1981 Boston Red Sox season

1981 Boston Red Sox
Major league affiliations
American League (since 1901) Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Fenway Park (since 1912) Boston, Massachusetts (since 1901)
1981 information
Owner(s)	JRY Trust, Buddy LeRoux, Haywood Sullivan
Manager(s)	Ralph Houk
Local television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Ned Martin, Ken Harrelson)
Local radio	WITS-AM 1510 (Ken Coleman, Jon Miller)
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The 1981 Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing 5th in the American League East with a record of 59 wins and 49 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike.

Offseason

• On October 27, 1980: the Red Sox lured Ralph Houk out of retirement to become the 35th Manager in Red Sox history.

• December 10, 1980: The Red Sox traded shortstop Rick Burleson and third baseman Butch Hobson to the California Angels in exchange for Carney Lansford, former Red Sox player Rick Miller, and Mark Clear. Burleson was unhappy with his contract negotiations with the Red Sox and hinted at leaving via free agency.^{[citation needed]}

• January 23, 1981: Fred Lynn and Steve Renko were traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for Joe Rudi, Jim Dorsey and Frank Tanana.

Regular season

Notable transactions

• April 8, 1981: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners for Manny Sarmiento.
• June 8, 1981: Steve Lyons was drafted by the Red Sox in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft.

Season standings

AL East First Half standings	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
New York Yankees	34	22	.607	—
Baltimore Orioles	31	23	.574	2.0
Milwaukee Brewers	31	25	.554	3.0
Detroit Tigers	31	26	.544	3.5
Boston Red Sox	30	26	.536	4.0
Cleveland Indians	26	24	.520	5.0
Toronto Blue Jays	16	42	.276	19.0

AL East Second Half standings	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
Milwaukee Brewers	31	22	.585	—
Boston Red Sox	29	23	.558	1.5
Detroit Tigers	29	23	.558	1.5
Baltimore Orioles	28	23	.549	2.0
Cleveland Indians	26	27	.491	5.0
New York Yankees	25	26	.490	5.0
Toronto Blue Jays	21	27	.438	7.5

Opening Day lineup

24	Dwight Evans	RF
11	Dave Stapleton	2B
26	Joe Rudi	DH
14	Jim Rice	LF
5	Tony Pérez	1B
4	Carney Lansford	3B
18	Glenn Hoffman	SS
39	Gary Allenson	C
3	Rick Miller	CF
43	Dennis Eckersley	P

Roster

1981 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 45 Luis Aponte 16 Tom Burgmeier 22 Bill Campbell 25 Mark Clear 28 Steve Crawford 43 Dennis Eckersley 47 Bruce Hurst 19 Bob Ojeda 42 Chuck Rainey 46 Bob Stanley 40 Frank Tanana 21 Mike Torrez 30 John Tudor		Catchers 39 Gary Allenson 10 Rich Gedman 29 John Lickert 50 Dave Schmidt Infielders 18 Glenn Hoffman  4 Carney Lansford  5 Tony Pérez  2 Jerry Remy 11 Dave Stapleton 12 Julio Valdez  1 Chico Walker		Outfielders 24 Dwight Evans 37 Garry Hancock  3 Rick Miller 51 Reid Nichols 17 Tom Poquette 14 Jim Rice Designated hitters 26 Joe Rudi  8 Carl Yastrzemski		Manager 35 Ralph Houk Coaches 32 Tommy Harper 33 Walt Hriniak  6 Johnny Pesky 34 Lee Stange 36 Eddie Yost

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	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Gedman, RichRich Gedman	62	205	59	.288	5	26
1B	Pérez, TonyTony Pérez	84	306	77	.252	9	39
2B	Remy, JerryJerry Remy	88	358	110	.307	0	31
3B	Lansford, CarneyCarney Lansford	102	399	134	.336	4	52
SS	Hoffman, GlennGlenn Hoffman	78	242	56	.231	1	20
LF	Rice, JimJim Rice	108	451	128	.284	17	62
CF	Miller, RickRick Miller	97	316	92	.291	2	33
RF	Evans, DwightDwight Evans	108	412	122	.296	22	71
DH	Yastrzemski, CarlCarl Yastrzemski	91	338	83	.246	7	53

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
Stapleton, DaveDave Stapleton	93	355	101	.285	10	42

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

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

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

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Pawtucket Red Sox	International League	Joe Morgan
AA	Bristol Red Sox	Eastern League	Tony Torchia
A	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	Buddy Hunter
A	Winter Haven Red Sox	Florida State League	Rac Slider
Short-Season A	Elmira Suns	New York-Penn League	Dick Berardino

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 
• 1981 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1981 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com