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Champions
Major League Baseball
- World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-2); Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager, co-MVPs
'NOTE' Due to a strike in mid-season, the season was divided into a first half and a second half. The division winner of the first half (denoted East 1, West 1) played the division winner of the second half (denoted East 2, West 2).
- American League Championship Series MVP: Graig Nettles
- National League Championship Series MVP: Burt Hooton
- All-Star Game, August 9 at Cleveland Stadium: National League, 5-4; Gary Carter, MVP
Other champions
- College World Series: Arizona State
- Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nippon Ham Fighters (4-2)
- Little League World Series: Tai-Ping, Taichung, Taiwan
Awards and honors
- Most Valuable Player
- Rollie Fingers (AL)
- Mike Schmidt (NL)
- Cy Young Award
- Rollie Fingers (AL)
- Fernando Valenzuela (NL)
- Rookie of the Year
- Dave Righetti (AL)
- Fernando Valenzuela (NL)
MLB Statistical Leaders
| American League | National League | |||
| Type | Name | Stat | Name | Stat |
| AVG | Carney Lansford | .336 | Bill Madlock | .341 |
| HR | Tony Armas, Dwight Evans, Bobby Grich & Eddie Murray | 22 | Mike Schmidt | 31 |
| RBI | Eddie Murray | 78 | Mike Schmidt | 91 |
| Wins | Dennis Martinez, Steve McCatty, Jack Morris & Pete Vuckovich | 14 | Tom Seaver | 14 |
| ERA | Sammy Stewart | 2.32 | Nolan Ryan | 1.69 |
Major League Baseball final standings
First half of season
| American League | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| East Division | |||||
| 1st | New York Yankees | 34 | 22 | .607 | -- |
| 2nd | Baltimore Orioles | 31 | 23 | .574 | -- |
| 3rd | Milwaukee Brewers | 31 | 25 | .568 | -- |
| 4th | Detroit Tigers | 31 | 26 | .544 | -- |
| 5th | Boston Red Sox | 30 | 26 | .536 | -- |
| 6th | Cleveland Indians | 26 | 24 | .520 | -- |
| 7th | Toronto Blue Jays | 16 | 42 | .276 | -- |
| West Division | |||||
| 1st | Oakland Athletics | 37 | 23 | .617 | -- |
| 2nd | Texas Rangers | 33 | 22 | .600 | -- |
| 3rd | Chicago White Sox | 31 | 22 | .585 | -- |
| 4th | California Angels | 31 | 29 | .444 | -- |
| 5th | Kansas City Royals | 20 | 30 | .400 | -- |
| 6th | Seattle Mariners | 21 | 36 | .368 | -- |
| 7th | Minnesota Twins | 17 | 39 | .556 | -- |
| National League | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| East Division | |||||
| 1st | Philadelphia Phillies | 34 | 21 | .618 | -- |
| 2nd | St. Louis Cardinals | 30 | 20 | .600 | -- |
| 3rd | Montréal Expos | 30 | 25 | .545 | -- |
| 4th | Pittsburgh Pirates | 25 | 23 | .521 | -- |
| 5th | New York Mets | 17 | 34 | .333 | -- |
| 6th | Chicago Cubs | 15 | 37 | .288 | -- |
| West Division | |||||
| 1st | Los Angeles Dodgers | 36 | 21 | .632 | -- |
| 2nd | Cincinnati Reds | 35 | 21 | .625 | -- |
| 3rd | Houston Astros | 28 | 29 | .491 | -- |
| 4th | Atlanta Braves | 25 | 29 | .463 | -- |
| 5th | San Francisco Giants | 27 | 32 | .458 | -- |
| 6th | San Diego Padres | 23 | 33 | .411 | -- |
Second half of season
| American League | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| East Division | |||||
| 1st | Milwaukee Brewers | 31 | 22 | .585 | -- |
| 2nd | Boston Red Sox | 29 | 23 | .558 | -- |
| 2nd | Detroit Tigers | 29 | 23 | .558 | -- |
| 4th | Baltimore Orioles | 28 | 23 | .549 | -- |
| 5th | Cleveland Indians | 26 | 27 | .491 | -- |
| 6th | New York Yankees | 25 | 26 | .490 | -- |
| 7th | Toronto Blue Jays | 21 | 27 | .438 | -- |
| West Division | |||||
| 1st | Kansas City Royals | 30 | 23 | .566 | -- |
| 2nd | Oakland Athletics | 27 | 22 | .551 | -- |
| 3rd | Texas Rangers | 24 | 26 | .480 | -- |
| 4th | Minnesota Twins | 24 | 29 | .453 | -- |
| 5th | Seattle Mariners | 23 | 29 | .442 | -- |
| 6th | Chicago White Sox | 23 | 30 | .434 | -- |
| 7th | California Angels | 20 | 30 | .400 | -- |
| National League | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| East Division | |||||
| 1st | Montréal Expos | 30 | 23 | .566 | -- |
| 2nd | St. Louis Cardinals | 29 | 23 | .558 | -- |
| 3rd | Philadelphia Phillies | 25 | 27 | .481 | -- |
| 4th | New York Mets | 24 | 28 | .462 | -- |
| 5th | Chicago Cubs | 23 | 28 | .451 | -- |
| 6th | Pittsburgh Pirates | 21 | 33 | .389 | -- |
| West Division | |||||
| 1st | Houston Astros | 33 | 20 | .623 | -- |
| 2nd | Cincinnati Reds | 31 | 21 | .596 | -- |
| 3rd | San Francisco Giants | 29 | 23 | .558 | -- |
| 4th | Los Angeles Dodgers | 27 | 26 | .509 | -- |
| 5th | Atlanta Braves | 25 | 27 | .481 | -- |
| 6th | San Diego Padres | 18 | 36 | .333 | -- |
Overall record
| American League | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| East Division | |||||
| 1st | Milwaukee Brewers | 62 | 47 | .569 | -- |
| 2nd | Baltimore Orioles | 59 | 46 | .562 | 1.0 |
| 3rd | New York Yankees | 59 | 48 | .551 | 2.0 |
| 4th | Detroit Tigers | 60 | 49 | .550 | 2.0 |
| 5th | Boston Red Sox | 59 | 49 | .546 | 2.5 |
| 6th | Cleveland Indians | 52 | 51 | .505 | 7.0 |
| 7th | Toronto Blue Jays | 37 | 69 | .349 | 23.5 |
| West Division | |||||
| 1st | Oakland Athletics | 64 | 45 | .587 | -- |
| 2nd | Texas Rangers | 57 | 48 | .543 | 5.0 |
| 3rd | Chicago White Sox | 54 | 52 | .509 | 8.5 |
| 4th | Kansas City Royals | 50 | 53 | .485 | 11.0 |
| 5th | California Angels | 51 | 59 | .464 | 13.5 |
| 6th | Seattle Mariners | 44 | 65 | .404 | 20.0 |
| 7th | Minnesota Twins | 41 | 68 | .376 | 23.0 |
| National League | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| East Division | |||||
| 1st | St. Louis Cardinals | 59 | 43 | .578 | -- |
| 2nd | Montréal Expos | 60 | 48 | .556 | 2.0 |
| 3rd | Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 48 | .551 | 2.5 |
| 4th | Pittsburgh Pirates | 46 | 56 | .451 | 13.0 |
| 5th | New York Mets | 41 | 62 | .398 | 18.5 |
| 6th | Chicago Cubs | 38 | 65 | .369 | 21.5 |
| West Division | |||||
| 1st | Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 42 | .611 | -- |
| 2nd | Los Angeles Dodgers | 63 | 47 | .573 | 4.0 |
| 3rd | Houston Astros | 61 | 49 | .555 | 6.0 |
| 4th | San Francisco Giants | 56 | 55 | .505 | 11.5 |
| 5th | Atlanta Braves | 50 | 56 | .472 | 15.0 |
| 6th | San Diego Padres | 41 | 69 | .373 | 26.0 |
Events
January-March
- January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only person elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238) and Juan Marichal (233).
- March 11 - Johnny Mize and Rube Foster are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Mize hit .312 with 359 home runs in 15 seasons for the Cardinals and New York Giants, while Foster was a star pitcher, manager and pioneer of the Negro Leagues during the first quarter of the 20th century.
April-June
- May 25 - Carl Yastrzemski plays in his 3,000th major league game, scoring the winning run in Boston's 8–7 triumph over Cleveland. Yaz joins Ty Cobb, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron as the only major leaguers to appear in 3,000 games.
- May 15 - Len Barker of the Cleveland Indians pitches a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. He struck out 11, all swinging, after the third inning and never had a 3-ball count on any batter on a misty, rain-soaked night where only 7,290 fans took in the game. Current Indians broadcaster Rick Manning caught the 27th out of the night on a fly ball to center field.
- June 12 - After meeting with major league owners for most of the previous day, players' union chief Marvin Miller announces, "We have accomplished nothing. The strike is on," thus beginning the longest labor action to date in American sports history. By the time the season resumes on August 10, 706 games (38 percent of the season schedule) will have been canceled.
July-September
- August 6 - As a result of the nearly two-month interruption in play because of the strike, major league owners elect to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division (or a wild card team if the same club wins both halves) meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The last time the major leagues played a split season was 1892. The Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers suddenly find themselves guaranteed playoff spots as first-half champions.
- August 9 - At Cleveland Stadium, the National League wins its tenth consecutive All-Star Game over the American League, 5-4. Gary Carter hits two home runs and is selected the MVP. The 1981 Midsummer Classic becomes the second All-Star Game ever played during the month of August, the first having taken place on August 3, 1959.
- September 4 - In the conclusion of the longest game in Fenway Park history, the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox 8–7 in 20 innings. The game began on September 3, but was suspended after 19 innings with the score tied 7-7.
- September 6 - Despite having won the first-half American League East title, New York Yankees manager Gene Michael is replaced by Bob Lemon, who managed the club in 1978-79. The Yankees are under .500 in the second half of the season.
- September 6 - The Los Angeles Dodgers' Fernando Valenzuela beats the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 to tie the National League record of seven shutouts by a rookie pitcher.
October-December
- October 3 - Bob Horner hits two home runs and scores the winning run to give the Atlanta Braves a 4–3 win over the Cincinnati Reds, and give the Houston Astros the second-half title in the NL West division. Cincinnati, which lost the first-half title to the Dodgers by one-half game, will finish with the best overall record (66-42) in the major leagues, but will not make the playoffs.
- October 3 - The Milwaukee Brewers (playing since 1970) and Montréal Expos (since 1969) clinch their first-ever postseason appearances. Milwaukee beats Detroit 2–1 to wrap up the second-half title in the AL East division, while Montréal edges the Mets 5–4 to win the NL West division's second playoff spot.
- October 5 - The Kansas City Royals shut out Cleveland 9–0 in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader to clinch the second-half title in the AL West division. The second game is canceled as irrelevant.
- October 28 - Pedro Guerrero drives in five runs, and pitcher Burt Hooton and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 9–2 to win the 1981 World Series in six games. In a remarkable postseason, the Dodgers came from behind to win three series (down 2–0 to Houston and 2–1 to Montréal in the best-of-5 series). Guerrero, Ron Cey and Steve Yeager are named co-MVPs.
Movies
Births
Deaths
- January 26 - Ray Oyler, 42, shortstop known for excellent glovework with the Detroit Tigers' 1968 champions, afterwards taken in the expansion draft by the Seattle Pilots
- March 10 - Bob Elson, 76, broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox from 1931 to 1970; also worked with the Cubs and Oakland Athletics
- March 17 - Paul Dean, 67, pitcher who joined his older brother Dizzy on the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 19 games in each of his first two seasons; the brothers each won two games in the 1934 World Series
- March 19 - Frank Lane, 85, general manager of the White Sox, Indians, Brewers and Cardinals known for his numerous trades
- April 16 - Effa Manley, 84, owner of the Negro Leagues' Newark Eagles from 1935 to 1948
- July 1 - Dan Daniel, 91, sportswriter for The Sporting News and various New York newspapers for over 50 years; also a member of baseball's Rules Committee
- August 9 - Sammy T. Hughes, 70, 6-time All-Star second baseman of the Negro Leagues, mainly with the Elite Giants
- October 4 - Freddie Lindstrom, 75, Hall of Fame third baseman for the New York Giants who batted .311 lifetime, twice collecting 230 hits and batting .333 in the 1924 World Series at age 18; later coach at Northwestern
- October 25 - Pete Reiser, 62, All-Star center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers who led the NL in batting and four other categories in 1941 and in steals twice, but whose fearless defensive style led to numerous injuries
- December 10 - John F. Kieran, 89, New York sportswriter and radio and television personality who authored books on numerous subjects
"1981 in baseball"