The 1985 World Series, popularly known as the "Show-Me Series" and the I-70 Series, pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion Kansas City Royals. Interstate 70, which crosses Missouri and links the two cities together, inspired the nickname for this year's Major League Baseball championship.

It was the second Missouri-only World Series: the first was the 1944 World Series between two St. Louis teams, the Cardinals vs. the Browns.

Although the Royals lost the first two games at home, they overcame their poor start and became World Series champions for the first time, thanks in particular to MVP Bret Saberhagen and his victories in Games 3 and 7.

Managers: Dick Howser (Kansas City), Whitey Herzog (St. Louis)

Umpires: Don Denkinger (AL), Billy Williams (NL), Jim McKean (AL), Bob Engel (NL), John Shulock (AL), Jim Quick (NL)

Television: ABC (Al Michaels, Tim McCarver and Jim Palmer announcing)

Game 1

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
                     - - - - - - - - - - - -
 St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 7 1
 Kansas City Royals  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
 PITCHERS: STL - Tudor, Worrell (7)
 KCR - Jackson, Quisenberry (8), Jackson (9)
 WP - Tudor
	 LP - Jackson
 SAVE - Worrell
 HOME RUNS: STL- none
 KCR- none
 ATTENDANCE: 41,650

John Tudor continued his regular season success in the World Series by stopping the Royals, 3-1. Danny Jackson was the Royals starter and loser.

Game 2

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
                     - - - - - - - - - - - -
 St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 6 0
 Kansas City Royals  0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 0
 PITCHERS: STL - Cox, Dayley (8), Lahti (9)
 KCR - Leibrandt, Quisenberry (9)
 WP - Dayley
	 LP - Leibrandt
 SAVE - Lahti
 HOME RUNS: STL- none
 KCR - none
 ATTENDANCE: 41,656

Charlie Leibrandt continued a history of tough luck in the post-season. The previous year, he had lost game three of the 1984 ALCS, 1-0, when he pitched a three-hit complete game. He lost game four in the 1985 ALCS in the ninth inning. And clinging to a two-run lead in the ninth, manager Dick Howser opted to not send in his relief ace Dan Quisenberry to close out the game. Leibrandt faltered, and only one out from tying the series at one apiece, Leibrandt yielded a bases loaded double to Terry Pendleton that scored three runs and gave the Cardinals a 4-2 win at Royals Stadium.

Game 3

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
                     - - - - - - - - - - - -
 Kansas City Royals  0 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 6 11 0
 St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  6 0
 PITCHERS: KCR - Saberhagen 
 STL - Andujar, Campbell (5), Horton (6), Dayley (8)
 WP - Saberhagen
	 LP - Andujar
 SAVE - none
 HOME RUNS: KCR - White
 STL - none
 ATTENDANCE: 53,634

The Royals got back into the series by riding ace Bret Saberhagen to a 6-1 victory against twenty-game winner Joaquín Andújar. Saberhagen flashed messages on the television screen to his pregnant wife who was due to give birth any day. She eventually gave birth on October 26.

Game 4

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
                     - - - - - - - - - - - -
 Kansas City Royals  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
 St. Louis Cardinals 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 X 3 6 0
 PITCHERS: KCR - Black, Beckwith (6), Quisenberry (8)
 STL - Tudor
 WP - Tudor
	 LP - Black
 SAVE - none
 HOME RUNS: KCR - none
 STL - Landrum, McGee
 ATTENDANCE: 53,634

John Tudor's complete game shutout put the Cardinals on the verge of winning their second World Series in four years, 3-0. Tito Landrum, only playing due to an injury to Vince Coleman, continued to make his case for MVP with a home run.

Game 5

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
                     - - - - - - - - - -  - -
 Kansas City Royals  1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 11 2
 St. Louis Cardinals 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5 1
 PITCHERS: KCR - Jackson
 STL - Forsch, Horton (2), Campbell (4), Worrell (6), Lahti (8)
 WP - Jackson
	 LP - Forsch
 SAVE - none
 HOME RUNS: KCR - none
 STL - none
 ATTENDANCE: 53,634

Entering this game, the Royals were three for three in must-win games in the postseason. They ended this one four for four with a victory over the Cardinals, again by the score of 6-1. Danny Jackson was the winning pitcher, following the same formula and pitching rotation as the Royals did in the ALCS where Jackson also won game five.

Game 6

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R  H E
                     - - - - - - - - - -  - -
 St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  5 0
 Kansas City Royals  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 10 0
 PITCHERS: STL - Cox, Dayley (8), Worrell (9)
 KCR - Leibrandt, Quisenberry (8)
 WP - Quisenberry
	 LP - Worrell
 SAVE - none
 HOME RUNS: STL - none
 KCR - none
 ATTENDANCE: 41,628

Many fans recall this game as the night the Royals won the World Series, although they still needed another victory to claim the title. A pitcher's duel unfolded with Danny Cox and Charlie Leibrandt, the tough-luck loser in game two, trading goose eggs until the eighth. That's when Brian Harper singled home Terry Pendelton to give the Cardinals the lead and inside track for the title. But the bottom of the ninth featured controversy and a collapse by the Cardinals.

Whitey Herzog called on rookie reliver Todd Worrell to pitch the ninth. The first batter, Jorge Orta, send a routine bouncer to Jack Clark. He tossed to Worrell and got Orta for the seeming first out, but umpire Don Denkinger erroneously called Orta safe. Every replay angle indicated that Orta was out. Instead of one out, the Royals now had one on and slugger Steve Balboni at the plate. Balboni lifted a routine pop-up in foul territory along the first base dugout. Darrell Porter claimed he had it and then didn't, and the ball fell harmlessly behind Jack Clark. Given a reprieve, Balboni singled, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Sent to bunt the runners over, Jim Sundberg's bunt was fielded perfectly by Worrell, and he threw out Orta at third.

But the rally stopper was undone when Porter's passed ball allowed the runners to move up and forced Herzog to walk Royals pinch-hitter Hal McRae. With the bases loaded and one out, pinch-hitter Dane Iorg looped a single to right field. Pinch runner Onix Concepcion scored the tying run and Sundberg approached the plate with the winning run. Andy Van Slyke's throw was on the money, but Porter made a short attempt to tag Sundberg, who slid home safely with the game-winning run.

The Cardinals fumed afterward, blaming Denkinger for the call and the loss. Denkinger was also scheduled to be the home plate umpire in game seven. See also:

• MLB.com's coverage Game 6
• Don Denkinger#The Call

Game 7

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E
                     - - - - - - - - -  -  - -
 St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  5 0
 Kansas City Royals  0 2 3 0 6 0 0 0 X 11 14 0
 PITCHERS: STL - Tudor, Campbell (3), Lahti (5), Horton (5), Andujar (5), Forsch (5), Dayley (7)
 KCR - Saberhagen
 WP - Saberhagen
	 LP - Tudor
 SAVE - none
 HOME RUNS: STL - none
 KCR - Motley
 ATTENDANCE: 41,658

One night after becoming a father, Bret Saberhagen tossed a five-hitter and the Royals became the only team to ever come from a three games to one deficit twice in the same postseason to win the World Series. Saberhagen got all the offense he needed when Darryl Motley homered to left off John Tudor. Tudor left the game trailing in the third, and hit a power fan that resulted in a cut fingertip. In the long fifth inning, reliever Joaquín Andújar twice charged home plate umpire Don Denkinger to disagree with his strike zone. Andújar and Whitey Herzog were both ejected, and Andújar was suspended for the first ten games of the 1986 season.

Trivia

• This was the first World Series in which all games were played at night.
• The Cardinals' .185 batting average was the lowest for a seven-game World Series until the New York Yankees hit .183 in the 2001 World Series.
• Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog was ejected in Game 7 by the home plate umpire, Don Denkinger. Denkinger had infamously and incorrectly called safe Jorge Orta at first base in Game 6. When asked about why he would allow himself to get ejected from the seventh game of the World Series, Herzog said "I've seen enough!"
• The day before starting Game 7, World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen's wife Janeane gave birth to the couple's first child, a nine-pound, three-ounce boy named Drew William. By the 8th inning of Game 7, Saberhagen looked directly towards ABC's cameras and asked his wife over the air, "Is the baby still there?"
• John Tudor was so enraged after his performance in Game 7, in which he allowed five earned runs and four walks in 2 1/3 innings, that he took a punch (with his throwing hand) at an electric fan. The fan got the better of the encounter. Many viewers were initially confused when the announcers reported that Tudor had "punched a fan in the clubhouse."
• This was the first World Series that featured commentator Tim McCarver, who called the World Series with Al Michaels and Jim Palmer for ABC. Howard Cosell was originally supposed to be in the booth, but he was removed from his assignment just prior to Game 1 because of the controversy surrounding his book I Never Played the Game.
• Game 6 hero (and former Cardinal) Dane Iorg got his nose broken when his teammates, led by 230 pound (104 kg) pitcher Mike Jones, mobbed him after his game winning hit.
• Perhaps the most memorable image of the Series was George Brett racing over to hug Bret Saberhagen after the clinching out. Just moments earlier, Brett approached his pitcher at the mound and told him to stick around on the mound once the final out was made.
• The Royals became the first team ever to win the World Series after dropping Games 1 and 2 at home.
• The Cardinals scored only 13 total runs, an all-time low for a seven game series, scoring only once in the final 26 innings of the series. If they had held on for the win in Game 6, they still would have been outscored in the series 15-13.
• According to George Brett, although he has come in contact with embattled umpire Don Denkinger (briefly crossing paths at banquets for instance) years after the controversial events in the 1985 World Series, Brett has claimed that he has never directly mentioned "The Call" to Denkinger.

“You Can’t Blame Don Denkinger”

In October 2005, 20 years after "The Call", ESPN Classic aired The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... Don Denkinger for the Cardinals losing the 1985 World Series. Their reasons why the umpire should not be held as the scapegoat:

• 5. Cardinal outfielder Vince Coleman had been injured during the NLCS. Not realizing it was happening until it was too late, the National League's top base-stealer had been run over by a tarp that a built-in mechanism rolled out of the artificial turf at Busch Stadium. Baseball's fastest man (at the time) had been removed from active play by a two-mile-an-hour machine. Had Coleman been able to play, he could have made a difference in the World Series.

• 4. Tommy Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, kept using Tom Niedenfuer to relieve in the NLCS. Niedenfuer gave up a game-winning home run to light-hitting Ozzie Smith in Game 5. Then Lasorda put in Niedenfuer, who had only a fastball, to face Jack Clark, one of the game's top fastball hitters, in the ninth inning of Game 6, resulting in a home run that scored the runs that won the pennant. Had Lasorda not made that decision, it might have been the Dodgers who played the Royals, and Cardinal fans wouldn't have cared if Denkinger had hurt the Dodgers by making the same mistake.

• 3. The Cardinals stopped hitting. Their .185 batting average was the lowest ever in a seven-game Series and 79 points below their league-leading .264 during the regular season. Willie McGee, pressed into the leadoff spot in Coleman's absence, batted only .259 — nearly 100 points lower than his league-leading .353. Tom Herr didn't drive in a run after leading the Cardinals with 110 RBIs during the regular season.
• 2. The Cardinals' defense. After "The Call", Steve Balboni hit a pop-up behind first base. Catcher Darrell Porter called for it, then yelled that he didn't have it, giving first baseman Clark little chance to catch it. Balboni then singled. Later, with one out and runners on 1st and 2nd, Porter then got his signals mixed up with pitcher Todd Worrell, and a passed ball was the result, advancing the runners and forcing the Cardinals to intentionally walk pinch hitter Hal McRae loading the bases and leading to Dane Iorg's game-winning single.

• 1. There was still a Game 7. The Cardinals could have put their Game 6 loss in the past and concentrated on the game to come. Instead, they were mentally unprepared to play and had a collective nervous breakdown, with manager Whitey Herzog blaming Denkinger in the post-Game 6 press conference, and pitcher Joaquín Andújar losing his cool as Denkinger called two straight walks on him in Game 7.

• The episode also featured a "Best of the Rest" which focused on the need for instant replay. Had it existed at the time, Denkinger's call would very easily have been reversed. Also, the American League Championship Series was in its first year of a best-of-seven after having played a best-of-five since the inception of the playoffs in 1969. Had it retained its best-of-five format, the Toronto Blue Jays would have been facing the Cardinals in the World Series, having won three of the first four games in its series with Kansas City. But the Royals came back to win the next three games to win the ALCS and faced St. Louis in the World Series instead.

One rarely mentioned factor that contributed heavily to the Cardinals' Game 6 loss was manager Whitey Herzog's decision to stay with his right-handed pitcher, Todd Worrell, when left-handed hitting Dane Iorg came to the plate. Iorg was the Royals' last pinch-hitter of any ability left, and he had not faced a single left-handed pitcher during the entire season. Herzog had a lefty ready in the bullpen and the Royals had nothing with which to counter, yet he went against the percentages and lost.

Quotes of the Series

• "Is the baby still there?" - Bret Saberhagen (see above)
• "Little squibber to the right side, Worrell racing to cover and the throw doesn't get him! - ABC Sports announcer Al Michaels calling Don Denkinger's infamous call in Game 6
  • "Looks like he's out!" - ABC Sports color commentator Jim Palmer pointing out Don Denkinger's mistake.
• "And there's a blooper to right field for a base hit! Concepcion scores! Here comes Sundberg! Here comes the throw...he scores!!! We go to a seventh!!!" - Al Michaels
• "That's Whitey Herzog screaming at Don Denkinger!" - ABC Sports color commentator Tim McCarver talking about the Cardinal manager's frustrations with the home plate umpire in Game 7.
• "To (Darryl) Motley...for the title! The Kansas City Royals are the 1985 World Champions." - Al Michaels
• "Eleven to nothing. The one-oh pitch...fly ball, Motley going back to the track...no outs to go! The Royals have won the 1985 World Series. And they converge on the mound in celebration!" - Denny Matthews

External links

• 1985 World Series by Baseball Almanac
• Baseball-Reference.com > Postseason > 1985 World Series
• History of the World Series - 1985
• 1985 Kansas City Royals
• 1985 St. Louis Cardinals
• K.C. Had A Blast

1985 in baseball | 1985 Kansas City Royals World Series Championship Team | Major League Baseball on ABC | Kansas City Royals | St. Louis Cardinals | World Series | Memorable moments in baseball