1985 Atlanta Braves season

The 1985 Atlanta Braves season was the 115th season in franchise history. The Braves failed to qualify for the postseason for the third consecutive season.

Offseason

• December 5, 1984: Brian Fisher was traded by the Braves to the New York Yankees for Rick Cerone.^[1]
• December 7, 1984: Bruce Sutter was signed as a free agent by the Braves.^[2]

Regular season

The Braves had a new manager in Eddie Haas and a new relief ace in Bruce Sutter. They also had slugger Bob Horner in the lineup and Dale Murphy was back as well.

The Braves started the season 4-1 but lost three consecutive games to the Reds at home to fall to 4-4. A 9-5 win over the Astros on Friday April 19 gave the Braves a 5-4 record, good enough for second place, 1/2 game out. However, the Braves would not be above the .500 mark again. They lost three straight games to drop into fifth place with a 5-7 mark. Later, the Braves beat the Reds twice, 8-4 and 17-9 to even their record at 10-10, and to climb within a game of first place. This was on May 1, and the Braves led the National League in runs scored.

This changed quickly however. The Braves not only lost eight of their next ten games (May 3-May 14), they were also shut out four consecutive games May 8 through May 12. They were held to only one run in each of the two games that followed, one of which was a win. The 12-18 Braves were in last place, six games out. Atlanta improved to 16-19 and 4 1/2 games out of first following a 3-0 win over Chicago on May 19. The Braves then lost three straight to the Cardinals, the beginning of an 4-11 stretch that lowered their record to 20-30 on June 7. Atlanta was 10 1/2 games behind at that point and the Braves' situation was becoming precarious. They won their next three games by impressive margins, 7-3 and 10-3 over Los Angeles and 7-0 over San Francisco. By June 28 Atlanta was 33-38 and only 9 1/2 games of first place. They were mired in fifth place however.

The Braves lost nine of their next 11 games and were 35-47 on July 10, in fifth place and 12 games out. The swept the Philadelphia Phillies in four games just before the All-Star Break. Atlanta was 39-47 at the half, in fifth place and 9 1/2 out.

The Braves were 49-59 on August 11, in fifth place and 15 games out. It was basically over for the Braves, with no real chance at first place. Atlanta lost six in a row and were 16 games below the .500 mark, the first time since 1979. After a 6-3 win over San Diego halted the losing streak the Braves lost six straight again. At this point the Braves were 50-71 and 22 games out of first. Their manager Eddie Haas was replaced by Bobby Wine and the Braves won their first five games under the new manager. However, they fizzled out with an 11-25 finish that dropped them to 66-96 and 29 games out of first place. Thanks to the San Francisco Giants' sorry performance the Braves avoided last place and finished in fifth place, a position they had held for all but one day since May 15.

Season standings

Notable transactions

• April 17, 1985: Alex Treviño was traded by the Braves to the San Francisco Giants for John Rabb.^[3]
• June 3, 1985: Al Martin was drafted by the Braves in the 8th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft.^[4]

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Awards and honors

• Steve Bedrosian, Major League record, Most Starts in a Season without completing a game (37)^[5]

Farm system

References

1. ^ Rick Cerone page at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Bruce Sutter page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ John Rabb page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Al Martin page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.107, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

• 1985 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.