1985 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1984 throughout the world.

Major League Baseball

 * World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals (4-3); Bret Saberhagen, MVP
 * American League Championship Series: Kansas City Royals (West) over Toronto Blue Jays (East) (4-3); George Brett, MVP
 * National League Championship Series: St. Louis Cardinals (East) over Los Angeles Dodgers (West) (4-2); Ozzie Smith, MVP
 * All-Star Game, July 16 at the Metrodome: National League, 6-1; LaMarr Hoyt, MVP

Other champions

 * Caribbean World Series: Tigres de 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 (AL)
 * Willie McGee (NL)
 * Cy Young Award
 * Bret Saberhagen (AL)
 * Dwight Gooden (NL)
 * Rookie of the Year
 * Ozzie Guillén (AL)
 * Vince Coleman (NL)
 * Manager of the Year Award
 * Bobby Cox (AL)
 * Whitey Herzog (NL)

Events

 * 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.


 * 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 11 - Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros becomes the first pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts, fanning Danny Heep in the 6th inning of Houston's 4–3 win over the New York Mets.


 * 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.


 * 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.

Movies

 * The Slugger's Wife

Deaths

 * 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 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 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
 * May 6 - Kirby Higbe, 70, All-Star pitcher for five NL teams who won 22 games for the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers
 * 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 - Smokey 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
 * 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 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
 * 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