1981 New York Yankees season

Season for the Major League Baseball team the New York Yankees March 2026 November 2013 New York Yankees 1981 American League champions American League East champions American League East Yankee Stadium New York City 1st half: 34–22 (.607) 2nd half: 25–26 (.490) Overall: 59–48 (.551) 1st half: 1st 2nd half: 5th (tied; 5 GB) George Steinbrenner Gene Michael Gene Michael, Bob Lemon WPIXSportsChannel NY(Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White) WABC (AM)(Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Fran Healy) The 1981 New York Yankees season was the franchise's 79th season. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Yankees competed as members of the American League East, finishing first in the first half of the season, and tying for fifth in the second half of the season; overall, they won 59 games while losing 48. The team advanced to the postseason due to their first-half first-place finish, where they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League Division Series and the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series, capturing the Yankees' only pennant of the 1980s. The Yankees then lost the World Series in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium and were managed by Gene Michael until September 5, and by Bob Lemon thereafter. 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.https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guldebr01.shtml Brad Gulden Stats 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.Brian Doyle page at Baseball Reference December 15, 1980: Dave Winfield was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.Dave Winfield page at Baseball Reference 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.Rafael Santana page at Baseball Reference 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.Chris Welsh page at Baseball Reference 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.Johnny Oates page at Baseball Reference 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).Dave Revering page at Baseball Reference 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.Rick Reuschel page at Baseball Reference 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.Pat Tabler page at Baseball Reference Draft picks June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft John Elway was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round.1981 MLB June Draft Second Round Picks Phil Lombardi was drafted by the Yankees in the 3rd round.Phil Lombardi page at Baseball Reference Eric Plunk was drafted by the Yankees in the 4th round. Player signed June 15, 1981.Eric Plunk page at Baseball Reference Fred McGriff was drafted by the Yankees in the 9th round. McGriff signed on June 11, 1981.Fred McGriff page at Baseball Reference Season standings Record vs. opponents NYY Roster 1981 New York Yankees Roster Pitchers 43 Doug Bird 35,56 Bill Castro 39 Ron Davis 43 George Frazier 54 Goose Gossage 52 Mike Griffin 49 Ron Guidry 25 Tommy John 34 Dave LaRoche 45 Rudy May 58 Andy McGaffigan 46,55 Gene Nelson 36 Rick Reuschel 19 Dave Righetti 38 Tom Underwood 58 Dave Wehrmeister Catchers 10 Rick Cerone 23 Barry Foote 26 Johnny Oates Infielders 57 Tucker Ashford 66 Steve Balboni 20 Bucky Dent 18 Larry Milbourne  9 Graig Nettles 30 Willie Randolph 12 Dave Revering 55 Andre Robertson 27 Aurelio Rodríguez 12 Jim Spencer 28 Bob Watson 24 Dennis Werth Outfielders 13 Bobby Brown 17 Oscar Gamble 44 Reggie Jackson 22 Jerry Mumphrey 56 Mike Patterson 14 Lou Piniella 31 Dave Winfield Other batters  2 Bobby Murcer Manager 21 Bob Lemon 11 Gene Michael Coaches 48 Joe Altobelli  8 Yogi Berra 33 Mike Ferraro -- Clyde King 40 Charley Lau 41 Jeff Torborg -- Jerry Walker 42 Stan Williams Game log Regular season First half background:#1c2841;color:white; 1981 regular season game log: 34–22 (Home: 19–7; Away: 15–15) y background:white;color:#1c2841; April: 11–6 (Home: 6–3; Away: 5–3) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak GB |- y background:white;color:#1c2841; May: 14–14 (Home: 7–4; Away: 7–10) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak GB |- y background:white;color:#1c2841; June: 9–2 (Home: 6–0; Away: 3–2) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak GB |- |- style="text-align:center;" | Legend:      #cfc darkgray = Win      #fcc darkgray = Loss      #bbb darkgray = PostponementBold = Yankees team member Second half background:#1c2841;color:white; 1981 regular season game log: 25–26 (Home: 13–12; Away: 12–14) y background:white;color:#1c2841; August: 11–10 (Home: 6–6; Away: 5–4) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak GB |- style="background:#bbcaff;" | – || August 9 || ||colspan=10 |1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland |- y background:white;color:#1c2841; September: 13–14 (Home: 7–6; Away: 6–8) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak GB |- y background:white;color:#1c2841; October: 1–2 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–2) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak GB |- |- style="text-align:center;" | Legend:      #cfc darkgray = Win      #fcc darkgray = Loss      #bbb darkgray = PostponementBold = Yankees team member Postseason Game log background:#1c2841;color:white; 1981 Postseason game log: 8–6 (Home: 5–3; Away: 3–3) y background:white;color:#1c2841; AL Division Series: vs. Milwaukee Brewers 3–2 (Home: 1–2; Away: 2–0) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y background:white;color:#1c2841; AL Championship Series: vs. Oakland Athletics 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 1–0) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y background:white;color:#1c2841; World Series: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Away: 1–3) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- |- style="text-align:center;" | Legend:      #cfc darkgray = Win      #fcc darkgray = Loss      #bbb darkgray = PostponementBold = Yankees team member Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 Rick Cerone 71 234 23 57 .244 2 21 0 1B Bob Watson 59 156 15 33 .212 6 12 0 2B Willie Randolph 93 357 59 83 .232 2 24 14 SS Bucky Dent 73 227 20 54 .238 7 27 0 3B Graig Nettles 103 349 46 85 .244 15 46 0 LF Dave Winfield 105 388 52 114 .294 13 68 11 CF Jerry Mumphrey 80 319 44 98 .307 6 32 14 RF Reggie Jackson 94 334 33 79 .237 15 54 0 DH Bobby Murcer 50 117 14 31 .265 6 24 0https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/1981.shtml 1981 New York Yankees Statistics 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 Oscar Gamble 80 189 45 .238 10 27 Larry Milbourne 61 163 51 .313 1 12 Lou Piniella 60 159 44 .277 5 18 Barry Foote 40 125 26 .208 6 10 Dave Revering 45 119 28 .235 2 7 Jim Spencer 25 63 9 .143 2 4 Bobby Brown Bobby Brown (outfielder) 31 62 14 .226 0 6 Dennis Werth 34 55 6 .109 0 1 Aurelio Rodriguez 27 52 18 .346 2 8 Johnny Oates 10 26 5 .192 0 0 Andre Robertson 10 19 5 .263 0 0 Mike Patterson Mike Patterson (baseball) 4 9 2 .222 0 0 Steve Balboni 4 7 2 .286 0 2 Tucker Ashford 3 0 0 ---- 0 0 Pitching = Indicates league leader 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 Rudy May 27 147.2 6 11 4.14 79 Tommy John 20 140.1 9 8 2.63 50 Ron Guidry 23 127.0 11 5 2.76 104 Dave Righetti 15 105.1 8 4 2.05 89 Rick Reuschel 12 70.2 4 4 2.67 22 Gene Nelson 8 39.1 3 1 4.81 16 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 Doug Bird 17 53.1 5 1 2.70 28 Tom 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 Rich Gossage 32 3 2 20 0.77 48 Ron Davis 43 4 5 6 2.71 83 Dave LaRoche 26 4 1 0 2.49 24 George Frazier George Frazier (pitcher) 16 0 1 3 1.63 17 Bill Castro 11 1 1 0 3.79 4 Dave Wehrmeister 5 0 0 0 5.14 7 Andy McGaffigan 2 0 0 0 2.57 2 Mike Griffin 2 0 0 0 2.08 4 Postseason ALDS 1981 American League Division Series New York wins series, 3–2. GameScoreDate1New York 5, Milwaukee 3October 72New York 3, Milwaukee 0October 83Milwaukee 5, New York 3 October 94Milwaukee 2, New York 1 October 105New York 7, Milwaukee 3 October 11 ALCS 1981 American League Championship Series New York Yankees win the Series over the Oakland Athletics, 3–0 GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1Oakland – 1, New York – 3October 13Yankee Stadium55,7402Oakland – 3, New York – 13October 14Yankee Stadium48,4973New York – 4, Oakland – 0October 15Oakland Coliseum47,302 World Series 1981 World Series + NL Los Angeles Dodgers (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (2)GameScoreDateLocationAttendanceTime of Game1 Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 5 October 20Yankee Stadium (New York) 56,470 2:322 Dodgers – 0, Yankees – 3 October 21Yankee Stadium (New York) 56,505 2:293 Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 5 October 23Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) 56,236 3:044 Yankees – 7, Dodgers – 8 October 24Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) 56,242 3:325 Yankees – 1, Dodgers – 2 October 25Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) 56,115 2:196 Dodgers – 9, Yankees – 2 October 28Yankee 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. All-Star Game Willie Randolph Bucky Dent Reggie Jackson Dave Winfield Ron Davis Rich Gossage Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Columbus Clippers International League Frank Verdi AA Nashville Sounds Southern League Stump Merrill A Fort Lauderdale Yankees Florida State League Doug Holmquist A Greensboro Hornets South Atlantic League Bob Schaefer A-Short Season Oneonta Yankees New York–Penn League Art Mazmanian Rookie Paintsville Yankees Appalachian League Mike Easom Rookie GCL Yankees Gulf Coast League Carlos Tosca LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, Greensboro, Oneonta, PaintsvilleJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007 Notes 2 References 1981 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference 1981 World Series 1981 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:New York Yankees seasons New York Yankees New York Yankees Category:1980s in the Bronx Category:American League East champion seasons Category:American League champion seasons