1981 New York Mets season
| 1981 New York Mets | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:NewYorkMets.gif | ||
| Division | Eastern Division | |
| Ballpark | Shea Stadium | |
| City | New York | |
| Owners | Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Jr. | |
| Managers | Joe Torre | |
| Television | WOR-TV | |
| Radio | WMCA (Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy, Steve Albert, Art Shamsky) | |
| ||
The New York Mets' 1981 season was the 20th regular season for the Mets. They went 41–62 and finished in fifth place in the National League East. They were managed by Joe Torre. They played home games at Shea Stadium. The season is remembered for a summer strike that cut the season in half.
Offseason
- November 16, 1980: Kevin Mitchell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[1]
- December 15, 1980: José Moreno and John Pacella were traded by the Mets to the San Diego Padres for Randy Jones.[2]
- December 15, 1980: Rick Sweet was purchased by the Mets from the San Diego Padres.[3]
- December 16, 1980: Rusty Staub was signed as a free agent by the Mets.[4]
- December 19, 1980: Mike Cubbage was signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.[5]
- January 13, 1981: Randy Milligan was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft.[6]
Regular season
Season standings
| NL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 59 | 43 | 0.578 | — | 32–21 | 27–22 |
| Montreal Expos | 60 | 48 | 0.556 | 2 | 38–18 | 22–30 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 48 | 0.551 | 2½ | 36–19 | 23–29 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 46 | 56 | 0.451 | 13 | 22–28 | 24–28 |
| New York Mets | 41 | 62 | 0.398 | 18½ | 24–27 | 17–35 |
| Chicago Cubs | 38 | 65 | 0.369 | 21½ | 27–30 | 11–35 |
| NL East First Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 34 | 21 | .618 | — |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 30 | 20 | .600 | 1+1⁄2 |
| Montreal Expos | 30 | 25 | .545 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 25 | 23 | .521 | 5+1⁄2 |
| New York Mets | 17 | 34 | .333 | 15 |
| Chicago Cubs | 15 | 37 | .288 | 17+1⁄2 |
| NL East Second Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Expos | 30 | 23 | .566 | — |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 29 | 23 | .558 | 1⁄2 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 25 | 27 | .481 | 4+1⁄2 |
| New York Mets | 24 | 28 | .462 | 5+1⁄2 |
| Chicago Cubs | 23 | 28 | .451 | 6 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 21 | 33 | .389 | 9+1⁄2 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 3–2–1 | 6–5 | 4–8 | 7–7 | 3–7 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 2–3 | 9–6 | 5–7 | 4–3 | |||||
| Chicago | 2–3–1 | — | 1–5 | 1–6 | 6–4 | 4–7 | 5–8–1 | 2–10 | 4–10 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 5–4–1 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 5–6 | 5–1 | — | 8–4 | 8–8 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 9–5 | 0–5 | |||||
| Houston | 8–4 | 6–1 | 4–8 | — | 4–8 | 5–2 | 6–3 | 4–6 | 2–4 | 11–3 | 9–6 | 2–4 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 7–7 | 4–6 | 8–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 6–5 | 7–5 | 5–5 | |||||
| Montreal | 7–3 | 7–4 | 4–5 | 2–5 | 2–5 | — | 9–3 | 7–4 | 10–3 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 6–9 | |||||
| New York | 3–3 | 8–5–1 | 3–7 | 3–6 | 1–5 | 3–9 | — | 7–7 | 3–6–1 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 6–5 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 5-4 | 10–2 | 2–5 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 7–7 | — | 7–5 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 7–6 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 3–2 | 10–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–10 | 6–3–1 | 5–7 | — | 6–4 | 3–7 | 3–8 | |||||
| San Diego | 6–9 | 3–3 | 2–10 | 3–11 | 5–6 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 4–6 | — | 6–7 | 3–7 | |||||
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 5–5 | 5–9 | 6–9 | 5–7 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 7–3 | 7–6 | — | 2–3 | |||||
| St. Louis | 3–4 | 4–5–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–3 | 3–2 | — | |||||
Notable Transactions
- April 3, 1981: John Csefalvay (minors) was traded by the Mets to the Houston Astros for Gary Rajsich.[7]
- April 5, 1981: Dan Boitano was purchased by the New York Mets from the Milwaukee Brewers.[8]
- April 6, 1981: Butch Benton was sent to the Chicago Cubs by the New York Mets as part of a conditional deal.[9]
- May 29, 1981: Jeff Reardon and Dan Norman were traded by the Mets to the Montreal Expos for Ellis Valentine.[10]
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
- John Christensen was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round.[11]
- Roger Clemens was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round, but did not sign.[12]
- Lenny Dykstra was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round. Player signed July 3, 1981.[13]
- Lou Thornton was drafted by the Mets in the 19th round.[14]
- June 15, 1981: Bill Latham was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[15]
- August 19, 1981: Mike Marshall was signed as a free agent by the Mets.[16]
Roster
| 1981 New York Mets roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RF | Ellis Valentine | 48 | 169 | 35 | .207 | 5 | 21 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusty Staub | 70 | 161 | 51 | .317 | 5 | 21 |
| Alex Treviño | 56 | 149 | 39 | .262 | 0 | 10 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Jones | 13 | 59.1 | 1 | 8 | 4.85 | 14 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Marshall | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.61 | 8 |
| Jeff Reardon | 18 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.45 | 28 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jackson
Notes
- ^ Kevin Mitchell page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jose Moreno page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rick Sweet page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rusty Staub page at Baseball Reference
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cubbami01.shtml
- ^ Randy Milligan page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Gary Rajsich page at Baseball Reference
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/boitada01.shtml
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bentobu01.shtml
- ^ Jeff Reardon page at Baseball Reference
- ^ John Christensen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Roger Clemens page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Lenny Dykstra page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Lou Thornton page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bill Latham page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mike Marshall page at Baseball Reference
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
