MVP Profile: George Brett, 1980

Third Baseman, Kansas City Royals

Age:  27 (May 15)

7^th season with Royals

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 185

Prior to 1980:

Born in West Virginia, Brett grew up in El Segundo, California as the fourth of a string of baseball-playing brothers (another of them, Ken, became a major league pitcher). As a senior shortstop he batted .339 with 7 home runs as the El Segundo High School team won the state championship. Following high school Brett was chosen by the Royals in the second round of the 1971 amateur draft. Playing in the Rookie-level Pioneer League in ‘71 with the Billings Mustangs he was shifted to third base and batted .291 in 68 games. Moving up to San Jose of the Class A California League in 1972 he hit .274 with 10 home runs and 68 RBIs. In 1973 Brett played for Omaha of the Class AAA American Association where he batted .284 with 8 home runs and 64 RBIs, thus earning an August promotion to the Royals. He appeared in 13 games and hit .125. Starting the 1974 season with Omaha Brett returned to the Royals in May and took over at third base. Having difficulty with hitting consistently, he received instruction from esteemed batting instructor Charlie Lau, who changed him from a pull hitter to one who hit to all fields and improved his patience at the plate. Over the course of 133 games he batted .282 with just two home runs and 47 RBIs and impressed with his fielding. He broke out in 1975 with a .308 average and league-leading 195 hits and he also tied for the AL lead with 13 triples. His home run total was a modest 11 but he drove in 90 runs. In 1976 Brett was an All-Star for the first time and narrowly won his first batting title (.333) while once again topping the AL with 215 hits and 14 triples. In one stretch he had six consecutive three-hit games. He finished second in AL MVP voting as the Royals won their first of three straight AL West titles. In 1977 his home run total rose to 22 and he hit .312 with 88 RBIs, along with 32 doubles and 13 triples. Battling injuries in 1978 the home runs dropped to 9 but Brett topped the AL with 45 doubles and he batted .294. While the Royals dropped to second place in 1979 Brett led the AL with 212 hits and 20 triples to go along with his 23 home runs and 107 RBIs. An intense and ever-hustling performer, he was an All-Star for the fourth straight season and well established as one of baseball’s best players.    

1980 Season Summary

Appeared in 117 games

3B – 112, PH – 4, 1B – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 515

At Bats – 449

Runs – 87 [17, tied with Tony Armas & Carney Lansford]

Hits – 175 [15, tied with Tony Armas]

Doubles – 33 [10, tied with Cecil Cooper & Dave Stapleton]

Triples – 9 [6, tied with four others]

Home Runs – 24 [9, tied with Lance Parrish, Jim Rice & Ken Singleton]

RBI – 118 [2, tied with Ben Oglivie]

Bases on Balls – 58

Int. BB – 16 [2]

Strikeouts – 22

Stolen Bases – 15

Caught Stealing – 6

Average - .390 [1]

OBP - .454 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .664 [1]

Total Bases – 298 [8]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 7 [16, tied with six others]

League-leading batting average was +.038 ahead of runner-up Cecil Cooper

League-leading OBP was +.027 ahead of runner-up Willie Randolph

League-leading slugging pct. was +.067 ahead of runner-up Reggie Jackson

Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at Milwaukee 8/26

Longest hitting streak – 30 games

HR at home – 13

HR on road – 11

Most home runs, game – 1 on 24 occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Toronto 8/17

Pinch-hitting – 1 of 3 (.333) with 1 HR & 4 RBI

Fielding

Chances - 376

Put Outs – 103

Assists – 256

Errors – 17

DP – 28

Pct. - .955

Postseason Batting: 9 G (ALCS vs. NY Yankees – 3 G; World Series vs. Philadelphia – 6 G)

PA – 38, AB – 35, R – 6, H – 12, 2B – 3,3B – 1, HR – 3, RBI – 7, BB – 3, IBB – 1, SO – 4, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .343, OBP - .395, SLG -.743, TB – 26, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

Silver Slugger

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

George Brett, KC: 335 pts. - 17 of 28 first place votes, 85% share

Reggie Jackson, NYY: 234 pts. –5 first place votes, 60% share

Rich Gossage, NYY: 218 pts. – 4 first place votes, 56% share

Willie Wilson, KC: 169 pts. – 1 first place vote, 43% share

Cecil Cooper, Mil.: 160 pts. – 41% share

(1 first place vote for Rick Cerone, NYY, who ranked seventh)

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Royals went 97-65 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 14 games over the Oakland Athletics while leading the league in hits (1633), triples (59), stolen bases (185), and batting (.286). Won ALCS over the New York Yankees, 3 games to 0, highlighted by Brett’s 3-run home run at Yankee Stadium to cap the sweep. Lost World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘80:

Brett and the Royals had a tougher time during the strike-interrupted 1981 season. Hemorrhoid surgery cost him two weeks during spring training and his batting average dropped to .314 although he was still an All-Star, but his typically affable nature gave way to some temperamental outbursts during the frustrating season. He batted .301 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs in a 1982 season in which he missed 16 games due to injury. Brett’s 1983 season was highlighted by “The Pine Tar Incident” in which his apparent game-leading home run against the Yankees was negated when New York manager Billy Martin challenged the legality of Brett’s bat due to the extent of pine tar on the handle in violation of major league rules. The umpire crew called Brett out, negating the home run, drawing the protest of a furious Brett. AL President Lee MacPhail ultimately overturned the umpires’ decision. For the year Brett hit .310 with 25 home runs and 93 RBIs and led the AL with a .563 slugging percentage. He missed the first 33 games of the 1984 season due to knee surgery and finished up with 13 home runs, 69 RBIs, and a .284 batting average. Brett followed up with a big year in 1985 in which he hit .335 with 30 home runs and 112 RBIs and finished second in AL MVP voting as the Royals won the pennant and World Series. Brett suffered through injury-marred seasons in 1986 and ’87 and was shifted to first base in ’87 (still garnering All-Star recognition). He bounced back offensively in 1988 to hit .306 with 42 doubles, 24 home runs, and 103 RBIs. Following an off-year in 1989, Brett came back in 1990 to win his third (and final) batting championship with a .329 average to go along with a league-leading 45 doubles, 14 home runs, and 87 RBIs. His career continued until 1993, with Brett primarily appearing as a Designated Hitter in his last few seasons. For his major league career, played exclusively with the Royals, he batted .305 with 3154 hits that included 665 doubles, 137 triples, and 317 home runs. He also compiled 1596 RBIs and scored 1583 runs. In the postseason he added 10 home runs, 23 RBIs, and a .337 average in 43 total games, and was MVP of the 1985 World Series. Brett was a 13-time All-Star and was awarded one Gold Glove and three Silver Sluggers. The Royals retired his #5 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.