1981 Toronto Blue Jays season
1981 Toronto Blue Jays | |
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Owner(s) | Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce |
General manager(s) | Pat Gillick |
Manager(s) | Bobby Mattick |
Local television | CTV Television Network (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Fergie Olver) |
Local radio | CKFH (Jerry Howarth, Early Wynn, Tom Cheek) |
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The 1981 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's fifth season competing in Major League Baseball. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Blue Jays finished both halves of the season in seventh place in the seven-team American League East. Managed by Bobby Mattick, the Blue Jays played their home games at Exhibition Stadium and had an overall record of 37 wins and 69 losses.
Offseason[]
- December 8, 1980: 1980 rule 5 draft
- George Bell was drafted by the Blue Jays from the Philadelphia Phillies.[1]
- Dan Whitmer was drafted by the Blue Jays from the California Angels.[2]
- January 15, 1981: Ken Macha was purchased by the Blue Jays from the Montreal Expos.[3]
Regular season[]
The Blue Jays were one of the worst teams in the majors in the first half of the split season, as the Blue Jays had a record of 16 wins and 42 losses, a percentage of .276.[4] Although the Blue Jays had future stars Jesse Barfield, George Bell, and Lloyd Moseby in the lineup, the team continued to struggle.
On May 15, 1981, Len Barker of the Cleveland Indians pitched a perfect game against the Blue Jays. It was the tenth perfect game ever pitched, is one of only seventeen in the history of the major leagues, and remains the last no-hitter thrown by an Indian.[5]
The result of the season was one of the more controversial times in franchise history. The President of the Blue Jays, Peter Bavasi, went to see the team in Anaheim against the California Angels. Bavasi's father, Buzzie Bavasi was the president of the Angels, and his team had gotten off to a lacklustre start. Buzzie wanted to fire Angels manager Jim Fregosi, and Peter Bavasi had the idea to fire his manager, Bobby Mattick. Both thought it would be big news if father and son fired their manager on the same night.[6] One of the Blue Jays executives advised the Jays Vice-Chairman of the Board, Peter Hardy. After a brief conversation, Hardy made it clear to Peter Bavasi that Mattick would not be fired in this way.
After the strike was resolved, the Blue Jays started the second half of the season with a close to .500 winning percentage. Peter Bavasi was heard to muse aloud the requirement to print World Series tickets.[7] The Jays would finish the second half with 21 wins and 27 losses, seven and a half games out of first place. Despite the attempted Bavasi firing, Mattick would resign as manager at the end of the season. On November 22, 1981, Hardy forced Bavasi to resign from the Blue Jays.[8]
Season standings[]
AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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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 |
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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 |
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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] | ||||||||||||||
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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 | — |
Opening Day starters[]
- Danny Ainge
- Barry Bonnell
- Jim Clancy
- Dámaso García
- Alfredo Griffin
- John Mayberry
- Lloyd Moseby
- Otto Vélez
- Ernie Whitt
- Al Woods
Notable transactions[]
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft
- Matt Williams was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (5th pick).[9]
- Mike Sharperson was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (11th pick) of the Secondary Phase.[10]
- June 10, 1981: Rick Bosetti was purchased from the Blue Jays by the Oakland Athletics.[11]
Roster[]
1981 Toronto Blue Jays 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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Game log[]
1981 Game Log 37–69 (Home 17–36, Away 20–33) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April 7–12 (Home 2–7, Away 5–5)
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May 9–20 (Home 5–10, Away 4–10)
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June 0–10 (Home 0–5, Away 0–5)
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August 9–10 (Home 4–8, Away 5–2)
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September 11–15 (Home 6–6, Away 5–9)
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October 1–2 (Home 0–0, Away 1–2)
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*A MLB Players strike forced the cancellation of all regular season games between June 12 and August 9. A split-season format was adopted. |
Player stats[]
Batting[]
Starters by position[]
Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Ernie Whitt | 74 | 195 | 16 | 46 | 9 | 0 | .236 | 1 | 16 | 5 |
1B | John Mayberry | 94 | 290 | 34 | 72 | 6 | 1 | .248 | 17 | 43 | 1 |
2B | Dámaso García | 64 | 250 | 24 | 63 | 8 | 1 | .252 | 1 | 13 | 13 |
3B | Danny Ainge | 86 | 246 | 20 | 46 | 6 | 2 | .187 | 0 | 14 | 8 |
SS | Alfredo Griffin | 101 | 388 | 30 | 81 | 19 | 6 | .209 | 0 | 21 | 8 |
LF | Alvis Woods | 85 | 288 | 20 | 71 | 15 | 0 | .247 | 1 | 21 | 3 |
CF | Lloyd Moseby | 100 | 378 | 36 | 88 | 16 | 2 | .233 | 9 | 43 | 11 |
RF | Barry Bonnell | 66 | 227 | 21 | 50 | 7 | 4 | .220 | 4 | 28 | 4 |
DH | Otto Vélez | 80 | 240 | 32 | 51 | 9 | 2 | .213 | 11 | 28 | 0 |
Other batters[]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
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Garth Iorg | 70 | 215 | 17 | 52 | 11 | 0 | .242 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
Willie Upshaw | 61 | 111 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 1 | .171 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
George Bell | 60 | 163 | 19 | 38 | 2 | 1 | .233 | 5 | 12 | 3 |
Buck Martinez | 45 | 128 | 13 | 29 | 8 | 1 | .227 | 4 | 21 | 1 |
Ken Macha | 37 | 85 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 0 | .200 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
Greg Wells | 32 | 73 | 7 | 18 | 5 | 0 | .247 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Jesse Barfield | 25 | 95 | 7 | 22 | 3 | 2 | .232 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
Rick Bosetti | 25 | 47 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | .234 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Ted Cox | 16 | 50 | 6 | 15 | 4 | 0 | .300 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fred Manrique | 14 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .143 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Charlie Beamon | 8 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .200 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dan Whitmer | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .111 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[]
Starting pitchers[]
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Dave Stieb | 25 | 25 | 183.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.19 | 70 | 65 | 61 | 89 |
Jim Clancy | 22 | 22 | 125.0 | 6 | 12 | 4.90 | 77 | 68 | 64 | 56 |
Juan Berenguer | 12 | 11 | 71.0 | 2 | 9 | 4.31 | 41 | 34 | 35 | 29 |
Other pitchers[]
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Luis Leal | 29 | 19 | 129.2 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 3.68 | 63 | 53 | 44 | 71 |
Jackson Todd | 21 | 13 | 97.2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3.96 | 51 | 43 | 31 | 41 |
Mark Bomback | 20 | 11 | 90.1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3.89 | 42 | 39 | 35 | 33 |
Relief pitchers[]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Joey McLaughlin | 40 | 60.0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 2.85 | 24 | 19 | 21 | 38 |
Roy Lee Jackson | 39 | 62.0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2.61 | 23 | 18 | 25 | 27 |
Jerry Garvin | 35 | 53.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.40 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 25 |
Mike Willis | 20 | 35.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5.91 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 16 |
Mike Barlow | 12 | 15.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.20 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
Dale Murray | 11 | 15.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.17 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
Paul Mirabella | 8 | 14.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.36 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 9 |
Nino Espinosa | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Award winners[]
- Dave Stieb, Pitcher[12]
Farm system[]
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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AAA | Syracuse Chiefs | International League | Bob Humphreys |
AA | Knoxville Blue Jays | Southern League | Duane Larson and Larry Hardy |
A | Kinston Eagles | Carolina League | John McLaren |
A | Florence Blue Jays | South Atlantic League | Dennis Holmberg |
Rookie | GCL Blue Jays | Gulf Coast League | Rich Hacker |
Rookie | Medicine Hat Blue Jays | Pioneer League | Wayne Graham |
Notes[]
- ^ George Bell at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dan Whitmer at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ken Macha at Baseball Reference
- ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.136, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ Sports American League (Baseball) Baseball AL West Division Major League Baseball – SI Vault
- ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.137, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.138, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.157, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ Matt Williams at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mike Sharperson at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rick Bosetti at Baseball Reference
- ^ Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References[]
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External links[]
- 1981 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
- 1981 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac
- Toronto Blue Jays seasons
- 1981 Major League Baseball season
- 1981 in Canadian sports
- 1981 in Toronto