1980 Atlanta Braves season

1980 Atlanta Braves
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1876) Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (since 1966) Atlanta, Georgia (since 1966)
1980 information
Owner(s)	Ted Turner
General manager(s)	John Mullen
Manager(s)	Bobby Cox
Local television	WTBS/Superstation WTBS
Local radio	WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
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Offseason

• December 5, 1979: Barry Bonnell, Pat Rockett, and Joey McLaughlin were traded by the Braves to the Toronto Blue Jays for Chris Chambliss and Luis Gómez.
• December 6, 1979: Adrian Devine and Pepe Frías were traded by the Braves to the Texas Rangers for Doyle Alexander, Larvell Blanks and $50,000.

Regular season

On August 6, umpire Jerry Dale ruled that Braves shortstop Rafael Ramírez did not step on second base while turning a double play. Manager Bobby Cox argued the call and confronted Dale while tobacco juice streamed out of his mouth. Cox was accused of spitting on the umpire.

Phil Niekro became the only pitcher in the history of the National League to lead the NL in losses for four consecutive seasons.

Season standings

NL West	W	L	GB	Pct.
Houston Astros	93	70	--	.571
Los Angeles Dodgers	92	71	1	.564
Cincinnati Reds	89	73	3.5	.549
Atlanta Braves	81	80	11	.503
San Francisco Giants	75	86	17	.466
San Diego Padres	73	89	19.5	.451

Notable transactions

• June 3, 1980: Ken Dayley was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft.
• July 1, 1980: Bill Haselrig (minors) was traded by the Braves to the New York Mets for Randy Johnson.
• August 8, 1980: Larvell Blanks was released by the Braves.

Roster

1980 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 33 Doyle Alexander 40 Tommy Boggs 34 Larry Bradford 37 Rick Camp 26 Gene Garber 49 Preston Hanna 39 Al Hrabosky 42 Rick Mahler 29 Rick Matula 27 Larry McWilliams 35 Phil Niekro		Catchers 20 Bruce Benedict 15 Bill Nahorodny 11 Joe Nolan  4 Biff Pocoroba Infielders 16 Larvell Blanks 10 Chris Chambliss  9 Luis Gómez  5 Bob Horner 17 Glenn Hubbard 47 Rafael Ramírez  1 Jerry Royster 14 Chico Ruiz		Outfielders 30 Brian Asselstine  7 Jeff Burroughs 22 Gary Cooper 19 Terry Harper 28 Mike Lum 36 Gary Matthews 45 Eddie Miller  3 Dale Murphy 46 Charlie Spikes		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 23 Tommie Aaron 48 Cloyd Boyer 10 Bobby Dews  8 John Sullivan

Player stats

Batting

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
1B	Chambliss, ChrisChris Chambliss	158	602	170	.282	18	72
2B	Hubbard, GlennGlenn Hubbard	117	431	107	.248	9	43
SS	Gómez, LuisLuis Gómez	121	278	53	.191	0	24

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
Blanks, LarvellLarvell Blanks	88	221	45	.204	2	12
Asselstine, BrianBrian Asselstine	87	218	62	.284	3	25
Ramírez, RafaelRafael Ramírez	50	165	44	.267	2	11
Nahorodny, BillBill Nahorodny	59	157	38	.242	5	18
Ruiz, ChicoChico Ruiz	25	26	8	.308	0	2
Miller, EddieEddie Miller	11	19	3	.158	0	0
Cooper, GaryGary Cooper	21	2	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

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
Niekro, PhilPhil Niekro	40	275	15	18	3.63	176
Alexander, DoyleDoyle Alexander	35	231.2	14	11	4.20	114
Boggs, TommyTommy Boggs	32	192.1	12	9	3.42	84

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
Camp, RickRick Camp	77	6	4	22	1.91	33
Garber, GeneGene Garber	68	5	5	7	3.83	51
Bradford, LarryLarry Bradford	56	3	4	4	2.44	32
Hrabosky, AlAl Hrabosky	45	4	2	3	3.62	31
Hanna, PrestonPreston Hanna	32	2	0	0	3.18	35

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Fred Hatfield
AA	Savannah Braves	Southern League	Eddie Haas
A	Durham Bulls	Carolina League	Al Gallagher
A	Anderson Braves	South Atlantic League	Sonny Jackson
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Pedro González

Awards and honors

• Phil Niekro, Roberto Clemente Award

League leaders

• Phil Niekro, National League leader, Losses

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 
• 1980 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference