page_title: History of the Nashville Sounds
section_title: New York Yankees (1980–1984)
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Nashville Sounds / Southern League / New York Yankees (1980–1984)
caption_attribution_description: English: The 1980 Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League. Front row, left to right: Equipment Manager "Rags" Drennon, Mark Johnston, Pat Callahan, Rafael Santana, Brad Gulden, Danny Schmitz, Jamie Werly, Kenny Baker; Middle row, left to right: Willie McGee, Dan Ledduke, Paul Boris, Tom Filer, Buck Showalter, Ted Wilborn, Nate Chapman; Back row, left to right: Manager Stump Merrill, Hitting Coach Ed Napoleon, Steve Balboni, Pat Tabler, Brian Ryder, Andy McGaffigan, Steve Taylor, Don Cooper, Pitching Coach Pat Dobson, Trainer Steve Donohue
context_page_description: The Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team was established in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1978, after Larry Schmittou and a group of investors purchased the rights to operate an expansion franchise of the Double-A Southern League. The Sounds played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. In 2015, the Sounds left Greer for First Tennessee Park, now known as First Horizon Park, a new facility located on the site of the historic Sulphur Dell ballpark, home to Nashville's minor league teams from 1885 to 1963.
  The Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance in their inaugural season and continued to draw the Southern League's largest crowds in each of their seven years as members of the league. On the field, the team won six consecutive second half titles from 1979 to 1984 and won the Southern League championship twice: in 1979 as the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and again in 1982 as the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.
context_section_description: Schmittou had originally been encouraged by the New York Yankees organization to establish the Sounds as a Triple-A team, but he refused to go back on his previous promise to partner with the Reds at Double-A. After the split with Cincinnati, the Sounds made their first affiliation switch in 1980, becoming the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees. Under Manager of the Year Stump Merrill, the 1980 Sounds finished the first half of the season one-and-a-half games behind the Memphis Chicks with a 46–25 record in second place. In the second half, they finished atop the division, 15 games ahead of the second-place Montgomery Rebels, at 51–21. In the Western Division championship series, Nashville lost to Memphis, three games to one. Nine Southern League records were set during the season, the team's pitching staff led the league in ERA and strikeouts, and Steve Balboni, All-Star outfielder and league MVP, led the league with 101 runs, 34 home runs, 122 RBI, and 288 total bases. Andy McGaffigan was selected as the circuit's top pitcher after he led the league with a 2.38 ERA. The Sounds also set a league attendance record, which still stands as of the completion of the 2019 season, when a total of 575,676 fans visited Greer Stadium. Their 97–46 record is the team's all-time best. The 1980 Sounds were ranked as the sixty-ninth greatest minor league baseball team of all-time by baseball historians in 2001.
  On April 16, 1981, the Yankees made a stop in Nashville to play an exhibition game against the Sounds. The 10–1 Yankees victory was played in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 17,318 people. Those on hand for the game included Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, coach Yogi Berra, and players Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Lou Piniella, Willie Randolph, and Bobby Murcer. The Sounds ended the first half of the season at 38–32 in second place behind Memphis. They won the second half with a 43–30 record and went on to win the Western Division championship by defeating the Chicks in three straight games. Ultimately, Nashville suffered defeat in the league championship series, falling to the Orlando Twins, 3–1. Nashville compiled an 81–62 record during the season under Merrill. All-Star right-hander Jamie Werly won the Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award after leading the circuit with 18 complete games and 193 strikeouts.
  The 1982 Sounds, led by manager Johnny Oates, ended the first half in fourth place at 32–38, but won the second half, 45–29. After defeating the Knoxville Blue Jays, 3–1, in the Western Division playoffs, the Sounds advanced to the league championship series against the Jacksonville Suns. With a 2–1 series lead, Nashville entered game four with a chance to win their second Southern League championship in front of a home crowd at Greer. The Sounds led 3–1 after eight innings, but the Suns tied things up in the ninth sending the game to extra innings. With two outs in the bottom of the thirteenth inning, outfielder Brian Dayett hit a walk-off home run scoring Buck Showalter and giving the Sounds a 5–3 win. Nashville had won the series, 3–1, and won the franchise's second league title. Their season record was 77–67. Dayett, an All-Star, was selected as the Southern League MVP. Stefan Wever, who was also voted onto the All-Star team and paced the league with 191 strikeouts and a 2.78 ERA, was the league's Most Outstanding Pitcher. Wever was the fifth Sounds hurler in five years to win the award. Otis Nixon stole 133 bases during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, setting the franchise career record. The Sounds set the club's and Greer Stadium's all-time single-game attendance record on August 18, 1982, when 22,315 people watched the Sounds defeat the Columbus Astros, 3–0. Portions of the outfield had to be roped off to accommodate the crowd, which was far in excess of Greer's seating capacity.
  The Yankees returned for another exhibition game against the Sounds on April 28, 1983. New York had a 4–0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but a five-run rally with two outs propelled the Sounds to a 5–4 win in
caption: The 1980 Sounds set a franchise-best 97–46 record and swept the Southern League awards with Steve Balboni as the MVP, Andy McGaffigan as the ace pitcher, and Stump Merrill as the top manager.
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