1985 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1985 throughout the world.  

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals (4-3); Bret Saberhagen, MVP

• American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett
• National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith
• All-Star Game, July 16 at the Metrodome: National League, 6-1; LaMarr Hoyt, MVP

Other champions

• Caribbean World Series: Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic)
• College World Series: Miami (Fla.)
• Japan Series: Hanshin Tigers over Seibu Lions (4-2)
• Little League World Series: Seoul National, Seoul, South Korea

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player
  • Don Mattingly, New York Yankees, 1B (AL)
  • Willie McGee, St. Louis Cardinals, OF (NL)
• Cy Young Award
  • Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals (AL)
  • Dwight Gooden, New York Mets (NL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Ozzie Guillén, Chicago White Sox, SS (AL)
  • Vince Coleman, St. Louis Cardinals, OF (NL)
• Manager of the Year Award
  • Bobby Cox, Toronto Blue Jays (AL)
  • Whitey Herzog, St. Louis Cardinals (NL)

MLB Statistical Leaders

¹Major League Triple Crown Pitching Winner

Major League Baseball final standings

Events

January-April

• January 7 - Outfielder Lou Brock and knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America, with Wilhelm becoming the first relief pitcher ever selected. Second baseman Nellie Fox is named on 295 of the 395 ballots (74.7%), but the BBWAA and the Hall of Fame committee decline to round Fox's percentage to the necessary 75%.

• March 6 - Enos Slaughter and Arky Vaughan are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.

• March 28 - The April 1 issue of Sports Illustrated comes out, including George Plimpton's hoax article on Sidd Finch.

• April 28 - Only hours after being swept by the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series at Comiskey Park, the New York Yankees fire Yogi Berra as manager 16 games into the season. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner does not fire Berra personally, but instead dispatches general manager Clyde King to deliver the news for him. Berra will be replaced by Billy Martin, whom he had replaced as manager after the 1983 season; this will be the fourth of Martin's five stints as Yankee skipper. Berra vows after the slight to never again set foot in Yankee Stadium as long as Steinbrenner owns the team.

May-August

• June 11 - In a 26-7 romp over the New York Mets, Von Hayes of the Philadelphia Phillies becomes the first player in MLB history to hit two home runs in the first inning of a game. Hayes led off the bottom of the first with a homer, then hit a grand slam later in the frame. Those were the only two home runs hit in the high-scoring affair.

• July 2 - Pitcher Joe Niekro of the Houston Astros wins his 200th career game, 3–2 over the San Diego Padres. Joe and Phil Niekro join Jim Perry and Gaylord Perry as the only pitching brother combinations to each win at least 200 games.

• July 4-5 - In a bizarre game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 16-13 in a 19-inning game that featured Keith Hernandez hitting for the cycle, and the Braves coming back to tie the game twice in extra innings, most notably in the bottom of the 18th. Pitcher Rick Camp, a career .074 hitter batting only because the Braves had no position players left, shockingly hit a solo home run in the 18th to re-tie the game at 11-11. At the end of the game, even though it was July 5, 3:15 am, the Braves went ahead and shot off their scheduled Fourth of July post-game fireworks for the fans who endured to the end.

• July 11 - The Houston Astros' Nolan Ryan becomes the first pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts, fanning Danny Heep in the sixth inning of Houston's 4–3 win over the New York Mets.

• July 15 - Dave Parker wins the first annual All-Star Home Run Derby.

• July 16 - The National League beats the American League 6–1 at Minnesota's Metrodome for its 13th win in the last 14 All-Star Games. The San Diego Padres' LaMarr Hoyt allows one unearned run in three innings and is named MVP.

• August 4
  • The New York Yankees celebrate "Phil Rizzuto Day" at Yankee Stadium, and retire Rizzuto's number 10. Tom Seaver of the Chicago White Sox records his 300th career win over the Yankees, regardless of Rizzuto's prediction that the Yankees would deny him that victory.
  • Rod Carew of the California Angels gets his 3000th career hit; a double off the Minnesota Twins' Frank Viola.

• August 5 - Darryl Strawberry hits 3 home runs helping the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2.

• August 6 and 7 - All parks go dark for a brief strike. All missed games are made up before the season ends.

• August 15 - Cal Ripken hits 100th career home run helping Baltimore Orioles beat Texas Rangers 9-1.

September-December

• September 8 - Pete Rose inserts himself into the Cincinnati Reds' lineup as a late addition, and picks up two singles, the second of which gives him 4,191 hits in his career, tying him with Ty Cobb for the career record. Being that the game is at Wrigley Field, the game is eventually called because of darkness after nine innings, resulting in a rare 5-5 tie.

• September 11 - Eric Show of the San Diego Padres goes down in history for pitching Pete Rose's historic 4,192nd career hit; a line drive single to center field. It breaks the tie for the career record which Rose had shared with Ty Cobb since September 8.

• October 1 - Ron Darling and John Tudor duel for nine and ten innings, respectively, in this crucial series opener between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. An 11th inning solo home run by Darryl Strawberry off Ken Dayley is the deciding factor in the Mets' 1-0 victory at Busch Stadium.

• October 6 - Phil Niekro of the New York Yankees becomes the second pitcher this year to record his 300th career win, in a 6-0 shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

• October 27 - The Kansas City Royals rout the St. Louis Cardinals 11–0 in Game Seven of the 1985 World Series to become only the sixth team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win the WS. Bret Saberhagen pitches the shutout and wins the Series MVP honors.

• October 27 - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner dismisses manager Billy Martin for the fourth time. Hired to replace him. is rookie manager and former Yankees player Lou Piniella.

• November 15 - The Boston Red Sox trade Bob Ojeda, Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer to the New York Mets for Calvin Schiraldi, John Christensen, Wes Gardner and La Schelle Tarver.

• November 25 - Chicago White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillén, who hit .273 with just 12 errors in 150 games, is named American League Rookie of the Year. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Teddy Higuera, who posted a 15-8 record with 127 strikeouts and a 3.90 ERA, finishes second in voting.

• November 27 - Vince Coleman, who stole 110 bases for the St. Louis Cardinals, joins Frank Robinson (1956), Orlando Cepeda (1958) and Willie McCovey (1960) as the only unanimous winners of the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Movies

• The Slugger's Wife

Births

January-February

• January 7 - José García
• January 8 - Matt LaPorta
• January 10 - Samuel Gervacio
• January 16 - Jeff Manship
• January 17 - Emmanuel Burriss
• January 17 - Jai Miller
• January 20 - Fabio Castro
• January 23 - Jeff Samardzija
• January 27 - Jai Miller
• January 28 - Wesley Wright
• February 5 - Eric O'Flaherty
• February 8 - Félix Pie
• February 14 - Tyler Clippard
• February 20 - Ryan Sweeney
• February 25 - Xavier Paul

March-April

• March 1 - Bud Norris
• March 2 - Brandon Wood
• March 5 - Brad Mills
• March 9 - Brian Bocock
• March 9 - Jesse Litsch
• March 12 - P. J. Walters
• March 22 - Justin Masterson
• March 23 - Emilio Bonifacio
• March 28 - Mark Melancon
• April 1 - Daniel Murphy
• April 5 - Lastings Milledge
• April 5 - Ian Stewart
• April 8 - Matt Antonelli
• April 9 - David Robertson
• April 10 - Clayton Mortensen
• April 15 - John Danks
• April 15 - Aaron Laffey
• April 23 - Emilio Bonifacio
• April 26 - Sean Rodriguez

May-June

• May 2 - José Ascanio
• May 2 - Jarrod Saltalamacchia
• May 18 - Andrew Carpenter
• May 18 - Scott Elbert
• May 21 - Andrew Miller
• May 22 - Rick VandenHurk
• May 25 - Eric Young
• June 13 - Pedro Strop
• June 18 - Chris Coghlan
• June 25 - Daniel Bard

July-August

• July 1 - Chris Perez
• July 3 - Greg Reynolds
• July 18 - Ramiro Peña
• July 26 - Mat Gamel
• August 1 - Adam Jones
• August 5 - Travis Denker
• August 13 - Scott Elbert
• August 16 - Daric Barton
• August 16 - Matt Harrison
• August 20 - Blake DeWitt
• August 22 - Ryan Feierabend
• August 24 - Anthony Ortega
• August 26 - David Price
• August 29 - Marc Rzepczynski

September-October

• September 3 - Troy Patton
• September 10 - Anthony Swarzak
• September 10 - Neil Walker
• September 13 - Lucas French
• September 14 - Delmon Young
• September 17 - Greg Golson
• September 17 - Eric Hurley
• September 19 - Gio Gonzalez
• September 21 - Antonio Bastardo
• September 23 - Joba Chamberlain
• September 25 - Brad Bergesen
• October 1 - Mitch Atkins
• October 7 - Kris Medlen
• October 7 - Evan Longoria
• October 17 - Carlos González
• October 25 - Wilkin Ramírez

November-December

• November 2 - Daryl Thompson
• November 13 - Asdrúbal Cabrera
• November 19 - Brad Harman
• November 26 - Jhonny Núñez
• November 30 - Luis Valbuena
• December 4 - Carlos Gómez
• December 30 - Sean Gallagher

Deaths

January-April

• January 16 - Ken Chase, 71, pitcher for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and New York Giants between 1936 and 1943
• February 12 - Van Lingle Mungo, 73, All-Star pitcher whose antics delighted Brooklyn Dodgers fans; led NL in strikeouts, shutouts and innings once each
• February 14 - Benny Zientara, second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1940s
• February 26 - George Uhle, 86, pitcher for the Indians and Tigers who won 200 games and is credited with having developed the slider pitch in the 1920s; also batted .289, one of the highest averages for a pitcher
• March 8 - Al Todd, 83, catcher for the Phillies, Pirates, Dodgers and Cubs between 1932 and 1943
• March 10 - Bob Nieman, 58, left fielder for six teams who batted .300 twice for the Orioles; first player to hit home runs in his first two major league at-bats, later a scout
• March 25 - Joe Wood, 65, infielder who played briefly for the 1943 Detroit Tigers

May-August

• May 4 - Bill Kunkel, 48, AL umpire since 1968 who worked two World Series and four ALCS; previously a relief pitcher for the Athletics and Yankees, and father of Rangers shortstop Jeff
• May 5 - Joe Glenn, 76, catcher for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox, who caught Babe Ruth during his last pitching game in 1933, and also catched Ted Williams in a rare relief appearance in 1940
• May 6 - Kirby Higbe, 70, All-Star pitcher for five NL teams who won 22 games for the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers
• May 21 - Archie McKain, 74, left-handed reliever who posted a 26-21 record with a 4.26 ERA and 16 saves for the Red Sox, Tigers and Browns from 1937-43
• June 10 - Bob Prince, 68, broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1948 to 1975
• July 2 - Guy Bush, 83, pitcher who won 176 games, most with the Chicago Cubs, but was best remembered for having given up Babe Ruth's last home run
• July 27 - Smoky Joe Wood, 95, pitcher for the Red Sox who posted a 34-5 record with an 1.91 ERA in 1912, and went on to win three games in the World Series against the New York Giants; after wearing out his arm by age 26 with a record of 117-57, returned as an outfielder with the Indians and batted .366 while platooning in 1921; later coached at Yale for 20 years
• July 27 - Carl Yowell, 82, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in the 1920s
• August 25 - Dick Wakefield, 64, All-Star left fielder who played for the Detroit Tigers, New Yankees and New York Giants between 1941 and 1952

September-December

• October 14 - Ossie Bluege, 84, All-Star third baseman who played his entire 18-year career for the Washington Senators; later the team's manager, coach and farm director
• November 11 - Frank Mulroney, 82, pitcher for the 1930 Boston Red Sox
• November 15 - Riggs Stephenson, 87, left fielder who batted .336 lifetime while usually platooning, mainly with the Cubs
• November 23 - Sam West, 81, All-Star center fielder for the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns who batted .300 eight times
• November 25 - Ray Jablonski, 58, All-Star third baseman, mainly with the Cardinals, Reds and Giants, who had 100 RBI in his first two seasons
• November 30 - Jim Grant, 91, pitcher for the 1923 Philadelphia Phillies
• December 6 - Burleigh Grimes, 92, Hall of Fame pitcher, most notably for the Dodgers, who won 270 games with five 20-win seasons using the spitball, of which he was the last permitted practitioner; later a manager and coach
• December 8 - Bill Wambsganss, 91, second baseman for the Cleveland Indians who made the only unassisted triple play in World Series history
• December 14 - Roger Maris, 51, All-Star right fielder who hit 61 home runs in 1961 to break Babe Ruth's long-standing record, earning his second consecutive MVP award, but whose career faltered under the public stress accompanying the accomplishment