1980 Atlanta Braves season

1980 Atlanta Braves
1980 Atlanta Braves
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
City	Atlanta
Record	81–80 (.503)
Divisional place	4th
Owners	Ted Turner
General managers	John Mullen
Managers	Bobby Cox
Television	WTBS/Superstation WTBS
Radio	WSB; (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
	Seasons
	Seasons

The 1980 Atlanta Braves season was the 15th season in Atlanta along with the 110th season as a franchise overall.

Offseason

November 20, 1979: Relief pitcher Al Hrabosky signed as a free agent.
December 5, 1979: Barry Bonnell, Pat Rockett, and Joey McLaughlin were traded by the Braves to the Toronto Blue Jays for Chris Chambliss and Luis Gómez.^[1]
December 6, 1979: Adrian Devine and Pepe Frías were traded by the Braves to the Texas Rangers for Doyle Alexander, Larvell Blanks and $50,000.^[2]

Regular season

On August 6, umpire Jerry Dale ruled that Braves shortstop Rafael Ramírez did not step on second base while turning a double play. Manager Bobby Cox argued the call and confronted Dale while tobacco juice streamed out of his mouth. Cox was accused of spitting on the umpire.^[3]

Phil Niekro became the only pitcher in the history of the National League to lead the NL in losses for four consecutive seasons.^[4]

Season standings

NL West
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Houston Astros	93	70	.571	—	55‍–‍26	38‍–‍44
Los Angeles Dodgers	92	71	.564	1	55‍–‍27	37‍–‍44
Cincinnati Reds	89	73	.549	3½	44‍–‍37	45‍–‍36
	81	80	.503	11	50‍–‍30	31‍–‍50
San Francisco Giants	75	86	.466	17	44‍–‍37	31‍–‍49
San Diego Padres	73	89	.451	19½	45‍–‍36	28‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

1980 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
	—	8–4	2–16	7–11	11–7	5–7	3–9	5–7	11–1	12–6	11–6	6–6
Chicago	4–8	—	7–5	1–11	5–7	6–12	10–8	5–13	8–10	4–8	5–7	9–9
Cincinnati	16–2	5–7	—	8–10	9–9	3–9	8–4	7–5	6–6	15–3–1	7–11	5–7
Houston	11–7	11–1	10–8	—	9–10	5–7	8–4	3–9	7–5	11–7	11–7	7–5
Los Angeles	7–11	7–5	9–9	10–9	—	11–1	7–5	6–6	6–6	9–9	13–5	7–5
Montreal	7–5	12–6	9–3	7–5	1–11	—	10–8	9–9	6–12	10–2	7–5	12–6
New York	9–3	8–10	4–8	4–8	5–7	8–10	—	6–12	10–8	1–11	3–9	9–9
Philadelphia	7-5	13–5	5–7	9–3	6–6	9–9	12–6	—	7–11	8–4	6–6	9–9
Pittsburgh	1–11	10–8	6–6	5–7	6–6	12–6	8–10	11–7	—	6–6	8–4	10–8
San Diego	6–12	8–4	3–15–1	7–11	9–9	2–10	11–1	4–8	6–6	—	10–8	7–5
San Francisco	6–11	7–5	11–7	7–11	5–13	5–7	9–3	6–6	4–8	8–10	—	7–5
St. Louis	6–6	9–9	7–5	5–7	5–7	6–12	9–9	9–9	8–10	5–7	5–7	—

Notable transactions

June 3, 1980: Ken Dayley was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.^[5]
July 1, 1980: Bill Haselrig (minors) was traded by the Braves to the New York Mets for Randy Johnson.^[6]
August 8, 1980: Larvell Blanks was released by the Braves.^[7]

Game log

1980 Game Log (81–80)

April (6–11)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
1	April 9	@ Reds	0–9	Pastore (1–0)	Niekro (0–1)		51,774	0–1
2	April 11	@ Reds	0–6 (6)	LaCoss (1–0)	McWilliams (0–1)		12,902	0–2
3	April 12	@ Reds	4–5	Hume (1–0)	Hrabosky (0–1)		11,839	0–3
4	April 13	@ Reds	0–5	Leibrandt (1–0)	Niekro (0–2)		32,996	0–4
5	April 14	@ Astros	4–5	Sambito (1–0)	Garber (0–1)		15,017	0–5
6	April 15	@ Astros	2–6	Niekro (1–0)	McWilliams (0–2)		15,712	0–6
7	April 17	Reds	1–4	Pastore (2-0)	Niekro (0–3)		15,742	0–7
8	April 18	Reds	3–0	Matula (1–0)	Leibrandt (1–1)		5,624	1–7
9	April 19	Reds	1–6	Bonham (1–0)	Alexander (0–1)		9,684	1–8
10	April 20	Reds	3–5	Tomlin (2–0)	Bradford (0–1)	Hume (1)	8,002	1–9
11	April 22	Padres	3–2 (10)	Hrabosky (1–1)	Shirley (0–1)		4,710	2–9
12	April 23	Padres	2–1	Matula (2–0)	Jones (1–2)	Hrabosky (1)	4,166	3–9
13	April 24	Padres	8–7	Garber (1–1)	Fingers (2–1)		4,498	4–9
14	April 25	Expos	8–7 (11)	Bradford (1–1)	Bahnsen (0–1)		6,929	5–9
15	April 26	Expos	3–4	Grimsley (1–1)	Niekro (0–4)	Fryman (2)	13,705	5–10
16	April 27	Expos	6–3	McWilliams (1–2)	Sanderson (1–2)	Hrabosky (2)	12,917	6–10
–	April 28	@ Padres	Postponed (rain); Makeup: June 28
–	April 29	@ Padres	Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 21
17	April 30	@ Padres	1–2	Rasmussen (1–2)	Matula (2–1)	Shirley (3)	9,018	6–11

May (11–15)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
18	May 1	@ Padres	3–4	Shirley (1–1)	Camp (0–1)		12,131	6–12
19	May 2	@ Pirates	6–1	Niekro (1–4)	Rooker (2–2)		11,476	7–12
20	May 3	@ Pirates	3–1 (10)	Hrabosky (1–1)	Jackson (2–1)		34,104	8–12
21	May 4	@ Pirates	4–13	Bibby (4–0)	Boggs (0–1)		14,358	8–13
22	May 5	@ Phillies	1–7	Carlton (5–1)	Matula (2–2)		26,165	8–14
23	May 6	@ Phillies	5–10	Ruthven (2–2)	Alexander (0–2)	Noles (2)	25,302	8–15
–	May 7	@ Phillies	Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 25 as a traditional double-header
24	May 9	Astros	5–4	McWilliams (2–2)	Forsch (4–1)	Bradford (1)	11,111	9–15
25	May 10	Astros	2–3 (11)	LaCorte (2–0)	Garber (1–2)	Sambito (3)	13,798	9–16
26	May 11	Astros	7–4	Niekro (2–4)	Niekro (4–2)		10,871	10–16
27	May 13	Phillies	7–3	Alexander (1–2)	Lerch (0–5)	Camp (1)	10,146	11–16
28	May 14	Phillies	1–9	Carlton (6–2)	McWilliams (2–3)		4,625	11–17
29	May 16	Mets	3–5	Falcone (2–2)	Niekro (2–5)	Allen (6)	6,135	11–18
30	May 18 (1)	Mets	2–1	Matula (3–2)	Zachry (0–2)	Camp (2)	–	12–18
31	May 18 (2)	Mets	1–2	Allen (1–3)	Garber (1–3)		11,807	12–19
32	May 19	@ Expos	8–11	Palmer (3–0)	McWilliams (2–4)	Fryman (7)	20,656	12–20
33	May 20	@ Expos	1–0	Niekro (3–5)	Sanderson (3–3)		11,071	13–20
34	May 21	@ Expos	2–3	Rogers (4–4)	Garber (1–4)		13,606	13–21
35	May 23	@ Mets	1–2	Burris (3–3)	Matula (3–3)	Allen (8)	7,864	13–22
36	May 24	@ Mets	4–5 (10)	Allen (2–3)	Camp (0–2)		7,221	13–23
37	May 25	@ Mets	0–3	Swan (3–3)	Niekro (3–6)		13,624	13–24
38	May 26	Giants	2–1	Boggs (1–1)	Minton (1–2)	Bradford (2)	5,822	14–24
39	May 27	Giants	6–3	McWilliams (3–4)	Knepper (3–6)	Garber (1)	5,277	15–24
40	May 28	Giants	3–2 (12)	Hrabosky (2–1)	Lavelle (0–5)		5,500	16–24
41	May 29	@ Dodgers	0–3	Welch (5–1)	Niekro (3–7)		24,630	16–25
42	May 30	@ Dodgers	4–8	Hooton (5–3)	Matula (3–4)		32,200	16–26
43	May 31	@ Dodgers	6–5	Boggs (2–1)	Reuss (6–1)	Garber (2)	40,161	17–26

June (15–13)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
44	June 1	@ Dodgers	9–5	Alexander (2–2)	Goltz (3–4)	Camp (3)	49,320	18–26
45	June 2	@ Giants	4–2	Niekro (4–7)	Whitson (2–6)		3,768	19–26
46	June 3	@ Giants	2–3	Minton (2–2)	Bradford (1–2)		9,294	19–27
47	June 4	@ Giants	7–2	Matula (4–4)	Montefusco (2–5)		5,593	20–27
48	June 6	Dodgers	0–5	Reuss (7–1)	Niekro (4–8)		18,331	20–28
49	June 7	Dodgers	6–1	Alexander (3–2)	Goltz (3–5)		25,723	21–28
50	June 8	Dodgers	1–3	Sutton (5–2)	Boggs (2–2)	Sutcliffe (4)	12,543	21–29
51	June 9	Cardinals	5–8 (10)	Littlefield (1–0)	Bradford (1–3)	Frazier	6,513	21–30
52	June 10	Cardinals	5–2	Niekro (5–8)	Sykes (1–5)		6,763	22–30
53	June 11	Cardinals	3–4 (10)	Forsch (6–4)	Bradford (1–4)	Seaman (1)	6,755	22–31
54	June 13	@ Cubs	7–6	Alexander (4–2)	McGlothen (3–3)	Garber (3)	14,470	23–31
55	June 14	@ Cubs	5–10	Lamp (6–6)	Niekro (5–9)		25,108	23–32
56	June 15	@ Cubs	1–4	Krukow (4–7)	Matula (4–5)	Sutter (13)	11,421	23–33
57	June 16	@ Cardinals	6–3	Boggs (3–2)	Forsch (6–5)		16,809	24–33
58	June 17	@ Cardinals	2–3	Vuckovich (6–5)	Alexander (4–3)		13,524	24–34
59	June 18 (1)	Pirates	3–2	Garber (2–4)	Tekulve (5–4)		–	25–34
60	June 18 (2)	Pirates	5–4	Camp (1–2)	Romo (3–3)	Garber (4)	17,154	26–34
61	June 19	Pirates	4–3	Matula (5–5)	Robinson (2–3)	Bradford (3)	10,585	27–34
62	June 20	Cubs	2–4	McGlothen (4–4)	Boggs (3–3)	Sutter (16)	10,273	27–35
63	June 21	Cubs	8–0	Alexander (5–3)	Hernandez (1–6)		14,516	28–35
64	June 22	Cubs	2–3	Lamp (8–6)	Niekro (5–10)	Tidrow (3)	15,070	28–36
65	June 24	@ Reds	2–8	Leibrandt (7–4)	McWilliams (3–5)		22,682	28–37
66	June 25	@ Reds	3–15	Seaver (3–4)	Matula (5–6)		32,603	28–38
67	June 27	@ Padres	5–3	Camp (2–2)	Curtis (3–6)	Garber (5)	15,303	29–38
68	June 28 (1)	@ Padres	5–4	Bradford (2–4)	Shirley (5–4)	Garber (6)	–	30–38
69	June 28 (2)	@ Padres	2–3	D'Acquisto (2–1)	Camp (2–3)		17,554	30–39
70	June 29	@ Padres	4–2	McWilliams (4–5)	Rasmussen (1–7)		11,938	31–39
71	June 30	Astros	5–4	Hrabosky (3–1)	Sambito (2–1)		8,208	32–39

July (14–14)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Braves team member

Roster

1980 Atlanta Braves

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

6 Bobby Cox

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Bruce Benedict	120	359	91	.253	2	34
1B	Chris Chambliss	158	602	170	.282	18	72
2B	Glenn Hubbard	117	431	107	.248	9	43
SS	Luis Gómez	121	278	53	.191	0	24
3B	Bob Horner	124	463	124	.268	35	89
LF	Jeff Burroughs	99	278	73	.263	13	51
CF	Dale Murphy	156	569	160	.281	33	89
RF	Gary Matthews	155	571	159	.278	19	75

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Jerry Royster	123	392	95	.242	1	20
Larvell Blanks	88	221	45	.204	2	12
Brian Asselstine	87	218	62	.284	3	25
Rafael Ramírez	50	165	44	.267	2	11
Bill Nahorodny	59	157	38	.242	5	18
Mike Lum	93	83	17	.205	0	5
Biff Pocoroba	70	83	22	.265	2	8
Terry Harper	21	54	10	.185	0	3
Charlie Spikes	41	36	10	.278	0	2
Chico Ruiz	25	26	8	.308	0	2
Joe Nolan	17	22	6	.273	0	2
Eddie Miller	11	19	3	.158	0	0
Gary Cooper	21	2	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Phil Niekro	40	275.0	15	18	3.63	176
Doyle Alexander	35	231.2	14	11	4.20	114
Tommy Boggs	32	192.1	12	9	3.42	84
Rick Matula	33	176.2	11	13	4.58	62
Larry McWilliams	30	163.2	9	14	4.95	77

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Rick Camp	77	6	4	22	1.91	33
Gene Garber	68	5	5	7	3.83	51
Larry Bradford	56	3	4	4	2.44	32
Al Hrabosky	45	4	2	3	3.62	31
Preston Hanna	32	2	0	0	3.18	35
Rick Mahler	2	0	0	0	2.45	1

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Fred Hatfield
AA	Savannah Braves	Southern League	Eddie Haas
A	Durham Bulls	Carolina League	Al Gallagher
A	Anderson Braves	South Atlantic League	Sonny Jackson
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Pedro González

Awards and honors

Phil Niekro, Roberto Clemente Award

League leaders

Phil Niekro, National League leader, Losses^[4]

Notes

^ Chris Chambliss page at Baseball Reference
^ Doyle Alexander page at Baseball Reference
^ Sports Illustrated, "Thumbing his Way back home" by Thomas Lake, July 26, 2010, p. 49
^ ^a ^b Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 348, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
^ Ken Dayley page at Baseball Reference
^ Randy Johnson page at Baseball Reference
^ Larvell Blanks page at Baseball-Reference

References

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 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference

[1] Chris Chambliss page at Baseball Reference

[2] Doyle Alexander page at Baseball Reference

[3] Sports Illustrated, "Thumbing his Way back home" by Thomas Lake, July 26, 2010, p. 49

[feats-4] Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 348, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

[5] Ken Dayley page at Baseball Reference

[6] Randy Johnson page at Baseball Reference

[7] Larvell Blanks page at Baseball-Reference

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