1980 Cleveland Indians season

MLB yearly infobox alt
name = Cleveland Indians
season = 1980
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform
ballpark = Cleveland Municipal Stadium
y4 = 1932
city = Cleveland, Ohio
y5 = 1901
owners =F.J. "Steve" O'Neill
general managers = Phil Seghi
managers = Jeff Torborg, Dave Garcia
television = WUAB
(Bruce Drennan, Joe Tait)
radio = WWWE
(Herb Score, Nev Chandler)|

Offseason

*January 4, 1980: David Clyde and Jim Norris were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Gary Gray and Mike Bucci (minors). [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/grayga01.shtml Gary Gray page at Baseball Reference] ]

Regular season

"Super Joe" Charboneau made his debut with the Indians in 1980, splitting time between left field and designated hitter. His 23 home runs led the team and he captured the city's imagination with his hard hitting and his eccentricities. His tendency to dye his hair unnatural colors, open beer bottles with his eye socket, and drink beer with a straw through his nose, and other stories that emerged about how he did his own dental work and fixed a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a few shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey, stood out in 1980. By mid-season, Charboneau was the subject of a song--"Go Joe Charboneau"--that reached #3 on the local charts.

He finished the season with 87 runs batted in and a .289 batting average while winning the American League Rookie of the Year award--all in spite of being stabbed with a ball-point pen by a crazed fan as he waited for the team bus on March 8. The pen penetrated an inch and hit a rib, but Charboneau played his first regular-season game just over a month later, on April 11. He missed the final six weeks of the season with a pelvis injury.

eason standings

Transactions

*June 3, 1980: 1980 Major League Baseball Draft
**Kelly Gruber was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (10th pick). Player signed June 8, 1980. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/grubeke01.shtml Kelly Gruber page at Baseball Reference] ]
**Doug Drabek was drafted by the Indians in the 4th round, but did not sign. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/drabedo01.shtml Doug Drabek page at Baseball Reference] ]

Roster

Starting pitchers

Award Winners

* Joe Charboneau, American League Rookie of the YearAll-Star Game

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/1980.shtml 1980 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1980&t=CLE 1980 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]