throughout. His control was pinpoint.

``Wherever I put my mitt, that's where the ball went,'' said Cleveland catcher Glen Newhouse, a friend of Saberhagen's since their Little League days in Northridge. ``By the fourth inning, you started getting a sense that he was on his way to something spectacular.''

There was no way Saberhagen could have known the magical moments that awaited him when he left Cleveland that summer for pro ball; the 16-year career, the World Series MVP in 1985, the two Cy Young Awards in 1985 and 1989, and the 167 career victories were all fantasy stuff at that point.

When Saberhagen took the mound that special night in 1982, he was just another kid from the Valley living out a dream of playing for the City title in Dodger Stadium. Twenty years later, Saberhagen needs only to close his eyes and the memories come rushing back at him.

``It was a great year all the way around, and to finish it with a no- hitter at Dodger Stadium, it's something I'll never forget,'' Saberhagen said. ``For a kid growing up in Los Angeles, just to walk into Dodger Stadium, knowing you're going to take the field at a major-league stadium, was an honor. You never know if you'll ever get that chance again. It was just a very special moment.''

A few minutes before Saberhagen took the mound against Palisades, Newhouse pulled Cleveland coach Leo Castro aside and told him something special was about to happen.

It was just after Newhouse warmed up Saberhagen in the bullpen, and Newhouse sensed magic in Saberhagen's right arm. The most telling sign was the extra movement on Saberhagen's explosive fastball and the command he had on the curve-slider.

``Glen told me Bret had something extra and to expect a great game,'' Castro said. ``And it was obvious right from the start that Glen was right.''

Newhouse, who caught four no-hitters during his Cleveland career, was in charge of calling the pitches that night. Saberhagen, whose marvelous control consistently kept him ahead of the count, overpowered the Dolphins, striking out eight and walking none.

``I felt good all day and everything seemed to be clicking once I took the mound,'' Saberhagen said.

It was one of the few times all year Saberhagen was 100 percent. He rushed back to pitching after playing point guard on the Cavaliers basketball team that winter and developed tendinitis in his shoulder by trying to do too much too soon. He played first base and shortstop while his arm mended, then started pitching again when league play rolled around just after Easter. He finished the regular season 6-0.

In fact, one of the reasons Saberhagen wasn't drafted until the 19th round was scouts were concerned about the drop in velocity after the injury.

In a stroke of luck for the Royals, scout Guy Hanson was at a late-season El Camino Real game and saw Saberhagen at full strength. The draft that year was conducted before the high school playoffs, and the Royals, based on Hanson's scouting report, selected Saberhagen.

Hanson, who convinced Saberhagen to sign with Kansas City over a scholarship to USC, looked like a genius when Saberhagen steamrolled through the playoffs, going 3-0 with one save, striking out 32 in 21 innings.

Besides the no-hitter, Saberhagen also had a brilliant performance in the semifinals against Banning, two days after he beat Grant of Van Nuys in the quarterfinals 6-0 on a five-hitter.

In the Banning game, the Cavaliers fell behind 4-0 in the first inning after starter David Dale gave up four runs and allowed the first six batters to reach safely. Saberhagen, who began the game at second base and was expected to pitch only a few relief innings, if any at all, nodded over to Castro in the dugout to let him know he was ready to go.

``He basically told me he wanted the ball,'' Castro said. ``Then he went to the mound, warmed up for a little bit, and the rest is history.''

Saberhagen retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and finished with 12 strikeouts and two walks, quieting Banning long enough for the Cavaliers to catch up and then overtake the Pilots, winning 7-6 to earn a trip to Dodger Stadium.

``If we don't win that game, there is no no-hitter in the final,'' Castro said. ``But thanks to Bret, we win the game.

Then-Banning coach Marty Blankenship was stunned by Saberhagen's performance.

``He turned the game around,'' Blankenship said then. ``It was a different team when he was pitching.''

Cleveland got off to a great start offensively against Palisades in the final, scoring two in the first and then five in the second to stake Saberhagen to a 7-0 lead.

``We wanted to get as many runs as we could, because in a championship game, anything can happen,'' Castro said. ``It was one of those nights where everything we did turned out right.''

Saberhagen took over from there.

``You could see in his eyes he had the mindset to finish it off in a special way,'' Newhouse said.

Among the spectators that night was current Chaminade of West Hills baseball coach Scott Drootin. From the first pitch on, Drootin knew he was witnessing something he'd remember the rest of his life.

``I turned to my friend after the first inning and said, 'This kid is going to dominate in the big leagues one day' '' Drootin recalled. ``He just had so much command and was so overpowering. You could tell that physically and mentally, he was off the charts that night.''

As the runs began to mount, so too did Saberhagen's confidence, a boldness that carried over to other parts of the game. Saberhagen was so sure of himself, he daringly tried scoring from second base on a wild pitch that rolled to the backstop behind home plate, his only mistake of the night. Saberhagen was thrown out to end the inning.

``But that was the type of player he was,'' Castro said. ``He was all baseball all the time and very aggressive. He just loved to play.''

Saberhagen didn't do much offensively that particular night, but he was a force through the regular season, once smashing three home runs and driving in nine RBI game against crosstown rival Reseda.

``That was a fun day,'' Saberhagen said. ``I was a pretty good hitter.''

Still, nothing was going to top the no-hitter.

``That night he was a man among boys,'' Drootin said. ``It was an unfair fight.''

Saberhagen retired after pitching last season with Boston. His last few years were marred by arm injuries, and the pain and long rehabilitations finally got to be too much.

``I just felt like I wasn't able to pitch to my abilities and that in a way I was letting people down,'' Saberhagen said. ``The payoff wasn't there anymore.''

He recently moved back to the area and is slowly acclimating himself to his old neighborhood and the friends he left behind when he departed. Much of his time is spent watching his son Drew, a talented sophomore pitcher/first baseman at Calabasas High.

``I'm learning it's a lot easier when you're actually out there playing and have some control over what's going on,'' Saberhagen said. ``But I'm really enjoying watching him play.''

He sees a lot of himself in Drew. The love for the game and the style of play are both similar, and though it's been 20 years since Saberhagen last took the field in a high school game, the twinkle is in his eyes as he watches Drew play.

And he still marvels at throwing the no-hitter in 1982 at Dodger Stadium, the only pitcher to do so in the history of the championship game.

``Who knows,'' Bret said. ``Maybe Drew will be the next one to do it.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Bret Saberhagen was so dominating against Pacific Palisades in the City title game in 1982 that only an infield error prevented him from pitching a perfect game. He went on to a 16-year career, which included a World Series MVP and two Cy Young Awards. Today, the retired Saberhagen enjoys watching his son, Drew, a sophomore who pitches and plays first base for Calabasas High.

TOP PHOTO Daily News File Photo

LEFT PHOTO Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(3) Bret Saberhagen, with his wife Janeane, says he sees a lot of himself in son Drew, who is the center of attention in this 1985 file photo.