The 1980 Oakland A's - Rebuild #1 Continues

[motnahp]

The World Series provided the offense expected in the ALCS. Unfortunately, much more of that offense was on the LA side, as the Dodgers roughed up the A's 14-9. Oakland starter Rick Langford allowed 7 runs (4 earned) in only 5 innings, but left with an 8-7 lead. The normally dependable Rick Lysander allowed 4 home runs in a disastrous 2 innings of work and took the loss.

At the plate for LA, Steve Garvey homered twice, and went 3-5 with 6 RBI. Bill Russell and Steve Yeager both belted 2-run homers. Reggie Smith was 2-5 with a homer, Rudy Law was 3-5 with 2 runs scored, while both Ron Cey and Dusty Baker went 2-5 with an RBI.

For the A's, Dwayne Murphy was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI, Rickey Henderson was 4-4 with an RBI, 3 runs scored and two steals, Tony Armas was 2-5 with an RBI, Wayne Gross 3-5 with 2 RBI, and Mickey Klutts hit a pinch-hit solo homer.

Don Sutton gave up 8 runs in 7 innings, but picked up the win.

FRI OCT 24

WORLD SERIES GAME 1

OAK_____9___15___2
LA______14___17___0

Los Angeles leads series 1-0.

[motnahp]

Experienced some problems getting to the Forums section of this site earlier, so these recaps are a few hours after the fact.

The Oakland A's evened the series at a game apiece with a 5-2, 14-inning win at Los Angeles.

Rickey Henderson led off the 14th with a single, then stole second. Dwayne Murphy followed with an RBI double, giving the A's a 3-2 lead. Reliever Steve Howe then intentionally walked Tony Armas. Don Stanhouse came in to pitch to Wayne Gross, who flied to left. Murphy advanced to third. Jeff Newman then flew out to left, scoring Murphy. Armas took 2nd as the throw went home. Dave Revering doubled to right, scoring Armas with the 5th run.

The A's got excellent work from their bullpen. After starter Mike Norris allowed only 2 runs in 8 innings, Dave Beard, Bob Lacey, and Jeff Jones each pitched 2 scoreless innings, with Jones collecting the win. At the plate, Revering was 3-7 with a double, homer, and 3 RBI. Newman ended up 4-6 with a double and an RBI, while Henderson was 3-7 and stole 3 bases. The series now shifts up the coast to Oakland for games 3, 4, and 5.

SAT OCT 25

WORLD SERIES GAME 2

OAK_____5___16___1 (14 innings)
LA______2___13___0

Series tied 1-1.

[motnahp]

Reggie Smith's 2-run single in the top of the 8th erased a 5-4 Oakland lead and pushed the Dodgers past the A's 6-5, giving LA a 2 games to 1 lead in the World Series. Ron Cey also had a 3-run homer for the Dodgers, and Dusty Baker was 3-5. Burt Hooton got the win. Bobby Castillo picked up the save with a perfect 9th inning. Brian Kingman took the loss in relief for Oakland. For the A's, Jim Essian was 2-4 with a double, and Mitchell Page 1-3 with 2 RBI.

MON OCT 27

WORLD SERIES GAME 3

LA______6___10___1
OAK____5___11___1

Los Angeles leads series 2-1.

[motnahp]

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from a title, following a 2-0 blanking of the A's in Oakland. Bob Welch and Bobby Castillo combined on a 3-hitter for the Dodgers. Matt Keough went 8 solid innings for Oakland, but took the loss.

TUE OCT 28

WORLD SERIES GAME 4

LA______2___8___0
OAK_____0___3___0

Los Angeles leads series 3-1.

[motnahp]

The Los Angeles Dodgers, trailing 5-3, scored 3 times in the top of the 9th and beat the A's 6-5. The Dodgers are the 1980 world champs.

In the 9th, with A's starter Rick Langford protecting a 5-3 lead, Bill Russell grounded out to start the inning. Langford then walked Pedro Guerrero. Rudy Law flew out to center for the 2nd out. Steve Garvey lined a single to right and Guerrero advanced to 3rd. Bob Lacey came in from the pen and allowed a Reggie Smith double, scoring Guerrero and advancing Garvey to 3rd. With Oakland still leading 5-4, Ron Cey grounded to shortstop Mario Guerrero. The A's were one good throw from forcing a sixth game, but Guerrero's toss was wide of first base. Garvey and Smith both scored and Cey ended up on second. LA led 6-5 and turned the game over to Bobby Castillo, who set down the A's in the 9th to end the series.

WED OCT 29

LA______6___10___1
OAK_____5___12___1

Los Angeles wins series 4-1.

[motnahp]

The Dodgers were certainly the better team, April to October. They didn't win 110 regular season games by accident. The A's on the other hand, were glorious overachievers. No heads should be hung in that clubhouse.

Award winners:

AL MVP: Reggie Jackson .313, 48 HR, 131 RBI
NL MVP: Mike Schmidt .272, 45 HR, 115 RBI

AL CY Young: Dennis Leonard 25-5, 2.72 ERA
NL CY Young: Bob Welch 21-7, 1.79 ERA

[motnahp]

American League Batting Leaders

Al Oliver, TEX .337 AVG
John Mayberry, TOR 50 HR
Reggie Jackson, NYY 131 RBI
George Brett, KC 120 Runs
Al Oliver, TEX 239 Hits
Bump Wills, TEX 49 Doubles
Willie Wilson, KC 14 Triples
Rickey Henderson, OAK 112 Stolen Bases
Rickey Henderson, OAK 97 Walks
Gorman Thomas, MILW 120 Strikeouts
Reggie Jackson, NYY .606 Slugging Pct
Butch Hobson, BOS .403 On-Base Pct

[motnahp]

Natiojnal League Batting Leaders

Darrell Evans, SF .321 Avg
Mike Schmidt, PHA 45 HR
Mike Schmidt, PHA 117 RBI
Mike Schmidt, PHA 107 Runs
Keith Hernandez, STL 201 Hits
Mike Ivie, SF 45 Doubles
Omar Moreno, PITT, 12 Triples
Omar Moreno, PITT 48 Stolen Bases
Mike Schmidt, PHA 88 Walks
Dave Kingman, CHC 137 Strikeouts
Mike Schmidt, PHA .579 Slugging Pct
Darrell Evans, SF .398 On-Base Pct

[motnahp]

American League Pitching Leaders

Dave Stieb, TOR 2.53 ERA
Dennis Leonard, KC 25 Wins
Tommy John, NYY 21 Losses
Danny Darwin, TEX 52 Saves
Dave Stieb, TOR 295 2/3 Innings Pitched
Danny Darwin, TEX 64 Appearances
Jim Clancy, TOR 37 Games Started
Dave Stieb, TOR 22 Complete Games
Rick Langford, OAK 6 Shutouts
Rudy May, NYY 195 Strikeouts
Jim Clancy, TOR 122 Walks

[motnahp]

National League Pitching Leaders

Bob Welch, LA 1.79 ERA
Bob Welch, LA 21 Wins
Jerry Reuss, LA 21 Wins
Tommy Boggs, ATL 18 Losses
Bobby Castillo, LA 50 Saves
Scott Sanderson, MONT 252 2/3 Innings Pitched
Tom Griffin, SF 84 Appearances
Bill Gullickson, MONT 37 Games Started
Mario Soto, CINN 7 Complete Games
Mario Soto, CINN 4 Shutouts
Mario Soto, CINN 226 Strikeouts
Nolan Ryan, HOU 103 Walks

[motnahp]

Following the unexpected success of the 1980 A's, I'm taking a break from managing. Many months ago, I created a "Random Players Association", using a random page generator at baseball-reference.com.

I built 35-man rosters randomly, using players who appeared any time between 1901 and 2006. When the player page appeared in baseball-reference, I used the first "eligible" year of that player (batters needed 50 AB and pitchers needed 15 IP). This is a Multiplayer Association, with all teams under human control.

I've played out a month already and I really miss managing. The type of setup I use is more administrative than anything else, as I look at the injury reports weekly and Auto Adjust each team's roster, as needed. I let the AI set the lineups and make all promotions and demotions. I have AI trades, finances, and closer option OFF, with NO DH. It's a 12-team assn, divided into three 4-team divisions.

The setup for this Random Players Assn was once my preferred method of play, but managing was soooo much fun!