1980_Kansas_City_Royals_season
1980 Kansas City Royals season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1980 Kansas City Royals season was their 12th in Major League Baseball. The Royals, under new manager Jim Frey, finished first in the American League West with a record of 97–65. Kansas City finally broke through in the postseason, sweeping the New York Yankees 3-0 in the 1980 American League Championship Series after falling to the Yankees in the ALCS in 1976, 1977 and 1978. The Royals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in the World Series.
Quick Facts Kansas City Royals, League ...
| 1980 Kansas City Royals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League Champions American League West Champions | ||||
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Royals Stadium | |||
| City | Kansas City, Missouri | |||
| Owners | Ewing Kauffman | |||
| General managers | Joe Burke | |||
| Managers | Jim Frey (first season) | |||
| Television | WDAF-TV 4 (Al Wisk, Denny Trease) | |||
| Radio | WIBW–AM 580 KMBZ–AM 980 (Denny Matthews, Fred White) | |||
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George Brett had one of the best seasons in Major League Baseball history. Brett became the first Royals player to win a Most Valuable Player award, and his league-leading .390 batting average was the highest in the majors since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Brett also led the team in home runs (24) and set a single-season franchise record with 118 runs batted in.
- October 26, 1979: Keith Drumright was acquired by the Royals from the Houston Astros to complete an earlier deal (the Astros sent a player to be named later to the Royals for George Throop) made on April 27, 1979.[1]
- December 6, 1979: The Royals trade Al Cowens, Todd Cruz and a player to be named later to the California Angels in exchange for Willie Aikens and Rance Mulliniks.[2]
- April 1, 1980: The Angels received Craig Eaton from the Royals, completing the trade of December 6.
On September 30, while pitching for the Seattle Mariners against the Royals, Rick Honeycutt taped a thumbtack to his finger to cut the ball. Royals baserunner Willie Wilson spotted the tack from second base. The umpires investigated and not only found the tack, but also a gash in Honeycutt's forehead. Honeycutt was ejected from the game, suspended for 10 games, and fined.[3]
Opening Day starters
Season standings
More information W, L ...
| AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 97 | 65 | 0.599 | — | 49–32 | 48–33 |
| Oakland Athletics | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 14 | 46–35 | 37–44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 77 | 84 | 0.478 | 19½ | 44–36 | 33–48 |
| Texas Rangers | 76 | 85 | 0.472 | 20½ | 39–41 | 37–44 |
| Chicago White Sox | 70 | 90 | 0.438 | 26 | 37–42 | 33–48 |
| California Angels | 65 | 95 | 0.406 | 31 | 30–51 | 35–44 |
| Seattle Mariners | 59 | 103 | 0.364 | 38 | 36–45 | 23–58 |
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Record vs. opponents
More information Team, BAL ...
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| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 10–3 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 9–3 | 6–4 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 3–10 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| California | 2–10 | 3–9 | — | 3–10 | 4–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 2–10 | 3–10 | 11–2 | 11–2 | 3–9 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 4–6 | 10–3 | — | 5–7 | 2–10 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7–2 | 5–7 |
| Cleveland | 7–6 | 6–7 | 6–4 | 7–5 | — | 3–10 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 8–5 |
| Detroit | 3–10 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 10–3 | — | 2–10 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 10–2–1 | 4–8 | 9–4 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 10–2 | — | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 6–7 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 5–8 |
| Minnesota | 2–10 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 5–7 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 |
| New York | 6–7 | 10–3 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | — | 8–4 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 10–3 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 4–8 | — | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 5–7 | 2–11 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 2–10–1 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 5–8 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 7–5 | 2–11 | 7–6–2 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 3–10 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 9–4 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 2–11 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |
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Notable transactions
- April 5, 1980: Eduardo Rodríguez was released by the Royals.[5]
- June 16, 1980: Mark Huismann was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent.[6]
- June 17, 1980: Randy McGilberry was traded by the Royals to the New York Mets for Kevin Kobel.[7]
- August 1980: Keith Drumright was purchased from the Royals by the Chicago Cubs.[1]
Roster
| 1980 Kansas City Royals | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Regular season
More information #, Date ...
| 1980 regular season game log: 97–65 (Home: 49–32; Away: 48–33) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 10–8 (Home: 7–4; Away: 3–4)
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May: 17–10 (Home: 8–4; Away: 9–6)
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June: 17–12 (Home: 5–7; Away: 12–5)
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July: 18–9 (Home: 12–6; Away: 6–3)
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August: 23–7 (Home: 9–5; Away: 14–2)
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September: 8–18 (Home: 4–6; Away: 4–12)
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October: 4–1 (Home: 4–1; Away: 0–0)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Royals team member | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Postseason Game log
More information #, Date ...
| 1980 Postseason game log: 5–4 (Home: 4–1; Away: 1–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AL Championship Series: vs. New York Yankees 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 1–0)
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World Series: vs. Philadelphia Phillies 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Away: 0–3)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Royals team member |
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| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Darrell Porter | 118 | 418 | 51 | 104 | 14 | 2 | .249 | 7 | 51 | 1 |
| 1B | Willie Aikens | 151 | 543 | 70 | 151 | 24 | 0 | .278 | 20 | 98 | 1 |
| 2B | Frank White | 154 | 560 | 70 | 148 | 23 | 4 | .264 | 7 | 60 | 19 |
| 3B | George Brett | 117 | 449 | 87 | 175 | 33 | 9 | .390 | 24 | 118 | 15 |
| SS | U L Washington | 153 | 549 | 79 | 150 | 16 | 11 | .273 | 6 | 53 | 20 |
| LF | Willie Wilson | 161 | 705 | 133 | 230 | 28 | 15 | .326 | 3 | 49 | 79 |
| CF | Amos Otis | 107 | 394 | 56 | 99 | 16 | 3 | .251 | 10 | 53 | 16 |
| RF | Clint Hurdle | 130 | 395 | 50 | 116 | 31 | 2 | .294 | 10 | 60 | 0 |
| DH | Hal McRae | 124 | 489 | 73 | 145 | 39 | 5 | .297 | 14 | 83 | 10 |
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Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Wathan | 126 | 453 | 57 | 138 | .305 | 6 | 58 | 17 |
| Dave Chalk | 69 | 167 | 19 | 42 | .251 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| Jamie Quirk | 62 | 163 | 13 | 45 | .276 | 5 | 21 | 3 |
| Pete LaCock | 114 | 156 | 14 | 32 | .205 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Rusty Torres | 51 | 72 | 10 | 12 | .167 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Rance Mulliniks | 36 | 54 | 8 | 14 | .259 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| José Cardenal | 25 | 53 | 8 | 18 | .340 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Bob Detherage | 20 | 26 | 2 | 8 | .308 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Steve Braun | 14 | 23 | 0 | 1 | .043 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jerry Terrell | 22 | 16 | 4 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Onix Concepción | 12 | 15 | 1 | 2 | .133 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Manny Castillo | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Phelps | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Germán Barranca | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Gura | 36 | 283.1 | 18 | 10 | 2.95 | 76 | 113 |
| Dennis Leonard | 38 | 280.1 | 20 | 11 | 3.79 | 80 | 155 |
| Paul Splittorff | 34 | 204.0 | 14 | 11 | 4.15 | 43 | 53 |
| Rich Gale | 32 | 190.2 | 13 | 9 | 3.92 | 78 | 97 |
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Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renie Martin | 32 | 137.1 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 4.39 | 70 | 68 |
| Steve Busby | 11 | 42.1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6.17 | 19 | 12 |
| Mike Jones | 3 | 4.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.57 | 5 | 2 |
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Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Quisenberry | 75 | 128.1 | 12 | 7 | 33 | 3.09 | 27 | 37 |
| Marty Pattin | 37 | 89.0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3.64 | 23 | 40 |
| Gary Christenson | 24 | 31.1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5.17 | 18 | 16 |
| Jeff Twitty | 13 | 22.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6.04 | 7 | 9 |
| Rawly Eastwick | 14 | 22.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.32 | 8 | 5 |
| Ken Brett | 8 | 13.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 5 | 4 |
| Craig Chamberlain | 5 | 9.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 5 | 3 |
| Jerry Terrell | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 |
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ALCS
Main article: 1980 American League Championship Series
Game 1
October 8 Royals Stadium
More information Team, R ...
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | X | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Larry Gura (1-0) L: Ron Guidry (0-1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: NYY – Rick Cerone (1) Lou Piniella (1) KCR – George Brett (1) | ||||||||||||
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Game 2
October 9 Royals Stadium
More information Team, R ...
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Dennis Leonard (1-0) L: Rudy May (0-1) S: Dan Quisenberry (1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: NYY – Graig Nettles | ||||||||||||
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Game 3
October 10 Yankee Stadium
More information Team, R ...
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Dan Quisenberry (1-0) L: Rich Gossage (0-1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: KCR – George Brett (2) Frank White (1) | ||||||||||||
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World Series
Main article: 1980 World Series
More information Game, Score ...
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royals – 6, Phillies – 7 | October 14 | Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia) | 65,791 | 3:01 |
| 2 | Royals – 4, Phillies – 6 | October 15 | Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia) | 65,775 | 3:01 |
| 3 | Phillies – 3, Royals – 4 (10 inns) | October 17 | Royals Stadium (Kansas City) | 42,380 | 3:19 |
| 4 | Phillies – 3, Royals – 5 | October 18 | Royals Stadium (Kansas City) | 42,363 | 2:37 |
| 5 | Phillies – 4, Royals – 3 | October 19 | Royals Stadium (Kansas City) | 42,369 | 2:51 |
| 6 | Royals – 1, Phillies – 4 | October 21 | Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia) | 65,838 | 3:00 |
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- George Brett – American League Batting Champion (.390)
- George Brett, Hutch Award[9]
See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
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LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Royals Blue
- Keith Drumright at Baseball Reference
- Eduardo Rodríguez at Baseball Reference
- Mark Huismann at Baseball Reference
- Kevin Kobel at Baseball Reference
- 1980 Kansas City Royals Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1980 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
- 1980 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac