As the leadoff hitter and baserunning sparkplug for St. Louis, Coleman helped the team reach the 1985 playoffs. But he suffered a freak injury prior to the fourth game of the National League Championship Series, when the automatic tarpaulin at Busch Stadium rolled over his leg during routine stretching exercises. The injury sidelined him for the rest of the postseason, and the Cardinals eventually lost a seven-game World Series to Kansas City.