Champions
Major League Baseball
World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4–2); Mike Schmidt, MVP
American League Championship Series: Frank White, MVP National League Championship Series Manny Trillo, MVP All-Star Game, July 8 at Dodger Stadium: National League, 4–2; Ken Griffey, MVP
Other champions Amateur World Series: Cuba College World Series: Arizona Japan Series: Hiroshima Toyo Carp over Kintetsu Buffaloes (4–3) Big League World Series: Buena Park, California Little League World Series: Long Kuong, Hua Lian, Taiwan Senior League World Series: Pingtung, Taiwan Winter Leagues 1980 Caribbean Series: Tigres del Licey Dominican Republic League: Tigres del Licey Mexican Pacific League: Naranjeros de Hermosillo Puerto Rican League: Vaqueros de Bayamón Venezuelan League: Leones del Caracas
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Al Kaline Chuck Klein Duke Snider Tom Yawkey Most Valuable Player George Brett (AL) Kansas City Royals Mike Schmidt (NL) Philadelphia Phillies Cy Young Award Steve Stone (AL) Baltimore Orioles Steve Carlton (NL) Philadelphia Phillies Rookie of the Year Joe Charboneau (AL) Cleveland Indians Steve Howe (NL) Los Angeles Dodgers Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league) Frances Crockett, Charlotte Orioles, Southern League Gold Glove Award (P) Mike Norris, Oakland Athletics (AL); Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves (NL) (C) Jim Sundberg, Texas Rangers (AL); Gary Carter, Montreal Expos (NL) (1B) Cecil Cooper, Milwaukee Brewers (AL); Keith Hernandez, St. Louis Cardinals (NL) (2B) Frank White, Kansas City Royals (AL); Doug Flynn, New York Mets (NL) (3B) Buddy Bell, Texas Rangers (AL); Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies (NL) (SS) Alan Trammell, Detroit Tigers (AL); Ozzie Smith, San Diego Padres (NL) (OF) Fred Lynn, Boston Red Sox (AL); Andre Dawson, Montreal Expos (NL) (OF) Dwayne Murphy, Oakland Athletics (AL); Garry Maddox, Philadelphia Phillies (NL) (OF) Willie Wilson, Kansas City Royals (AL); Dave Winfield, San Diego Padres (NL)
MLB statistical leaders American League National League Type Name Stat Name Stat AVG George Brett (KC) .390 Bill Buckner (CHC) .324 HR Reggie Jackson (NYY)Ben Oglivie (MIL) 41 Mike Schmidt (PHI) 48 RBI Cecil Cooper (MIL) 122 Mike Schmidt (PHI) 121 Wins Steve Stone (BAL) 25 Steve Carlton (PHI) 24 ERA Rudy May (NYY) 2.46 Don Sutton (LAD) 2.20
Major league baseball final standings
American League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st New York Yankees 103 59 .636 -- 2nd Baltimore Orioles 100 62 .617 3.0 3rd Milwaukee Brewers 86 76 .531 17.0 4th Boston Red Sox 83 77 .519 19.0 4th Detroit Tigers 84 78 .519 19.0 6th Cleveland Indians 79 81 .494 23.0 7th Toronto Blue Jays 67 95 .414 36.0 West Division 1st Kansas City Royals 97 65 .599 -- 2nd Oakland Athletics 83 79 .512 14.0 3rd Minnesota Twins 77 84 .478 19.5 4th Texas Rangers 76 85 .472 20.5 5th Chicago White Sox 70 90 .438 26.0 6th California Angels 65 95 .406 31.0 7th Seattle Mariners 59 103 .364 38.0
National League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st Philadelphia Phillies 91 71 .562 -- 2nd Montreal Expos 90 72 .556 1.0 3rd Pittsburgh Pirates 83 79 .512 8.0 4th St. Louis Cardinals 74 88 .457 17.0 5th New York Mets 67 95 .414 24.0 6th Chicago Cubs 64 98 .395 27.0 West Division 1st Houston Astros 93 70 .571 -- 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers 92 71 .564 1.0 3rd Cincinnati Reds 89 73 .549 3.5 4th Atlanta Braves 81 80 .503 11.0 5th San Francisco Giants 75 86 .466 17.0 6th San Diego Padres 73 89 .451 19.5
Events January
January 4 – David Clyde, who made his MLB debut as a promising prospect as a teenager, returns to the Texas Rangers as he and outfielder Jim Norris are sent to the Rangers by the Cleveland Indians in exchange for outfielder Gary Gray, pitcher Larry McCall, and minor league infielder Mike Bucci. January 5 – The Kansas City Royals sign pitcher Tom Candiotti. The undrafted 23-year-old had spent 1979 with the unaffiliated Victoria Mussels of the Class A Short Season Northwest League. January 9 – Al Kaline and Duke Snider are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Kaline is the tenth player to be elected in his first year of eligibility, while Snider is making his 11th appearance on the ballot. January 24 The New York Mets are sold by Charles Payson, husband of the club's late founding principal owner, Joan, to Doubleday & Company, headed by Nelson Doubleday Jr., and real-estate developer Fred Wilpon. The purchase price is an estimated $21.1 million, the highest amount yet paid for an American professional sports franchise. The New York Yankees sign outfielder Jim Nettles, a free agent and the younger brother of their third baseman, Graig Nettles. Jim, 32, is a veteran of three American League teams dating to 1970, but he will spend his only year in the Yankee organization at Triple-A. January 31 After eight seasons, two World Series titles, two National League MVP Awards, eight All-Star selections, and four Gold Glove Awards, Joe Morgan, 35, leaves the Cincinnati Reds and signs with the Houston Astros as a free agent, returning to the city where his major league career began in . The Philadelphia Phillies sign veteran relief pitcher Lerrin LaGrow, granted free agency the previous November 1. LaGrow, 31, had gone 5–1 with four saves and a 3.41 earned run average in 31 games for the 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers.
February February 12 – The board of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and the Oakland City Council both reject an attempt to buy out the remainder of the Athletics' stadium lease. This blocks an attempt to sell the team and a possible move to Denver. February 15 The San Diego Padres acquire first baseman Willie Montañez from the Texas Rangers in exchange for future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, infielder Tucker Ashford and minor leaguer Joe Carroll. For Perry, now 41, the trade "reverses" a January 25, 1978, deal that sent him from the Rangers to the Padres, for whom Perry promptly won the National League Cy Young Award and then made the 1979 NL All-Star team. Jerry Mumphrey's time on the Cleveland Indians' winter roster lasts only ten weeks when he's traded to the Padres for left-hander Bob Owchinko and outfielder Jim Wilhelm, who retires from baseball rather than report to Cleveland. The Indians had acquired outfielder Mumphrey, 27, from the St. Louis Cardinals as part of the deal that sent Bobby Bonds to St. Louis on December 7, 1979. February 20 – In his 20th and final season as owner of the Oakland Athletics franchise, Charles O. Finley makes his 17th managerial change, appointing Billy Martin, 51, the club's pilot for 1980. Martin was ousted from his brief second term as skipper of the New York Yankees on October 29 after a late-night altercation with a marshmallow salesman in a Minneapolis bar. The Oakland job is Martin's sixth managerial job in the past dozen years; he will earn headlines by transforming the woeful Athletics (54–108 in 1979) with "Billy Ball," and the A's will qualify for the postseason in . February 21 – The new owners of the New York Mets make a key front-office hire, naming former Baltimore Orioles executive Frank Cashen general manager and chief operating officer. Cashen, 54, spent a decade as executive vice president of the Orioles (–) during their dynastic run of four American League pennants and two World Series titles. As the replacement for former GM Joe McDonald, Cashen will supervise the rebuilding of a Mets' team that has finished last in the NL East for three consecutive seasons, averaging 97 losses a year.
March March 6 – George Bamberger, who has piloted the Milwaukee Brewers to an outstanding 188–135 (.582) record in his two seasons as manager, suffers a heart attack at the club's Arizona spring training camp. Coach Buck Rodgers takes the team's reins on an emergency basis. Bamberger, 56, will undergo successful coronary bypass surgery three weeks later, but he will not return to the Brewer dugout until June 6. March 8 – Rookie Joe Charboneau of the Cleveland Indians is attacked outside a Mexico City hotel. A fan seeking his autograph stabs him in the chest with a pen. Charboneau misses the start of the year but goes on to bat .289, hitting 23 home runs, while driving in 87 RBI in 131 games. He will be elected American League Rookie of the Year. March 10 – The New York Yankees sign pitcher José Canó. Although he will eventually appear in six games for the 1989 Houston Astros, Canó, 18, will be released by the Yankees August 6 of this season after three Gulf Coast League games. However, his son Robinson Canó, born in 1982, will play 17 seasons in the majors and be chosen an eight-time AL All-Star, with five selections coming during his nine years (–) as a Yankee. March 12 – Slugger Chuck Klein and former Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey are posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Yawkey is the first club owner selected who never served as a player, manager, or general manager. March 27 – The Los Angeles Dodgers release pitcher Ken Brett and catcher Johnny Oates. March 30 – The Philadelphia Phillies trade backup catcher Dave Rader to the Boston Red Sox for cash and a "player to be named later" (utility infielder Stan Papi). March 31 Less than two months after he was traded back to the Texas Rangers in hopes of reviving his career, David Clyde, 24, is released after continuing arm troubles. Although he will attempt a comeback in the minor leagues in 1981, the release brings an end to Clyde's MLB career. The Rangers trade outfielders Chris Smith and LaRue Washington to the Montreal Expos for first baseman/DH Rusty Staub.
April
April 1 Left-hander and future Hall of Famer Jim Kaat, 41, returns to the New York Yankees after having been granted free agency from the Bombers on November 1, 1979. The Chicago Cubs purchase the contract of Lenny Randle from the Seattle Mariners. The Pittsburgh Pirates reacquire right-hander Odell Jones from the Mariners for cash and a player to be named later. The Pirates send Triple-A relief pitcher Larry Andersen to Seattle as the "PTBNL" on October 29. April 3 – The San Francisco Giants release pitcher Pedro Borbon. April 4 – The Philadelphia Phillies release pitchers Doug Bird and Rawly Eastwick and infielder Bud Harrelson. April 9 Two days before the start of the season, the uniforms belonging to the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League are stolen. Hank Aaron, minor league director for Durham's parent club, the Atlanta Braves, sends the Bulls some used Braves road jerseys to tide them over until their uniforms can be replaced. Starting on Opening Day for the Seattle Mariners, Mike Parrott gets the win in Seattle's 8–6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It will be Parrott's only victory of the year: he loses his next 16 decisions to go 1–16, for a winning percentage of .059. April 10 At County Stadium, right fielder Sixto Lezcano of Milwaukee Brewers blasts a grand slam home run off Dick Drago of the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day in the bottom of the ninth to win the game, 9–5, making him the first player to hit two slams on Opening Day; he had previously done so in . After Texas Rangers starter Jon Matlack and New York Yankees starter Ron Guidry each pitch nine-inning shutout baseball, the Rangers win 1–0 in the 12th inning when Goose Gossage, in his only pitch of the game, uncorks a wild pitch with Richie Zisk at the plate. The wild pitch allows Ranger base runner (and former Yankee) Mickey Rivers to score from third. Harold Baines makes his major league debut, going 0–4, striking out once, in the Chicago White Sox 5–3 loss against the Baltimore Orioles.