1985 Kansas City Royals season

1985 Kansas City Royals
1985 Kansas City Royals
World Series Champions; AL Champions; AL Western Champions
Division	West Division
Ballpark	Royals Stadium
City	Kansas City, Missouri
Owners	Ewing Kauffman
Managers	Dick Howser
Television	WDAF-TV; (Denny Matthews, Denny Trease, Fred White)
Radio	WIBW (AM); (Denny Matthews, Fred White)

The 1985 Kansas City Royals season ended with the Royals' first world championship win over their intrastate rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals won the Western Division of the American League for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in ten years. The team improved its record to 91–71 on the strength of its pitching, led by Bret Saberhagen's Cy Young Award-winning performance.

In the playoffs, the Royals went on to win the American League Championship Series for just the second time and the World Series for the first time (they previously lost the 1980 World Series). Both the ALCS and the World Series were won in seven games after the Royals lost the first two games at home and three of the first four games overall. The championship series against the Cardinals was forever remembered in St. Louis by umpires' supposedly blown calls in Game Six: one that cost the Royals a run in the 4th, and a blown call by umpire Don Denkinger that allowed Jorge Orta to reach first. The World Series is remembered in Kansas City as the culmination of ten years of dominance by the Royals, during which they reached the playoffs seven times, with stars such as George Brett, Hal McRae and Willie Wilson.

The team was managed by Dick Howser in his fourth and final full season with the Royals.

The Royals did not return to the postseason until 2014 and won the World Series again in 2015.

Offseason

January 18, 1985: Danny Darwin was traded as part of a 4-team trade by the Texas Rangers with a player to be named later to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Jim Sundberg to the Kansas City Royals. The New York Mets sent Tim Leary to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Kansas City Royals sent Don Slaught to the Texas Rangers. The Kansas City Royals sent Frank Wills to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers sent Bill Nance (minors) (January 30, 1985) to the Milwaukee Brewers to complete the trade.^[1]
February 25, 1985: Jamie Quirk was signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.^[2]

Offense

Template:MLB team leaders

Pitching

Template:MLB team leaders

Regular season

The Royals opened the season at home on Monday, April 8, in a three-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. In his second straight opening day start, Bud Black faced off against the Blue Jays' Dave Stieb and allowed only a single earned run on four hits as the Royals won, 2–1. Stieb held the Royals scoreless for 6 ⅔ innings before giving up the game-winning runs on a double by Willie Wilson. Black exited the game in the eighth inning with two outs after giving up a single and a walk. Dan Quisenberry closed out the game for his first save of the new season. The attendance of 41,086 was the highest of any home opener and wasn't exceeded until the 2005 season. It was also the second highest of any of the Royals' regular season home games in 1985.

The Seattle Mariners had the strongest start in the division—winning their first six games at home by sweeping the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins. But the Mariners quickly faded into sixth place as they lost twelve of their next thirteen games. After their losses in Seattle, the Athletics returned home to win seven of their next nine games, and on April 21 were in a three-way tie for first with the Mariners and the California Angels. However, a seven-game losing streak at the end of April pushed them down into sixth place on May 1 and five games below the Angels. At the end of April the Royals had a record of 11–8 (.579), but they had fallen two games behind the Angels who had finished the month with a six-game winning streak and had a 14–7 record.

The Royals began the month of May by losing seven of their first eight games, culminating in an 11–3 loss on May 11 at home to the New York Yankees. The team was three games below .500, in fourth place and 5½ games behind the Angels. Three days and three wins later, with a record of 15–15, the Royals would not drop below .500 at any time during the remainder of the season. (But they would have a .500 record as late as July 12 when they were 42–42.) With two six-game winning streaks, the team won thirteen of their next seventeen games to enter a first-place tie with the Angels on May 29, with a record of 25–19. This stretch of games was highlighted by three complete-game shutouts pitched by Bret Saberhagen, Bud Black, and Charlie Leibrandt in which they allowed only a combined 8 hits and 4 walks. And despite being on the road, from May 15 through May 17, the three starters each threw a complete game and allowed a combined two earned runs (a 0.67 ERA), 14 hits, and just one walk.

The Royals struggled to make headway in the divisional race through June and into late July. Between May 30 and July 21 they were 21–25 and fell to 7½ games behind the Angels. With New York arriving in Kansas City to start a six-game home series on Monday, July 22, the Royals began a seven-game winning streak which was the longest in the season to that point. Dan Quisenberry picked up his 19th, 20th, and 21st saves as the Royals swept the Yankees, and he put in relief appearances in three of the next four games—picking up two more saves. On July 29, the Angels' lead had shrunk to 2½ games. They would remain there through September 1 as the Royals were 16–14 during that period and the Angels were 17–15.

The eight-game winning streak (all at home) between September 2 and 8 was the longest of the season for the Royals. The streak included three games in extra innings. After winning five of their next seven games, the Royals achieved a 2 ½-game lead over the Angels on September 15. However, the Mariners, who had given them trouble earlier in the year—winning five of their six previous contests—shut out the Royals twice in a four-game sweep in Kansas City, dropping the Royals into a tie for first place on September 19. Winning four of their next nine games, the Royals dropped a game behind the Angels on September 29.

After being swept at home in three games by the Twins and with only seven games remaining in the regular season, the Royals faced a four-game series at home versus the Angels. On September 30 the Royals won the first game 3–1 with Saberhagen pitching a complete game and giving up just one run on a home run by Doug DeCinces. Saberhagen collected ten strikeouts in the game and allowed only seven batters to reach first base. The Angels claimed the following game on October 1 by the score of 4–2 with Mike Witt pitching. The Royals won the third game on October 2 with Black pitching a complete-game shutout and allowing only five batters to reach first base. Three of the four runs scored by the Royals came in the bottom of the first inning with no outs as George Brett hit an inside-the-park home run to center field with two runners on base. The final game of the series on October 3 was won, 4–1, by the Royals with Quisenberry recording the final out of the game and his 36th save of the season. Starting pitcher Danny Jackson had given up just one run in 8⅔ innings despite allowing 11 hits. The Royals' runs came on three home runs by Frank White, Steve Balboni, and Brett. With the win, the Royals had a one-game lead on the Angels.

The Royals hosted the Athletics for the final three games of the season while the Angels traveled to Arlington Stadium to battle the Rangers. On October 4, the Royals defeated the Athletics by the score of 4–2, and the Angels were shut out, 6–0, by the Rangers' starting pitcher Dave Schmidt. This gave the Royals a two-game lead and assured them of at least a tie for first. The division championship was claimed in a dramatic fashion on the following day as the Royals come from behind to defeat the Athletics in ten innings by the score of 5–4. The final game of the season on October 6 was a loss, and the Royals finished the season with a record of 91–71 (.562).

Season standings

v t e AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	91	71	0.562	—	50–32	41–39
California Angels	90	72	0.556	1	49–30	41–42
Chicago White Sox	85	77	0.525	6	45–36	40–41
Minnesota Twins	77	85	0.475	14	49–35	28–50
Oakland Athletics	77	85	0.475	14	43–36	34–49
Seattle Mariners	74	88	0.457	17	42–41	32–47
Texas Rangers	62	99	0.385	28½	37–43	25–56

Record vs. opponents

1985 American League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	5–8	7–5	8–4	8–5	6–7	6–6	9–4	6–6	1–12	7–5	6–6	10–2	4–8
Boston	8–5	—	5–7	4–8–1	8–5	6–7	5–7	5–8	7–5	5–8	8–4	6–6	5–7	9–4
California	5–7	7–5	—	8–5	8–4	8–4	4–9	9–3	9–4	3–9	6–7	9–4	9–4	5–7
Chicago	4–8	8–4–1	5–8	—	10–2	6–6	5–8	5–7	6–7	6–6	8–5	9–4	10–3	3–9
Cleveland	5–8	5–8	4–8	2–10	—	5–8	2–10	7–6	4–8	6–7	3–9	6–6	7–5	4–9
Detroit	7–6	7–6	4–8	6–6	8–5	—	5–7	9–4	3–9	9–3	8–4	5–7	7–5	6–7
Kansas City	6–6	7–5	9–4	8–5	10–2	7–5	—	8–4	7–6	5–7	8–5	3–10	6–7	7–5
Milwaukee	4–9	8–5	3–9	7–5	6–7	4–9	4–8	—	9–3	7–6	3–9	4–8	8–3	4–9
Minnesota	6–6	5–7	4–9	7–6	8–4	9–3	6–7	3–9	—	3–9	8–5	6–7	8–5	4–8
New York	12–1	8–5	9–3	6–6	7–6	3–9	7–5	6–7	9–3	—	7–5	9–3	8–4	6–7
Oakland	5–7	4–8	7–6	5–8	9–3	4–8	5–8	9–3	5–8	5–7	—	8–5	6–7	5–7
Seattle	6–6	6–6	4–9	4–9	6–6	7–5	10–3	8–4	7–6	3–9	5–8	—	6–7	2–10
Texas	2–10	7–5	4–9	3–10	5–7	5–7	7–6	3–8	5–8	4–8	7–6	7–6	—	3–9
Toronto	8–4	4–9	7–5	9–3	9–4	7–6	5–7	9–4	8–4	7–6	7–5	10–2	9–3	—

Notable transactions

June 3, 1985: Brian McRae was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 1st round (17th pick) of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed June 10, 1985.^[3]
June 3, 1985: Chris Jelic was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 2nd round of the 1985 amateur draft. ^[4]
June 3, 1985: Deion Sanders was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round of the 1985 amateur draft, but did not sign.^[5]

Roster

1985 Kansas City Royals roster

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

11 Hal McRae
3 Jorge Orta

Manager

10 Dick Howser

Coaches

All-Stars

Dick Howser, Manager
George Brett, 3B

Game log

1985 Game Log (91–71) (Home: 50–32; Away: 41–39)

April: 11–8 (Home: 5–5; Away: 6–3)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
1	April 8	Blue Jays	2–1	Black (1–0)	Stieb (0–1)	Quisenberry (1)	41,086	1–0	W1
2	April 10	Blue Jays	0–1 (10)	Caudill (1–0)	Beckwith (0–1)	Lavelle (1)	14,740	1–1	L1
3	April 11	Blue Jays	3–4 (10)	Caudill (2–0)	Quisenberry (0–1)	Acker (1)	17,798	1–2	L2
4	April 13	Tigers	1–3		Black (1–1)	-	21,823	1–3	L3
5	April 14	Tigers	1–5				24,447	1–4	L4
6	April 16	Red Sox	2–0			-	16,886	2–4	W1
7	April 17	Red Sox	6–1			-	18,685	3–4	W2
8	April 18	Red Sox	3–4 (14)			-	22,587	3–5	L1
9	April 19	@ Tigers	9–2			-	35,432	4–5	W1
10	April 20	@ Tigers	3–4			-	27,339	4–6	L1
11	April 21	@ Tigers	3–2 (13)				30,168	5–6	W1
12	April 22	@ Blue Jays	2–0			-	20,281	6–6	W2
13	April 23	@ Blue Jays	7–6				18,491	7–6	W3
14	April 24	@ Blue Jays	2–10			-	18,006	7–7	L1
15	April 26	@ Red Sox	2–5			-	26,647	7–8	L2
16	April 27	@ Red Sox	5–4			-	24,430	8–8	W1
17	April 28	@ Red Sox	5–2				23,882	9–8	W2
18	April 29	Indians	3–2	Black (2–1)			19,295	10–8	W3
19	April 30	Indians	5–1			-	16,282	11–8	W4

May: 14–13 (Home: 7–5; Away: 7–8)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
20	May 1	Indians	5–6			16,699	11–9	L1
21	May 3	@ Yankees	1–7		-	20,603	11–10	L2
22	May 4	@ Yankees	2–5		-	22,532	11–11	L3
23	May 5	@ Yankees	2–6	Black (2–2)		50,209	11–12	L4
24	May 7	Orioles	2–4			21,664	11–13	L5
25	May 8	Orioles	9–8		-	19,793	12–13	W1
26	May 10	Yankees	4–6			34,000	12–14	L1
27	May 11	Yankees	3–11		-	38,011	12–15	L2
28	May 12	Yankees	6–5		-	31,009	13–15	W1
29	May 13	@ Orioles	5–2			24,611	14–15	W2
30	May 14	@ Orioles	5–3			22,202	15–15	W3
31	May 15	@ Indians	5–1		-	4,169	16–15	W4
32	May 16	@ Indians	7–1		-	3,051	17–15	W5
33	May 17	@ Brewers	3–0		-	10,587	18–15	W6
34	May 18	@ Brewers	2–7		-	20,334	18–16	L1
35	May 19	@ Brewers	10–11		-	43,256	18–17	L2
36	May 20	@ Rangers	7–8		-	18,945	18–18	L3
37	May 21	@ Rangers	5–0		-	14,018	19–18	W1
38	May 22	@ Rangers	6–3			15,447	20–18	W2
39	May 24	White Sox	8–4			32,599	21–18	W3
40	May 25	White Sox	3–0		-	25,920	22–18	W4
41	May 26	White Sox	3–2			32,563	23–18	W5
42	May 27	Rangers	4–2			30,803	24–18	W6
43	May 28	Rangers	1–6		-	19,160	24–19	L1
44	May 29	Rangers	6–2			20,692	25–19	W1
45	May 30	@ White Sox	3–4			16,041	25–20	L1
46	May 31	@ White Sox	3–8			25,493	25–21	L2

June: 12–14 (Home: 5–6; Away: 7–8)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
47	June 1	@ White Sox	7–8	-	32,398	25–22	L3
48	June 2	@ White Sox	1–4		23,153	25–23	L4
—	June 3	Brewers	Postponed (rain) to September 5.
49	June 4	Brewers	4–3		18,788	26–23	W1
50	June 5	Brewers	2–10	-	18,666	26–24	L1
51	June 7	@ Angels	6–0	-	29,414	27–24	W1
52	June 8	@ Angels	4–1		46,393	28–24	W2
53	June 9	@ Angels	0–1		41,973	28–25	L1
54	June 10	@ Athletics	1–2 (10)	-	16,500	28–26	L2
55	June 11	@ Athletics	3–4	-	7,201	28–27	L3
56	June 12	@ Athletics	3–2 (14)	-	11,010	29–27	W1
57	June 13	@ Mariners	4–3		8,691	30–27	W2
58	June 14	@ Mariners	5–13	-	10,765	30–28	L1
59	June 15	@ Mariners	1–2		26,067	30–29	L2
60	June 16	@ Mariners	1–2	-	14,103	30–30	L3
61	June 17	Twins	10–3	-	31,885	31–30	W1
62	June 18	Twins	10–3	-	21,662	32–30	W2
63	June 19	Twins	3–2		22,033	33–30	W3
64	June 20	Twins	8–11		31,461	33–31	L1
—	June 21	Mariners	Postponed (rain) to September 19.
65	June 22	Mariners	1–2		35,959	33–32	L2
66	June 23	Mariners	2–8	-	31,080	33–33	L3
67	June 24	@ Twins	12–6	-	24,035	34–33	W1
68	June 25	@ Twins	3–0	-	31,885	35–33	W2
69	June 26	@ Twins	1–2	-	20,060	35–34	L1
70	June 28	Angels	5–4 (14)	-	32,651	36–34	W1
71	June 29	Angels	1–7	-	39,451	36–35	L1
72	June 30	Angels	3–1		33,173	37–35	W1

July: 17–10 (Home: 9–4; Away: 8–6)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
73	July 1	Athletics	3–4		31,781	37–36	L1
74	July 2	Athletics	10–1	-	19,676	38–36	W1
75	July 3	Athletics	3–0		22,142	39–36	W2
76	July 4	Orioles	3–5		40,616	39–37	L1
77	July 5	Orioles	3–6		30,488	39–38	L2
78	July 6	Orioles	3–8	-	26,898	39–39	L3
79	July 7	Orioles	8–4		24,131	40–39	W1
80	July 8	@ Yankees	5–2	-	17,193	41–39	W2
81	July 9	@ Yankees	4–6		24,528	41–40	L1
82	July 10	@ Yankees	5–6	-	35,274	41–41	L2
83	July 11	@ Indians	1–0	-	5,256	42–41	W1
84	July 12	@ Indians	4–5 (11)	-	8,058	42–42	L1
85	July 13	@ Indians	5–1	-	12,794	43–42	W1
86	July 14	@ Indians	9–5		25,466	44–42	W2
56th All-Star Game in Minneapolis, MN
87	July 18	@ Orioles	3–8		25,579	44–43	L1
88	July 19	@ Orioles	10–3	-	29,410	45–43	W1
89	July 20	@ Orioles	7–5		26,366	46–43	W2
90	July 21	@ Orioles	4–6		31,278	46–44	L1
91	July 22	Yankees	5–4		40,938	47–44	W1
92	July 23	Yankees	5–2		32,450	48–44	W2
93	July 24	Yankees	5–3		31,580	49–44	W3
94	July 26	Indians	7–1		27,860	50–44	W4
95	July 27	Indians	6–3		33,473	51–44	W5
96	July 28	Indians	7–4		38,352	52–44	W6
97	July 29	@ Tigers	4–2	-	36,068	53–44	W7
98	July 30	@ Tigers	7–11		34,261	53–45	L1
99	July 31	@ Tigers	5–2		34,276	54–45	W1

August: 15–12 (Home: 8–7; Away: 7–5)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
100	August 2	Red Sox	4–3 (10)	-	37,212	55–45	W2
101	August 3	Red Sox	4–5		40,370	55–46	L1
102	August 4	Red Sox	5–6 (12)		31,020	55–47	L2
103	August 5	Tigers	4–8		41,251	55–48	L3
—	August 6	Tigers	Postponed (strike) to August 8 as part of a doubleheader.
—	August 7	Tigers	Postponed (strike) to August 19.
104	August 8	Tigers	10–3	-	-	56–48	W1
105	August 8	Tigers	6–4		35,585	57–48	W2
106	August 9	Blue Jays	4–2	-	25,868	58–48	W3
107	August 10	Blue Jays	4–3 (10)	-	34,448	59–48	W4
108	August 11	Blue Jays	3–5 (10)	-	27,457	59–49	L1
109	August 12	@ Red Sox	3–2		22,843	60–49	W1
110	August 13	@ Red Sox	6–3		23,189	61–49	W2
111	August 14	@ Red Sox	3–16	-	22,870	61–50	L1
112	August 16	@ Blue Jays	4–2	-	38,269	62–50	W1
113	August 17	@ Blue Jays	4–2		42,313	63–50	W2
114	August 18	@ Blue Jays	6–10	-	37,458	63–51	L1
115	August 19	Tigers	2–1 (10)	-	20,929	64–51	W1
116	August 20	@ White Sox	1–2	-	19,318	64–52	L1
117	August 21	@ White Sox	2–1		16,243	65–52	W1
118	August 22	@ White Sox	7–3		22,505	66–52	W2
119	August 23	Rangers	3–4	-	33,483	66–53	L1
120	August 24	Rangers	8–2	-	39,100	67–53	W1
121	August 25	Rangers	3–7	-	28,350	67–54	L1
122	August 26	Rangers	9–2	-	28,085	68–54	W1
123	August 27	@ Brewers	5–8		8,034	68–55	L1
124	August 28	@ Brewers	8–2	-	7,626	69–55	W1
—	August 29	@ Brewers	Postponed (rain; strike change) to September 6 as part of a doubleheader.
125	August 30	@ Rangers	1–4	-	14,330	69–56	L1
126	August 31	@ Rangers	4–6	-	14,709	69–57	L2

September: 18–12 (Home: 11–5; Away: 7–7)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
127	September 1	@ Rangers	3–5		10,587	69–58	L3
128	September 2	White Sox	3–2		32,681	70–58	W1
129	September 3	White Sox	3–2	-	17,521	71–58	W2
130	September 4	White Sox	6–5 (10)	-	19,940	72–58	W3
131	September 5	Brewers	4–1	-	2,527	73–58	W4
132	September 6	Brewers	4–3 (11)	-	-	74–58	W5
133	September 6	Brewers	7–1	-	26,403	75–58	W6
134	September 7	Brewers	7–4		29,510	76–58	W7
135	September 8	Brewers	13–11 <small(11)	-	20,737	77–58	W8
136	September 9	@ Angels	1–7	-	29,688	77–59	L1
137	September 10	@ Angels	6–0	-	37,813	78–59	W1
138	September 11	@ Angels	2–1		32,906	79–59	W2
139	September 13	@ Athletics	5–2		11,253	80–59	W3
140	September 14	@ Athletics	2–1	-	30,628	81–59	W4
141	September 15	@ Athletics	2–4		-	81–60	L1
142	September 15	@ Athletics	7–2	-	15,236	82–60	W1
143	September 16	Mariners	1–5	-	21,666	82–61	L1
144	September 17	Mariners	0–7	-	17,770	82–62	L2
145	September 18	Mariners	0–6	-	16,863	82–63	L3
146	September 19	Mariners	4–6		7,633	82–64	L4
147	September 20	Twins	5–1	-	22,845	83–64	W1
148	September 21	Twins	6–5 (10)	-	25,102	84–64	W2
149	September 22	Twins	3–7		21,277	84–65	L1
150	September 24	@ Mariners	2–5	-	6,433	84–66	L2
151	September 25	@ Mariners	5–4		6,588	85–66	W1
152	September 26	@ Mariners	5–2		6,840	86–66	W2
153	September 27	@ Twins	1–4	-	13,035	86–67	L1
154	September 28	@ Twins	3–5		13,256	86–68	L2
155	September 29	@ Twins	3–6		11,292	86–69	L3
156	September 30	Angels	3–1	-	34,200	87–69	W1

October: 4–2 (Home: 4–2; Away: 0–0)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Save	Attendance	Record	Streak
157	October 1	Angels	2–4		26,273	87–70	L1
158	October 2	Angels	4–0	-	28,401	88–70	W1
159	October 3	Angels	4–1		40,894	89–70	W2
160	October 4	Athletics	4–2		19,694	90–70	W3
161	October 5	Athletics	5–4 (10)	-	32,949	91–70	W4
162	October 6	Athletics	3–9		20,935	91–71	L1

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Royals team member

Postseason

ALCS

Game 1

Tuesday, October 8, 1985, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	1
Toronto	0	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	X	6	11	0
WP: Dave Stieb (1–0) LP: Charlie Leibrandt (0–1)

Game 2

Wednesday, October 9, 1985, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	10	3
Toronto	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	2	6	10	0
WP: Tom Henke (1–0) LP: Dan Quisenberry (0–1) Home runs: KCR: Willie Wilson (1), Pat Sheridan (1) TOR: None

Game 3

Friday, October 11, 1985, at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	5	13	1
Kansas City	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	1	X	6	10	1
WP: Steve Farr (1–0) LP: Jim Clancy (0–1) Home runs: TOR: Rance Mulliniks (1), Jesse Barfield (1) KCR: George Brett 2 (2), Jim Sundberg (1)

Game 4

Saturday, October 12, 1985, at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	7	0
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	0
WP: Tom Henke (2–0) LP: Charlie Leibrandt (0–2)

Game 5

Sunday, October 13, 1985, at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Kansas City	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	X	2	8	0
WP: Danny Jackson (1–0) LP: Jimmy Key (0–1)

Game 6

Tuesday, October 15, 1985, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	1	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	5	8	1
Toronto	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	8	2
WP: Mark Gubicza (1–0) LP: Doyle Alexander (0–1) Sv: Dan Quisenberry (1) Home runs: KCR: George Brett (3) TOR: None

Game 7

Wednesday, October 16, 1985, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	1	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	6	8	0
Toronto	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	8	1
WP: Charlie Leibrandt (1–2) LP: Dave Stieb (1–1) Home runs: KCR: Pat Sheridan (2) TOR: None

World Series

With the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the National League Championship Series, the 1985 World Series was destined to become one of the most memorable series for the cross-state rivals. It was popularly known as the Show-Me Series (Missouri is "the Show-Me State") and the I-70 Series. The 1985 World Series was played by National League rules, with no designated hitter, so the Royals were without the regular services of one of their best players, Hal McRae.

As they had done in the ALCS, the Royals lost three of their first four games with the Cardinals. The key game in the Royals' comeback was Game 6, a game famous for a tremendous Kansas City comeback, unfortunately belittled in St. Louis as due to supposed umpire errors. A call in the 4th inning cost the Royals their closest scoring opportunity when Frank White was called out after stealing second, and appearing on replay to have been safe, and the next batter, Pat Sheridan, got a hit. Facing elimination, the Royals trailed 1–0 in the bottom of the ninth inning before rallying to score two runs and win. In what has been called "one of the most controversial and famous plays in Series history",^[6] Jorge Orta led off the bottom of the ninth with a ground ball to Cardinal first baseman Jack Clark, who flipped the ball to pitcher Todd Worrell covering first. First base umpire Don Denkinger called Orta safe, but television replays showed that Worrell had beaten him to the base. Orta was later put out on the basepaths (the only out recorded in the inning), but Kansas City would go on to win as the Cardinals unravelled with a dropped pop up, a passed ball and poor pitching as the Royals capitalized on the opportunity. The Cardinals became completely undone in Game 7. The Royals' Bret Saberhagen pitched a five-hit shutout, allowing the Royals to win 11–0 and clinch the franchise's first World Series title as the Cardinals' pitchers fell apart. AL Kansas City Royals (4) vs NL St. Louis Cardinals (3)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	St. Louis Cardinals – 3, Kansas City Royals – 1	October 19	Royals Stadium	41,650^[7]
2	St. Louis Cardinals – 4, Kansas City Royals – 2	October 20	Royals Stadium	41,656^[8]
3	Kansas City Royals – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 1	October 22	Busch Stadium II	53,634^[9]
4	Kansas City Royals – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 3	October 23	Busch Stadium II	53,634^[10]
5	Kansas City Royals – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 1	October 24	Busch Stadium II	53,634^[11]
6	St. Louis Cardinals – 1, Kansas City Royals – 2	October 26	Royals Stadium	41,628^[12]
7	St. Louis Cardinals – 0, Kansas City Royals – 11	October 27	Royals Stadium	41,658^[13]

Postseason game log

1985 Kansas City Royals Postseason Game Log (8–6)

AL Championship Series vs. Toronto Blue Jays (4–3)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Series
1	October 8	@ Blue Jays	1–6	Stieb (1–0)	Leibrandt (0–1)		39,115	0–1
2	October 9	@ Blue Jays	5–6 (10)	Henke (1–0)	Quisenberry (0–1)		34,029	0–2
3	October 11	Blue Jays	6–5	Farr (1–0)	Clancy (0–1)		40,224	1–2
4	October 12	Blue Jays	1–3	Henke (2–0)	Leibrandt (0–2)		41,112	1–3
5	October 13	Blue Jays	2–0	Jackson (1–0)	Key (0–1)		40,046	2–3
6	October 15	@ Blue Jays	5–3	Gubicza (1–0)	Alexander (0–1)	Quisenberry (1)	37,557	3–3
7	October 16	@ Blue Jays	6–2	Leibrandt (1–2)	Stieb (1–1)		32,084	4–3

World Series vs. St. Louis Cardinals (4–3)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Series
1	October 19	Cardinals	1–3	Tudor (2–1)	Jackson (1–1)	Worrell (1)	41,650	0–1
2	October 20	Cardinals	2–4	Dayley (1–0)	Leibrandt (1–3)	Lahti (1)	41,656	0–2
3	October 22	@ Cardinals	6–1	Saberhagen (1–0)	Andújar (0–2)		53,634	1–2
4	October 23	@ Cardinals	0–3	Tudor (3–1)	Black (0–1)		53,634	1–3
5	October 24	@ Cardinals	6–1	Jackson (2–1)	Forsch (0–1)		53,634	2–3
6	October 26	Cardinals	2–1	Quisenberry (1–1)	Worrell		41,628	3–3
7	October 27	Cardinals	11–0	Saberhagen (2–0)	Tudor (3–2)		41,658	4–3

Free agents

After the season these players became free agents:

Dane Iorg, signed with the San Diego Padres
Lynn Jones, re-signed
Hal McRae, re-signed
Jamie Quirk, re-signed

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	Avg.	SB
C	Jim Sundberg	115	367	38	90	10	35	.245	0
1B	Steve Balboni	160	600	74	146	36	88	.243	1
2B	Frank White	149	563	62	140	22	69	.249	10
3B	George Brett	155	550	108	184	30	112	.335	9
SS	Onix Concepción	131	314	32	64	2	20	.204	4
LF	Lonnie Smith	120	448	77	115	6	41	.257	40
CF	Willie Wilson	141	605	87	168	4	43	.278	43
RF	Darryl Motley	123	383	45	85	17	49	.222	6
DH	Hal McRae	112	320	41	83	14	70	.259	0

^[14]

Other batters

Player	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	Avg.	SB
Buddy Biancalana	81	138	21	26	1	6	.188	1
Bob Hegman	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Dane Iorg	64	130	7	29	1	21	.223	0
Lynn Jones	110	152	12	32	0	9	.211	0
Dave Leeper	15	34	1	3	0	4	.088	0
Omar Moreno	24	70	9	17	2	12	.243	0
Jorge Orta	110	300	32	80	4	45	.267	2
Greg Pryor	63	114	8	25	1	3	.219	0
Jamie Quirk	19	57	3	16	0	4	.281	0
Jim Scranton	6	4	1	0	0	0	.000	0
Pat Sheridan	78	206	18	47	3	17	.228	11
John Wathan	60	145	11	34	1	9	.234	1

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	SO	BB
Bud Black	33	33	205.2	10	15	4.33	122	59
Charlie Leibrandt	33	33	237.2	17	9	2.69	108	68
Bret Saberhagen	32	32	235.1	20	6	2.87	158	38
Danny Jackson	32	32	208.0	14	12	3.42	114	76
Mark Gubicza	29	28	177.1	14	10	4.06	99	77

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Steve Farr	16	37.2	2	1	1	3.11	36

Relief pitchers

Player	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Dan Quisenberry	84	0	8	9	37	2.37	54
Joe Beckwith	49	0	1	5	1	4.07	80
Mike Jones	33	1	3	3	0	4.78	32
Mike LaCoss	21	0	1	1	1	5.09	26
Mark Huismann	9	0	1	0	0	1.93	9
Larry Gura	3	0	0	0	1	12.46	2
Tony Ferreira	2	0	0	0	0	7.94	5
Dennis Leonard	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	1

Awards and honors

Cy Young Award: Bret Saberhagen
Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award: Dan Quisenberry
ALCS MVP: George Brett
Gold Glove Award: Third base—George Brett
Silver Slugger Award: Third base—George Brett
Executive of the Year: General Manager John Schuerholz

Records and milestones

Batting

Triples

Willie Wilson set the Royals single season record with 21 triples.

Home runs

Steve Balboni set the Royals single season record with 36 home runs.

Strikeouts

Steve Balboni set the Royals single season record with 166 strikeouts.

Pitching

Games pitched

Dan Quisenberry set the Royals single season record with 84 games pitched and finished the season with 444 on the all-time Royals list, passing Paul Splittorff (with 429) for first place.

Saves

Dan Quisenberry, first on the all-time Royals list, finishes the season with 217.

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Omaha Royals	American Association	Gene Lamont
AA	Memphis Chicks	Southern League	Tommy Jones
A	Fort Myers Royals	Florida State League	Duane Gustavson
A-Short Season	Eugene Emeralds	Northwest League	Frank Funk
Rookie	GCL Royals	Gulf Coast League	Joe Jones

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Fort Myers

References

"1985 Kansas City Royals Statistics and Roster". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
1985 Kansas City Royals at 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.

Notes:

^ Danny Darwin Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
^ Jamie Quirk Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
^ Brian McRae Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
^ "Chris Jelic: Career Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
^ Deion Sanders Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
^ "Bad Call Gives Royals New Life". MLB.com. October 26, 1985. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
^ "1985 World Series Game 1 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ "1985 World Series Game 2 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ "1985 World Series Game 3 – Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ "1985 World Series Game 4 – Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ "1985 World Series Game 5 – Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ "1985 World Series Game 6 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ "1985 World Series Game 7 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/1985.shtml

[1] Danny Darwin Statistics Baseball-Reference.com

[2] Jamie Quirk Statistics Baseball-Reference.com

[3] Brian McRae Statistics Baseball-Reference.com

[4] "Chris Jelic: Career Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 14, 2018.

[5] Deion Sanders Statistics Baseball-Reference.com

[6] "Bad Call Gives Royals New Life". MLB.com. October 26, 1985. Retrieved January 10, 2007.

[Game1-7] "1985 World Series Game 1 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[Game2-8] "1985 World Series Game 2 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[Game3-9] "1985 World Series Game 3 – Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[Game4-10] "1985 World Series Game 4 – Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[Game5-11] "1985 World Series Game 5 – Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[Game6-12] "1985 World Series Game 6 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[Game7-13] "1985 World Series Game 7 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 10, 2008.

[14] ttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/1985.shtml

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v t e World Series champions
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1990s	1990: Cincinnati Reds 1991: Minnesota Twins 1992: Toronto Blue Jays 1993: Toronto Blue Jays 1994: No series 1995: Atlanta Braves 1996: New York Yankees 1997: Florida Marlins 1998: New York Yankees 1999: New York Yankees
2000s	2000: New York Yankees 2001: Arizona Diamondbacks 2002: Anaheim Angels 2003: Florida Marlins 2004: Boston Red Sox 2005: Chicago White Sox 2006: St. Louis Cardinals 2007: Boston Red Sox 2008: Philadelphia Phillies 2009: New York Yankees
2010s	2010: San Francisco Giants 2011: St. Louis Cardinals 2012: San Francisco Giants 2013: Boston Red Sox 2014: San Francisco Giants 2015: Kansas City Royals 2016: Chicago Cubs 2017: Houston Astros 2018: Boston Red Sox 2019: Washington Nationals
2020s	2020: Los Angeles Dodgers 2021: Atlanta Braves 2022: Houston Astros 2023: Texas Rangers

v t e American League champions
1900s	1901: Chicago White Stockings 1902: Philadelphia Athletics 1903: Boston Americans 1904: Boston Americans 1905: Philadelphia Athletics 1906: Chicago White Sox 1907: Detroit Tigers 1908: Detroit Tigers 1909: Detroit Tigers
1910s	1910: Philadelphia Athletics 1911: Philadelphia Athletics 1912: Boston Red Sox 1913: Philaelphia Athletics 1914: Philadelphia Athletics 1915: Boston Red Sox 1916: Boston Red Sox 1917: Chicago White Sox 1918: Boston Red Sox 1919: Chicago White Sox
1920s	1920: Cleveland Indians 1921: New York Yankees 1922: New York Yankees 1923: New York Yankees 1924: Washington Senators 1925: Washington Senators 1926: New York Yankees 1927: New York Yankees 1928: New York Yankees 1929: Philadelphia Athletics
1930s	1930: Philadelphia Athletics 1931: Philadelphia Athletics 1932: New York Yankees 1933: Washington Senators 1934: Detroit Tigers 1935: Detroit Tigers 1936: New York Yankees 1937: New York Yankees 1938: New York Yankees 1939: New York Yankees
1940s	1940: Detroit Tigers 1941: New York Yankees 1942: New York Yankees 1943: New York Yankees 1944: St. Louis Browns 1945: Detroit Tigers 1946: Boston Red Sox 1947: New York Yankees 1948: Cleveland Indians 1949: New York Yankees
1950s	1950: New York Yankees 1951: New York Yankees 1952: New York Yankees 1953: New York Yankees 1954: Cleveland Indians 1955: New York Yankees 1956: New York Yankees 1957: New York Yankees 1958: New York Yankees 1959: Chicago White Sox
1960s	1960: New York Yankees 1961: New York Yankees 1962: New York Yankees 1963: New York Yankees 1964: New York Yankees 1965: Minnesota Twins 1966: Baltimore Orioles 1967: Boston Red Sox 1968: Detroit Tigers 1969: Baltimore Orioles
1970s	1970: Baltimore Orioles 1971: Baltimore Orioles 1972: Oakland Athletics 1973: Oakland Athletics 1974: Oakland Athletics 1975: Boston Red Sox 1976: New York Yankees 1977: New York Yankees 1978: New York Yankees 1979: Baltimore Orioles
1980s	1980: Kansas City Royals 1981: New York Yankees 1982: Milwaukee Brewers 1983: Baltimore Orioles 1984: Detroit Tigers 1985: Kansas City Royals 1986: Boston Red Sox 1987: Minnesota Twins 1988: Oakland Athletics 1989: Oakland Athletics
1990s	1990: Oakland Athletics 1991: Minnesota Twins 1992: Toronto Blue Jays 1993: Toronto Blue Jays 1994: No champion 1995: Cleveland Indians 1996: New York Yankees 1997: Cleveland Indians 1998: New York Yankees 1999: New York Yankees
2000s	2000: New York Yankees 2001: New York Yankees 2002: Anaheim Angels 2003: New York Yankees 2004: Boston Red Sox 2005: Chicago White Sox 2006: Detroit Tigers 2007: Boston Red Sox 2008: Tampa Bay Rays 2009: New York Yankees
2010s	2010: Texas Rangers 2011: Texas Rangers 2012: Detroit Tigers 2013: Boston Red Sox 2014: Kansas City Royals 2015: Kansas City Royals 2016: Cleveland Indians 2017: Houston Astros 2018: Boston Red Sox 2019: Houston Astros
2020s	2020: Tampa Bay Rays 2021: Houston Astros 2022: Houston Astros 2023: Texas Rangers

v t e American League West champions
1960s	1969: Minnesota Twins
1970s	1970: Minnesota Twins 1971: Oakland Athletics 1972: Oakland Athletics 1973: Oakland Athletics 1974: Oakland Athletics 1975: Oakland Athletics 1976: Kansas City Royals 1977: Kansas City Royals 1978: Kansas City Royals 1979: California Angels
1980s	1980: Kansas City Royals 1981: Oakland Athletics 1982: California Angels 1983: Chicago White Sox 1984: Kansas City Royals 1985: Kansas City Royals 1986: California Angels 1987: Minnesota Twins 1988: Oakland Athletics 1989: Oakland Athletics
1990s	1990: Oakland Athletics 1991: Minnesota Twins 1992: Oakland Athletics 1993: Chicago White Sox 1994: No champion 1995: Seattle Mariners 1996: Texas Rangers 1997: Seattle Mariners 1998: Texas Rangers 1999: Texas Rangers
2000s	2000: Oakland Athletics 2001: Seattle Mariners 2002: Oakland Athletics 2003: Oakland Athletics 2004: Anaheim Angels 2005: Los Angeles Angels 2006: Oakland Athletics 2007: Los Angeles Angels 2008: Los Angeles Angels 2009: Los Angeles Angels
2010s	2010: Texas Rangers 2011: Texas Rangers 2012: Oakland Athletics 2013: Oakland Athletics 2014: Los Angeles Angels 2015: Texas Rangers 2016: Texas Rangers 2017: Houston Astros 2018: Houston Astros 2019: Houston Astros
2020s	2020: Oakland Athletics 2021: Houston Astros 2022: Houston Astros 2023: Houston Astros

v t e Kansas City Royals 1985 World Series champions
1 Buddy Biancalana 2 Onix Concepción 3 Jorge Orta 4 Greg Pryor 5 George Brett (ALCS MVP) 6 Willie Wilson 8 Jim Sundberg 9 Dane Iorg 11 Hal McRae 12 John Wathan 15 Pat Sheridan 18 Jamie Quirk 20 Frank White 21 Lonnie Smith 23 Mark Gubicza 24 Darryl Motley 25 Danny Jackson 26 Steve Farr 27 Joe Beckwith 29 Dan Quisenberry 31 Bret Saberhagen (AL CYA & World Series MVP) 35 Lynn Jones 37 Charlie Leibrandt 40 Bud Black 45 Steve Balboni
Manager 10 Dick Howser Coaches 14 Lee May 41 Mike Ferraro 42 José Martínez 43 Gary Blaylock 44 Jimmie Schaffer
Regular season American League Championship Series Cardinals–Royals rivalry