1985 Detroit Tigers season

The 1985 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 85th season and the 74th season at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The 1985 Detroit Tigers finished in third place in the American League East with a record of 84–77 (.522), 15 games behind the Blue Jays. The Tigers outscored their opponents 729 to 688. The Tigers drew 2,286,609 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1983, ranking 3rd of the 14 teams in the American League.

1985 Detroit Tigers
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Tiger Stadium
City	Detroit
Owners	Tom Monaghan
General managers	Bill Lajoie
Managers	Sparky Anderson
Television	WDIV-TV (George Kell, Al Kaline) PASS (Bill Freehan, Larry Osterman, Jim Northrup)
Radio	WJR (Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey)
← 1984 Seasons 1986 →

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Toronto Blue Jays	99	62	.615	—	54‍–‍26	45‍–‍36
New York Yankees	97	64	.602	2	58‍–‍22	39‍–‍42
Detroit Tigers	84	77	.522	15	44‍–‍37	40‍–‍40
Baltimore Orioles	83	78	.516	16	45‍–‍36	38‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox	81	81	.500	18½	43‍–‍37	38‍–‍44
Milwaukee Brewers	71	90	.441	28	40‍–‍40	31‍–‍50
Cleveland Indians	60	102	.370	39½	38‍–‍43	22‍–‍59

Record vs. opponents

1985 American League record v t e Sources:
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

• April 5, 1985: Roger Mason was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the San Francisco Giants for Alejandro Sánchez.^[1]
• June 3, 1985: 1985 Major League Baseball draft
  • Scott Lusader was drafted by the Tigers in the 6th round.^[2]
  • Mark Lee was drafted by the Tigers in the 15th round.^[3]
  • Andy Stankiewicz was drafted by the Tigers in the 18th round, but did not sign.^[4]
  • John Smoltz was drafted by the Tigers in the 22nd round. Player signed September 22, 1985.^[5]

Roster

1985 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 40 Doug Bair 44 Juan Berenguer 43 Chuck Cary 21 Willie Hernández 29 Aurelio López 42 Mickey Mahler 47 Jack Morris 49 Randy O'Neal 46 Dan Petry 17 Bill Scherrer 48 Bob Stoddard 26 Frank Tanana 35 Walt Terrell 39 Milt Wilcox		Catchers  8 Marty Castillo 19 Scotti Madison 18 Bob Melvin 13 Lance Parrish Infielders  9 Doug Baker 14 Dave Bergman 16 Tom Brookens 41 Darrell Evans 20 Doug Flynn 27 Bárbaro Garbey 15 Rusty Kuntz  4 Mike Laga 12 Chris Pittaro  3 Alan Trammell  1 Lou Whitaker		Outfielders 23 Kirk Gibson 31 Larry Herndon 34 Chet Lemon 32 Alejandro Sánchez 37 Nelson Simmons 20 Jim Weaver Other batters 30 Johnny Grubb		Manager 11 Sparky Anderson Coaches 50 Billy Consolo 51 Alex Grammas 56 Billy Muffett 28 Vada Pinson 53 Dick Tracewski

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

= Indicates league 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	Lance Parrish	140	549	150	.273	28	98
1B	Darrell Evans	151	505	125	.248	40	94
2B	Lou Whitaker	152	609	170	.279	21	73
3B	Tom Brookens	156	485	115	.237	7	47
SS	Alan Trammell	149	605	156	.258	13	57
RF	Kirk Gibson	154	581	167	.287	29	97
CF	Chet Lemon	145	517	137	.265	18	68
LF	Larry Herndon	137	442	108	.244	12	37
DH	Johnny Grubb	78	155	38	.245	5	25

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Nelson Simmons	75	251	60	.239	10	33
Bárbaro Garbey	86	237	61	.257	6	29
Dave Bergman	69	140	25	.179	3	7
Alejandro Sánchez	71	133	33	.248	6	12
Marty Castillo	57	84	10	.119	2	5
Bob Melvin	41	82	18	.220	0	4
Chris Pittaro	28	62	15	.242	0	7
Doug Flynn	32	51	13	.255	0	2
Mike Laga	9	36	6	.167	2	6
Doug Baker	15	27	5	.185	0	1
Scotti Madison	6	11	0	.000	0	1
Jim Weaver	12	7	1	.143	0	0
Rusty Kuntz	5	5	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jack Morris	35	257.0	16	11	3.33	191
Dan Petry	34	238.2	15	13	3.36	109
Walt Terrell	34	229.0	15	10	3.85	130
Frank Tanana	20	137.1	10	7	3.34	107
Milt Wilcox	8	39.0	1	3	4.85	20

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Juan Berenguer	31	95.0	5	6	5.59	82
Randy O'Neal	28	94.1	5	5	3.24	52
Mickey Mahler	3	20.2	1	2	1.74	14

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W= Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games Finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	GF	ERA	SO
Willie Hernández	74	8	10	31	64	2.70	76
Aurelio López	51	3	7	5	22	4.80	53
Bill Scherrer	48	3	2	0	14	4.36	46
Doug Bair	21	2	0	0	4	6.24	30
Chuck Cary	16	0	1	2	6	3.42	22
Bob Stoddard	8	0	0	1	3	6.75	11

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1985 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract:

• Lance Parrish: 19th best catcher of all time
• Lou Whitaker: 13th best second baseman of all time
• Darrell Evans: 10th best third baseman of all time
• Alan Trammell: 9th best shortstop of all time
• Kirk Gibson: 36th best left fielder of all time
• Chet Lemon: 48th best center fielder of all time

Award winners and league leaders

Tom Brookens

• AL leader in errors by a third baseman (23)
• #9 in AL in doubles (34)

Darrell Evans

• Tiger of the Year Award, by Detroit baseball writers
• MLB leader in home runs (40)
• MLB leader in at bats per home run (12.6)
• Finished 14th in AL MVP voting
• #4 in AL in intentional walks (12)
• #5 in AL in slugging percentage (.519)
• #7 in AL in bases on balls (85)
• #8 in AL in OPS (.875)

Kirk Gibson

• AL leader in errors by an outfielder (11)
• Finished 18th in AL MVP voting
• #2 in AL in Power/Speed Number (29.5)
• #2 in AL in intentional walks (16)
• #3 in AL in extra base hits (71)
• #4 in AL in sacrifice flies (10)
• #4 in AL in strikeouts (137)
• #6 in AL in slugging percentage (.518)
• #6 in AL in total bases (301)
• #6 in AL in runs created (118)
• #7 in AL in OPS (.882)
• #7 in AL in doubles (37)
• #8 in AL in strikeouts (30)
• #9 in AL in home runs (29)
• #10 in MLB in total bases (301)
• #10 in MLB in doubles (37)
• #10 in MLB in runs created (118)

Willie Hernández

• AL All Star Team, pitcher
• #2 in MLB in games finished (64)
• #3 in AL in saves (31)
• #3 in AL in games (74)

Chet Lemon

• #5 in AL in times hit by pitch (10)

Jack Morris

• AL All Star Team, starting pitcher
• AL leader in wild pitches (15)
• #2 in AL in shutouts (4)
• #2 in AL in bases on balls allowed (110)
• #3 in AL in strikeouts (191)
• #4 in AL in hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (7.42)
• #4 in AL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (6.69)
• #5 in AL in complete games (13)
• #10 in MLB in batters faced (1077)

Lance Parrish

• AL Gold Glove Award, catcher
• AL All Star Team, catcher

Dan Petry

• AL All Star Team, pitcher
• #3 in AL in hits allowed per 9 innings (7.16)
• #5 in AL in walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) (1.135)

Frank Tanana

• #3 in AL in strikeout to walk ratio (2.79)
• #5 in AL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (6.66)

Walt Terrell

• #4 in AL in shutouts (3)

Alan Trammell

• AL All Star Team, shortstop
• #7 in AL in sacrifice hits (11)
• #8 in AL in outs (480)
• #9 in AL in sacrifice flies (9)

Lou Whitaker

• AL Gold Glove Award, second base
• AL Silver Slugger Award, second base
• AL All Star Team, starting second baseman
• #7 in AL in triples (8)
• #9 in AL in plate appearances (701)
• #9 in AL in runs created (107)
• #9 in AL in times on base (252)
• #10 in AL in runs (102)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Nashville Sounds	American Association	Lee Walls, Leon Roberts, and Gordon Mackenzie
AA	Birmingham Barons	Southern League	Gordon Mackenzie, Mark DeJohn, Frank Franchi, and Jerry Grote
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	Jerry Grote and Moby Benedict
Rookie	Bristol Tigers	Appalachian League	Tom Burgess

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol