1985 Major League Baseball season

February 2024 1985 January 2007 1985 MLB season Major League Baseball Baseball April 8 – October 27, 1985 162 26 ABC, NBC Draft 1985 Major League Baseball draft B. J. Surhoff List of first overall MLB draft picks Milwaukee Brewers Regular season NL: Willie McGee (STL)AL: Don Mattingly (NYY) Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award Postseason 1985 Major League Baseball postseason AL 1985 American League Championship Series Kansas City Royals Toronto Blue Jays NL 1985 National League Championship Series St. Louis Cardinals Los Angeles Dodgers World Series 1985 World Series Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Bret Saberhagen (KC) World Series Most Valuable Player Award List of Major League Baseball seasons MLB 1984 Major League Baseball season 1984 1986 Major League Baseball season 1986 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,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vlhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ee8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6821%2C1949999 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington staff and wire reports League playoffs expand to seven games April 4, 1985 C2 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. The 56th All-Star Game was played on July 16 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the home of the Minnesota Twins, with the National League winning 6–1. LaMarr Hoyt was named MVP.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rFhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Fe8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6346%2C896952 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Knight-Ridder AL is kept at arm's length July 17, 1985 C1 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 start American League Toronto Blue JaysKansas City Royals break National League St. Louis CardinalsLos Angeles Dodgers end Postseason 1985 Major League Baseball postseason Bracket League Championship Series(ALCS, NLCS) World Series East Toronto West Kansas City 3 4 East St. Louis West Los Angeles 4 2 AL Kansas City NL St. Louis 4 3 Managers thumb|right|250px|The Oakland Athletics hosting a game at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in 1985. American League Team Manager Notes Baltimore Orioles Joe Altobelli, Cal Ripken, Sr., Earl Weaver Boston Red Sox John McNamaraFirst 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 BambergerFirst season as Brewers manager Minnesota Twins Billy Gardner, Ray Miller New York Yankees Yogi Berra, Billy Martin Oakland Athletics Jackie Moore Seattle Mariners Chuck CottierCottier'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 LillisLillis' 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 FelskeFirst season as Phillies manager Pittsburgh Pirates Chuck Tanner St. Louis Cardinals Whitey Herzog Won National League Pennant San Diego Padres Dick WilliamsWilliams' final season with the Padres San Francisco Giants Jim Davenport, Roger Craig League leaders Statistic American 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 MON 41 SB Rickey Henderson NYY 80 Vince Coleman STL 110 Milestones Batters Rod Carew (CAL): Recorded his 3,000th career hit with a single in the third inning against the Minnesota Twins on August 4. He became the 16th player to reach this mark. Pete Rose (CIN): Broke a Major League record of 4,192 hits on September 11, breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league career hits record.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s7wzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=au8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6674%2C6967124 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington (Cincinnati Herald) Richmond Peter Rose finally breaks the Ty September 12, 1985 C1 Pitchers Nolan Ryan (HOU): Recorded his 4,000th career strikeout on July 11 by striking out Danny Heep of the New York Mets in the sixth inning. Ryan became the first player to reach this mark.NYM@HOU: Ryan becomes the first pitcher to fan 4,000 07/11/1985 https://www.mlb.com/video/ryan-s-4-000th-strikeout-c20193671 2026-04-27 MLB.com enRyan becomes first pitcher to reach 4,000 career strikeouts Baseball Hall of Fame https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/ryan-records-4000th-strikeout 2026-04-27 baseballhall.org Tom Seaver (CWS): Became the 17th member of the 300-win club, defeating the New York Yankees on August 4, winning 4–1.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6rMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U-8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6440%2C2566897 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Carew, Seaver have a Super Sunday August 5, 1985 C1Randhawa Manny 300-game winners in MLB history https://www.mlb.com/news/300-win-pitchers-c271491170 2020-05-10 2026-03-09 MLB.com en Phil Niekro (NYY): Became the 18th member of the 300-win club, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays on October 6, winning 8–0. He also became the oldest pitcher (age 46) to record a shutout as a member of the New York Yankees.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j1lWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Me8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6799%2C4309938 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Niekro blanks Jays for 300th October 7, 1985 C1 Miscellaneous New York Mets: Set a major league record for most runs scored in the 19th inning, by scoring five runs against the Atlanta Braves on July 4.DeRosa Theo The most runs scored in each inning, from the 1st to the 26th(!) https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-most-runs-scored-in-each-inning 2026-04-20 MLB.com en Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Lou Brock Enos Slaughter Arky Vaughan Hoyt Wilhelm 1985 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting +Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican LeagueRookie of the YearVince Coleman (STL)Ozzie Guillen (CWS)Cy Young AwardDwight Gooden (NYM)Bret Saberhagen (KC)Manager of the YearWhitey Herzog (STL)Bobby Cox (TOR)Most Valuable PlayerWillie McGee (STL)Don Mattingly (NYY)Gold Glove AwardsPositionNational LeagueAmerican LeaguePitcherRick Reuschel (PIT)Ron Guidry (NYY)CatcherTony Peña (PIT)Lance Parrish (DET)First BasemanKeith Hernandez (NYM)Don Mattingly (NYY)Second BasemanRyne Sandberg (CHC)Lou Whitaker (DET)Third BasemanTim Wallach (MON)George Brett (KC)ShortstopOzzie Smith (STL)Alfredo Griffin (OAK)OutfieldersAndre Dawson (MON)Dwight Evans (BOS)Willie McGee (STL)Dwayne Murphy (OAK)Dale Murphy (ATL)Gary Pettis (CAL)Dave Winfield (NYY)Silver Slugger AwardsPitcher/Designated HitterRick Rhoden (PIT)Don Baylor (NYY)CatcherGary Carter (NYM)Carlton Fisk (CWS)First BasemanJack Clark (STL)Don Mattingly (NYY)Second BasemanRyne Sandberg (CHC)Lou Whitaker (DET)Third BasemanTim Wallach (MON)George Brett (KC)ShortstopHubie Brooks (MON)Cal Ripken Jr. (BAL)OutfieldersWillie McGee (STL)George Bell (TOR)Dale Murphy (ATL)Rickey Henderson (NYY)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 (MON, 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 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 Home field attendance and payroll Team nameWins%± Percent changeHome attendance%± Percent changePer game Average home attendance per gameEst. payroll%± Percent changeLos Angeles Dodgershttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/attend.shtml Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com9520.3%3,264,5934.1%40,304$10,967,917New York Metshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/attend.shtml New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com988.9%2,761,60149.9%34,094$10,834,762St. Louis Cardinalshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/attend.shtml St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com10120.2%2,637,56329.5%32,563$11,817,083California Angelshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ANA/attend.shtml Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com9011.1%2,567,4276.8%32,499$14,427,894Toronto Blue Jayshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/attend.shtml Toronto Blue Jays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com9911.2%2,468,92517.0%30,862$9,329,217Detroit Tigershttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/attend.shtml Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com84 −19.2%2,286,609 −15.5%28,230$10,348,143New York Yankeeshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/attend.shtml New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com9711.5%2,214,58721.6%27,682$14,238,204San Diego Padreshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/attend.shtml San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com83 −9.8%2,210,35211.4%27,288$11,191,583Kansas City Royalshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/attend.shtml Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com918.3%2,162,71719.5%26,375$10,565,346Chicago Cubshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/attend.shtml Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com77 −19.8%2,161,5342.6%26,686$12,702,917Baltimore Orioleshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/attend.shtml Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com83 −2.4%2,132,3874.2%26,326$12,085,712Cincinnati Redshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/attend.shtml Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com8927.1%1,834,61943.8%22,650$8,359,917Philadelphia Phillieshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PHI/attend.shtml Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com75 −7.4%1,830,350 −11.3%22,597$10,644,966Boston Red Soxhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/attend.shtml Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com81 −5.8%1,786,6337.5%22,057$10,897,560Chicago White Soxhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/attend.shtml Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com8514.9%1,669,888 −21.9%20,616$9,846,178Minnesota Twinshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/attend.shtml Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com77 −4.9%1,651,8143.3%19,664$5,764,821Montreal Exposhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSN/attend.shtml Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com847.7%1,502,494 −6.5%18,549$9,470,166Milwaukee Brewershttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/attend.shtml Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com716.0%1,360,265 −15.4%17,003$11,284,107Atlanta Braveshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/attend.shtml Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com66 −17.5%1,350,137 −21.7%16,668$14,807,000Oakland Athleticshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/attend.shtml Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com770.0%1,334,599 −1.4%16,894$9,058,606Houston Astroshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/attend.shtml Houston Astros Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com833.8%1,184,314 −3.7%14,621$9,993,051Seattle Marinershttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/attend.shtml Seattle Mariners Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com740.0%1,128,69629.7%13,599$4,613,000Texas Rangershttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TEX/attend.shtml Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com62 −10.1%1,112,4970.9%13,906$7,676,500San Francisco Giantshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/attend.shtml San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com62 −6.1%818,697 −18.3%10,107$8,221,714Pittsburgh Pirateshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/attend.shtml Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com57 −24.0%735,900 −4.9%9,199$9,267,500Cleveland Indianshttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/attend.shtml Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors September 8, 2020 Baseball-Reference.com60 −20.0%655,181 −10.7%8,089$6,551,666 Media Television Network Day of week Announcers ABC Monday nightsSunday afternoons Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Howard Cosell,ABC replaced Howard Cosell with Tim McCarver in the booth alongside Al Michaels and Jim Palmer for the 1985 World Series due to the controversy surrounding Cosell's book, I Never Played the Game. Tim McCarver, Don Drysdale NBC Saturday afternoons Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek References n1 External links 1985 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference Category:Major League Baseball seasons