The 1981

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

season was the franchise's 28th season based in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and 81st overall season as a member of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the

1981 Major League Baseball strike The 1981 Major League Baseball strike was the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. Overall, it was the fourth work stoppage since 1972, but ...

, causing a

split season A split season is a schedule format implemented in a variety of sports leagues. The season is divided into two parts, with the winners of both halves playing each other at the end for the overall championship. Split seasons are usually found in sp ...

. The Orioles competed as members of the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

, 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. * January 22, 1981:

Joe Kerrigan Joseph Thomas Kerrigan (born January 30, 1954) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher, manager, and longtime pitching coach. He played for the Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles from 1976 to 1980, and managed the Bos ...

and John Buffamoyer (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Grace and John Hale.

Regular season

* August 10, 1981:

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...

made his major league debut in a game against the Kansas City Royals.

Notable transactions

* April 1, 1981:

Kiko Garcia Alfonso Rafael Garcia (born October 14, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder of Mexican-American descent. He was nicknamed "Kiko" by his grandmother when he was a small boy.He now coaches the 18u NorCal Choppers fast pit ...

was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for

Chris Bourjos Christopher Bourjos (born October 16, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played part of one season for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He has worked as an Arizona-based scout (sport), scout. Playing c ...

and cash. * 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, 33 ...

Jeff Schaefer Jeffrey Scott Schaefer (born May 31, 1960 in Patchogue, New York) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder. He played all or parts of five seasons in the majors between and . Of the 225 games Schaefer played in the majors, a ...

was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round. **

Cecil Fielder Cecil Grant Fielder (; born September 21, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Fielder was a power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV ...

was drafted by the Orioles in the 31st round, but did not sign.Cecil Fielder page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

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; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

Dennis Martínez José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955), nicknamed "El Presidente" (The President), is a Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher. Martínez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland India ...

, American League Leader Victories (14)

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hagerstown

Notes

References

*
1981 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference1981 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
Baltimore Orioles seasons

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