1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 92nd season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball, their 24th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 20th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium. The season got off to a strong start when rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day, starting the craze that came to be known as "Fernandomania." Fernando went on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards.
The season was divided into two halves because of a two-month long mid-season players' strike. The Dodgers won the National League West in the first half and advanced to the playoffs. They beat the Houston Astros in the NLDS and the Montreal Expos in the NLCS before beating the New York Yankees to win the World Series.

Offseason

December 4, 1980: Don Sutton signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent.
March 30, 1981: Acquired Ken Landreaux from the Minnesota Twins for Mickey Hatcher and Matt Reeves

Starting pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; ERA = Earned run average; W/L = Wins/Losses; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games

Name	G	GS	IP	ERA	W/L	BB	SO	CG
Fernando Valenzuela	25	25	192.1	2.48	13-7	61	180	11
Burt Hooton	23	23	142.1	2.28	11-6	33	74	5
Bob Welch	23	23	141.1	3.44	9-5	41	88	2
Jerry Reuss	22	22	152.2	2.30	10-4	27	51	8

Relief pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; ERA = Earned run average; W/L = Wins/Losses; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves

Name	G	GS	IP	ERA	W/L	BB	SO	SV
Steve Howe	41	0	54.0	2.50	5-3	18	32	8
Bobby Castillo	34	1	50.2	5.33	2-4	18	32	5
Dave Stewart	32	0	43.1	2.49	4-3	14	29	6
Terry Forster	21	0	30.2	4.11	0-1	15	17	0
Dave Goltz	26	8	77.0	4.09	2-7	25	48	1
Rick Sutcliffe	14	6	47.0	4.02	2-2	20	16	0
Tom Niedenfuer	17	0	26.0	3.81	3-1	6	12	2
Alejandro Peña	14	0	25.1	2.84	1-1	11	14	2
Ted Power	5	2	14.1	3.14	1-3	7	7	0

Batting stats

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; Avg. = Batting average; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player	Pos	GP	AB	Avg.	R	H	HR	RBI	SB
Mike Scioscia	C	93	290	.276	27	80	2	29	0
Steve Yeager	C	42	86	.209	5	18	3	7	0
Jerry Grote	C	2	2	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Garvey	1B	110*	431	.283	63	122	10	64	3
Davey Lopes	2B	58	214	.289	35	44	5	17	20
Bill Russell	SS	82	262	.233	20	61	0	22	2
Ron Cey	3B	85	312	.288	42	90	13	50	0
Derrel Thomas	2B/3B/SS/OF	80	218	.248	25	54	4	24	7
Steve Sax	2B	31	119	.277	15	33	2	9	5
Pepe Frías	SS/2B/3B	25	36	.250	6	9	0	3	0
Reggie Smith	1B	41	35	.200	5	7	1	8	0
Mike Marshall	1B/3B/OF	14	25	.200	2	5	0	1	0
Gary Weiss	SS	14	19	.105	2	2	0	1	0
Jack Perconte	2B	8	9	.222	2	2	0	1	1
Dusty Baker	OF	103	400	.320	48	128	9	49	10
Pedro Guerrero	OF/3B/1B	98	347	.300	46	104	12	48	5
Ken Landreaux	OF	99	390	.251	48	98	7	41	18
Rick Monday	OF	66	130	.315	24	41	11	25	1
Jay Johnstone	OF/1B	61	83	.205	8	17	3	6	0
Ron Roenicke	OF	22	47	.234	6	11	0	0	1
Joe Ferguson	OF	17	14	.143	2	2	0	1	0
Candy Maldonado	OF	11	12	.093	0	1	0	0	0
Bobby Mitchell	OF	10	5	.125	0	1	0	0	0
Mark Bradley	OF	9	6	.167	2	1	0	0	0

Tied with Ozzie Smith

Postseason

1981 National League Division Series

In the divisional series, the Dodgers fell behind the Houston Astros two games to zero but came back to win the next three games to take the series and advance to the LCS.

1981 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers faced the Montreal Expos in the 1981 NLCS and beat them three games to two, thanks to a ninth-inning home run by Rick Monday in Game 5.

Game 1

October 13, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Game 2

October 14, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Game 3

October 16, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Game 4

October 17, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Game 5

October 19, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

1981 World Series

The Dodgers met the New York Yankees in the World Series once again, this time beating them in six games to claim their first championship since 1965.

Game 1

October 20, Yankee Stadium, New York

Game 2

October 21, Yankee Stadium, New York

Game 3

October 23, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Game 4

October 24, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Game 5

October 25, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Game 6

October 28, Yankee Stadium, New York

1981 awards

Farm system

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball draft

The Dodgers drafted 33 players in the June draft and 18 in the January draft. Of those, eight players would eventually play in the Major Leagues. They received an extra pick in the 2nd round from the Houston Astros as compensation for the loss of free agent pitcher Don Sutton.
The Dodgers first round pick in the June draft was shortstop Dave Anderson from the University of Memphis. He played 10 seasons in the Majors, primarily as a utility infielder. The draft also included pitchers Sid Fernandez and John Franco, both of whom would have lengthy Major League careers primarily with the New York Mets after the Dodgers traded them.

January draft

Round	Name	Position	School	Signed	Career span	Highest level
1	Kelvin White	RHP	Cosumnes River College	No
2	Robert Seymour	OF	Sacramento City College	Yes	1981–1982	A
3	Frederick Bass	3B	Sacramento City College	Yes	1981	A
4	John Sylvia	SS	College of the Sequoias	Yes	1981–1982	A
5	Jack Loop	1B	Pasadena City College	No
6	Eugene Steinbach	C	Georgia Perimeter College	Yes	1981–1994	AA
7	Brad Harlow	SS	Cosumnes River College	No
8	Brett Radland	RHP	Valencia Community College	No
9	Jon Van Dort	OF	Chaffey College	No
10	Larry Riddle	RHP	Alvin Community College	No Red Sox-1984	1984	A
11	Andy Hargrove	RHP	Barstow Community College	No
12	James Sewell	OF	Sacramento City College	No
13	Ronnie Chapman	2B	Louisburg College	No Blue Jays-1982	1982–1986	AA
14	James Woods	IF	San Jacinto College	No
15	Charles Byers	3B	Chaffey College	No
16	Benny Distefano	1B	Alvin Community College	No Pirates-1982	1982–1993	MLB

January secondary phase

Round	Name	Position	School	Signed	Career span	Highest level
1	Shayne Hammond	LHP	Southeastern Illinois College	Yes	1981–1983	AA
2	Tom DiCeglio	SS	Gulf Coast Community College	No Twins-1984	1984–1986	A

June draft

Round	Name	Position	School	Signed	Career span	Highest level
1	Dave Anderson	SS	University of Memphis	Yes	1981–1992	MLB
2	Sid Bream	1B	Liberty University	Yes	1981–1994	MLB
2	Lemmie Miller	OF	Arizona State University	Yes	1981–1989	MLB
3	Sid Fernandez	LHP	Kaiser High School	No Angels-1984	1981–2001	MLB
4	Steven Boncore	C	University of La Verne	Yes	1981–1983	A
5	John Franco	LHP	St. John's University	Yes	1981–2005	MLB
6	Brian Williams	OF	South High School	Yes	1981–1986	A
7	Michael Beuder	LHP	Santa Clara University	Yes	1981–1983	A
8	Gregory Chinn	OF	California State University, Sacramento	Yes	1981–1983	A
9	Stu Pederson	OF	University of Southern California	Yes	1981–1992	MLB
10	Mark Pirruccello	C	California State University, Fullerton	No Royals-1982	1982–1984	AA
11	Gregory Carne	RHP	Redondo High School	Yes	1981–1984	A
12	Peyton Mosher	RHP	University of Georgia	Yes	1981–1984	A
13	David Anderson	RHP	University of Nevada, Reno	Yes	1982–1990	AAA
14	Dean Rennicke	RHP	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Yes	1981–1985	AAA
15	Jimmy Guillen	RHP	Roosevelt High School	No
16	Harold Perkins	SS	California State University, Los Angeles	Yes	1981–1991	AAA
17	Christopher Chavez	SS	University of Nebraska at Lincoln	Yes	1981–1982	AA
18	Jerry Bendorf	SS	Gonzaga University	Yes	1981–1982	AA
19	Jeffrey Greene	SS	University of Vermont	Yes	1981	Rookie
20	Tim Criswell	RHP	Carrollton High School	No Dodgers-1983	1983–1987	AA
21	John Gregory	1B	Lake Worth High School	Yes	1981–1984	A
22	Craig Thompson	OF	Dallas Baptist University	Yes	1981–1982	A
23	William Murray	2B	University of San Francisco	Yes	1981	A
24	Steven Young	OF	Chambersburg High School	Yes	1981	Rookie
25	Robert Philps	RHP	Carmichaels High School	No
26	Charles Beard	RHP	California State University, Sacramento	Yes	1981–1983	A
27	David Dunlap	IF	California State University, Sacramento	No
28	Brett Davis	OF	Pearland High School	No
29	Jeff Carter	IF	Evanston Township High School	No Giants-1985	1985–1996	AAA
30	Ronald Robbins	RHP	Louisiana State University at Alexandria	No Blue Jays-1983	1983–1984	A

June secondary phase

Round	Name	Position	School	Signed	Career span	Highest level
1	Ralph Bryant	OF	Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College	Yes	1981–1996	MLB
2	Michael Moore	C	Edmonds Community College	Yes	1981–1982	A
3	Ethan McHenry	RHP	Yakima Valley Community College	No