Rookie of the Year: Joe Charboneau, 1980

Outfielder, Cleveland Indians

Age:  25 (June 17)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 205

Prior to 1980:

Born in Illinois and raised in Santa Clara, California, Charboneau played baseball at Buchser High School without distinction. Moving on to West Valley College, where he excelled in his first season, hitting .373 with 12 home runs he was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the January 1976 amateur draft, but chose to return to college play for a second year and was then picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the secondary phase draft in June. Signed for a $5000 bonus, Charboneau initially was assigned to Spartanburg of the Class A Western Carolinas League where he batted .298 with 4 home runs and 18 RBIs over 43 games. Moving on to Peninsula of the Class A Carolina League in 1977, Charboneau performed poorly and hit .172 over 12 games. Frustrated because the Phillies would not return him to Spartanburg, he quit and went home to Santa Clara. He returned to baseball in 1978 and batted a league-leading .350 with Visalia of the Class A California League, in addition to hitting 18 home runs and driving in 116 RBIs. In the offseason the Phillies traded Charboneau to the Indians who assigned him to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League where he won another batting championship by hitting .352 along with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs. Already notable for quirky behavior and a volatile temper as well as batting talent, Charboneau went to spring training with the Indians in 1980 with the expectation that he would spend the season in Class AAA. A season-ending knee injury to first baseman Andre Thornton led to left fielder Mike Hargrove being shifted to first, thus opening a spot for Charboneau, who quickly had an impact on the team and became a fan favorite.

1980 Season Summary

Appeared in 131 games

LF – 67, DH – 56, RF – 1, PH – 11, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 512

At Bats – 453

Runs – 76

Hits – 131

Doubles – 17

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 23 [13, tied with Robin Yount]

RBI – 87 [14, tied with Robin Yount]

Bases on Balls – 49

Int. BB – 0

Strikeouts – 70

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .289

OBP - .358

Slugging Pct. - .488 [11]

Total Bases – 221

GDP – 24 [2, tied with Lance Parrish, Steve Kemp & Rick Burleson]

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 6

Midseason snapshot: HR - 11, RBI - 42, AVG - .291, SLG PCT - .465

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Most hits, game – 3 on eight occasions

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Seattle 7/23 – 11 innings

HR at home – 13

HR on road – 10

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 at Seattle 7/23 – 11 innings

Pinch-hitting/running – 5 of 8 (.625) with 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R & 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 136

Put Outs – 125

Assists – 6

Errors – 5

DP - 1

Pct. - .963

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

AL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Joe Charboneau, Clev.: 102 pts. – 15 of 28 first place votes, 73% share

Dave Stapleton, Bos.: 40 pts. – 3 first place votes, 29% share

Doug Corbett, Min.: 38 pts. – 3 first place votes, 27% share

Damaso Garcia, Tor.: 35 pts. – 3 first place votes, 25% share

Britt Burns, ChiWS.: 33 pts. – 4 first place votes, 24% share

Indians went 79-81 to finish sixth in the AL Eastern Division, 23 games behind the division-winning New York Yankees while hitting the fewest home runs in the league (89). It was the club’s third straight sixth-place finish.

Aftermath of ‘80:

The player who was given the nickname “Super Joe” by a Cleveland sportswriter during his big rookie season fell back to earth in 1981. A back injury caused his hitting to suffer, he was defensively limited in left field, and he ended up spending part of the strike-interrupted season with the Charleston Charlies of the Class AAA International League. He ended up batting a lowly .217 for Charleston and .210 for the Indians with just 4 home runs and 18 RBIs. In the offseason he had the first of multiple back surgeries and got off to another poor start with the Indians in 1982. Charboneau was hitting .214 with only two home runs when he was sent down to Charleston again in June. His performance continued its decline and he ended the year back in Class AA with Chattanooga. In 1983 he was assigned to the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AA Eastern League and hit .200 in 11 games before he was released after making an obscene gesture toward jeering fans. In 1984 Charboneau appeared as a member of the fictional New York Knights in the movie The Natural. He then signed a minor-league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who sent him to Prince William of the Carolina League where he batted .289 with just 8 home runs over the course of 108 games. Moving on to Hawaii of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League following the end of Prince William’s season, he hit .224 in 15 games, thus ending his career. In his brief time with Cleveland, Charboneau appeared in 201 games and batted .266 with 172 hits that included 26 doubles, 4 triples, and 29 home runs along with 114 RBIs. He went on to manage a summer collegiate league team and coach at the collegiate and independent minor league levels. The much-storied Charboneau, who was a colorful presence with the Indians, ended up becoming an ambassador for the team, trading on the notoriety he achieved during his outstanding rookie year. 

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.