1985 Chicago Cubs season

1985 Chicago Cubs
Division	Eastern Division
Ballpark	Wrigley Field
City	Chicago
Owners	Tribune Company
Managers	Jim Frey
Television	WGN-TV/Superstation WGN (Harry Caray, Steve Stone, Dewayne Staats)
Radio	WGN (Dewayne Staats, Lou Boudreau, Harry Caray)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
Seasons

The 1985 Chicago Cubs season was the 114th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 110th in the National League and the 70th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fourth in the National League East with a record of 77–84. The season had opened with high hopes as the Cubs had won the NL East title the year before. However, injuries were a major factor as four of the Cubs' starting pitchers were on the disabled list at the same time.

Offseason

• November 28, 1984: Dennis Eckersley was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs.
• December 4, 1984: Ron Hassey, Porfi Altamirano, Rich Bordi, and Henry Cotto were traded by the Chicago Cubs to the New York Yankees for Ray Fontenot and Brian Dayett.
• December 7, 1984: Steve Trout was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.
• January 3, 1985: Guy Hoffman was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.

Regular season

• Ryne Sandberg became the first Cub since 1969–1970 to score 100 runs in two consecutive seasons.

In early June, the Cubs were still in first place, battling the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets for the division. However, Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Trout, Scott Sanderson and Dennis Eckersley all were injured, and the Cubs went on a 13-game losing streak that effectively eliminated them from contention. Shawon Dunston made his Major League debut. He struggled early on, so the Cubs sent him back to Iowa in early May. However, once he returned, it spelled the end for Larry Bowa, who was released in August and picked up by the New York Mets.

Season standings

NL 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 record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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	—

Notable transactions

• April 9, 1985: Jacob Brumfield was released by the Cubs.
• May 12, 1985: Dave Hostetler was purchased by the Chicago Cubs from the Montreal Expos.

Draft picks

• The Cubs drafted pitcher Dave Masters with the twenty-fourth overall pick in the 1985 Draft.
• June 3, 1985: Doug Dascenzo was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 12th round of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1985.
• June 3, 1985: Mark Grace was drafted by the Cubs in the 24th round of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed August 29, 1985.

Roster

1985 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers 32 Johnny Abrego 48 Jay Baller 50 Dave Beard 47 Derek Botelho 41 Warren Brusstar 43 Dennis Eckersley 49 Steve Engel 31 Ray Fontenot 39 George Frazier 45 Dave Gumpert 32 Larry Gura 38 Ron Meridith 52 Reggie Patterson 35 Jon Perlman 44 Dick Ruthven 21 Scott Sanderson 46 Lee Smith 42 Lary Sorensen 40 Rick Sutcliffe 34 Steve Trout		Catchers  7 Jody Davis 16 Steve Lake Infielders  1 Larry Bowa 11 Ron Cey 12 Shawon Dunston 10 Leon Durham 18 Richie Hebner 19 Dave Owen 23 Ryne Sandberg 28 Chris Speier		Outfielders 27 Thad Bosley 24 Brian Dayett 20 Bob Dernier 22 Billy Hatcher 30 Darrin Jackson 15 Davey Lopes 36 Gary Matthews  6 Keith Moreland 30 Chico Walker 25 Gary Woods		Manager  8 Jim Frey Coaches  5 Rubén Amaro  3 Billy Connors  9 Johnny Oates  2 John Vukovich  4 Don Zimmer

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
George Frazier	51	7	8	2	6.39	46

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Iowa Cubs	American Association	Larry Cox
AA	Pittsfield Cubs	Eastern League	Tom Spencer
A	Winston-Salem Spirits	Carolina League	Cal Emery
A	Peoria Chiefs	Midwest League	Pete Mackanin
Short-Season A	Geneva Cubs	New York–Penn League	Tony Franklin
Rookie	Wytheville Cubs	Appalachian League	Ramón Conde

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem

References

• 1985 Chicago Cubs
• 1985 Chicago Cubs on Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.