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)

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]

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]

v t e NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Houston Astros	93	70	0.571	—	55–26	38–44
Los Angeles Dodgers	92	71	0.564	1	55–27	37–44
Cincinnati Reds	89	73	0.549	3½	44–37	45–36
Atlanta Braves	81	80	0.503	11	50–30	31–50
San Francisco Giants	75	86	0.466	17	44–37	31–49
San Diego Padres	73	89	0.451	19½	45–36	28–53

1980 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	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	—

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]

1980 Atlanta Braves

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

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

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

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

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

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

^ 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

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