As baseball ushered in the 80's the National League was riding a three decade winning streak much like the American League had from the 30's-50's. Surprisingly, most of their wins came after late-inning comebacks and extra-innings.
The American League knew that great pitching would be the key to victory as many of the new players who were replacing the retiring All-Star journeymen were major threats at the plate. They got their wish as starter Steve Stone pitched three perfect innings (becoming the first to do so since Denny McLain in 1966). Tommy John did the same for another 1 2/3 innings. By then, the American League even had a 2-0 lead.
The American League pitchers kept the National League in check by throwing a perfect game into the fifth. Then as expected, the National League made a spectacular comeback that had become their signature at the midsummer classic. Ken Griffey started the rally off with a homerun. With one out, singles by Ray Knight, Phil Garner and George Hendrick tied it. Ed Farmer replaced John and Dave Winfield blistered a ground ball that Willie Randolph couldn't handle. Garner scored the go-ahead run and the American League went down to their ninth straight loss. Much like 1960 and 1970, it was the start of a new decade, but the same old All-Star Game.
"The National League has better individual players, more true superstars, and it's that talent that comes out in the end." - Los Angeles Dodger Outfielder Reggie Smith
1980 All-Star Game1980 All-Star Game Official Program |
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1980 All-Star Game Fast Facts | ||
Game Number | 51 | |
Date / Box Score | 07-08-1980 | |
Location | Dodger Stadium | |
Attendance (Rank) | 56,088 | |
M.V.P. Award | Ken Griffey | |
League Items | A.L. | N.L. |
Starting Pitchers | Steve Stone | J.R. Richard |
Managers | Earl Weaver | Chuck Tanner |
Coaches | Jim Frey | John McNamara |
Frank Robinson | Bill Virdon | |
Honorary Captains | Al Kaline | Roy Campanella |
1980 All-Star Game Fast Facts |
1980 All-Star GameLine Score |
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1980 All-Star Game Capsule | ||||||||||||
League | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
American | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
National | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | x | 4 | 7 | 0 |
A.L. Pitcher(s) | N.L. Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Steve Stone Tommy John (L, 4th) Ed Farmer (6th) Dave Stieb (7th) Rich Gossage (8) |
J.R. Richard Bob Welch (3rd) Jerry Reuss (W, 6th) Jim Bibby (7th) Bruce Sutter (S, 8th) |
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A.L. Home Runs | N.L. Home Runs | |||||||||||
Fred Lynn (5th) | Ken Griffey (5th) |
1980 All-Star GameAmerican League All-Star Squad |
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Lineup | Name | Team | Position | Notes |
Buddy Bell | Texas Rangers | 3B | ||
George Brett | Kansas City Royals | 3B | Injured | |
Al Bumbry | Baltimore Orioles | OF | ||
Tom Burgmeier | Boston Red Sox | P | Did Not Pitch | |
2. | Rod Carew | California Angels | 1B | |
Cecil Cooper | Milwaukee Brewers | 1B | ||
8. | Bucky Dent | New York Yankees | SS | |
Ed Farmer | Chicago White Sox | P | ||
6. | Carlton Fisk | Boston Red Sox | C | |
Rich Gossage | New York Yankees | P | ||
Bobby Grich | California Angels | 2B | ||
Larry Gura | Kansas City Royals | P | Did Not Pitch | |
Rickey Henderson | Oakland Athletics | OF | ||
Rick Honeycutt | Seattle Mariners | P | Did Not Pitch | |
4. | Reggie Jackson | New York Yankees | OF | |
Tommy John | New York Yankees | P | ||
Ken Landreaux | Minnesota Twins | OF | ||
3. | Fred Lynn | Boston Red Sox | OF | |
Paul Molitor | Milwaukee Brewers | 2B | Injured | |
7. | Graig Nettles | New York Yankees | 3B | |
5. | Ben Oglivie | Milwaukee Brewers | OF | |
Al Oliver | Texas Rangers | OF | ||
Jorge Orta | Cleveland Indians | OF | Did Not Play | |
Lance Parrish | Detroit Tigers | C | ||
Darrell Porter | Kansas City Royals | C | ||
1. | Willie Randolph | New York Yankees | 2B | |
Jim Rice | Boston Red Sox | OF | Injured | |
Dave Stieb | Toronto Blue Jays | P | ||
9. | Steve Stone | Baltimore Orioles | P | Starting Pitcher |
Alan Trammell | Detroit Tigers | SS | ||
Robin Yount | Milwaukee Brewers | SS | ||
BOLD = Fan's choice to start the game (Manager chooses pitcher). |
1980 All-Star GameNational League All-Star Squad |
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Lineup | Name | Team | Position | Notes |
5. | Johnny Bench | Cincinnati Reds | C | |
Jim Bibby | Pittsburgh Pirates | P | ||
Vida Blue | San Francisco Giants | P | Injured | |
Steve Carlton | Philadelphia Phillies | P | Did Not Pitch | |
Gary Carter | Montreal Expos | C | ||
Dave Concepcion | Cincinnati Reds | SS | ||
Jose Cruz | Houston Astros | OF | Did Not Play | |
Phil Garner | Pittsburgh Pirates | 2B | ||
4. | Steve Garvey | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1B | |
Ken Griffey | Cincinnati Reds | OF | ||
George Hendrick | St. Louis Cardinals | OF | ||
Keith Hernandez | St. Louis Cardinals | 1B | ||
6. | Dave Kingman | Chicago Cubs | OF | |
Ray Knight | Cincinnati Reds | 3B | ||
1. | Davey Lopes | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2B | |
Dale Murphy | Atlanta Braves | OF | ||
3. | Dave Parker | Pittsburgh Pirates | OF | |
7. | Ken Reitz | St. Louis Cardinals | 3B | |
Jerry Reuss | Los Angeles Dodgers | P | ||
9. | J.R. Richard | Houston Astros | P | Starting Pitcher |
Pete Rose | Philadelphia Phillies | 1B | ||
8. | Bill Russell | Los Angeles Dodgers | SS | |
Mike Schmidt | Philadelphia Phillies | 3B | Injured | |
2. | Reggie Smith | Los Angeles Dodgers | OF | |
John Stearns | New York Mets | C | ||
Bruce Sutter | Chicago Cubs | P | ||
Kent Tekulve | Pittsburgh Pirates | P | Did Not Pitch | |
Bob Welch | Los Angeles Dodgers | P | ||
Ed Whitson | San Francisco Giants | P | Did Not Pitch | |
Dave Winfield | San Diego Padres | OF | ||
BOLD = Fan's choice to start the game (Manager chooses pitcher).Game / Box Links: 1980 Box Score | 1980 Play-by-Play |
The home run hit by Fred Lynn during the fifth inning was his third career All-Star home run. His earlier long balls were hit during the 1976 All-Star Game and 1979 All-Star Game.
Ken Griffey broke up the no-hit gem by slamming a home run during the fifth inning off Tommy John which earned him the All-Star Most Valuable Player Award.
Did you know that this was the first and only All-Star Game ever held / played in Dodger Stadium?