1980 New York Mets season
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| 1980 New York Mets |
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| Location | |
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| 1980 Information | |
| Owner(s) | Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Jr. |
| General Manager(s) | Joe McDonald and Frank Cashen |
| Manager(s) | Joe Torre |
| Local television | WOR-TV |
| Local radio | WMCA (Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy, Steve Albert) |
The New York Mets' 1980 season was the 19th regular season for the Mets, who played played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Joe Torre, the team had a 67-95 record yielding a 5th place finish in the National League's Eastern Division.
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[edit] The Beginnings of the 1986 Team
On January 24, 1980, ownership of the team changed hands. The group that bought the Mets, for an estimated $22 million (the largest amount ever paid for a ball club to that point), was headed by Nelson Doubleday 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 spend money to get winning playerd and to make the club competitive. These were the standard promises of new ownership; but in this case they were genuinely meant and acted upon. Over the next few years, Doubleday, wilpon, and their associates would demonstrate their eagerness to restore the New York Mets. But years it would take before the new partners were able to tear down their club and transmute it into that desired status of contender.
Hired as architect of this rebuilding was a consummate professional. He was Frank Cashen, who had spent ten years in the front office of the Baltimore Orioles from 1966 to 1976, helping that organization become the Most successful in baseball. 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.
Some of his impatient New York critics complaine that Cashen lacked flair.Maybe. But it wasn't flair that built winning teams-it was patience, shrewd judgment, confidence in that judgment, and the courage to act upon it. All these Cashen possessed,and they were his style.
[edit] Regular Season
[edit] On The Field
Refusing to be panicked into making moves that were merely player shuffling and public-relations balm, Cashen moved slowly. There certainly wasn't much encouragement in 1980- the team under Torre suffered their 4th straight losing season, 24 games out of first place. nevertheless, a highly significant move was made by the Mets on June 3. Last-place finishes had but one virtue: they assured a team an early pick in the June free-agent pick and they selected an 18-year old outfielder from Los Angeles they deemed the nation's number-one amateur, a "do-it-all" power plant named Darryl Strawberry. Right then and there the Mets' future began turning brighter.
The 1980 season may have been another dismal serving- the Mets lost 38 of their last 49 games; but something must have been sparked at Shea, as the attendance jumped nearly 400,000 to almost 1,200,000.
[edit] Opening Day Starters
- Doug Flynn
- Steve Henderson
- Mike Jorgensen
- Elliott Maddox
- Lee Mazzilli
- Jerry Morales
- John Stearns
- Craig Swan
- Frank Taveras
[edit] Season Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
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| Philadelphia Phillies | 91 | 71 | .562 | 0 |
| Montreal Expos | 90 | 72 | .556 | 1.0 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 83 | 79 | .512 | 8.0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 74 | 88 | .457 | 17.0 |
| New York Mets | 67 | 95 | .414 | 24.0 |
| Chicago Cubs | 67 | 95 | .395 | 27.0 |
[edit] Roster
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1980 New York Mets roster
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| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders |
Manager |
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[edit] Notable Transactions
- June 3, 1980: Darryl Strawberry was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1980 amateur draft. Player signed July 11, 1980.
[edit] Player stats
[edit] Batting
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 |
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[edit] Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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[edit] Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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[edit] Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA |
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[edit] Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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[edit] External links
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