1980 New York Mets
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Shea Stadium
City	New York
Record	67–95 (.414)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	Nelson Doubleday, Jr.
General manager	Frank Cashen
Manager	Joe Torre
Television	WOR-TV
Radio	WMCA (Ralph Kiner,Bob Murphy,Steve Albert)
← 1979 Seasons 1981 →

The1980New York Mets season was the 19th regular season for the Mets, who played home games atShea Stadium. Led bymanagerJoe Torre, the team had a 67–95 record and finished in fifth place in theNational League East, twenty-four games behind the first place Philadelphia Phillies

On January 24, 1980, ownership of the team changed hands.^[1] The group that bought the Mets for an estimated $22 million (the largest amount paid for a ball club to that point) was headed byNelson Doubleday Jr. andFred Wilpon.^[1] Doubleday was head of the old and distinguishedpublishing company that bore his name, while Wilpon was a highly successful real-estate developer. The new owners promised to invest money to acquire winning players and develop a competitive club,^[2][3] though it took a few years before the new partners were able to rebuild a solid contender.

In February, the new owners hiredFrank Cashen,^[4] who had spent ten years in the front office of theBaltimore Orioles from 1966 to 1976, during which time the Orioles went to fourWorld Series, winning two.^[4] During his tenure, the Mets would see what some called a "resuscitation",^[5] eventually leading to the team's first World Championship in 17 years. After leaving the Orioles, Cashen worked outside of baseball for three years before joining commissionerBowie Kuhn's office as administrator of baseball. It was from this job that the Mets wooed him and installed him as executive vice president and general manager.^[4]

Due to their last-place finish in1979, the Mets had the first pick in the1980 Major League Baseball draft. They used it to select an 18-year-oldoutfielder from Los Angeles,Darryl Strawberry, a key figure of future Mets teams. With the twenty-third pick, they selectedBilly Beane, later the protagonist inMoneyball.

Under Torre, the team suffered their 4th consecutive losing season, 24 games out of first place, although the Mets moved up one place in the standings to fifth.^[6] They even flirted with .500 (until losing 38 of their last 49 games), which may have led to attendance jumping nearly 400,000 to almost 1,200,000. The team had the motto "The Magic is Back" during the 1980 season. Notable highlights from the season included three come-from-behind wins in five days: 5–4 and 6–5 over the Dodgers June 10 and 12 (after trailing 4–0 and 5–0), and 7–6 over the Giants on the 14th after trailing 6–0. The Mets fell to earth in a five-game sweep at Shea by the eventual champion Phillies in mid-August, before which they were 56-57. Their final home series against the Pirates drew just over 5,900 fans for three games combined.^[7]

The construction of the then-state-of-the-artDiamondVision electronic scoreboard in center field for 1981 resulted in a sharp increase in ticket prices following this season, e.g., with General Admission seating rising from $1.50 to $4.00.

• Doug Flynn
• Steve Henderson
• Mike Jorgensen
• Elliott Maddox
• Lee Mazzilli
• Jerry Morales
• John Stearns
• Craig Swan
• Frank Taveras

• June 3, 1980:1980 Major League Baseball draft
  • Darryl Strawberry was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed July 11, 1980.^[8]
  • Billy Beane was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (23rd pick).^[9]
  • Ronn Reynolds was drafted by the Mets in the 5th round. Player signed June 7, 1980.^[10]
  • Rick Ownbey was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round.^[11]
  • Al Newman was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the Secondary Phase, but did not sign.^[12]
• June 17, 1980:Kevin Kobel was traded by the Mets to theKansas City Royals forRandy McGilberry.^[13]
• July 1, 1980:Randy Johnson was traded by the Mets to theAtlanta Braves for Bill Haselrig (minors).^[14]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

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

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

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

• 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.
• 1980 New York Mets at Baseball Reference
• 1980 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

• New York Mets seasons
• 1980 Major League Baseball season
• 1980 in sports in New York City
• 1980s in Queens

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