# 1985 Major League Baseball season

The 1985 Major League Baseball season ended with the Kansas City Royals defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh game of the I-70 World Series. Bret Saberhagen, the regular season Cy Young Award winner, was named MVP of the Series. The National League won the All-Star Game for the second straight year.
The League Championship Series playoffs were expanded to a best-of-seven format beginning this year, and both leagues ended up settling their pennant winners in more than five games, with the Royals beating the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games, and the Cardinals beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. This was the first full season for Peter Ueberroth as commissioner.
There was a brief interruption during the regular season. The 1985 Major League Baseball strike occurred August 6 and 7, lasting only two days. The 25 cancelled games were for the most part made up later on in the season on open dates or parts of doubleheaders.

## Standings
### American League

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 99 | 62 | .615 | — | 54‍–‍26 | 45‍–‍36 |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 64 | .602 | 2 | 58‍–‍22 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 84 | 77 | .522 | 15 | 44‍–‍37 | 40‍–‍40 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 83 | 78 | .516 | 16 | 45‍–‍36 | 38‍–‍42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 81 | 81 | .500 | 18½ | 43‍–‍37 | 38‍–‍44 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 71 | 90 | .441 | 28 | 40‍–‍40 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Cleveland Indians | 60 | 102 | .370 | 39½ | 38‍–‍43 | 22‍–‍59 |
vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Kansas City Royals | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 50‍–‍32 | 41‍–‍39 |
| California Angels | 90 | 72 | .556 | 1 | 49‍–‍30 | 41‍–‍42 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 6 | 45‍–‍36 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Minnesota Twins | 77 | 85 | .475 | 14 | 49‍–‍35 | 28‍–‍50 |
| Oakland Athletics | 77 | 85 | .475 | 14 | 43‍–‍36 | 34‍–‍49 |
| Seattle Mariners | 74 | 88 | .457 | 17 | 42‍–‍41 | 32‍–‍47 |
| Texas Rangers | 62 | 99 | .385 | 28½ | 37‍–‍43 | 25‍–‍56 |

### National League

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 101 | 61 | .623 | — | 54‍–‍27 | 47‍–‍34 |
| New York Mets | 98 | 64 | .605 | 3 | 51‍–‍30 | 47‍–‍34 |
| Montreal Expos | 84 | 77 | .522 | 16½ | 44‍–‍37 | 40‍–‍40 |
| Chicago Cubs | 77 | 84 | .478 | 23½ | 41‍–‍39 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 75 | 87 | .463 | 26 | 41‍–‍40 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 57 | 104 | .354 | 43½ | 35‍–‍45 | 22‍–‍59 |
vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 47‍–‍34 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 72 | .553 | 5½ | 47‍–‍34 | 42‍–‍38 |
| Houston Astros | 83 | 79 | .512 | 12 | 44‍–‍37 | 39‍–‍42 |
| San Diego Padres | 83 | 79 | .512 | 12 | 44‍–‍37 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Atlanta Braves | 66 | 96 | .407 | 29 | 32‍–‍49 | 34‍–‍47 |
| San Francisco Giants | 62 | 100 | .383 | 33 | 38‍–‍43 | 24‍–‍57 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | World Series | World Series |
| East | Toronto | 3 | | | |
| West | Kansas City | 4 | | | |
| West | Kansas City | 4 | AL | Kansas City | 4 |
| | | | NL | St. Louis | 3 |
| East | St. Louis | 4 | NL | St. Louis | 3 |
| West | Los Angeles | 2 | | | |

## Managers
### American League

| Team | Manager | Notes |
| Baltimore Orioles | Joe Altobelli, Cal Ripken, Sr., Earl Weaver | |
| Boston Red Sox | John McNamara | First season as Red Sox manager |
| California Angels | Gene Mauch | |
| Chicago White Sox | Tony La Russa | |
| Cleveland Indians | Pat Corrales | |
| Detroit Tigers | Sparky Anderson | |
| Kansas City Royals | Dick Howser | Won World Series |
| Milwaukee Brewers | George Bamberger | First season as Brewers manager |
| Minnesota Twins | Billy Gardner, Ray Miller | |
| New York Yankees | Yogi Berra, Billy Martin | |
| Oakland Athletics | Jackie Moore | |
| Seattle Mariners | Chuck Cottier | Cottier's final season as a Major League manager |
| Texas Rangers | Doug Rader, Bobby Valentine | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Bobby Cox | Won AL East |

### National League

| Team | Manager | Notes |
| Atlanta Braves | Eddie Haas, Bobby Wine | |
| Chicago Cubs | Jim Frey | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Pete Rose | |
| Houston Astros | Bob Lillis | Lillis' final season with the Astros |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Tommy Lasorda | Won NL West |
| Montreal Expos | Buck Rodgers | |
| New York Mets | Davey Johnson | |
| Philadelphia Phillies | John Felske | First season as Phillies manager |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Chuck Tanner | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Whitey Herzog | Won National League Pennant |
| San Diego Padres | Dick Williams | Williams' final season with the Padres |
| San Francisco Giants | Jim Davenport, Roger Craig | |

## Umpires

American League Umpires :
| Name | G | HP | 1B | 2B | 3B | LF | RF |
| (#22) Larry Barnett | 147 | 39 | 37 | 33 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| (#2) Nick Bremigan | 125 | 32 | 33 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| (#15) Joe Brinkman | 145 | 37 | 25 | 34 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| (#24) Al Clark | 139 | 35 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| (#37) Drew Coble | 139 | 36 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| (#12) Terry Cooney | 135 | 35 | 35 | 31 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| (#13) Derryl Cousins | 147 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#11) Don Denkinger | 144 | 37 | 34 | 34 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| (#3) Jim Evans | 150 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#20) Dale Ford | 152 | 39 | 40 | 35 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#19) Rich Garcia | 144 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#35) Ted Hendry | 149 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#17) John Hirschbeck | 100 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Humphrey | 16 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| (#25) Mark Johnson | 92 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| (#21) Ken Kaiser | 144 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#18) Greg Kosc | 145 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Leppard | 29 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| (#36) Tim McClelland | 144 | 36 | 35 | 37 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#10) Larry McCoy | 150 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#8) Jim McKean | 137 | 34 | 36 | 35 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| (#33) Durwood Merrill | 148 | 37 | 38 | 32 | 41 | 0 | 0 |
| (#34) Dan Morrison | 149 | 37 | 38 | 36 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#6) Jerry Neudecker | 152 | 39 | 39 | 36 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#14) Steve Palermo | 150 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#7) Dave Phillips | 150 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#23) Rick Reed | 147 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#31) Mike Reilly | 145 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| (#27) Rocky Roe | 148 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Scott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| (#29) John Shulock | 115 | 28 | 31 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| (#4) Marty Springstead | 150 | 38 | 38 | 35 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Tschida | 27 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| (#26) Vic Voltaggio | 126 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| (#30) Tim Welke | 127 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| (#28) Larry Young | 86 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
National League Umpires :
| Name | G | HP | 1B | 2B | 3B | LF | RF |
| Greg Bonin | 24 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| (#28) Fred Brocklander | 150 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#2) Jerry Crawford | 139 | 34 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#3) Jerry Dale | 17 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| (#31) Bob Davidson | 148 | 37 | 37 | 38 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#12) Gerry Davis | 127 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| (#32) Dana DeMuth | 84 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| (#5) Bob Engel | 150 | 39 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#6) Bruce Froemming | 147 | 37 | 39 | 35 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#7) Eric Gregg | 132 | 33 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| (#33) Scott Grinder | 36 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| (#20) Tom Hallion | 31 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| (#29) Lanny Harris | 98 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| (#8) Doug Harvey | 145 | 37 | 38 | 34 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#9) John Kibler | 135 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| (#30) Randy Marsh | 149 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#10) John McSherry | 152 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#11) Ed Montague | 151 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#26) Dave Pallone | 143 | 34 | 37 | 35 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Poncino | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| (#14) Frank Pulli | 146 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#15) Jim Quick | 145 | 36 | 37 | 35 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#16) Dutch Rennert | 151 | 38 | 39 | 36 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#27) Steve Rippley | 84 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| (#17) Paul Runge | 147 | 37 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#18) Dick Stello | 149 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| (#19) Terry Tata | 145 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| (#21) Harry Wendelstedt | 143 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| (#22) Joe West | 150 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| (#23) Lee Weyer | 152 | 39 | 36 | 38 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| (#24) Bill Williams | 154 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| (#25) Charlie Williams | 151 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 34 | 0 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Baseball Hall of Fame
** Lou Brock
** Enos Slaughter
** Arky Vaughan
** Hoyt Wilhelm
Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Vince Coleman (STL) | Ozzie Guillen (CWS) |
| Cy Young Award | Dwight Gooden (NYM) | Bret Saberhagen (KC) |
| Manager of the Year | Whitey Herzog (STL) | Bobby Cox (TOR) |
| Most Valuable Player | Willie McGee (STL) | Don Mattingly (NYY) |
| Gold Glove Awards |||
| Position | National League | American League |
| Pitcher | Rick Reuschel (PIT) | Ron Guidry (NYY) |
| Catcher | Tony Peña (PIT) | Lance Parrish (DET) |
| First Baseman | Keith Hernandez (NYM) | Don Mattingly (NYY) |
| Second Baseman | Ryne Sandberg (CHC) | Lou Whitaker (DET) |
| Third Baseman | Tim Wallach (MTL) | George Brett (KC) |
| Shortstop | Ozzie Smith (STL) | Alfredo Griffin (OAK) |
| Outfielders | Andre Dawson (MTL) | Dwight Evans (BOS) |
| Outfielders | Willie McGee (STL) | Dwayne Murphy (OAK) |
| Outfielders | Dale Murphy (ATL) | Gary Pettis (CAL) Dave Winfield (NYY) |
| Silver Slugger Awards |||
| Pitcher/Designated Hitter | Rick Rhoden (PIT) | Don Baylor (NYY) |
| Catcher | Gary Carter (NYM) | Carlton Fisk (CWS) |
| First Baseman | Jack Clark (STL) | Don Mattingly (NYY) |
| Second Baseman | Ryne Sandberg (CHC) | Lou Whitaker (DET) |
| Third Baseman | Tim Wallach (MTL) | George Brett (KC) |
| Shortstop | Hubie Brooks (MTL) | Cal Ripken Jr. (BAL) |
| Outfielders | Willie McGee (STL) | George Bell (TOR) |
| Outfielders | Dale Murphy (ATL) | Rickey Henderson (NYY) |
| Outfielders | Dave Parker (CIN) | Dave Winfield (NYY) |

### Other awards

* Outstanding Designated Hitter Award: Don Baylor (NYY)
* Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Don Baylor (NYY)
* Rolaids Relief Man Award: Dan Quisenberry (KC, American); Jeff Reardon (MTL, National).

### Player of the Month

| Month | American League | National League |
| April | Mike Davis | Dale Murphy |
| May | George Brett | Dave Parker |
| June | Rickey Henderson | Pedro Guerrero |
| July | George Brett | Keith Hernandez |
| August | Don Mattingly | Willie McGee |
| September | Don Mattingly | Gary Carter |

### Pitcher of the Month

| Month | American League | National League |
| April | Charlie Leibrandt | Fernando Valenzuela |
| May | Dave Stieb | Andy Hawkins |
| June | Jay Howell | John Tudor |
| July | Bret Saberhagen | Fernando Valenzuela |
| August | Dave Righetti | Shane Rawley |
| September | Charlie Leibrandt | Dwight Gooden |

## Statistical leaders

| Statistic | American League | American League | National League | National League |
| AVG | Wade Boggs BOS | .368 | Willie McGee STL | .353 |
| HR | Darrell Evans DET | 40 | Dale Murphy ATL | 37 |
| RBI | Don Mattingly NYY | 145 | Dave Parker CIN | 125 |
| Wins | Ron Guidry NYY | 22 | Dwight Gooden NYM | 24 |
| ERA | Dave Stieb TOR | 2.48 | Dwight Gooden NYM | 1.53 |
| SO | Bert Blyleven CLE/MIN | 206 | Dwight Gooden NYM | 268 |
| SV | Dan Quisenberry KC | 37 | Jeff Reardon MTL | 41 |
| SB | Rickey Henderson NYY | 80 | Vince Coleman STL | 110 |

## All-Star game

* All-Star Game, July 16 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis: National League, 6–1; LaMarr Hoyt, MVP.

## Milestones

* On August 4, at Yankee Stadium, Tom Seaver won his 300th game as a member of the Chicago White Sox.
* On August 4, at Anaheim Stadium, Rod Carew got his 3000th hit as a member of the California Angels.
* On September 11, Pete Rose reached 4,192 hits, breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league career hits record.
* On October 6, Phil Niekro won his 300th game and became the oldest pitcher (age 46) to record a shutout as a member of the New York Yankees.

## Home field attendance and payroll

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game | Est. payroll |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 20.3% | 3,264,593 | 4.1% | 40,304 | $10,967,917 |
| New York Mets | 98 | 8.9% | 2,761,601 | 49.9% | 34,094 | $10,834,762 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 101 | 20.2% | 2,637,563 | 29.5% | 32,563 | $11,817,083 |
| California Angels | 90 | 11.1% | 2,567,427 | 6.8% | 32,499 | $14,427,894 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 99 | 11.2% | 2,468,925 | 17.0% | 30,862 | $9,329,217 |
| Detroit Tigers | 84 | −19.2% | 2,286,609 | −15.5% | 28,230 | $10,348,143 |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 11.5% | 2,214,587 | 21.6% | 27,682 | $14,238,204 |
| San Diego Padres | 83 | −9.8% | 2,210,352 | 11.4% | 27,288 | $11,191,583 |
| Kansas City Royals | 91 | 8.3% | 2,162,717 | 19.5% | 26,375 | $10,565,346 |
| Chicago Cubs | 77 | −19.8% | 2,161,534 | 2.6% | 26,686 | $12,702,917 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 83 | −2.4% | 2,132,387 | 4.2% | 26,326 | $12,085,712 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 27.1% | 1,834,619 | 43.8% | 22,650 | $8,359,917 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 75 | −7.4% | 1,830,350 | −11.3% | 22,597 | $10,644,966 |
| Boston Red Sox | 81 | −5.8% | 1,786,633 | 7.5% | 22,057 | $10,897,560 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 14.9% | 1,669,888 | −21.9% | 20,616 | $9,846,178 |
| Minnesota Twins | 77 | −4.9% | 1,651,814 | 3.3% | 19,664 | $5,764,821 |
| Montreal Expos | 84 | 7.7% | 1,502,494 | −6.5% | 18,549 | $9,470,166 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 71 | 6.0% | 1,360,265 | −15.4% | 17,003 | $11,284,107 |
| Atlanta Braves | 66 | −17.5% | 1,350,137 | −21.7% | 16,668 | $14,807,000 |
| Oakland Athletics | 77 | 0.0% | 1,334,599 | −1.4% | 16,894 | $9,058,606 |
| Houston Astros | 83 | 3.8% | 1,184,314 | −3.7% | 14,621 | $9,993,051 |
| Seattle Mariners | 74 | 0.0% | 1,128,696 | 29.7% | 13,599 | $4,613,000 |
| Texas Rangers | 62 | −10.1% | 1,112,497 | 0.9% | 13,906 | $7,676,500 |
| San Francisco Giants | 62 | −6.1% | 818,697 | −18.3% | 10,107 | $8,221,714 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 57 | −24.0% | 735,900 | −4.9% | 9,199 | $9,267,500 |
| Cleveland Indians | 60 | −20.0% | 655,181 | −10.7% | 8,089 | $6,551,666 |

## Television coverage

| Network | Day of week | Announcers |
| ABC | Monday nights Sunday afternoons | Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Howard Cosell, Tim McCarver, Don Drysdale |
| NBC | Saturday afternoons | Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek |