1981 New York Yankees season
The 1981 New York Yankees season was the franchise's 79th season. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Yankees competed as members of the American League East, finishing first in the first half of the season, and tying for fifth in the second half of the season; overall, they won 59 games while losing 48. The team advanced to the postseason due to their first-half first-place finish, where they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League Division Series and the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series, capturing the Yankees' only pennant of the 1980s. The Yankees then lost the World Series in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium and were managed by Gene Michael until September 5, and by Bob Lemon thereafter.Offseason
- November 18, 1980: Brad Gulden was traded by the New York Yankees with $150,000 to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later and Larry Milbourne. The Seattle Mariners sent back Brad Gulden to the New York Yankees to complete the trade. In effect, Brad Gulden was traded for himself.
- December 8, 1980: Brian Doyle was drafted from the Yankees by the Oakland Athletics in the 1980 rule 5 draft.
- December 15, 1980: Dave Winfield was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
- February 16, 1981: Rafael Santana was traded by the Yankees to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending George Frazier to the Yankees on June 7.
- March 31, 1981: Chris Welsh, Ruppert Jones, Joe Lefebvre, and Tim Lollar were traded by the Yankees to the San Diego Padres for Jerry Mumphrey and John Pacella.
Regular season
The team finished in first place in the American League East for the first half of the season with a 34–22 record but finished fifth in the second half with a 25–26 record, for an overall record of 59–48. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike and the league chose as its playoff teams, the division winners from the first and second halves of the season, respectively.Notable transactions
- April 6, 1981: Johnny Oates was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
- May 20, 1981: Jim Spencer and Tom Underwood were traded by the Yankees to the Oakland Athletics for Dave Revering, Mike Patterson, and Chuck Dougherty.
- June 12, 1981: Doug Bird, a player to be named later, and $400,000 were traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Reuschel. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Mike Griffin to the Cubs on August 5.
- August 19, 1981: Pat Tabler was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for players to be named later. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Bill Caudill to the Yankees on April 1, 1982, and Jay Howell to the Yankees on August 2.
Draft picks
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft
- *John Elway was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round.
- *Phil Lombardi was drafted by the Yankees in the 3rd round.
- *Eric Plunk was drafted by the Yankees in the 4th round. Player signed June 15, 1981.
- *Fred McGriff was drafted by the Yankees in the 9th round. McGriff signed on June 11, 1981.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster
Game log
Regular season
First half
Second half
Postseason Game log
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 | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
| C | | 71 | 234 | 23 | 57 | .244 | 2 | 21 | 0 |
| 1B | | 59 | 156 | 15 | 33 | .212 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| 2B | | 93 | 357 | 59 | 83 | .232 | 2 | 24 | 14 |
| SS | | 73 | 227 | 20 | 54 | .238 | 7 | 27 | 0 |
| 3B | | 103 | 349 | 46 | 85 | .244 | 15 | 46 | 0 |
| LF | | 105 | 388 | 52 | 114 | .294 | 13 | 68 | 11 |
| CF | | 80 | 319 | 44 | 98 | .307 | 6 | 32 | 14 |
| RF | | 94 | 334 | 33 | 79 | .237 | 15 | 54 | 0 |
| DH | | 50 | 117 | 14 | 31 | .265 | 6 | 24 | 0 |
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 |
| 80 | 189 | 45 | .238 | 10 | 27 |
| 61 | 163 | 51 | .313 | 1 | 12 |
| 60 | 159 | 44 | .277 | 5 | 18 |
| 40 | 125 | 26 | .208 | 6 | 10 |
| 45 | 119 | 28 | .235 | 2 | 7 |
| 25 | 63 | 9 | .143 | 2 | 4 |
| 31 | 62 | 14 | .226 | 0 | 6 |
| 34 | 55 | 6 | .109 | 0 | 1 |
| Aurelio Rodriguez | 27 | 52 | 18 | .346 | 2 | 8 |
| 10 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Robertson | 10 | 19 | 5 | .263 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Balboni | 4 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 0 | 2 |
| Tucker Ashford | 3 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 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 |
| Rudy May | 27 | 147.2 | 6 | 11 | 4.14 | 79 |
| Tommy John | 20 | 140.1 | 9 | 8 | 2.63 | 50 |
| Ron Guidry | 23 | 127.0 | 11 | 5 | 2.76 | 104 |
| 15 | 105.1 | 8 | 4 | 2.05 | 89 |
| Rick Reuschel | 12 | 70.2 | 4 | 4 | 2.67 | 22 |
| Gene Nelson | 8 | 39.1 | 3 | 1 | 4.81 | 16 |
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 |
| 17 | 53.1 | 5 | 1 | 2.70 | 28 |
| 9 | 32.2 | 1 | 4 | 4.41 | 29 |
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 |
| Rich Gossage | 32 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 0.77 | 48 |
| Ron Davis | 43 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2.71 | 83 |
| Dave LaRoche | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.49 | 24 |
| 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1.63 | 17 |
| Bill Castro | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.79 | 4 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.14 | 7 |
| Andy McGaffigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 2 |
| Mike Griffin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 4 |
Postseason
ALDS
New York wins series, 3–2.ALCS
New York Yankees win the Series over the Oakland Athletics, 3–0World Series
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
| 1 | Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 5 | October 20 | Yankee Stadium | 56,470 | 2:32 |
| 2 | Dodgers – 0, Yankees – 3 | October 21 | Yankee Stadium | 56,505 | 2:29 |
| 3 | Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 5 | October 23 | Dodger Stadium | 56,236 | 3:04 |
| 4 | Yankees – 7, Dodgers – 8 | October 24 | Dodger Stadium | 56,242 | 3:32 |
| 5 | Yankees – 1, Dodgers – 2 | October 25 | Dodger Stadium | 56,115 | 2:19 |
| 6 | Dodgers – 9, Yankees – 2 | October 28 | Yankee Stadium | 56,513 | 3:09 |
Awards and honors
All-Star Game