This Date In Royals History--1985 Edition: October 27

The Kansas City Royals are World Series champions.

World Champions!

In a World Series that had been filled with close games and tense moments, the Royals made sure there was no drama in the deciding Game Seven, scoring early and often as they took an 11-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Royals Stadium on Sunday night.

Cardinals starter John Tudor had limited the Royals to one run in 15 2/3 innings in starts in Games One and Four of the Series. But on this night, the Royals were ready for the lefthander. After a scoreless first inning, Steve Balboni worked a walk with one out in the second. Darryl Motley hammered a Tudor pitch into the left-field seats, but it hooked just foul. A frustrated Motley slammed his bat to the ground, then realized he had broken the bat. Armed with new lumber, Motley did the same thing on the next pitch, except this time the ball stayed fair and the Royals were ahead 2-0.

“I’ve had visions and dreams about this. Everyone dreams about being the man in the seventh game of the World Series.”--Motley, quoted by Chris Cottrell, Lawrence Journal-World, October 28, 1985

Kansas City opened up the game and chased Tudor with three runs in the third. Lonnie Smith led off with a walk. One out later, George Brett singled. The Royals pulled off a double steal before Tudor walked Frank White to load the bases. When Jim Sundberg followed with a walk, it forced in a run and also led the Cardinals to summon reliever Bill Campbell to the mound. Balboni singled to left, driving in two runs and increasing the lead to 5-0. Meanwhile, Tudor had taken out his frustrations on an electric fan in the Cardinals’ dugout; he would have to go to the hospital for stitches on his left index finger.

“You like to think that two runs will be enough. You have to believe that. But, frankly, I was pretty nervous and I was glad we were able to pad the lead.”--Royals starter Bret Saberhagen, quoted by Dave Nightingale, The Sporting News, November 4, 1985

And then the Royals removed all doubt with six runs in the fifth, as the Cardinals melted down in more ways than one. Sundberg began the inning with a single, and Jeff Lahti relieved Campbell. Balboni and Motley singled, with Motley picking up another RBI. Lahti got a strikeout and a force out at second when Saberhagen tried for a sacrifice bunt, but could not get the third out. Smith doubled to drive in two runs, and took third on the throw home. Willie Wilson singled, with Smith scoring for an 8-0 lead. Ricky Horton took over for Lahti, but Brett singled.

Things then took an ugly turn. The St. Louis dugout was still simmering from the previous night’s bad call by umpire Don Denkinger, which started the Royals’ game-winning ninth-inning rally (which also was helped along by some Cardinals’ misplays). For reasons known only to him, manager Whitey Herzog brought in Joaquin Andujar, normally a starting pitcher, to try to finish the inning.

But Andujar could not find his control, in more ways than one. White singled for an RBI, and Andujar walked Sundberg to load the bases. Andujar became upset on ball three to Sundberg and argued with Denkinger, working the plate in this game, despite the pitch clearly being inside. Herzog ran out of the dugout to calm his pitcher, got into it with Denkinger, and was ejected. He became the first managerial ejection in the Series since Billy Martin (of course) in 1976.

The next pitch was also obviously outside the strike zone, but Andujar argued more with Denkinger and was also ejected, becoming the first player tossed from a Series game since Clay Carroll in 1970. Andujar charged Denkinger and bumped him before his teammates could restrain him. It was the first time in 50 years that both a player and manager had been ejected from a World Series game.

Bob Forsch took over for Andujar, helping the Cardinals tie a Series record for most pitchers used in one inning. Forsch’s first pitch was in the dirt and back to the backstop, and Brett scored easily for an 11-0 lead before Forsch finally got the last out of the inning.

With four innings left, the Royals and their fans could sense the franchise’s first championship. The wait for veterans like Wilson, Brett, White, and Dan Quisenberry was nearly at an end.

“After we got the eighth run, we knew we had it. We knew if Sabes ran out of gas, we had seven other guys who could come in. The guys in the game weren’t saying much, but the guys on the bench were having a good time.”--White, quoted by Chris Cottrell, Lawrence Journal-World, October 28, 1985

Saberhagen capped his Cy Young campaign and a whirlwind couple of days with a World Series MVP trophy. Saberhagen, whose wife Janeane gave birth to the couple’s first child on Saturday morning before Game Six, cemented his MVP status with a complete-game shutout, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out two. At age 21, he became the second-youngest pitcher to throw a shutout in the World Series; only Jim Palmer was younger when he accomplished it. Saberhage pitched 18 innings in the Series, allowing one run on 11 hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts.

“It was a great time to score 11 runs. Having a baby has to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Winning the World Series has to be a close second fiddle.”--Saberhagen, quoted by Chris Cottrell, Lawrence Journal-World, October 28, 1985

We’ll leave it to the Royals’ skipper to sum up this unlikely season:

“It would take me two or three weeks to tell you about this season. No one likes to be behind like we have been this year and always battling the odds. To put it mildly, we never did anything easy from the regular season to the playoffs to the World Series. We just really never stopped believing in ourselves no matter what the situation. I can’t tell you the times we’ve been counted out in the regular season, the playoffs, and the World Series. No one on this team knew the meaning of the word quit.”--Howser, quoted by Chris Cottrell, Lawrence Journal-World, October 28, 1985

Box score and play-by-play:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA198510270.shtml

Today’s birthdays: U L Washington (1953), Terry Bell (1962), Bip Roberts (1963), Bobby Moore (1965)