# 1980 Cleveland Indians season

The 1980 Cleveland Indians season was the 80th season for the franchise, the 66th as the Indians and the 49th season at Cleveland Stadium. They failed to improve upon their 81–80 campaign from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the 26th consecutive season, finishing the season at 79–81.

## Offseason

* October 24, 1979: Paul Reuschel was released by the Indians.
* January 4, 1980: David Clyde and Jim Norris were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Gary Gray and Mike Bucci (minors).
* February 15, 1980: Jerry Mumphrey was traded by the Indians to the San Diego Padres for Bob Owchinko and Jim Wilhelm.

## Regular season

"Super Joe" Charboneau made his debut with the Indians in 1980, splitting time between left field and designated hitter. His 23 home runs led the team and he captured the city's imagination with his hard hitting and his eccentricities. His tendency to dye his hair unnatural colors, open beer bottles with his eye socket, and drink beer with a straw through his nose, and other stories that emerged about how he did his own dental work and fixed a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a few shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey, stood out in 1980. By mid-season, Charboneau was the subject of a song--"Go Joe Charboneau"—that reached #3 on the local charts.
He finished the season with 87 runs batted in and a .289 batting average while winning the American League Rookie of the Year award—all in spite of being stabbed with a ball-point pen by a crazed fan as he waited for the team bus on March 8. The pen penetrated an inch and hit a rib, but Charboneau played his first regular-season game just over a month later, on April 11. He missed the final six weeks of the season with a pelvis injury. He would never play another full season in the majors after 1980.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 103 | 59 | .636 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 50‍–‍31 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 100 | 62 | .617 | 3 | 50‍–‍31 | 50‍–‍31 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 86 | 76 | .531 | 17 | 40‍–‍42 | 46‍–‍34 |
| Boston Red Sox | 83 | 77 | .519 | 19 | 36‍–‍45 | 47‍–‍32 |
| Detroit Tigers | 84 | 78 | .519 | 19 | 43‍–‍38 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Cleveland Indians | 79 | 81 | .494 | 23 | 44‍–‍35 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 67 | 95 | .414 | 36 | 35‍–‍46 | 32‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1980 American League recordvte Sources: :
| 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 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 3, 1980: 1980 Major League Baseball Draft
** Kelly Gruber was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (10th pick). Player signed June 8, 1980.
** Doug Drabek was drafted by the Indians in the 4th round, but did not sign.
** Mike Jeffcoat was drafted in the 13th round of the 1980 amateur draft.

### Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 28 | Rick Manning | CF |
| 11 | Toby Harrah | 3B |
| 21 | Mike Hargrove | 1B |
| 35 | Gary Alexander | DH |
| 6 | Jorge Orta | RF |
| 9 | Ron Hassey | C |
| 34 | Joe Charboneau | LF |
| 18 | Duane Kuiper | 2B |
| 15 | Tom Veryzer | SS |
| 37 | Dan Spillner | P |

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Gary Alexander | 76 | 178 | 22 | 40 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 31 | .225 | 0 |
| Dell Alston | 52 | 54 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | .222 | 2 |
| Alan Bannister | 81 | 262 | 41 | 86 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 32 | .328 | 9 |
| Jack Brohamer | 53 | 142 | 13 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | .225 | 0 |
| Joe Charboneau | 131 | 453 | 76 | 131 | 17 | 2 | 23 | 87 | .289 | 2 |
| Bo Díaz | 76 | 207 | 15 | 47 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 32 | .227 | 1 |
| Miguel Dilone | 132 | 528 | 82 | 180 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 40 | .341 | 61 |
| Jerry Dybzinski | 114 | 248 | 32 | 57 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 23 | .230 | 4 |
| Gary Gray | 28 | 54 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .148 | 0 |
| Mike Hargrove | 160 | 589 | 86 | 179 | 22 | 2 | 11 | 85 | .304 | 4 |
| Toby Harrah | 160 | 561 | 100 | 150 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 72 | .267 | 17 |
| Ron Hassey | 130 | 390 | 43 | 124 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 65 | .318 | 0 |
| Cliff Johnson | 54 | 174 | 25 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 28 | .230 | 0 |
| Duane Kuiper | 42 | 149 | 10 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .282 | 0 |
| Rick Manning | 140 | 471 | 55 | 110 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 52 | .234 | 12 |
| Andrés Mora | 9 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .111 | 0 |
| Jorge Orta | 129 | 481 | 78 | 140 | 18 | 3 | 10 | 64 | .291 | 6 |
| Ron Pruitt | 23 | 36 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .306 | 0 |
| Dave Rosello | 71 | 117 | 16 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | .248 | 0 |
| Tom Veryzer | 109 | 358 | 28 | 97 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 28 | .271 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 160 | 5470 | 738 | 1517 | 221 | 40 | 89 | 692 | .277 | 118 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Len Barker | 19 | 12 | 4.17 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 246.1 | 237 | 127 | 114 | 92 | 187 |
| Don Collins | 0 | 0 | 7.50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Victor Cruz | 6 | 7 | 3.45 | 55 | 0 | 12 | 86.0 | 71 | 36 | 33 | 27 | 88 |
| John Denny | 8 | 6 | 4.39 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 108.2 | 116 | 54 | 53 | 47 | 59 |
| Wayne Garland | 6 | 9 | 4.61 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 150.1 | 163 | 85 | 77 | 48 | 55 |
| Ross Grimsley | 4 | 5 | 6.75 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 74.2 | 103 | 63 | 56 | 24 | 18 |
| Sid Monge | 3 | 5 | 3.53 | 67 | 0 | 14 | 94.1 | 80 | 39 | 37 | 40 | 61 |
| Bob Owchinko | 2 | 9 | 5.27 | 29 | 14 | 0 | 114.1 | 138 | 71 | 67 | 47 | 66 |
| Mike Paxton | 0 | 0 | 12.91 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| Dan Spillner | 16 | 11 | 5.28 | 34 | 30 | 0 | 194.1 | 225 | 122 | 114 | 74 | 100 |
| Mike Stanton | 1 | 3 | 5.46 | 51 | 0 | 5 | 85.2 | 98 | 58 | 52 | 44 | 74 |
| Rick Waits | 13 | 14 | 4.45 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 224.1 | 231 | 118 | 111 | 82 | 109 |
| Sandy Wihtol | 1 | 0 | 3.57 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 35.1 | 35 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 20 |
| Team Totals | 79 | 81 | 4.68 | 160 | 160 | 32 | 1428.0 | 1519 | 807 | 743 | 552 | 843 |

## Awards and honors

* Joe Charboneau, American League Rookie of the Year
All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Tacoma Tigers | Pacific Coast League | Gene Dusan |
| AA | Chattanooga Lookouts | Southern League | Woody Smith |
| A | Waterloo Indians | Midwest League | Cal Emery |
| A-Short Season | Batavia Trojans | New York–Penn League | Rick Colzie |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterloo