The 1981

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

season was the 13th season in franchise history.

Offseason

* December 8, 1980: Rollie Fingers,

Bob Shirley Robert Charles Shirley (born June 25, 1954) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1977 to 1987, for the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yanke ...

Gene Tenace Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946), better known as Gene Tenace, is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most n ...

and a player to be named later were traded by the Padres to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for Terry Kennedy,

Steve Swisher Steven Eugene Swisher (born August 9, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres from 1974 to ...

, Mike Phillips,

John Littlefield John Andrew Littlefield (born January 5, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched two seasons in the major leagues, for the St. Louis Cardinals and for the San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professi ...

John Urrea John Goody Urrea (born February 9, 1955) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from to and the San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego ...

Kim Seaman Kim Michael Seaman (born May 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 27 games for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1979 and 1980 baseball seasons. Early career Seaman attended ...

, and

Al Olmsted Alan Ray Olmsted (born March 18, 1957) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in 5 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980. Pre-MLB baseball The Cardinals drafted Olmsted in the June 1975 amateur draft (13th round) out of ...

. The Padres completed the deal by sending

Bob Geren Robert Peter Geren (born September 22, 1961) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (–) and San Diego Padres (). Geren managed the Oakland Athletics f ...

to the Cardinals on December 10. * December 8, 1980:

Chuck Baker Charles Joseph Baker (born December 6, 1952) is a former middle infielder and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins in parts of three seasons spanning 1978–1981. Listed at 5' 11", 180 lb ...

was traded by the Padres to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for Dave Edwards. * December 8, 1980: Mario Ramírez was selected by the Padres from the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in the rule 5 draft. * December 15, 1980: Randy Jones was traded by the Padres to the New York Mets for

John Pacella John Lewis Pacella (born September 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch. Background Born in Brooklyn, New York, Pacella mov ...

and José Moreno. * December 15, 1980:

Rick Sweet Ricky Joe Sweet (born September 7, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) betwee ...

was purchased from the Padres by 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. * January 13, 1981: Eric Bullock was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 1st round (5th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (secondary phase), but did not sign. * March 27, 1981:

Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signif ...

, Kevin Bell and Eric Mustad (minors) was traded by the Padres to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

for

Bob Lacey Robert Joseph "Bob" Lacey, Jr. (born August 25, 1953) is former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, and ...

and Roy Moretti (minors). * March 27, 1981:

Eric Rasmussen Eric Ralph Rasmussen (born March 22, 1952) is a former professional baseball pitcher, and current coach in the Minnesota Twins organization. Career Early years Born Harold Ralph Rasmussen, he was originally known as Harry until legally changing ...

was released by the Padres.

Regular season

Opening Day Starters

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 8, 1981:

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, 33r ...

** Kevin McReynolds was drafted by the Padres in the 1st round (6th pick). **

Tony Gwynn Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...

was drafted by the Padres in the 3rd round. Player signed June 16, 1981. **

Greg Booker Gregory Scott Booker (June 22, 1960 – March 30, 2019) was a professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1983 until 1990. Booker's best season was probably in 1987. He made 44 appearanc ...

was drafted by the Padres in the 10th round. **

John Kruk John Martin Kruk (born February 9, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from through . Du ...

was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the Secondary Phase.

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs: RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Awards and honors

Ozzie Smith Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...

, SS,

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

Award * Ozzie Smith, National League Leader Games Played (110) * Ozzie Smith, National League Leader At-Bats (450)

1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 52nd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on Sunday, ...

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1981 San Diego Padres
at ''Baseball Reference''
1981 San Diego Padres
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{DEFAULTSORT:San Diego Padres season, 1981 San Diego Padres seasons 1981 Major League Baseball season