# 1980 New York Yankees season

The 1980 New York Yankees season was the 78th season for the franchise. The team finished with a record of 103–59, finishing in first place in the American League East, 3 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. The Kansas City Royals swept the Yankees in the ALCS. New York was managed by Dick Howser. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

## Offseason

* November 1, 1979: Chris Chambliss, Dámaso García, and Paul Mirabella were traded by the Yankees to the Toronto Blue Jays for Rick Cerone, Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn.
* November 1, 1979: Jim Beattie, Rick Anderson, Juan Beníquez, and Jerry Narron were traded by the Yankees to the Seattle Mariners for Ruppert Jones and Jim Lewis.
* November 8, 1979: Bob Watson was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* November 8, 1979: Rudy May was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* November 14, 1979: The Yankees traded players to be named later and cash to the Texas Rangers for Eric Soderholm. The Yankees sent Amos Lewis (minors) and Ricky Burdette (minors) to the Rangers on December 13 to complete the trade.
* December 10, 1979: Andre Robertson was purchased by the Yankees from the Toronto Blue Jays.

### Spring training

The Yankees played two spring training exhibition games at the Louisiana Superdome over the weekend of March 15 and 16, 1980. 45,152 spectators watched the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 9 to 3 on March 15, 1980. The following day, 43,339 fans saw Floyd Rayford lead the Orioles to a 7 to 1 win over the Yankees.

## Regular season
### 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

* April 1, 1980: Jim Kaat was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* April 4, 1980: Johnny Oates was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* April 30, 1980: Jim Kaat was purchased from the Yankees by the St. Louis Cardinals.
* May 28, 1980: Paul Blair was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* July 1, 1980: Paul Blair was released by the Yankees.
* August 1, 1980: José Rijo was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent.
* August 14, 1980: Ken Clay and a player to be named later were traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Gaylord Perry. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Marvin Thompson (minors) to the Rangers on October 1.

### Roster
## Game log
### Regular season

1980 regular season game log: 103–59 (Home: 53–28; Away: 50–31) :
April: 9–9 (Home: 5–4; Away: 4–5)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB
1April 108:35p.m. EST@ Rangers0–1 (12)Lyle (1–0)Underwood (0–1)2:3933,1960–1L1-1
2April 118:35p.m. EST@ Rangers7–11Jenkins (1–0)Davis (0–1)Rajsich (1)2:1821,4240–2L2-1½
–April 12–@ RangersPostponed (rain); Makeup: April 13
3April 13 (1)4:35p.m. EST@ Rangers9–4Tiant (1–0)Comer (0–1)2:39–1–2W1-½ :
May: 19–7 (Home: 9–5; Away: 10–2)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB :
June: 19–9 (Home: 10–4; Away: 9–5)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB :
July: 16–12 (Home: 5–5; Away: 11–7)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB
–July 81980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles :
August: 15–14 (Home: 7–6; Away: 8–8)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB :
September: 21–7 (Home: 14–3; Away: 7–4)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB :
October: 4–1 (Home: 3–1; Away: 1–0)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ StreakGB :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Yankees team member :

### Postseason Game log

1980 Postseason game log: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–2) :
AL Championship Series: vs. Kansas City Royals 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–2)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Yankees team member :

## 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
Bold indicates American League All-Star.
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Rick Cerone | 147 | 519 | 144 | .277 | 14 | 85 |
| 1B | Bob Watson | 130 | 469 | 144 | .307 | 13 | 68 |
| 2B | Willie Randolph | 138 | 513 | 151 | .294 | 7 | 46 |
| 3B | Graig Nettles | 89 | 324 | 79 | .244 | 16 | 45 |
| SS | Bucky Dent | 141 | 489 | 128 | .262 | 5 | 52 |
| LF | Lou Piniella | 116 | 321 | 92 | .287 | 2 | 27 |
| CF | Bobby Brown | 137 | 412 | 107 | .260 | 14 | 47 |
| RF | Reggie Jackson | 143 | 514 | 154 | .300 | 41 | 111 |
| DH | Eric Soderholm | 95 | 275 | 79 | .287 | 11 | 35 |

#### 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 |
| Ruppert Jones | 83 | 328 | 73 | .223 | 9 | 42 |
| Bobby Murcer | 100 | 297 | 80 | .269 | 13 | 57 |
| Jim Spencer | 97 | 259 | 61 | .236 | 13 | 43 |
| Oscar Gamble | 78 | 194 | 54 | .278 | 14 | 50 |
| Aurelio Rodríguez | 52 | 164 | 36 | .220 | 3 | 14 |
| Joe Lefebvre | 74 | 150 | 34 | .227 | 8 | 21 |
| Fred Stanley | 49 | 86 | 18 | .209 | 0 | 5 |
| Brian Doyle | 34 | 75 | 13 | .173 | 1 | 5 |
| Dennis Werth | 39 | 65 | 20 | .308 | 3 | 12 |
| Johnny Oates | 39 | 64 | 12 | .188 | 1 | 3 |
| Ted Wilborn | 8 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Roger Holt | 2 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 1 |
| Marshall Brant | 3 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Robinson | 4 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Sherrill | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Gulden | 2 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 1 | 2 |
| Paul Blair | 12 | 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
Bold indicates American League All-Star.
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Tommy John | 36 | 265+1⁄3 | 22 | 9 | 3.43 | 78 |
| Ron Guidry | 37 | 219+2⁄3 | 17 | 10 | 3.56 | 166 |
| Tom Underwood | 38 | 187 | 13 | 9 | 3.66 | 116 |
| Rudy May | 41 | 175+1⁄3 | 15 | 5 | 2.46 | 133 |
| Luis Tiant | 25 | 136+1⁄3 | 8 | 9 | 4.89 | 84 |

#### Other 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 |
| Ed Figueroa | 15 | 58 | 3 | 3 | 6.98 | 16 |
| Mike Griffin | 13 | 54 | 2 | 4 | 4.83 | 25 |
| Gaylord Perry | 10 | 50+2⁄3 | 4 | 4 | 4.44 | 28 |

#### 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 |
| Goose Gossage | 64 | 6 | 2 | 33 | 2.27 | 103 |
| Ron Davis | 53 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 2.95 | 65 |
| Doug Bird | 22 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2.66 | 17 |
| Tim Lollar | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.34 | 13 |
| Jim Kaat | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.20 | 1 |

## ALCS
### Game 1

October 8 Royals Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | X | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Larry Gura (1-0) L: Ron Guidry (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: NYY – Rick Cerone (1) Lou Piniella (1) KCR – George Brett (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 9 Royals Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Dennis Leonard (1-0) L: Rudy May (0-1) S: Dan Quisenberry (1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: NYY – Graig Nettles |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 10 Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Dan Quisenberry (1-0) L: Rich Gossage (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: KCR – George Brett (2) Frank White (1) |||||||||||||

## Awards and honors

Bucky Dent, Goose Gossage, Reggie Jackson, Tommy John, Graig Nettles and Willie Randolph represented the Yankees at the 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Randolph earned the inaugural Silver Slugger Award at second base.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Clippers | International League | Joe Altobelli |
| AA | Nashville Sounds | Southern League | Stump Merrill |
| A | Fort Lauderdale Yankees | Florida State League | Doug Holmquist |
| A | Greensboro Hornets | South Atlantic League | Bob Schaefer |
| A-Short Season | Oneonta Yankees | New York–Penn League | Art Mazmanian |
| Rookie | Paintsville Yankees | Appalachian League | Mike Easom |
| Rookie | GCL Yankees | Gulf Coast League | Carlos Tosca |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, Fort Lauderdale, Greensboro, Oneonta, Paintsville