1981 Seattle Mariners 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

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

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 records

• Julio Cruz, American League record, Most chances accepted in one nine-inning game (18 chances on June 7, 1981) ^[15]

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wausau^[16]

Notes

References

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