Offseason

* October 24, 1979:

Paul Reuschel Paul Richard Reuschel (born January 12, 1947) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1979. Reuschel began his professional career when he was drafted by the Chicago C ...

was released by the Indians. * January 4, 1980:

David Clyde David Eugene Clyde (born April 22, 1955) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five seasons with the Texas Rangers (1973–1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978–1979). He is noted for his once promising baseball ca ...

and

Jim Norris James Francis Norris (born December 20, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1980 for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, playing all three outfield positions. Amateur career ...

were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Gary Gray and Mike Bucci (minors). * February 15, 1980:

Jerry Mumphrey Jerry Wayne Mumphrey (born September 9, 1952) is an American retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–79), San Diego Padres (1980), New York Yankees (1981–83), Houston Astro ...

was traded by the Indians to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

for

Bob Owchinko Robert Dennis Owchinko (born January 1, 1955) is a former professional baseball pitcher. A left-handed pitcher, he played all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1976 and 1986, for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Oak ...

and

Jim Wilhelm James Webster Wilhelm (born September 20, 1952) is an American former outfielder in Major League Baseball from to for the San Diego Padres. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Wilhelm threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . ...

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 Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956. Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" T ...

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 The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Rookie of the Year award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

—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. He would never play another full season in the majors after 1980.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 3, 1980:

1980 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins *Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall S ...

Kelly Gruber Kelly Wayne Gruber (born February 26, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. Early life Gruber was born on February 26, 1962. Gruber played baseball at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, where his number was later retir ...

was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (10th pick). Player signed June 8, 1980. **

Doug Drabek Douglas Dean Drabek (born July 25, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current Pitching Coach for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...

was drafted by the Indians in the 4th round, but did not sign. **

Mike Jeffcoat James Michael Jeffcoat (born August 3, 1959), is an American former professional baseball player and also a former coach who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 1985, 1987 to 1992, and 1994. He played college baseball for Louisiana ...

was drafted in the 13th round of the 1980 amateur draft.

Opening Day Lineup

Roster

Player stats

Batting

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

Pitching

''Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

Joe Charboneau Joseph Charboneau (born June 17, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians in the early 1980s. After winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1980, Charboneau's career quickly flamed out amidst injuries, specifica ...

, American League Rookie of the Year

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: WaterlooJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Notes

References

1980 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference1980 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Cleveland Guardians Cleveland Guardians seasons Cleveland Indians season Cleve