1981 New York Yankees season
| 1981 New York Yankees | |
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AL East Champions American League Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | George Steinbrenner |
| General manager(s) | Gene Michael |
| Manager(s) | Gene Michael, Bob Lemon |
| Local television | (Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White) |
| Local radio |
WABC (AM) (Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Fran Healy) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The New York Yankees' 1981 season was the 79th season for the Yankees. In the ALCS, the Yankees swept the Oakland Athletics for their only pennant of the 1980s. However, they lost in the World Series in 6 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York was managed by Gene Michael and Bob Lemon. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.
Offseason
- November 18, 1980: Brad Gulden was traded by the New York Yankees with $150,000 to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later and Larry Milbourne. The Seattle Mariners sent back Brad Gulden (May 18, 1981) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.[1] In effect, Brad Gulden was traded for himself.
- December 8, 1980: Brian Doyle was drafted from the Yankees by the Oakland Athletics in the 1980 rule 5 draft.[2]
- December 15, 1980: Dave Winfield was signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.[3]
- February 16, 1981: Rafael Santana was traded by the Yankees to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending George Frazier to the Yankees on June 7.[4]
- March 31, 1981: Chris Welsh, Ruppert Jones, Joe Lefebvre, and Tim Lollar were traded by the Yankees to the San Diego Padres for Jerry Mumphrey and John Pacella.[5]
Regular season
The team finished in first place in the American League East for the first half of the season with a 34-22 record, but finished fifth in the second half with a 25-26 record, for an overall record of 59-48. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike and the league chose as its playoff teams, the division winners from the first and second halves of the season, respectively.
Notable transactions
- April 6, 1981: Johnny Oates was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.[6]
- May 20, 1981: Jim Spencer and Tom Underwood were traded by the Yankees to the Oakland Athletics for Dave Revering, Mike Patterson, and Chuck Dougherty (minors).[7]
- June 12, 1981: Doug Bird, a player to be named later, and $400,000 were traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Reuschel. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Mike Griffin to the Cubs on August 5.[8]
- August 19, 1981: Pat Tabler was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for players to be named later. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Bill Caudill to the Yankees on April 1, 1982 and Jay Howell to the Yankees on August 2.[9]
Draft picks
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
- John Elway was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round.[10]
- Phil Lombardi was drafted by the Yankees in the 3rd round.[11]
- Eric Plunk was drafted by the Yankees in the 4th round. Player signed June 15, 1981.[12]
- Fred McGriff was drafted by the Yankees in the 9th round. McGriff signed on June 11, 1981.[13]
Season standings
| AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 62 | 47 | 0.569 | — | 28–21 | 34–26 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 59 | 46 | 0.562 | 1 | 33–22 | 26–24 |
| New York Yankees | 59 | 48 | 0.551 | 2 | 32–19 | 27–29 |
| Detroit Tigers | 60 | 49 | 0.550 | 2 | 32–23 | 28–26 |
| Boston Red Sox | 59 | 49 | 0.546 | 2½ | 30–23 | 29–26 |
| Cleveland Indians | 52 | 51 | 0.505 | 7 | 25–29 | 27–22 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 37 | 69 | 0.349 | 23½ | 17–36 | 20–33 |
| AL East First Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 34 | 22 | .607 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 31 | 23 | .574 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 31 | 25 | .554 |
| Detroit Tigers | 31 | 26 | .544 |
| Boston Red Sox | 30 | 26 | .536 |
| Cleveland Indians | 26 | 24 | .520 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 16 | 42 | .276 |
| AL East Second Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 31 | 22 | .585 |
| Boston Red Sox | 29 | 23 | .558 |
| Detroit Tigers | 29 | 23 | .558 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 28 | 23 | .549 |
| Cleveland Indians | 26 | 27 | .491 |
| New York Yankees | 25 | 26 | .490 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 21 | 27 | .438 |
Record vs. opponents
1981 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 2–2 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–2 | 6–7 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 6–0 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 5–2 |
| Boston | 2–2 | — | 2–4 | 5–4 | 7–6 | 6–1 | 3–3 | 6–7 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 3–6 | 4–0 |
| California | 6–6 | 4–2 | — | 6–7 | 7–5 | 3–3 | 0–6 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–8 | 6–4 | 2–4 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 6–3 | 4–5 | 7–6 | — | 2–5 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 2–4 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–2 | — | 1–5 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 2–1 | 7–5 | 3–2 | 8–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 |
| Detroit | 7–6 | 1–6 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–1 | — | 3–2 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 3–7 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 6–4 |
| Kansas City | 3–5 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 0–2 | 4–4 | 2–3 | — | 4–5 | 9–4 | 2–10 | 3–3 | 6–7 | 3–4 | 5–3 |
| Milwaukee | 4–2 | 7–6 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 6–3 | 8–5 | 5–4 | — | 9–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 4–5 | 6–4 |
| Minnesota | 0–6 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 3–3 | 2–8 | 3–6–1 | 5–8 | 5–1 |
| New York | 6–7 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–3 | 10–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | — | 4–3 | 2–3 | 5–4 | 2–3 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–2 | 6–7 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 8–2 | 3–4 | — | 6–1 | 4–2 | 10–2 |
| Seattle | 2–4 | 3–9 | 4–6 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 1–5 | 7–6 | 2–2 | 6–3–1 | 3–2 | 1–6 | — | 5–8 | 3–3 |
| Texas | 1–2 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–9 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 8–5 | 4–5 | 2–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–2 |
| Toronto | 2–5 | 0–4 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–5 | 4–6 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–10 | 3–3 | 2–6 | — |
Roster
| 1981 New York Yankees | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Cerone, RickRick Cerone | 71 | 234 | 23 | 57 | .244 | 2 | 21 | 0 |
| 1B | Watson, BobBob Watson | 59 | 156 | 15 | 33 | .212 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| 2B | Randolph, WillieWillie Randolph | 93 | 357 | 59 | 83 | .232 | 2 | 24 | 14 |
| SS | Dent, BuckyBucky Dent | 73 | 227 | 20 | 54 | .238 | 7 | 27 | 0 |
| 3B | Nettles, GraigGraig Nettles | 103 | 349 | 46 | 85 | .244 | 15 | 46 | 0 |
| LF | Winfield, DaveDave Winfield | 105 | 388 | 52 | 114 | .294 | 13 | 68 | 11 |
| CF | Mumphrey, JerryJerry Mumphrey | 80 | 319 | 44 | 98 | .307 | 6 | 32 | 14 |
| RF | Jackson, ReggieReggie Jackson | 94 | 334 | 33 | 79 | .237 | 15 | 54 | 0 |
| DH | Murcer, BobbyBobby Murcer | 50 | 117 | 14 | 31 | .265 | 6 | 24 | 0 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamble, OscarOscar Gamble | 80 | 189 | 45 | .238 | 10 | 27 |
| Milbourne, LarryLarry Milbourne | 61 | 163 | 51 | .313 | 1 | 12 |
| Piniella, LouLou Piniella | 60 | 159 | 44 | .277 | 5 | 18 |
| Foote, BarryBarry Foote | 40 | 125 | 26 | .208 | 6 | 10 |
| Revering, DaveDave Revering | 45 | 119 | 28 | .235 | 2 | 7 |
| Spencer, JimJim Spencer | 25 | 63 | 9 | .143 | 2 | 4 |
| Brown, BobbyBobby Brown | 31 | 62 | 14 | .226 | 0 | 6 |
| Werth, DennisDennis Werth | 34 | 55 | 6 | .109 | 0 | 1 |
| Oates, JohnnyJohnny Oates | 10 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 0 |
| Patterson, MikeMike Patterson | 4 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Righetti, DaveDave Righetti | 15 | 105.1 | 8 | 4 | 2.05 | 89 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bird, DougDoug Bird | 17 | 53.1 | 5 | 1 | 2.70 | 28 |
| Underwood, TomTom Underwood | 9 | 32.2 | 1 | 4 | 4.41 | 29 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frazier, GeorgeGeorge Frazier | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1.63 | 17 |
| Wehrmeister, DaveDave Wehrmeister | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.14 | 7 |
Postseason
ALDS
Main article: 1981 American League Division Series
New York wins series, 3-2.
| Game | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York 5, Milwaukee 3 | October 7 |
| 2 | New York 3, Milwaukee 0 | October 8 |
| 3 | Milwaukee 5, New York 3 | October 9 |
| 4 | Milwaukee 2, New York 1 | October 10 |
| 5 | New York 7, Milwaukee 3 | October 11 |
ALCS
Main article: 1981 American League Championship Series
New York Yankees win the Series over the Oakland Athletics, 3-0
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland – 1, New York – 3 | October 13 | Yankee Stadium | 55,740 |
| 2 | Oakland – 3, New York – 13 | October 14 | Yankee Stadium | 48,497 |
| 3 | New York – 4, Oakland – 0 | October 15 | Oakland Coliseum | 47,302 |
World Series
Main article: 1981 World Series
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 5 | October 20 | Yankee Stadium (New York) | 56,470 | 2:32 |
| 2 | Dodgers – 0, Yankees – 3 | October 21 | Yankee Stadium (New York) | 56,505 | 2:29 |
| 3 | Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 5 | October 23 | Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) | 56,236 | 3:04 |
| 4 | Yankees – 7, Dodgers – 8 | October 24 | Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) | 56,242 | 3:32 |
| 5 | Yankees – 1, Dodgers – 2 | October 25 | Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) | 56,115 | 2:19 |
| 6 | Dodgers – 9, Yankees – 2 | October 28 | Yankee Stadium (New York) | 56,513 | 3:09 |
Awards and honors
- Tommy John, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
- Dave Righetti was honored as the AL Rookie of the Year.
- Graig Nettles, Most Valuable Player in the AL Championship Series.
Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, Greensboro, Oneonta, Paintsville[15]
Notes
- ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guldebr01.shtml
- ↑ Brian Doyle page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Dave Winfield page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Rafael Santana page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Chris Welsh page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Johnny Oates page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Dave Revering page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Rick Reuschel page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Pat Tabler page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ 1981 MLB June Draft Second Round Picks
- ↑ Phil Lombardi page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Eric Plunk page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Fred McGriff page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/1981.shtml
- ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
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