The Texas Rangers 1980 season involved the Rangers finishing 4th in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

west with a record of 76 wins and 85 losses.

Offseason

* November 14, 1979:

Eric Soderholm Eric Thane Soderholm (born September 24, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman who played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees from 1971 to 1980. Soderholm was selected with the 1st overa ...

was traded by the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees for players to be named later and cash. The New York Yankees sent Amos Lewis (minors) (December 13, 1979) and Ricky Burdette (minors) (December 13, 1979) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade. * December 6, 1979:

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

Larvell Blanks Larvell Blanks (born January 28, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from through for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. Blanks comes from a family ...

and $50,000 were traded by the Rangers 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

Adrian Devine Paul Adrian Devine (December 2, 1951June 27, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in and from through for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He batted and threw ...

and

Pepe Frías Jesús María "Pepe" Frías Andújar (born July 14, 1948) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Dodgers The Lo ...

. * January 4, 1980:

Larry McCall Larry Stephen McCall (born September 8, 1952) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Yankees (–) and the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers (). He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. Playing career ...

, Gary Gray, and Mike Bucci (minors) were traded by the Rangers to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for

David Clyde David Eugene Clyde (born April 22, 1955) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five seasons with the Texas Rangers (1973–1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978–1979). He is noted for his once promising baseball ca ...

and

Jim Norris James Francis Norris (born December 20, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1980 for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, playing all three outfield positions. Amateur career ...

.David Clyde page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * January 11, 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 ...

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

was drafted by the Rangers in the 2nd round. Player signed March 24, 1980. ** Al Newman was drafted by the Rangers in the 3rd round, but did not sign. ** Daryl Smith was drafted by the Rangers in the 6th round. * February 15, 1980:

Willie Montañez Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), ...

was traded by the Rangers to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

for

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

Tucker Ashford Thomas Steven Ashford (born December 4, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. He was drafted second overall (to Roy Smalley III) in the January Draft by the San Diego Padres. In addition to the Padres, Ashford also played for th ...

and Joe Carroll (minors).Gaylord Perry page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * March 31, 1980:

La Rue Washington La Rue Washington (born September 7, 1953) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Texas Rangers in and . Listed at 6' 0", 170 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. Born in Long Beach, California, Washington was sele ...

and Chris Smith were traded by the Rangers to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

for

Rusty Staub Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub (April 1, 1944 – March 29, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and television color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball for 23 seasons as a right fielder, designated hitter, and first basem ...

. * March 31, 1980: David Clyde was released by the Rangers.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 3, 1980:

Tom Henke Thomas Anthony Henke (born December 21, 1957), nicknamed "the Terminator", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared closers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, pitching for the Texas Rangers ...

was drafted by the Rangers in the 4th round of the

(Secondary Phase). * July 11, 1980:

Charlie Hough Charles Oliver Hough (; born January 5, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) knuckleball pitcher and coach who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Florida Marlins from 1970 to 1994. Pla ...

was purchased by the Rangers from the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. * August 14, 1980:

was traded by the Rangers to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for

Ken Clay Kenneth Earl Clay (born April 6, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Following his brief major league career, Clay had several run ins with the law. Most recently, he was sentenced to five years in jail for grand theft fo ...

and a player to be named later. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Marvin Thompson (minors) to the Rangers on October 1. * September 13, 1980:

Sparky Lyle Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle (born July 22, 1944) is an American former left-handed relief pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1967 through 1982. He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

was traded by the Rangers to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending

Kevin Saucier Kevin Andrew Saucier (born August 9, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1978 to 1982 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers. Nicknamed "Hot Sauce", Saucier (whose name is pronounced "So-Shay"), was an energetic pitch ...

to the Rangers on November 19.Sparky Lyle 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''

Awards and honors

Buddy Bell David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27, 1951) is an American former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the Cincinnati Reds. After an 18-year ...

, 3B,

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

1980 *

Al Oliver Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won f ...

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

, 1980 *

Jim Sundberg James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg esta ...

, C,

, 1980

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

Farm system

Notes

References

1980 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference1980 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
* {{Texas Rangers Texas Rangers seasons Texas Rangers season Texas Rang