1980 Philadelphia Philles: Cardiac Kids

1980 Philadelphia Philles: Cardiac Kids

1980 Philadelphia Phillies: Cardiac Kids

The Philadelphia Phillies were known as the “Cardiac Kids” in 1980 because of the fact that many of their games came down to the wire, and either in victory or in defeat the Phillies made the hearts of baseball fans race. The Phillies went 91-71 in 1980, finishing just 1 game ahead of the Montreal Expos to win the National League East division. The Phillies went 9-9 against the Expos in head-to-head play. The Phillies went 49-32 at home and 42–39 on the road.

Right fielder Arnold “Bake” McBride batted .309 with 9 home runs and 87 RBI’s off 171 hits, 33 doubles, 10 triples and 13 stolen bases. Second baseman Manny Trillo batted .292 with 7 home runs, 155 hits, 25 doubles and 9 triples. Third baseman Mike Schmidt batted .286 with 48 home runs and 121 RBI’s off 157 hits, 25 doubles, 8 triples and 12 stolen bases. First baseman Pete Rose batted 282 with 185 hits, 42 doubles and 12 stolen bases. Reserve left fielder Lonnie Smith batted .339 with 101 hits, 14 doubles and 33 stolen bases in 100 games.

Shortstop Larry Bowa had 144 hits, 16 doubles and 21 stolen bases. Center fielder Garry Maddox had 11 home runs and 73 RBI’s off 142 hits, 31 doubles and 25 stolen bases. Catcher Bob Boone had 9 home runs, 110 hits and 23 doubles. Reserve catcher Keith Moreland batted .314 with 4 home runs and 50 hits in 62 games. Left fielder Greg Luzinski had 19 home runs, 84 hits and 19 doubles in 106 games.

Starting pitcher Steve Carlton won the Cy Young Award for his performances in 1980, going 24-9 with an astonishing 286 strikeouts and a 2.34 ERA, recording 13 complete games and 3 shutouts. Dick Ruthven went 17-10 with 86 strikeouts and a 3.55 ERA. Recording 6 complete games and 1 shutout. Bob Walk went 11-7 with 94 strikeouts and 2 complete games. Nino Espinosa had a 3.77 ERA and 1 complete game despite going 3-5. Larry Christenson went 5-1. Closer Tug McGraw went 5-4 with 20 saves, 75 strikeouts and a 1.46 ERA. Relief pitcher Ron Reed went 7-5 with 9 saves. Dickie Noles had 6 saves and a 3.89 ERA. Kevin Saucier went 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA. Warren Brusstar went 2-2 with a 3.72 ERA.

The Cardiac Kids got off to a slow start in April as they went 6-9, but they got stronger as the regular season went along. The Phillies went 17-9 in May, 14-14 in June, 15-14 in July, 16-14 in August, 19-10 in September and 4-1 in October.

The Phillies faced the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series, and in Game 1 on October 7 at Veterans Stadium, the Phillies won 3-1. Steve Carlton pitched 7 innings and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks and 1 run, but recorded 3 strikeouts. In the top of the 3rd inning right fielder Gary Woods had an RBI single, but Philadelphia responded in the bottom of the 6th with a booming 2-run home run shot by Greg Luzinski, and pinch hitting outfielder Greg Gross had an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th.

In Game 2 on October 8 the Astros beat the Phillies 7-4. In the top of the 3rd inning right fielder Terry Puhl had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 4th Luzinski had an RBI double, and Garry Maddox had an RBI single. In the top of the 7th Puhl had an RBI double. In the top of the 8th left fielder Jose Cruz had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 8th Maddox had an RBI single. In the top of the 10th Cruz had an RBI single, center fielder Cesar Cedeno followed by hitting into a fielder’s choice to score middle infielder Rafael Ladnestoy, and then first baseman Dave Bergman had a 2-run triple. In the bottom of the 10th Pete Rose grounded into a force-out at second base to score Larry Bowa, but the Phillies fell short.

In Game 3 on October 10 at Houston’s Astrodome, the Astros shut out the Phillies 1-0. Knuckleball specialist Joe Niekro pitched 10 innings and gave up 6 hits and 1 walk, but recorded 2 strikeouts. The only score occurred in the bottom of the 11th inning when first baseman and right fielder Denny Walling had a walk-off sacrifice fly to score Landestoy.

In Game 4 on October 11 the Phillies won 5-3. The Astros got on the board first with a sacrifice fly by first baseman Art Howe in the bottom of the 4th inning. Landestoy then had an RBI single in the bottom of the 5th. In the top of the 8th Rose and Schmidt both had RBI singles, and then Manny Trillo hit into a fly ball double play to score Rose. Terry Puhl tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with an RBI single, but in the top of the 10th Luzinski and Trillo both had RBI doubles.

In the deciding Game 5 on October 12 the Phillies won a nail-biting 8-7 contest. In the bottom of the 1st inning Jose Cruz had an RBI single, and in the top of the 2nd Bob Boone had a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 6th catcher Alan Ashby had a pinch hit RBI single. In the bottom of the 7th Walling had an RBI single, a wild pitch scored Cruz, and then Howe followed with an RBI triple. Rose drew a bases loaded walk in the top of the 8th to score Bowa, Moreland grounded into a force-out at second base to score Boone, pinch hitting right fielder Del Unser had an RBI single, and the Trillo had a 2-run triple. In the bottom of the 8th Landestoy and Cruz both had RBI singles to tie the game, but in the top of the 8th Garry Maddox had an RBI double to win the National League pennant for the Phillies. Manny Trillo would be named NLCS Most Valuable Player.

The 1980 World Series pitted the Philadelphia Phillies against the American League Champion Kansas City Royals, and in Game 1 on October 14 at Veterans Stadium the Phillies won 7-6. In the top of the 2nd inning center fielder Amos Otis belted a 2-run home run, and in the top of the 3rd first baseman Willie Aikens belted his own 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 3rd Boone had an RBI double, Lonnie Smith had an RBI single, and Bake McBride pounded a 3-run home run. In the bottom of the 4th Boone had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 5th Maddox had a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 8th Aikens belted another 2-run home run, but the Royals fell 1 run short.

In Game 2 on October 15 the Phillies won 6-4. In the bottom of the 5th inning Trillo had a sacrifice fly and Larry Bowa had an RBI single. In the top of the 6th Aikens reached on an error to score Otis, and Otis then had a 2-run double in the top of the 7th. Catcher John Wathan followed by hitting into a fly ball double play to score designated hitter Hal McRae. In the bottom of the 8th Unser had an RBI double, McBride had an RBI single, Schmidt had an RBI double, and then Moreland had an RBI single.

In Game 3 on October 17 at Royals Stadium, the Royals beat the Phillies 4-3. In the bottom of the 1st inning third baseman George Brett hit a solo home run, and in the top of the 2nd Smith had an RBI ground-out. In the bottom of the 4th McRae had an RBI single, and in the top of the 5th Schmidt hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 7th Otis hit a solo home run, and in the top of the 8th Rose had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 10th Aikens had a walk-of RBI single.

In Game 4 on October 18 the Royals won 5-3. In the bottom of the 1st inning Brett had an RBI triple, Aikens clubbed a 2-run home run, and then Otis had an RBI double. In the top of the 2nd Bowa had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 2nd Aikens hit a solo home run. In the top of the 7th Boone had a sacrifice fly, and in the top of the 8th Schmidt had his own sacrifice fly, but the Phillies fell short.

In Game 5 on October 19 the Phillies won 4-3. In the top of the 4th inning Mike Schmidt blasted a 2-run home run. After George Brett had an RBI ground-out in the bottom of the 5th, Amos Otis hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 6th, and shortstop U.L. Washington had a sacrifice fly to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. However, the Phillies fought back in the top of the 9th when Del Unser had an RBI double, and Manny Trillo gave Philadelphia the game with an infield RBI single.

Going back to Veterans Stadium for Game 6 on October 21, the Phillies beat the Royals 4-1 to win their first World Series championship in franchise history. Steve Carlton played a big role in claiming the Commissioner’s Trophy as he pitched 7 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 walks and 1 run, but he recorded 7 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 3rd Schmidt had a 2-run single, McBride had an RBI ground-out in the bottom of the 5th, and Boone had an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th. In the top of the 8th U.L. Washington had a sacrifice fly, but that would be all from Kansas City.

Winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award with a unanimous vote, Mike Schmidt would also be selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player to go along with an All-Star Game appearance as a reserve. Carlton and Rose were also All-Star Game reserves. Tug McGraw would receive the Babe Ruth Award for the most outstanding player throughout the postseason.