Going into the 1985 World Series, the Kansas City Royals knew they were the underdogs. Their pitching staff, although successful, was much less established than their opponent, the 101-game winning St. Louis Cardinals. And their offense seemed to be several notches below. In fact, the Royals finished second-to-last in batting in the American League in 1985.

And since this series was the last where the designated hitter was not used, even in American League parks, one of the team’s most powerful hitters, Hal McRae, was rendered a bench player.

But they did have a few potent weapons left, most noticeably a ballplayer who many already acknowledged as one of the greatest of his generation: third baseman George Brett.

Here’s a look at the starting lineup for the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the 1985 World Series – 25 years ago today:

1. Lonnie Smith, LF

A former Cardinal, Lonnie Smith was an effective leadoff hitter for KC, batting .257 over 120 games in 1985 and picking up 40 stolen bases. His speed at the top of the lineup, though, was overshadowed by the Royals’ No. 2 hitter…

2. Willie Wilson, CF

Many debates have been held over who was the faster Willie in the 1985 World Series: Cardinals center fielder Willie McGee or Royals center fielder Willie Wilson. For his part, Wilson played 141 games for the Royals in ’85 and batted .278, although he had scant power numbers for a No. 2 hitter with only four home runs. He made up for it with his wheels, though, collecting 43 stolen bases and a league-leading 21 triples.

3. George Brett, 3B

For nearly two decades, Brett was the most feared hitter in the Royals’ lineup, and 1985 was no exception. His .335 batting average was best on the team, and he blasted 30 home runs – a career high. He also led the majors with a .585 slugging percentage.

4. Frank White, 2B

Manager Dick Howser made the bold decision to bat Frank White in the cleanup spot in the ’85 Series, a decision that would pay off. During the regular season, White, a perennial Gold Glove second baseman, hit 22 home runs – like Brett, a career high – but batted only .249. Although not as fast, White was an asset on the basepaths, stealing 10 in the regular season.

5. Jim Sundberg, C

The Royals signed this veteran catcher to mentor a young pitching staff prior to the ’85 season, and it paid off. Sundberg proved to be a reliable backstop, and batted .245 with 10 home runs in the regular season. He was also a critical offensive and defensive force in the playoffs.

6. Darryl Motley, RF

Motley became most well-known for his World Series heroics in Game 7, but he held down a corner outfield spot for the Royals in 122 regular season games despite a measly .222 batting average. He did contribute 17 home runs, though.

7. Steve Balboni, 1B

The guy who hit more home runs in a single season for the Royals than anybody else in the history of the team, before or since, was batting aaaaaaaaall the way down in the seven-hole for the ’85 Royals. Balboni blasted 36 round-trippers for Kansas City in ’85, and his batting average of .243 was well above his career average. Balboni played in 160 games for KC in 1985, more than any player on the team – even George Brett.

8. Buddy Biancalana, SS

The Royals’ starting shortstop in the 1985 World Series was quite literally a joke – late-night host David Letterman frequently quipped about Buddy Biancalana’s light-hitting ways in 1985. Although Onix Concepcion played 131 games at shortstop during the regular season, Biancalana got the call to start at shortstop in the World Series. During the regular season, he batted a mere .188 over 81 games, mostly as a defensive replacement and utility player.

9. Danny Jackson, P

We’ll delve into the pitching staff tomorrow on I-70 Baseball.

Bench: Pat Sheridan, Lynn Jones, Jorge Orta, Hal McRae, Onix Concepcion, Dane Iorg, John Wathan, Greg Prior

Orta’s role in the 1985 World Series has become legendary, and we’ll explore it more later. In the regular season, he managed to play in 100 games, but was relegated to the bench for the playoffs. McRae batted .259 with 14 home runs out of the DH role. Wathan, later the Royals’ manager, was the primary backup catcher behind Sundberg.

Tomorrow: A look at the Royals’ pitching staff in 1985.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the content editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

Matt Wilson of BaseballDigest.com contributed to this report.

The Cardinals had a long road to the World Series, where they arrived the heavy favorites to beat the Royals. While the Cardinals’ pitching staff was the driving force behind the team, the offense was impressive. Utilizing “Whiteyball” to the full capabilities, the team was built on speed, defense and fundamentals. Today, here on I-70 Baseball, we break down the starting eight fielders from the 1985 World Series.

It was during that road to the World Series that the Cardinals’ lineup experienced a major loss when a freak accident with a tarp brought an end to the season for Rookie Of The Year Vince Coleman. That left the Cardinals to turn to a man who many people considered to be faster then Vince Coleman to lead off games for them in the Fall Classic.

1. Willie McGee, CF
Willie McGee would patrol the astroturf of Busch Memorial Stadium in center field in Gold Glove style and take the lead off position for the Running Redbirds. McGee was no slouch, he was the National League MVP and Batting Champ in 1985, hitting .353 and leading the league in hits (216) and triples (18).

2. Ozzie Smith, SS
Following McGee in the lineup each night was the Cardinals’ annual Gold Glove winner and All Star shortstop Ozzie Smith. Ozzie would not realize his full potential with the bat for another few years, but his .276 average did not reflect his ability to produce productive outs, moving runners along and setting up the middle of the order with opportunities to drive runs in with minimal effort.

3. Tommy Herr, 2B
It was the Cardinals’ second baseman and number three hitter, Tommy Herr, that showed this theory to be effective. While only hitting eight home runs, hit 38 doubles and post a .416 slugging percentage, Herr still managed to drive in 110 runs behind the top of the order.

4. Jack Clark, 1B
The cleanup spot in the Cardinals’ batting order was manned by the only true “power hitter” on the roster, their first baseman Jack Clark. A .281 batting average, .502 slugging percentage and 22 home runs could only net Clark 87 runs batted in. The third and fourth spots in the order were indicative of Whiteyball at its greatest.

5. Tito Landrum, LF
The number five spot in the order would be patrolled by the left field replacement for Vince Coleman in veteran, home-grown Tito Landrum. Landrum’s season in 1985 was that of a bit player, hitting .280 with four home runs and 21 runs batted in over 161 at bats.

6. Cesar Cedeno, RF
Across the field from him in right field was a late addition to the Cardinals roster, veteran outfielder Cesar Cedeno. Cedeno came to the Cardinals in late August in a trade from Cincinnati and went on an immediate tear. In his only 28 games as a Cardinal, Cedeno would hit .434 with 6 home runs and 19 runs batted in. He would hit sixth throughout the world series.

7. Terry Pendleton, 3B
The offensive threat started to fizzle as the bottom of the Cardinals’ order came to the plate. Terry Pendleton would hit seventh and play third base. While years later he would dominate and win an MVP award, his second year in the league would come in 1985 and be largely unimpressive. He would hit .240 with five home runs, though he would scrape out 69 runs batted in.

8. Darrel Porter/Tom Nieto, C
Pendleton would give way to a platoon at cather hitting eighth. Darrel Porter and Tom Nieto would share the duties behind the plate, while neither of them doing it impressively from the offensive standpoint. Porter would close out the 1985 regular season hitting .221 with 10 home runs and 36 runs batted in. Nieto would not fare much better, hitting .225 with no home runs and 34 runs batted in.

The wild card from the bench was young Andy Van Slyke, who would split time in right field throughout the season and be a late inning replacement in the World Series. Van Slyke would hit .259 with 13 home runs and 55 runs batted in over the course of the season, seeing time at all three outfield positions and first base and stealing 34 bases, just for measure.

The Cardinals’ lineup was poised to take on the Royals in the World Series and matched up with the team from the west side of the state very well. Time would tell the 1985 team just why the games are played on a field, and not on paper or in articles.

Tomorrow: A look at the Cardinals’ pitching staff in 1985.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
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