The 1985 American League Championship Series was played between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to October 16. Major League Baseball decided to extend the Championship Series in both leagues from its best-of-five (1969–1984) to the current best-of-seven format starting with this year, and it proved pivotal in the outcome of the ALCS. The Blue Jays seemingly put a stranglehold on the Series, earning a three games to one lead over the Royals after four games. However, Kansas City staged an improbable comeback, winning the next three games to win the Series four games to three. The Royals would proceed to defeat their cross-state rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, in the World Series four games to three.
The oddsmakers favored Toronto, 8–5. During the opening pregame show, NBC Sports baseball analyst Tony Kubek was among the few who predicted a Kansas City victory, citing the Blue Jays' struggles against left-handed pitching, and the Royals' plethora of left-handed starters. This prediction was especially curious considering Kubek worked on Blue Jays television broadcasts during the regular season.
Read more about 1985 American League Championship Series: Background, Composite Box, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words american, league and/or series:
“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child, well nursed, is at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward the Light Brigade!”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“Every Age has its own peculiar faith.... Any attempt to translate into facts the mission of one Age with the machinery of another, can only end in an indefinite series of abortive efforts. Defeated by the utter want of proportion between the means and the end, such attempts might produce martyrs, but never lead to victory.”
—Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872)