1980 Houston Astros & Beyond

[bigdawg2003]

This is my first time doing this, so give me some feedback, positive or negative.





SYNOPSIS:

The Houston Astros won two full-season N.L. West crowns in the 1980s, one in 1980, the other in 1986. They lost to the eventual World Series champions in the NLCS both times (Phillies 1980, Mets 1986.) My goal is to lead my beloved Astros to at least two World Series crowns in the 80s, then change the history of playoff failure in the 1990s.


1980 REALITY:

World Series: Philadelphia over Kansas City in 6 games, Mike Schmidt named MVP
NLCS: Philadelphia over HOUSTON in 5 games, Manny Trillo named MVP
(HOUSTON defeats Los Angeles in a one game playoff to determine champion)
ALCS: Kansas City over New York in 3 games, Frank White named MVP

NL MVP: Mike Schmidt, 3B, Philadelphia
AL MVP: George Brett, 3B, Kansas City

NL Cy Young: Steve Carlton, Philadelphia
AL Cy Young: Steve Stone, Baltimore

NL ROY: Steve Howe, Los Angeles
AL ROY: Joe Charboneau, Cleveland


MEET THE ASTROS:

Starting Rotation (1979 stats listed):

J.R. Richard, 113 IP, 1.91 ERA, 10-4, 40 BB, 119 K
Vern Ruhle, 159 IP, 2.38 ERA, 12-4, 29 BB, 55 K
Nolan Ryan, 223 IP, 3.36 ERA, 11-10, 98 BB, 200 K
Ken Forsch, 222 IP, 3.20 ERA, 12-13, 41 BB, 84 K
Joe Niekro, 256 IP, 3.55 ERA, 20-12, 79 BB, 127 K

Richard is absolutely maxed out in the game. In reality, he was on track to be one of the greats, but had a stroke in spring training one year that ended his career. He has an 11 in avoiding hits and 9 in strikeouts with an 8 throwing velocity. He’ll give up a few walks, but this guy is an ace. This rotation will not give up many homeruns, but pitching in the Astrodome will make the opposing longball a rare sight indeed.

Mopup Relievers:

Gordie Pladson, 41 IP, 4.39 ERA, 0-4, 16 BB, 13 K

Middle Relief:

Dave Smith, 102 IP, 1.94 ERA, 7-5, 32 BB, 85 K, 10 saves
Randy Niemann, 33 IP, 5.45 ERA, 0-1, 12 BB, 18 K, 1 save
Gordie Pladson, (see above)

Setup Relief:

Joaquin Andujar, 122 IP, 3.91 ERA, 3-8, 43 BB, 75 K, 2 saves
Frank LaCorte, 83 IP, 2.82 ERA, 8-5, 43 BB, 66 K, 11 saves

Closer:

Joe Sambito, 90 IP, 2.20 ERA, 8-4, 22 BB, 75 K, 17 saves

1980 is a little before my time, but this bullpen doesn’t look very championship caliber. Sambito is a stud though, and every one of these guys has great avoiding HR ratings. Gotta play to your park’s strengths, so I will definitely focus on pitching in the draft.

Starting Lineup (Only against RHP)

Joe Morgan, 2B, .243 AVG, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 66 R, 24 SB
Enos Cabell, 3B, .276 AVG, 2 HR, 55 RBI, 69 R, 21 SB
Jose Cruz, RF, .302 AVG, 11 HR, 91 RBI, 79 R, 36 SB
Cesar Cedeno, LF, .309 AVG, 10 HR, 73 RBI, 71 R, 48 SB
Art Howe, 1B, .283 AVG, 10 HR, 46 RBI, 34 R, 1 SB
Terry Puhl, CF, .282 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 75 R, 27 SB
Alan Ashby, C, .256 AVG, 3 HR, 48 RBI, 30 R, 0 SB
Craig Reynolds, SS, .226 AVG, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 34 R, 2 SB

This team just cries out for a small-ball coach. 5 out of 8 regular hitters with 20+ steals, excellent fielders at most positions except Howe at 1B, and no regulars with more than 13 HRs.


PENDING FREE AGENTS:

J.R. Richard, SP, age 30
Joaquin Andujar, RP, age 27
Joe Sambito, RP, age 27
Denny Walling, 1B, age 25
Enos Cabell, 3B, age 30
Craig Reynolds, SS, age 27

Richard and Sambito are definite keepers; they will anchor my bullpen and rotation for at least the next 5-10 years. Andujar & Cabell will depend on how they perform this season, because in OOTP, middle relievers are ultra plentiful. Walling & Reynolds will probably either be let go at the end of the season or be traded, although I doubt I could get anything of value for either of them.


COACHES/SCOUTS:

Hitting Coach: Matthew Howze, age 56
Above Average

Pitching Coach: Rueben Armstrong, age 44
Average

Scouting Director: Roy Moss, age 43
Average w/ hitters, Above Average w/ pitchers

AAA Manager: Eddie Kitt, age 51
Above Average w/ hitters, Good w/ pitchers

AA Manager: Jamie Waddy, age 59
Above Average w/ hitters, Excellent w/ pitchers

A Manager: John Forster, age 55
Above Average w/ hitters, Good w/ pitchers

Could be worse, but will definitely be much improved when I can actually pick my guys.


NEXT: End of April report

[bigdawg2003]

END OF APRIL:
Record: 18-8, .692 winning %
Standing: 1st place N.L. West, 3 games over Los Angeles.
Best in MLB: Baltimore, 21-5, .808 winning %, 7 games over Boston, Detroit, and New York.
Worst in MLB: Chicago Cubs, 7-19, .269 winning %, 11 games behind St. Louis

I don’t think I could have hoped for anything better. St. Louis also is 18-8 and leading the N.L. East, and we have a crucial 3 game series set at home starting on May 6th. J.R. Richard is 2nd in baseball in strikeouts with 41 in six starts, one behind Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton. For this, Richard was given a new 5-year contract worth $15.5 million a season (it may be 1980 in the game, but we’re using 2002 baseball economics.) This should last me for the rest of his prime. Sambito has saved 7 of my 18 wins at a sub-1 ERA, and will receive a new deal when he’s ready to negotiate (hopefully). Nolan Ryan was injured near the end of April, but it was nothing serious and should be back after the first week of May. 2B Joe Morgan has been a disaster at the leadoff spot, failing to crack the Mendoza line. On the other hand, CF Terry Puhl has been a pleasant surprise at the #6 spot, hitting .305 with two homers and 13 RBI. I decide to swap Puhl and Morgan, hoping Puhl will give the 2-3-4 guys more RBI chances. Rick Monday is traded to the White Sox.

NEXT: End of May Report

[bigdawg2003]

END OF MAY:
Record: 39-14, .736 winning %
Standing: 1st place N.L. West, 8 games over Los Angeles
Best in MLB: Baltimore and Houston tied at 39-14. Baltimore 7 games ahead of New York
Worst in MLB: Chicago Cubs, 17-36, 16 games behind St. Louis

Swapping Puhl and Morgan worked as planned. Puhl actually increased his average from .305 to .337. The cream of the crop is starting to emerge, with Baltimore, Houston, and St. Louis holding comfortable leads in the standings. The A.L. West is a different story though; with California holding a slim one game lead over Kansas City, with Chicago trailing by two. Richard now has an 11-strikeout lead over Carlton, and also leads the league in ERA with a dazzling 1.09 mark, followed by Nolan Ryan at 1.41. For his efforts, Richard is named N.L. pitcher of the month. Sambito has 21 saves, best in the majors. Unfortunately though, negotiations with Sambito soured, and he will test the free agent market. I now have a dilemma. Do I trade Sambito and get something for him while sticking setup man Frank LaCorte in the closers spot, or do I hold onto him and hope he continues his dominance? Denny Walling gets a new 3-year contract due to his .300 average, willingness to sign relatively cheaply (only a $300,000 raise,) and lack of depth in the minors (Danny Heep is considered a good 1B prospect, but is only in AA.) Joaquin Andujar will be let go due to unreasonable salary demands (nearly $4 million a year.) Enos Cabell is also resigned for three years at his same salary of $1.14 million. Craig Reynolds is a tough decision. He only wants a little under $600K a season, but is only hitting .230. He has a few good skills though (brilliant triples hitter, doesn’t strike out much, good sac bunter.) Real life champions Philadelphia are six games out of first and struggling to stay over .500. No injuries to report. Larry Bowa is dealt to the Yankees.

NEXT: End of June report and midseason breakdown

[CMH]

keep it up...interested in readin more updates

[bigdawg2003]

END OF JUNE:
Record: 54-27, .667 winning %
Standing: 1st place N.L. West, 10 games over Los Angeles
Best in MLB: Houston
Worst in MLB: Minnesota & Chicago Cubs, 31-50, .383 winning %, Minnesota 16 games behind California & Kansas City, Cubs 17 games behind St. Louis
Other Division Leaders (NEW FEATURE ALERT!):

-St. Louis (N.L. East), 48-33, .593 winning %, seven games ahead of Montreal and Philadelphia
-Baltimore (A.L. East), 53-28, .654 winning %, three games ahead of Detroit, four ahead of New York
-California/Kansas City (A.L. West), 47-34, .580 winning %, five ahead of Oakland

Well, I couldn’t be expected to keep up that kind of performance all season, but no complaints here. J.R. Richard continues to lead MLB in ERA and strikeouts, with Nolan Ryan right behind him in the ERA race. I decided to make a two year commitment to Craig Reynolds since if I were to find a starting quality SS in the draft, he would need some time to develop. No decision on trading Sambito, though I’m leaning towards keeping him and going for the crown, as he still leads MLB with 27 saves. All-Star selections should be made soon and I expect my team to be well represented. Vern Ruhle suffered the same injury as Ryan did in late April and will miss the same amount of time. My hitting continues to be abysmal in terms of batting average, with the exception of Terry Puhl, who looks to be my CF for the future, as he’s only 23 years old and performing like an All-Star with a .314 average and 22 steals, and Jose Cruz, who is hitting .270 with 11 homers and 22 steals. I think Houston would be leading MLB in team steals, but I can’t check since I can’t find a team stats feature (if it’s not there, please add it ASAP Markus J.) I look forward to seeing how the A.L. West develops. Looks like we have the potential for a heated pennant race come September.

MIDSEASON MLB LEADERS (Only top 5 shown to avoid boredom)

Average
1. R. Carew, CAL .371
2. C. Lemon, CHW .360
3. A. Oliver, TEX .352
4. M. Venable, SF .346
5. J. Thompson, CHW .345

Homeruns
1. O. Gamble, NYY 31
2. R. Jackson, NYY 31
3. J. Mayberry, TOR 21
4. E. Murray, BAL 21
5. C. Summers, DET 20

RBIs
1. O. Gamble, NYY 89
2. R. Jackson, NYY 73
3. E. Murray, BAL 66
4. L. Parrish, DET 65
5. W. Nordhagen, CHW 63

Runs
1. O. Gamble, NYY 74
2. E. Soderholm, NYY 74
3. R. Jackson, NYY 69
4. E. Murray, BAL 64
5. G. Brett, KC 59

ERA
1. J. Richard, HOU 1.06
2. N. Ryan, HOU 1.57
3. S. Martinez, STL 2.01
4. J. Fulgham, STL 2.06
5. V. Ruhle, HOU 2.10

Wins
1. J. Palmer, BAL 12
2. A. Martinez, CAL 11
3. S. Stone, BAL 10
4. V. Ruhle, HOU 10
5. N. Ryan, HOU 9

Strikeouts
1. J. Richard, HOU 128
2. S. Carlton, PHI 113
3. V. Blue, SF 76
4. L. Barker, CLE 75
5. B. Blyleven, PIT 72

Saves
1. J. Sambito, HOU 27
2. D. Quisenberry, KC 24
3. A. Lopez, DET 24
4. S. Howe, LA 22
5. R. Fingers, SD 21

I never thought I would say this, but I want the Yankees to go to the World Series. Why? Simple, play us and settle once and for all the pitching versus hitting debate. Oscar Gamble is making American League pitching look silly, and J.R. Richard is making National League hitting look likewise. I hope they face off at the All-Star game.

NEXT: All-Star Game report. Will J.R. and Oscar clash?

[bigdawg2003]

ALL-STAR GAME REPORT:

These players were selected for the AL OOTP-All-star Team:
P Jim Palmer from Baltimore
P Tom Underwood from New York (A)
P Steve Stone from Baltimore
P Milt Wilcox from Detroit
P Ron Guidry from New York (A)
P John Denny from Cleveland
P Wayne Garland from Cleveland
P Ed Glynn from Milwaukee
P Aurelio Lopez from Detroit
P Dan Quisenberry from Kansas City
C Lance Parrish from Detroit
C Jerry Narron from Seattle
1B Eddie Murray from Baltimore
2B Jim Morrison from Chicago (A)
3B George Brett from Kansas City
SS Freddie Patek from California
LF Reggie Jackson from New York (A)
CF Oscar Gamble from New York (A)
RF Al Oliver from Texas
1B Rod Carew from California
DH Hal Mcrae from Kansas City
CF Chet Lemon from Chicago (A)
DH Champ Summers from Detroit
3B Don Money from Milwaukee
3B Doug Decinces from Baltimore

These players were selected for the NL OOTP-All-star Team :
P J.R. Richard from Houston
P Nolan Ryan from Houston
P Paul Moskau from Cincinnati
P Scott Sanderson from Montreal
P John Fulgham from St. Louis
P Juan Eichelberger from San Diego
P Burt Hooton from Los Angeles
P Doug Bair from Cincinnati
P Joe Sambito from Houston
P Greg Minton from San Francisco
C Keith Moreland from Philadelphia
C Ted Simmons from St. Louis
1B Chris Chambliss from Atlanta
2B Ken Oberkfell from St. Louis
3B Bob Horner from Atlanta
SS Garry Templeton from St. Louis
LF Andre Dawson from Montreal
CF Mike Easler from Pittsburgh
RF Lonnie Smith from Philadelphia
1B Keith Hernandez from St. Louis
LF Claudell Washington from New York (N)
LF George Hendrick from St. Louis
CF Terry Puhl from Houston
3B Luis Salazar from San Diego
3B Mike Schmidt from Philadelphia

I’m a little disappointed that Ruhle got snubbed, but he does have a minor injury at the moment. Who would you rather have, Mike Schmidt or Bob Horner? J.R. Richard gets the start for the National League against the Yankees’ Tom Underwood. Gamble hits 4th.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
NL All-stars 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 6 11 2
AL All-stars 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 4 8 14 2

NL Allstars IP H R ER BB K PI PS ERA
J. Richard 3 2 0 0 1 2 41 24 1.04
J. Eichelberger 1.2 3 3 3 2 0 38 19 3.98
B. Hooton 2 3 0 0 1 2 39 21 2.81
D. Bair 0.2 1 1 1 0 1 8 5 1.76
J. Sambito 2 3 1 1 2 3 42 21 2.03
G. Minton L 0.1 2 3 3 2 0 21 7 1.91

AL Allstars IP H R ER BB K PI PS ERA
T. Underwood 3 1 0 0 0 3 35 20 2.58
M. Wilcox 1 4 4 4 0 0 23 13 3.56
A. Lopez 2 2 0 0 0 0 24 17 2.14
W. Garland 2 1 0 0 0 0 17 10 4.48
D. Quisenberry W 2 3 2 0 0 0 36 22 1.99

Richard and Gamble did indeed face off in the bottom of the first inning at the 1980 All-Star Game at Fenway Park. It was no contest. Richard smoked him in three pitches, capping it off with a fastball that Gamble couldn’t touch. But Gamble got the last laugh as his team won. Reggie Jackson & Ted Simmons each homered and Terry Puhl went one for two.

NEXT: End of July. Can Houston hold off Baltimore for the best record in baseball?

[Kelric]

I'd say keep the closer. You need a strong man for a playoff run, and I'd rather get a solid winning foundation down. Hope for free agency or a trade next season to bring in another dominant closer.

Keep these coming!

[bigdawg2003]

END OF JULY REPORT:
Record: 67-37, .644 winning %,
Standing: 1st place N.L. West, 13 games ahead of Los Angeles
Best in MLB: Houston
Worst in MLB: Chicago Cubs, 40-64, .385 winning %, 21 games behind St. Louis
Other Division Leaders:
N.L. East: St. Louis, 61-43, .587 winning %, seven games ahead of Philadelphia, eight ahead of Montreal

A.L. East: Baltimore & New York, 66-38, .635 winning %, four ahead of Detroit

A.L. West: California, 59-45, .567 winning %, one game ahead of Kansas City, four ahead of Oakland

Not the best month for the Astros. Baltimore & New York are closing in fast on the standings and starting SS Craig Reynolds will miss five weeks due to a pulled triceps. Rafael Landestoy will take his place in the #8 spot. Art Howe is having a good year, and as a reward is moved ahead of Cesar Cedeno in the batting order to the cleanup spot. Terry Puhl is beginning to fade but is still a quality leadoff man & I see no reason to drop him in the order. Joe Morgan is among the league leaders in steals, but is struggling to stay above .200. I decide to keep Joe Sambito, not risking disrupting a good thing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Only two deadline trades, and nothing of significance, although Pittsburgh did place Willie Stargell on the trading block. Nobody bit. All signs point towards a Houston-St. Louis NLCS, but the American League is impossible to tell. Baltimore & New York are the two best teams there, but one will not make it. California and Kansas City are still duking it out, but Oakland could jump into it easily with an August hot streak. J.R. Richard & Oscar Gamble continue their dominance of the league leaders board and a World Series matchup is not out of the question. At one point in July, Richard’s ERA slipped below one. This team needs a masher in the worst way. Art Howe leads the team in homers, but only has 13. There are several intriguing names in the potential free agents section, including Cincinnati C Johnny Bench, Montreal C Gary Carter & OF Andre Dawson, Boston OF Jim Rice, and New York (A) 3B Graig Nettles. Attendance has been excellent all year and I anticipate having some money to throw around in the free agent period. Rod Carew is hitting .385 to lead the league and it’s possible he could make a run at .400.

NEXT: End of August report. Can Gamble or Jackson make history?

[bigdawg2003]

END OF AUGUST REPORT
Record: 83-48, .634 winning %
Standing: 1st place, N.L. West, 16 games ahead of San Diego
Magic #: 14
Best in MLB: Houston
Worst in MLB: Toronto, 52-79, .397 winning %, 30 games behind Baltimore
Other Division Leaders:
N.L. East, St. Louis, 76-55, .580 winning %, seven games ahead of Montreal, Magic #: 23

A.L. East, Baltimore, 82-49, .626 winning %, three ahead of New York, four ahead of Detroit, Magic #: 27

A.L. West, California, 74-57, .565 winning %, two ahead of Kansas City, and five ahead of Oakland, magic #: 25

Craig Reynolds was activated off the DL, but Landestoy was hitting better than Reynolds, so Reynolds is now a backup. SS Mike Fischlin was demoted to make room. 1B Dave Bergman was hitting .300 in pinch-hit duties, so no need to send him to AAA, especially with super-prospect Danny Heep occupying first base there. Heep is considered to be the best prospect in the game, and for good reason also. He has a brilliant in hitting, with good talent in homers, walks, and strikeouts. I’m considering moving Howe to SS and sticking Heep at 1B for next season if Heep shows enough ratings improvement. (Howe has E’s in every infield position and I don’t want to risk teaching Heep a new position and him losing talent.) Maybe I won’t need to make a big free agent signing. St. Louis may look secure in the East, but they have four games with the Expos in September and several with me. It’s very possible that Montreal could snatch the title. The American League is just as big a crapshoot as it ever was. I feel bad for the Cubs though, playing horrible all year, and then losing the worst record to Toronto at the end. Hopefully it’s more than a one-player draft. Rod Carew’s pursuit of .400 is over, but Oscar Gamble could easily break Roger Maris’s homerun record, as he has 53 homers at the beginning of September. Reggie Jackson also is close with 50. J.R. Richard is a mortal lock for the N.L. Cy Young Award, leading in ERA, strikeouts, and is 3rd in wins, not to mention pitching for the best team in baseball. Gamble is likewise a lock for the A.L. MVP

NEXT: End of Season/September Report: J.R. Richard takes a no hitter into the bottom of the 9th. What happens? Disaster strikes Houston at the worst possible time. Who will go to the playoffs? Can Gamble or Jackson eclipse Maris? Who gets the #1 pick in the upcoming draft?

[bigdawg2003]

END OF SEASON/SEPTEMBER REPORT
Record: 104-58, .642 winning %
Standing: N.L. West champion! Clinched September 15th
Best in MLB: Houston
Worst in MLB: Minnesota, 64-98, .395 winning %
Other Division Winners:

N.L. East: St. Louis Cardinals, 88-74, .543 winning %, clinched October 1st
A.L. East: New York Yankees, 100-62, .617 winning %, clinched September 30th
A.L. West: California Angels, 92-70, .568 winning %, clinched September 30th

Lots of heartbreak for the Astros despite a division crown. First, J.R. Richard took a no-hitter into the bottom of the 9th on September 26th against San Diego. After retiring the first two hitters, he gave up a single to Broderick Perkins. Provided with no run support, the Astros lost 1-0 after Joaquin Andujar & Dave Smith couldn’t stop the Padre rally. But that was nothing compared to losing All-Star CF Terry Puhl for six weeks due to a torn abdominal muscle sustained on the base paths October 1st against Pittsburgh. Having clinched the division weeks earlier, I should have sat Puhl, but hopefully 2B Joe Morgan can get hot for the playoffs. Although his batting average is low, he possesses a .361 OBP and was among the league leaders in steals, so he can’t be all bad. RF Scott Loucks is called up from AAA as a defensive replacement. I said at the end of August Montreal could very possibly catch St. Louis. Well, St. Louis lost 10 of their 1st 12 September games, closing the gap to a single game. However, St. Louis held on to clinch the title with a four game advantage over the Expos. Baltimore was tops in the A.L. East for most of the season, but New York kept lurking and finally overtook them in September and secured homefield advantage for the ALCS against California, who also managed to break away from a pack that included Kansas City and Oakland. Minnesota gets the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, so it’ll be interesting to see who is available for the Twins. Yankee OF Reggie Jackson managed to tie Roger Maris at 61 homers for the season, winning the HR race over Oscar Gamble, who settled for 57. Gamble led the majors in runs, RBI, and OPS, so his AL MVP award looks secure. Richard, although losing a no hitter, leads the majors in ERA and strikeouts and is 3rd in wins. He is supposed to be great in the clutch. Lets see if it’s true.

END OF SEASON MLB LEADERS:

Batting Average:
1. R. Carew CAL .349
2. A. Oliver TEX .346
3. G. Brett KC .346
4. D. Stapleton BOS .339
5. J. Thompson CHW .335

Homeruns:
1. R. Jackson NYY 61
2. O. Gamble NYY 57
3. J. Mayberry TOR 45
4. D. Kingman CHC 41
5. M. Schmidt PHI 40

RBI:
1. O. Gamble NYY 165
2. R. Jackson NYY 140
3. C. Summers DET 124
4. T. Armas OAK 122
5. B. Oglivie MIL 119

Runs
1. O. Gamble NYY 148
2. E. Soderholm NYY 135
3. R. Jackson NYY 133
4. P. Molitor MIL 126
5. G. Brett KC 119

ERA
1. J. Richard HOU 1.10
2. V. Ruhle HOU 2.09
3. M. Norris OAK 2.33
4. N. Ryan HOU 2.42
5. S. Martinez STL 2.43

Strikeouts
1. J. Richard HOU 251
2. S. Carlton PHI 217
3. B. Blyleven PIT 165
4. L. Barker CLE 151
5. P. Vuckovich STL 145

Wins
1. S. Carlton PHI 22
2. V. Ruhle HOU 22
3. J. Richard HOU 21
4. J. Palmer BAL 20
5. P. Moskau CIN 19

Saves
1. J. Sambito HOU 55
2. R. Fingers SD 47
3. D. Quisenberry KC 43
4. A. Lopez DET 42
5. W. Fryman MON 41

NEXT: ALCS AND NLCS Game-By-Game breakdowns. It's down to the final four, who goes to the World Series? Will J.R. Richard shake off his heartbreaking loss against San Diego? Will the dynamic duo of Oscar Gamble and Reggie Jackson lead New York to the promised land? Can Rod Carew carry California to its first World Series appearance? Can St. Louis stop the Houston juggernaut in the 8th wonder of the world?

[The Professor]

...this has been a fantastic read! Keep 'em coming, I look forward to following the history of the Astros through the 1980s!

(Good luck in the NLCS! But my heart says, Go Cards! )

[bigdawg2003]

GAME 1 LCS REPORTS:

Game 1: 1980 NLCS, St. Louis Cardinals at Houston Astros, 7:05 ET, Tuesday, October 8th, 1980

Starting Pitchers:
St. Louis: Bob Forsch; 12-8, 3.28 ERA, 26 BB, 57 K
Houston: J.R. Richard; 21-2, 1.10 ERA, 56 BB, 251 K (No homers allowed all season!)

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) - A sellout crowd filled the Houston Astrodome on Tuesday night to watch their Houston Astros defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 in Game 1 of the 1980 National League Championship Series. Houston takes a 1-0 series lead into Wednesday night’s game at the Astrodome.
Astros LF Cesar Cedeno was the hero of the game, going two for four and driving in three of the Astros’ five runs. Two of those runs came off of an 8th inning double off St. Louis reliever John Urrea, who intentionally walked RF Jose Cruz with one out to get to Cedeno. Cedeno, who was one for three with a double before the 8th inning, considered it an insult that the Cardinals would walk Cruz to get to him.
“If they’re gonna walk Jose (Cruz) to get to me, thinking that they have a better chance of getting me out, I’m gonna make ‘em pay, and that’s exactly what I did. Maybe that taught them a lesson, who knows. It was a hard fought game, but I felt we were the better team tonight.” Cedeno said in the post game press conference, after Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog defended the move.
Houston fireballer J.R. Richard was not quite his usual dominating self, but still pitched a fine game, throwing six innings, allowing seven hits, a walk, one earned run, and striking out eight Cardinal hitters. Dave Smith and Joe Sambito added three innings of scoreless relief to secure the victory. Losing pitcher Bob Forsch also pitched well, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out one in six innings, but two Cardinal errors by C Ted Simmons and 1B Keith Hernandez led to two unearned runs, which proved too much for the Cardinals.

Game 1: 1980 ALCS, California Angels at New York Yankees, 7:05 ET, Tuesday, October 8th, 1980

Starting Pitchers:
California: Steve Trout, 13-13, 3.78 ERA, 61 BB, 82 K
New York: Tom Underwood, 18-5, 3.09 ERA, 70 BB, 118 K

NEW YORK, New York (AP) - The shaky California Angels bullpen was rocked by a pair of 7th inning homers by New York Yankee bench players Joe Lefebvre and Ruppert Jones as the Yankees took Game 1 of the 1980 ALCS 8-7 over the visiting Angels. The two teams meet again tomorrow night.
The Angels jumped out of the gates quickly for three runs in the first three innings, while pitcher Steve Trout held the Bronx Bombers scoreless. But the Yankees came roaring back, scoring all of their eight runs in the next four innings, capped off by a four run seventh that saw Lefebvre hit a solo homer off of reliever Dave Lemanczyc, who took over in the 6th for Trout, while Jones put the final nail in the coffin with a three run shot of Jim Barr later in the inning. Yankee closer Rich “Goose” Gossage pitched a scoreless 9th to finish off the Angels. Yankee All-Star OF Reggie Jackson was benched for tonight’s game due to his struggles against left-handed pitchers. The other half of the Yankees dynamic duo, OF Oscar Gamble, couldn’t figure out the Angels on this night, going 0-4. Gamble was disappointed in himself, but was glad his teammates could pick up the slack.
“I know the team relies on me a lot to get on base and drive in runs, and it sucks not to be able to step up in a big game like this, but Ruppert and Jimbo (Lefebvre) came through big and without them, we wouldn’t be here.”
Angels manager Gene Mauch was incensed with what he thought was subpar umpiring throughout the game and made his opinions known in the post-game press conference.
“That was ****** umpiring any ******* way you look at it! MLB needs to pick the best umpires for the playoffs, and they really dropped the ******* ball on this one, that man needs to have his *** kicked on the streets and never let near any ************* ballpark ever again!”
The Commissioner is expected to make a decision regarding Mauch’s comments before Game 2.

NEXT: Game 2 breakdowns. The Astros and Yankees hold 1-0 leads. Can they expand on them, or will California and/or St. Louis turn the LCS into a best of five affair? Will J.R. Richard ever allow a homerun in 1980?