1985 Toronto Blue Jays: Good Team Up North

1985 Toronto Blue Jays: Good Team Up North

[paypal_donation_button]1985 Toronto Blue Jays: Good Team Up North

Established as an official Major League Baseball franchise in 1977, the Toronto Blue Jays experienced the rough growing pains that any new franchise had gone through, multiple losing seasons without a hint of clinching a postseason spot. However, things finally turned around for the Blue Jays in 1985 when they developed a core group of talent that played well together. The Blue Jays finally became a good team up north.

The Blue Jays went 99-62 in 1985 MLB season, winning the American League East division by 2 games over the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays went 7-6 against the Yankees in head-to-head play. The Blue Jays went 54-26 at their original home of Exhibition Stadium, and they went 45-36 on the road.

Third baseman and second baseman Garth Iorg batted .313 with 90 hits and 22 doubles in 131 games. Third baseman Steven Rance Mulliniks batted .295 with 10 home runs, 108 hits and 26 doubles in 129 games. Right fielder Jesse Barfield batted .289 with 27 home runs and 84 RBI’s off 156 hits, 34 doubles, 9 triples and 22 stolen bases. Shortstop Tony Fernandez batted .289 with 163 hits, 10 triples and 13 stolen bases. Second baseman Damaso Garcia batted .282 with 8 home runs and 65 RBI’s off 169 hits, 25 doubles, 4 triples and 28 stolen bases.

Left fielder George Bell batted .275 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI’s off 167 hits, 28 doubles, 6 triples and 21 stolen bases. First baseman Willie Upshaw batted .275 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI’s off 138 hits, 31 doubles and 5 triples. Center fielder Lloyd Moseby had 18 home runs and 70 RBI’s off 151 hits, 30 doubles, 7 triples and 37 stolen bases. Catcher Ernie Whitt had 19 home runs and 64 RBI’s off 101 hits and 21 doubles.

The Blue Jays managed to counter some of the more powerful offenses with a sturdy pitching staff. Soe of these pitchers would go on to have very memorable runs. Starting pitcher Dave Stieb went 14-13 with 167 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA, recording 8 complete games and 2 shutouts. Doyle Alexander went 17-10 woth 142 strikeouts and a 3.45 ERA, recording 6 complete games and 1 shutout. Jimmy Key went 14-6 with a 3.00 ERA and recorded 3 complete games. Jim Clancy went 9-6 with a 3.78 ERA and recorded 1 complete game.

On December 8, 1984 the Blue Jays made an offseason trade that would strengthen their bullpen for at least one season. Closer Bill Caudill would be acquired by Toronto from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for shortstop Alfredo Griffin, outfielder Dave Collins and cash considerations. Caudill was a bright spot in Toronto’s bullpen as he had 14 saves and a 2.99 ERA. Relief pitcher Tom Henke would be chosen by the Blue Jays as a free agent compensation pick from the Texas Rangers on January 24, 1985 and Henke would deliver on what the Blue Jays saw in him. Henke went 3-3 with 13 saves and a 2.03 ERA. Jim Acker went 7-2 with 10 saves and a 3.23 ERA. Gary Lavelle had 8 saves and a 3.10 ERA despite going 5-7. Dennis Lamp went 11-0 with 2 saves and a 3.32 ERA. Tom Filer went 7-0 with a 3.88 ERA. Steve Davis went 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA. Ron Musselman went 3-0 from the bullpen.

The Blue Jays scooped up plenty of awards and accolades for their successful 1985 campaign as 4 Blue Jays made the All-Star Game. Damaso Garcia, Jimmy Key, Dave Stieb and Ernie Whitt would all go to the Mid-Summer Classic. Bobby Cox would be named American League Manager of the Year and The Sporting News Manager of the Year. Stieb would be named Pitcher of the Month in May and he would become the American League ERA Champion. George Bell won the Silver Slugger Award. Jesse Barfield would lead the American League in outfield assists with 22, using his cannon for an arm to throw opposing base-runners out.

The American League Championship Series was nearly taken by the Toronto Blue Jays as they once held a 3 games to 1 series lead over the Kansas City Royals. However, Toronto wasn’t able to hang on to that lead as the Royals came back to win the American League pennant in dramatic fashion, 4 games to 3.

In Game 1 on October 8 at Exhibition Stadium the Blue Jays got off to a good start by winning 6-1. Dave Stieb pitched 8 innings and gave up 3 hits and 1 walk while recording 8 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 2nd inning Ernie Whitt and Tony Fernandez both had RBI singles. In the bottom of the 3rd Rance Mulliniks had an RBI single, and then Whitt drew a bases loaded walk to score Jesse Barfield. Fernandez topped things off with a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 4th designated hitter Cliff Johnson had an RBI groundout. Right fielder Pat Sheridan’s RBI groundout in the top of the 9th was all that Kansas City would get for offense.

In Game 2 on October 9 Toronto won again, this time by a close 6-5 score. In the top of the 3rd center fielder Willie Wilson crushed a 2-run home run for Kansas City, and in the top of the 4th catcher Jim Sundberg had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 4th Johnson had his own RBI double, and in the bottom of the 6th Barfield had a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 8th George Bell had a sacrifice fly, and in the top of the 9th Pat Sheridan tied the game up by hitting a solo home run. Second baseman Frank White had an RBI single in the top of the 10th to give the Royals a 5-4 lead, but a pair of RBI singles by Lloyd Moseby and pinch hitting designated hitter Al Oliver gave Toronto the victory.

In Game 4 on October 12 at Royals Stadium, the Blue Jays won 3-1 to take a 3 games to 1 series lead. Dave Stieb was once again great for Toronto as he pitched 6.2 innings, giving up 2 hits, 7 walks and 1 run, but he also recorded 6 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th designated hitter Hal McRae drew a bases loaded walk to score left fielder Lonnie Smith. However, in the top of the 9th Moseby and Oliver foiled Kansas City’s plans again as Moseby had an RBI double and Oliver followed with a 2-run double.

It would only take 4 years for the Blue Jays to get back in position to go after a World Series championship, and thanks to their 1985 campaign, the Blue Jays had become a good team up north.