Every World Series has at least one. That one player who steps up and does something unexpected. Sometimes it can be for the whole series. Other times it might be one critical game or even just one moment.

Last week marked the 24th anniversary of when the Royals capped off their first World Series championship with an 11-0 drumming of the St. Louis Cardinals in game seven of the 1985 World Series. In spite of all the great Royals players and teams that won American League West titles throughout the 1970s and into the ‘80s, a bundle of unexpected players stepped up and led the Royals to that first championship.

There was shortstop Buddy Biancalana, who had a whale of a series and became somewhat of a cult hero with an appearance on David Letterman’s late-night show. And a young pitching staff, anchored by World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen. And Darryl Motley, who batted .364 in the World Series and hammered a big home run in game seven.

“Even behind in the first postseason series against Toronto and, of course, against (St. Louis), we knew that each game someone would come up with a key hit or a key pitch,” one of that club’s young pitchers, Mark Gubicza, said.

Oddly, one of the main unexpected heroes was club Hall of Fame second baseman Frank White, who batted cleanup in the World Series. Although a stellar defensive player, many viewed White as a light hitter. Certainly not a cleanup hitter, especially in the World Series.

“That was probably the greatest thing that I ever had to do for my ballclub,” said White, who was just the second second baseman in Major League history to bat cleanup in the World Series. The other one was Jackie Robinson.

“When you go from a utility guy, to a guy they were pinch-hitting for, to a guy that batted eighth and ninth most of his career,” White added, “to a guy who suddenly is in the biggest games of your club’s history and they ask you to bat cleanup — wow! That’s a huge deal.”

As with seemingly everything else during his career, White didn’t disappoint. Batting behind George Brett, White hit a two-run homer in the crucial third game (with St. Louis leading the series 2 games to none). Overall in the series he had three doubles and led all players with six RBIs.

Really, the entire 1985 postseason run was special for the Royals. In what was the first time the league playoffs were a best-of-seven series, the Royals battled back from a 3 games to 1 deficit against Toronto and won. Then, they did the same thing against the Cardinals.

Adding to the drama against the Cardinals was how the Royals dropped their first two games at home before winning two of three in St. Louis.

“Being down 3-1, you have nowhere to go,” said White. “As an athlete, you’re at that point of the year when you have the winter to rest, so you put everything you have into that next game. If you win that game, you look to the next one. Then, we felt, if we could tie it up, the momentum would be in our favor.”

One player who had momentum throughout the World Series was shortstop Biancalana. A .205 lifetime hitter with six home runs in six major-league seasons, Biancalana entered the “zone” during the World Series, batting .278 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

“The World Series was a fabulous experience for me, as people can imagine, but taking it to a different level that was the best baseball I had ever played,” said Biancalana, who has a company now, Perfect Mind-Perfect Motion, that is based largely on that experience. “I reached a level of concentration that I never experienced prior to that time.”

The most important piece of the puzzle, though, at least according to White, was the early-season acquisition of Lonnie Smith. The Royals traded John Morris to St. Louis in mid-May for Smith.

“We were a good team, a playoff team in ’84, but we didn’t have the winning feeling until Lonnie came over,” said White. “He was an aggressive player, a hard-nosed guy. … I really think he was the missing piece for that ’85 season.”

Of course, maybe the biggest piece was manager Dick Howser, whose laid-back style helped the club stay relaxed. His famous line was “piss on it; we’ll get it done.”

“He believed in his players,” said White. “He knew when to fight for his team and when to lay back. He had control of the reigns but he didn’t pull back on them too often. He led by a quiet, calm professionalism.”

And, along with guys like Biancalana, Motley and, of course, White, Howser’s team got it done. It didn’t matter if they had their backs against the wall twice, or if people think other Royals’ clubs were better. The 1985 Royals brought home the world title.

“You play the game to be a champion,” White says. “That’s why you put the uniform on in the first place. When you get that achieved, regardless of how many more games you might’ve won in another year, when you become World Champion, that takes the top spot over anything else you’ve done as a team.

“When you look at the thousands of guys who play this game and will never get to experience a division championship or a playoff championship, and especially a World Series title, winning that has to be number one.”

And, in 1985, for the first time in club history, the Royals were just that.


For more information on Matt Fulks’ books, or to suggest a “Behind the Stats” topic, visit Matt at www.mattfulks.com. For the “Behind the Stats” radio show, visit www.SportsRadioKC.com.