This Date In Royals History--1985 Edition: July 13

Bret Saberhagen picks up win number 10 as the Royals defeat Cleveland, America has a new president for a few hours, and seemingly everyone watches Live Aid.

Bret Saberhagen picked up his 10th win of the season, striking out nine in a complete-game effort as the Royals defeated the Indians 5-1 on Saturday night at Cleveland Stadium.

Saberhagen did not walk anyone and limited Cleveland to eight singles and an Andre Thornton home run leading off the sixth. Apart from the home run, the Indians had one runner reach third base. That came in the third, when Brett Butler and Julio Franco each singled with one out. But Saberhagen struck out Tony Bernazard and retired Thornton on a popup to end the inning.

“For a young guy, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone throw the fastball as well and as accurately as him. He’s pitching as good as any right-hander in the league right now.”--Royals manager Dick Howser, quoted by the Associated Press, July 14, 1985

“I think that right now is the best that I’ve ever thrown during my professional career.”--Saberhagen, quoted by the Associated Press, July 14, 1985

Cleveland starter Bert Blyleven also pitched a complete game, striking out 10 hitters without issuing a walk. However, the Royals collected 11 hits, although 10 of them were singles.

The one hit that was not a single was Frank White’s home run with one out in the second. That put the Royals on top 1-0. Next, Blyleven hit Steve Balboni with a pitch. Jim Sundberg followed with a single. One out later, Willie Wilson singled to load the bases. Dane Iorg singled to drive in two runs and Kansas City had a 3-0 lead.

The Royals added two more runs in the eighth. With two outs, Darryl Motley singled and stole second. White singled to score Motley, and took second on the throw home. Balboni followed with a single to score White for a 5-1 lead. With Saberhagen mowing down the Indians, that was plenty of offense.

Kansas City improved to 43-42 with the win. They were in third place in the AL West, 7.5 games behind California.

Box score and play-by-play:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE198507130.shtml

1985 baseball news: The St. Louis Cardinals, surprising most observers with their perch atop the NL East, announced a contract extension through the 1988 season for manager Whitey Herzog. Details were not announced, other than the fact Herzog would receive a substantial raise beginning with the 1986 season. St. Louis had been picked to finish in the bottom half of the division but instead had the best record in the National League.

1985 baseball news: One of the Cardinals who helped St. Louis compile that record, Joaquin Andujar, was replaced on the All-Star Game roster after he announced he would not pitch in the game because he was not starting. San Diego manager Dick Williams, who would skipper the NL squad, had said that the Friday night matchup between Andujar and the Padres’ LaMarr Hoyt might determine who he picked to start. Andujar, 15-3 before a tough-luck 2-0 loss in that game (the Cardinals were held to three hits by Hoyt and Rich Gossage), obviously felt he should get the nod. He was replaced on the roster by New York Mets starter Ron Darling, in part because Dwight Gooden was scheduled to pitch the last game before the break. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Pedro Guerrero, suffering from a sore back, was also replaced on the roster by Philadelphia outfielder Glenn Wilson.

1985 news: For about eight hours, America had a new president. President Reagan had undergone a routine colonoscopy on Friday, during which doctors discovered a large polyp. He was not under anesthesia for that procedure, but when doctors determined they needed to remove the polyp, he would be under for several hours. Citing the 25th Amendment, Reagan turned presidential powers over to Vice President Bush. The surgery lasted about three hours as doctors removed a two-foot long section of Reagan’s colon, and the president resumed his position about eight hours after he was wheeled into the operating room. Doctors later announced the polyp was cancerous, but noted no signs of cancer elsewhere in the 74-year-old’s body and estimated he had a “better than 50 percent chance” of living at least another five years.

1985 news: Huge crowds gathered at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, and a TV audience estimated at 1.9 billion people watched, as pretty much every big name in music put on Live Aid, an effort to raise funds for the famine in Ethiopia. Although estimates vary and it is unclear how much help actually got to needy people, it seems to have raised more than $245 million. Perhaps the highlight of the concert was Queen, with lead singer Freddie Mercury, mesmerizing the audience in London and on TV. But there were plenty of other compelling moments, such as U2’s performance that arguably made them international stars; or a reunion of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; or Phil Collins playing in London, hopping on the Concorde to New York, then taking a helicopter ride to Philly to perform there.

Today’s birthdays: Jerry Terrell (1946), Pat Rapp (1967)