Series Wrapup

Story

The Los Angeles Dodgers used their exceptional pitching to capture the N.L. West title in 1985, finishing the year with a record of 95-67, 5 ½ games ahead of the second-place Cincinnati Reds.  Featuring an outstanding trio of starters, the Dodger pitching staff led the league with a team ERA of 2.96.  Orel Hershiser served as the ace of the staff, compiling a record of 19-3 and a 2.03 ERA.  Fernando Valenzuela finished 17-10, with a 2.45 ERA and a team-leading 14 complete games, 272 innings pitched, and 208 strikeouts.  Bob Welch went 14-4 with a 2.31 ERA.  

While pitching proved to be the Dodgers’ greatest strength over the course of the season, they also finished a respectable fifth in the league with 682 runs scored.  Pedro Guerrero and Mike Marshall supplied much of the power on offense, combining to hit a total of 61 home runs.  Guerrero knocked in 87 runs and led the club with 33 homers, 99 runs scored, and a .320 batting average.  Marshall added 28 round-trippers, a .293 batting average, and a team-leading 95 runs batted in.  Meanwhile, Steve Sax and Mariano Duncan provided speed at the top of the lineup, stealing 27 and 38 bases, respectively.

Although Los Angeles finished first in the West, the division’s two best players performed for other teams.  Dale Murphy had an outstanding year for the fifth-place Braves, who finished 29 games behind the Dodgers in the standings.  Murphy knocked in 111 runs, batted .300, and led the league with 37 home runs and 118 runs scored.  Dave Parker posted equally impressive numbers for the runner-up Reds, hitting 34 homers, batting .312, scoring 88 runs, collecting 198 hits, and topping the circuit with 125 runs batted in, 42 doubles, and 350 total bases.  He finished second in the N.L. MVP voting.  

Nevertheless, most of the excitement in the senior circuit in 1985 came out of the N.L. East, where the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets spent the entire year battling for supremacy.  The Cardinals finally clinched the division title in the season’s final days, concluding the campaign with a record of 101-61, three games ahead of the Mets.  Both teams had outstanding pitching, but the Cardinals eventually came out on top because of their superior run-production and team speed.  Although the Cardinals finished next-to-last in the league with only 87 home runs, they led the N.L. with 747 runs scored, a .264 team batting average, and 314 stolen bases.  St. Louis also finished second in the circuit with a team ERA of 3.10.  

Joaquin Andujar and John Tudor anchored the St. Louis starting rotation.  Andujar finished 21-12 and threw 270 innings.  Tudor compiled a record of 21-8, placed second in the league with a 1.93 ERA, 14 complete games, and 275 innings pitched, and led all N.L. hurlers with 10 shutouts.  Danny Cox gave the Cardinals a third solid starter, going 18-9 with a 2.88 ERA.

The Cardinals' speedy lineup featured N.L. Rookie of the Year Vince Coleman in the leadoff spot.  Coleman scored 107 runs and led the league with 110 stolen bases.  Second baseman Tommy Herr had a career-year, knocking in 110 runs, scoring 97 others, and batting .302.  Jack Clark provided what little power there was, leading the team with 22 home runs and 87 runs batted in, while batting .281.  Willie McGee earned N.L. MVP honors by stealing 56 bases and topping the circuit with a .353 batting average, 216 hits, and 18 triples.  

Although the Mets came up a bit short in their quest to capture their first division title in a dozen years, they featured baseball’s most exciting pitcher in Dwight Gooden.  The 20-year-old right-hander led all National League hurlers with a record of 24-4, an ERA of 1.53, 268 strikeouts, 16 complete games, and 277 innings pitched, en route to earning Cy Young honors and a fourth-place finish in the MVP balloting.  Meanwhile, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and Darryl Strawberry paced New York on offense.  Hernandez knocked in 91 runs and batted .309.  Carter batted .281 and led the team with 32 home runs and 100 runs batted in.  In only 111 games and 393 official at-bats, Strawberry hit 29 home runs, drove in 79 runs, and scored another 78.

The National League Championship Series, which St. Louis won in six games, provided a considerable amount of drama.  After the Cardinals and Dodgers split the first four contests, Ozzie Smith hit his first career home run from the left side of the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Five to give his club a 3-2 win.  Jack Clark served as the hero of Game Six, hitting a three-run homer off Tom Niedenfuer in the top of the ninth inning to give the Cardinals a 7-5 victory that put them in the World Series.   

The Cardinals appeared to be well on their way to winning their second world championship in four years when they took a three-games-to-one lead against the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.  However, aided by a blown call by the first base umpire in the ninth inning of Game Six, the Royals rallied to win the final three contests.  The Cardinals subsequently fell apart in Game Seven, dropping an 11-0 decision to their interstate rivals.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

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

• July 11 - The Houston Astros' Nolan Ryan became the first pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts.

• September 11 – Pete Rose collected his 4,192nd career hit, surpassing Ty Cobb as major league baseball’s all-time hits leader.

• Montreal’s Tim Raines finished second in the league with a .320 batting average, 115 runs scored, and 70 stolen bases.

• Steve Garvey's record streak of 193 consecutive errorless games came to an end.

• Larry Bowa retired with the record for highest career fielding average by a shortstop (.980).

• Cincinnati auto dealer Marge Schott became principal owner of the Reds.

• Andy Hawkins set a Padres record when he won 15 consecutive games.

• Montreal’s Jeff Reardon led the league with 41 saves.

• The National League won the All-Star Game 6-1 at the Metrodome, giving the senior circuit 21 wins in the last 23 meetings between the two leagues.  

Seasons of the National League

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