The 1981 Boston Red Sox season was the 81st season in the franchise's

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history. Due to the

1981 Major League Baseball strike The 1981 Major League Baseball strike was the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. Overall, it was the fourth work stoppage since 1972, but ...

, play during the regular season was suspended for 50 days, and the season was split into two halves, with playoff teams determined by records from each half of the season. In the first half of the season, the

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

finished fifth in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

with a record of 30 wins and 26 losses, four

games behind In most North American sports, the phrase games behind or games back (often abbreviated GB) is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. Example In the below standings fr ...

the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. In the second half of the season, the Red Sox finished tied for second in the division with a record of 29 wins and 23 losses, games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Red Sox' overall record for the season was 59 wins and 49 losses.

Offseason

* October 27, 1980: the Red Sox lured

Ralph Houk Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New Y ...

out of retirement to become the 35th manager in Red Sox history. * December 10, 1980: The Red Sox traded shortstop

Rick Burleson Richard Paul "Rooster" Burleson (born April 29, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop. Burleson, who played for three American League teams over 13 seasons, was a very intense ballplayer. Former Boston Red Sox teammate Bil ...

and third baseman

Butch Hobson Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson Jr. (born August 17, 1951) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. He is the current manager for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Hobson played in ...

to the California Angels in exchange for

Carney Lansford Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that wo ...

, former Red Sox player Rick Miller, and

Mark Clear Mark Alan Clear (born May 27, 1956) is an American former two-time All Star Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels (1979–80, 1990), Boston Red Sox (1981–85), and Milwaukee Brewers (1986–88). He batted and ...

. Burleson was unhappy with his contract negotiations with the Red Sox and hinted at leaving via free agency. * January 23, 1981:

Fred Lynn Fredric Michael Lynn (born February 3, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1974 through 1990 as a center fielder with the Boston Red Sox, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Det ...

and

Steve Renko Steve Renko, Jr. (born December 10, 1944) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Montreal Expos (1969–1976), Chicago Cubs (1976–1977), Chicago White Sox (1977), Oakland Athletics (1978), Boston Red S ...

were traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for Joe Rudi, Jim Dorsey and

Frank Tanana Frank Daryl Tanana (born July 3, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. In a Major League Baseball career that stretched from 1973 to 1993, he pitched for the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, De ...

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 8, 1981:

Dick Drago Richard Anthony Drago (born June 25, 1945) is a former American League relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals (-), Boston Red Sox (-, -), California Angels (-), Baltimore Orioles (1977) and Seattle Mariners ...

was traded by the Red Sox to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

for

Manny Sarmiento Manuel Eduardo Sarmiento Aponte (born February 2, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher who played with the Cincinnati Reds (1976–79), Seattle Mariners (1980) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1982–83) in Major League Baseball. S ...

. * June 8, 1981: Steve Lyons was drafted by the Red Sox in the 1st round (19th pick) of the

1981 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...

Opening Day lineup

Source: The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

defeated the Red Sox on Opening Day, 5–3. It was the first game that Carlton Fisk played for the White Sox, after 11 seasons with the Red Sox; Fisk hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning.

Roster

Statistical leaders

Source:

Batting

Source:

Pitching

Source:

Awards and honors

– AL Pitcher of the Month (May) * Dwight Evans –

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

(OF), Gold Glove Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (May) *

–

(3B) ;

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

* Dwight Evans, reserve OF

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol
Source:

References

External links

1981 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference1981 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...