1985 Baltimore Orioles season

1985 Baltimore Orioles
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
East Division (since 1969)
Location
Memorial Stadium (since 1954)
Baltimore (since 1954)
Results
Record	83–78 (.516)
Divisional place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	Edward Bennett Williams
General manager(s)	Hank Peters
Manager(s)	Joe Altobelli, Cal Ripken, Sr., Earl Weaver
Local television	WMAR-TV (Chuck Thompson, Brooks Robinson) Home Team Sports (Rex Barney, Mel Proctor, Jim Palmer, Larry King)
Local radio	WFBR (Jon Miller, Tom Marr)
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The 1985 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League East with a record of 83 wins and 78 losses.

Offseason

• October 2, 1984: Tom Underwood was released by the Baltimore Orioles.^[1]
• December 13, 1984: Don Aase was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[2]
• December 17, 1984: Ron Jackson was released by the Orioles.^[3]
• January 3, 1985: Mike Blowers was drafted by the Orioles in the 4th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.^[4]
• February 7, 1985: Vic Rodriguez was traded by the Orioles to the San Diego Padres for Fritzie Connally.^[5]
• March 27, 1985: Mark Brown was traded by the Orioles to the Minnesota Twins for Brad Havens.^[6]
• March 29, 1985: Todd Cruz was released by the Orioles.^[7]

Regular season

Jim Palmer P Retired 1985

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Toronto Blue Jays	99	62	0.615	—	54–26	45–36
New York Yankees	97	64	0.602	2	58–22	39–42
Detroit Tigers	84	77	0.522	15	44–37	40–40
Baltimore Orioles	83	78	0.516	16	45–36	38–42
Boston Red Sox	81	81	0.500	18½	43–37	38–44
Milwaukee Brewers	71	90	0.441	28	40–40	31–50
Cleveland Indians	60	102	0.370	39½	38–43	22–59

Record vs. opponents

1985 American League Records 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	—

Opening Day starters

• Rich Dauer
• Storm Davis
• Rick Dempsey
• Wayne Gross
• John Lowenstein
• Fred Lynn
• Eddie Murray
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Larry Sheets
• Mike Young^[8]

Notable transactions

• June 3, 1985: Rico Rossy was drafted by the Orioles in the 33rd round of the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed June 6, 1985.^[9]

Roster

1985 Baltimore Orioles roster
Roster
Pitchers 41 Don Aase 47 Eric Bell 52 Mike Boddicker 34 Storm Davis 39 Ken Dixon 46 Mike Flanagan 54 John Habyan 31 Brad Havens 21,48 Phil Huffman 30 Dennis Martínez 23 Tippy Martinez 16 Scott McGregor 36 Nate Snell 53 Sammy Stewart 32 Bill Swaggerty		Catchers 24 Rick Dempsey 17 Joe Nolan 26 Al Pardo Infielders 11 Fritzie Connally 25 Rich Dauer 14 Wayne Gross  3 Leo Hernández 33 Eddie Murray 17 Tom O'Malley 21 Kelly Paris  6 Floyd Rayford  8 Cal Ripken, Jr. 12 Lenn Sakata  2 Alan Wiggins		Outfielders  9 Jim Dwyer 27 Lee Lacy 38 John Lowenstein 19 Fred Lynn 35 Gary Roenicke 37 John Shelby 43 Mike Young Other batters 15 Dan Ford 18 Larry Sheets		Manager 26 Joe Altobelli  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 48 Terry Crowley (Hitting) 44 Elrod Hendricks (Bullpen) 31 Ray Miller (Pitching) 47 Cal Ripken, Sr. (Third Base) 20 Frank Robinson (Bench) 40 Jimmy Williams (First Base)

Player stats

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	Dempsey, RickRick Dempsey	132	362	92	.254	12	52
1B	Murray, EddieEddie Murray	156	583	173	.297	31	124
2B	Wiggins, AlanAlan Wiggins	76	298	85	.285	0	21
3B	Rayford, FloydFloyd Rayford	105	359	110	.306	18	48
SS	Ripken, CalCal Ripken	161	642	181	.282	26	110
LF	Young, MikeMike Young	139	450	123	.273	28	81
CF	Lynn, FredFred Lynn	124	448	118	.263	23	68
RF	Lacy, LeeLee Lacy	121	492	144	.293	9	48
DH	Sheets, LarryLarry Sheets	113	328	86	.262	17	50

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

Pitching

Starting 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

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

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Aase, DonDon Aase	54	10	6	14	3.78	67
Bell, EricEric Bell	4	0	0	0	4.76	4

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Frank Verdi and Mark Wiley
AA	Charlotte O's	Southern League	John Hart
A	Hagerstown Suns	Carolina League	Greg Biagini
A	Daytona Beach Islanders	Florida State League	Jim Hutto
A-Short Season	Newark Orioles	New York–Penn League	Art Mazmanian
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Mike Verdi

Daytona Beach affiliation shared with Texas Rangers

Notes

1. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/underto01.shtml
2. Don Aase page at Baseball Reference
3. Ron Jackson page at Baseball Reference
4. Mike Blowers page at Baseball Reference
5. Vic Rodriguez page at Baseball Reference
6. Mark Brown page at Baseball Reference
7. Todd Cruz page at Baseball Reference
8. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1985&t=BAL
9. Rico Rossy page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1985 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1985 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.