# 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 104th season of the franchise; the 99th in the National League. This was their 16th season at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates finished sixth and last in the National League East with a record of 57–104, 43½ games behind the NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

## Offseason

The team was beset during the offseason with the triple threat of its longtime owner taking bids for the debt laden franchise, rumors of a possible relocation to cities such as Tampa, Denver and New Orleans and the expanding Pittsburgh drug trials.
Off season transactions included:
* December 12, 1984: Brian Harper and John Tudor were traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for George Hendrick and Steve Barnard (minors).
* December 20, 1984: Jay Buhner, Dale Berra and Alfonso Pulido were traded by the Pirates to the New York Yankees for Steve Kemp, Tim Foli, and cash.
* January 22, 1985: Sixto Lezcano was signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
* February 28, 1985: Rick Reuschel was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
* March 1, 1985: Scott Loucks was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.

## Regular season
### Season standings

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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1985 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 3–9 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 5–6 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–14 |
| Cincinnati | 11–7 | 6–5 | — | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 5–7 |
| Houston | 10–8 | 7–5 | 7–11 | — | 6–12 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 12–6 | 15–3 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 13–5 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 12–6 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 7–5 |
| Montreal | 9–3 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 11–7 |
| New York | 10–2 | 14–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 9–9 | — | 11–7 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–10 |
| Philadelphia | 2-10 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–8 | 7–11 | — | 11–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 5–13 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–9 | 8–10 | 7–11 | — | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–15 |
| San Diego | 11–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | — | 12–6 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 8–10 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 3–15 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 6–12 | — | 2–10 |
| St. Louis | 9–3 | 14–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 15–3 | 8–4 | 10–2 | — |

### Game log

1985 Game Log: 57–104 (Home: 35–45; Away: 22–59) :
April: 6–12 (Home: 5–5; Away: 1–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 9@ Cubs1–2SutcliffeRhoden (0–1)Smith34,5510–1
2April 11@ Cubs1–4TroutDeLeon (0–1)—10,0490–2
3April 12Cardinals6–4Robinson (1–0)KepshireCandelaria (1)47,3351–2
4April 13Cardinals4–3Candelaria (1–0)Campbell—9,1712–2
5April 14Cardinals4–10AndujarRhoden (0–2)—12,4832–3
6April 15Mets4–1Bielecki (1–0)LathamCandelaria (2)5,5753–3
7April 16Mets1–2OroscoCandelaria (1–1)—5,8793–4
8April 17Mets6–10SiskMcWilliams (0–1)—14,0293–5
9April 19@ Cardinals4–5AndujarCandelaria (1–2)Allen30,5103–6
10April 20@ Cardinals3–4CoxTunnell (0–1)Allen32,9783–7
11April 21@ Cardinals0–6ForschDeLeon (0–2)—28,8803–8
12April 22Cubs5–3McWilliams (1–1)RuthvenCandelaria (3)6,3294–8
13April 23Cubs0–5SutcliffeBielecki (1–1)—9,3874–9
14April 24Cubs2–5TroutRhoden (0–3)Smith3,9814–10
15April 26@ Mets0–6DarlingDeLeon (0–3)—31,8464–11
16April 27@ Mets3–2McWilliams (2–1)OroscoCandelaria (4)24,7865–11
17April 28@ Mets4–5 (18)GormanTunnell (0–2)—36,4235–12
18April 30Padres6–2Rhoden (1–3)HoytHolland (1)6,1666–12 :
May: 9–17 (Home: 4–9; Away: 5–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
19May 1Padres4–6ShowDeLeon (0–4)Gossage3,8456–13
20May 3Dodgers16–2McWilliams (3–1)Honeycutt—17,6287–13
21May 4Dodgers5–6 (10)ValenzuelaCandelaria (1–3)—14,0937–14
22May 5Dodgers3–2Rhoden (2–3)NiedenfuerCandelaria (5)17,0438–14
23May 6Giants5–7LaskeyDeLeon (0–5)Garrelts4,5338–15
24May 7Giants3–5GottTunnell (0–3)Garrelts4,5878–16
25May 8@ Padres2–12HawkinsMcWilliams (3–2)—22,0928–17
26May 9@ Padres0–1ThurmondBielecki (1–2)—24,8828–18
27May 10@ Dodgers0–1ReussRhoden (2–4)Howe48,6818–19
28May 11@ Dodgers5–2 (12)Holland (1–0)Brennan—42,9579–19
29May 12@ Dodgers0–2CastilloTunnell (0–4)Niedenfuer40,9249–20
30May 14@ Giants1–3KrukowMcWilliams (3–3)—4,4849–21
31May 15@ Giants3–2Robinson (2–0)Garrelts—6,85210–21
32May 17Reds3–6StuperDeLeon (0–6)Power7,23910–22
33May 18Reds0–8BrowningBielecki (1–3)—9,70810–23
34May 19Reds1–7SotoTunnell (0–5)—11,99010–24
35May 20Astros3–1Rhoden (3–4)NiekroHolland (2)4,76811–24
36May 21Astros3–2Reuschel (1–0)ScottCandelaria (6)5,14612–24
37May 22Astros3–5 (10)DawleyHolland (1–1)Smith10,68112–25
38May 24@ Braves4–2Winn (1–0)BedrosianCandelaria (7)18,49013–25
39May 25@ Braves8–2Rhoden (4–4)Perez—31,17714–25
40May 26@ Braves4–5 (10)DedmonKrawczyk (0–1)—21,72314–26
41May 27@ Astros2–4KnepperDeLeon (0–7)Smith9,69214–27
42May 28@ Astros4–3 (12)Guante (1–0)Solano—8,68615–27
43May 29@ Astros3–8RyanKrawczyk (0–2)—10,13315–28
44May 31Braves2–8CampRhoden (4–5)—7,82215–29 :
June: 9–18 (Home: 6–8; Away: 3–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
45June 1Braves6–3Reuschel (2–0)GarberScurry (1)14,57916–29
46June 2Braves5–0DeLeon (1–7)BedrosianHolland (3)15,03417–29
47June 4@ Reds3–9SotoGuante (1–1)—13,22217–30
48June 5@ Reds9–11PastoreRobinson (2–1)Franco12,54017–31
49June 6@ Cubs2–3 (12)BrusstarHolland (1–2)—22,36817–32
50June 7@ Cubs0–1SutcliffeDeLeon (1–8)—37,41417–33
51June 8@ Cubs3–7TroutMcWilliams (3–4)—35,23217–34
52June 9@ Cubs1–5RuthvenWinn (1–1)Brusstar36,47517–35
53June 10Cardinals1–6CoxRhoden (4–6)—5,55717–36
54June 11Cardinals13–2Reuschel (3–0)Allen—4,81718–36
55June 13Cardinals1–2TudorMcWilliams (3–5)Lahti4,83318–37
56June 14Phillies3–2DeLeon (2–8)CarmanRobinson (1)10,21119–37
57June 15Phillies3–13DennyRhoden (4–7)—10,89719–38
58June 16Phillies2–3HudsonReuschel (3–1)Tekulve14,45119–39
59June 17@ Expos5–2Winn (2–1)PalmerRobinson (2)18,63420–39
60June 18@ Expos4–1McWilliams (4–5)Smith—24,31821–39
61June 19@ Expos3–4BurkeDeLeon (2–9)Reardon10,20421–40
62June 20@ Expos2–1Rhoden (5–7)SchatzederHolland (4)15,15722–40
63June 21@ Phillies3–4 (16)AndersenWinn (2–2)—22,49322–41
64June 22@ Phillies2–5CarmanRobinson (2–2)—23,62322–42
65June 23@ Phillies2–3CarmanWinn (2–3)—29,08222–43
66June 25Expos2–3BurkeHolland (1–3)Reardon6,87422–44
67June 26Expos11–2Reuschel (4–1)O'Connor—16,77023–44
68June 27Expos2–4PalmerMcWilliams (4–6)Reardon9,51723–45
69June 28Cubs0–5TroutDeLeon (2–10)—16,43223–46
70June 29Cubs6–5 (15)Reuschel (5–1)Frazier—13,93424–46
71June 30Cubs2–9SandersonRobinson (2–3)—31,38424–47 :
July: 8–19 (Home: 5–8; Away: 3–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
72July 1@ Mets1–0Reuschel (6–1)FernandezCandelaria (8)21,61025–47
73July 2@ Mets4–5DarlingMcWilliams (4–7)McDowell22,65125–48
74July 3@ Mets2–6LynchDeLeon (2–11)—46,22025–49
75July 4Padres1–9ShowRhoden (5–8)—10,10225–50
76July 5Padres5–4 (12)Reuschel (7–1)Lefferts—8,98626–50
77July 6Padres8–7Candelaria (2–3)Lefferts—10,28127–50
78July 7Padres0–3HoytReuschel (7–2)—11,60827–51
79July 8Dodgers3–4ValenzuelaDeLeon (2–12)—6,53727–52
80July 9Dodgers3–8HoneycuttRhoden (5–9)Niedenfuer6,74827–53
81July 10Dodgers4–5ReussTunnell (0–6)Howell12,93427–54
82July 11Giants6–4Guante (2–1)Krukow—5,18828–54
83July 12Giants3–1Reuschel (8–2)GottCandelaria (9)7,91529–54
84July 13Giants1–4LaPointDeLeon (2–13)—10,05029–55
85July 14Giants3–7LaskeyRhoden (5–10)Davis18,31329–56
86July 18@ Padres2–3LeffertsCandelaria (2–4)Gossage20,74029–57
87July 19@ Padres0–6HawkinsDeLeon (2–14)—30,38629–58
88July 20@ Padres2–4HoytRhoden (5–11)Gossage36,34029–59
89July 21@ Padres5–2Tunnell (1–6)Show—23,48130–59
90July 22@ Dodgers6–3McWilliams (5–7)HoneycuttGuante (1)29,88831–59
91July 23@ Dodgers0–6HershiserReuschel (8–3)—33,01331–60
92July 24@ Dodgers1–9WelchRobinson (2–4)—34,05131–61
93July 25@ Giants3–4MintonGuante (2–2)—3,82131–62
94July 26@ Giants1–3LaskeyTunnell (1–7)Garrelts5,30531–63
95July 27@ Giants3–8LaPointRobinson (2–5)Minton8,27131–64
96July 28@ Giants2–3 (10)GarreltsGuante (2–3)—10,97631–65
97July 30Phillies0–2GrossRhoden (5–12)Tekulve7,49631–66
98July 31Phillies4–3 (10)Guante (3–3)Tekulve—6,79732–66 :
August: 8–20 (Home: 7–7; Away: 1–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
99August 1Phillies0–3DennyRobinson (2–6)—6,19932–67
100August 2Expos2–3HeskethReuschel (8–4)Reardon6,70532–68
101August 3Expos5–6RobergeMcWilliams (5–8)Reardon10,59332–69
102August 4Expos4–3Rhoden (6–12)GullicksonGuante (2)10,98133–69
103August 5Expos2–5BurkeWinn (2–4)Reardon7,83833–70
104August 8@ Phillies3–7DennyRobinson (2–7)Carman18,14233–71
105August 9@ Expos2–7SmithReuschel (8–5)Reardon18,16533–72
106August 10@ Expos5–7St. ClaireRhoden (6–13)Roberge19,98233–73
107August 11@ Expos5–6BurkeGuante (3–4)—21,74133–74
108August 12@ Cardinals1–8TudorWinn (2–5)—24,51633–75
109August 13@ Cardinals5–6AndujarRobinson (2–8)Dayley30,46933–76
110August 15@ Cardinals1–3KepshireReuschel (8–6)Dayley33–77
111August 15@ Cardinals3–4 (12)CampbellGuante (3–5)—34,17033–78
112August 16Mets7–1Rhoden (7–13)Lynch—9,28934–78
113August 17Mets3–4FernandezTunnell (1–8)McDowell10,20034–79
114August 18Mets5–0Robinson (3–8)AguileraClements (1)14,50835–79
115August 20Reds3–2Reuschel (9–6)Soto—7,82736–79
116August 21Reds5–8BrowningWalk (0–1)Franco17,19836–80
117August 22Reds5–1Rhoden (8–13)TibbsScurry (2)10,43737–80
118August 23Astros0–2 (10)DawleyClements (0–1)DiPino4,19837–81
119August 25Astros9–3Reuschel (10–6)Scott—38–81
120August 25Astros10–9Robinson (4–8)Calhoun—7,92939–81
121August 26@ Braves1–2GarberRobinson (4–9)—4,12539–82
122August 27@ Braves6–7GarberRobinson (4–10)—4,58039–83
123August 28@ Braves1–6BarkerTunnell (1–9)McMurtry5,18739–84
124August 29@ Reds0–6BrowningDeLeon (2–15)—18,78939–85
125August 30@ Reds0–1TibbsReuschel (10–7)—21,25339–86
126August 31@ Reds6–0Walk (1–1)McGaffigan—28,65640–86 :
September: 13–14 (Home: 8–8; Away: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
127September 1@ Reds2–3SotoScurry (0–1)Franco30,06240–87
128September 2Braves5–4Tunnell (2–9)MahlerGuante (3)5,37841–87
129September 3Braves0–2JohnsonDeLeon (2–16)Sutter3,01941–88
130September 4Braves2–0Reuschel (11–7)Perez—4,61342–88
131September 5@ Astros3–4KnepperWalk (1–2)Smith6,00342–89
132September 6@ Astros3–4 (10)DawleyRobinson (4–11)—7,16342–90
133September 7@ Astros7–1Tunnell (3–9)Kerfeld—15,99943–90
134September 10Cubs2–1Reuschel (12–7)Engel—3,13344–90
135September 11Cubs1–3MeridithDeLeon (2–17)Baller5,43244–91
136September 12Cubs10–2Rhoden (9–13)EckersleyRobinson (3)3,43945–91
137September 13Phillies3–6DennyWalk (1–3)Tekulve4,42945–92
138September 14Phillies6–3Tunnell (4–9)CarltonGuante (4)5,54946–92
139September 15Phillies5–4Reuschel (13–7)Shipanoff—5,96147–92
140September 16Cardinals4–8TudorDeLeon (2–18)Worrell47–93
141September 16Cardinals1–3PerryClements (0–2)—3,60147–94
142September 17Cardinals4–10AndujarKipper (0–1)—3,92447–95
143September 18@ Expos10–6 (11)Robinson (5–11)Roberge—8,44848–95
144September 19@ Expos8–6 (10)Winn (3–5)Burke—7,62749–95
145September 20@ Mets7–5 (11)Guante (4–5)LathamDeLeon (1)33,80350–95
146September 21@ Mets1–12GoodenRhoden (9–14)—49,93150–96
147September 22@ Mets5–3Kipper (1–1)LeachClements (2)35,67951–96
148September 23@ Cardinals4–5LahtiGuante (4–6)Worrell17,61151–97
149September 24@ Cardinals4–5HortonTunnell (4–10)Dayley20,05451–98
150September 25Expos8–2Reuschel (14–7)Laskey—2,64852–98
151September 27Mets8–7McWilliams (6–8)GardnerDeLeon (2)4,84353–98
152September 28Mets1–3AguileraKipper (1–2)Orosco4,41053–99
153September 29Mets7–9 (10)OroscoMcWilliams (6–9)—13,95653–100 :
October: 4–4 (Home: 0–0; Away: 4–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
154October 1@ Cubs3–4PattersonReuschel (14–8)Smith3,44653–101
155October 2@ Cubs9–4Rhoden (10–14)SutcliffeGuante (5)4,63754–101
156October 3@ Cubs5–13PerlmanWinn (3–6)Engel7,43754–102
157October 4@ Phillies7–2Walk (2–3)DennyDeLeon (3)55–102
158October 4@ Phillies5–8CarmanDeLeon (2–19)—12,41055–103
159October 5@ Phillies4–2McWilliams (7–9)ToliverReuschel (1)56–103
160October 5@ Phillies5–0Bielecki (2–3)Childress—21,82057–103
161October 6@ Phillies0–5GrossRhoden (10–15)—13,74957–104 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

## Roster
### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 36 | Marvell Wynne | CF |
| 3 | Johnny Ray | 2B |
| 5 | Bill Madlock | 3B |
| 30 | Jason Thompson | 1B |
| 15 | George Hendrick | RF |
| 6 | Tony Peña | C |
| 51 | Doug Frobel | LF |
| 10 | Tim Foli | SS |
| 29 | Rick Rhoden | SP |

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Regular Season :
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| A. Holland | 38 | 5 | 2 | 0.400 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Clements | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Brown | 57 | 205 | 68 | 0.332 | 5 | 33 |
| R. Reynolds | 31 | 130 | 40 | 0.308 | 3 | 17 |
| J. Orsulak | 121 | 397 | 119 | 0.300 | 0 | 21 |
| J. Ortiz | 23 | 72 | 21 | 0.292 | 1 | 5 |
| S. Loucks | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0.286 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Bream | 26 | 95 | 27 | 0.284 | 3 | 15 |
| L. Mazzilli | 92 | 117 | 33 | 0.282 | 1 | 9 |
| J. Ray | 154 | 594 | 163 | 0.274 | 7 | 70 |
| B. Almon | 88 | 244 | 66 | 0.270 | 6 | 29 |
| J. Morrison | 92 | 244 | 62 | 0.254 | 4 | 22 |
| B. Madlock | 110 | 399 | 100 | 0.251 | 10 | 41 |
| S. Kemp | 92 | 236 | 59 | 0.250 | 2 | 21 |
| B. Kipper | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Peña | 147 | 546 | 136 | 0.249 | 10 | 59 |
| J. Thompson | 123 | 402 | 97 | 0.241 | 12 | 61 |
| D. Robinson | 44 | 21 | 5 | 0.238 | 1 | 4 |
| S. Khalifa | 95 | 320 | 76 | 0.238 | 2 | 31 |
| G. Hendrick | 69 | 256 | 59 | 0.230 | 2 | 25 |
| D. González | 35 | 124 | 28 | 0.226 | 4 | 12 |
| S. Lezcano | 72 | 116 | 24 | 0.207 | 3 | 9 |
| M. Wynne | 103 | 337 | 69 | 0.205 | 2 | 18 |
| D. Frobel | 53 | 109 | 22 | 0.202 | 0 | 7 |
| R. Belliard | 17 | 20 | 4 | 0.200 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Foli | 19 | 37 | 7 | 0.189 | 0 | 2 |
| R. Rhoden | 37 | 74 | 14 | 0.189 | 0 | 6 |
| R. Reuschel | 31 | 59 | 10 | 0.169 | 1 | 7 |
| J. LeMaster | 22 | 58 | 9 | 0.155 | 1 | 6 |
| T. Davis | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0.143 | 0 | 0 |
| L. McWilliams | 32 | 40 | 5 | 0.125 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Winn | 30 | 18 | 2 | 0.111 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Tunnell | 24 | 47 | 4 | 0.085 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Guante | 63 | 17 | 1 | 0.059 | 0 | 0 |
| J. DeLeón | 31 | 36 | 2 | 0.056 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Bielecki | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Candelaria | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Dybzinski | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Scurry | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Walk | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Krawczyk | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| K. Tekulve | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| D. Tomlin | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 161 | 5,436 | 1,340 | 0.247 | 80 | 535 |

### Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Regular Season :
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| D. Tomlin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| R. Reuschel | 31 | 194 | 14 | 8 | 2.27 | 138 |
| C. Guante | 63 | 109 | 4 | 6 | 2.72 | 92 |
| R. Scurry | 30 | 472⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 3.21 | 43 |
| A. Holland | 38 | 582⁄3 | 1 | 3 | 3.38 | 47 |
| J. Candelaria | 37 | 541⁄3 | 2 | 4 | 3.64 | 47 |
| P. Clements | 27 | 341⁄3 | 0 | 2 | 3.67 | 17 |
| B. Walk | 9 | 582⁄3 | 2 | 3 | 3.68 | 40 |
| D. Robinson | 44 | 951⁄3 | 5 | 11 | 3.87 | 65 |
| L. Tunnell | 24 | 1321⁄3 | 4 | 10 | 4.01 | 74 |
| R. Rhoden | 35 | 2131⁄3 | 10 | 15 | 4.47 | 128 |
| M. Bielecki | 12 | 452⁄3 | 2 | 3 | 4.53 | 22 |
| L. McWilliams | 30 | 1261⁄3 | 7 | 9 | 4.70 | 52 |
| J. DeLeón | 31 | 1622⁄3 | 2 | 19 | 4.70 | 149 |
| B. Kipper | 5 | 242⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 5.11 | 13 |
| J. Winn | 30 | 752⁄3 | 3 | 6 | 5.23 | 22 |
| R. Krawczyk | 8 | 81⁄3 | 0 | 2 | 14.04 | 9 |
| K. Tekulve | 3 | 31⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 4 |
| Team Totals | 161 | 1,4451⁄3 | 57 | 104 | 3.97 | 962 |

## Awards and honors

* Rick Rueschel, Hutch Award, National League Comeback Player of the Year
1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Tony Peña, C, Reserve

## Transactions

* October 15, 1984 – Dale Mohorcic granted free agency.
* October 15, 1984 – Nelson Norman granted free agency.
* October 15, 1984 – Kelly Paris granted free agency.
* November 8, 1984 – Lee Lacy granted free agency.
* November 8, 1984 – Milt May granted free agency.
* December 3, 1984 – Drafted Junior Ortiz from the New York Mets in the 1984 rule 5 draft.
* December 12, 1984 – Traded Brian Harper and John Tudor to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Steve Barnard (minors) and George Hendrick.
* December 20, 1984 – Traded Dale Berra, Jay Buhner and Alfonso Pulido to the New York Yankees. Received Tim Foli, Steve Kemp and cash.
* January 3, 1985 – Drafted Greg Vaughn in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1985 amateur draft (January Secondary), but did not sign the player.
* January 3, 1985 – Drafted Derek Lee in the 9th round of the 1985 amateur draft (January), but did not sign the player.
* January 15, 1985 – Signed Juan Eichelberger as a free agent.
* January 22, 1985 – Signed Sixto Lezcano as a free agent.
* February 22, 1985 – Signed Orlando Merced as an amateur free agent.
* February 28, 1985 – Signed Rick Reuschel as a free agent.
* March 1, 1985 – Signed Scott Loucks as a free agent.
* April 7, 1985 – Released Juan Eichelberger.
* April 8, 1985 – Signed Bill Almon as a free agent.
* April 11, 1985 – Signed Jerry Dybzinski as a free agent.
* April 11, 1985 – Signed John Henry Johnson as a free agent.
* April 20, 1985 – Traded Kent Tekulve to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Frankie Griffin (minors) and Al Holland.
* April 21, 1985 - Signed Larry Carroll to Watertown as free agent. University of Michigan.
* April 27, 1985 – Traded Steve Herz (minors) to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Mike Diaz.
* May 30, 1985 – Traded a player to be named later to the Cleveland Indians. Received Johnnie LeMaster. The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Scott Bailes (July 3, 1985) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.
* June 3, 1985 – Drafted Tommy Hinzo in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1985 amateur draft (June Secondary), but did not sign the player.
* June 3, 1985 – Drafted Barry Bonds in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed June 5, 1985.
* June 3, 1985 – Drafted Brett Gideon in the 6th round of the 1985 amateur draft.
* June 3, 1985 – Drafted Tommy Gregg in the 7th round of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed June 7, 1985.
* June 3, 1985 – Drafted Bill Sampen in the 12th round of the 1985 amateur draft.
* June 3, 1985 – Drafted Tommy Shields in the 36th round of the 1985 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
* June 17, 1985 – Released Tim Foli.
* July 26, 1985 – Released John Henry Johnson.
* August 2, 1985 – Traded John Candelaria, George Hendrick and Al Holland to the California Angels. Received a player to be named later, Mike Brown and Pat Clements. The California Angels sent Bob Kipper (August 16, 1985) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
* August 12, 1985 – Sold Doug Frobel to the Montreal Expos.
* August 31, 1985 – Traded Bill Madlock to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received players to be named later. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent R.J. Reynolds (September 3, 1985), Cecil Espy (September 9, 1985) and Sid Bream (September 9, 1985) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
* September 14, 1985 – Sold Rod Scurry to the New York Yankees.
* October 4, 1985 – Released Jerry Dybzinski.
* October 4, 1985 – Released Mitchell Page.
* October 4, 1985 – Released Eddie Vargas.
* October 15, 1985 – Dave Tomlin granted free agency.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Hawaii Islanders | Pacific Coast League | Tommy Sandt |
| AA | Nashua Pirates | Eastern League | Johnny Lipon |
| A | Prince William Pirates | Carolina League | Ed Ott |
| A | Macon Pirates | South Atlantic League | Mike Quade |
| A-Short Season | Watertown Pirates | New York–Penn League | Woody Hunt |
| Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Woody Huyke |