1980 Southern League season

1980 Southern League season Southern League Baseball April 11 – September 1 144 10 Regular season Nashville Sounds Steve Balboni, Nashville Sounds Playoffs Charlotte Orioles Memphis Chicks List of Southern League seasons SL 1979 Southern League season 1979 1981 Southern League season 1981 The 1980 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 11 and September 1. Ten teams played a 144-game schedule, with the top team in each division in each half of the season qualifying for the post-season. The Charlotte Orioles won the Southern League championship, as they defeated the Memphis Chicks in the playoffs. Team changes The Knoxville Sox ended their affiliation with the Chicago White Sox and began a new affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays. The club was renamed to the Knoxville Blue Jays. The Nashville Sounds ended their affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds and began a new affiliation with the New York Yankees. Teams 1980 Southern League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium East Charlotte Orioles Charlotte, North Carolina Baltimore Orioles Jim Crockett Memorial Park Columbus Astros Columbus, Georgia Houston Astros Golden Park Jacksonville Suns Jacksonville, Florida Kansas City Royals Wolfson Park Orlando Twins Orlando, Florida Minnesota Twins Tinker Field Savannah Braves Savannah, Georgia Atlanta Braves Grayson Stadium West Chattanooga Lookouts Chattanooga, Tennessee Cleveland Indians Engel Stadium Knoxville Blue Jays Knoxville, Tennessee Toronto Blue Jays Bill Meyer Stadium Memphis Chicks Memphis, Tennessee Montreal Expos Tim McCarver Stadium Montgomery Rebels Montgomery, Alabama Detroit Tigers Paterson Field Nashville Sounds Nashville, Tennessee New York Yankees Herschel Greer Stadium Map of teams left 10px East Division 10px West Division 1015 425 370 190 650 USA 2000 USA 35.20 -80.86 Blue pog.svg 80 top Charlotte #ffe USA 32.45 -84.99 Blue pog.svg 80 top Columbus #ffe USA 30.33 -81.64 Blue pog.svg 80 top Jackson-ville #ffe USA 28.54 -81.40 Blue pog.svg 80 top Orlando #ffe USA 32.04 -81.08 Blue pog.svg 80 top Savannah #ffe USA 35.05 -85.29 Red pog.svg 80 top Chattan-ooga #ffe USA 35.98 -83.91 Red pog.svg 80 top Knoxville #ffe USA 35.12 -89.98 Red pog.svg 80 top Memphis #ffe USA 32.38 -86.29 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Mont-gomery #ffe USA 36.14 -86.77 Red pog.svg 80 top Nashville #ffe Regular season Summary The Nashville Sounds finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time in team history. Standings 1980 SOUL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed March 3, 2025 East Division Team Win Loss % GB Savannah Braves 77 67 77 67 – Columbus Astros 76 68 76 68 1 Charlotte Orioles 72 72 72 72 5 Orlando Twins 65 78 65 78 11.5 Jacksonville Suns 63 81 63 81 14West Division Nashville Sounds 97 46 97 46 – Memphis Chicks 83 61 83 61 14.5 Montgomery Rebels 68 76 68 76 29.5 Chattanooga Lookouts 61 83 61 83 36.5 Knoxville Blue Jays 57 87 57 87 40.5 League Leaders Batting leaders 1980 SL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 3, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Chris Bando, Chattanooga Lookouts .349 H Buck Showalter, Nashville Sounds 178 R Steve Balboni, Nashville Sounds 101 2B Ron Johnson, Jacksonville Suns 40 3B Ted Wilborn, Nashville Sounds 14 HR Steve Balboni, Nashville Sounds 34 RBI Steve Balboni, Nashville Sounds 122 SB Tony Johnson, Memphis Chicks 60 Pitching leaders 1980 SL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 3, 2025 Stat Player Total W Jim MacDonald, Columbus Astros 17 ERA Andy McGaffigan, Nashville Sounds 2.38 CG George Cappuzzello, Montgomery Rebels Larry Pashnick, Montgomery Rebels Bryn Smith, Memphis Chicks Don Welchel, Charlotte Orioles 12 SHO George Cappuzzello, Montgomery Rebels 6 SV Stuart Livingstone, Savannah Braves 17 IP Steve Bedrosian, Savannah Braves 203.0 SO Steve Bedrosian, Savannah Braves 161 Playoffs The Charlotte Orioles won their first Southern League championship, defeating the Memphis Chicks in four games. Playoff bracket Division finals Finals E1 Savannah 0 E2 Charlotte 3 W1 Nashville 1 W2 Memphis 3 E2 Charlotte 3 W2 Memphis 1 Awards Southern League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Steve Balboni, Nashville Sounds Pitcher of the Year Andy McGaffigan, Nashville Sounds Manager of the Year Stump Merrill, Nashville Sounds See also 1980 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website Southern League season Category:1980 in sports in Alabama Category:1980 in sports in Florida Category:1980 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:1980 in sports in North Carolina Category:1980 in sports in Tennessee