In the 1985 regular season the Royals topped the Western Division for the sixth time in ten years, led by Bret Saberhagan's Cy Young Award-winning performance.
In the 1985 World Series against the cross-state St. Louis Cardinals - the so-called "I-70 Series" because the two teams are both located in the state of Missouri and connected by Interstate 70 - the Royals again fell behind 3-1.