1981 Seattle Mariners season

The 1981 Seattle Mariners season was their fifth since the franchise creation, and were 6th in the American League West at 44–65 (.404). Due to the 1981 player's strike, the season was split in half, with pre-strike and post-strike results. The Mariners were sixth in the division in the first half at 21–36 (.368), and fifth in the second half at 23–29 (.442). The strike began on June 12 and regular season play resumed on August 10.^[1]

1981 Seattle Mariners
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Kingdome
City	Seattle, Washington
Owners	George Argyros
General managers	Dan O'Brien Sr.
Managers	Maury Wills - (6–18) Rene Lachemann - (38–47)
Television	KING-TV
Radio	KVI 570 AM (Dave Niehaus, Ken Wilson, Don Poier)
← 1980 Seasons 1982 →

Manager Maury Wills was fired on May 6 with a 6–18 (.250) record, the M's worst start yet;^[2] he was succeeded by 36-year-old Rene Lachemann, the manager at Triple-A Spokane.^[2][3][4]

Offseason

 

Ken Clay was traded to the Mariners during the off-season

• November 18, 1980: Brad Gulden was traded by the New York Yankees with $150,000 to the Mariners for a player to be named later and Larry Milbourne; the Mariners sent back Brad Gulden (May 18, 1981) to the Yankees to complete the trade.^[5] 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.^[6]
• December 12, 1980: Byron McLaughlin was traded by the Mariners to the Minnesota Twins for Willie Norwood.^[7]
• 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).^[8]
• March 26, 1981: Dave Heaverlo was released.^[9]
• March 26, 1981: Willie Norwood was released.^[7]

Regular season

Overview

 

Jerry Narron caught 65 games for the Mariners.

On January 14, 1981, the Mariners' were sold to George Argyros, a California real estate developer, for an estimated $12.5 million.^[10][11] The sale of the team, which needed the approval of 10 of 14 owners of American League teams, received a unanimous vote of consent on January 29.^[12]

 

Tom Paciorek hit .326 and then was traded

On April 25, Mariners' manager Maury Wills advised the Kingdome groundskeepers to enlarge the batter's box by a foot (0.3 m), and A's manager Billy Martin noticed. He showed umpire Bill Kunkel that the batter's box was seven feet (2.1 m) in length (instead of six). 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;^[13][14] he was fired on May 6.^[2]

While in Arlington in late May to play the Texas Rangers, the Mariners' uniforms were stolen. For the May 30 game against the Rangers, Seattle wore their batting practice jerseys, Milwaukee Brewers' caps, and Rangers' batting helmets.^[15] The Mariners purchased the Brewers caps at the Rangers' souvenir-stand; the Rangers did not offer Seattle caps for sale.^[16]

Journeyman Tom Paciorek put together a career season with the M's in 1981. Playing full-time for the only time in his career at age 34, he batted .326, second in the American League,^[17] and was fourth in the AL in slugging percentage. Paciorek earned his only appearance to an All-Star team in 1981 and was tenth in the AL MVP race. After a request for increased compensation and a three-year contract,^[17] the Mariners traded him in December 1981 to the Chicago White Sox for three players,^[18] none of whom made an impact with Seattle. Paciorek hit over .300 his first two years with the Sox, and was part of Chicago's division championship team in 1983.

Season standings

v t e 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.	GB
Oakland Athletics	37	23	.617	—
Texas Rangers	33	22	.600	1+1⁄2
Chicago White Sox	31	22	.585	2+1⁄2
California Angels	31	29	.517	6
Kansas City Royals	20	30	.400	12
Seattle Mariners	21	36	.368	14+1⁄2
Minnesota Twins	17	39	.304	18

AL West Second Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Kansas City Royals	30	23	.566	—
Oakland Athletics	27	22	.551	1
Texas Rangers	24	26	.480	4+1⁄2
Minnesota Twins	24	29	.453	6
Seattle Mariners	23	29	.442	6+1⁄2
Chicago White Sox	23	30	.434	7
California Angels	20	30	.400	8+1⁄2

Record vs. opponents

1981 American League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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: Manny Sarmiento was traded by the Mariners to the Boston Red Sox for Dick Drago.^[19]
• April 8: Bob Galasso was signed as a free agent by the Mariners.^[20]
• June 8: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Phil Bradley was selected by the Mariners in the third round.^[21]
  • Charlie O'Brien was selected by the Mariners in the 21st round, but did not sign.^[22]

Roster

1981 Seattle Mariners roster
Roster
Pitchers 17 Glenn Abbott 31 Brian Allard 39 Larry Andersen 19 Floyd Bannister 45 Jim Beattie 36 Bud Black 48 Bryan Clark 21 Ken Clay 40 Dick Drago 43 Bob Galasso 28 Jerry Don Gleaton 20 Mike Parrott 41 Shane Rawley 26 Randy Stein 34 Bob Stoddard		Catchers  9 Bud Bulling 44 Dan Firova 27 Brad Gulden  3 Jerry Narron Infielders  2 Kim Allen  4 Jim Anderson 16 Rick Auerbach 23 Bruce Bochte  6 Julio Cruz 24 Dave Edler 29 Gary Gray 11 Jim Maler  8 Vance McHenry  7 Dan Meyer  1 Lenny Randle 38 Paul Serna		Outfielders  5 Jeff Burroughs 42 Dave Henderson 14 Tom Paciorek 27 Casey Parsons 18 Joe Simpson 33 Reggie Walton		Manager 15 Rene Lachemann 30 Maury Wills Coaches 12 Tommy Davis (Hitting) 35 Frank Funk (Pitching) 10 Cananea Reyes (First Base) 32 Wes Stock (Pitching)

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
C	Jerry Narron	76	203	45	.222	3	17
1B	Bruce Bochte	99	335	87	.260	6	30
2B	Julio Cruz	94	352	90	.256	2	24
SS	Jim Anderson	70	162	33	.204	2	19
3B	Dan Meyer	83	252	66	.262	3	22
LF	Tom Paciorek	104	405	132	.326	14	66
CF	Joe Simpson	91	288	64	.222	2	30
RF	Jeff Burroughs	89	319	81	.254	10	41
DH	Richie 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
Lenny Randle	82	273	63	.231	4	25
Gary Gray	69	208	51	.245	13	31
Bud Bulling	62	154	38	.247	2	15
Dave Henderson	59	126	21	.167	6	13
Paul Serna	30	94	24	.255	4	9
Rick Auerbach	38	84	13	.155	1	6
Dave Edler	29	78	11	.141	0	5
Jim Maler	12	23	8	.348	0	2
Casey Parsons	36	22	5	.227	1	5
Vance McHenry	15	18	4	.222	0	2
Brad Gulden	8	16	3	.188	0	1
Reggie Walton	12	6	0	.000	0	0
Kim Allen	19	3	0	.000	0	0
Dan 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
Glenn Abbott	22	130.1	4	9	3.94	35
Floyd Bannister	21	121.1	9	9	4.45	85
Jim Beattie	13	66.2	3	2	2.97	36
Brian Allard	7	48.0	3	2	3.75	20
Bob 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
Ken Clay	22	101.0	2	7	4.63	32
Bryan Clark	29	93.1	2	5	4.34	52
Jerry Don Gleaton	20	85.1	4	7	4.75	31
Mike Parrott	24	85.0	3	6	5.08	43

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
Shane Rawley	46	4	6	8	3.95	35
Larry Andersen	41	3	3	5	2.66	40
Dick Drago	39	4	6	5	5.53	27
Bob Galasso	13	1	1	1	4.83	14
Randy Stein	6	0	1	0	10.61	6
Bud Black	2	0	0	0	0.00	0

Awards and records

• Julio Cruz, American League record, Most chances accepted in one nine-inning game (18 chances on June 7, 1981) ^[23]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

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^[24]

Notes

1. "It's a mixed review for the second season". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. August 11, 1981. p. 1C.
2. "Wills replaced by the Mariners". Eugene Register-Guard. wire services. May 7, 1981. p. 2C.
3. Blanchette, John (May 7, 1981). "Wills fired; M's turn to 'Lach'". Spokesman-Review. p. 25.
4. Stewart, Chuck (May 7, 1981). "Oh, beautiful day!". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 37.
5. "Brad Gulden Stats".
6. Gary Gray page at Baseball Reference
7. Willie Norwood page at Baseball Reference
8. Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference
9. Dave Heaverlo page at Baseball Reference
10. "Agreement reached on Mariners sale". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 15, 1981. p. 21.
11. "California Developer Set To Purchase the Mariners". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 15, 1981. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
12. "White Sox, Mariners sales are unanimous". Spartanburg Herald. (South Carolina). Associated Press. January 30, 1981. p. B2.
13. "ESPN.com - Page2 - Biggest cheaters in baseball".
14. "Wills dealt suspension". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. April 28, 1981. p. 20.
15. "Rag-tag team happens to be Seattle". Anchorage Daily News. June 2, 1981. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
16. "Dressing up". Milwaukee Journal. June 1, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
17. "Baseball: Mariners reject demands by Paciorek". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. November 5, 1981. p. 3B.
18. "Goodbye: Seattle makes Paciorek an offer he could refuse". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 12, 1981. p. 5B.
19. Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
20. Bob Galasso page at Baseball Reference
21. Phil Bradley page at Baseball Reference
22. Charlie O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
23. 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
24. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

•  Baseball portal

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1981 Seattle Mariners season.

• 1981 Seattle Mariners at Baseball Reference
• 1981 Seattle Mariners team page at www.baseball-almanac.com