Already a fan-favorite from the 1982 World Series championship team, Willie McGee entered his fourth season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985 as one of the top players on the team. He had an All-Star Game appearance and Gold Glove to his name in 1983. In addition, he finished third in the 1982 Rookie of the Year award.
Yet few, not even Willie McGee himself, could have imagined how well the 1985 season would turn out for him nor the team itself. The Cardinals finished 101-61 and won both the division and pennant, on a team picked for last in the NL East by the Sporting News.