1985 St. Louis Cardinals
NL Champions
NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record101–61 (.623)
Divisional place1st
Other information
Owner(s)August "Gussie" Busch
General manager(s)Dal Maxvill
Manager(s)Whitey Herzog
Local televisionKSDK
(Jack Buck, Mike Shannon, Jay Randolph, Al Hrabosky)
Local radioKMOX
(Jack Buck, Mike Shannon)
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The St. Louis Cardinals' 1985 season was the team's 104th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 94th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 101-61 during the season and finished in first place in the National League East division by three games over the New York Mets. After defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the NLCS, they lost in seven games in the World Series to their cross-state rivals, the Kansas City Royals in the I-70 Series. The World Series is known for the infamous "safe" call on the Royals' Jorge Orta by umpire Don Denkinger.

The Cardinals switched back to their traditional gray road uniforms for the first time in ten seasons.

Outfielder Willie McGee won the National League MVP Award this year, batting .353 with 10 home runs and 82 RBIs. Outfielder Vince Coleman won the National League Rookie of the Year Award this year, batting .267 with 107 runs scored and 110 stolen bases. Shortstop Ozzie Smith and McGee both won Gold Gloves this year.

During the 1985 playoffs, the Cardinals used the slogan The Heat Is On, in reference to the song that was released earlier that year.

Offseason

Regular season

Opening Day starters

Season standings

NL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 101 61 0.623 — 54–27 47–34
New York Mets 98 64 0.605 3 51–30 47–34
Montreal Expos 84 77 0.522 16½ 44–37 40–40
Chicago Cubs 77 84 0.478 23½ 41–39 36–45
Philadelphia Phillies 75 87 0.463 26 41–40 34–47
Pittsburgh Pirates 57 104 0.354 43½ 35–45 22–59

Record vs. opponents

1985 National League Records

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

Roster

1985 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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
C Tom Nieto 95 253 57 .225 0 34
1B Jack Clark 126 442 124 .281 22 87
2B Tom Herr 159 596 180 .302 8 110
SS Ozzie Smith 158 537 148 .276 6 54
3B Terry Pendleton 149 559 134 .240 5 69
LF Vince Coleman 151 636 170 .267 1 40
CF Willie McGee 152 612 216 .353 10 82
RF Andy Van Slyke 146 424 110 .259 13 55

Other batters

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Darrell Porter 84 240 53 .221 10 36
Tito Landrum 85 161 45 .280 4 21
Mike Jorgensen 72 112 22 .196 0 11
Lonnie Smith 28 96 25 .260 0 7
César Cedeño 28 76 33 .434 6 19
Steve Braun 64 67 16 .239 1 6
Iván DeJesús 59 72 16 .222 0 7
Tom Lawless 47 58 12 .207 0 8
Brian Harper 43 52 13 .250 0 8
Mike LaValliere 12 34 5 .147 0 6
Randy Hunt 14 19 3 .158 0 1
Curt Ford 11 12 6 .500 0 3
Art Howe 4 3 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA SO
John Tudor 36 275 21 8 1.93 169
Joaquín Andújar 38 269.2 21 12 3.40 112
Danny Cox 35 241 18 9 2.88 131
Kurt Kepshire 32 153.1 10 9 4.75 67
Bob Forsch 34 136 9 6 3.90 48

Other pitchers

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO
Todd Worrell 17 21.2 3 0 5 2.91 17
Joe Boever 13 16.1 0 0 0 4.41 20
Pat Perry 6 12.1 1 0 0 0.00 6
Matt Keough 4 10 0 1 0 4.50 10
Andy Hassler 10 10 0 1 0 1.80 5
Doug Bair 2 2 0 0 0 0.00 0

Relief pitchers

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO
Jeff Lahti 52 68.1 5 2 19 1.84 41
Ricky Horton 49 89.2 3 2 1 2.91 59
Ken Dayley 57 65.1 4 4 11 2.76 62
Bill Campbell 50 64.1 5 3 4 3.50 41
Neil Allen 23 29 1 4 2 5.59 10

NLCS

Main article: 1985 National League Championship Series

The NLCS against the Dodgers featured two game-winning home runs by shortstop Ozzie Smith in Game 5 and first baseman Jack Clark in Game 6, both off Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer. In a rare display of power-hitting, Smith hit his in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning, prompting the famous call of "Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!" by Jack Buck. This play is considered one of the key highlights in all of Cardinals' history.

Game 1

Wednesday, October 9 at Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 8 1
Los Angeles 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 X 4 8 0
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-0)  L: John Tudor (0-1)   SV: Tom Niedenfuer (1)
HRs: LAD – None   STL – None

Game 2

Thursday, October 10 at Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 8 1
Los Angeles 0 0 3 2 1 2 0 0 X 8 13 1
W: Orel Hershiser (1-0)  L: Joaquín Andújar (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: LAD – Greg Brock (1)   STL – None

Game 3

Saturday, October 12 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Los Angeles 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 7 2
St. Louis 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 4 8 0
W: Danny Cox (1-0)  L: Bob Welch (0-1)   SV: Ken Dayley (1)
HRs: LAD – None   STL – Tom Herr (1)

Game 4

Sunday, October 13 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 5 1
St. Louis 0 9 0 1 1 0 0 1 X 12 15 0
W: John Tudor (1-0)  L: Jerry Reuss (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: LAD – Bill Madlock (1)   STL – None

Game 5

Monday, October 14 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Los Angeles 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 1
St. Louis 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 5 1
W: Jeff Lahti (1-0)  L: Tom Niedenfuer (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: LAD – Bill Madlock (2)   STL – Ozzie Smith (1)

Game 6

Wednesday, October 16 at Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 3 7 12 1
Los Angeles 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 5 8 0
W: Todd Worrell (1-0)  L: Tom Niedenfuer (0-2)   SV: Ken Dayley (2)
HRs: LAD – Bill Madlock (3)   Mike Marshall (1)   STL – Jack Clark (1)

World Series

Main article: 1985 World Series

The 1985 World Series was christened the "I-70 Series" and the "Show-Me Series" because it featured the in-state rival Kansas City Royals, the first time the two teams met in a non-exhibition setting. It also featured some of the most controversial series of events in Cardinals history. Coleman was unable to play in this Series due to an injury sustained in the NLCS after being rolled up in the mechanical tarpaulin at Busch Stadium. Scribes remarked about the "killer tarp", but it proved metaphorical.

After St. Louis gained a 3–2 series advantage, Game 6 tipped off the controversy with "The Call". With the Cardinals leading 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, umpire Don Denkinger called Royals batter Jorge Orta safe at first base — a call refuted by broadcast television's instant replay. Several batters later, they lost Game 6 by the score of 2–1. After "The Call", St. Louis proceeded to lose Game 7 by a score of 11-0, and thus, the Series, due to an error and passed ball. Despite both of their pitching aces participating in this game, they failed to come through — starter John Tudor, who had won his two prior starts in the Series, punched a mechanical fan when removed from the game. His severely cut pitching hand required stitching at a Kansas City hospital while the game was ongoing. Joaquín Andújar, the other ace pressed into relief, was ejected by home plate umpire Denkinger for arguing balls and strikes.

AL Kansas City Royals (4) vs. NL St. Louis Cardinals (3)

Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1 Cardinals – 3, Royals – 1 October 19 Royals Stadium (Kansas City) 41,650 2:48
2 Cardinals – 4, Royals – 2 October 20 Royals Stadium (Kansas City) 41,656 2:44
3 Royals – 6, Cardinals – 1 October 22 Busch Stadium (St. Louis) 53,634 3:00
4 Royals – 0, Cardinals – 3 October 23 Busch Stadium (St. Louis) 53,634 2:19
5 Royals – 6, Cardinals – 1 October 24 Busch Stadium (St. Louis) 53,634 2:52
6 Cardinals – 1, Royals – 2 October 26 Royals Stadium (Kansas City) 41,628 2:48
7 Cardinals – 0, Royals – 11 October 27 Royals Stadium (Kansas City) 41,658 2:46

Awards and honors

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Louisville Redbirds American Association Jim Fregosi
AA Arkansas Travelers Texas League Jim Riggleman
A St. Petersburg Cardinals Florida State League Dave Bialas
A Springfield Cardinals Midwest League Lloyd Merritt
A Savannah Cardinals South Atlantic League Gaylen Pitts
A-Short Season Erie Cardinals New York–Penn League Fred Koenig
Rookie Johnson City Cardinals Appalachian League Rich Hacker

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville

References

  1. ^ Dave Von Ohlen at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Brian Harper at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Alex Cole at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Mike LaValliere at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ a b Gary Rajsich at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Matt Keough at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Steve Peters at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Cesar Cedeno at Baseball Reference

External links

National League champions
National League East champions
1985 MLB season by team
St. Louis Cardinals
Categories