| 1980 American League Championship Series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 8–10 | |||||||||
| MVP | Frank White (Kansas City) | |||||||||
| Umpires | Steve Palermo Joe Brinkman Larry McCoy Bill Haller(crew chief) Ken Kaiser George Maloney | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | ABC WDAF-TV (KC) WPIX (NYY) | |||||||||
| TV announcers | ABC:Al Michaels,Billy Martin andJim Palmer WDAF-TV: Al Wisk and Denny Trease WPIX:Phil Rizzuto,Frank Messer andBill White | |||||||||
| Radio | CBS WIBW (KC) WINS (NYY) | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | CBS:Ernie Harwell andCurt Gowdy WIBW:Denny Matthews andFred White WINS:Phil Rizzuto,Frank Messer,Bill White andFran Healy | |||||||||
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The1980American League Championship Series was a best-of-five playoff inMajor League Baseball's1980 postseason that featured theAmerican League West championKansas City Royals against theAmerican League East championNew York Yankees. This was the fourth matchup between the two teams in the past five seasons, and Kansas City got a measure of revenge by beating the Yankees in three straight to advance to their first everWorld Series.
As of 2025, this is the only time the Royals defeated the Yankees in the postseason.
In 1980,three of the four division races came down to the last week of the season. In the American League East, the Yankees (103-59) outlasted the Baltimore Orioles (100-62) to earn a trip back to the postseason after missing out in1979. The only division to not come down to the last weekend of the season was theAmerican League West, who theKansas City Royals won by 14 games over theOakland Athletics.[1]
This set the stage for the fourth Royals versus Yankees American League Championship Series in five seasons. While the Yankees had won each of the previous three meetings, each postseason series between the two clubs was a instant-classic, with the1976 and1977 ALCS' coming down to a winner-take-all (Chris Chambliss hit a walk-off home run in 1976 and the Yankees scored three runs in the ninth against closerMark Littell to win in Kansas City in 1977).[2][3] In the1978 match-up, the Royals failed to get aAmos Otis leadoff double home in the ninth inning to tie the score and potentially force another winner-take-all Game 5, as well.[4]
Kansas City won the series, 3–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 8 | New York Yankees – 2,Kansas City Royals – 7 | Royals Stadium | 3:00 | 42,598[5] |
| 2 | October 9 | New York Yankees – 2,Kansas City Royals – 3 | Royals Stadium | 2:51 | 42,633[6] |
| 3 | October 10 | Kansas City Royals – 4, New York Yankees – 2 | Yankee Stadium | 2:59 | 56,588[7] |
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Larry Gura (1–0) LP:Ron Guidry (0–1) Home runs: NYY:Rick Cerone (1),Lou Piniella (1) KC:George Brett (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The series opener saw the Yankees throw their ace,Ron Guidry, against the Royals'Larry Gura. In the top of the second, the Bronx Bombers jumped out to a 2–0 lead whenRick Cerone andLou Piniella smacked back-to-back home runs. However, in the bottom of the inning, the Royals struck back.Amos Otis singled to center and stole second, andJohn Wathan walked. A wild pitch moved Otis to third and Wathan to second, andFrank White doubled both men home to tie the game.
The Royals moved ahead in the third, whenGeorge Brett walked and moved to third on a ground-rule double by Otis. A single byWillie Aikens plated both Brett and Otis, chasing Guidry from the game. Brett added a home run offRon Davis in the seventh, and aWillie Wilson double offTom Underwood in the eighth scoredDarrell Porter and White to give Kansas City a 7–2 lead. The Yankees, meanwhile, could not score against Gura after the back-to-back home runs of the second inning, and the Royals' hurler went the distance as his team drew first blood in the series with a 7–2 victory.
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Dennis Leonard (1–0) LP:Rudy May (0–1) Sv:Dan Quisenberry (1) Home runs: NYY:Graig Nettles (1) KC: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 2 proved to be much more exciting after the Royals blowout of Game 1. For this contest, the Yankees sentRudy May to the hill to face the Royals'Dennis Leonard.
Kansas City opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, asDarrell Porter andFrank White reached base with consecutive singles.Willie Wilson followed with a triple to right to bring both runners in, and then scored himself on a double to center field by shortstopU L Washington. The Yankees came back with two in the fifth, withGraig Nettles hitting an inside-the-park home run andWillie Randolph lashing a double to right to scoreBobby Brown.
The eighth inning, however, proved to be the most memorable inning of the game, with the Royals clinging to their 3–2 lead and the Yankees threatening.Willie Randolph singled, and with two outsBob Watson ripped a liner to deep left field. Confident in Randolph's speed, Yankee third base coachMike Ferraro decided to wave Randolph home. Left fielderWillie Wilson overthrew his cutoff man, Washington, but third basemanGeorge Brett made a heads-up play by backing up Washington. He then whirled and threw Randolph out at the plate. Television cameras panned the stands where Yankees OwnerGeorge Steinbrenner and General ManagerGene Michael were sitting. A furious Steinbrenner appeared to shout Ferraro's name as he turned to Michael.[8] The Royals ended up winning that game by a 3–2 margin and Steinbrenner continued to fume over the play.
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Dan Quisenberry (1–0) LP:Goose Gossage (0–1) Home runs: KC:Frank White (1),George Brett (2) NYY: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With a 2–0 series lead, the Royals headed toYankee Stadium for Game 3. The Royals led 1-0 on Frank White's fifth-inning homer until the bottom of the sixth inning whenOscar Gamble hit a ground ball up the middle withReggie Jackson on second. Eventual ALCS MVPFrank White ranged far to his right to field the ball, and knowing he could not throw out Gamble at first, attempted an off balance throw to third to hopefully catch Jackson rounding the bag. However, the throw by White, a multiple Gold Glove winner, was too high and Royals third basemanGeorge Brett could not catch it. Jackson scored on the play and Gamble was given third base after the ball rolled into the dugout. Gamble later scored on a single by Rick Cerone and the Yankees gained a 2–1 advantage.
Holding on to a 2–1 lead in the seventh inning, pitcherTommy John gave up a two-out double to Willie Wilson. Yankee managerDick Howser brought in hard-throwingGoose Gossage, who gave up a single toU L Washington, bringing up George Brett. Brett had wowed the majors during the year, flirting with a .400batting average, holding an average above .400 as late as September 19 before finishing the year at .390. Brett blasted a Gossage fastball into the upper deck, a three-run home run which stunned theYankee Stadium crowd. The Royals had a 4–2 lead with All-Star relieverDan Quisenberry on the mound.
The Yankees mounted a major threat in the eighth, loading the bases with no one out. Quisenberry then gotRick Cerone to line into a double play and the next batter to ground out to close out the inning. The ninth went one-two-three as the Royals and the long-suffering Kansas City baseball fans finally won the American League Pennant, getting revenge on the team that had eliminated them for three straight years.
1980 ALCS(3–0):Kansas City Royals overNew York Yankees
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 28 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| New York Yankees | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total attendance: 141,819 Average attendance: 47,273 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dick Howser was fired shortly after the conclusion of the 1980 ALCS.[9][10] Ironically, Howser would go on to win the1985 World Series as manager of Kansas City. After losing the1981 World Series to theLos Angeles Dodgers (whom they had beaten in consecutive World Series in1977 and1978 after besting the Royals for theAmerican League crown), the Yankees would not again appear in the Fall Classic until winning in1996 under veteran managerJoe Torre—in a coincidental twist, their best subsequent opportunity prior to 1996 was also during a strike-shortened season: when the 1994 season prematurely ended, theYankees had the best record in the American League, which was also the second best in baseball.[11][12][13]
This would also be the last time the Yankees would be swept in a postseason series for32 years.
Four men involved with the 1980 ALCS — Yankees managerDick Howser, outfielderBobby Murcer, and catcherJohnny Oates; and Royals pitcherDan Quisenberry — subsequently died ofbrain cancer. (Tug McGraw andJohn Vukovich of thePhiladelphia Phillies, who defeated the Royals in that year'sWorld Series, also succumbed to the disease, as didKen Brett, who pitched for Kansas City in the 1980–81 regular seasons.)
While the postseason rivalry died down after 1980 between the two teams, the controversialPine Tar Game in1983 continued the rivalry in the regular season.
After this meeting, the fourth in 5 years, the Yankees and Royals would not meet again in the postseason until the2024 ALDS, a span of 44 years between playoff matchups. New York won the series in four games.
Those who followed the1981 New York Yankees...can't help but notice potential similarities with this year's first-place Yankee club.