1985 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1985 Cincinnati Reds season was the 116th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 16th and 15th full season at Riverfront Stadium. The Cincinnati Reds improved on their 70–92 record from the previous season to finish at 89–72, but missed the postseason for the 6th consecutive year and they finished in second place, 5½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year, the Reds adopted an alternate uniform. Reds pitcher Tom Browning became the last 20th century pitcher to win 20 games in his rookie year.

Regular season

Pete Rose

On September 11, 1985, Rose was thought to have broken Ty Cobb's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, a single to left-center field off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show. A subsequent independent review of Cobb's hits, however, revealed that two of them were double-counted. As a result, it has been suggested that Pete Rose actually broke the all-time hits record against the Cubs' Reggie Patterson with a single in the first in the Reds 5-5 called game against Chicago on September 8.

Notable transactions

April 10, 1985: Tony Pérez was signed as a free agent by the Reds.
April 26, 1985: Skeeter Barnes was traded by the Reds to the Montreal Expos for Max Venable.
June 3, 1985: Barry Larkin was drafted by the Reds in the 1st round of the 1985 amateur draft.
June 12, 1985: Brad Gulden was purchased by the Houston Astros from the Cincinnati Reds.
July 19, 1985: Buddy Bell was acquired from the Texas Rangers for Duane Walker and a player to be named later. The Cincinnati Reds later sent Jeff Russell to the Rangers to complete the trade.
August 8, 1985: Alan Knicely, Tom Foley and a player to be named later were traded by the Reds to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bo Díaz and Greg Simpson. The Reds completed the deal by sending Freddie Toliver to the Phillies on August 27.
August 29, 1985: César Cedeño was traded by the Reds to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mark Jackson.

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	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C		73	151	12	36	.238	2	24	0
1B		119	405	60	107	.264	2	46	8
2B		152	526	59	155	.295	1	34	5
3B		67	247	28	54	.219	6	36	0
SS		155	560	59	141	.252	7	48	16
LF		125	413	61	108	.262	21	66	3
CF		145	453	82	115	.254	3	33	35
RF		160	635	88	198	.312	34	125	5

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
	101	246	51	62	.252	6	28	48
	83	220	24	53	.241	3	30	9
	72	183	25	60	.328	6	33	0
	90	173	16	47	.272	4	25	0
	51	161	12	42	.261	3	15	0
	48	158	17	40	.253	5	26	0
	77	135	21	39	.289	0	10	11
	56	122	26	30	.246	8	18	16
	42	102	6	17	.167	1	9	0
	43	92	7	18	.196	0	6	1
	37	48	5	8	.167	2	6	1
	28	35	3	7	.200	0	0	0
	5	12	1	4	.333	0	1	0
	5	9	2	2	.222	0	2	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
Tom Browning	38	261.1	20	9	3.55	155
Mario Soto	36	256.2	12	15	3.58	214
Jay Tibbs	35	218.0	10	16	3.92	98
Andy McGaffigan	15	94.1	3	3	3.72	83

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
Ron Robinson	33	108.1	7	7	3.99	76
John Stuper	33	99.0	8	5	4.55	38
Joe Price	26	64.2	2	2	3.90	52
Frank Pastore	17	54.0	2	1	3.83	29

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
Ted Power	64	8	6	27	2.70	42
John Franco	67	12	3	12	2.18	61
Tom Hume	56	3	5	3	3.26	50
Bob Buchanan	14	1	0	0	8.44	3
Carl Willis	11	1	0	1	9.22	6
Mike Smith	2	0	0	0	5.40	2
Rob Murphy	2	0	0	0	6.00	1

Awards and honors

Dave Parker – National League Leader in RBIs
Dave Parker – National League Leader in Doubles

All-Star Game

Pete Rose, 1B, Reserve
Dave Parker, OF, Reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Vermont