1981_California_Angels_season
1981 California Angels season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1981 California Angels season involved the Angels finishing with the fifth best overall record in the American League West with 51 wins and 59 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players' strike and the league chose as its playoff teams the division winners from the first and second halves of the season.
Quick Facts California Angels, League ...
| 1981 California Angels | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Anaheim Stadium | |||
| City | Anaheim, California | |||
| Owners | Gene Autry | |||
| General managers | Buzzie Bavasi | |||
| Managers | Jim Fregosi, Gene Mauch | |||
| Television | KTLA | |||
| Radio | KMPC (Don Drysdale, Ron Fairly, Bob Starr) | |||
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- December 2, 1980: Geoff Zahn was signed as a free agent by the Angels.[1]
- December 8, 1980: Dan Whitmer was drafted from the Angels by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980 rule 5 draft.[2]
- January 13, 1981: Ron Romanick was drafted by the California Angels in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (secondary phase).[3]
- January 23, 1981: Joe Rudi, Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey were traded by the Angels to the Boston Red Sox for Fred Lynn and Steve Renko.[4]
- February 2, 1981: Dave Rader was signed as a free agent by the Angels.[5]
- February 2, 1981: Dave Skaggs was released by the Angels.[6]
Season standings
More information W, L ...
| 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 |
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More information AL West First Half Standings, W ...
| 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 |
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More information AL West Second Half Standings, W ...
| 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 |
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Record vs. opponents
More information Team, BAL ...
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 | — |
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Notable transactions
- April 20, 1981: Dave Rader was released by the Angels.[5]
- June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft
- Dick Schofield was drafted by the Angels in the 1st round (3rd pick).[7]
- Devon White was drafted by the Angels in the 6th round. Player signed June 13, 1981.[8]
Roster
| 1981 California Angels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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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
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ed Ott | 75 | 258 | 56 | .217 | 2 | 22 |
| 1B | Rod Carew | 93 | 364 | 111 | .305 | 2 | 21 |
| 2B | Bobby Grich | 100 | 352 | 107 | .304 | 22 | 61 |
| SS | Rick Burleson | 109 | 430 | 126 | .293 | 5 | 33 |
| 3B | Butch Hobson | 85 | 268 | 63 | .235 | 4 | 36 |
| LF | Brian Downing | 93 | 317 | 79 | .249 | 9 | 41 |
| CF | Fred Lynn | 76 | 256 | 56 | .219 | 5 | 31 |
| RF | Dan Ford | 97 | 375 | 104 | .277 | 15 | 48 |
| DH | Don Baylor | 103 | 377 | 90 | .239 | 17 | 66 |
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Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Beníquez | 58 | 166 | 30 | .181 | 3 | 13 |
| Bobby Clark | 34 | 88 | 22 | .250 | 4 | 19 |
| Larry Harlow | 43 | 82 | 17 | .207 | 0 | 4 |
| Bert Campaneris | 55 | 82 | 21 | .256 | 1 | 10 |
| John Harris | 36 | 77 | 19 | .247 | 3 | 9 |
| Daryl Sconiers | 15 | 52 | 14 | .269 | 1 | 7 |
| Freddie Patek | 27 | 47 | 11 | .234 | 0 | 5 |
| Tom Brunansky | 11 | 33 | 5 | .152 | 3 | 6 |
| Joe Ferguson | 12 | 30 | 7 | .233 | 1 | 5 |
| Steve Lubratich | 7 | 21 | 3 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Harper | 4 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Davis | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
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Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geoff Zahn | 25 | 161.1 | 10 | 11 | 4.41 | 52 |
| Ken Forsch | 20 | 153.0 | 11 | 7 | 2.88 | 55 |
| Mike Witt | 22 | 129.0 | 8 | 9 | 3.28 | 75 |
| Steve Renko | 22 | 102.0 | 8 | 4 | 3.44 | 50 |
| Dave Frost | 12 | 47.1 | 1 | 8 | 5.51 | 16 |
| Doug Rau | 3 | 10.1 | 1 | 2 | 8.71 | 3 |
| Bill Travers | 4 | 9.2 | 0 | 1 | 8.38 | 5 |
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Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Jefferson | 26 | 77.0 | 2 | 4 | 3.62 | 27 |
| Bruce Kison | 11 | 44.0 | 1 | 1 | 3.48 | 19 |
| Ángel Moreno | 8 | 31.1 | 1 | 3 | 2.87 | 12 |
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Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Aase | 39 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 2.34 | 38 |
| Andy Hassler | 42 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3.21 | 44 |
| Luis Sánchez | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2.94 | 13 |
| John D'Acquisto | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.71 | 8 |
| Mickey Mahler | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 |
| Alfredo Martínez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 4 |
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See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
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- Geoff Zahn at Baseball Reference
- Dan Whitmer at Baseball Reference
- Dave Rader at Baseball Reference
- Dave Skaggs at Baseball Reference
- Dick Schofield at Baseball Reference
- Devon White at Baseball Reference
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1981 California Angels at Baseball Reference
- 1981 California Angels at Baseball Almanac
| Preceded by | California Angels seasons 1981 |
Succeeded by |