1985 Chicago Cubs season

The 1985 Chicago Cubs season was the 114th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 110th in the National League and the 70th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fourth in the National League East with a record of 77–84. The season had opened with high hopes as the Cubs had won the NL East title the year before. However, injuries were a major factor as four of the Cubs' starting pitchers were on the disabled list at the same time.

Offseason

November 28, 1984: Dennis Eckersley was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs.
December 4, 1984: Ron Hassey, Porfi Altamirano, Rich Bordi, and Henry Cotto were traded by the Chicago Cubs to the New York Yankees for Ray Fontenot and Brian Dayett.
December 7, 1984: Steve Trout was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.
January 3, 1985: Guy Hoffman was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.

Regular season

Ryne Sandberg became the first Cub since 1969–1970 to score 100 runs in two consecutive seasons.

On June 11, the Cubs had a record of 35-19, and held a four game lead over the New York Mets for the division. However, Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Trout, Scott Sanderson and Dennis Eckersley all were injured, and the Cubs went on a 13-game losing streak that effectively eliminated them from contention. The Cubs ultimately finished seven games below.500 after having been 16 games above.500.
Shawon Dunston made his Major League debut. He struggled early on, so the Cubs sent him back to Iowa in early May. However, once he returned, it spelled the end for Larry Bowa, who was released in August and picked up by the New York Mets.

Notable transactions

April 9, 1985: Jacob Brumfield was released by the Cubs.
May 12, 1985: Dave Hostetler was purchased by the Chicago Cubs from the Montreal Expos.

Draft picks

The Cubs drafted pitcher Dave Masters with the twenty-fourth overall pick in the 1985 Draft.
June 3, 1985: Doug Dascenzo was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 12th round of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1985.
June 3, 1985: Mark Grace was drafted by the Cubs in the 24th round of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed August 29, 1985.

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		142	482	112	.232	17	58
1B		153	542	153	.282	21	75
2B		153	609	186	.305	26	83
SS		74	250	65	.260	4	18
3B		145	500	116	.232	22	63
LF		97	298	70	.235	13	40
CF		121	469	119	.254	1	21
RF		161	587	180	.307	14	106

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
Davey Lopes	99	275	78	.284	11	44
Chris Speier	106	218	53	.243	4	24
Larry Bowa	72	195	48	.246	0	13
Thad Bosley	108	180	59	.328	7	27
Billy Hatcher	53	163	40	.245	2	10
Richie Hebner	83	120	26	.217	3	22
Steve Lake	58	119	18	.151	1	11
Gary Woods	81	82	20	.244	0	4
Brian Dayett	22	26	6	.231	1	4
Dave Owen	22	19	7	.368	0	4
Chico Walker	21	12	1	.083	0	0
Darrin Jackson	5	11	1	.091	0	0

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
Dennis Eckersley	25	169.1	11	7	3.08	117
Steve Trout	24	140.2	9	7	3.39	44
Rick Sutcliffe	20	130.0	8	8	3.18	102
Scott Sanderson	19	121.0	5	6	3.12	80
Steve Engel	11	51.2	1	5	5.57	29

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
Ray Fontenot	38	154.2	6	10	4.36	70
Dick Ruthven	20	87.1	4	7	4.53	26
Jay Baller	20	52.0	2	3	3.46	31
Derek Botelho	11	44.0	1	3	5.32	23
Reggie Patterson	8	39.0	3	0	3.00	17
Johnny Abrego	6	24.0	1	1	6.38	13
Larry Gura	5	20.1	0	3	8.41	7

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
Lee Smith	65	7	4	33	3.04	112
	51	7	8	2	6.39	46
Warren Brusstar	51	4	3	4	6.05	34
Lary Sorensen	45	3	7	0	4.26	34
Ron Meridith	32	3	2	1	4.47	23
Dave Beard	9	0	0	0	6.39	4
Dave Gumpert	9	1	0	0	3.48	4
Jon Perlman	6	1	0	0	11.42	4

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem