1980 Atlanta Braves season

1980 Atlanta Braves
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (since 1966)
Atlanta (since 1966)
Results
Record	81–80 (.503)
Divisional place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	Ted Turner
General manager(s)	John Mullen
Manager(s)	Bobby Cox
Local television	WTBS/Superstation WTBS
Local radio	WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
< Previous season     Next season  >

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	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

Record vs. opponents

1980 National League Records Sources:
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	—

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]

Roster

1980 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 40 Tommy Boggs 34 Larry Bradford 37 Rick Camp 26 Gene Garber 49 Preston Hanna 39 Al Hrabosky 42 Rick Mahler 29 Rick Matula 27 Larry McWilliams 35 Phil Niekro		Catchers 20 Bruce Benedict 15 Bill Nahorodny 11 Joe Nolan  4 Biff Pocoroba Infielders 16 Larvell Blanks 10 Chris Chambliss  9 Luis Gómez  5 Bob Horner 17 Glenn Hubbard 47 Rafael Ramírez  1 Jerry Royster 14 Chico Ruiz		Outfielders 30 Brian Asselstine  7 Jeff Burroughs 22 Gary Cooper 19 Terry Harper 28 Mike Lum 36 Gary Matthews 45 Eddie Miller  3 Dale Murphy 46 Charlie Spikes		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 23 Tommie Aaron 48 Cloyd Boyer 10 Bobby Dews  8 John Sullivan

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
1B	Chambliss, ChrisChris Chambliss	158	602	170	.282	18	72
2B	Hubbard, GlennGlenn Hubbard	117	431	107	.248	9	43
SS	Gómez, LuisLuis Gómez	121	278	53	.191	0	24

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
Blanks, LarvellLarvell Blanks	88	221	45	.204	2	12
Asselstine, BrianBrian Asselstine	87	218	62	.284	3	25
Ramírez, RafaelRafael Ramírez	50	165	44	.267	2	11
Nahorodny, BillBill Nahorodny	59	157	38	.242	5	18
Ruiz, ChicoChico Ruiz	25	26	8	.308	0	2
Miller, EddieEddie Miller	11	19	3	.158	0	0
Cooper, GaryGary 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
Niekro, PhilPhil Niekro	40	275	15	18	3.63	176
Alexander, DoyleDoyle Alexander	35	231.2	14	11	4.20	114
Boggs, TommyTommy Boggs	32	192.1	12	9	3.42	84

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
Camp, RickRick Camp	77	6	4	22	1.91	33
Garber, GeneGene Garber	68	5	5	7	3.83	51
Bradford, LarryLarry Bradford	56	3	4	4	2.44	32
Hrabosky, AlAl Hrabosky	45	4	2	3	3.62	31
Hanna, PrestonPreston Hanna	32	2	0	0	3.18	35

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

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
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

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