| 1985 Kansas City Royals | ||
|---|---|---|
| World Series Champions American League Champions American League West Champions | ||
| League | American League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | Royals Stadium | |
| City | Kansas City, Missouri | |
| Record | 91–71 (.562) | |
| Divisional place | 1st | |
| Owners | Ewing Kauffman | |
| General managers | John Schuerholz | |
| Managers | Dick Howser | |
| Television | WDAF-TV 4 (Denny Matthews, Denny Trease, Fred White) Sports Time (Phil Stone, Dwayne Mosley) | |
| Radio | WIBW–AM 580 KCMO–AM 810 (Denny Matthews, Fred White) | |
| ||
The 1985 Kansas City Royals season was the 17th season in Royals franchise history. It ended with the Royals' first World Series championship over their intra-state rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals won the American League West for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in ten years. The team improved its record to 91–71 on the strength of its pitching, led by Bret Saberhagen's Cy Young Award-winning performance.
In the postseason, the Royals went on to win the ALCS for just the second time and the World Series for the first time (they previously lost the 1980 World Series). Both the ALCS and the World Series were won in seven games after the Royals lost the first two games at home and three of the first four games overall. The championship series against the Cardinals was forever remembered in St. Louis by umpires' supposedly blown calls in Game Six: one that cost the Royals a run in the 4th, and a blown call by umpire Don Denkinger that allowed Jorge Orta to reach first. The World Series is remembered in Kansas City as the culmination of ten years of dominance by the Royals, during which they reached the playoffs seven times, with stars such as George Brett, Hal McRae and Willie Wilson.
The team was managed by Dick Howser in his fourth and final full season with the Royals.
The Royals did not return to the postseason until 2014 and won the World Series again in 2015.