1981 Baltimore Orioles season
The 1981 Baltimore Orioles season was the franchise's 28th season based in Baltimore and 81st overall season as a member of the American League. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Orioles competed as members of the American League East, finishing second in the first half of the season and fourth in the second half of the season; their overall record was 59 wins and 46 losses. The Orioles hit five grand slams, the most in MLB in 1981.
Offseason
- December 15, 1980: Paul Hartzell was released by the Orioles.
- January 22, 1981: Joe Kerrigan and John Buffamoyer were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Grace and John Hale.
Regular season
- August 10, 1981: Cal Ripken Jr. made his major league debut in a game against the Kansas City Royals.
Notable transactions
- April 1, 1981: Kiko Garcia was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for Chris Bourjos and cash.
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft
- *Jeff Schaefer was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round.
- *Cecil Fielder was drafted by the Orioles in the 31st round, but did not sign.
Player stats
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 | 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 |
- Tied with Tony Armas, Dwight Evans and Bobby Grich for league lead.
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 |
| Gary Roenicke | 85 | 219 | 59 | .269 | 3 | 20 |
| Lenn Sakata | 61 | 150 | 34 | .227 | 5 | 15 |
| Dan Graham | 55 | 142 | 25 | .176 | 2 | 11 |
| Jim Dwyer | 68 | 134 | 30 | .224 | 3 | 10 |
| Benny Ayala | 44 | 86 | 24 | .279 | 3 | 13 |
| 38 | 86 | 21 | .244 | 2 | 14 | |
| 33 | 56 | 12 | .214 | 0 | 6 | |
| 23 | 39 | 5 | .128 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | 27 | 8 | .296 | 0 | 2 | |
| Mark Corey | 10 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Royster | 4 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Shelby | 7 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
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 |
| 25 | 179.0 | 14* | 5 | 3.32 | 88 | |
| Scott McGregor | 24 | 160.0 | 13 | 5 | 3.26 | 82 |
| Jim Palmer | 22 | 127.1 | 7 | 8 | 3.75 | 35 |
| 20 | 116.0 | 9 | 6 | 4.19 | 72 | |
| Steve Stone | 15 | 62.2 | 4 | 7 | 4.60 | 30 |
- Tied with Steve McCatty, Jack Morris and Pete Vuckovich for league lead.
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 |
| Sammy Stewart | 29 | 112.1 | 4 | 8 | 2.32 | 57 |
| Dave Ford | 15 | 40.0 | 1 | 2 | 6.53 | 12 |
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 |
| Tippy Martinez | 37 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 2.90 | 50 |
| Tim Stoddard | 31 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3.86 | 32 |
| Jeff Schneider | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.88 | 17 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.56 | 12 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 2 |
Awards and honors
- Dennis Martínez, American League Leader Victories