1980 Houston Astros season
The 1980 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in a tie for first place in the National League West with a record of 92–70 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The teams played a one-game playoff to determine the division champion, which the Astros won, marking the first time in franchise history that the team qualified for the postseason. They went on to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, losing three games to two.
| 1980 Houston Astros | |
|---|---|
| National League West Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Results | |
| Record | 93–70 (.571) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | John McMullen |
| General manager(s) | Tal Smith, Al Rosen |
| Manager(s) | Bill Virdon |
| Local television | KRIV |
| Local radio | KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
Offseason
- October 26, 1979: Keith Drumright was sent by the Astros to the Kansas City Royals to complete an earlier deal (the Astros sent a player to be named later to the Royals for George Throop) made on April 27, 1979.[1]
- November 19, 1979: Nolan Ryan was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[2]
- January 31, 1980: Joe Morgan was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[3]
- February 21, 1980: Frank Riccelli was released by the Astros.[4]
Regular season
On July 4, pitcher Nolan Ryan recorded the 3,000th strikeout of his career by striking out César Gerónimo of the Cincinnati Reds.
Season standings
| NL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros | 93 | 70 | 0.571 | — | 55–26 | 38–44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 71 | 0.564 | 1 | 55–27 | 37–44 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | 3½ | 44–37 | 45–36 |
| Atlanta Braves | 81 | 80 | 0.503 | 11 | 50–30 | 31–50 |
| San Francisco Giants | 75 | 86 | 0.466 | 17 | 44–37 | 31–49 |
| San Diego Padres | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 19½ | 45–36 | 28–53 |
Record vs. opponents
1980 National League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Roster
| 1980 Houston Astros | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters
|
Manager
Coaches | ||||||
Game log
| 1980 Game Log | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April: 13–5 (Home: 9–3; Away: 4–2)
| ||||||||
May: 12–14 (Home: 4–4; Away: 8–10)
| ||||||||
June: 18–9 (Home: 13–4; Away: 5–5)
| ||||||||
July: 13–16 (Home: 8–6; Away: 5–10)
| ||||||||
August: 18–12 (Home: 9–4; Away: 9–8)
| ||||||||
September: 16–11 (Home: 10–5; Away: 6–6)
| ||||||||
October: 3–3 (Home: 2–0; Away: 1–3)
| ||||||||
| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Astros team member | ||||||||
Player stats
Starters by position
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Alan Ashby | 116 | 352 | 90 | .256 | 3 | 48 |
| 1B | Art Howe | 110 | 321 | 91 | .283 | 10 | 46 |
| 2B | Joe Morgan | 141 | 461 | 112 | .243 | 11 | 49 |
| 3B | Enos Cabell | 152 | 604 | 167 | .276 | 2 | 55 |
| SS | Craig Reynolds | 137 | 381 | 86 | .226 | 3 | 28 |
| LF | José Cruz | 160 | 612 | 185 | .302 | 11 | 91 |
| CF | César Cedeño | 137 | 499 | 154 | .309 | 10 | 73 |
| RF | Terry Puhl | 141 | 535 | 151 | .282 | 13 | 55 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Landestoy | 149 | 393 | 97 | .247 | 1 | 27 |
| Denny Walling | 100 | 284 | 85 | .299 | 3 | 29 |
| Luis Pujols | 78 | 221 | 44 | .199 | 0 | 20 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 88 | 216 | 46 | .213 | 3 | 20 |
| Dave Bergman | 90 | 78 | 20 | .256 | 0 | 3 |
| Danny Heep | 33 | 87 | 24 | .276 | 0 | 6 |
| Gary Woods | 19 | 53 | 20 | .377 | 2 | 15 |
| Julio González | 40 | 52 | 6 | .115 | 0 | 1 |
| Bruce Bochy | 22 | 22 | 4 | .182 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Loucks | 8 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Fischlin | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Knicely | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Starting 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Niekro | 37 | 256 | 20 | 12 | 3.55 | 127 |
| Nolan Ryan | 35 | 233.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.35 | 200 |
| Ken Forsch | 32 | 222.1 | 12 | 13 | 3.20 | 84 |
| Vern Ruhle | 28 | 159.1 | 12 | 4 | 2.37 | 55 |
| J. R. Richard | 17 | 113.2 | 10 | 4 | 1.90 | 119 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joaquín Andújar | 35 | 122 | 3 | 8 | 3.91 | 75 |
| Gordie Pladson | 12 | 41.1 | 0 | 4 | 4.35 | 13 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Sambito | 64 | 90.1 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 2.19 | 75 |
| Dave Smith | 57 | 102.2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 1.93 | 85 |
| Frank LaCorte | 55 | 83 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 2.82 | 66 |
| Randy Niemann | 22 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.45 | 18 |
| Bert Roberge | 14 | 24.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.92 | 9 |
| Bobby Sprowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
National League Championship Series
Game 1
October 7: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | X | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| W: Steve Carlton (1–0) L: Ken Forsch (0–1) S: Tug McGraw (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: HOU – None PHI – Greg Luzinski (1) | ||||||||||||
| Pitchers: HOU – Forsch PHI – Carlton, McGraw (8) | ||||||||||||
| Attendance: 65,277 | ||||||||||||
Game 2
October 8: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 2 |
| W: Frank LaCorte (1–0) L: Ron Reed (0–1) S: Joaquín Andújar (1) | |||||||||||||
| HR: HOU – None PHI – None | |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: HOU – Ryan, Sambito (7), Smith (7), LaCorte (9), Andújar (10) PHI – Ruthven, McGraw (8), Reed (9), Saucier (10) | |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 65,476 | |||||||||||||
Game 3
October 10: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Dave Smith (1–0) L: Tug McGraw (0–1) S: None | ||||||||||||||
| HR: PHI – None HOU – None | ||||||||||||||
| Pitchers: PHI – Christenson, Noles (7), McGraw (8) HOU – Niekro, Smith (11) | ||||||||||||||
| Attendance: 44,443 | ||||||||||||||
Game 4
October 11: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| W: Warren Brusstar (1–0) L: Joe Sambito (0–1) S: Tug McGraw (2) | |||||||||||||
| HR: PHI – None HOU – None | |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: PHI – Carlton, Noles (6), Saucier (7), Reed (7), Brusstar (8), McGraw (10) HOU – Ruhle, Smith (8), Sambito (8) | |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 44,952 | |||||||||||||
Game 5
October 12: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game 5 capped the series in fitting fashion, with seemingly endless surprises and excitement. The Astros jumped to an early lead in the first on a run-scoring double by José Cruz. Philadelphia bounced back to take the lead on a two-run single by Bob Boone in the second. The Astros saw Luis Pujols and Enos Cabell thrown out at the plate in the second and fifth, but finally broke through to tie the game 2–2 on an unearned run in the sixth, thanks to an error by Philadelphia's less than surehanded left fielder Greg Luzinski.
Houston took what seemed like a solid 5–2 lead in the seventh on an RBI single by Denny Walling, a wild pitch from Phillies reliever Larry Christenson, and a run-scoring triple by Art Howe. A three-run deficit in the eighth inning against Nolan Ryan seemed insurmountable. But the Phillies would not die. They loaded the bases with nobody out on three straight singles, including two infield hits, and then got two runs on a walk to Pete Rose and a groundout by Keith Moreland. An RBI single by Del Unser tied the game 5–5, and then Manny Trillo put the Phillies ahead with a two-run triple.
The Astros promptly came back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, with Rafael Landestoy and José Cruz each singling in a run. Neither team scored in the ninth, but the Phillies got doubles from Unser and Garry Maddox in the tenth to take an 8–7 lead. Philadelphia's Dick Ruthven retired the Astros in order in the bottom of the tenth, and the Phillies had won their first pennant since 1950. They went on to defeat the Kansas City Royals four games to two in the World Series.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 2 |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| W: Dick Ruthven (1–0) L: Frank LaCorte (1–1) S: None | |||||||||||||
| HR: PHI – None HOU – None | |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: PHI – Bystrom, Brusstar (6), Christenson (7), Reed (7), McGraw (8), Ruthven (9) HOU – Ryan, Sambito (8), Forsch (8), LaCorte (9) | |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 44,802 | |||||||||||||
Farm system
References
- Keith Drumright at Baseball Reference
- Nolan Ryan at Baseball Reference
- Joe Morgan at Baseball Reference
- Frank Riccelli at Baseball Reference