1985 – Today’s issue of Sports Illustrated contains a fictitious article about a New York Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, whose fastball has been timed at 168 miles per hour. Author George Plimpton offers bogus quotes from real-life members of the Mets, as well as several staged photos, and fools readers nationwide.
Dwight Gooden becomes the second consecutive Met player to be named the National League’s Rookie of Year. The 19 year-old right-hander, who compiled a 17-9 record along with a 1.53 ERA and a league-leading 268 strikeouts, joins his teammate and close friend Darryl Strawberry to be honored the coveted freshman award.
1984 – Rick Sutcliffe, who was 16-1 for the Cubs after arriving from Cleveland two days before the June 15 trading deadline, is a unanimous choice as National League Cy Young Award winner.
1984 – Gene Mauch, who resigned as the California Angels manager after the 1982 season, is hired again.
1984 – San Diego Padres pitchers tie a World Series record by issuing 11 bases on balls in a 5 – 2 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 3. Detroit takes a 2-1 Series lead.
1984 – The Detroit Tigers win the World Series opener as Jack Morris pitches a complete game, 3 – 2, victory over San Diego. Larry Herndon’s two-run home run in the 5th inning provides the winning margin.
Steve Garvey’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning gives the Padres a 7-5 walk-off win over the Cubs in Game 4 of NLCS. After losing the first two contests of the best-of-five NLCS, the victory brings the series to a decisive fifth game that San Diego will win to capture the National League pennant.
1984 – Pitchers Milt Wilcox and Willie Hernandez combine on a three-hitter to give the Detroit Tigers a 1 – 0 win and a sweep of the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS.
1984 – The San Diego Padres take a lead in an NLCS game for the first time, and they go on to down the Chicago Cubs, 7 – 1, in Game 3.
In the dramatic race for the American League batting title, Don Mattingly goes 4 for 5 in the Yankees’ season-ending 4 – 2 win over the Tigers to edge teammate Dave Winfield .343 to .340. Winfield goes 1 for 4.
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