# 1980 Chicago White Sox season

The 1980 Major League Baseball season was the Chicago White Sox' 80th in Major League Baseball, and the team's 81st season overall. They finished with a record of 70–90, good enough for fifth place in the American League West, 26 games behind the first-place Kansas City Royals.
In 1979 and 1980, Bill Veeck made overtures to Denver interests. An agreement was reached to sell to Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr., who pledged to keep the club in Chicago. His offer was turned down by the owners. Veeck was forced to sell to a different investment group.

## Offseason

* January 29, 1980: Glenn Borgmann was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.

## Regular season

On October 4, 54-year-old Minnie Miñoso entered a game against the California Angels as a pinch hitter for third baseman Greg Pryor. In doing so, he became the first major leaguer since Nick Altrock to play in five different decades. He grounded out against Angels pitcher Frank Tanana.

### Season standings

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Kansas City Royals | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 49‍–‍32 | 48‍–‍33 |
| Oakland Athletics | 83 | 79 | .512 | 14 | 46‍–‍35 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 77 | 84 | .478 | 19½ | 44‍–‍36 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Texas Rangers | 76 | 85 | .472 | 20½ | 39‍–‍41 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Chicago White Sox | 70 | 90 | .438 | 26 | 37‍–‍42 | 33‍–‍48 |
| California Angels | 65 | 95 | .406 | 31 | 30‍–‍51 | 35‍–‍44 |
| Seattle Mariners | 59 | 103 | .364 | 38 | 36‍–‍45 | 23‍–‍58 |

### 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 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

* Bob Molinaro, DH
* Alan Bannister, 3B
* Claudell Washington, LF
* Lamar Johnson, 1B
* Chet Lemon, CF
* Harold Baines, RF
* Jim Morrison, 2B
* Marv Foley, C
* Greg Pryor, SS
* Steve Trout, P

### Notable transactions

* June 3, 1980: Future University of Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill was drafted by the White Sox in the second round, 36th pick overall in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.
* June 12, 1980: Randy Scarbery was traded by the White Sox to the California Angels for Todd Cruz.
* October 3, 1980: Minnie Miñoso was signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox.

### 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; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Harold Baines, RF | 141 | 491 | 55 | 125 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 49 | 19 | 65 | .255 | 2 |
| Alan Bannister, OF,3B | 45 | 130 | 16 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 16 | .192 | 5 |
| Kevin Bell, 3B, DH | 92 | 191 | 16 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 29 | 37 | .178 | 0 |
| Glenn Borgmann, C | 32 | 87 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 9 | .218 | 0 |
| Thad Bosley, OF | 70 | 147 | 12 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 27 | .224 | 3 |
| Harry Chappas, SS, DH | 26 | 50 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | .160 | 0 |
| Todd Cruz, SS | 90 | 293 | 23 | 68 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 54 | .232 | 2 |
| Marv Foley, C | 68 | 137 | 14 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 22 | .212 | 0 |
| Lamar Johnson, 1B, DH | 147 | 541 | 51 | 150 | 26 | 3 | 13 | 81 | 47 | 53 | .277 | 2 |
| Randy Johnson, DH, LF | 12 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | .200 | 0 |
| Bruce Kimm, C | 100 | 251 | 20 | 61 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 17 | 26 | .243 | 1 |
| Rusty Kuntz, OF | 36 | 62 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | .226 | 1 |
| Chet Lemon, CF, DH | 147 | 514 | 76 | 150 | 32 | 6 | 11 | 51 | 71 | 56 | .292 | 6 |
| Minnie Miñoso, PH | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Bob Molinaro, LF, DH | 119 | 344 | 48 | 100 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 26 | 29 | .291 | 18 |
| Junior Moore, 3B, DH | 45 | 121 | 9 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 11 | .256 | 0 |
| Jim Morrison, 2B | 162 | 604 | 66 | 171 | 40 | 0 | 15 | 57 | 36 | 74 | .283 | 9 |
| Fran Mullins, 3B | 21 | 62 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 8 | .194 | 0 |
| Wayne Nordhagen, LF, RF, DH | 123 | 415 | 45 | 115 | 22 | 4 | 15 | 59 | 10 | 45 | .277 | 0 |
| Ron Pruitt, OF, DH, C,3B | 33 | 70 | 8 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 7 | .300 | 0 |
| Greg Pryor, SS,3B,2B | 122 | 338 | 32 | 81 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 12 | 35 | .240 | 2 |
| Ricky Seilheimer, C | 21 | 52 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 15 | .212 | 1 |
| Mike Squires, 1B | 131 | 343 | 38 | 97 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 33 | 24 | .283 | 8 |
| Leo Sutherland, LF, CF | 34 | 89 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 11 | .258 | 4 |
| Claudell Washington, LF, RF, DH | 32 | 90 | 15 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 19 | .289 | 4 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5444 | 587 | 1408 | 255 | 38 | 91 | 547 | 399 | 670 | .272 | 68 |

### 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; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Francisco Barrios | 1 | 1 | 4.96 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16.1 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Ross Baumgarten | 2 | 12 | 3.44 | 24 | 23 | 0 | 136.0 | 127 | 60 | 52 | 10 | 52 | 66 |
| Britt Burns | 15 | 13 | 2.84 | 34 | 32 | 0 | 238.0 | 213 | 83 | 75 | 17 | 65 | 133 |
| Nardi Contreras | 0 | 0 | 5.93 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 8 |
| Richard Dotson | 12 | 10 | 4.27 | 33 | 32 | 0 | 198.0 | 185 | 105 | 94 | 20 | 89 | 109 |
| Ed Farmer | 7 | 9 | 3.34 | 64 | 0 | 30 | 99.2 | 92 | 37 | 37 | 6 | 67 | 54 |
| Guy Hoffman | 1 | 0 | 2.63 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 37.2 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 19 | 24 |
| LaMarr Hoyt | 9 | 3 | 4.57 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 112.1 | 123 | 66 | 57 | 8 | 44 | 55 |
| Ken Kravec | 3 | 6 | 6.94 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 81.2 | 100 | 71 | 63 | 13 | 47 | 37 |
| Mike Proly | 5 | 10 | 3.07 | 62 | 3 | 8 | 146.2 | 136 | 67 | 50 | 7 | 67 | 56 |
| Dewey Robinson | 1 | 1 | 3.09 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 35.0 | 26 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 28 |
| Randy Scarbery | 1 | 2 | 4.08 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 28.2 | 24 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 18 |
| Steve Trout | 9 | 16 | 3.70 | 32 | 30 | 0 | 199.2 | 229 | 102 | 82 | 14 | 54 | 89 |
| Rich Wortham | 4 | 7 | 5.97 | 41 | 10 | 1 | 92.0 | 102 | 73 | 61 | 4 | 63 | 45 |
| Team Totals | 70 | 90 | 3.92 | 162 | 162 | 42 | 1435.1 | 1434 | 722 | 625 | 108 | 607 | 724 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Iowa Oaks | American Association | Pete Ward and Sam Ewing |
| AA | Glens Falls White Sox | Eastern League | Mike Pazik |
| A | Appleton Foxes | Midwest League | Gordon Lund |
| Rookie | GCL White Sox | Gulf Coast League | Duane Shaffer |