The 1980 Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 season was a season in American baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

. The Twins finished 77-84, third in the American League West

American League West

The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...

. 769,206 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

.

Offseason

• December 3, 1979: 1979 rule 5 draft
  Rule 5 draft
  The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to...
  
  
  • Doug Corbett
    Doug Corbett
    Douglas Mitchell Corbett is a former American professional baseball player who was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for eight seasons during the 1980s...
    
     was drafted by the Twins from the Cincinnati Reds
    Cincinnati Reds
    The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
    
     in the .
  • Guy Sularz was drafted by the Twins from the San Francisco Giants
    San Francisco Giants
    The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
    
    .
• December 5, 1979: Jeff Holly
  Jeff Holly
  Jeffrey Owen Holly is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played parts of three seasons in the major leagues from until , all for the Minnesota Twins.-External links:...
  
   was traded by the Twins to the Detroit Tigers
  Detroit Tigers
  The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
  
   for Fernando Arroyo
  Fernando Arroyo
  Fernando Arroyo was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers , Minnesota Twins , and Oakland Athletics ....
  
  .
• January 6, 1980: Albert Williams
  Albert Williams (baseball)
  Albert Hamilton Williams DeSouza is an Afro-Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball, from until , all for the Minnesota Twins....
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Twins.

Regular season

Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

: outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 Ken Landreaux

Ken Landreaux

Kenneth Francis Landreaux is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball.After graduating from Dominguez High School in Compton, California, Landreaux carried on his education at Arizona State University before joining the California Angels in...

.

John Castino

John Castino

John Anthony Castino is a former Major League Baseball player. Castino played as an infielder, primarily at third base and second base, with the Minnesota Twins from 1979 through 1984.-Professional career:...

 was co-AL

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 Rookie of the Year

MLB Rookie of the Year Award

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America . The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946...

 with Alfredo Griffin

Alfredo Griffin

Alfredo Claudino Griffin is a former Major League Baseball player, who played shortstop for four teams from 1976 to 1993. He is currently the first base coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.-Playing career:...

 of the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

. Castino led the team in most of the major offensive categories, batting .302 with 13 HR and 64 RBI. Shortstop Roy Smalley hit 12 HR and collected 63 RBI. Ken Landreaux

Ken Landreaux

Kenneth Francis Landreaux is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball.After graduating from Dominguez High School in Compton, California, Landreaux carried on his education at Arizona State University before joining the California Angels in...

 batted .281 with 7 HR and 62 RBI.

Reliever Doug Corbett

Doug Corbett

Douglas Mitchell Corbett is a former American professional baseball player who was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for eight seasons during the 1980s...

 replaced Mike Marshall as manager Gene Mauch

Gene Mauch

Gene William Mauch was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago Cubs , Boston Braves , St...

's all-purpose reliever, racking up 8 relief wins along with 23 saves. Only veterans Jerry Koosman

Jerry Koosman

Jerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...

 (16-13) and Geoff Zahn

Geoff Zahn

Geoffery Clayton Zahn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 13-year career, he pitched from 1973-1985 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Minnesota Twins and California Angels of the American League...

 (14-18) had double digit wins.

Notable transactions

• April 1, 1980: Guy Sularz was returned by the Twins to the San Francisco Giants.
• April 3, 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 released by the Twins.
• April 3, 1980: Bob Randall
  Bob Randall (baseball)
  Robert Lee Randall ais a former professional baseball second baseman. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1976 until 1980, all for the Minnesota Twins....
  
   was released by the Twins.
• May 16, 1980: Bob Randall was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
• June 3, 1980: Bob Randall was released by the Twins.
• June 6, 1980: Mike Marshall was released by the Twins.
• June 18, 1980: Bob Randall was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
• July 16, 1980: Bob Randall was released by the Twins.

Roster

1980 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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		146	486	124	.255	5	57
1B		131	396	105	.265	5	42
2B		131	416	103	.248	8	45
3B		150	546	165	.302	13	64
SS		133	486	135	.278	12	63
CF		129	484	136	.281	7	62
RF		137	485	127	.262	6	35
DH		99	262	75	.286	6	38

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
	108	319	85	.266	4	35
	103	285	70	.246	8	42
	97	241	73	.303	8	36
	81	200	50	.250	2	20
	55	115	23	.200	1	11
	44	113	25	.221	3	10
	34	85	23	.271	0	2
	34	73	12	.164	1	8
	13	41	19	.463	1	10
	12	30	5	.167	0	4
	14	27	5	.185	0	1
	5	15	3	.200	0	0
	5	8	2	.250	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
	38	243.1	16	13	4.03	149
	38	232.2	14	18	4.41	96
	32	191.1	7	13	3.25	97
	32	172	9	9	3.87	90
	5	17.2	0	3	7.13	14

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
	23	104.2	7	7	4.56	73
	21	92.1	6	6	4.68	27
	18	77	6	2	3.51	35

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
	73	8	6	23	1.98	29
	44	3	4	0	3.97	42
	21	0	0	0	5.11	8
	18	1	3	1	6.12	13
	10	0	0	0	4.30	9
	1	0	0	0	4.50	2

Farm system