The Eighties Club
The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s
MLB 1980
The Standings
American League
Games
Won
Lost
Pct.
GB
East
New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers
Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians
Toronto Blue Jays

162
162
162
160
163
160
162

103
100
86
83
84
79
67

59
62
76
77
78
81
95

.636
.617
.531
.519
.519
.494
.414

--
3.0
17.0
19.0
19.0
23.0
36.0
West
Kansas City Royals
Oakland  Athletics
Minnesota Twins
Texas Rangers
Chicago White Sox
California Angels
Seattle Mariners

162
162
161
163
162
160
163

97
83
77
76
70
65
59

65
79
84
85
90
95
103

.599
.512
.478
.472
.438
.406
.364

--
14.0
19.5
20.5
26.0
31.0
38.0
AL Championship Series
(best of 5 games)
Kansas City 3, New York 0
MVP: Frank White
National League
Games
Won
Loss
Pct.
GB
East
Philadelphia Phillies
Montreal Expos
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
New York Mets
Chicago Cubs

162
162
162
162
162
162

91
90
83
74
67
64

71
72
79
88
95
98

.562
.556
.512
.457
.414
.395

--
1.0
8.0
17.0
24.0
27.0
West
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
Cincinnati Reds
Atlanta Braves
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres

163
163
163
161
161
163

93
92
89
81
75
73

70
71
73
80
86
89

.571
.564
.549
.503
.466
.451

--
1.0
3.5
11.0
17.0
19.5
NL Championship Series
(best of 5 games)
Philadelphia 3, Houston 2
MVP: Manny Trillo
1980 World Series
(10.14.81-10.21.81)
Philadelphia Phillies (4) vs Kansas City Royals (2)
Game 1 (Philadelphia): Phillies 7 (Walk), Royals 6 (Leonard)
Game 2 (Philadelphia): Phillies 6 (Carlton), Royals 4 (Quisenberry)
Game 3 (Kansas City): Royals 4(Quisenberry), Phillies 3 (McGraw)
Game 4 (Kansas City): Royals 5 (Leonard), Phillies 3 (Christenson)
Game 5 (Kansas City): Phillies 4 (McGraw), Royals 3 (Quisenberry)
Game 6 (Philadelphia): Phillies 4 (Carlton), Royals 1(Gale)

Series Summary: In 97 seasons of league play the Philadelphia Phillies had only reached the World Series twice -- in 1917 and 1950, losing both times. Like the relatively new Kansas City Royals (12 seasons old), the Phillies had won their divisions in 1976, 1977 and 1978, only to lose the Championship Series. Going into the World Series, the Royals seemed hot, having previously knocked off the New York Yankees in three straight games. They also had the most stolen bases in 1980 (185), the most triples (59), the most hits (1,633) and the best batting average (.286).  In Game 1 at Veteran's Stadium, the Royals jumped to a 4-0 lead in the third inning. But the Phillies came roaring back with five runs in the bottom of the third and one more in the fourth, knocking out Royals starter Dennis Leonard. Willie Aikins of the Royals hit a two-run homer in the eighth, but the Phillies hung on to win 7-6. The Phillies came back again in Game 2, with four runs in the eighth and a 6-4 win. After nine innings, Game 3 was all tied up at three; in the 10th, Willie Aikins hit a gapper into left center to score Willie Wilson. Aikins was the hero yet again in Game 4 as he led the Royals to their second win, tying the series, with two homeruns. In Game 5 the Phillies once again came from behind and led it 4-3 in the ninth. Phillies reliever Tug McGraw saved the day in the bottom of the ninth by striking out the Royals' Jose Cardenal with the bases loaded. The Phillies were up 4-1 in the ninth in Game 7, and McGraw once again struck out a Royals batter with the bases loaded to win the game, and the series, for Philadelphia. -- JM

MVP: Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt (.381, 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI)
The All-Star Game
NL 4, AL 2
7.8.80
Los Angeles, CA (Dodger Stadium)
Attendance: 56,088
MVP: Ken Griffey

AL All-Stars
Buddy Bell (Texas), George Brett (Kansas City), Al Bumbry (Baltimore) Tom Burgmeier (Boston), Rod Carew (California), Cecil Cooper (Milwaukee), Bucky Dent (New York), Ed Farmer (Chicago), Carlton Fisk (Boston), Rich Gossage (New York), Bobby Grich (California), Larry Gura (Kansas City), Rickey Henderson (Oakland), Rick Honeycutt (Seattle), Reggie Jackson (New York), Tommy John (New York), Keri Landreaux (Minnesota), Fred Lynn (Boston), Paul Molitor (Milwaukee), Craig Nettles (New York), Ben Ogilvie (Milwaukee), Al Oliver (Texas), Jorge Orta (Cleveland), Lance Parrish (Detroit), Darrell Porter (Kansas City), Willie Randolph (New York), Jim Rice (Boston), Dave Stieb (Toronto), Steve Stone (Baltimore), Alan Trammell (Detroit), Robin Yount (Milwaukee)

NL All-Stars
Johnny Bench (Cincinnati), Jim Bibby (Pittsburgh), Vida Blue (San Francisco), Steve Carlton (Philadelphia), Gary Carter (Montreal), Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Jose Cruz (Houston), Phil Garner (Pittsburgh), Steve Garvey (Los Angeles), Ken Griffey (Cincinnati), George Hendrick (St. Louis), Keith Hernandez (St. Louis), Dave Kingman (Chicago), Ray Knight (Cincinnati), Davey Lopes (Los Angeles), Dale Murphy (Atlanta), Dave Parker (Pittsburgh), Ken Reitz (St. Louis), Jerry Reuss (Los Angeles), J.R. Richard (Houston), Pete Rose (Philadelphia), Bill Russell (Los Angeles), Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia), Reggie Smith (Los Angeles), John Stearns (New York), Bruce Sutter (Chicago), Kent Tekulve (Pittsburgh), Bob Welch (Los Angeles), Ed Whitson (San Francisco), Dave Winfield (San Diego)

"Perfection seemed about the only way the Americans were going to win a game and they gave it a good shot in this one.
"Starter Steve Stone pitched three perfect innings (becoming the first to do so since Denny McLain in 1966). Tommy John did the same for another 1 2/3 innings. By then, the AL even had a 2-0 lead.
"Then, as they say, tragedy struck. Ken Griffey homered. With one out, singles by Ray Knight, Phil Garner and George Hendrick tied it. Ed Farmer replaced John and Dave Winfield blistered a ground ball that Willie Randolph couldn't handle. Garner scored the go-ahead run and the AL went down to their ninth straight loss."
-- The Sporting News
 Individual Leaders -1980
AL
NL
At-Bats
Willie Wilson, Kansas City (705)
Omar Moreno, Pittsburgh (676)
Bases on Balls (Hitting)
Willie Randolph, New York (119)
Dan Driessen, Cincinnati (93)
Joe Morgan, Houston (93)
Bases on Balls (Pitching)
Jim Clancy, Toronto (128)
Nolan Ryan, Houston (98)
Batting Average
George Brett, Kansas City (.390)
Bill Buckner, Chicago (.324)
Complete Games
Rick Langford, Oakland (28)
Steve Rogers, Montreal (14)
Doubles
Robin Yount, Milwaukee (49)
Pete Rose, Philadelphia (42)
Earned Run Average
Rudy May, New York (2.46)
Don Sutton, Los Angeles (2.20)
Games Pitched
Dan Quisenberry, KC (75)
Dick Tidrow, Chicago (84)
Hits
Willie Wilson, Kansas City (230)
Steve Garvey, Los Angeles (200)
Home Runs
Reggie Jackson, New York (41)
Ben Ogilvie, Milwaukee (41)
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia (48)
Innings Pitched
Rick Langford, Oakland (290.0)
Steve Carlton, Phil. (304.0)
Runs Batted In
Cecil Cooper, Miwaukee (122)
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia (121)
Runs Scored
Willie Wilson, Kansas City (133)
Keith Hernandez, St. Louis (111)
Saves
Rich Gossage, New York (33)
Dan Quisenberry, KC (33)
Bruce Sutter, Chicago (28)
Shutouts
Tommy John, New York (6)
Jerry Reuss, Los Angeles (6)
Slugging Percentage
George Brett, Kansas City (.664)
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia (.624)
Stolen Bases
Rickey Henderson, Oakland (100)
Ron LeFlore, Montreal (97)
Strikeouts (Pitching)
Len Barker, Cleveland (187)
Steve Carlton, Philadelphia (286)
Total Bases
Cecil Cooper, Milwaukee (335)
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia (342)
Triples
Alfredo Griffin, Toronto (14)
Willie Wilson, Kansas City (14)
Omar Moreno, Pittsburgh (13)
Wins
Steve Stone, Baltimore (25)
Steve Carlton, Philadelphia (24)
Highlights of 1981
American League
The Cleveland Indians tied a major league record by hitting four sacrifice flies in the same game. (Unfortunately, they still lost the game.)
Rickey Henderson and Dwayne Murphy of the Oakland Athletics both stole bases in the first inning of a game with the Kansas City Royals. This tied a record set in the AL by the Minnesota Twins in 1969 and in the NL by the St. Louis Cardinals way back in 1925.
George Brett won the league's MVP award with a .390 batting average, the highest in the majors since Ted Williams hit .401 in 1941.Brett did this despite missing 45 games due to injuries.
National League
Philadelphia's Steve Carlton struck out seven St. Louis Cardinals on July 6, setting a major league record for strikeouts by a lefthander, with 2,836.
Nolan Ryan got his 3,000th career strikeout against Cesar Geronimo of the Cincinnati Reds -- who also had the distinction of being the 3,000th strikeout for Bob Gibson six years earlier.
and...
Pittsburgh Pirate Omar Moreno became the first major league player in the 20th century to have three consecutive seasons in which he stole 70 bases. (He finished the 1980 season with 96, had 77 in 1979, and 71 in 1978.)
On May 23, players and owners announced a new four-year agreement that raised the minimum player's salary from $21,000 to $30,000, and increased club contributions to the players' pension fund.
AL
Pitching: Complete Games--Oakland (94).....ERA--Oakland (3.46).....Fewest Hits Allowed--Oakland (1,347).....Fewest Home Runs Allowed--New York (102).....Fewest Walks Allowed--Milwaukee (420).....Saves--New York (50).....Shutouts--New York (15) .....Strikeouts--Texas (890)
Hitting: Bases on Balls--Detroit (645).....Batting Average--Kansas City (.286)..... Doubles--Milwaukee (289).....Hits--Kansas City (1,633).....Home Runs--Milwaukee (203).....On Base Percentage--Cleveland (.355).....Runs--Detroit (830).....Slugging Average--Milwaukee (.448).....Stolen Bases--Kansas City (185).....Triples--Kansas City (59)
NL
Pitching: Complete Games--St. Louis (34).....ERA--Houston (3.11).....Fewest Hits Allowed--Los Angeles (1,358).....Fewest Home Runs Allowed--Houston (69).....Fewest Walks Allowed--Pittsburgh (451).....Saves--Pittsburgh (43).....Shutouts--Los Angeles (19).....Strikeouts--Houston (929)
Hitting: Bases on Balls--San Diego (563).....Batting Average--St. Louis (.275)..... Doubles--St. Louis (300).....Hits--St. Louis (1,541).....Home Runs--Los Angeles (148) .....On Base Percentage--St. Louis (.331).....Runs--St. Louis (738).....Slugging Average --St. Louis (.400).....Stolen Bases--San Diego (239).....Triples--Houston (67)