The 1985New York Yankees season was the 83rd season for the Yankees. The team only played 161 games, came in second place in theAmerican League East with a record of 97–64, and finished 2 games behind theToronto Blue Jays. The Yankees did not qualify for the postseason. New York was managed byYogi Berra andBilly Martin. The Yankees played atYankee Stadium.

• November 5, 1984:Matt Keough was released by the Yankees.^[1]
• December 4, 1984:Ray Fontenot andBrian Dayett were traded by the Yankees to theChicago Cubs forRon Hassey,Porfi Altamirano,Rich Bordi, andHenry Cotto.^[2]
• December 5, 1984:Rick Cerone was traded by the Yankees to theAtlanta Braves forBrian Fisher.^[3]
• December 5, 1984:Stan Javier,Jay Howell,José Rijo,Eric Plunk, andTim Birtsas were traded by the Yankees to theOakland Athletics forRickey Henderson,Bert Bradley and cash.^[4]
• December 20, 1984:Steve Kemp,Tim Foli, and cash were traded by the Yankees to thePittsburgh Pirates forJay Buhner,Dale Berra andAlfonso Pulido.^[5] Berra became the first player since 1925, whenEarle Mack played for his fatherConnie Mack for thePhiladelphia Athletics, to play for his father as manager.
• December 27, 1984:Ed Whitson was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.^[6]
• February 27, 1985:Toby Harrah was traded by the Yankees to theTexas Rangers forBilly Sample and a player to be named later. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Eric Dersin (minors) to the Yankees on July 14.^[7]

• Rickey Henderson set a new club record by stealing 80 bases in one season. The previous mark had stood since 1914.

Henderson also scored 146 runs. It was the most in the Major Leagues since Ted Williams scored 150 runs in 1949.^[8] In addition, Rickey Henderson became the first player since Lou Gehrig in 1936 to amass more runs in a season than games played.^[8]

• Don Mattingly became the first Yankee sinceJoe DiMaggio to have back to back 200 hit seasons.
• Mattingly's 48 doubles were the most sinceLou Gehrig hit 52 in 1927.
• Mattingly was theAL MVP andRBI leader with 145. Mattingly hit for a .324 average with 35 home runs.
• Dave Winfield became the first Yankee sinceYogi Berra to achieve four straight 100 RBI seasons. Berra did it from 1953 to 1956.
• On April 28, the Yankees firedYogi Berra as manager 16 games into the season, only hours after being swept by the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series at Comiskey Park. OwnerGeorge Steinbrenner did not fire Berra personally, but instead dispatched general managerClyde King to deliver the news. Berra was replaced byBilly Martin, whom he replaced as manager after the 1983 season. It became the fourth of Martin's five stints as Yankee skipper. Berra vowed after the slight to never again set foot in Yankee Stadium as long as Steinbrenner owned the team
• On September 22, while at a hotel bar in Baltimore, Maryland, pitcherEd Whitson broke managerBilly Martin's arm after a heated argument that spread to other parts of the hotel. Whitson's Yankee tenure was also memorable for constantly being heckled and booed during home games.
• On October 5, the Yankees entered the next-to-last game of the season against the division-leadingToronto Blue Jays trailing them by two games. However, the Jays, led by pitcherDoyle Alexander, triumphed 5–1, clinching their first division title in franchise history.
• On October 6,Phil Niekro shut out the Blue Jays 8-0 for his 300th major league win. He did not throw his trademarkknuckleball until the final pitch of the game, striking outJeff Burroughs.

• June 3, 1985:Shane Turner was drafted by the Yankees in the 6th round of the1985 Major League Baseball draft.^[9]
• August 24, 1985:Jim Leyritz was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent.^[10]
• September 13, 1985:Bernie Williams was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent.^[11]
• September 15, 1985:Jim Deshaies and players to be named later were traded by the Yankees to theHouston Astros forJoe Niekro, who joined his brotherPhil Niekro in the rotation. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Neder Horta (minors) to the Astros on September 24 and Dody Rather (minors) to the Astros on January 11, 1986.^[12]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; R = Runs; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen Bases

Note: G = Games pitched; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

• Don Baylor –Roberto Clemente Award
• Ron Guidry –Gold Glove
• Rickey Henderson – American League Leader Stolen Bases (80)
• Rickey Henderson – Major League Baseball Leader Runs Scored (146)
• Rickey Henderson –Silver Slugger Award
• Don Mattingly – American League Most Valuable Player
• Don Mattingly – American League Leader RBI (145)
• Don Mattingly –Gold Glove
• Don Mattingly –Silver Slugger Award
• Dave Winfield –Silver Slugger Award
• Dave Winfield –Gold Glove

All-Star Game

• Don Mattingly, first base
• Dave Winfield, outfield
• Rickey Henderson, outfield

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Oneonta, GCL Yankees

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.

• 1985 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference
• 1985 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

• New York Yankees seasons
• 1985 Major League Baseball season
• 1985 in sports in New York City
• 1980s in the Bronx

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