| 1981 Baltimore Orioles | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 59–46 (.562) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Edward Bennett Williams |
| General manager(s) | Hank Peters |
| Manager(s) | Earl Weaver |
| Local television | WMAR-TV |
| Local radio | WFBR (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell, Brooks Robinson, Tom Marr) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1981 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 59 wins and 46 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.
Contents
Offseason[edit]
- December 15, 1980: Paul Hartzell was released by the Orioles.[1]
- January 22, 1981: Joe Kerrigan and John Buffamoyer (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Grace and John Hale.[2]
Regular season[edit]
- August 10, 1981: Cal Ripken, Jr. made his major league debut in a game against the Kansas City Royals.[3]
Notable transactions[edit]
- April 1, 1981: Kiko Garcia was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for Chris Bourjos and cash.[4]
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
- Jeff Schaefer was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round.[5]
- Cecil Fielder was drafted by the Orioles in the 31st round, but did not sign.[6]
Season standings[edit]
| 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 |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
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1981 American League Records
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
Roster[edit]
| 1981 Baltimore Orioles roster | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats[edit]
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
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 | Rick Dempsey | 92 | 251 | 54 | .215 | 6 | 15 |
| 1B | Eddie Murray | 99 | 378 | 111 | .294 | 22 | 78 |
| 2B | Rich Dauer | 96 | 369 | 97 | .263 | 4 | 38 |
| 3B | Doug DeCinces | 100 | 346 | 91 | .263 | 13 | 55 |
| SS | Mark Belanger | 64 | 139 | 23 | .165 | 1 | 10 |
| LF | John Lowenstein | 83 | 189 | 47 | .249 | 6 | 20 |
| CF | Al Bumbry | 101 | 392 | 107 | .273 | 1 | 27 |
| RF | Ken Singleton | 103 | 363 | 101 | .278 | 13 | 49 |
| DH | Terry Crowley | 68 | 134 | 33 | .246 | 4 | 25 |
Other batters[edit]
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morales, JoséJosé Morales | 38 | 86 | 21 | .244 | 2 | 14 |
| Krenchicki, WayneWayne Krenchicki | 33 | 56 | 12 | .214 | 0 | 6 |
| Ripken, CalCal Ripken | 23 | 39 | 5 | .128 | 0 | 0 |
| Bonner, BobbyBobby Bonner | 10 | 27 | 8 | .296 | 0 | 2 |
| Williams, DallasDallas Williams | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martínez, DennisDennis Martínez | 25 | 179 | 14 | 5 | 3.32 | 88 |
| Flanagan, MikeMike Flanagan | 20 | 116 | 9 | 6 | 4.19 | 72 |
Other pitchers[edit]
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Relief pitchers[edit]
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luebber, SteveSteve Luebber | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.56 | 12 |
| Boddicker, MikeMike Boddicker | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 2 |
Awards and honors[edit]
- Dennis Martínez, American League Leader Victories (14)
Farm system[edit]
See also: Minor league baseball
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hagerstown
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- 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 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
- 1981 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
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