Recreating the 1985 Royals

by RoyalsRetro on May 4, 2010 10:51 AM EDT

1985 was a glorious year. Mikhael Gorbachev assumed control of the USSR, leading to a warming of relations between the Americans and Soviets. Tetris was released, helping kids waste countless hours. And "Back to the Future" was released, showing America that time travel was possible with a DeLorean, some plutonium, and a flux capassiter. That October, a plucky little team from Kansas City would stun the baseball world by storming back from 3-1 deficits in both the League Championship Series and the World Series to become World Champions.

Great Scott! In the future, the Royals are run by idiots!

The Royals organization has failed to make a single post-season since that magical year, although it has spent much of its time trying to recreate that magic. What would our club look like today if we did recreate that championship-winning roster? Who are the modern day equivalents of George Brett, Daryl Motley, Bud Black?

Read on, and you'll see how it is possible to recreate the 1985 Royals. And maybe, just maybe, the Process will begin to make more sense to you.

Catcher

1985 Jim Sundberg .245/.308/.381 10 HR 35 BI 88 OPS+ 0.8 WAR
2009 Ivan Rodriguez .249/.280/.384 10 HR 47 BI 73 OPS+ 0.3 WAR

Both Sundberg and Rodriguez were both excellent defensive catchers (quite possibly two of the greatest ever) whose skills had eroded by this point, but still had a reputation for handing young pitchers well. Ivan was the much better hitter over his career, but by this point, their slash lines were nearly identical.

First Base

1985 Steve Balboni .243/.307/.477 36 HR 88 BI 111 OPS+ -0.9 WAR
2009 Mike Jacobs .229/.297/.401 19 HR 61 BI 83 OPS+ -0.5 WAR

That’s really not fair to Steve Balboni since he posted a much higher slugging percentage, and a higher on-base percentage in a much lower offensive environment. But its hard to find another player much like Steve Balboni these days (where happened to all the fat guys with mustaches in MLB?). The "grip it and rip it if its anywhere near the strike zone" mentality is only employed by a few select hitters and Mike Jacobs is one. Jacobs 2008 season (.247/.299/.514, 32 HR, 108 OPS+ -0.3 WAR) is actually much closer to what Balboni was able to accomplish. It is also remarkable that Balboni was able to club thirty-six home runs (still a franchise record!) and yet still post a negative WAR.

Second Base

1985 Frank White .249/.284/.414 22 HR 69 BI 89 OPS+ 1.9 WAR
2009 Mark Ellis .263/.305/.403 10 HR 61 BI 86 OPS+ 1.6 WAR

Ellis is not as skilled defensively as Frank White, but among his contemporaries he is considered one of the best, despite his curious lack of Gold Gloves. Both players were in their early 30s in these respective seasons with their defense starting to slip a bit, albeit still above average (Total Zone has White at 6 and Ellis at 5 for these respective seasons). Frank was enjoying a power peak at this point in his career while Ellis has seen his power begin to dip a bit, but both carried double digit home run power and double digit stolen base speed.

Third Base

1985 George Brett .335/.436/.585 30 HR 112 BI 178 OPS+ 8.0 WAR
2009 Albert Pujols.327/.443/.658 47 HR 135 BI 188 OPS+ 9.2 WAR

I was going to put Alex Rodriguez, but figured that is really unfair since A-Rod posted worse offensive numbers (.286/.402/.532 30 HR 100 BI) in 2009 in a much better offensive environment than George did in 1985. Oh and George is a gritty gamer who once played post-season ball with his ass on fire, while A-Rod is a big stupid choke artist who slaps the ball out of the first basemen’s mitt and doesn’t respect the unwritten rules of the game. The only thing they share in common is they both defecate on themselves. Only George does it at the Bellagio in the winter, while A-Rod does it every October.

In 1985 George posted a 178 OPS+ . Here are the list of guys who posted a 178 OPS+ or better in 2009.

Pujols, Albert

That is all. Albert actually is a better comparison if you are comfortable moving him back to third for the purposes of this exercise. They even share a similar walk-to-strikeout ratio. George clogged the bases with 103 walks, whiffing just 49 times. Albert walked 115 times to 64 strikeouts. They were also above average defenders (Albert is actually excellent, but at an easier position) and pretty good base-stealers. They were both clutch when it mattered and great leaders in the clubhouse, although while Albert serves God and raises a family of special needs children, George in his prime was out on the Plaza getting plowed with Jaime Quirk and Kansas City’s finest female groupies.

Shortstop

1985 Onix Concepcion .204/.255/.245 2 HR 20 BI 38 OPS+ -1.2 WAR
2009 Ronny Cedeno .208/.256/.337 10 HR 38 BI 57 OPS+ –1.1 WAR

Onix Concepcion and Ronny Cedeno were each well-regarded prospects who had hit for some decent power in the minors, but did not see that offensive success translate to the major league level. Both had good defensive reputations and both were fairly awful base-stealers. Cedeno has at least managed to eclipse Concepcion’s career length – Onix would manage just one MLB plate appearance after the 1985 season.

Left Field

1985 Lonnie Smith .257/.332/.358 6 HR 48 BI 90 OPS+ 1.2 WAR
2009 Willie Harris .235/.364/.393 7 HR 27 BI 101 OPS+ 1.2 WAR

Both Smith and Harris had bounced around a bit, although Lonnie had a much higher pedigree as a former All-Star, while Harris has been a journeyman utility player. Lonnie stole many more bases (52 for Smith just 11 for Harris). Willie is a better defender (they didn’t call Lonnie "Skates" for nothing). But both could get on base a bit, cause a bit of havoc on the bases, with non-embarrassing power. I don’t anticipate Willie to ever consider murdering his general manager however.

Center Field

1985 Willie Wilson .278/.316/.408 4 HR 43 BI 97 OPS+ 1.3 WAR
2009 Scott Podsednik .304/.353/.412 7 HR 48 BI 98 OPS+ 1.8 WAR

Scottie P. enjoyed a resurgence last year, and has kept it up this year, while 1985 was Willie’s last good year as a full-time starter. He was no longer able to hit .300, and thus, lost a lot of his value. Both Wilson in 1985 and Scott in 2009 were average fielders. Both known for their basestealing, Willie had the clear edge in steals - 43 to 30.

Right Field

1985 Daryl Motley .222/.257/.413 15 HR 70 BI 80 OPS+ -0.8 WAR
2009 Rick Ankiel .231/.285/.387 11 HR 38 BI 76 OPS+ 0.0 WAR

Daryl enjoyed a breakout season in his first full year in the big leagues in 1984, posting a 109 OPS+ with 15 HR and a .441 slugging percentage. Rick Ankiel enjoyed a breakout season in his first full year as a hitter in the big leagues in 2008, posting a 119 OPS+ with 25 HR and a .509 slugging percentage. Both would fall back to earth hard the next season with awful on-base percentages that hurt much of their value. Motley would soon be out of the league. Ankiel will no doubt be employed by the Royals for many, many seasons.

Designated Hitter

1985 Hal McRae .259/.349/.450 14 HR 70 BI 118 OPS+ 0.4 WAR
2009 Magglio Ordonez .310/.376/.428 9 HR 50 BI 109 OPS+ 1.0 WAR

Technically Magglio still plays right field, but he profiles closest to Hal McRae for this exercise. Both were once power hitters who lost much of their power in their late 30s. Ordonez was a .300 hitter in 2009, something McRae was unable to accomplish although he had hit .300 in each of the previous three seasons. Both could draw a few walks and were difficult to strike out. McRae was known as an aggressive base-runner, a reputation I have never heard for Ordonez.

Bench:

1985 John Wathan .234/.319/.324 1 HR 9 BI 77 OPS+ 0.5 WAR
2009 Jason LaRue .240/.288/.327 2 HR 6 BI 63 OPS+ 0.3 WAR

Both were gritty catchers near the end of their careers and like Wathan, LaRue was capable of playing multiple positions.

1985 Jorge Orta .267/.317/.383 4 HR 45 BI 91 OPS+ -0.5 WAR
2009 Ross Gload .261/.329/.400 6 HR 30 BI 90 OPS+ 0.5 WAR

Does anyone doubt that Gload could beat out an infield single in a crucial Game 6?

1985 Buddy Biancalana .188/.277/.261 1 HR 6 BI 49 OPS+ -0.1 WAR
2009 Robert Andino .222/.274/.288 2 HR 10 BI 49 OPS+ -0.3 WAR

"Andino" is not as fun to say as "Biancalana" however.

1985 Pat Sheridan .228/.307/.335 3 HR 17 BI 77 OPS+ -0.1 WAR
2009 Brian Anderson .243/.328/.347 4 HR 18 BI 75 OPS+ 0.0 WAR

The Royals may have been better off convincing Sheridan to take up pitching as Anderson has done.

1985 Dane Iorg .223/.268/.331 1 HR 21 BI 64 OPS+ -0.5 WAR
2009 Craig Monroe .215/.287/.354 3 HR 16 BI 71 OPS+ -0.2 WAR

Craig doesn’t have a cooler brother named Garth though.

1985 Greg Pryor .219/.270/.272 1 HR 3 BI 50 OPS+ -0.6 WAR
2009 Cody Ransom .190/.256/.329 0 HR 10 BI 55 OPS+ -0.7 WAR

This is shaping up to be on heck of a bench.

1985 Lynn Jones .211/.261/.257 0 HR 9 BI 43 OPS+ -1.1 WAR
2009 Ryan Freel .193/.290/.216 0 HR 5 BI 36 OPS+ -0.5 WAR

Yikes.

Tomorrow, the pitchers.

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Comments

That team had some horrible hitters, I think the baseball gods gave us 1985 for being screwed over in the late 70's and early 80's

- .-. ..- … – / – …. . / .—. .-. - .. . … …

by Jeff Zimmerman on May 4, 2010 12:51 PM EDT reply actions

Then what have we done for the past 25 years

to anger the Gods so?

"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae

"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie

by Sweep_the_Leg on May 4, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Further payment for that year.

by MinnesotaRoyal on May 4, 2010 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions

you might have to blame me

i can clearly remember saying then (as a 14yr old) “I don’t care if we never win another game, as long as we win game 7”. Guess I didn’t know what I was asking for.

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

by MidTNRoyalsFan on May 4, 2010 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Brett willed us to the title.

by Dadunca on May 4, 2010 1:22 PM EDT reply actions

And I know you're kidding

But you perfectly summed up my feelings on A-Rod. Nicely done, sir.

by Dadunca on May 4, 2010 1:23 PM EDT reply actions

rec'd, and this line is righteous:

“Oh and George is a gritty gamer who once played post-season ball with his ass on fire, while A-Rod is a big stupid choke artist who slaps the ball out of the first basemen’s mitt and doesn’t respect the unwritten rules of the game. The only thing they share in common is they both defecate on themselves. Only George does it at the Bellagio in the winter, while A-Rod does it every October.”

I may never stay in the Bellagio again, fyi, although a visit to the poker room is not unlikely.

"Shot by my own men."

by StonewallPDS on May 4, 2010 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

Not a Good Template

I love my Royals and all but the 1985 squad is one of the weakest to ever win a World Series. Basically it was Brett and some good pitching.

by BlueEyes_Austin on May 4, 2010 2:49 PM EDT reply actions

you mean Steinbrenner doesn't attempt to emulate the '85 Royals each year?!

by AtTheWall on May 4, 2010 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

This is brilliant

Also, I had no idea how bad our hitting was in 1985. I think, though, the fact that WAR doesn’t incorporte baserunning (beyond SB/CS) hurts the 1985 team’s numbers. I remember them (maybe not remember — I was 6, but anyway I watched them and I’ve read a lot since then) as very aggressive on the basepaths.

"I think a tactical error might have been committed by the manager of the Royals"

by KSinDC on May 4, 2010 2:50 PM EDT reply actions

not much

they had two guys over 40 steals, but that was about it. lonnie smith and wilile wilson were over 40, nobody else was over 11

the team stole 128 bases on the year, wit h48 caught stealings

by Freneau on May 4, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

royals ran more in the early 80s

in 1983 they stole 182 bases, for instance

by the mid 80s AL teams really werent running much more than today

by Freneau on May 4, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions

I meant more with taking extra bases on a hit

Seems like there were more triples then. It stands to reason that there were more extra bases being taken by base runners.

If it weren’t for the stupid financial reform bill, I could actually go to Baseball Reference and look all of this stuff up.

"I think a tactical error might have been committed by the manager of the Royals"

by KSinDC on May 4, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Forget Financial Reform, I'm going to B-R

So it looks like I was thinking more of the earlier teams.

The 85 team did steal 128 bases as you noted, but the modern team hasn’t approached those numbers since the Beltran years. I guess that’s a point in favor of play being more aggressive. But the extra base hits numbers are almost exactly the same, which wipes out my response.

2B — 1985: 261 2009: 276
3B — 1985: 49 2009: 51
SB — 1985: 128 2009: 88
CS — 1985: 48 2009: 29

I just want to say that I can not believe that we hit 51 triples last year. If you’d asked me to guess, I would have said 10. I know I drifted away from the team late in the summer, but this astounds me. I don’t actually doubt baseball-reference.com but part of me can’t accept this number. A triple every series, on average? Does that sound high to anyone else?

"I think a tactical error might have been committed by the manager of the Royals"

by KSinDC on May 4, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions