The 1981 Baltimore Orioles season was the franchise's 28th season based in Baltimore and 81st overall season as a member of the American League. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Orioles competed as members of the American League East, finishing second in the first half of the season and fourth in the second half of the season; their overall record was 59 wins and 46 losses. The Orioles hit five grand slams, the most in MLB in 1981.
Offseason December 15, 1980: Paul Hartzell was released by the Orioles.Paul Hartzell page at Baseball Reference January 22, 1981: Joe Kerrigan and John Buffamoyer (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Grace and John Hale.Joe Kerrigan page at Baseball Reference
Regular season August 10, 1981: Cal Ripken Jr. made his major league debut in a game against the Kansas City Royals.
Notable transactions April 1, 1981: Kiko Garcia was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for Chris Bourjos and cash.Chris Bourjos page at Baseball Reference June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft Jeff Schaefer was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round.Jeff Schaefer page at Baseball Reference Cecil Fielder was drafted by the Orioles in the 31st round, but did not sign.Cecil Fielder page at Baseball Reference
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1981 Baltimore Orioles roster Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats
= Indicates team leader
= Indicates league leader 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 Rick Dempsey 92 251 54 .215 6 15 1B Eddie Murray 99 378 111 .294 22* 78 2B Rich Dauer 96 369 97 .263 4 38 3B Doug DeCinces 100 346 91 .263 13 55 SS Mark Belanger 64 139 23 .165 1 10 LF John Lowenstein 83 189 47 .249 6 20 CF Al Bumbry 101 392 107 .273 1 27 RF Ken Singleton 103 363 101 .278 13 49 DH Terry Crowley 68 134 33 .246 4 25 Tied with Tony Armas (Oakland), Dwight Evans (Boston) and Bobby Grich (California) for league lead.
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 Gary Roenicke 85 219 59 .269 3 20 Lenn Sakata 61 150 34 .227 5 15 Dan Graham 55 142 25 .176 2 11 Jim Dwyer 68 134 30 .224 3 10 Benny Ayala 44 86 24 .279 3 13 38 86 21 .244 2 14 33 56 12 .214 0 6 23 39 5 .128 0 0 10 27 8 .296 0 2 Mark Corey 10 8 0 .000 0 0 Willie Royster 4 4 0 .000 0 0 2 2 1 .500 0 0 John Shelby 7 2 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 25 179.0 14* 5 3.32 88 Scott McGregor 24 160.0 13 5 3.26 82 Jim Palmer 22 127.1 7 8 3.75 35 20 116.0 9 6 4.19 72 Steve Stone 15 62.2 4 7 4.60 30 Tied with Steve McCatty (Oakland), Jack Morris (Detroit) and Pete Vuckovich (Milwaukee) for league lead.
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 Sammy Stewart 29 112.1 4 8 2.32 57 Dave Ford 15 40.0 1 2 6.53 12
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 Tippy Martinez 37 3 3 11 2.90 50 Tim Stoddard 31 4 2 7 3.86 32 Jeff Schneider 11 0 0 1 4.88 17 7 0 0 0 7.56 12 2 0 0 0 4.76 2
Awards and honors Dennis Martínez, American League Leader Victories (14) All-Star Game
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hagerstown
Notes
References
1981 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference 1981 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com