1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers 1981 World Series Champions
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1890) Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Dodger Stadium (since 1962) Los Angeles, California (since 1958)
1981 information
Owner(s)	Peter O'Malley
General manager(s)	Al Campanis
Manager(s)	Tommy Lasorda
Local television	KTTV (11)
Local radio	KABC Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter KTNQ Jaime Jarrin, Rudy Hoyos
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The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season got off to a strong start when rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day, starting the craze that came to be known as "Fernandomania." Fernando went on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards.

The season was divided into two halves because of a players strike in mid-season. The Dodgers won the Western Division of the National League in the first half and advanced to the playoffs. They beat the Houston Astros in a divisional playoff and the Montreal Expos in the National League Championship Series before beating the New York Yankees to win the World Series.

Contents 1 Offseason 2 Regular season 2.1 Season standings 2.2 Opening Day lineup 2.3 Roster 3 Notable transactions 4 Starting Pitchers stats 5 Relief Pitchers stats 6 Batting Stats 7 Postseason 7.1 1981 National League Division Series 7.1.1 Game 1 7.1.2 Game 2 7.1.3 Game 3 7.1.4 Game 4 7.1.5 Game 5 7.2 1981 National League Championship Series 7.2.1 Game 1 7.2.2 Game 2 7.2.3 Game 3 7.2.4 Game 4 7.2.5 Game 5 8 1981 World Series 8.1 Game 1 8.2 Game 2 8.3 Game 3 8.4 Game 4 8.5 Game 5 8.6 Game 6 9 1981 Awards 10 Farm system 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links

Offseason

• January 13, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft (January draft) notable picks:

Round 16: Benny Distefano (did not sign) ^[1]

• March 30, 1981: Acquired Ken Landreaux^[2] from the Minnesota Twins for Mickey Hatcher and Matt Reeves

Regular season

Season standings

NL West First Half Standings	W	L	Pct.
Los Angeles Dodgers	36	21	.632
Cincinnati Reds	35	21	.625
Houston Astros	28	29	.491
Atlanta Braves	25	29	.463
San Francisco Giants	27	32	.458
San Diego Padres	23	33	.411

NL West Second Half Standings	W	L	Pct.
Houston Astros	33	20	.623
Cincinnati Reds	31	21	.596
San Francisco Giants	29	23	.558
Los Angeles Dodgers	27	26	.509
Atlanta Braves	25	27	.481
San Diego Padres	18	36	.333

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name	Position
Davey Lopes	Second baseman
Ken Landreaux	Center fielder
Dusty Baker	Left fielder
Steve Garvey	First baseman
Ron Cey	Third baseman
Pedro Guerrero	Right fielder
Mike Scioscia	Catcher
Bill Russell	Shortstop
Fernando Valenzuela	Starting pitcher

Roster

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 37 Bobby Castillo 51 Terry Forster 38 Dave Goltz 46 Burt Hooton 57 Steve Howe 49 Tom Niedenfuer 26 Alejandro Peña 25 Ted Power 41 Jerry Reuss 48 Dave Stewart 43 Rick Sutcliffe 34 Fernando Valenzuela 35 Bob Welch		Catchers  9 Jerry Grote 14 Mike Scioscia  7 Steve Yeager Infielders 10 Ron Cey 36 Pepe Frias  6 Steve Garvey 15 Davey Lopes  5 Mike Marshall 45 Jack Perconte 18 Bill Russell 52 Steve Sax  8 Reggie Smith 30 Derrel Thomas  1 Gary Weiss		Outfielders 12 Dusty Baker 22 Mark Bradley 13 Joe Ferguson 28 Pedro Guerrero 21 Jay Johnstone 44 Ken Landreaux 47 Candy Maldonado 17 Bobby Mitchell 16 Rick Monday 50 Ron Roenicke		Manager  2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches 54 Monty Basgall 58 Mark Cresse 11 Manny Mota 33 Danny Ozark 29 Ron Perranoski

Notable transactions

• April 17, 1981: Don Stanhouse was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[3]
• June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft (June draft) notable picks:

Round 1: Dave Anderson

Round 2: Sid Bream and Lemmie Miller^[4]

Round 3: Sid Fernandez

Round 5: John Franco

Round 9: Stu Pederson^[5]

Secondary Phase

Round 1: Ralph Bryant^[6]

Starting Pitchers stats

Name	G	GS	IP	ERA	W/L	BB	SO	CG
Fernando Valenzuela	25	25	192.3	2.48	13-7	61	180	11
Burt Hooton	23	23	142.3	2.28	11-6	33	74	5
Bob Welch	23	23	141.3	3.44	9-5	41	88	2
Jerry Reuss	22	22	152.7	2.30	10-4	27	51	8

Relief Pitchers stats

Name	G	GS	IP	ERA	W/L	BB	SO	SV
Steve Howe	41	0	54.0	2.50	5-3	18	32	8
Bobby Castillo	34	1	50.7	5.33	2-4	18	32	5
Dave Stewart	32	0	43.3	2.49	4-3	14	29	6
Terry Forster	21	0	30.7	4.11	0-1	15	17	0
Dave Goltz	26	8	77.0	4.09	2-7	25	48	1
Rick Sutcliffe	14	6	47.0	4.02	2-2	20	16	0
Tom Niedenfuer	17	0	26.0	3.81	3-1	6	12	2
Alejandro Pena	14	0	25.3	2.84	1-1	11	14	2
Ted Power	5	2	14.3	3.14	1-3	7	7	0

Batting Stats

Name	Pos	G	AB	Avg.	R	H	HR	RBI	SB
Mike Scioscia	C	93	290	.276	27	80	2	29	0
Steve Yeager	C	42	86	.209	5	18	3	7	0
Jerry Grote	C	2	2	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Garvey	1B	110	431	.283	63	122	10	64	3
Davey Lopes	2B	58	214	.289	35	44	5	17	20
Bill Russell	SS	82	262	.233	20	61	0	22	2
Ron Cey	3B	85	312	.288	42	90	13	50	0
Derrel Thomas	2B/3B/SS/OF	80	218	.248	25	54	4	24	7
Steve Sax	2B	31	119	.277	15	33	2	9	5
Pepe Frias	SS/2B/3B	25	36	.250	6	9	0	3	0
Reggie Smith	1B	41	35	.200	5	7	1	8	0
Mike Marshall	1B/3B/OF	14	25	.200	2	5	0	1	0
Gary Weiss	SS	14	19	.105	2	2	0	1	0
Jack Perconte	2B	8	9	.222	2	2	0	1	1
Dusty Baker	OF	103	400	.320	48	128	9	49	10
Pedro Guerrero	OF/3B/1B	98	347	.300	46	104	12	48	5
Ken Landreaux	OF	99	390	.251	48	98	7	41	18
Rick Monday	OF	66	130	.315	24	41	11	25	1
Jay Johnstone	OF/1B	61	83	.205	8	17	3	6	0
Ron Roenicke	OF	22	47	.234	6	11	0	0	1
Joe Ferguson	OF	17	14	.143	2	2	0	1	0
Candy Maldonado	OF	11	12	.093	0	1	0	0	0
Bobby Mitchell	OF	10	5	.125	0	1	0	0	0
Mark Bradley	OF	9	6	.167	2	1	0	0	0

Postseason

1981 National League Division Series

In the divisional series, the Dodgers fell behind the Houston Astros two games to zero but came back to win the next three games to take the series and advance to the LCS.

Game 1

October 6, The Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Houston	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	8	0
W: Nolan Ryan (1-0)  L: Dave Stewart (0-1)
HRs: LA – Steve Garvey (1)  HOU – Alan Ashby (1)

Game 2

October 7, The Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	9	0
W: Joe Sambito (1-0)  L: Dave Stewart (0-2)
HRs: LA – none   HOU – none

Game 3

October 9, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	2
Los Angeles	3	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	X	6	10	0
W: Burt Hooton (1-0)  L: Bob Knepper (0-1)
HRs: HOU – Art Howe (1)  LA – Steve Garvey (2)

Game 4

October 10, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	0
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	X	2	4	0
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-0)  L: Vern Ruhle (0-1)
HRs: HOU – none  LA – Pedro Guerrero (1)

Game 5

October 11, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	3
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	X	4	7	2
W: Jerry Reuss (1-0)  L: Nolan Ryan (1-1)
HRs: HOU – none  LA – none

1981 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers faced the Montreal Expos in the 1981 NLCS and beat them three games to two, thanks to a ninth-inning home run by Rick Monday in Game 5.

Game 1

October 13, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Montreal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	9	0
Los Angeles	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	X	5	8	0
W: Burt Hooton (1-0)  L: Bill Gullickson (0-1)
HRs: MON – None  LAD – Pedro Guerrero (1), Mike Scioscia (1)
Pitchers: MON – Gullickson, Reardon (8)  LAD – Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9)
Attendance: 51,273

Game 2

October 14, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Montreal	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	10	1
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
W: Ray Burris (1-0)  L: Fernando Valenzuela (0-1)
HRs: MON – None  LAD – None
Pitchers: MON – Burris  LAD – Valenzuela, Niedenfuer (7), Forster (7), Pena (7), Castillo (9)
Attendance: 53,463

Game 3

October 16, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Montreal	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	X	4	7	1
W: Steve Rogers (1-0)  L: Jerry Reuss (0-1)
HRs: LAD – None  MON – Jerry White (1)
Pitchers: LAD – Reuss, Pena (8)  MON – Rogers
Attendance: 54,372

Game 4

October 17, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	4	7	12	1
Montreal	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
W: Burt Hooton (2-0)  L: Bill Gullickson (0-2)
HRs: LAD – Steve Garvey (1)  MON – None
Pitchers: LAD – Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9)  MON – Gullickson, Fryman (8), Sosa (9), Lee (9)
Attendance: 54,499

Game 5

October 19, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	6	0
Montreal	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-1)  L: Steve Rogers (1-1)  SV: Bob Welch (1)
HRs: LAD – Rick Monday (1)  MON – None
Pitchers: LAD – Valenzuela, Welch (9)  MON – Burris, Rogers (9)
Attendance: 36,491

1981 World Series

The Dodgers met the New York Yankees in the World Series once again.. this time beating them in six games to claim their first championship since 1965.

Game 1

October 20, Yankee Stadium, New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	3	5	0
New York	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	X	5	6	0
W: Ron Guidry (1-0)  L: Jerry Reuss (0-1)  SV: Goose Gossage (1)
HRs: LAD – Steve Yeager (1)  NY – Bob Watson (1)

Game 2

October 21, Yankee Stadium, New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
New York	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	X	3	6	1
W: Tommy John (1-0)  L: Burt Hooton (0-1)  SV: Goose Gossage (2)
HRs: LAD – none  NY – none

Game 3

October 23, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	9	0
Los Angeles	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	X	5	11	1
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-0)  L: George Frazier (0-1)  SV: none)
HRs: NY – Rick Cerone (1), Bob Watson (2)  LA – Ron Cey (1)

Game 4

October 24, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	1	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	7	13	1
Los Angeles	0	0	2	0	1	3	2	0	X	8	14	2
W: Steve Howe (1-0)  L: George Frazier (0-2)  SV: none)
HRs: NY – Willie Randolph (1), Reggie Jackson (1)  LA – Jay Johnstone (1)

Game 5

October 25, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	X	2	4	3
W: Jerry Reuss (1-1)  L: Ron Guidry (1-1)  SV: none
HRs: NY – none   LA – Pedro Guerrero (1), Steve Yeager (2)

Game 6

October 28, Yankee Stadium, New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	1	3	4	0	1	0	9	13	1
New York	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	7	2
W: Burt Hooton (1-1)  L: George Frazier (0-3)  SV: Steve Howe (1)
HRs: LAD – Pedro Guerrero (2)   NY – Willie Randolph (2)

1981 Awards

1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Fernando Valenzuela starter Davey Lopes starter Dusty Baker reserve Steve Garvey reserve Pedro Guerrero reserve Burt Hooton reserve National League Rookie of the Year Fernando Valenzuela National League Cy Young Award Fernando Valenzuela NLCS Most Valuable Player Burt Hooton World Series Most Valuable Player Ron Cey Pedro Guerrero Steve Yeager Gold Glove Award Dusty Baker Roberto Clemente Award Steve Garvey

Baseball Digest Rookie All-Star Dave Stewart Fernando Valenzuela TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award Fernando Valenzuela TSN Pitcher of the Year Award Fernando Valenzuela Silver Slugger Award Fernando Valenzuela Dusty Baker TSN Major League Player of the Year Award Fernando Valenzuela TSN National League All-Star Fernando Valenzuela Pedro Guerrero NL Pitcher of the Month Fernando Valenzuela (April 1981) NL Player of the Week Fernando Valenzuela (Apr. 6-12) Ron Cey (May 11–17) Fernando Valenzuela (Aug. 31-Sep. 6)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Albuquerque Dukes	Pacific Coast League	Del Crandall
AA	San Antonio Dodgers	Texas League	Don LeJohn
High A	Lodi Dodgers	California League	Terry Collins
High A	Vero Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	Stan Wasiak
Rookie	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	Gary LaRocque

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Notes

References

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page

External links

• 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
• Los Angeles Dodgers official web site

1981 MLB season by team AL East Baltimore • Boston • Cleveland • Detroit • Milwaukee • New York • Toronto AL West California • Chicago • Kansas City • Minnesota • Oakland • Seattle • Texas NL East Chicago • Montréal • New York • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • St. Louis NL West Atlanta • Cincinnati • Houston • Los Angeles • San Diego • San Francisco 1981 Major League Baseball Draft • 1981 All-Star Game • 1981 strike • 1981 World Series

Preceded by Houston Astros 1980	NL West Championship Season 1981	Succeeded by Atlanta Braves 1982
Preceded by Philadelphia Phillies 1980	National League Championship Season 1981	Succeeded by St. Louis Cardinals 1982
Preceded by Philadelphia Phillies 1980	World Series Champions Los Angeles Dodgers 1981	Succeeded by St. Louis Cardinals 1982

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Los Angeles Dodgers 1981 World Series Champions 6 Steve Garvey | 7 Steve Yeager (World Series MVP) | 8 Reggie Smith | 10 Ron Cey (World Series MVP) | 12 Dusty Baker | 14 Mike Scioscia | 15 Davey Lopes | 16 Rick Monday | 18 Bill Russell | 21 Jay Johnstone | 28 Pedro Guerrero (World Series MVP) | 30 Derrel Thomas | 34 Fernando Valenzuela | 35 Bob Welch | 37 Bobby Castillo | 38 Dave Goltz | 41 Jerry Reuss | 44 Ken Landreaux | 46 Burt Hooton | 48 Dave Stewart | 49 Tom Niedenfuer | 51 Terry Forster | 52 Steve Sax | 57 Steve Howe Manager 2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches: 11 Manny Mota | 29 Ron Perranoski | 33 Danny Ozark | 54 Monty Basgall | 58 Mark Cresse Regular season • National League Division Series • National League Championship Series • Rivalry