1980 Kansas City Royals season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Kansas City Royals
season = 1980
misc = 1980 AL West Champions
1980 AL Champions

current league = American League
y1 = 1969
division = West Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform
ballpark = Royals Stadium
y4 = 1973
city = Kansas City, Missouri
y5 = 1969
owners = Ewing Kauffman
managers = Jim Frey
television =WDAF-TV
(Al Wisk, Denny Trease)
radio =WIBW (AM)
(Denny Matthews, Fred White)|The by|1980 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing 1st in the American League West with a record of 97 wins and 65 losses. One of the highlights of the season was George Brett winning the American League batting title. Brett's .390 batting average was the highest in the majors since 1941.

Regular season

While pitching for the Mariners against the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 30, 1980, Rick Honeycutt taped a thumbtack to his finger to cut the ball. Royals baserunner Willie Wilson spotted the tack from second base. The umpires investigated and not only found the tack, but also a gash in Honeycutt's forehead. Honeycutt was ejected from the game, suspended for 10 games, and fined. [http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/cheaters/ballplayers.html]

Opening Day starters

*Willie Aikens
*George Brett
*Clint Hurdle
*Pete LaCock
*Dennis Leonard
*Hal McRae
*Jamie Quirk
*U L Washington
*Frank White
*Willie Wilson [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1980&t=KCA]

eason standings

Transactions

* June 16, 1980: Mark Huismann was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/huismma01.shtml Mark Huismann page at Baseball Reference] ]

Roster

[http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/1980.shtml 1980 Kansas City Royals Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Other batters

Relief pitchers

Game 3

October 10 Yankee Stadium

World Series

Awards and Honors

* George Brett - American League Batting Champion (.390)

Farm system [Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball," 2nd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997]

* Class AAA: Omaha Royals (American Association; Joe Sparks, manager)
* Class AA: Jacksonville Suns (Southern League; Gene Lamont, manager)
* Class A: Fort Myers Royals (Florida State League; Brian Murphy, manager)
* Class A: Charleston Royals (South Atlantic League; Ron Mihal, manager)
* Rookie: GCL Royals Blue (Gulf Coast League; Joe Jones, manager) -- LEAGUE CHAMPION
* Rookie: GCL Royals Gold (Gulf Coast League; Roy Tanner, manager)

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KC/1980.shtml 1980 Kansas City Royals team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1980&t=KCA 1980 Kansas City Royals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com] succession box
title = AL West Championship Season
years = 1980
before = California Angels
1979
after = Oakland Athletics
1981succession box
title = American League Championship
years = 1980
before = Baltimore Orioles
1979
after = New York Yankees
1981