The 1981 Kansas City Royals season was their 13th in Major League Baseball. The 1981 season was interrupted by a players strike from June 12 to July 31, and resumed on August 10. Major League Baseball officials decided to split the season, and the division winners of both halves would advance to the playoffs. The Royals were 20–30 and in fifth place in the American League West when the strike began, but won the second half with a 30–23 mark. Dick Howser replaced Jim Frey as manager on August 31. Kansas City's overall 50–53 record made the Royals the first team in MLB history to reach the postseason with a losing mark. Kansas City lost to the first half American League West winner Oakland Athletics 3–0 in the ALDS.
Offseason January 6, 1981: Derek Botelho was signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
Regular season August 10, 1981: Cal Ripken Jr. made his major league debut for the Baltimore Orioles in a game against the Royals.Cal Ripken, Jr. at Baseball Reference
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 3, 1981: Bombo Rivera was signed as a free agent by the Royals.Bombo Rivera at Baseball Reference June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft Dave Leeper was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (23rd pick). Player signed June 10, 1981.Dave Leeper at Baseball Reference David Cone was drafted by the Royals in the 3rd round. Player signed June 10, 1981.David Cone at Baseball Reference
Roster 1981 Kansas City Royals roster Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats
= Indicates team 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 John Wathan 89 301 76 .252 1 19 1B Willie Aikens 101 349 93 .266 17 53 2B Frank White 94 364 91 .250 9 38 SS U L Washington 98 339 77 .227 2 29 3B George Brett 89 347 109 .314 6 43 LF Willie Wilson 102 439 133 .303 1 32 CF Amos Otis 99 372 100 .269 9 57 RF Darryl Motley 42 125 29 .232 2 8 DH Hal McRae 101 389 106 .272 7 36
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 César Gerónimo 59 118 29 .246 2 13 Jamie Quirk 46 100 25 .250 0 10 Clint Hurdle 28 76 25 .329 4 15 Jerry Grote 22 56 17 .304 1 9 Lee May 26 55 16 .291 0 8 Dave Chalk 27 49 11 .224 0 5 Rance Mulliniks 24 44 10 .227 0 5 Ken Phelps 21 22 3 .136 0 1 Danny Garcia 12 14 2 .143 0 0 Pat Sheridan 3 1 0 .000 0 0 Tim Ireland 4 0 0 ---- 0 0 Onix Concepción 2 0 0 ---- 0 0 Greg Keatley 2 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 Dennis Leonard 26 201.2 13 11 2.99 107 Larry Gura 23 172.1 11 8 2.72 61 Rich Gale 19 101.2 6 6 5.40 47 Paul Splittorff 21 99.0 5 5 4.36 48 Mike Jones 12 75.2 6 3 3.21 29
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 Jim Wright 17 52.0 2 3 3.46 27 Atlee Hammaker 10 39.0 1 3 5.54 11 Juan Berenguer 8 19.2 0 4 8.69 20
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 Dan Quisenberry 40 1 4 18 1.73 20 Renie Martin 29 4 5 4 2.77 25 Ken Brett 22 1 1 2 4.18 7 Bill Paschall 2 0 0 0 4.50 1 Jeff Schattinger 1 0 0 0 0.00 1
ALDS
Oakland wins series, 3–0.
GameScoreDate1Oakland 4, Kansas City 0October 62Oakland 2, Kansas City 1October 73Oakland 4, Kansas City 1October 9
Farm system
Notes
References
External links 1981 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1981 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac