1985 Kansas City Royals season

1985 Kansas City Royals
World Series Champions AL Champions AL Western Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1969) West Division (since 1969)
Location
Royals Stadium (since 1973) Kansas City, Missouri (since 1969)
Other information
Owner(s)	Ewing Kauffman
General manager(s)	John Schuerholz
Manager(s)	Dick Howser
Local television	WDAF-TV (Denny Matthews, Denny Trease, Fred White)
Local radio	WIBW (AM) (Denny Matthews, Fred White)
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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[]

Team leaders

Statistic		Name
Runs	108	George Brett
Hits	184	George Brett
Doubles	38	George Brett
Triples	21	#Willie Wilson
Home runs	36	3Steve Balboni
Runs batted in	112	George Brett
Stolen bases	43	Willie Wilson
Batting average	.335	2George Brett
Notes: ^# Led the majors ^1 Led league ^2 Second place ^3 Third place

Pitching[]

Team leaders

Statistic		Name
Games pitched	84	#Dan Quisenberry
Innings pitched	237.2	Charlie Leibrandt
Wins	20	2Bret Saberhagen
Strikeouts	158	Bret Saberhagen
Complete games	10	Bret Saberhagen
Shutouts	3	Danny Jackson & Charlie Leibrandt
Saves	37	1Dan Quisenberry
Earned run average	2.69	2Charlie Leibrandt
Notes: ^# Led the majors ^1 Led league ^2 Second place ^3 Third place

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 62⁄3 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 51⁄2 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 71⁄2 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 21⁄2 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 21⁄2-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 82⁄3 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 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 Records v t 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]

Opening Day Lineup[]

Opening Day Starters
#	Name	Position
6	Willie Wilson	CF
15	Pat Sheridan	RF
5	George Brett	3B
3	Jorge Orta	DH
45	Steve Balboni	1B
24	Darryl Motley	LF
20	Frank White	2B
8	Jim Sundberg	C
2	Onix Concepción	SS
40	Bud Black	P

^[6]

Roster[]

1985 Kansas City Royals roster
Roster
Pitchers 27 Joe Beckwith 40 Bud Black 26 Steve Farr 41 Tony Ferreira 23 Mark Gubicza 32 Larry Gura 38 Mark Huismann 25 Danny Jackson 17 Mike Jones 30 Mike LaCoss 37 Charlie Leibrandt 22 Dennis Leonard 29 Dan Quisenberry 31 Bret Saberhagen		Catchers  9 Jamie Quirk  8 Jim Sundberg 12 John Wathan Infielders 45 Steve Balboni  1 Buddy Biancalana  5 George Brett  2 Onix Concepción 61 Bob Hegman  4 Greg Pryor 16 Jim Scranton 20 Frank White		Outfielders  9 Dane Iorg 35 Lynn Jones 36 Dave Leeper 28 Omar Moreno 24 Darryl Motley 15 Pat Sheridan 21 Lonnie Smith  6 Willie Wilson Other batters 11 Hal McRae  3 Jorge Orta		Manager 10 Dick Howser Coaches 43 Gary Blaylock 41 Mike Ferraro 42 José Martínez 14 Lee May 44 Jimmie Schaffer

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 Win 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 Win Loss 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 Win Loss 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 Win Loss 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 Win Loss 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 (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 Win Loss 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",^[7] 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[8]
2	St. Louis Cardinals – 4, Kansas City Royals – 2	October 20	Royals Stadium	41,656[9]
3	Kansas City Royals – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 1	October 22	Busch Stadium II	53,634[10]
4	Kansas City Royals – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 3	October 23	Busch Stadium II	53,634[11]
5	Kansas City Royals – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 1	October 24	Busch Stadium II	53,634[12]
6	St. Louis Cardinals – 1, Kansas City Royals – 2	October 26	Royals Stadium	41,628[13]
7	St. Louis Cardinals – 0, Kansas City Royals – 11	October 27	Royals Stadium	41,658[14]

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

^[15]

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: