1980 Kansas City Royals season

1980 Kansas City Royals
American League Champions American League West Champions
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Royals Stadium
City	Kansas City, Missouri
Record	97–65 (.599)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Ewing Kauffman
General managers	Joe Burke
Managers	Jim Frey (first season)
Television	WDAF-TV 4 (Al Wisk, Denny Trease)
Radio	WIBW–AM 580 KMBZ–AM 980 (Denny Matthews, Fred White)
Seasons

The 1980 Kansas City Royals season was their 12th in Major League Baseball. The Royals, under new manager Jim Frey, finished first in the American League West with a record of 97–65. Kansas City finally broke through in the postseason, sweeping the New York Yankees 3-0 in the 1980 American League Championship Series after falling to the Yankees in the ALCS in 1976, 1977 and 1978. The Royals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in the World Series.

George Brett had one of the best seasons in Major League Baseball history. Brett became the first Royals player to win a Most Valuable Player award, and his league-leading .390 batting average was the highest in the majors since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Brett also led the team in home runs (24) and set a single-season franchise record with 118 runs batted in.

Offseason

• October 26, 1979: Keith Drumright was acquired by the Royals from the Houston Astros to complete an earlier deal (the Astros sent a player to be named later to the Royals for George Throop) made on April 27, 1979.
• December 6, 1979: The Royals trade Al Cowens, Todd Cruz and a player to be named later to the California Angels in exchange for Willie Aikens and Rance Mulliniks.
• April 1, 1980: The Angels received Craig Eaton from the Royals, completing the trade of December 6.

Regular season

On September 30, while pitching for the Seattle Mariners against the Royals, 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.

Opening Day starters

• Willie Aikens
• George Brett
• Clint Hurdle
• Pete LaCock
• Dennis Leonard
• Hal McRae
• Jamie Quirk
• U L Washington
• Frank White
• Willie Wilson

Season standings

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	97	65	.599	—	49‍–‍32	48‍–‍33
Oakland Athletics	83	79	.512	14	46‍–‍35	37‍–‍44
Minnesota Twins	77	84	.478	19½	44‍–‍36	33‍–‍48
Texas Rangers	76	85	.472	20½	39‍–‍41	37‍–‍44
Chicago White Sox	70	90	.438	26	37‍–‍42	33‍–‍48
California Angels	65	95	.406	31	30‍–‍51	35‍–‍44
Seattle Mariners	59	103	.364	38	36‍–‍45	23‍–‍58

Record vs. opponents

1980 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	8–5	10–2	6–6	6–7	10–3	6–6	7–6	10–2	7–6	7–5	6–6	6–6	11–2
Boston	5–8	—	9–3	6–4	7–6	8–5	5–7	6–7	6–6	3–10	9–3	7–5	5–7	7–6
California	2–10	3–9	—	3–10	4–6	5–7	5–8	6–6	7–6	2–10	3–10	11–2	11–2	3–9
Chicago	6–6	4–6	10–3	—	5–7	2–10	5–8	5–7	5–8	5–7	6–7	6–7	6–7–2	5–7
Cleveland	7–6	6–7	6–4	7–5	—	3–10	5–7	3–10	9–3	5–8	6–6	8–4	6–6	8–5
Detroit	3–10	5–8	7–5	10–2	10–3	—	2–10	7–6	6–6	5–8	6–6	10–2–1	4–8	9–4
Kansas City	6–6	7–5	8–5	8–5	7–5	10–2	—	6–6	5–8	8–4	6–7	7–6	10–3	9–3
Milwaukee	6–7	7–6	6–6	7–5	10–3	6–7	6–6	—	7–5	5–8	7–5	9–3	5–7	5–8
Minnesota	2–10	6–6	6–7	8–5	3–9	6–6	8–5	5–7	—	4–8	6–7	7–6	9–3	7–5
New York	6–7	10–3	10–2	7–5	8–5	8–5	4–8	8–5	8–4	—	8–4	9–3	7–5	10–3
Oakland	5–7	3–9	10–3	7–6	6–6	6–6	7–6	5–7	7–6	4–8	—	8–5	7–6	8–4
Seattle	6–6	5–7	2–11	7–6	4–8	2–10–1	6–7	3–9	6–7	3–9	5–8	—	4–9	6–6
Texas	6–6	7–5	2–11	7–6–2	6–6	8–4	3–10	7–5	3–9	5–7	6–7	9–4	—	7–5
Toronto	2–11	6–7	9–3	7–5	5–8	4–9	3–9	8–5	5–7	3–10	4–8	6–6	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 5, 1980: Eduardo Rodríguez was released by the Royals.
• June 16, 1980: Mark Huismann was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent.
• June 17, 1980: Randy McGilberry was traded by the Royals to the New York Mets for Kevin Kobel.
• August 1980: Keith Drumright was purchased from the Royals by the Chicago Cubs.

Roster

1980 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers 25 Ken Brett 40 Steve Busby 28 Craig Chamberlain 31 Gary Christenson 35 Rawly Eastwick 38 Rich Gale 32 Larry Gura 50 Mike Jones 22 Dennis Leonard 27 Renie Martin 33 Marty Pattin 29 Dan Quisenberry 34 Paul Splittorff 21 Jeff Twitty		Catchers 15 Darrell Porter 12 John Wathan Infielders 24 Willie Aikens  5 George Brett 17 Manny Castillo  7 Dave Chalk 53,2 Onix Concepción  8 Pete LaCock 18 Rance Mulliniks 52 Ken Phelps  9 Jamie Quirk 30 U L Washington 20 Frank White		Outfielders  3 Steve Braun 19 José Cardenal  4 Bob Detherage 10 Clint Hurdle 11 Hal McRae 26 Amos Otis  1 Jerry Terrell  2 Rusty Torres  6 Willie Wilson Other batters 23 Germán Barranca		Manager 41 Jim Frey Coaches 36 Billy Connors 43 Gordon Mackenzie 42 José Martínez 44 Jimmie Schaffer

Game log

Regular season

1980 regular season game log: 97–65 (Home: 49–32; Away: 48–33)
April: 10–8 (Home: 7–4; Away: 3–4) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 1 April 10 7:35 p.m. CST Tigers L 1–5 Morris (1–0) Leonard (0–1) — 2:28 34,901 0–1 L1 2 April 11 7:35 p.m. CST Tigers W 4–0 Gura (1–0) Schatzeder (0–1) — 2:13 14,605 1–1 W1 3 April 12 1:35 p.m. CST Tigers W 8–6 Pattin (1–0) Underwood (0–1) — 2:59 16,130 2–1 W2 4 April 13 1:35 p.m. CST Tigers W 3–2 Splittorff (1–0) Rozema (0–1) Christenson (1) 2:29 17,720 3–1 W3 5 April 15 1:00 p.m. CST @ Orioles L 2–12 Palmer (2–0) Leonard (0–2) — 2:32 50,199 3–2 L1 6 April 16 6:30 p.m. CST @ Orioles L 1–2 Flanagan (1–1) Gura (1–1) — 2:16 7,473 3–3 L2 7 April 17 6:30 p.m. CST @ Orioles L 2–5 Stone (1–1) Gale (0–1) Stoddard (2) 2:40 7,166 3–4 L3 8 April 18 12:30 p.m. CST @ Tigers W 9–6 (11) Quisenberry (1–0) López (0–2) — 3:34 50,687 4–4 W1 9 April 19 1:15 p.m. CST @ Tigers L 6–8 Morris (2–1) Martin (0–1) — 2:17 13,583 4–5 L1 10 April 20 12:30 p.m. CST @ Tigers W 9–6 Martin (1–1) Schatzeder (0–3) Quisenberry (1) 2:51 18,755 5–5 W1 11 April 21 7:35 p.m. CST Blue Jays L 1–7 Stieb (2–0) Gale (0–2) — 2:29 21,117 5–6 L1 12 April 22 7:35 p.m. CST Blue Jays W 7–2 Splittorff (2–0) Mirabella (1–1) — 2:08 16,993 6–6 W1 13 April 23 7:35 p.m. CST Blue Jays W 7–4 Christenson (1–0) McLaughlin (1–1) Quisenberry (2) 2:33 18,855 7–6 W2 14 April 25 7:35 p.m. CST Orioles W 7–0 Gura (2–1) Stone (1–2) — 2:18 20,436 8–6 W3 15 April 26 7:35 p.m. CST Orioles L 0–4 Flanagan (2–2) Gale (0–3) — 2:34 25,925 8–7 L1 16 April 27 1:35 p.m. CDT Orioles W 3–2 Splittorff (3–0) Ford (1–1) — 2:02 20,496 9–7 W1 — April 28 @ Blue Jays Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 8) 17 April 29 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Blue Jays L 1–3 Clancy (1–1) Leonard (0–3) — 2:21 11,553 9–8 L1 18 April 30 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Blue Jays W 3–0 Gura (3–1) Jefferson (0–1) — 1:54 14,029 10–8 W1
May: 17–10 (Home: 8–4; Away: 9–6) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 19 May 2 7:35 p.m. CDT Red Sox L 5–6 (11) Lockwood (2–1) Quisenberry (1–1) — 3:17 25,965 10–9 L2 20 May 3 7:35 p.m. CDT Red Sox L 0–7 Rainey (1–0) Splittorff (3–1) — 2:30 28,760 10–10 L3 21 May 4 1:35 p.m. CDT Red Sox W 5–3 Leonard (1–3) Stanley (2–2) Quisenberry (3) 2:13 24,209 11–10 W1 22 May 6 7:30 p.m. CDT @ White Sox L 0–2 Wortham (3–0) Gura (3–2) Farmer (8) 2:06 7,938 11–11 L1 23 May 7 7:30 p.m. CDT @ White Sox W 12–5 Christenson (2–0) Kravec (1–3) — 2:54 7,584 12–11 W1 24 May 8 7:30 p.m. CDT @ White Sox L 2–8 Burns (3–2) Splittorff (3–2) — 3:01 7,410 12–12 L1 25 May 9 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Red Sox W 6–5 Leonard (2–3) Stanley (2–3) Quisenberry (4) 2:46 28,597 13–12 W1 26 May 10 1:00 p.m. CDT @ Red Sox W 13–8 Martin (2–1) Eckersley (1–5) Pattin (1) 3:03 30,519 14–12 W2 27 May 11 1:00 p.m. CDT @ Red Sox L 2–5 Rainey (2–0) Gale (0–4) — 2:24 24,685 14–13 L1 28 May 12 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Yankees W 12–3 Gura (4–2) Tiant (2–2) Pattin (2) 2:35 17,010 15–13 W1 29 May 13 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Yankees W 4–1 Martin (3–1) Griffin (0–2) Quisenberry (5) 2:29 20,107 16–13 W2 30 May 14 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Yankees L 3–16 Guidry (3–0) Leonard (2–4) Figueroa (1) 2:58 21,953 16–14 L1 31 May 16 7:35 p.m. CDT Angels L 1–11 Kison (2–4) Gale (0–5) — 3:01 22,264 16–15 L2 32 May 17 7:35 p.m. CDT Angels W 2–1 (10) Gura (5–2) Clear (0–2) — 2:47 30,326 17–15 W1 33 May 18 1:35 p.m. CDT Angels W 5–3 Martin (4–1) Tanana (2–4) Quisenberry (6) 2:24 25,382 18–15 W2 34 May 19 7:35 p.m. CDT Athletics W 6–5 (11) Quisenberry (2–1) Hamilton (0–1) — 3:37 28,889 19–15 W3 35 May 20 7:35 p.m. CDT Athletics W 1–0 Gale (1–5) Norris (5–2) Quisenberry (7) 2:13 23,698 20–15 W4 36 May 21 7:35 p.m. CDT Athletics L 2–4 (14) Lacey (1–0) Quisenberry (2–2) — 4:14 24,030 20–16 L1 37 May 22 7:35 p.m. CDT Athletics W 16–3 Martin (5–1) Keough (5–4) — 2:44 23,124 21–16 W1 38 May 23 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Angels W 13–9 Leonard (3–4) Tanana (2–5) — 3:09 26,270 22–16 W2 39 May 24 9:00 p.m. CDT @ Angels W 6–5 (10) Quisenberry (3–1) Clear (2–3) — 3:32 25,382 23–16 W3 40 May 25 3:00 p.m. CDT @ Angels W 7–3 Gura (6–2) LaRoche (1–1) — 2:32 30,325 24–16 W4 41 May 26 3:30 p.m. CDT @ Athletics L 1–4 Keough (6–4) Martin (5–2) — 2:33 21,882 24–17 L1 42 May 27 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Athletics W 4–2 Leonard (4–4) Kingman (2–5) — 3:03 4,488 25–17 W1 43 May 28 3:30 p.m. CDT @ Athletics L 3–6 Langford (4–3) Gale (1–6) — 2:33 4,094 25–18 L1 44 May 30 7:35 p.m. CDT White Sox W 9–2 Gura (7–2) Wortham (3–2) — 2:29 26,500 26–18 W1 45 May 31 7:35 p.m. CDT White Sox W 6–4 Martin (6–2) Trout (2–5) Quisenberry (8) 3:02 29,050 27–18 W2
June: 17–12 (Home: 5–7; Away: 12–5) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 46 June 1 1:35 p.m. CDT White Sox L 1–6 Burns (7–3) Leonard (4–5) — 3:03 33,428 27–19 L1 47 June 2 7:35 p.m. CDT Yankees L 3–5 Guidry (6–1) Splittorff (3–3) — 2:42 39,261 27–20 L2 48 June 3 7:35 p.m. CDT Yankees W 6–5 (10) Quisenberry (4–2) Davis (2–3) — 3:17 26,734 28–20 W1 49 June 4 7:35 p.m. CDT Yankees W 9–3 Martin (7–2) Tiant (4–3) — 2:29 27,234 29–20 W2 50 June 5 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 8–0 Leonard (5–5) Kern (2–8) — 2:32 16,512 30–20 W3 51 June 6 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 4–2 Splittorff (4–3) Matlack (3–2) Quisenberry (9) 2:37 26,367 31–20 W4 52 June 7 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 7–2 Gale (2–6) Perry (3–4) — 2:58 24,530 32–20 W5 53 June 8 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 5–4 Christenson (3–0) Babcock (0–1) Quisenberry (10) 3:08 16,179 33–20 W6 — June 9 @ Indians Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: June 11) 54 June 10 6:35 p.m. CDT @ Indians W 8–4 Pattin (2–0) Barker (5–4) — 3:25 6,061 34–20 W7 55 June 11 (1) 4:35 p.m. CDT @ Indians W 5–0 Leonard (6–5) Waits (4–6) — 2:17 — 35–20 W8 56 June 11 (2) 7:27 p.m. CDT @ Indians L 5–8 Spillner (6–3) Gale (2–7) — 2:48 13,712 35–21 L1 57 June 13 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Brewers W 4–3 Gura (7–3) Keeton (2–1) Quisenberry (11) 2:32 30,740 36–21 W1 58 June 14 1:30 p.m. CDT @ Brewers L 2–5 Travers (4–3) Martin (7–3) Castro (3) 2:51 50,605 36–22 L1 59 June 15 1:30 p.m. CDT @ Brewers W 7–2 Leonard (7–5) Haas (6–6) — 2:49 28,389 37–22 W1 60 June 16 7:35 p.m. CDT Rangers L 3–6 Babcock (1–2) Quisenberry (4–3) Lyle (7) 2:25 39,457 37–23 L1 61 June 17 7:35 p.m. CDT Rangers W 3–2 Gale (3–7) Perry (3–6) — 2:45 25,324 38–23 W1 62 June 18 7:35 p.m. CDT Indians W 10–2 Gura (8–3) Denny (7–5) — 2:55 23,736 39–23 W2 63 June 19 7:35 p.m. CDT Indians L 4–5 Barker (7–4) Martin (7–4) Stanton (3) 3:07 21,158 39–24 L1 64 June 20 7:35 p.m. CDT Brewers L 5–10 Haas (7–6) Leonard (7–6) Castro (4) 3:02 38,179 39–25 L2 65 June 21 7:35 p.m. CDT Brewers L 1–5 Sorensen (7–4) Splittorff (4–4) — 2:07 40,344 39–26 L3 66 June 22 1:35 p.m. CDT Brewers W 7–4 Gale (4–7) Caldwell (6–4) — 2:33 39,592 40–26 W1 67 June 23 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Twins L 1–4 Koosman (6–6) Gura (9–3) — 2:23 7,525 40–27 L1 68 June 24 (1) 5:05 p.m. CDT @ Twins L 1–2 Jackson (5–4) Quisenberry (4–4) — 2:31 — 40–28 L2 69 June 24 (2) 8:11 p.m. CDT @ Twins W 4–2 Martin (8–4) Erickson (1–5) Quisenberry (12) 2:37 11,556 41–28 W1 70 June 25 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Twins W 4–1 Splittorff (5–4) Zahn (6–10) Quisenberry (13) 2:04 9,150 42–28 W2 71 June 27 9:35 p.m. CDT @ Mariners W 2–1 Gale (5–7) Honeycutt (7–5) Quisenberry (14) 2:28 12,099 43–28 W3 72 June 28 9:35 p.m. CDT @ Mariners W 4–2 Gura (10–3) Roberts (1–2) — 2:11 22,154 44–28 W4 73 June 29 3:35 p.m. CDT @ Mariners L 2–7 Abbott (7–3) Leonard (7–7) — 2:00 10,015 44–29 L1 74 June 30 7:35 p.m. CDT Twins L 3–12 Jackson (6–4) Martin (8–5) — 2:41 33,540 44–30 L2
July: 18–9 (Home: 12–6; Away: 6–3) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 75 July 1 7:35 p.m. CDT Twins L 1–2 Corbett (5–2) Splittorff (5–5) — 2:20 20,224 44–31 L3 76 July 2 7:35 p.m. CDT Twins W 4–3 Beattie (4–7) Koosman (6–8) — 2:49 26,225 45–31 W1 77 July 3 7:35 p.m. CDT Mariners L 2–13 Gura (10–4) Rawley (6) 2:43 21,777 45–32 L1 78 July 4 7:35 p.m. CDT Mariners W 5–3 Quisenberry (5–4) Roberts (1–3) — 2:23 27,891 46–32 W1 79 July 5 7:35 p.m. CDT Mariners W 5–4 Twitty (1–0) Parrott (1–10) Quisenberry (15) 2:37 30,617 47–32 W2 80 July 6 1:35 p.m. CDT Mariners L 3–5 Bannister (6–6) Splittorff (5–6) Rawley (7) 2:35 28,458 47–33 L1 51st All-Star Game in Los Angeles, CA 81 July 10 7:35 p.m. CDT Tigers W 3–2 Splittorff (6–6) Wilcox (8–6) Quisenberry (16) 2:11 23,684 48–33 W1 82 July 11 7:35 p.m. CDT Tigers W 7–3 Leonard (8–7) Morris (11–7) — 2:18 31,017 49–33 W2 83 July 12 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Orioles L 1–3 Stone (13–3) Martin (8–6) Stoddard (12) 2:46 41,514 49–34 L1 84 July 13 1:00 p.m. CDT @ Orioles W 5–1 Gura (11–4) Flanagan (8–8) — 2:46 21,311 50–34 W1 85 July 14 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Orioles W 8–4 Splittorff (7–6) McGregor (9–5) Quisenberry (17) 2:59 23,504 51–34 W2 86 July 15 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Red Sox W 8–4 Gale (6–7) Renko (5–3) — 2:43 26,865 52–34 W3 87 July 16 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Red Sox W 5–1 Leonard (9–7) Eckersley (5–8) Quisenberry (18) 3:12 27,213 53–34 W4 88 July 17 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Red Sox L 4–12 Tudor (3–1) Martin (8–7) — 2:41 25,619 53–35 L1 89 July 18 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Yankees W 13–1 Gura (12–4) May (7–4) — 2:50 44,170 54–35 W1 90 July 19 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Yankees L 7–13 Bird (1–0) Splittorff (7–7) Davis (6) 3:01 53,583 54–36 L1 91 July 20 1:00 p.m. CDT @ Yankees W 14–3 Gale (7–7) Guidry (10–6) Quisenberry (19) 2:52 50,328 55–36 W1 92 July 21 7:35 p.m. CDT White Sox W 2–1 Leonard (10–7) Burns (10–8) Quisenberry (20) 2:34 37,054 56–36 W2 93 July 22 7:35 p.m. CDT White Sox L 1–6 Trout (5–10) Busby (0–1) — 2:47 28,891 56–37 L1 94 July 23 7:35 p.m. CDT White Sox W 9–2 Gura (13–4) Baumgarten (2–7) — 2:45 25,105 57–37 W1 95 July 24 7:35 p.m. CDT White Sox W 12–4 Splittorff (8–7) Wortham (4–5) — 2:11 29,052 58–37 W2 96 July 25 7:35 p.m. CDT Yankees W 6–1 Gale (8–7) Tiant (6–4) — 2:31 40,039 59–37 W3 97 July 26 7:35 p.m. CDT Yankees L 4–5 Gossage (4–0) Leonard (10–8) — 2:41 41,860 59–38 L1 98 July 27 1:35 p.m. CDT Yankees W 8–0 Gura (14–4) John (15–4) — 2:28 40,057 60–38 W1 99 July 29 7:35 p.m. CDT Red Sox W 9–8 Quisenberry (7–4) Burgmeier (4–2) — 3:08 35,042 61–38 W2 100 July 30 7:35 p.m. CDT Red Sox L 1–7 Stanley (7–6) Busby (0–2) — 2:51 31,468 61–39 L1 101 July 31 7:35 p.m. CDT Red Sox W 13–3 Leonard (11–8) Eckersley (6–10) — 2:28 33,500 62–39 W1
August: 23–7 (Home: 9–5; Away: 14–2) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 102 August 1 7:30 p.m. CDT @ White Sox W 4–3 Gura (15–4) Burns (10–9) Quisenberry (21) 2:30 23,316 63–39 W2 103 August 2 7:30 p.m. CDT @ White Sox W 8–2 Gale (9–7) Trout (6–11) Pattin (3) 2:39 14,905 64–39 W3 104 August 3 1:15 p.m. CDT @ White Sox L 3–5 Dotson (8–6) Splittorff (8–8) — 2:32 14,329 64–40 L1 105 August 4 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Tigers W 6–5 Quisenberry (8–4) Schatzeder (6–8) — 2:59 37,016 65–40 W1 106 August 5 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Tigers W 6–3 Leonard (12–8) Wilcox (11–7) Quisenberry (22) 2:44 27,469 66–40 W2 107 August 6 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Tigers W 5–4 Gura (16–4) Morris (12–10) Quisenberry (23) 2:56 29,115 67–40 W3 108 August 8 (1) 4:30 p.m. CDT @ Blue Jays W 9–0 Gale (10–7) Clancy (10–8) — 2:15 — 68–40 W4 109 August 8 (2) 7:20 p.m. CDT @ Blue Jays W 7–4 Pattin (3–0) Garvin (3–7) — 2:57 22,146 69–40 W5 110 August 9 6:30 p.m. CDT @ Blue Jays L 3–4 (14) Willis (1–0) Eastwick (0–1) — 3:38 21,300 69–41 L1 111 August 10 12:30 p.m. CDT @ Blue Jays W 8–5 Leonard (13–8) Jefferson (4–9) Pattin (4) 2:50 23,473 70–41 W1 112 August 11 7:35 p.m. CDT Orioles L 1–2 Martínez (3–1) Gura (16–5) — 2:33 41,334 70–42 L1 113 August 12 7:35 p.m. CDT Orioles W 4–3 Quisenberry (9–4) McGregor (13–6) — 2:26 34,913 71–42 W1 114 August 13 7:35 p.m. CDT Orioles W 6–1 Gale (11–7) Palmer (12–9) — 2:13 35,600 72–42 W2 115 August 15 7:35 p.m. CDT Blue Jays W 4–3 Leonard (14–8) Jefferson (4–10) Quisenberry (24) 2:24 34,861 73–42 W3 116 August 16 7:35 p.m. CDT Blue Jays W 11–5 Gura (17–5) Kucek (3–5) — 2:45 39,631 74–42 W4 117 August 17 1:35 p.m. CDT Blue Jays W 8–3 Splittorff (9–8) Clancy (11–9) Quisenberry (25) 3:08 30,693 75–42 W5 118 August 18 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 6–3 Gale (12–8) Figueroa (3–7) Quisenberry (26) 2:48 17,609 76–42 W6 119 August 19 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 4–3 Twitty (2–0) Darwin (10–2) Quisenberry (27) 2:36 17,800 77–42 W7 120 August 20 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Rangers W 5–3 (12) Quisenberry (10–4) Johnson (0–2) Martin (1) 3:21 16,996 78–42 W8 121 August 21 7:35 p.m. CDT Indians L 3–4 Waits (10–11) Busby (0–3) Cruz (9) 2:39 32,139 78–43 L1 122 August 22 7:35 p.m. CDT Indians L 1–4 Barker (15–8) Splittorff (9–9) Monge (11) 2:45 34,526 78–44 L2 123 August 23 7:35 p.m. CDT Indians W 3–2 Gale (13–8) Garland (6–6) Quisenberry (28) 2:21 40,192 79–44 W1 124 August 24 1:35 p.m. CDT Indians W 7–5 Leonard (15–8) Grimsley (4–3) Quisenberry (29) 2:43 30,593 80–44 W2 125 August 25 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Brewers W 9–3 Gura (18–5) Haas (14–11) Quisenberry (30) 2:57 15,912 81–44 W3 126 August 26 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Brewers W 7–6 Busby (1–3) Caldwell (11–10) Quisenberry (31) 2:48 16,824 82–44 W4 127 August 27 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Brewers W 5–4 Splittorff (10–9) Mitchell (4–3) Martin (2) 2:19 18,815 83–44 W5 128 August 28 7:35 p.m. CDT Rangers L 6–10 Rajsich (2–1) Twitty (2–1) — 2:34 25,944 83–45 L1 129 August 29 7:35 p.m. CDT Rangers W 7–3 Leonard (16–8) Figueroa (3–8) — 2:29 32,781 84–45 W1 130 August 30 1:35 p.m. CDT Rangers L 5–7 (11) Johnson (2–2) Quisenberry (10–5) — 3:17 34,557 84–46 L1 131 August 31 1:35 p.m. CDT Rangers W 4–3 Quisenberry (11–5) Lyle (3–2) — 2:41 37,390 85–46 W1
September: 8–18 (Home: 4–6; Away: 4–12) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 132 September 1 7:35 p.m. CDT Brewers L 1–6 McClure (2–6) Gale (13–8) — 2:49 28,597 85–47 L1 133 September 3 7:35 p.m. CDT Brewers L 1–3 (10) Sorensen (10–8) Leonard (16–9) — 2:46 23,037 85–48 L2 134 September 4 7:35 p.m. CDT Brewers L 5–9 Castro (1–4) Quisenberry (11–6) — 2:43 21,898 85–49 L3 135 September 5 6:35 p.m. CDT @ Indians W 2–1 Splittorff (11–9) Waits (10–13) — 1:51 21,808 86–49 W1 136 September 6 6:35 p.m. CDT @ Indians L 3–8 Barker (18–8) Martin (8–8) — 3:03 27,352 86–50 L1 137 September 7 1:05 p.m. CDT @ Indians W 6–4 Leonard (17–9) Garland (6–8) Quisenberry (32) 2:32 8,990 87–50 W1 138 September 8 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Angels L 4–7 Aase (7–13) Gura (18–6) Hassler (6) 2:53 23,050 87–51 L1 139 September 9 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Angels L 3–4 Tanana (8–10) Splittorff (11–10) Clear (9) 2:16 24,131 87–52 L2 140 September 10 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Angels L 3–8 Aase (8–13) Martin (8–9) Hassler (7) 2:45 24,762 87–53 L3 141 September 11 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Angels W 7–2 Leonard (18–9) Ferris (0–1) — 2:38 22,844 88–53 W1 142 September 12 9:30 p.m. CDT @ Athletics L 5–9 Langford (16–11) Chamberlain (0–1) — 3:05 17,440 88–54 L1 143 September 13 3:30 p.m. CDT @ Athletics L 2–6 McCatty (12–13) Gura (18–7) — 2:37 11,253 88–55 L2 144 September 14 3:30 p.m. CDT @ Athletics W 4–3 Splittorff (12–10) Kingman (7–18) Quisenberry (33) 2:20 10,756 89–55 W1 — September 16 Angels Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 17) 145 September 17 (1) 5:05 p.m. CDT Angels W 5–0 Leonard (19–9) Botting (0–1) — 2:17 — 90–55 W2 146 September 17 (2) 7:57 p.m. CDT Angels L 4–7 LaRoche (3–5) Gura (18–8) Hassler (9) 3:13 25,908 90–56 L1 147 September 18 7:35 p.m. CDT Angels W 5–2 Martin (9–9) Martínez (6–7) — 2:43 19,559 91–56 W1 148 September 19 7:35 p.m. CDT Athletics W 13–3 Splittorff (13–10) Kingman (7–19) — 2:30 29,493 92–56 W2 149 September 20 7:35 p.m. CDT Athletics L 0–9 Keough (16–13) Jones (0–1) — 2:43 37,523 92–57 L1 150 September 21 1:35 p.m. CDT Athletics L 3–9 Norris (21–8) Leonard (19–10) — 2:47 41,329 92–58 L2 151 September 22 9:35 p.m. CDT @ Mariners L 4–5 (11) McLaughlin (3–6) Quisenberry (11–7) — 3:16 8,643 92–59 L3 152 September 23 9:35 p.m. CDT @ Mariners L 3–7 Beattie (5–13) Martin (9–10) — 2:32 10,879 92–60 L4 153 September 24 9:35 p.m. CDT @ Mariners L 2–4 Honeycutt (10–17) Splittorff (13–11) Parrott (3) 2:12 11,180 92–61 L5 154 September 26 7:35 p.m. CDT @ Twins L 0–3 Zahn (13–18) Leonard (19–11) — 2:30 9,837 92–62 L6 155 September 27 10:35 a.m. CDT @ Twins L 3–8 Koosman (15–13) Gura (18–9) — 2:21 6,848 92–63 L7 156 September 28 1:15 p.m. CDT @ Twins L 7–8 Redfern (7–7) Gale (13–9) Corbett (22) 2:42 6,938 92–64 L8 157 September 30 7:35 p.m. CDT Mariners W 7–5 (14) Quisenberry (12–7) Parrott (1–15) — 3:59 17,272 93–64 W1
October: 4–1 (Home: 4–1; Away: 0–0) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 158 October 1 7:35 p.m. CDT Mariners W 4–1 Pattin (4–0) Dressler (4–10) Brett (1) 2:18 15,604 94–64 W2 159 October 2 7:35 p.m. CDT Mariners W 6–2 Martin (10–10) Bannister (9–13) — 2:23 15,241 95–64 W3 160 October 3 7:35 p.m. CDT Twins L 3–5 Koosman (16–13) Gura (18–10) Corbett (23) 2:29 20,714 95–65 L1 161 October 4 7:35 p.m. CDT Twins W 17–1 Leonard (20–11) Erickson (7–13) — 2:42 23,751 96–65 W1 162 October 5 1:35 p.m. CDT Twins W 4–0 Splittorff (14–11) Jackson (9–9) Gale (1) 2:05 25,603 97–65 W2
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Royals team member

Postseason Game log

1980 Postseason game log: 5–4 (Home: 4–1; Away: 1–3)
AL Championship Series: vs. New York Yankees 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 1–0) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Series Box/ Streak 1 October 8 2:00 p.m. CDT Yankees W 7–2 Gura (1–0) Guidry (0–1) — 3:00 42,598 KC 1–0 W1 2 October 9 7:15 p.m. CDT Yankees W 3–2 Leonard (1–0) May (0–1) Quisenberry (1) 2:51 42,633 KC 2–0 W2 3 October 10 7:15 p.m. CDT @ Yankees W 4–2 Quisenberry (1–0) Gossage (0–1) — 2:59 56,588 KC 3–0 W3
World Series: vs. Philadelphia Phillies 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Away: 0–3) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Series Box/ Streak 1 October 14 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Phillies L 6–7 Walk (1–0) Leonard (0–1) McGraw (1) 3:01 65,791 PHI 1–0 L1 2 October 15 7:20 p.m. CDT @ Phillies L 4–6 Carlton (1–0) Quisenberry (0–1) Reed (1) 3:01 65,775 PHI 2–0 L2 3 October 17 7:30 p.m. CDT Phillies W 4–3 (10) Quisenberry (1–1) McGraw (0–1) — 3:19 42,380 PHI 2–1 W1 4 October 18 12:45 p.m. CDT Phillies W 5–3 Leonard (1–1) Christenson (0–1) Quisenberry (1) 2:37 42,363 Tied 2–2 W2 5 October 19 3:30 p.m. CDT Phillies L 3–4 McGraw (1–1) Quisenberry (1–2) — 2:51 42,369 PHI 3–2 L1 6 October 21 7:20 p.m. CDT @ Phillies L 1–4 Carlton (2–0) Gale (0–1) McGraw (2) 3:00 65,838 PHI 4–2 L2
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Royals team member

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Darrell Porter	118	418	51	104	14	2	.249	7	51	1
1B	Willie Aikens	151	543	70	151	24	0	.278	20	98	1
2B	Frank White	154	560	70	148	23	4	.264	7	60	19
3B	George Brett	117	449	87	175	33	9	.390	24	118	15
SS	U L Washington	153	549	79	150	16	11	.273	6	53	20
LF	Willie Wilson	161	705	133	230	28	15	.326	3	49	79
CF	Amos Otis	107	394	56	99	16	3	.251	10	53	16
RF	Clint Hurdle	130	395	50	116	31	2	.294	10	60	0
DH	Hal McRae	124	489	73	145	39	5	.297	14	83	10

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
John Wathan	126	453	57	138	.305	6	58	17
Dave Chalk	69	167	19	42	.251	1	20	1
Jamie Quirk	62	163	13	45	.276	5	21	3
Pete LaCock	114	156	14	32	.205	1	18	1
Rusty Torres	51	72	10	12	.167	0	3	1
Rance Mulliniks	36	54	8	14	.259	0	6	0
José Cardenal	25	53	8	18	.340	0	5	0
Bob Detherage	20	26	2	8	.308	1	7	1
Steve Braun	14	23	0	1	.043	0	1	0
Jerry Terrell	22	16	4	1	.063	0	0	0
Onix Concepción	12	15	1	2	.133	0	2	0
Manny Castillo	7	10	1	2	.200	0	0	0
Ken Phelps	3	4	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Germán Barranca	7	0	3	0	----	0	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
Larry Gura	36	283.1	18	10	2.95	76	113
Dennis Leonard	38	280.1	20	11	3.79	80	155
Paul Splittorff	34	204.0	14	11	4.15	43	53
Rich Gale	32	190.2	13	9	3.92	78	97

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	BB	SO
Renie Martin	32	137.1	10	10	2	4.39	70	68
Steve Busby	11	42.1	1	3	0	6.17	19	12
Mike Jones	3	4.2	0	1	0	11.57	5	2

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	BB	SO
Dan Quisenberry	75	128.1	12	7	33	3.09	27	37
Marty Pattin	37	89.0	4	0	4	3.64	23	40
Gary Christenson	24	31.1	3	0	1	5.17	18	16
Jeff Twitty	13	22.1	2	1	0	6.04	7	9
Rawly Eastwick	14	22.0	0	1	0	5.32	8	5
Ken Brett	8	13.1	0	0	1	0.00	5	4
Craig Chamberlain	5	9.1	0	1	0	6.75	5	3
Jerry Terrell	1	1.0	0	0	0	0.00	1	0

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1980 American League Championship Series

Game 1

October 8 Royals Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	1
Kansas City	0	2	2	0	0	0	1	2	X	7	10	0
W: Larry Gura (1-0)  L: Ron Guidry (0-1)
HRs: NYY – Rick Cerone (1) Lou Piniella (1)   KCR – George Brett (1)

Game 2

October 9 Royals Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
Kansas City	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	X	3	6	0
W: Dennis Leonard (1-0)  L: Rudy May (0-1)  S: Dan Quisenberry (1)
HRs: NYY – Graig Nettles

Game 3

October 10 Yankee Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	4	12	1
New York	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	8	0
W: Dan Quisenberry (1-0)  L: Rich Gossage (0-1)
HRs: KCR – George Brett (2) Frank White (1)

World Series

Main article: 1980 World Series

NL Philadelphia Phillies (4) vs. AL Kansas City Royals (2)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Royals – 6, Phillies – 7	October 14	Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)	65,791	3:01
2	Royals – 4, Phillies – 6	October 15	Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)	65,775	3:01
3	Phillies – 3, Royals – 4 (10 inns)	October 17	Royals Stadium (Kansas City)	42,380	3:19
4	Phillies – 3, Royals – 5	October 18	Royals Stadium (Kansas City)	42,363	2:37
5	Phillies – 4, Royals – 3	October 19	Royals Stadium (Kansas City)	42,369	2:51
6	Royals – 1, Phillies – 4	October 21	Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)	65,838	3:00

Awards and honors

• George Brett – American League Batting Champion (.390)
• George Brett, Hutch Award

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Omaha Royals	American Association	Joe Sparks
AA	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	Gene Lamont
A	Fort Myers Royals	Florida State League	Brian Murphy
A	Charleston Royals	South Atlantic League	Ron Mihal
Rookie	GCL Royals Blue	Gulf Coast League	Joe Jones
Rookie	GCL Royals Gold	Gulf Coast League	Roy Tanner

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Royals Blue

References

• 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.

External links

• 1980 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
• 1980 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac