1980 New York Mets season

1980 New York Mets
Major League affiliations
	National League (since 1962);
	Eastern Division (since 1969);
Location
	Shea Stadium (since 1964); New York (since 1962);
Other information
Owner(s)	Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Jr.
General manager(s)	Frank Cashen
Manager(s)	Joe Torre
Local television	WOR-TV
Local radio	WMCA; (Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy, Steve Albert)
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The 1980 New York Mets season was the 19th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Joe Torre, the team had a 67–95 record and finished in fifth place in the National League East.

Offseason[edit]

The beginnings of the 1986 team[edit]

On January 24, 1980, ownership of the team changed hands. The group that bought the Mets for an estimated $22 million (the largest amount paid for a ball club to that point) was headed by Nelson Doubleday, Jr. and Fred Wilpon. Doubleday was head of the old and distinguished publishing company that bore his name, while Wilpon was a highly successful real-estate developer. The new owners promised to invest money to acquire winning players and develop a competitive club,^[1] though it took a few years before the new partners were able to rebuild a solid contender.

In February, the new owners hired Frank Cashen, who had spent ten years in the front office of the Baltimore Orioles from 1966 to 1976, during which time the Orioles went to four World Series, winning two. During his tenure, the Mets would see what some called a "resuscitation",^[2] eventually leading to the team's first World Championship in 17 years. After leaving the Orioles, Cashen worked outside of baseball for three years before joining commissioner Bowie Kuhn's office as administrator of baseball. It was from this job that the Mets wooed him and installed him as executive vice president and general manager.

Regular season[edit]

On the field[edit]

Due to their last-place finish in 1979, the Mets had the first pick in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft. They used it to select an 18-year-old outfielder from Los Angeles, Darryl Strawberry, a key figure of future Mets teams.

Under Torre, the team suffered their 4th consecutive losing season, 24 games out of first place, although the Mets moved up one place in the standings to fifth. They even flirted with .500 (until losing 38 of their last 49 games), which may have led to attendance jumping nearly 400,000 to almost 1,200,000. The team had the motto "The Magic is Back" during the 1980 season.

Season standings[edit]

v t e NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Philadelphia Phillies	91	71	0.562	—	49–32	42–39
Montreal Expos	90	72	0.556	1	51–29	39–43
Pittsburgh Pirates	83	79	0.512	8	47–34	36–45
St. Louis Cardinals	74	88	0.457	17	41–40	33–48
New York Mets	67	95	0.414	24	38–44	29–51
Chicago Cubs	64	98	0.395	27	37–44	27–54

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1980 National League Records v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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	—

Opening Day starters[edit]

Notable transactions[edit]

June 3, 1980: 1980 Major League Baseball Draft
- Darryl Strawberry was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed July 11, 1980.^[3]
- Billy Beane was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (23rd pick).^[4]
- Ronn Reynolds was drafted by the Mets in the 5th round. Player signed June 7, 1980.^[5]
- Rick Ownbey was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round.^[6]
- Al Newman was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the Secondary Phase, but did not sign.^[7]
June 17, 1980: Kevin Kobel was traded by the Mets to the Kansas City Royals for Randy McGilberry.^[8]
July 1, 1980: Randy Johnson was traded by the Mets to the Atlanta Braves for Bill Haselrig (minors).^[9]

Roster[edit]

1980 New York Mets

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

9 Joe Torre

Coaches

Player stats[edit]

Batting[edit]

Starters by position[edit]

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	Lee Mazzilli	152	578	162	.280	16	76
2B	Doug Flynn	128	443	113	.255	0	24
3B	Elliott Maddox	130	411	101	.246	4	34
LF	Steve Henderson	143	513	149	.290	8	58
CF	Jerry Morales	94	193	49	.254	3	30

Other batters[edit]

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
Mike Jorgensen	119	321	82	.255	7	43
José Moreno	37	46	9	.196	2	9
Mario Ramírez	18	24	5	.208	0	0

Pitching[edit]

Starting pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mark Bomback	36	162.2	10	8	4.09	68

Other pitchers[edit]