1981 Seattle Mariners season
| 1981 Seattle Mariners | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Danny Kaye |
| General manager(s) | Dan O'Brien, Sr. |
| Manager(s) | Maury Wills, Rene Lachemann |
| Local television | KING-TV |
| Local radio |
KVI 570 AM (Dave Niehaus, Ken Wilson, Don Poier) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The Seattle Mariners 1981 season was their fifth since the franchise creation, and ended the season finishing 6th in the American League West, finishing with a record of 44-65. Due to the 1981 player's strike, the division's were split in half, pre-strike and post-strike results. The Mariners finished 6th with a 21-36 record in the first half and 5th with a 23-29 record in the second half.
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 (May 18, 1981) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.[1] In effect, Brad Gulden was traded for himself.
- December 8, 1980: Gary Gray was selected by the Mariners from the Cleveland Indians in the rule 5 draft.[2]
- December 12, 1980: Byron McLaughlin was traded by the Mariners to the Minnesota Twins for Willie Norwood.[3]
- December 12, 1980: Willie Horton, Larry Cox, Rick Honeycutt, Mario Mendoza, and Leon Roberts were traded by the Mariners to the Texas Rangers for Richie Zisk, Rick Auerbach, Ken Clay, Jerry Don Gleaton, Brian Allard, and Steve Finch (minors).[4]
- March 26, 1981: Dave Heaverlo was released by the Mariners.[5]
- March 26, 1981: Willie Norwood was released by the Seattle Mariners.[3]
Regular season
Overview
On January 14, 1981, the Mariners' were sold to George Argyros, a California real estate developer, for an estimated $12.5 million.[6] The sale of the team, that needed the approval of 10 out of 14 owners of American League teams, received a unanimous vote of consent.[7] On April 25, 1981, Mariners' manager Maury Wills advised the Kingdome groundskeepers to enlarge the batter's box by a foot. A's manager Billy Martin noticed. Martin showed umpire Bill Kunkel that the batter's box was seven feet long instead of six feet. Martin felt that batters being able to move up a foot in the box could cut at pitches before a curveball broke. Wills was suspended for two games and fined $500.[8] In May, while in Arlington, Texas to play the Texas Rangers, the Mariners' uniforms were stolen. For the May 30 game against the Rangers, the Mariners wore their batting practice jerseys, Milwaukee Brewers' caps, and Rangers' batting helmets.[9] The Mariners purchased the Brewers caps at the Rangers' souvenir-stand; the Rangers did not offer Seattle caps for sale.[10]
Season standings
| AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 64 | 45 | 0.587 | — | 35–21 | 29–24 |
| Texas Rangers | 57 | 48 | 0.543 | 5 | 32–24 | 25–24 |
| Chicago White Sox | 54 | 52 | 0.509 | 8½ | 25–24 | 29–28 |
| Kansas City Royals | 50 | 53 | 0.485 | 11 | 19–28 | 31–25 |
| California Angels | 51 | 59 | 0.464 | 13½ | 26–28 | 25–31 |
| Seattle Mariners | 44 | 65 | 0.404 | 20 | 20–37 | 24–28 |
| Minnesota Twins | 41 | 68 | 0.376 | 23 | 24–36 | 17–32 |
| AL West First Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 37 | 23 | .617 |
| Texas Rangers | 33 | 22 | .600 |
| Chicago White Sox | 31 | 22 | .585 |
| California Angels | 31 | 29 | .517 |
| Kansas City Royals | 20 | 30 | .400 |
| Seattle Mariners | 21 | 36 | .368 |
| Minnesota Twins | 17 | 39 | .304 |
| AL West Second Half Standings |
W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 30 | 23 | .566 |
| Oakland Athletics | 27 | 22 | .551 |
| Texas Rangers | 24 | 26 | .480 |
| Minnesota Twins | 24 | 29 | .453 |
| Seattle Mariners | 23 | 29 | .442 |
| Chicago White Sox | 23 | 30 | .434 |
| California Angels | 20 | 30 | .400 |
Record vs. opponents
1981 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 2–2 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–2 | 6–7 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 6–0 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 5–2 |
| Boston | 2–2 | — | 2–4 | 5–4 | 7–6 | 6–1 | 3–3 | 6–7 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 3–6 | 4–0 |
| California | 6–6 | 4–2 | — | 6–7 | 7–5 | 3–3 | 0–6 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–8 | 6–4 | 2–4 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 6–3 | 4–5 | 7–6 | — | 2–5 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 2–4 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–2 | — | 1–5 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 2–1 | 7–5 | 3–2 | 8–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 |
| Detroit | 7–6 | 1–6 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–1 | — | 3–2 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 3–7 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 6–4 |
| Kansas City | 3–5 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 0–2 | 4–4 | 2–3 | — | 4–5 | 9–4 | 2–10 | 3–3 | 6–7 | 3–4 | 5–3 |
| Milwaukee | 4–2 | 7–6 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 6–3 | 8–5 | 5–4 | — | 9–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 4–5 | 6–4 |
| Minnesota | 0–6 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 3–3 | 2–8 | 3–6–1 | 5–8 | 5–1 |
| New York | 6–7 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–3 | 10–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | — | 4–3 | 2–3 | 5–4 | 2–3 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–2 | 6–7 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 8–2 | 3–4 | — | 6–1 | 4–2 | 10–2 |
| Seattle | 2–4 | 3–9 | 4–6 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 1–5 | 7–6 | 2–2 | 6–3–1 | 3–2 | 1–6 | — | 5–8 | 3–3 |
| Texas | 1–2 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–9 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 8–5 | 4–5 | 2–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–2 |
| Toronto | 2–5 | 0–4 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–5 | 4–6 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–10 | 3–3 | 2–6 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 8, 1981: Manny Sarmiento was traded by the Mariners to the Boston Red Sox for Dick Drago.[11]
- April 8, 1981: Bob Galasso was signed as a free agent by the Mariners.[12]
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
- Phil Bradley was drafted by the Mariners in the 3rd round.[13]
- Charlie O'Brien was drafted by the Mariners in the 21st round, but did not sign.[14]
Roster
| 1981 Seattle Mariners roster | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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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 | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | Cruz, JulioJulio Cruz | 94 | 352 | 90 | .256 | 2 | 24 |
| 3B | Meyer, DanDan Meyer | 83 | 252 | 66 | .262 | 3 | 22 |
| DH | Zisk, RichieRichie Zisk | 94 | 357 | 111 | .311 | 16 | 43 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray, GaryGary Gray | 69 | 208 | 51 | .245 | 13 | 31 |
| Serna, PaulPaul Serna | 30 | 94 | 24 | .255 | 4 | 9 |
| Auerbach, RickRick Auerbach | 38 | 84 | 13 | .155 | 1 | 6 |
| Parsons, CaseyCasey Parsons | 36 | 22 | 5 | .227 | 1 | 5 |
| McHenry, VanceVance McHenry | 15 | 18 | 4 | .222 | 0 | 2 |
| Walton, ReggieReggie Walton | 12 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Firova, DanDan Firova | 13 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott, GlennGlenn Abbott | 22 | 130.1 | 4 | 9 | 3.94 | 35 |
| Bannister, FloydFloyd Bannister | 21 | 121.1 | 9 | 9 | 4.45 | 85 |
| Beattie, JimJim Beattie | 13 | 66.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.97 | 36 |
| Allard, BrianBrian Allard | 7 | 48 | 3 | 2 | 3.75 | 20 |
| Stoddard, BobBob Stoddard | 5 | 34.2 | 2 | 1 | 2.60 | 22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay, KenKen Clay | 22 | 101 | 2 | 7 | 4.63 | 32 |
| Gleaton, Jerry DonJerry Don Gleaton | 20 | 85.1 | 4 | 7 | 4.75 | 31 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andersen, LarryLarry Andersen | 41 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2.66 | 40 |
| Drago, DickDick Drago | 39 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5.53 | 27 |
| Galasso, BobBob Galasso | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.83 | 14 |
| Stein, RandyRandy Stein | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10.61 | 6 |
Awards and records
- Julio Cruz, American League record, Most chances accepted in one nine-inning game (18 chances on June 7, 1981) [15]
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Spokane Indians | Pacific Coast League | Rene Lachemann and Ken Pape |
| AA | Lynn Sailors | Eastern League | Bobby Floyd |
| A | Wausau Timbers | Midwest League | Bill Plummer |
| A-Short Season | Bellingham Mariners | Northwest League | Jeff Scott |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wausau[16]
Notes
- ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guldebr01.shtml
- ↑ Gary Gray page at Baseball Reference
- 1 2 Willie Norwood page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Dave Heaverlo page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ "California Developer Set To Purchase the Mariners". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 15, 1981. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ↑ "White Sox, Mariners Sales Are Unanimous". Herald-Journal. Associated Press. January 30, 1981. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/cheaters/ballplayers.html
- ↑ "Rag-tag team happens to be Seattle". Anchorage Daily News. June 2, 1981. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ↑ "Dressing up". Milwaukee Journal. June 1, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ↑ Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Bob Galasso page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Phil Bradley page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Charlie O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.93, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
