1985 Toronto Blue Jays

[Terminator]

This team has the franchise record for wins with 99 and was one win away from the World Series but they aren't often talked about amongst the current Jays fandom.

 

Do any of you who were around for the ride back then have anything you'd like to share about the team and it's playoff run?

 

I have so many questions. Did the city of Toronto catch baseball fever during this year? What was the team good at? What was their weakness? How was Jimmy Key so effective with a 3.6 K/9?

[Spanky99]

This team has the franchise record for wins with 99 and was one win away from the World Series but they aren't often talked about amongst the current Jays fandom.

 

Do any of you who were around for the ride back then have anything you'd like to share about the team and it's playoff run?

 

I have so many questions. Did the city of Toronto catch baseball fever during this year? What was the team good at? What was their weakness? How was Jimmy Key so effective with a 3.6 K/9?

 

I was at the game when we clinched the pennant at 12 years old against the Yankees.

[Spanky99]

That club was amazing, best OF in the bigs at the time. Actually, best defense too likely at the time. I'll go with weak contact and defense in consideration to Key, he was my Lefty Hero!!!

 

Edit: Key held baserunners to near Zero, which was huge at the time too.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Spanky99

[Laika]

Look at the young core in 1985

 

Bell - 25

Moseby - 25

Barfield - 25

Stieb - 27

Key - 25

Fernandez - 23

Gruber - 23

Henke - 27

 

Even Mulliniks, Upshaw, and Clancy were under 30.

 

They really only relied on two players 30 or older. Whitt and Doyle. I doubt Dennis Lamp or Garth Iorg mattered much.

 

McGriff, Wells, and elite prospect Sil Campusano on the farm

[The_DH]

The city was going crazy -- a lot of people followed the team who were not usual baseball fans. The starters were extremely reliable. The offence worked wonders. The only poor position was 1b Willie Upshaw. It should have been Fielder. But otherwise that team was fun to watch.

[Spanky99]

Look at the young core in 1985

 

Bell - 25

Moseby - 25

Barfield - 25

Stieb - 27

Key - 25

Fernandez - 23

Gruber - 23

Henke - 27

 

Even Mulliniks, Upshaw, and Clancy were under 30.

 

They really only relied on two players 30 or older. Whitt and Doyle. I doubt Dennis Lamp or Garth Iorg mattered much.

 

McGriff, Wells, and elite prospect Sil Campusano on the farm

 

That club was so good.

[Krylian]

I started paying attention to the team that September. I remember it's all people could talk about.

[Jimcanuck]

I was 20 and the bars were ELECTRIC when the Jays were playing.

[gruber92]

I was at the game where I feel the city started catching Jays fever. It was late May or early June in 1983 during a week night game vs the Orioles I believe. We were up by a run in the top of ninth with our closer Joey Mclaughlin on the mound. If we win, we move into first place in the division and that would make it the latest in the season we had ever been in first. The sparse crowd were all standing chanting "we're number one". Joey came through and we hit a milestone.

[mellowgold]

I wonder if those 99 wins could be in jeopardy this year. That young core is ridiculous though.

[gruber92]

Look at the young core in 1985

 

Bell - 25

Moseby - 25

Barfield - 25

Stieb - 27

Key - 25

Fernandez - 23

Gruber - 23

Henke - 27

 

Even Mulliniks, Upshaw, and Clancy were under 30.

 

They really only relied on two players 30 or older. Whitt and Doyle. I doubt Dennis Lamp or Garth Iorg mattered much.

 

McGriff, Wells, and elite prospect Sil Campusano on the farm

 

Isn't that the year Lamp was 11-0 out of the pen?

[mellowgold]

Isn't that the year Lamp was 11-0 out of the pen?

 

If Lamp didn't make a motion to pull the lamp cord for "lights out" after a save, he should have.

[Dick_Pole]

Too young for 1985. But one of my earlier memories of baseball at 8 years old was getting that Topps Dennis Lamp card for Boston turning it around and seeing he went 11-0 for the Jays. Wow! How was he so good!

 

I remember my young ignorant self watching those Jays teams of the late 80's early 90's and that four year period out of the last 50 where the Yankees were hot garbage and thought that was how baseball always was. Boy did I get a shock when I got my first Jays almanac and saw it only went back to 1977 and what happened in 1977

[TheHurl]

My best friend was a ball boy in 1985. I sat in the OF (still $4 at A&P I assume) for a bunch of games. I don't quite remember the buzz. It could be that I was a 14 year old who was way more into my own ball at that point but I don't remember the buzz being as huge as even 87. Certainly not the same as 89. I lived in Detroit in the fall of 89, and remember the shots about the 87 collapse. Jays fans were starting to get some hatred by then. They were just new and kind of feel good in 85.

[The_DH]

If Lamp didn't make a motion to pull the lamp cord for "lights out" after a save, he should have.

 

He didn't get a lot of saves. Wasn't very good as a closer. He wasn't bad at middle relief.

[Olerud363]

Despite being young 85 was the peak of that iteration of the team.

 

Bell, Barfield and Moseby had their highest combined WAR in 85. Stieb reached his peak in 85.

 

I started following closely in '88 and the narrative was already of a decaying team. They made the playoffs again in 89 but by then Barfield was gone, Moseby was cooked, Bell lost half his power. Fernandez honestly seemed to lose a lot after getting hit in the head real bad by a pitch. Does anyone else remember all this?

[The_DH]

from a fan stand point, I'd say the drive of 85 may have been bigger with fans than the 2 world series appearances. Then the strike that followed just destroyed the spirit. We used to be good for a sell-out any day.

[mellowgold]

Just had a quick peek at Moseby's fangraphs page. He had a 6.9 fWAR at age 24 in '84!

Never would have guessed he had a season that high.

[TheHurl]

Jays OF fWAR for that 4 year stretch.

 

1984 - 15.9

1985 - 14.1

1986 - 13.2

1987 - 13.9

 

That is with one Ron Sheppard providing -1.5 in his 114 PA's.

 

1995 Indians Belle, Lofton and Manny is considered on the top 10 all time OF's They had 14.2 fWAR. 1990 Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke (the best OF of my lifetime) were 19.1.

 

Although Alou, Walker and Grissom were all over 4 fWAR in a 110 game season. That was with Rondell, Floyd and Frazier all above replacement as back-ups.

[urtman]

Remember it well as there was so much excitement in the city that year. Backdrop to the whole thing, I starting watching the Jays as an expansion team in ‘77 which was made up of mostly other teams rejects. For the first 6 years, they were dreadful but ‘83 is when we actually had very good players for the first time, Steib, Fernandez, Bell, Whitt, Upshaw, Moseby, Barfield, Clancy and they became very competitive winning 89 games. ‘84 was a washout with the Tigers incredible 35-5 start, although the Jays again won 89 that year as well.

 

So 1985 was to be the Jay’syear. The team won 99 games and the Jays were all over the news and the talk at every workplace. I watched every game but when I couldn’t, I would record games on VHS and watch later. A vivid memory is George Bell catching that fly ball in left field and going to his knees in celebration to end the final game of the regular season which signaled the team’s first AL East pennant.

 

In the ALCS against the Royals, the Jays went up 3 games to 1 and looked like they would be going to the first World Series that would be played in Canada. That was the pinnacle of the season. It was disappointing to see the Jays lose the series 4 ganes to 3. Still remember watching the wind carry Jim Sundberg’s fly ball to the top of the right field fence to clear the bases in game 7, but the atmosphere was still very upbeat as folks were so happy that they made the playoffs. The Jays were so good that they were expected to be back in the playoffs the next year. Took a little longer with the heart breaking last weekend collapse in ‘87 to the Tigers, but that made the two WS victories 6 & 7 years later that much sweeter.

Edited February 18, 2023 by urtman

[Terminator]

I watched every game but when I couldn’t, I would record games on VHS and watch later.

 

Ha I remember my dad doing this same thing with football games when he couldn't watch. The original Tivo.

[Hipfan]

I turned 5 at the end of that summer; don't have a lot of specific memories of that year, but I was certainly a Blue Jays fan and even at that young age had a passing realization that they were a really good team. I remember some time around then I saw a game at the Ex, and the Jays beat the Orioles 9-5 or something like that. It was a great time to be a fan, and the WS wins really just capped off an amazing 10 year run or so. Hopefully the core of this team can reach those heights again!

[Spanky99]

Ha I remember my dad doing this same thing with football games when he couldn't watch. The original Tivo.

 

I did that as a kid, lol.

 

It was awesome... even if I heard the score.

[Spanky99]

I turned 5 at the end of that summer; don't have a lot of specific memories of that year, but I was certainly a Blue Jays fan and even at that young age had a passing realization that they were a really good team. I remember some time around then I saw a game at the Ex, and the Jays beat the Orioles 9-5 or something like that. It was a great time to be a fan, and the WS wins really just capped off an amazing 10 year run or so. Hopefully the core of this team can reach those heights again!

 

That's the whiff I get with this team. The whiff of Pat Gillick.

[Grant77]

Jays OF fWAR for that 4 year stretch.

 

1984 - 15.9

1985 - 14.1

1986 - 13.2

1987 - 13.9

 

That is with one Ron Sheppard providing -1.5 in his 114 PA's.

 

1995 Indians Belle, Lofton and Manny is considered on the top 10 all time OF's They had 14.2 fWAR. 1990 Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke (the best OF of my lifetime) were 19.1.

 

Although Alou, Walker and Grissom were all over 4 fWAR in a 110 game season. That was with Rondell, Floyd and Frazier all above replacement as back-ups.

 

The 1895 Phillies put up 22.1 WAR between 3 starters, all of whom are Hall of Famers, and backup Tuck Turner. He had the lowest batting average of the group at .386.

 

The three starters Sam Thompson, Billy Hamilton, and Ed Delahanty, were all top 5 in WAR, scored 446 runs, and stole 170 bases.

 

That's truly outrageous, even for the era.

[Spanky99]

The 1895 Phillies put up 22.1 WAR between 3 starters, all of whom are Hall of Famers, and backup Tuck Turner. He had the lowest batting average of the group at .386.

 

The three starters Sam Thompson, Billy Hamilton, and Ed Delahanty, were all top 5 in WAR, scored 446 runs, and stole 170 bases.

 

That's truly outrageous, even for the era.

 

Go away Grant, are you serious?

[Grant77]

Go away Grant, are you serious?

 

Yes. Are you drunk?

[Spanky99]

Yes. Are you drunk?

 

Great retort, who cares about 1895 statistics, did they even throw overhand yet?

[polar bear]

Just had a quick peek at Moseby's fangraphs page. He had a 6.9 fWAR at age 24 in '84!

Never would have guessed he had a season that high.

 

Well! There you go,don’t guess.

[Grant77]

Great retort, who cares about 1895 statistics, did they even throw overhand yet?

 

I guess you don't care. I thought it was interesting. Ed Delahanty died in Canada following a Tigers game after getting drunk and falling off of a train bridge into Niagara Falls.