player’s batting average would exceed .400. Despite
intense media attention, which Brett compared to
the scrutiny that Roger Maris received when he chal-
lenged Babe Ruth’s home run record, Brett handled
the pressures both on and off the field with humor
and professionalism. In mid-September, his average
finally slipped below .400, and Brett finished the
season at .390. Nevertheless, that average remains
among the very highest since 1941. Brett received
the American League Most Valuable Player award in
1980 for his feat.
Throughout the 1980’s, left-handed hitter Brett
remained remarkably consistent and a dangerous
clutch hitter. Slowed by serious shoulder and knee
injuries in 1986 and 1987—which resulted in a shift
from third to first base—Brett was still able to main-
tain a high average. He would win his third batting
championship in 1990. He frequently hit with power,
averaging more than thirty doubles and twenty home
runs in each season of the 1980’s (excluding the
strike-abbreviated 1981 season). Brett demolished
the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1985 American League
playoffs. In the 1980 and 1985 World Series, he bat-
ted .375 and .370, respectively. Kansas City won its
first World Series title in 1985, thanks to excellent
pitching and Brett’s leadership.
Brett’s consistency was further reflected in his
style of play and loyalty toward the fans. A true team
leader, Brett inspired others with his constant hustle
and determination. Fans still remember the inci-
dent on July 24, 1983, when Brett exploded out of
the dugout after an umpire negated his potential
game-winning home run against the New York Yan-
kees because of excess pine tar on his bat. The um-
pire’s decision was subsequently overturned on ap-
peal and the rule changed. At a time when free
agency and increasing salaries increased player move-
ment and drained talent from small-market clubs,
Brett remained with the Kansas City Royals for his
entire major-league career. Through the 1980’s, Brett
was a valued member of the Kansas City community,
unpretentious around the fans, generous with the
media, and devoted to the promotion of baseball.
Impact George Brett guaranteed his election to
the Hall of Fame in 1999 with his batting prowess in
the 1980’s. He was a model ballplayer, representing
traditional baseball values for a small-market fran-
chise at a time when baseball was wracked by labor
strife and increasing free agent movement.
Further Reading
Cameron, Steve.George Brett: Last of a Breed. Dallas:
Taylor, 1993.
Matthews, Denny, and Matt Fulks.Tales from the
Royals Dugout. Champaign, Ill.: Sports, 2004.
Zeligman, Mark.George Brett: A Royal Hero. Cham-
paign, Ill.: Sports, 1999.
M. Philip LucasSee also Baseball; Baseball strike of 1981; Jackson,
Bo; Sports.Bridges, Jeff
Identification American film actor
Born December 4, 1949; Los Angeles, CaliforniaRefusing to be typecast as a golden boy romantic lead, Jeff
Bridges crafted many memorable film performances across
genres and styles of filmmaking.Jeff Bridges entered Hollywood easily: The son of ac-
tors Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Dean Bridges, he in-
frequently appeared in his famous father’s television
series,Sea Hunt. After attending a military academy
and serving a stint in the Coast Guard, Jeff Bridges
began acting in films, notably portraying a cocky
Texas teenager inThe Last Picture Show(1971)—a
performance for which he received the first of his
Academy Award nominations—and a naïve young
boxer inFat City(1972).
In the 1980’s, Bridges appeared in sixteen theatri-
cal films. Four superb performances demonstrated
his range: He played a noncommitted, womanizing
opportunist forced to make a moral choice inCut-
ter’s Way(1981); a gentle visitor to Earth inStarman
(1984); an aggressive, optimistic inventor in the
biopicTucker: The Man and His Dreams(1988); and a
world-weary entertainer performing in a lounge
act with a less talented and far more upbeat older
brother (played by his actual brother, Beau Bridges)
inThe Fabulous Baker Boys(1989). Bridges received
his greatest critical response of the decade—and the
only Academy Award nomination ever granted in
the Best Actor category for a non-human character-
ization—for his performance inStarman, in which
Bridges abandoned his natural grace for the mecha-
nized movements and halting speech of a newly em-
bodied alien who learns to “act human.”146 Bridges, Jeff The Eighties in America