1980 Boston Red Sox season

The 1980 Boston Red Sox season was the 80th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 83 wins and 77 losses, 19 games behind the New York Yankees. Manager Don Zimmer was fired with five games left, and Johnny Pesky finished the season as manager.

Offseason

November 16, 1979: Tony Pérez was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.
March 30, 1980: The Red Sox traded a player to be named later and cash to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dave Rader. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Stan Papi to the Phillies on May 12.

Regular season

Fred Lynn had a .301 batting average, with 12 home runs and 61 RBIs. Jim Rice hit .294, with 24 homers and 86 RBIs. On the pitching staff, Mike Torrez was 9–16 and Dennis Eckersley was 12–14. Rick Burleson set an MLB single-season record for double plays turned as a shortstop, 147, which still stands.

Season standings

Boston's record of 83–77 has a fractionally better winning percentage than Detroit's record of 84–78; .51875 and .51851, respectively.

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

May 30, 1980: Ted Sizemore was released by the Red Sox.
June 3, 1980: Oil Can Boyd was drafted by the Red Sox in the 16th round of the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.

Opening Day lineup

Source:

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Red Sox on Opening Day, 9–5, via a walk-off grand slam by Sixto Lezcano.

Roster

Player stats

Batting

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

Source:[15]

Pitching

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

Source:[16]