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Fleeter Than Birds: The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals and Small Ball's Last Hurrah

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I have always been a Cardinals fan. My folks were from southern Illinois where the area divided between rooting for the Cardinals and rooting for the Cubs. We always went for the Cards. It was especially fun, then when after a lengthy dry spell the Cards emerged in the early 1980s as an excellent team that challenged for the National League East division title. They, of course, won it all in 1982, and then in 1985, roared to the pennant with an MLB-best 101-61 record. How this happened is the point of this interesting and enjoyable discussion of the 1985 Cardinals season. Manager Whitey Herzog got excellent performances from a talented bunch of "jackrabbits," as he liked to call his swift starting line-up, and superb pitching performances from three starters: Joaquin Andujar (21-12), lefthander John Tudor (21-8, with 10 shutouts), and Danny Cox (18-9). Herzog also juggled four different closers, a committee that managed forty-four saves. As author Doug Feldman makes clear, in 1985 this pitching staff proved outstanding.

Herzog also had a bunch of "jackrabbits" in 1985 that made it one of the most effective scratch run offenses ever seen in Cardinals history. Five of his starters were switch hitters, eliminating both the necessity of platooning players based on whether or not lefties or right-handers were on the mound, and taking away the ability of opposing managers to make pitching changes based on handedness. Led by Willie McGee, who won the batting title with a .353 average, this team scorched the ball all season for a league leading .264 average. At outfield of McGee, Vince Coleman (who took rookie of the year honors) and Andy Van Slyke nailed down everything that came to them. The infield of Terry Pendleton at third, future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith at shortstop, Tom Herr at second, and Jack Clark at first provided excellent defense there as well. Pendleton, Van Slyke, and Coleman had recently made the majors and emerged in 1985 as stars. The 1985 team also posted a league leading .983 fielding percentage, the greatest defensive team in Cardinals history.

These players were really fast and showed it in every game. They stole a team record 314 bases, in the process exasperating the opposition and winning games in the resulting confusion. Vince Coleman stole 110 bases for the season, leading both the team and the league. But Willie McGee swiped an additional fifty-six bases, and Herr, Van Slyke, and Ozzie Smith each took over thirty. If they had traded in Cardinals double-knits for sleek tracksuits these men could have taken the gold at the Olympics. All they needed was a torch.

The Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the World Series, where they met the Kansas City Royals in the so-called "I-70 series," an all-Missouri championship meeting named for the interstate highway that connects the two great Missouri cities. None of the television moguls who purchased broadcast rights for the World Series were thrilled that Kansas City and St. Louis played each other in 1985. They were both relatively small markets and did not have the glamor of a New York or a Los Angeles. But the series attracted good television audiences, largely because it brought to the fore a sympathy for two underdogs that came from behind to win their league championships. It also showcased the lovely cities of Kansas City and St. Louis and the teams that emulated the simple virtues of the quiet folks who lived there.

In the end, it was an exciting seven-game series that the Royals finally won. I was sorry to see the Cardinals defeated, but I remember enjoying the Royals as well. Future Hall of Famer George Brett, who led the Royals attack with a .370 series average summed up this great 1985 series. As the bubbly flowed in the victory party he shouted, "I know, I know, people were saying, `God, we've got this damn all-Missouri World Series. Who cares?' Well, do you think I wanted to be drafted by Kansas City, this little town in Missouri? I'm from L.A. and I wanted to play for the Dodgers. But I'll tell you something: I'm proud, very proud, to be a Kansas City Royal." Brett then laughed a big belly laugh and added, "And you know what it is we did, don't you? We showed'em."

Never had Missouri enjoyed such fun! Never had its two greatest cities been so proud. Win or lose, both St. Louis and Kansas City had a wonderful time. And George Brett had been right, Missouri "showed'em." In retrospect, the two teams had been remarkably well matched. Both had strong defense, great pitching, and speed.

Doug Feldman's exposition on the Cardinals in 1985 is enjoyable. It does not provide much insight into the team or its place in history, but it does offer a blow-by-blow of the team in its quest for a championship. They just barely missed that crown, but the cross-state rivals gained it instead. It's hard to feel too bad about that. There are a few statistical appendices in this book, but Feldman chose not to include either reference notes or a bibliography, hence the four stars I give "Fleeter than Birds."

Looking back on it, the 1985 Cardinals team was probably my favorite edition, despite the fact that they didn't quite polish off the pesky Royals in the World Series.

This is a book that has gone largely unnoticed by the reading public, and that's a shame; but like the '85 team that is chronicled, it's probably a bit under-rated. The Cards were expected to do poorly that year, and I never could figure out why. After all, they had acquired slugger Jack Clark from the Giants to give the lineup all the punch it would need in the middle. Clark excelled, and fit in perfectly with the rest of the team, knocking in runs with amazing ease and consistency. Even Tommy Herr, who only hit 8 home runs all year long would knock in 110.

"Fleeter Than Birds" is a nice book filled with interesting perspectives of that Cardinal team from a previous era. If you're a true fan of the game, you'll want it in your baseball library.

Even though the team probably should've won the World Series, they still had a heck of a year. This book brings back some nice memories of an unusual mix of players who proved scoring runs can be done in a variety of ways, especially if the team is loaded with speed demons.

Since I am not really old enough to remember the '85 season this book provides provides an opportunity to learn more about that year. It is a fascinating read for any baseball fan, but especially Cards fans.