December 15, 1980

Randy Jones


Player most similar to | Barry Zito
Pitches | 1. Sinker (mid-70s)  2. Slider  3. Curve  4. Fastball

Career stats | 100-123, 3.42 ERA, 1,933 innings
Career year (1975) 20-12, 2.24 ERA, 285 innings

Teams | Padres (1973-80), Mets (81-82)
Acquired | Drafted by the Padres in the fifth round of the 1972 amateur draft.
Gone | Traded by the Padres to the Mets for Jose Moreno and John Pacella on Dec. 15, 1980.

Resume
>> NL Cy Young Award (1976)
>> Top three in Cy Young Award voting (1975-76)
>> Top 10 in MVP voting (1975-76)
>> Two-time All-Star (1975, 1976)

League leader
>> ERA (1975)
>> Wins (1976)
>> Innings (1976)
>> Complete games (1976)



The Randy Jones Library
Randy Jones | Josh Wilker, Cardboard Gods (July 15, 2008)
1976 Victory Leaders | Josh Wilker, Cardboard Gods (Sept. 29, 2006)

December 8, 1980

Gene Tenace



Player most similar to | Mickey Tettleton
Career statistics | 201 HRs, 674 RBIs, .241/.388/.429
Career year (1979) 20 HRs, 67 RBIs, .263/.403/.445, 105 walks

Teams | Athletics (1969-76), Padres (77-80), Cardinals (81-82), Pirates (83)
Acquired | Signed as a free agent with the Padres on Dec. 14, 1976.
Gone | Traded by the Padres with Rollie Fingers, Bob Shirley and a player to be named later to the Cardinals for Terry Kennedy, John Littlefield, Al Olmsted, Mike Phillips, Kim Seaman, Steve Swisher and John Urrea on Dec. 8, 1980.

Resume
• All-Star team (1975)
• World Series MVP (1972)

League leader
• Walks (1974, 77)
• HBPs (1977)

Terry Kennedy


Player most similar to | Jonathan Lucroy
Career statistics | 113 HRs, 628 RBIs, .264/.314/.386
Career year (1982) 21 HRs, 97 RBIs, .295/.328/.486, 42 doubles

Teams | Cardinals (1978-80), Padres (81-86), Orioles (87-88), Giants (89-91)
Acquired | Traded by the Cardinals with John Littlefield, Al Olmsted, Mike Phillips, Kim Seaman, Steve Swisher and John Urrea to the Padres for Rollie Fingers, Gene Tenace, Bob Shirley and a player to be named later on Dec. 8, 1980.
Gone | Traded by the Padres with Mark Williamson to the Orioles for Storm Davis on Oct. 30, 1986.

Resume
• Four-time All-Star (1981, 83, 85, 87)
• Top 10 in MVP voting (1983)

Rollie Fingers


Player most similar to | Rich Gossage
Pitches | 1. Fastball  2. Slider  3. Forkball (developed 1979)

Career statistics | 114-118, 2.90 ERA, 341 saves
Career year (1981) 6-3, 1.04 ERA, 28 saves

Teams | Athletics (1968-76) Padres (77-80) Brewers (81-82, 84-85)
Acquired | Signed a five-year contract with the Padres on Dec. 14, 1976.
Gone | Traded by the Padres with Gene Tenace, Bob Shirley and a player to be named later to the for Terry Kennedy, John Littlefield, Al Olmsted, Mike Phillips, Kim Seaman, Steve Swisher and John Urrea on Dec. 8, 1980. Four days later, Fingers was traded by the Cardinals with Ted Simmons and Pete Vuckovich to the Brewers for Lary Sorensen, Sixto Lezcano, David Green and Dave LaPoint.



Resume
• Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame (1992)
• AL MVP Award (1981)
• AL Cy Young Award (1981)
• Top 10 in MVP voting (1975, 81)
• Top three in Cy Young Award voting (1975, 81)
• Seven-time All-Star (1973-76, 78, 81-82)
• World Series MVP (1974)
• Combined no-hitter with Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott and Paul Lindblad (Sept. 28, 1975)

League leader
• Saves (1977-78, 81)

Alan Wiggins


Players most similar to >> Bill North
Career statistics >> .259/.330/.309, 242 SBs
Career year, 1984 >> 75 walks, 70 SBs, 106 runs

Teams >> Padres (1981-85), Orioles (85-87)
Acquired >> Drafted by the Padres from the Dodgers in the 1980 rule 5 draft on Dec. 8, 1980.
Gone >> Traded by the Padres to the Orioles for Roy Lee Jackson and a player to be named later on June 27, 1985.

The Alan Wiggins Library
>> A Troubled Life, a Lonely Death | Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles Times (Jan. 13, 1991)

October 7, 1980

1980 NL All-Star team


Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies won the NL East on the last weekend of the season, the National League Championship Series in five games and the World Series in six games — the first championship in the franchise’s 98-year history.

Schmidt was the league’s top player, hitting .286/.380/.624 with 48 home runs, 121 RBIs and 104 runs. He hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning of the season’s penultimate game, leading the Phillies over the Montreal Expos 6-4 to clinch the division title. He was also named World Series MVP, hitting .381 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

Carlton was the league’s best pitcher: 24-9, 2.34 ERA, 286 strikeouts and 90 walks in 304 innings. The quiet left-hander was 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA in the World Series.

The Houston Astros won the NL West in a one-game playoff, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1. Astros right-hander Joe Niekro won his 20th game, while the Dodgers started free agent flop Dave Goltz instead of rookie Fernando Valenzuela.

The Astros played the second half of the season without their best pitcher. J.R. Richard (10-4, 1.90) suffered a life-threatening stroke on July 30 during a workout at the Astrodome. He never pitched in the majors again.
— Kevin Brewer



TEAMS

Best record | Houston Astros, 93-70

Worst record | Chicago Cubs, 64-98

Home team | Atlanta, 50-30

Road team | Cincinnati Reds, 45-36

Highest attendance | Los Angeles Dodgers, 3.2 million

Best offense | Los Angeles Dodgers

Best baserunning | San Diego Padres

Best pitching | Philadelphia Phillies

Best fielding | Pittsburgh Pirates



ALL-STAR TEAM

Catcher | Gary Carter, Expos

First base | Keith Hernandez, Cardinals

Second base | Joe Morgan, Astros

Third base | Mike Schmidt, Phillies

Shortstop | Ozzie Smith, Padres

Left field | Jose Cruz, Astros

Center field | Andre Dawson, Expos

Right field | Terry Puhl, Astros

Starting pitchers | Steve Carlton, Phillies

2. Jerry Reuss, Dodgers
3. Steve Rogers, Expos
4. Don Sutton, Dodgers
5. Rick Reuschel, Cubs

Reliever | Tug McGraw, Phillies

Manager | Bill Virdon, Astros

Toughest omission | Dale Murphy, Atlanta



AWARDS

Best player | Mike Schmidt, Phillies

Best hitter | Mike Schmidt, Phillies

Best baserunner | Ron LeFlore, Expos

Best fielder | Ozzie Smith, Padres

Power / speed | Lee Mazzilli, Mets

Best five-tool player | Andre Dawson, Expos

Best teammate | Joe Morgan, Astros



Best pitcher | Steve Carlton, Phillies

Workhorse | Steve Carlton, Phillies

Workhorse (reliever) | Tom Hume, Reds

Strikeout pitcher | J.R. Richard, Astros

Strikeout pitcher (reliever) | Jeff Reardon, Mets

Control pitcher | Jerry Reuss, Dodgers

Best rookie | Dave Smith, Astros



No. 1 draft pick | Darryl Strawberry, Mets

First game | Fernando Valenzuela, Dodgers

Last game | J.R. Richard, Astros

Highest-paid player | Nolan Ryan, $1.1 million

Most All-Star votes | Davey Lopes, Dodgers

3,000 strikeouts | Nolan Ryan, Astros

No-hitter | Jerry Reuss, Dodgers

July 1, 1980

1980 NL All-Star voting

Catcher >> Johnny Bench, Reds, 2,179,169

2. Steve Yeager, Los Angeles, 2,119,196.  3. Ted Simmons, St. Louis, 1,933,596. 4. Gary Carter, Montreal, 1,690,351. 5. Ed Ott, Pittsburgh, 741,692. 6. Bob Boone, Philadelphia, 688,195. 7. Barry Foote, Chicago, 312,601. 8. John Stearns, New York, 297,249.

First base >> Steve Garvey, Dodgers, 3,009,005

2. Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh, 1,872,434.  3. Keith Hernandez, St. Louis, 1,517,081. 4. Pete Rose, Philadelphia, 1,399,133. 5. Chris Chambliss, Atlanta, 667,911. 6. Dan Driessen, Cincinnati, 550,147. 7. Bill Buckner, Chicago, 544,252. 8. Lee Mazzilli, New York, 470,331.

Second base >> Davey Lopes, Dodgers, 3,862,403

2. Phil Garner, Pittsburgh, 1,448,510.  3. Rodney Scott, Montreal, 1,356,689. 4. Dave Cash, San Diego, 1,120,660. 5. Manny Trillo, Philadelphia, 834,676.  6. Ken Oberkfell, St. Louis, 703,870. 7. Doug Flynn, New York, 408,900. 8. Rennie Stennett, San Francisco, 405,855.

Third base >> Mike Schmidt, Phillies, 2,693,037

2. Ron Cey, Los Angeles, 2,320,959.  3. Larry Parrish, Montreal, 1,500,513. 4. Bill Madlock, Pittsburgh, 1,188,184. 5. Ray Knight, Cincinnati, 949,759. 6. Ken Reitz, St. Louis, 941,877. 7. Enos Cabell, Houston, 272,008. 8. Darrell Evans, San Francisco, 238,597.

Shortstop >> Bill Russell, Dodgers, 2,123,488

2. Dave Concepcion, Cincinnati, 1,838,779.  3. Garry Templeton, St. Louis, 1,658,984. 4. Larry Bowa, Philadelphia, 1,236,600. 5. Ozzie Smith, San Diego, 1,219,120. 6. Tim Foli, Pittsburgh, 938,775. 7. Frank Taveras, New York, 619,224. 8. Ivan DeJesus, Chicago, 531,700.

Outfield >> Dave Parker, Pirates, 2,896,643.  2. Reggie Smith, Dodgers, 2,283,416.  3. Dave Kingman, Cubs, 2,133,252.

4. Dusty Baker, Los Angeles, 2,108,727.  5. Greg Luzinski, Philadelphia, 2,063,068. 6. Ron LeFlore, Montreal, 1,709,130. 7. George Foster, Cincinnati, 1,681,542. 8. Dave Winfield, San Diego, 1,681,043.  9. Ellis Valentine, Montreal, 1,323,633. 10. Andre Dawson, Montreal, 1,272,700. 11. George Hendrick, St. Louis, 939,622. 12. Bobby Bonds, St. Louis, 873,638.  13. Omar Moreno, Pittsburgh, 872,359.  14. Ken Griffey, Cincinnati, 836,491. 15. Bake McBride, Philadelphia, 811,173. 16. Garry Maddox, Philadelphia, 788,451.

February 15, 1980

Gaylord Perry



Player most similar to | Phil Niekro
Pitches | 1. Spitball  2. Slider  3. Fastball  4. Curve  5. Forkball (developed 1970)  6. Change

Career statistics | 314-265, 3.11 ERA, 3,534 Ks, 5,350 IPs
Career year (1972) 24-16, 1.92 ERA, 234 Ks, 342.2 IPs

Teams | Giants (1962-71), Cleveland (72-75), Rangers (75-77), Padres (78-79), Rangers (80), Yankees (80), Atlanta (81), Mariners (82-83), Royals (83)
Acquired | Traded by the Rangers to the Padres for Dave Tomlin and $125,000 on Jan. 25, 1978.
Gone | Traded by the Padres with Tucker Ashford and Joe Carroll (minors) to the Rangers for Willie Montanez on Feb. 15, 1980.

Resume
• Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame (1991)
• Two Cy Young awards (1972, 78)
• First pitcher to win Cy Young Award in both leagues
• Top three in Cy Young Award voting (1970, 72, 78)
• Five-time All-Star (1966, 70, 72, 74, 79)
• Top 10 in MVP voting (1972, 78)
• No-hitter (Sept. 17, 1968: Giants 1, Cardinals 0)

League leader
• Wins (1970, 72, 78)
• Innings pitched (1969-70)
• Complete games (1972-73)
• Wild pitches (1973, 82)