1980 Major League Baseball season


The 1980 Major League Baseball season concluded with the Philadelphia Phillies winning their first World Series championship.
A strike during April 1–8 caused the final eight days of spring training to be canceled, but did not impact the regular season schedule.
Umpire uniforms in both leagues were standardized, the American League's red blazer and blue pants and the National League's blue coats and pants were discarded and the uniforms became blue blazers, light blue short sleeved shirts, gray pants, and blue hats with "AL" or "NL" to show which league they were in. The American League umpires adopted numbers on their uniforms for the first time; National League umpires had numbers on the uniforms since 1970, though the numbers were now white on the blazers and blue on the short-sleeved shirts.
The All-Star Game, held at Dodger Stadium, saw the National League defeat the American League, 4–2.
The Phillies finished their regular season with a 91–71 record, defeated the Houston Astros in the 1980 NLCS, and defeated the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series.

Standings

National League

Postseason

Bracket



Awards and honors

Other awards

Events

January–April

May–August

September–December

Deaths

  • January 10 – Hughie Critz, 79, second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants who led NL in fielding four times and double plays three times
  • January 21 – Gene Rye, 73, outfielder for the 1931 Boston Red Sox
  • February 1 – Fred Walters, 67, catcher for the 1945 Boston Red Sox, and one of many players who only appeared in the majors during World War II
  • February 2 – Jack Rothrock, 74, center fielder for four different teams from 1925 to 1937, who led the victorious St. Louis Cardinals with six RBI in the 1934 World Series
  • March 1 – Emmett Ashford, 65, the major leagues' first black umpire, who worked in the American League from 1966 to 1970 and in the 1970 World Series
  • March 1 – Johnny Watwood, 74, center fielder who played from 1929 to 1939 for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies
  • April 7 – Buck Canel, 74, Spanish-language broadcaster of 42 World Series, as well as many years of New York Yankees games
  • April 21 – Ray Dobens, 73, pitcher for the 1929 Boston Red Sox
  • April 21 – Joe Page, 62, All-Star relief pitcher for the New York Yankees who set single-season record with 27 saves in 1949, led AL in saves and appearances twice each
  • April 28 – Bob Porterfield, 56, All-Star pitcher who was named The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year in 1953 after a 22–10 season with the Senators
  • June 1 – Rube Marquard, 93, Hall of Fame pitcher who retired with 201 wins and the NL record for career strikeouts by a left-hander ; had 19 consecutive wins for the Giants in 1912 for a modern major league record
  • June 3 – Fred Lieb, 92, sportswriter who covered every World Series from 1911 to 1958
  • June 9 – Odell Hale, 71, infielder for the Cleveland Indians in the 1930s, who hit.300 three times and collected two 100-RBI seasons
  • July 4 – Jack Martin, 93, shortstop who played from 1912 to 1914 for the New York Highlanders, Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies
  • July 23 – Wally Snell, 91, catcher for the 1913 Boston Red Sox, who later went on to a distinguished career as a college botany professor and athletic coach at Brown University for four decades
  • July 30 – Joe Lucey, 83, infielder/pitcher for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox between 1920 and 1925
  • August 4 – Lefty Jamerson, 80, pitcher for the 1924 Boston Red Sox
  • August 27 – John Wilson, 77, pitched briefly for the Red Sox from 1927 to 1928
  • September 24 – Ernie Shore, 89, pitcher who relieved Babe Ruth with a man on first in a 1917 game and proceeded to retire the runner and all 26 remaining batters
  • October 1 – Pat Veltman, 74, utility player best known for his 1928 season, where his only hit was a triple
  • November 29 – Bill Dunlap, 71, outfielder for the Boston Braves from 1929 to 1930
  • December 5 – Don Padgett, 69, backup catcher/outfielder who hit.288 in 699 games with the Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves and Phillies from 1937 to 1948
  • December 14 – Elston Howard, 51, nine-time All-Star catcher for the New York Yankees who was that team's first black player and the AL's 1963 MVP; later a coach
  • December 31 – Bob Shawkey, 90, pitcher who had four 20-win seasons for the Yankees, later was coach at Dartmouth

Television coverage

Thursday Night Baseball aired on USA Network. ABC aired Monday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game, and both League Championship Series. NBC televised the weekend Game of the Week and the World Series.