The 1980 Montreal Expos season was the 12th season in franchise history. The Expos were tied with the division rival Philadelphia Phillies in the standings entering the final weekend of the 1980 season with a three game series set between the two clubs at Olympic Stadium. On October 4, with the Phillies holding a one-game lead in the standings, and with the score tied at four heading to the tenth, Mike Schmidt hit a blast deep into the seats in left field to give the Phillies a 6–4 lead and ultimate win to clinch the National League East. This was the Expos closest shot at making the postseason in their brief 12 year history.
| 1980 Montreal Expos | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Olympic Stadium | |
| City | Montreal | |
| Record | 90–72 (.556) | |
| Divisional place | 2nd | |
| Owners | Charles Bronfman | |
| General managers | John McHale | |
| Managers | Dick Williams | |
| Television | CBC Television (Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider) Télévision de Radio-Canada (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron) | |
| Radio | CFCF (English) (Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider) CKAC (French) (Claude Raymond, Jacques Doucet) | |
| ||
Offseason
- December 7, 1979: Dan Schatzeder was traded by the Expos to the Detroit Tigers for Ron LeFlore.[1]
- December 6, 1979: Rowland Office was signed as a free agent by the Expos.[2]
- January 11, 1980: Mike Sharperson was drafted by the Expos in the 2nd round of the 1980 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase), but did not sign.[3]
- March 15, 1980: Duffy Dyer was traded by the Expos to the Detroit Tigers for Jerry Manuel.[4]
- March 15, 1980: Joe Pettini was sent by the Expos to the San Francisco Giants to complete an earlier deal (John Tamargo was traded by the Giants to the Expos for a player to be named later and cash).[5]
- March 18, 1980: Jim Mason was released by the Expos.[6]
- March 31, 1980: Rusty Staub was traded by the Expos to the Texas Rangers for La Rue Washington and Chris Smith.[7]
Spring training
In 1980, the Expos held spring training at City Island Ball Park in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the final time. It was their eighth season there. For spring training the following season, they would return to West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida, where they previously had trained from 1969 through 1972.
Regular season
On June 8, during a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Expos played against two different Cardinals managers: Ken Boyer, who was fired between games, and his replacement, Jack Krol.
Season standings
| NL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 91 | 71 | 0.562 | — | 49–32 | 42–39 |
| Montreal Expos | 90 | 72 | 0.556 | 1 | 51–29 | 39–43 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 8 | 47–34 | 36–45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 17 | 41–40 | 33–48 |
| New York Mets | 67 | 95 | 0.414 | 24 | 38–44 | 29–51 |
| Chicago Cubs | 64 | 98 | 0.395 | 27 | 37–44 | 27–54 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 8–4 | 2–16 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 12–6 | 11–6 | 6–6 | |||||
| Chicago | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 1–11 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 16–2 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 15–3–1 | 7–11 | 5–7 | |||||
| Houston | 11–7 | 11–1 | 10–8 | — | 9–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–5 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 10–9 | — | 11–1 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 7–5 | |||||
| Montreal | 7–5 | 12–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 1–11 | — | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 12–6 | |||||
| New York | 9–3 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 8–10 | — | 6–12 | 10–8 | 1–11 | 3–9 | 9–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 7-5 | 13–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–9 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 1–11 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 10–8 | |||||
| San Diego | 6–12 | 8–4 | 3–15–1 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 11–1 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | |||||
| San Francisco | 6–11 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | — | 7–5 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | |||||
Opening Day starters
- Gary Carter
- Warren Cromartie
- Andre Dawson
- Ron LeFlore
- Larry Parrish
- Scott Sanderson
- Rodney Scott
- Chris Speier
- Ellis Valentine
Notable transactions
- June 3, 1980: 1980 Major League Baseball draft
- Drafted Terry Francona in the 1st round (22nd pick).[9]
- Drafted Tom Gorman in the 4th round.[10]
- Drafted Roy Johnson in the 5th round.[11]
- Drafted Chris Sabo in the 30th round, but he did not sign.[12]
- August 11, 1980: Acquired John D'Acquisto and cash from the San Diego Padres in exchange for a player to be named later. Randy Bass went to the Padres on September 5 to complete the deal.[13]
- August 31, 1980: Traded Tony Phillips and cash to the San Diego Padres for Willie Montañez.[14]
Roster
| 1980 Montreal Expos | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Gary Carter | 154 | 549 | 76 | 145 | .264 | 29 | 101 | 3 |
| 1B | Warren Cromartie | 162 | 597 | 74 | 172 | .288 | 14 | 70 | 8 |
| 2B | Rodney Scott | 154 | 567 | 84 | 127 | .224 | 0 | 46 | 63 |
| 3B | Larry Parrish | 126 | 452 | 55 | 115 | .254 | 15 | 72 | 2 |
| SS | Chris Speier | 128 | 388 | 35 | 103 | .265 | 1 | 32 | 0 |
| LF | Ron LeFlore | 139 | 521 | 95 | 134 | .257 | 4 | 39 | 97 |
| CF | Andre Dawson | 151 | 577 | 96 | 178 | .308 | 17 | 87 | 34 |
| RF | Ellis Valentine | 86 | 311 | 40 | 98 | .315 | 13 | 67 | 5 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowland Office | 116 | 292 | 36 | 78 | .267 | 6 | 30 | 3 |
| Jerry White | 110 | 214 | 22 | 56 | .262 | 7 | 23 | 8 |
| Tony Bernazard | 82 | 183 | 26 | 41 | .224 | 5 | 18 | 9 |
| Ken Macha | 49 | 107 | 10 | 31 | .290 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Brad Mills | 21 | 60 | 1 | 18 | .300 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Tommy Hutton | 62 | 55 | 2 | 12 | .218 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| John Tamargo | 37 | 51 | 4 | 14 | .275 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| Bob Pate | 23 | 39 | 3 | 10 | .256 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Bill Almon | 18 | 38 | 2 | 10 | .263 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bobby Ramos | 13 | 32 | 5 | 5 | .156 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tim Raines | 15 | 20 | 5 | 1 | .050 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Willie Montañez | 14 | 19 | 1 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tim Wallach | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2 | .182 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Jerry Manuel | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Rogers | 37 | 281.0 | 16 | 11 | 2.98 | 147 |
| Scott Sanderson | 33 | 211.1 | 16 | 11 | 3.11 | 125 |
| Bill Gullickson | 24 | 141.0 | 10 | 5 | 3.00 | 120 |
| David Palmer | 24 | 130.0 | 8 | 6 | 2.98 | 73 |
| Bill Lee | 24 | 118.0 | 4 | 6 | 4.96 | 34 |
| Charlie Lea | 21 | 104.0 | 7 | 5 | 3.72 | 56 |
| Steve Ratzer | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 11.25 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Norman | 48 | 98.0 | 4 | 4 | 4.13 | 58 |
| Ross Grimsley | 11 | 41.1 | 2 | 4 | 6.31 | 11 |
| Hal Dues | 6 | 12.1 | 0 | 1 | 6.57 | 2 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodie Fryman | 61 | 80.0 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 2.25 | 59 |
| Elías Sosa | 67 | 94.0 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 3.06 | 58 |
| Stan Bahnsen | 57 | 91.1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3.05 | 48 |
| Dale Murray | 16 | 29.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.14 | 16 |
| John D'Acquisto | 11 | 20.2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2.18 | 15 |
| Tommy Hutton | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
Awards and honors
- Gary Carter, National League Gold Glove Award
- Andre Dawson, National League Gold Glove Award
- Ron LeFlore, National League Stolen Base Leader, 97 [16]
1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Gary Carter, reserve[17]
Farm system
Notes
References
- 1980 Montreal Expos team page at Baseball Reference
- 1980 Montreal Expos team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.