1981 Boston Red Sox season

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1981 Boston Red Sox
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record
  • 1st half: 30–26 (.536)
  • 2nd half: 29–23 (.558)
  • Overall: 59–49 (.546)
Divisional place
  • 1st half: 5th (4 GB)
  • 2nd half: 2nd (tied; 1+1⁄2 GB)
Other information
Owner(s)Buddy LeRoux, Haywood Sullivan, Jean Yawkey
General manager(s)Haywood Sullivan
Manager(s)Ralph Houk
Local televisionWSBK-TV, Ch. 38
(Ned Martin, Ken Harrelson)
Local radioWITS-AM 1510
(Ken Coleman, Jon Miller)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
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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 tied for second in the division with a record of 29 wins and 23 losses, 1+1⁄2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Red Sox' overall record for the season was 59 wins and 49 losses.

Offseason[]

  • 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[]

Record by month[3]
Month Record Cumulative AL East Ref.
Won Lost Won Lost Position GB
April 7 9 7 9 5th 3+1⁄2 [4]
May 18 12 25 21 5th 4 [5]
June 5 5 30 26 5th 4 [6]
  Second half  
August 11 9 11 9 3rd (tie) 1+1⁄2 [7]
September 16 13 27 22 3rd 1+1⁄2 [8]
October 2 1 29 23 2nd (tie) 1+1⁄2 [9]

Season standings[]

  • v
  • t
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[]

1981 American League Records
  • v
  • t

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 —


Notable transactions[]

  • April 8, 1981: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners for Manny Sarmiento.[10]
  • June 8, 1981: Steve Lyons was drafted by the Red Sox in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft.[11]

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

Source:[12]

The Chicago White Sox defeated the Red Sox on Opening Day, 5–3. It was the first game that Carlton Fisk played for the White Sox, after 11 seasons with the Red Sox; Fisk hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning.[13]

Roster[]

1981 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated hitters

Manager
  • 35 Ralph Houk

Coaches

Statistical leaders[]

Dwight Evans
Category Player Statistic
Youngest player Rich Gedman
John Lickert		 21
Oldest player Carl Yastrzemski 41
Wins Above Replacement Dwight Evans 6.7

Source:[14]

Batting[]

Abbr. Category Player Statistic
G Games played Dwight Evans 108
Jim Rice
PA Plate appearances Dwight Evans 504
AB At bats Jim Rice 451
R Runs scored Dwight Evans 84
H Hits Carney Lansford 134
2B Doubles Carney Lansford 23
3B Triples Dwight Evans 4
HR Home runs Dwight Evans 22
RBI Runs batted in Dwight Evans 71
SB Stolen bases Carney Lansford 15
CS Caught stealing Carney Lansford 10
BB Base on balls Dwight Evans 85
SO Strikeouts Dwight Evans 85
BA Batting average Carney Lansford .336
OBP On-base percentage Dwight Evans .415
SLG Slugging percentage Dwight Evans .522
OPS On-base plus slugging Dwight Evans .937
OPS+ Adjusted OPS Dwight Evans 163
TB Total bases Dwight Evans 215
GIDP Grounded into double play Jim Rice 14
HBP Hit by pitch Jim Rice 3
SH Sacrifice hits Jerry Remy 13
SF Sacrifice flies Jim Rice 7
IBB Intentional base on balls Carl Yastrzemski 4

Source:[14]

Pitching[]

Abbr. Category Player Statistic
W Wins Bob Stanley 10
Mike Torrez
L Losses Frank Tanana 10
W-L % Winning percentage Mike Torrez .769 (10–3)
ERA Earned run average Chuck Rainey 2.70
G Games pitched Bob Stanley 35
GS Games started Dennis Eckersley 23
Frank Tanana
GF Games finished Bill Campbell 23
CG Complete games Dennis Eckersley 8
SHO Shutouts Dennis Eckersley 2
Frank Tanana
SV Saves Mark Clear 9
IP Innings pitched Dennis Eckersley 154
SO Strikeouts Mark Clear 82
WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched Bob Ojeda 1.131

Source:[14]

Awards and honors[]

All-Star Game
  • Dwight Evans, reserve OF

Farm system[]

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Pawtucket Red Sox International League Joe Morgan
AA Bristol Red Sox Eastern League Tony Torchia
A Winston-Salem Red Sox Carolina League Buddy Hunter
A Winter Haven Red Sox Florida State League Rac Slider
A-Short Season Elmira Suns New York–Penn League Dick Berardino

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol
Source:[15][16]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 58. ISBN 1-57215-412-8.
  2. ^ Joe Rudi page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ "The 1981 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  4. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/04301981.htm
  5. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/05311981.htm
  6. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/06111981.htm
  7. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/08311981.htm
  8. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/09301981.htm
  9. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/10051981.htm
  10. ^ Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
  11. ^ Steve Lyons page at Baseball Reference
  12. ^ "Chicago White Sox 5, Boston Red Sox 3". Retrosheet. April 10, 1981. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Wancho, Joseph. "April 10, 1981: Carlton Fisk homers in return to Fenway Park". SABR. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c "1981 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  15. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  16. ^ Boston Red Sox Media Guide. 1981. p. 52. Retrieved March 14, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.

External links[]

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