Nov. 2, 1985
The Rolaids Relief Men of the Year have been announced:
- American League - Ernie Camacho - CLE/BAL - 64 IP, 2.11 ERA, 19 SV, 23 K, 44 BB
- National League - Tom Niedenfuer - LA - 79 IP, 1.37 ERA, 40 SV, 80 K, 23 BB
Niedenfuer is much deserving of the award, while Kent Tekulve finished in fourth and Larry Andersen finished in sixth. But Camacho? With 44 walks and 23 strikeouts? Seriously? Whoosh.
Moving on, it’s time to begin negotiations with draft picks.
- 1 - Jeff King: His demand is $270K and slot was $263K. We’re happy offering him what he wants here.
- S - Carlos Baerga: His demand is $206K, which was slot for the pick. Again, we’ll meet demand.
- 2 - Gary Cooper: He wants far less ($82K) than slot ($159K), and we’re happy meeting his demand.
- 3 - Scott Markley: His demand is $54K and slot is $80K. Again, easy to meet him.
- 5 - Gregory Harris: He wants $31K and slot is $40K, but he’s also easy to sign. We’ll start at $25K.
Down draft, my 20th, 25th, 30th, 38th, and 49th round picks are all “impossible” to sign, while my 27th round pick wants $380K, and my 29th round pick seeks $650K. None of these players are very good, with maybe the exception of the 27th rounder, 6-foot, 6-inch slugger Jason Woods. I’m not sure he’s worth more than what I’m giving King, but we’ll debate it.
Then there’s my fourth-round pick Pat Austin, who won’t disclose what he wants. As of right now, we’re saving $111,000, mostly by going under slot. Add that to Austin’s slot ($57K), and we’re talking $168,000 as a starting offer that would keep our draft budget on par with total slot. Now, we don’t mind going over that, even by a couple hundred thousand, as we’ve reserved $2.756 million for the draft.
We have until Dec. 1 to finish these deals. We decide to wait out the first couple picks, hoping we’ll have that $168K to work with. Then we’ll decide what we’ll want to do with the guys demanding big paydays.
Nov. 3, 1985
First thing this Sunday morning: Omar Garcia has agreed to be my assistant general manager. Awesome. He’ll start Wednesday so he can get onboarded and then involved in our free agency plans.
Then, a round of calls over the morning, all good:
- SIGNED: Glenn Wilson - 1 year, $115,000
- SIGNED: Dave Stegman - 1 year, $120,000
- SIGNED: Kevin Gross - 1 year, $200,000
Everyone is in good spirits, as we avoid arbitration completely this offseason.
Finally, Sliver Sluggers! And we have a couple!
- 1B - Mike Schmidt
- 3B - Paul Molitor
- LF - Von Hayes
Outstanding. Other NL winners include Terry Kennedy (SD), Ryne Sandberg (CHC), Tom Foley (CIN), Willie McGee (STL), Chili Davis (SF), and Ron Darling (NYM).
In the AL, winners were Mike Brown (CAL), Kent Hrbek (MIN), Mike Greenwell (BOS), Howard Johnson (DET), Tony Fernandez (TOR), Kirk Gibson (DET), Kirby Puckett (MIN), Jesse Barfield (TOR), and George Bell (TOR).
Sandberg and Bell were Phillies prospects at one time …
Nov. 4, 1985
Rookie of the Year winners:
- AL - Mike Greenwell - BOS - 2B - .292/.355/.508, 31 HR, 91 RBI
- NL - Franklin Stubbs - LA - RF - .271/.344/.452, 23 HR, 83 RBI, 25 SB
Congratulations to the winners.
Nov. 5, 1985
Manager of the Year winners:
- AL - Bobby Cox - TOR
- NL - Tommy Lasorda - LA
Really?! Lasorda just beat out the dregs of the NL West to win another division title, while Dick Howser jumps leagues and takes a 75-win team to the postseason and doesn’t win. I smell a rat.
Very upset with the voters. Honestly, they picked the wrong guy.
Nov. 6, 1985
Assistant general manager Omar Garcia reports for duty. We give him a tour, then we have a candid conversation about team direction and what we should do this offseason. He thinks we shouldn’t be afraid to shake things up if possibilities fall into our sphere, and I agree, but with a few reservations. I feel this should be more of a transitionary season, but we’ll talk more about that soon.
Cy Young time:
- AL - Roger Clemens - BOS
- NL - Orel Hershiser - LA
So far, the Dodgers are sweeping the individual awards. Our Charles Hudson finished in fifth behind Hershiser, Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela, and Bryn Smith of Montreal.
The one we’re all watching for is tomorrow. Also, tomorrow starts our deep prep for free agency.
Nov. 7, 1985
1980
1981
1985
Congratulations to Mike Schmidt, who joins the elite ranks of players who’ve won three Most Valuable Player awards. He is your 1985 National League MVP. Take a bow, Mike.
The results:
- Mike Schmidt - PHI - 297 points (16/26 first place votes)
- Ryne Sandberg - CHC - 237 (5/26)
- Orel Hershiser - LA - 196 (5/26)
- Von Hayes - PHI - 146
- Willie McGee - STL - 145
- Chili Davis - SF - 127
- Dwight Gooden - NYM - 122
- Fernando Valenzuela - LA - 74
- Eric Davis - CIN - 70
- Tim Raines - MTL - 32
- Leon Durham - CHC - 24
- Darryl Strawberry - NYM - 17
- Charles Hudson - PHI - 14
- Gerald Perry - ATL - 12
- Bryn Smith - MTL - 6
- Danny Darwin - LAD - 5
- Bob Horner - ATL - 3
- Ozzie Smith - STL - 3
- Tony Gwynn - SD - 2
- John Candelaria - PIT - 1
- Franklin Stubbs - LAD - 1
So it was close between Schmidty and Sandberg. Also, Von in fourth place! Plus, Charles Hudson finishes 13th! Surprised Paul Molitor didn’t chart here, but que sera, sera. Anyway, so proud of Mike. We plan a big dinner celebration Friday night - Giles and his wife, Mike and his wife Donna, Dick and his wife Nancy, and me and … well, I’ll find someone.
Meanwhile in the Junior Circuit, Toronto’s Jesse Barfield won in more of a landslide over teammate George Bell, Minnesota’s Kent Hrbek, Chicago’s Harold Baines, Boston’s Wade Boggs, and another teammate, Rance Mulliniks.