Rookie of the Year: Vince Coleman, 1985

Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  24 (Sept. 22)

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 170

Prior to 1985:

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Coleman played baseball at that city’s Raines High School before going to college at Florida A & M. There, he was a punter and placekicker on the football team, following in the footsteps of his cousin Greg Coleman, who became a punter with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. As a baseball player, he was sidelined during his sophomore year by a broken wrist, but as a junior in 1981 he hit .383 and stole 65 bases in 66 games. He batted .407 with 42 stolen bases in 28 games as a senior. Due to his great speed, pro football’s Washington Redskins invited him to minicamp in 1982 to audition as a wide receiver. Coleman, who had first been drafted by the Phillies in 1981, was chosen by the Cardinals in the ’82 amateur draft and signed. First assigned to Johnson City of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, Coleman appeared in 58 games and co-led the league (along with future Twins great Kirby Puckett) in stolen bases with 43 while hitting .250. Making the conversion from a right-handed batter into a switch-hitter, he advanced to Macon of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1983 where he was the batting champion with a .350 average, despite missing time with a broken right hand, and also stole 145 bases to set a professional baseball record. Coleman moved on to the Louisville Redbirds of the Class AAA American Association in 1984 where he batted .257 and stole 101 bases. Coleman had difficulty at the plate during spring training in 1985 and started the season with Louisville. When reserve outfielder Tito Landrum suffered an injury in April, Coleman was called up and soon took over the starting job in left field.  

1985 Season Summary

Appeared in 151 games

LF – 138, CF – 17, RF – 10, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 692 [6]

At Bats – 636 [3]

Runs – 107 [5]

Hits – 170 [12]

Doubles – 20

Triples – 10 [4, tied with Phil Garner]

Home Runs – 1

RBI – 40

Bases on Balls – 50

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 115 [6]

Stolen Bases – 110 [1]

Caught Stealing – 25 [1]

Average - .267

OBP - .320

Slugging Pct. - .335

Total Bases – 213

GDP – 3

Hit by Pitches – 0

Sac Hits – 5

Sac Flies – 1

League-leading stolen bases were +40 ahead of runner-up Tim Raines

League-leading times caught stealing were +6 ahead of runner-up Juan Samuel

Midseason snapshot: HR – 1, R – 64, SB – 63, RBI – 16, AVG - .278, OBP - .340

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 4/19, (in 4 AB) vs. Houston 6/4, in 5 AB) at San Diego 7/25, (in 7 AB) at Chi. Cubs 8/1 – 14 innings

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 4 AB) vs. Atlanta 5/21

HR at home – 1

HR on road – 0

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 2 on eight occasions

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 328

Put Outs – 305

Assists – 16

Errors – 7

DP - 1

Pct. - .979

Postseason Batting: 3 G (NLCS vs. LA Dodgers)

PA – 14, AB – 14, R – 2, H – 4, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – 1, AVG - .286, OBP - .286, SLG -.286, TB – 4, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Missed World Series due to injury

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

11^th in NL MVP voting (16 points, 5% share)

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Vince Coleman, StL.: 120 pts. – 24 of 24 first place votes, 100% share

Tom Browning, Cin.: 72 pts. – 60% share

Mariano Duncan, LAD: 9 pts. – 8% share

Chris Brown, SF: 7 pts. – 6% share

Glenn Davis, Hou.: 3 pts. – 3% share

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Cardinals went 101-61 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 3 games over the New York Mets while leading the league in runs scored (747), triples (59),  RBIs (687), stolen bases (314), walks drawn (586), batting (.264), and on-base percentage (.335). The Cardinals battled the Mets into September when a 14-1 stretch put them in a position to maintain control of the NL East. Won NLCS over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2. Lost World Series to the Kansas City Royals, 4 games to 3, after leading by 3 games to 1. Coleman missed the Series after the automatic tarpaulin at Busch Memorial Stadium injured his knee while warming up for Game 1.

Aftermath of ‘85:

Coleman slumped at the plate in 1986 and batted .232, although he still accumulated a league-leading 107 stolen bases. He also continued to be a solid defensive left fielder. He made it three straight hundred-steal seasons in 1987 with 109 to go with a .289 batting average and 10 triples. Coleman was an All-Star for the first time in 1988, in a season in which his stolen base total dropped to 81, which was still enough to top the National League. He legged out another 10 triples on his way to a .260 average, while striking out 111 times, far too often for a leadoff hitter. Coleman led the NL in stolen bases twice more in 1989 and ’90, with totals of 65 and 77 respectively. His batting averages were .254 in 1989 and .292 in ’90. Following six years in St. Louis, the player nicknamed “Vincent Van Go” signed as a free agent with the New York Mets in 1991 for four years and $11.95 million. He lasted for three difficult seasons in New York in which his batting averages were .255, .275, and .279, and his stolen base totals 37, 24, and 38. Injuries and suspensions for bad behavior cut deeply into his playing time. In 1994 Coleman was traded to the Kansas City Royals where he batted .240 during the strike-shortened season and stole 50 bases. Returning to the Royals in 1995, he was traded to Seattle in August and, for the year, hit a combined .288 with 42 stolen bases. Coleman had unimpressive stints with Cincinnati in 1996 and Detroit in ’97 and failed to make a comeback with the Cardinals in 1998, leading to his retirement. Overall, Coleman batted .264 with 1425 hits that included 176 doubles, 89 triples, and 28 home runs. Most notably he compiled 752 stolen bases, leading the NL six times. His RBI total was 346. With the Cardinals he stole 549 bases, batted .265, and accumulated 937 hits, 106 doubles, 56 triples, 15 home runs, and 217 RBIs. Coleman was a two-time All-Star (both with the Cards). In 28 postseason games he hit .198 and stole 13 bases. Coleman was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2018.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.