1981 Boston Red Sox season
| 1981 Boston Red Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Division | Eastern Division | |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Owners | Buddy LeRoux, Haywood Sullivan, Jean Yawkey | |
| Managers | Ralph Houk | |
| Television | WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Ned Martin, Ken Harrelson) | |
| Radio | WITS-AM 1510 (Ken Coleman, Jon Miller) | |
| ||
The 1981 Boston Red Sox season was the 81st season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, play during the regular season was suspended for 50 days, and the season was split into two halves, with playoff teams determined by records from each half of the season. In the first half of the season, the Red Sox finished fifth in the American League East with a record of 30 wins and 26 losses, four games behind the New York Yankees. In the second half of the season, the Red Sox finished second in the division with a record of 29 wins and 23 losses, 1½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Red Sox' overall record for the season was 59 wins and 49 losses.
Offseason
- On October 27, 1980: the Red Sox lured Ralph Houk out of retirement to become the 35th Manager in Red Sox history.[1]
- 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.[1] 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.[2]
Regular season
Notable transactions
- April 8, 1981: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners for Manny Sarmiento.[3]
- June 8, 1981: Steve Lyons was drafted by the Red Sox in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft.[4]
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. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 34 | 22 | .607 | — |
| Baltimore Orioles | 31 | 23 | .574 | 2 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 31 | 25 | .554 | 3 |
| Detroit Tigers | 31 | 26 | .544 | 3+1⁄2 |
| Boston Red Sox | 30 | 26 | .536 | 4 |
| Cleveland Indians | 26 | 24 | .520 | 5 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 16 | 42 | .276 | 19 |
| AL East Second Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 31 | 22 | .585 | — |
| Boston Red Sox | 29 | 23 | .558 | 1+1⁄2 |
| Detroit Tigers | 29 | 23 | .558 | 1+1⁄2 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 28 | 23 | .549 | 2 |
| Cleveland Indians | 26 | 27 | .491 | 5 |
| New York Yankees | 25 | 26 | .490 | 5 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 21 | 27 | .438 | 7+1⁄2 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
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
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Designated hitters
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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 | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Rich Gedman | 62 | 205 | 59 | .288 | 5 | 26 |
| 1B | Tony Pérez | 84 | 306 | 77 | .252 | 9 | 39 |
| 2B | Jerry Remy | 88 | 358 | 110 | .307 | 0 | 31 |
| 3B | Carney Lansford | 102 | 399 | 134 | .336 | 4 | 52 |
| SS | Glenn Hoffman | 78 | 242 | 56 | .231 | 1 | 20 |
| LF | Jim Rice | 108 | 451 | 128 | .284 | 17 | 62 |
| CF | Rick Miller | 97 | 316 | 92 | .291 | 2 | 33 |
| RF | Dwight Evans | 108 | 412 | 122 | .296 | 22 | 71 |
| DH | Carl 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave 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 |
|---|
Awards and honors
- Mark Clear – AL Pitcher of the Month (May)
- Dwight Evans – Silver Slugger Award (OF), Gold Glove Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (May)
- Carney Lansford – Silver Slugger Award (3B)
- Dwight Evans, reserve OF
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol
Notes
- ^ a b The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p.58, World Publications Group, North Dighton, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-57215-412-8
- ^ Joe Rudi page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Steve Lyons 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.
- 1981 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
- 1981 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
