The 1980 Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 season was the club's 26th season in Baltimore. It involved the Orioles finishing 2nd in the American League East

American League East

The American League Eastern Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions . This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the Western Division...

 with a record of 100 wins and 62 losses.

Offseason

• December 6, 1979: John Flinn
  John Flinn
  John Richard Flinn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Flinn pitched in all or part of four seasons between and . He had two separate stints with the Baltimore Orioles, the first in 1978-, and the second in 1982, in between which he pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers in .-Sources:...
  
   was traded by the Orioles to the Milwaukee Brewers
  Milwaukee Brewers
  The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
  
   for Lenn Sakata
  Lenn Sakata
  Lenn Haruki Sakata is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a utility player from 1977–1987 and was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series Championship team. He was the second Asian American to play Major League Baseball. He is Yonsei...
  
  .

Spring training

The Orioles played two spring training

Spring training

In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

 exhibition games at the Louisiana Superdome

Louisiana Superdome

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...

 against the New York Yankees

1980 New York Yankees season

The 1980 New York Yankees season was the 78th season for the franchise in New York, and its 80th season overall. 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 Yanks in the...

 over the weekend of March 15 and 16, 1980. 45,152 spectators watched the Yankees beat the Orioles 9 to 3 on March 15, 1980. The following day, 43,339 fans saw Floyd Rayford

Floyd Rayford

Floyd Kinnard Rayford is a retired professional baseball player who played for seven seasons in the Major leagues. He primarily played third base and catcher during his career. He served as batting coach for two seasons with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League until his firing on...

 lead the Orioles to a 7 to 1 win over the Yankees.

Regular season

During the season, Steve Stone became the last pitcher to win at least 25 games for the Orioles in the 20th century.

Notable transactions

• April 3, 1980: Billy Smith
  Billy Smith (second baseman)
  Billy Edward Smith is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played all or part of six seasons in the majors between and . He also played one season in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in ....
  
   was released by the Orioles.
• April 5, 1980: Steve Luebber
  Steve Luebber
  Stephen Lee Luebber is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Luebber pitched in all or part of five seasons in the majors between and . He currently serves as pitching coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, single-A farm team for the Kansas City Royals...
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.
• April 21, 1980: Paul Hartzell
  Paul Hartzell
  Paul Franklin Hartzell is a former professional baseball player who played six seasons for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball....
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.
• May 13, 1980: Dave Skaggs
  Dave Skaggs
  David Lindsey Skaggs is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played all or part of four seasons, from until , for the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels.-Sources:...
  
   was purchased from the Orioles by the California Angels
  Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
  The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
  
  .
• June 3, 1980: 1980 Major League Baseball Draft
  1980 Major League Baseball Draft
  -First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.- Compensation Picks :*William Erickson, was drafted in the second round by the San Francisco Giants, 31st pick overall. *Jeff Horne was drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Pirates,...
  
  
  • Carl Nichols
    Carl Nichols
    Carl Edward Nichols is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played all or part of six seasons in the major leagues, from until , for the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros.-Sources:...
    
     was drafted by the Orioles in the 4th round.
  • Mark Brown
    Mark Brown (baseball)
    Mark Anthony Brown is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball, 1984 for the Baltimore Orioles and 1985 for the Minnesota Twins.-External links:...
    
     was drafted by the Orioles in the 6th round.
  • Ricky Jones
    Ricky Jones (baseball)
    Ricky Miron Jones is a former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball during the 1986 season for the Baltimore Orioles, appearing in 16 games as a second baseman and third baseman.-Sources:...
    
     was drafted by the Orioles in the 15th round.

Roster

1980 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

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		119	362	95	.262	9	40
1B		158	621	186	.300	32	116
RF		156	583	177	.304	24	104

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
	86	266	74	.278	15	54
	89	200	52	.260	3	26
	43	83	16	.193	1	9
	36	36	10	.278	1	2
	8	18	4	.222	0	1
	9	14	2	.143	0	0
	2	5	1	.200	0	0
	4	4	0	.000	0	1

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
	36	252	20	8	3.32	119
	37	251.1	16	13	4.12	128
	37	250.2	25	7	3.23	149
	34	224	16	10	3.98	109
	1	7.1	0	1	6.14	4

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
	25	99.2	6	4	3.97	42

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
	53	4	4	10	3.01	68
	33	7	7	3	3.56	78
	25	1	3	1	4.26	22
	6	0	2	0	6.62	5
	1	0	0	0	3.86	1

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte