The 1980
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
season was the 19th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at
Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. . Led by
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
Joe Torre
Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...
, the team had a 67–95 record and finished in fifth place in the
National League East
The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title.
The division was created when the National Leag ...
.
Offseason
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 paid for a ball club to that point) was headed by
Nelson Doubleday, Jr. and
Fred Wilpon
Fred Wilpon (born November 22, 1936) is an American real estate developer and former baseball executive. He was principal owner of the New York Mets from 1987 to 2020.
Early life and education
Wilpon was raised in a Jewish family . 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 invest money to acquire winning players and develop a competitive club, though it took a few years before the new partners were able to rebuild a solid contender.
In February, the new owners hired
Frank Cashen
John Francis "Frank" Cashen (September 13, 1925 – June 30, 2014) was a Major League Baseball general manager. He was an executive when the Baltimore Orioles won the 1966 World Series, and 1970 World Series while winning three consecutive AL penna ...
, who had spent ten years in the front office of the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
from 1966 to 1976, during which time the Orioles went to four
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
, winning two. During his tenure, the Mets would see what some called a "resuscitation", eventually leading to the team's first World Championship in 17 years. After leaving the Orioles, Cashen worked outside of baseball for three years before joining commissioner
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...
'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.
Regular season
On the field
Due to their last-place finish in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
, the Mets had the first pick in the
1980 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
* Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins
*Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall ...
. They used it to select an 18-year-old
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
from Los Angeles,
Darryl Strawberry, a key figure of future Mets teams. With the twenty-third pick, they selected
Billy Beane, later the protagonist in
Moneyball.
Under Torre, the team suffered their 4th consecutive losing season, 24 games out of first place, although the Mets moved up one place in the standings to fifth. They even flirted with .500 (until losing 38 of their last 49 games), which may have led to attendance jumping nearly 400,000 to almost 1,200,000. The team had the motto "The Magic is Back" during the 1980 season.
Notable highlights from the season included three come-from-behind wins in five days: 5-4 and 6-5 over the Dodgers June 10 and 12 (after trailing 4-0 and 5-0), and 7-6 over the Giants on the 14th after trailing 6-0. The Mets fell to earth in a five-game sweep at Shea by the eventual champion Phillies in mid-August, before which they were 56-57. Their final home series against the Pirates drew just over 5,000 fans for three games combined.
The construction of the then-state-of-the-art
DiamondVision electronic scoreboard in center field for 1981 resulted in a sharp increase in ticket prices following this season, e.g., with General Admission seating rising from $1.50 to $4.00.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day starters
*
Doug Flynn
Robert Douglas Flynn, Jr. (born April 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1985 as an infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Montreal Exp ...
*
Steve Henderson
*
Mike Jorgensen
Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major L ...
*
Elliott Maddox
Elliott Maddox (born December 21, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball player. In , he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (20th pick) of the draft (secondary phase). He made his MLB debut in 1970.
Early years
Maddox ...
*
Lee Mazzilli
Lee Louis Mazzilli (born March 25, 1955) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and T ...
*
Jerry Morales
Julio Ruben "Jerry" Morales Torres (born February 18, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from -.
Career
Morales was originally signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent at the age of 17 in 1966. He went to th ...
*
John Stearns
John Hardin Stearns (August 21, 1951 – September 15, 2022), nicknamed "Bad Dude", was an American professional baseball catcher and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1984 after playing a single ...
*
Craig Swan
*
Frank Taveras
Notable transactions
* June 3, 1980:
1980 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
* Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins
*Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall ...
**
Darryl Strawberry was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed July 11, 1980.
**
Billy Beane was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (23rd pick).
**
Ronn Reynolds
Ronn Dwayne Reynolds (born September 28, 1958), is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and San Diego Padres. He batted and threw ...
was drafted by the Mets in the 5th round. Player signed June 7, 1980.
**
Rick Ownbey was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round.
**
Al Newman was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the Secondary Phase, but did not sign.
* June 17, 1980:
Kevin Kobel
Kevin Richard Kobel (born October 2, 1953) is a former professional baseball pitcher. Having made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Brewers a month shy of his twentieth birthday on September 8, , he is the only pitcher in franchise histor ...
was traded by the Mets to the
Kansas City Royals for
Randy McGilberry.
* July 1, 1980:
Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
was traded by the Mets to the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
for Bill Haselrig (minors).
Randy Johnson page at Baseball Reference
/ref>
Roster
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''
Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''
Pitching
Starting pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Other pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Relief pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Farm system
Notes
References
*
1980 New York Mets at Baseball Reference
1980 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{New York Mets
New York Mets seasons
New York Mets season
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
1980s in Queens