1981 Montreal Expos season

The 1981 Montreal Expos season was the 13th season in franchise history. They made it to the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Their playoff run ended in the [1981 National League (baseball)|National League Championship Series|NLCS] against the [1981 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers], with Rick Monday hitting a ninth-inning solo home run in game 5, subsequently referred to as "Blue Monday" by Expos fans. This was the closest the Expos ever got to a World Series appearance while in Montreal. This was also their last time winning a playoff series until 2019, which they won the Wild Card game. The season was separated into two halves due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.
This would be the first and only time the team made the postseason as the Montreal Expos. The next time the franchise would reach the playoffs was in the 2012 season, after relocating to Washington, D.C., and becoming the Washington Nationals. The 30-year postseason drought set a Major League Baseball record for the longest in MLB history.

Offseason

December 8, 1980: Jack O'Connor was drafted from the Expos by the Minnesota Twins in the rule 5 draft.
December 12, 1980: Tony Bernazard was traded by the Expos to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Wortham.
December 12, 1980: Willie Montañez was signed as a free agent by the Expos.
January 15, 1981: Ken Macha was purchased from the Expos by the Toronto Blue Jays.
February 18, 1981: Ray Burris was signed as a free agent by the Expos.

Spring training

After holding spring training at City Island Ball Park in Daytona Beach, Florida, from 1973 to 1980, the Expos returned to West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida – a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves – for spring training in 1981. It was their fifth season at the stadium; they also had conducted spring training there from 1969 to 1972. The Expos would train at Municipal Stadium through 1997.

Regular season

April 29, 1981: Steve Carlton struck out Tim Wallach for the 3000th strikeout of his career.
May 10, 1981: Charlie Lea pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants, defeating them 4–0 at Olympic Stadium. The last out was recorded by Andre Dawson in center field. Lea would go on to shut out the Giants again a week later on four hits in San Francisco for good measure.

Notable transactions

April 1, 1981: John Tamargo was released by the Expos.
May 29, 1981: Ellis Valentine was traded by the Expos to the New York Mets for Jeff Reardon and Dan Norman.
June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft
*Mike Fuentes was drafted by the Expos in the 2nd round.
*Mark McGwire was drafted by the Expos in the 8th round.
*Marvin Freeman was drafted by the Expos in the 9th round, but did not sign.
*Al Newman was drafted by the Expos in the 1st round of the Secondary Phase.
August 20, 1981: Willie Montañez was traded by the Expos to the Pittsburgh Pirates for John Milner.

Major League debuts

Batters:
*Terry Francona
*Mike Gates
*Dave Hostetler
*Tony Johnson
*Wallace Johnson
*Pat Rooney
*Chris Smith
*Tom Wieghaus
Pitchers:
*Rick Engle
*Tom Gorman
*Bryn Smith

Opening Day starters

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		100	374	94	.251	16	68
1B		99	358	109	.304	6	42
2B		95	336	69	.205	0	26
3B		128	440	116	.264	17	62
SS		96	307	69	.225	2	25
LF		88	313	95	.304	5	37
CF		103	394	119	.302	24	64
RF		71	212	50	.236	4	13

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
	59	119	26	.218	3	11
	34	95	26	.274	1	8
	31	76	18	.237	3	9
	22	76	16	.211	3	15
	26	62	11	.177	0	5
Jerry Manuel	27	55	11	.200	3	10
Mike Phillips	34	55	12	.218	0	4
Bobby Ramos	26	41	8	.195	1	3
Rowland Office	26	40	7	.175	0	0
Tommy Hutton	31	29	3	.103	0	2
	17	21	5	.238	0	1
Dan Briggs	9	11	1	.091	0	0
Wallace Johnson	11	9	2	.222	0	3
Chris Smith	7	7	0	.000	0	0
Bob Pate	8	6	2	.333	0	0
Dave Hostetler	5	6	3	.500	1	1
Pat Rooney	4	5	0	.000	0	0
Mike Gates	1	2	1	.500	0	1
Tony Johnson	2	1	0	.000	0	0
Tom Wieghaus	1	1	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
	22	160.2	12	8	3.42	87
	22	157.1	7	9	2.80	115
	22	137.1	9	7	2.95	77
	22	135.2	9	7	3.05	52

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
	31	88.2	5	6	2.94	34
	16	64.1	5	4	4.62	31

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	35	43.0	5	3	7	1.88	25
	25	41.2	2	0	6	1.30	21
	32	39.1	1	2	3	3.66	18
	25	49.0	2	1	1	4.96	28
	12	17.1	1	1	0	6.23	4
	9	15.0	0	0	0	4.20	13
Bryn Smith	7	13.0	1	0	0	2.77	9
	10	10.2	1	0	0	7.59	4
	1	2.0	0	0	0	18.00	2

National League Division Series

Montreal Expos vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Montreal wins series, 3–2.

October 11, 1981 – Steve Rogers defeats Steve Carlton of the Phillies 3–0 in a pitchers' duel to win the National League Division Series. Rogers drove in two of the three Expos runs to boot singling home Larry Parrish and Chris Speier in the fifth inning. The Expos advance to play the Dodgers who defeated the Astros. Rogers previously defeated Carlton in game one of the series as well.

National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 13, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Game 2

October 14, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

October 19, 1981: Blue Monday. In the decisive Game 5 of their only National League Championship Series, the Expos were defeated at home, 2–1, by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tim Raines opened the bottom of the first with a double against Cy Young Award-winning rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela and scored on an Andre Dawson double play ball. Valenzuela held the Expos scoreless the rest of the way, however, and the Dodgers tied the game at 1 in the top of the fifth with two hits, a wild pitch and an RBI ground out off Expo starter Ray Burris. The teams remained tied until the top of the ninth, when Expo manager Jim Fanning made a risky decision to relieve Burris with Game 3 winner Steve Rogers. Struggling closer Jeff Reardon was throwing alongside Rogers in the bullpen at the time, but Fanning elected to summon his ace. Rogers retired Steve Garvey and Ron Cey in order, but outfielder Rick Monday homered to put Los Angeles ahead, 2–1, and crush the Expos' hopes of advancing to the World Series. Two-out walks from Gary Carter and Larry Parrish were all that the Expos could muster in the 9th, as Bob Welch preserved the one-run Dodger victory. The Expos lost the NLCS, 3–2, and never returned to the postseason again until 2012 as the Washington Nationals.

Awards and honors

Gary Carter, All-Star Game MVP
Gary Carter, Gold Glove Award, Catcher
Andre Dawson, Gold Glove Award, Outfield
Charlie Lea, Pitcher of the Month Award, May
Tim Raines, OF, The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
Tim Raines, National League Leader, 71 Stolen Bases

52nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game

All-Star Game

Gary Carter, National League catcher, starter
Andre Dawson, National League outfield, starter
Tim Raines, National League outfield, reserve
Dick Williams, National League coach