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1981 Pittsburgh Pirates season

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1981 Pittsburgh Pirates
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkThree Rivers Stadium
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
RecordFirst half: 25–23 (.521)
Second half: 21–33 (.389)
Divisional placeFirst half: 4th
Second half: 6th
OwnersJohn W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholder)
General managersHarding "Pete" Peterson
ManagersChuck Tanner
TelevisionKDKA-TV
Lanny Frattare, Jim Rooker, John Sanders
Action-TV
Bob Prince, Ray Scott
RadioKDKA
Lanny Frattare, Jim Rooker
← 1980 Seasons 1982 →

The 1981 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 100th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; their 95th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the National League East in the first half of the season with a record of 25–23 and sixth in the second half with a record of 21–33.

Regular season

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Officials of the Louisiana Superdome met with Pirates management in April 1981 about moving the club to New Orleans when the Pirates were unhappy with their lease at Three Rivers Stadium.[2]

Season standings

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NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 59 43 .578 — 32‍–‍21 27‍–‍22
Montreal Expos 60 48 .556 2 38‍–‍18 22‍–‍30
Philadelphia Phillies 59 48 .551 2½ 36‍–‍19 23‍–‍29
Pittsburgh Pirates 46 56 .451 13 22‍–‍28 24‍–‍28
New York Mets 41 62 .398 18½ 24‍–‍27 17‍–‍35
Chicago Cubs 38 65 .369 21½ 27‍–‍30 11‍–‍35
NL East
First Half Standings 		W L Pct. GB
Philadelphia Phillies 34 21 .618 —
St. Louis Cardinals 30 20 .600 1+1⁄2
Montreal Expos 30 25 .545 4
Pittsburgh Pirates 25 23 .521 5+1⁄2
New York Mets 17 34 .333 15
Chicago Cubs 15 37 .288 17+1⁄2
NL East
Second Half Standings 		W L Pct. GB
Montreal Expos 30 23 .566 —
St. Louis Cardinals 29 23 .558 1⁄2
Philadelphia Phillies 25 27 .481 4+1⁄2
New York Mets 24 28 .462 5+1⁄2
Chicago Cubs 23 28 .451 6
Pittsburgh Pirates 21 33 .389 9+1⁄2

Record vs. opponents

[edit]
1981 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 3–2–1 6–5 4–8 7–7 3–7 3–3 4–5 2–3 9–6 5–7 4–3
Chicago 2–3–1 — 1–5 1–6 6–4 4–7 5–8–1 2–10 4–10 3–3 5–5 5–4–1
Cincinnati 5–6 5–1 — 8–4 8–8 5–4 7–3 5–2 4–2 10–2 9–5 0–5
Houston 8–4 6–1 4–8 — 4–8 5–2 6–3 4–6 2–4 11–3 9–6 2–4
Los Angeles 7–7 4–6 8–8 8–4 — 5–2 5–1 3–3 5–1 6–5 7–5 5–5
Montreal 7–3 7–4 4–5 2–5 2–5 — 9–3 7–4 10–3 4–2 2–5 6–9
New York 3–3 8–5–1 3–7 3–6 1–5 3–9 — 7–7 3–6–1 2–5 2–4 6–5
Philadelphia 5-4 10–2 2–5 6–4 3–3 4–7 7–7 — 7–5 4–2 4–3 7–6
Pittsburgh 3–2 10–4 2–4 4–2 1–5 3–10 6–3–1 5–7 — 6–4 3–7 3–8
San Diego 6–9 3–3 2–10 3–11 5–6 2–4 5–2 2–4 4–6 — 6–7 3–7
San Francisco 7–5 5–5 5–9 6–9 5–7 5–2 4–2 3–4 7–3 7–6 — 2–3
St. Louis 3–4 4–5–1 5–0 4–2 5–5 9–6 5–6 6–7 8–3 7–3 3–2 —


Game log

[edit]
1981 Game Log: 46–56 (Home: 22–28; Away: 24–28)
April: 7–6 (Home: 1–3; Away: 6–3)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 April 9 Expos 5–6 Fryman Tekulve (0–1) — 40,332 0–1
2 April 12 Expos 3–2 Rhoden (1–0) Burris Romo (1) 8,430 1–1
3 April 13 @ Phillies 1–5 Carlton Candelaria (0–1) — 60,404 1–2
4 April 15 @ Phillies 3–4 (11) McGraw Romo (0–1) — 27,450 1–3
5 April 16 @ Phillies 3–5 Ruthven Robinson (0–1) McGraw 26,780 1–4
6 April 17 @ Astros 4–3 Rhoden (2–0) Sutton Romo (2) 39,119 2–4
7 April 18 @ Astros 6–3 (11) Jackson (1–0) Smith — 29,790 3–4
8 April 19 @ Astros 2–0 Scurry (1–0) Niekro Solomon (1) 30,394 4–4
9 April 22 Mets 2–2 — 7,530 4–4
10 April 25 Cardinals 1–5 Shirley Candelaria (0–2) — 7,334 4–5
11 April 26 Cardinals 2–3 Kaat Jackson (1–1) Sutter 8,139 4–6
12 April 28 @ Mets 8–0 Rhoden (3–0) Scott — 6,973 5–6
13 April 29 @ Mets 10–0 Bibby (1–0) Roberts — 7,175 6–6
14 April 30 @ Mets 7–4 Candelaria (1–2) Jones Jackson (1) 5,553 7–6
May: 13–14 (Home: 5–6; Away: 8–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
15 May 1 Astros 3–5 Sambito Solomon (0–1) — 7,012 7–7
16 May 2 Astros 5–4 (12) Solomon (1–1) Smith — 21,993 8–7
17 May 3 Astros 1–3 Sutton Bibby (1–1) Smith 10,438 8–8
18 May 6 @ Reds 8–9 Hume Jackson (1–2) — 14,551 8–9
19 May 7 @ Reds 3–1 Rhoden (4–0) Soto Romo (3) 9–9
20 May 7 @ Reds 7–1 Solomon (2–1) LaCoss — 20,301 10–9
21 May 8 @ Cardinals 4–5 Shirley Bibby (1–2) Kaat 20,108 10–10
22 May 9 @ Cardinals 0–13 Rincon Scurry (1–1) — 21,361 10–11
23 May 10 @ Cardinals 8–2 Candelaria (2–2) Sorensen Romo (4) 11,112 11–11
24 May 11 @ Braves 2–3 (10) Mahler Tekulve (0–2) — 4,260 11–12
25 May 12 @ Braves 0–2 Niekro Solomon (2–2) — 9,711 11–13
26 May 13 @ Braves 7–5 (13) Cruz (1–0) Boggs Scurry (1) 10,638 12–13
27 May 15 Reds 1–4 Price Romo (0–2) Hume 10,592 12–14
28 May 16 Reds 0–4 LaCoss Scurry (1–2) — 11,890 12–15
29 May 17 Reds 3–4 Soto Solomon (2–3) — 11,775 12–16
30 May 19 Braves 5–0 Bibby (2–2) Niekro — 5,514 13–16
31 May 20 Braves 6–1 Rhoden (5–0) Walk Romo (5) 8,351 14–16
32 May 22 Phillies 3–1 Perez (1–0) Christenson — 20,695 15–16
33 May 23 Phillies 4–6 Proly Tekulve (0–3) Reed 20,340 15–17
34 May 24 Phillies 7–1 Bibby (3–2) Bystrom Cruz (1) 21,771 16–17
35 May 25 @ Cubs 9–10 (11) Tidrow Cruz (1–1) — 18,506 16–18
36 May 26 @ Cubs 6–4 Tekulve (1–3) Krukow Romo (6) 6,988 17–18
37 May 27 @ Cubs 3–2 Perez (2–0) Reuschel — 6,970 18–18
38 May 28 @ Cubs 9–4 Solomon (3–3) Caudill — 7,886 19–18
39 May 29 @ Expos 2–3 Sanderson Bibby (3–3) Lee 36,662 19–19
40 May 30 @ Expos 3–2 Rhoden (6–0) Gullickson — 31,649 20–19
41 May 31 @ Expos 1–5 Rogers Perez (2–1) — 45,784 20–20
June: 5–3 (Home: 5–3; Away: 0–0)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
42 June 2 Cubs 16–3 Solomon (4–3) Caudill — 6,437 21–20
43 June 3 Cubs 3–2 Bibby (4–3) Martz Romo (7) 5,003 22–20
44 June 4 Cubs 5–4 (10) Tekulve (2–3) McGlothen — 6,740 23–20
45 June 5 Giants 3–5 Breining Romo (0–3) Lavelle 8,361 23–21
46 June 6 Giants 7–6 Scurry (2–2) Griffin Tekulve (1) 11,362 24–21
47 June 7 Giants 3–2 Solomon (5–3) Blue Romo (8) 32,244 25–21
48 June 9 Padres 4–7 Mura Rhoden (6–1) Lucas 9,145 25–22
49 June 10 Padres 2–3 Eichelberger Perez (2–2) Lucas 9,450 25–23
August: 7–15 (Home: 4–8; Away: 3–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
50 August 10 @ Expos 1–3 Lee Perez (2–3) — 37,275 25–24
51 August 11 @ Expos 6–3 Tekulve (3–3) Fryman — 33,045 26–24
52 August 12 Expos 2–3 Burris Solomon (5–4) Lee 12,069 26–25
53 August 13 Expos 2–7 Rogers Tiant (0–1) — 11,735 26–26
54 August 15 @ Cubs 3–4 (15) Martz Scurry (2–3) — 15,388 26–27
55 August 16 @ Cubs 4–3 (11) Tekulve (4–3) Smith Jackson (2) 27–27
56 August 16 @ Cubs 4–6 Howell Perez (2–4) Martz 18,991 27–28
57 August 17 Giants 1–5 (11) Minton Scurry (2–4) — 7,117 27–29
58 August 18 Giants 2–4 Whitson Tiant (0–2) Minton 9,362 27–30
59 August 19 Giants 7–3 Jones (1–0) Alexander Jackson (3) 8,414 28–30
60 August 21 Padres 4–2 Rhoden (7–1) Mura Jackson (4) 29–30
61 August 21 Padres 3–2 Bibby (5–3) Lollar Tekulve (2) 19,049 30–30
62 August 22 Padres 6–7 Curtis Tekulve (4–4) Lucas 11,865 30–31
63 August 23 Padres 5–2 Scurry (3–4) Welsh Romo (9) 23,736 31–31
64 August 24 Dodgers 0–3 Hooton Jones (1–1) — 12,308 31–32
65 August 25 Dodgers 7–9 (11) Pena Tekulve (4–5) Niedenfuer 16,770 31–33
66 August 26 Dodgers 6–16 Reuss Rhoden (7–2) — 11,144 31–34
67 August 27 @ Giants 4–5 (13) Holland Robinson (0–2) — 10,807 31–35
68 August 28 @ Giants 1–5 Whitson Scurry (3–5) — 8,418 31–36
69 August 29 @ Giants 3–8 Alexander Tiant (0–3) — 10,738 31–37
70 August 30 @ Giants 0–5 Griffin Perez (2–5) — 18,117 31–38
71 August 31 @ Dodgers 5–4 (10) Jones (2–1) Stewart Robinson (1) 35,862 32–38
September: 13–15 (Home: 6–5; Away: 7–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
72 September 1 @ Dodgers 2–3 (14) Niedenfuer Jones (2–2) — 50,134 32–39
73 September 2 @ Dodgers 2–6 Welch Long (0–1) Pena 32,027 32–40
74 September 3 @ Padres 7–3 Tiant (1–3) Eichelberger Scurry (2) 6,153 33–40
75 September 4 @ Padres 4–5 Littlefield Robinson (0–3) Show 8,128 33–41
76 September 5 @ Padres 2–1 Rhoden (8–2) Mura Scurry (3) 7,297 34–41
77 September 6 @ Padres 9–5 Solomon (6–4) Wise Robinson (2) 4,177 35–41
78 September 7 Mets 2–1 Jones (3–2) Allen Scurry (4) 36–41
79 September 7 Mets 5–4 Long (1–1) Boitano Lee (3) 9,935 37–41
80 September 8 Mets 1–3 Lynch Tiant (1–4) Allen 5,383 37–42
81 September 9 Mets 3–5 Leach Perez (2–6) Searage 7,089 37–43
82 September 11 Phillies 0–8 Carlton Rhoden (8–3) — 12,799 37–44
83 September 12 Phillies 6–2 Solomon (7–4) Noles Scurry (5) 11,370 38–44
84 September 13 Phillies 3–2 Jones (4–2) Reed Tekulve (3) 16,493 39–44
85 September 15 @ Cubs 8–2 Tiant (2–4) Griffin — 5,254 40–44
86 September 18 @ Phillies 7–6 Scurry (4–5) Reed Lee (4) 24,537 41–44
87 September 19 @ Phillies 2–8 Larson Jones (4–3) Christenson 30,446 41–45
88 September 20 @ Phillies 4–5 Lyle Solomon (7–5) — 31,489 41–46
89 September 21 @ Mets 3–4 (13) Boitano Lee (0–1) — 7,429 41–47
90 September 22 @ Mets 5–3 Bibby (6–3) Scott Scurry (6) 6,855 42–47
91 September 23 @ Expos 2–3 Jackson Rhoden (8–4) — 10,081 42–48
92 September 24 @ Expos 1–7 Lee Jones (4–4) — 23,459 42–49
93 September 25 @ Cardinals 5–4 Solomon (8–5) Kaat Scurry (7) 15,377 43–49
94 September 26 @ Cardinals 3–5 Forsch Lee (0–2) Sutter 19,761 43–50
95 September 27 @ Cardinals 5–7 LaPoint Perez (2–7) Sutter 17,703 43–51
96 September 28 Cubs 4–0 Rhoden (9–4) Griffin — 44–51
97 September 28 Cubs 1–3 Geisel Long (1–2) Martz 3,698 44–52
98 September 29 Cubs 10–6 Romo (1–3) Tidrow — 3,439 45–52
99 September 30 Expos 2–3 Gullickson Solomon (8–6) Fryman 5,826 45–53
October: 1–3 (Home: 1–3; Away: 0–0)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
100 October 1 Expos 2–5 Burris Tiant (2–5) Reardon 2,931 45–54
101 October 2 Cardinals 8–7 Tekulve (5–5) Sutter — 2,348 46–54
102 October 3 Cardinals 3–8 Martin Camacho (0–1) — 3,589 46–55
103 October 4 Cardinals 0–4 Shirley Jones (4–5) — 10,022 46–56
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie
Bold = Pirates team member

Roster

[edit]
1981 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Opening Day Lineup

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Opening Day Starters
# Name Position
18 Omar Moreno CF
10 Tim Foli SS
39 Dave Parker RF
30 Jason Thompson 1B
24 Mike Easler LF
5 Bill Madlock 3B
4 Dale Berra 2B
16 Steve Nicosia C
26 Jim Bibby P

[3]

Player stats

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Batting

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

Pitching

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

Awards and honors

[edit]

1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Transactions

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  • October 22, 1980 – Jesse Jefferson granted free agency.
  • October 22, 1980 – John Milner granted free agency.
  • October 29, 1980 – Traded a player to be named later and cash to the Seattle Mariners. Received Odell Jones. The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Larry Andersen (October 29, 1980) to the Seattle Mariners to complete the trade.
  • December 9, 1980 – Traded Bert Blyleven and Manny Sanguillén to the Cleveland Indians. Received Gary Alexander, Victor Cruz, Bob Owchinko and Rafael Vasquez.
  • January 13, 1981 – Drafted John Kruk in the 3rd round of the 1981 amateur draft (January), but did not sign the player.
  • January 19, 1981 – Signed Larvell Blanks as a free agent.
  • January 20, 1981 – Signed Rusty Torres as a free agent.
  • January 23, 1981 – Signed John Milner as a free agent.
  • February 23, 1981 – Signed Luis Tiant as a free agent.
  • April 1, 1981 – Traded Mickey Mahler and Ed Ott to the California Angels. Received Jason Thompson.
  • April 5, 1981 – Purchased Jim Smith from the Baltimore Orioles.
  • April 5, 1981 – Traded Dave Dravecky to the San Diego Padres. Received Bobby Mitchell (minors).
  • April 6, 1981 – Traded Bob Owchinko to the Oakland Athletics. Received a player to be named later and cash. The Oakland Athletics sent Ernie Camacho (April 10, 1981) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
  • May 4, 1981 – Signed Willie Horton as a free agent.
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Ray Krawczyk in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (June Secondary).
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Jim Winn in the 1st round (14th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft.
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Lee Tunnell in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft.
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Bip Roberts in the 5th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Scott Bankhead in the 17th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Chris Bosio in the 29th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 8, 1981 – Drafted Lance Johnson in the 30th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 25, 1981 – Signed Denny González as an amateur free agent.
  • July 11, 1981 – Signed Bobby Bonilla as an amateur free agent.
  • August 20, 1981 – Traded John Milner to the Montreal Expos. Received Willie Montañez.
  • August 31, 1981 – Traded Phil Garner to the Houston Astros. Received players to be named later and Johnny Ray. The Houston Astros sent Randy Niemann (September 9, 1981) and Kevin Houston (minors) (September 9, 1981) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
  • September 1, 1981 – Sold Grant Jackson to the Montreal Expos for $50,000.
  • October 5, 1981 – Released Luis Tiant.
  • October 23, 1981 – Purchased Manny Sarmiento from the Boston Red Sox.
  • October 26, 1981 – Released Kurt Bevacqua.

Farm system

[edit]
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League Pete Ward
AA Buffalo Bisons Eastern League Johnny Lipon
A Alexandria Pirates Carolina League Mike Toomey
A Greenwood Pirates South Atlantic League Joe Frisina
Rookie GCL Pirates Gulf Coast League Woody Huyke

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
  2. ^ Associated Press (April 24, 1981). "Pirates Considering New Orleans Move". Ellensburg Daily Record. Retrieved June 19, 2009.
  3. ^ 1981 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
  4. ^ "Major League Baseball Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
  5. ^ "Major League Baseball Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.

References

[edit]
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