1985 Southern League season

1985 Southern League season
League	Southern League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 11 – September 2
Number of games	144
Number of teams	10
Regular season
League champions	Knoxville Blue Jays
Season MVP	Jose Canseco, Huntsville Stars
Playoffs
League champions	Huntsville Stars
Runners-up	Charlotte Orioles

The 1985 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 11 and September 2. Ten teams played a 144-game schedule, with the top team in each division in each half of the season qualifying for the post-season.

The Huntsville Stars won the Southern League championship, as they defeated the Charlotte Orioles in the playoffs.

Team changes

• The Nashville Sounds leave the league and join the American Association.
• The Huntsville Stars join the league as an expansion team. The club begins an affiliation with the Oakland Athletics.
• The Jacksonville Suns are renamed to the Jacksonville Expos. The club remained affiliated with the Montreal Expos.

Teams

1985 Southern League
Division	Team	City	MLB Affiliate	Stadium
East	Charlotte Orioles	Charlotte, North Carolina	Baltimore Orioles	Jim Crockett Memorial Park
	Columbus Astros	Columbus, Georgia	Houston Astros	Golden Park
	Greenville Braves	Greenville, South Carolina	Atlanta Braves	Greenville Municipal Stadium
	Jacksonville Expos	Jacksonville, Florida	Montreal Expos	Wolfson Park
	Orlando Twins	Orlando, Florida	Minnesota Twins	Tinker Field
West	Birmingham Barons	Birmingham, Alabama	Detroit Tigers	Rickwood Field
	Chattanooga Lookouts	Chattanooga, Tennessee	Seattle Mariners	Engel Stadium
	Huntsville Stars	Huntsville, Alabama	Oakland Athletics	Joe W. Davis Stadium
	Knoxville Blue Jays	Knoxville, Tennessee	Toronto Blue Jays	Bill Meyer Stadium
	Memphis Chicks	Memphis, Tennessee	Kansas City Royals	Tim McCarver Stadium

Map of teams

Charlotte

Columbus

Greenville

Jackson-
ville

Orlando

Birming-
ham

Chattan-
ooga

Huntsville

Knoxville

Memphis

East Division West Division

Regular season

Summary

• The Knoxville Blue Jays finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1978.

Standings

East Division
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Columbus Astros	79	65	.549	–
Charlotte Orioles	78	65	.545	0.5
Jacksonville Expos	73	70	.510	5.5
Orlando Twins	72	71	.503	6.5
Greenville Braves	70	74	.486	9
West Division
Knoxville Blue Jays	79	64	.552	–
Huntsville Stars	78	66	.542	1.5
Chattanooga Lookouts	66	77	.462	13
Memphis Chicks	65	79	.451	14.5
Birmingham Barons	57	86	.399	22

League Leaders

Batting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Bruce Fields, Birmingham Barons	.323
H	Alex Marte, Orlando Twins	171
R	Alex Marte, Orlando Twins	117
2B	Jim Sherman, Columbus Astros Kelvin Torve, Charlotte Orioles	34
3B	Luis Polonia, Huntsville Stars	18
HR	Mark Funderburk, Orlando Twins	34
RBI	Mark Funderburk, Orlando Twins	116
SB	Alex Marte, Orlando Twins	64

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Steve Davis, Knoxville Blue Jays	17
ERA	Steve Davis, Knoxville Blue Jays	2.45
CG	Les Straker, Orlando Twins	12
SHO	Steve Davis, Knoxville Blue Jays Les Straker, Orlando Twins	3
SV	Luis Aquino, Knoxville Blue Jays	20
IP	Les Straker, Orlando Twins	193.0
SO	Scott Bankhead, Memphis Chicks John Hoover, Charlotte Orioles	128

Playoffs

• The Huntsville Stars won their first Southern League championship, defeating the Charlotte Orioles in five games.

Playoff bracket

	Division finals					Finals
	E1	Columbus	1
	E2	Charlotte	3
						E2	Charlotte	2
						W2	Huntsville	3
	W1	Knoxville	1
	W2	Huntsville	3

Awards

Southern League awards
Award name	Recipient
Most Valuable Player	Jose Canseco, Huntsville Stars
Pitcher of the Year	Steve Davis, Knoxville Blue Jays
Manager of the Year	Carlos Alfonso, Columbus Astros John McLaren, Knoxville Blue Jays

See also

• 1985 Major League Baseball season

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website