MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1981

[Music] [Applause] [Music] welcome to baseball seasons 1981 a season interrupted the 1981 baseball season began like any other with the feeling of rejuvenation permeating spring training the Phillies were coming off a long-awaited first-ever World Series title well we thought we're gonna win it again we're coming off of an 80 World Series win when we thought we had things figured out but other clubs across the NL also felt upbeat including the LA Dodgers even if the full extent of their potential wasn't apparent at the outset the Dodgers have no Koufax dynasnail combination but Rio Steve Howe Fernando Valenzuela and Bob Castillo could make a difference in the bullpen in the air the Brewers had also bolstered their bullpen in a blockbuster deal with the Cardinals that netted them a trio of key additions the big deal that brought fingers Vukovich and Ted Simmons the town really ignited a true pennant type fever I was more than happy to go to Milwaukee at the time they had a great team in robbing out Paul Molitor Gorman Thomas Cecil Cooper old early we were getting closer and closer to winning a division and I know the 81 season we entered that season believing that we had a legitimate chance of winning the division but in the AL East they'd had to contend as always with the Yankees who hope to make a massive edition of their own in the offseason I remember going through New York City and we entertained and had discussions with all the team Lana used them in the Mets and I walked out of the hotel I was standing and the guy was walking down the street and he saw me as eyes got so big he forgot where he was walking man he ran right into one of the side post BAM he hit this sign that have to recovered he said they went finished said doesn't matter which team you played what Yankees are met come to New York we love you and Yankee owner George Steinbrenner made him an unprecedented offer he couldn't refuse but that lets San Diego without their slugger I think compensation of their players mandatory get something more than an amateur draft choice and the issue of compensation for lost free agents new large and labor negotiations with the deadline for a player's strike set for late May will there be a strike or do you see a solution for this thing that's a difficult question I know that the players are ready to strike and it seems that the owners are a little more United this year I hope there isn't a strike I hope there can be something resolved out of the situation with the compensation the season would at least begin on time and when it did the Oakland A's started hot playing a brand of baseball name for their fiery skipper Billy Martin was the manager there was a buzz and Oakland everybody was talking Billy ball [Music] belly ball led by leadoff man Ricky Henderson who'd swiped a nail record 100 bases in 1880 the yeas generated runs through aggressive baserunning and a powerful lineup not only did we hit homeruns we stole bases we stole we're just creating runs and forcing things to happen Billy ball was also about pushing starters deep into games leading to complete game totals almost unheard of for the era he never did anticipate coming to take us out of ball games of when he would come to the mound was just to give us a breather we're talking about a particular hitter you knew that when he handed to the ball the beginning of the game you're gonna be around to either win that yourself or or losing yourself all the unconventional strategy led to a record start in AL history it was the start of the season and we had won 11 games we broke a record so it was very exciting to hear in first place back in the AL East the arrival of the new superstar in the Bronx only solidified the Yankees lofty goal to get back to the World Series after a two-year absence veteran who really knew how to play right now Reggie Gossage then it's so much easier to win it's so much easier to play Winfield in the Yanks which they post the first place over the first moon though other clubs like the Orioles soon made it clear no one would coast to the playoffs we had a pretty good ballclub in 1981 on the Earl Weaver he was emphasized mostly on good pitching and good defense and the three-run homer [Applause] the chase for an al pennant was on but over in the NL they had lines focused on a phenomenon after losing the 1980 NL West crown in a one-game playoff the Dodgers came into the 81 season with a very clear goal considering what took place last year it generates motivation an anticipation of playing in another World Series and I think that's what I main goal is every year when we went in a season all things being equal we felt as though we were as good as anyone and there was ample evidence for that conviction NL pennant winners in 77 and 78 the Dodgers featured a veteran infield core that had been together since 1974 the Dodgers still had that gradient field of say Russell Lopes and Garvey they still had Dusty Baker they still had Tommy Lasorda they had a really good team but they had Fernando Fernando was Fernando Valenzuela the 20 year old rookie from Mexico who found himself unexpectedly on the mound opening day avi le chien is not a tourist even in the temporada Tommy Lasorda Eric okay hoon Deonte specifially Allen Sarah - now / - hello gentle you know I gave you the assignment - Fernando a young rookie and then he fetch a good game if it's a great game [Applause] and that was just the beginning armed with the devastating screwball valenzuela earned victories in his first eight starts curling shutouts finally he has this very distinctive style the high leg kick the eyes rolled back up toward the sky there's something about him that people relate to and he captivated the entire country it was fernandomania it was unbelievable every time it pitched it was a huge huge event [Applause] fernandomania quickly went national but it also served as a catalyst for the dodgers who won 26 of their first 35 games to jump out to a commanding lead in their division and that left other quality teams like John McNamara's Cincinnati Reds to play catch-up in the NL West you still had some remnants of the Big Red Machine left in 1981 Johnny Bench Ken Griffey Dave concepción George Foster still with the team the offense was still clicking they were sworn runs and as the offense produce plenty of runs east tom seaver led the pitching staff he was sensational I mean it was automatic when he went to the mound and he really conjured up memories of the young Tom terrific although Seaver was enjoying the Renaissance at age 36 the Reds fell back in May and still had a ways to go to catch the Dodgers in the NL East the Expos started the 81 season an eager Bunch after losing the division in the final week of the season in both 79 and 80 we know we had that behind us and we had high expectations we were still fairly young team I think even though you know the experts you know I picked us on paper to go all the way and with one of the baseball's best catchers and Gary Carter and an emerging star and outfielder Andre Dawson the team had plenty of firepower but it was a rookie left fielder who brazenly stole the show in Montreal Tim Raines came up and he was a great catalyst for that team early on in 81 you needed a stone base nobody stopped it while Rings took off on the piece of more than a stolen base again still had to reckon with the reigning world champions we know everybody's going to be gunning for us but at the same time we have confidence that we can win we we know that we've got a darn good baseball team led by superstar third baseman Mike Schmidt most of the World Series roster was back and they weren't ready to relinquish their throne [Music] but it was the surprising Cardinal so jumped out to an early Division lead with manager and GM Whitey Herzog employing his own signature style of play we go on a town we play ball so they know that we're gonna take the extra bases and be playing an aggressive style of ball many people have referred to it as whitey ball I think it's whitey Herzog's type of baseball he built the team around speed defense and pitching [Music] with new additions like Bruce Souter joining Cardinals mainstays George Hendrick and Keith Hernandez say Louis in first place for most of me [Applause] it was a chilly May night when Len Barker took the cleveland stadium now 26 outs later he was on the verge of a pitching feat not seen in 13 years this magical night also helped the Indians maintain a slim lead in the tightly packed AL East but as June began Dave Winfield's Yankees were heating up the Yanks would win their first million games of the month to move from 4th to 1st in the division that's it Jackie 5 wanted a gang making a similar run in the NL with the Reds who won seven straight to pull within a half game of the Dodgers but as the division races were taking shape a bleak reality was looming that time it just about run out to settle the labor discord between owners and players the players set a strike date they reached the deadline without an agreement nobody knew whether the season would resume or if that was the end of the season and the players walked out as the players packed their gear and went their separate ways the reality sunk in none of us had ever known a summer without baseball it had been six years since the advent of free agency had created a new order in the game and a new set of vexing issues the strike was all about the owners wanting to get compensation for four free agents that the team's lost they felt that any player at all could be made available if a team lost the free agent and the Players Association certainly didn't want that I was a player rep at the time and had a fairly close relationship with Bowie Kuhn who was the commissioner and I had told him when the strike started I said Bowie the players are not going to give in you might as well appeal to the owners and let's get this thing settled for the good of the fans and of course that fell on deaf ears federal mediator Ken Moffett was brought in to try and bring the two sides together but a month into the strike there was no deal in sight the owners committee they advised us through the mediator that unless we the Players Association had a new proposal they did not care to meet for 51 days we're out and I remember just driving you know doing my part as a player rep holding guys together keeping them together and then finally a deal was reached the central compromise teams that lost top free agents could draft replacements from a pool of unprotected players across the lead still some couldn't help but notice the timing at the end of the strike ironically the owners had 51 days of strike insurance and then the strike ended so it was something that never should have happened and because of that the season was split and now baseball officials had to figure out how to handle that split season we have the option to decide the play of split season the second half would begin on the 10th of August we start out every Club 0-0 on the record and you get out of a point at the end where you had a special tier of playoffs so the champion of the first half the season before the champion of the second half and that special tier and then you get the big championship in the World Series soon it became official the division leaders when the season stopped the Yankees Phillies A's and Dodgers were in the playoffs and now the season would start from scratch and those first half winners would play whoever won the second half in an extra round of playoffs as far as the split season is concerned in retrospect and with with no bias at all I felt like it was probably the best solution to what was a real mess and any concerns that fans would be slow to reimburse the game after the strike were dispelled when the season resumed on August 9th with the Austar game in Cleveland [Music] it was kind of strange this season restarted with the all-star game and I don't know how many young stars were in really great baseball playing shape I was lucky I would do more and hit a home run off Tom Seaver but in the Mike Schmidt also showed the layoffs hadn't impacted his power its blast was the difference as the NL won their tenth straight all-star game [Applause] regular play resumed that way and history was quickly made that Schmidt's teammate Petros past Stan Musial to become the NL's all-time hit leader [Music] there was no question baseball was back there were some imperfections to the split season of 1981 but st. Louis and second place in just a game and a half out when the strike was called was determined to make the best of it when they picked up the schedule after the strike ended the Cardinals had like 32 their last 54 games were away from home so they had a terrific disadvantage we just felt we know we needed to go out there and hand it off to a good start and play hard like the goggles the Brewers had narrowly missed winning their division in the first half and we're looking to make a push in the second when they decided to divide it into two halves the supposes we were to win in the first half we knew we had a chance to win the second half the Brewers were certifiable offensive force throughout the summer scoring the second most runs in the AL and the second half I would have hated to have to face our lineup in 1981 as far as there being a relief pitcher you know I could go out and make a mistake once in a while and maybe give up a couple of runs and with fingers 0.7 to second half er a late inning Brewer leads almost always became fingers was the difference with the Brewers saving 16 of the team's 31 second-half leaders [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in the AL West the Royals had started the first half of the year terribly at 9 and 22 but with fresh optimism when the season restarted the defending AL champs replaced manager Jim Frey in late August with Dick Howser every club has some problem but I think all you have to do is look to what they did last year and most of those players are still here and you can see that's a good ballclub the thing that Dick Howser brought Jeff Walker was a no panic type attitude a guy who really felt like we've got us of what the circumstances were and that we could overcome it and I think that when you show that kind of confidence players respond to that sure enough the Royals got high 26 of their last day to seize 1st place and set up an AL West divisional playoff with the first half champ Oakland over the mo the Dodgers that had the majors best record in the first half but the split season meant fresh slate for every team including the Astros for whatever reason we just couldn't get things rolling on the first half and I guess it was a blessing that we went on strike because it was a split season we got things together the second half a big part of Houston's second half success was its pitching a rotation with the lowest dra and third most strikeouts in the National League when you have a rotation of that magnitude it gives you an opportunity not have prolonged losing streaks and we weren't a ballclub that scored a lot of runs so I think our strength was our starting pitching and their strong-armed East was Nolan Ryan whose career best 1.69 er tops in the lead and who September no-hitter was remarkably the fifth of his career congratulations you good luck to the Restless important game not only for the no-hitter today but what it means to your ballclub and I think he never lost sight of that either writing that game came in the midst of Houston's battle with the Reds for the NL West the teams were separated by just a half game in the season's final week but in the end Cincinnati would be the hard luck loser of the split season corner they lost three out of their last four finished a game and a half behind and despite having the best overall record in baseball they stayed home there 66 and 42 record was for not the organization was adamant that this was not right and it was really unprecedented in many ways in baseball history before the last game was played they had the whole team walking banner onto the field the banners simply said Cincinnati Reds baseball's best record 1981 like the Reds the Cardinals could boast of their divisions best overall record but not winning either half and their season ended without a playoff berth it was very upset as he called it the Bowie Kuhn sweepstakes the darkness decision I've ever seen in baseball we've won our division Cincinnati won their division and neither one of us got in the playoffs the Expos and the seven other postseason teams were to play in the first-ever divisional playoff with the first half winners battling the second half champs in a best-of-five series to advance to the LCS there's pennant fever not only in Montreal but across Canada the Expos march to the playoffs got a boost in early September when team executive Jim Fannin replaced dick Williams as skipper dick Williams was good baseball manager of a game that I've ever been around and I was only around him probably for a year and a half but I think what Jim did when he took over for us I think he relaxed the club more than anything else guys went out and just played every night to win a baseball game understand the Expos won 16 of their final 27 games edging up the Cardinals for their first playoff appearance in franchise history [Music] 1979 we lost out to the Pirates by two games and in 1980 we lost out to the Phillies by one game and now the Expos were presented with an opportunity for vengeance against the Phillies in their opening playoffs there was a hatred between the Phillies and the Expos going on that was pretty good rivalry there Montreal played is tough all the time every time we played might draw didn't matter what place they were in a workplace we were in the expo certainly started the Division Series tough meaning the first two games at home to close in to us the Expos have seasoned the Philadelphia Phillies but back in Philly the defending champs would not go down easily [Applause] and after winning Game three the Phillies tied the series in dramatic fashion in Game four [Applause] [Music] you never want to get a series down to one game but when you drop the first two you got to feel like you turn the tide a little bit it wasn't to be they went on a beer the expo is one game five three to nothing making them the split season NL East champions and now they would chase a pennant for the first time the NL Division Series out west featured a matchup of division rivals the Astros and the Dodgers who shared the same strengths the Astros had good pitch you can play great defense and I think we matched them with the Dodgers were the same type of look then Game one unfolded predictably as a pitcher's duel between aces young and old [Music] Sariah like out for valenzuela each starter was brilliant yielding just one run apiece and then in the bottom of the night Lasorda went to his bullpen [Applause] the trend is stellar pitching continued in game two and the game was still scoreless when the Astros loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th but even on the verge of elimination the Dodgers still felt they had a chance we're coming home so we play in front of our home fans and regardless of the situation with two down or whatever it didn't really matter because we felt confident we always talked awful and their confidence was bolstered in an easy 6-1 win in game 3 then the next day Valenzuela went the distance in another terrific outing and suddenly the series was tied but the guys were really confident that they could come back here in our Park thank God we were able to go onto that fifth game and in Game five the Dodgers finished their comeback behind Jerry royce in a game that finished with a dramatic flourish [Applause] [Applause] the Dodgers were in the NLCS for the third time in five years in the AL West Division Series the Royals a sub 500 team overall in 81 were dominated by A's pitching from start to finish ground ball to the first baseman Spencer's got it under hands to Norse and this game is over as notice allows only four singles for nothing the H pitching was excellent and the Royals could just never get anything going offensively while they swept away the West the Yankees look to do the same in the east against the team making its franchise postseason debut the Brewers we thought we had a pretty good chance in 81 to beat them and they came to Milwaukee and they beat us the first two games and it looked pretty bad for us so we have a 2 nothing lead coming back to Yankee Stadium and all we have to do is win one ballgame we're feeling pretty good about ourselves but in the eighth inning of Game three with a score tied at three Paul Molitor changed the series with one swing of the bag [Applause] and the Brewers are back on top four to three we had our suitcases packed ready to go and we had to go back to the hotel and we won the game and the next day fingers was called in to protect her two to one lead in the ninth inning of Game four doing four straight fastball he was right on him and he fouled him back for the next pitch and Ted Simmons stuck down slider and I said okay let's try a slider [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the Brewers have drawn the series even one game would decide who was moving on which certainly didn't please the Aggies boss afterwards in the clubhouse I had struck out 10 the game next thing you know he's ranting and raving and I thought he was talking about me and I confronted him which was a shocking event in itself because whoever talked back to the boss thank goodness Bobby Murcer stepped in the middle of us and gotten between us and then George had what I called the General Patton speech he said that the great Yankees would turn over in their graves if we lost the next day we foes oh we had the momentum after beating the Yankees twice in a row in their ballpark and we knew we had our hands full with Guidry I've seen Gator in press situations before anytime you any Game five he's the guy you wanted the ball in his hands so we felt very confident but in the second any ruler Slugger Gorman Thomas got two Gator [Applause] the rumors would make the lead to nothing in the third against Guidry but then in the fourth with attention at Yankee Stadium rising Reggie Jackson became Reggie Jackson was not called mr. October for nothing Reggie you almost expect that one swing of the bat could change the whole complexion any game the Bombers were up 4-2 in the thin when game two starter Dave Righetti was called upon in relief on short rest to secure the series I don't even think I gave signs when Righetti came in was all fastball dragged used to get mad at me I said I love your fastball these guys can't catch up to it he did a tremendous job bridging the gap to Gossage [Music] the third time and for the fifth time in six years the Yankees were American ladies the way that series played out it was relief to get past them because we really felt like it we can get some momentum going and get the field going that would be a very dangerous ballclub having hit their stride against the Brewers the Yankees next test would come from the A's and their forwardable the pitching staff they had a great young staff you know we think about mcaddy & Langford in Norris Accio this is a nice young staff and they knew how to pitch but in the ALCS the a's arms faltered at a series of critical points the Yankees came up with big hits [Applause] [Music] they were better than the Athletics and in their head-to-head series they demonstrated it [Music] I think was more about experience against Oakland than anything else we had the experience we had guys that have been to the World Series before we went on a nice little role there against them we swept [Applause] [Music] the expose and the doctors begin the fight for the National League pennant the 1981 NLCS featured one of baseball's most storied franchises against one of the newest but the Expos had struggled in LA Dodgers and confidence to play two ball games here we're very very optimistic especially with a starter going who've been at the center of that success Suton has won six of his last eight for Montreal the last time they've been here was the 1979 and in Game one the Dodger dominance continued thanks to the play of LA's vaulted infield with both the bat and and then they started the scoring soon after [Applause] Pedro Guerrero later homered to insurance and la took the opener setting up the Dodgers rookie revolution Fergie - Fernando Valenzuela it's so well all year and fits particularly well in the playoffs against Houston but on this day Valenzuela would be unexpectedly overshadowed rate Burroughs who did not have a shut out all year pitching the game of his year at a critical point for the Expos and now it's on to Olympic Stadium we thought going up into Montreal that we would have the edge at the big ole in Olympic Stadium in Montreal the Expos go after the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series Steve Rogers won three in a row Steve Rogers was very consistent to me he had probably the best stuff I caught and that stuff would be a full display all game long Steve Rogers raber's just NASA Dodgers pitch for pitch [Applause] they need just one victory and they'll go to the World Series but in Game four with their backs once again against the wall the Dodger bats a week we were starting to feel that time was running out and that we needed to accomplish our goal led by a Garvey homer the Dodgers scored six loans in the last two innings to win the game going away the Dodgers did what they had to do here at Olympic Stadium they beat the Expos and we're going to get a fifth the deciding game here for the National League pennant there's no tomorrow for the teams out on the short end of this game today back on the hill for the Dodgers was bounds whele and in this start the rookie started off shaky this could rattle balanced way a little bit so I'm warming up in the bullpen already Fernando was shown the ability to maybe start off a game not real strong but finish at a level that was going to help you win that game let's sort of stuck with Valenzuela and it worked as he pitched eight and two-thirds of one-run ball and in the night that was tied when James Phinney called on an unlikely reliever the Expos closer Jeff Reardon was not available to pitch he had had some back problems so he called on Steve Rogers to come in he had never pitched in relief Rogers got two quick outs but then the exposed ace had to face veteran Rick Monday the 3-1 pitch I knew it was hit well but quite frankly I did not see the flight of the ball I thought I'd get it too high I started to watch Andre Dawson moving into right-center field going back onto the warning track and then he ran out of room that ball and the Dodgers have gone ahead two to one it was called Blue Monday and it'll always be remembered by expose fans tomorrow night what a traditional series for forests the Yankees against the Dodgers we almost felt that that was the classic World Series at the time we had obviously played them in past sunsets of the game the Yankees of course had won both those times and picked up this series where they left off [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Fields off-the-ball say going to second throw comes in that lead would hold up and the ants took the opener then came game 2 and Tommy John against his old club it was like pitching in a camp game at Vero Beach because I'd seen all these guys that I'd pitched to them in all those games the reunion favored John who combined with Gossage on a shutout and gave the Yanks a two nothing lead heading west two games to nothing everybody was probably giving up from tinnitus they said Oh a game the Yankees but it had already been a special season for LA and their rookie phenom and it was fitting that in Game three the Dodgers would again be calling on Valenzuela to rescue their World Series hopes you've heard so much read so much about his poise despite his youth and he's going to have a chance to prove it here now in state to a three-run lead early Valenzuela went to work your case and he toboggan eres Aquarion pieces is the most simple problem as in a quaver [Applause] [Music] [Applause] sempre via corridor impasse [Applause] he wasn't as sharp as usual he had lots of travel [Applause] the soda came to the mound several times [Applause] [Music] Kotaro muchas ocasion s co no no puede con una lanzamiento honk a buscar otra forma de como se Carvalho matadores this game went on he got very very comfortable against a lineup that was just an extraordinary lineup to the Yankees I gotta get Fernando some credit not too many twenty-year-old would struggle like this and still be out there and when the Dodgers took the lead back Valenzuela continued to battle to protect you know that totally right about this kid there isn't [Applause] this enormous wave Ozma's scientists must record a lesson finally thanks in large part to the guts of Venezuela the Dodgers were back in this series but as the start of game force includes momentum can be fleeting [Applause] once again the Dodgers played from behind an uncomfortable position maybe but not an entirely unfamiliar way what helped is the fact we come back in both series before then against Houston any Montreal [Applause] until someone closed the door shut on his ability wasn't in our minds that we were going to lose again [Applause] [Music] the Dodgers took the lead in the seventh and held on for the 87 win even in the series and reversing it's tied we let them back in and talk about momentum shifts you can just clearly see the momentum switch back in that direction and we tried to stop it and provide that was too late Game five was a pitcher's duel between Ron give me and Jerry Royce and the Dodgers found themselves trailing one to nothing in the seventh inning and one batter later the score changed again [Music] [Applause] Gerry Royce handled the rest going all the way to earn the Dodgers the win and the edge in this series heading back to New York [Applause] last week when the Yankees had won two in a row it seemed they were in total command question is will they have their points back in their home ballpark tonight I felt that before the game units doubted it was our time when we were in Yankee Stadium and the fans knew it it was quiet as could be what a difference three days can make reading the media is a chicken team they would get some chicken Jean remember the way the game progressed in the lead we had Guero hits and five hits it deep to left centerfield Briones horse Dora can't get it the doctor finally in the last inning with two outs there's a there's a euphoria that takes over this is finally the moment that you're gonna be a world champion watch some hits up high in the air that's good to do it the Dodger well the 1981 champion baseball 1981 may have been a season interrupted but beginning with fernandomania and ending the Dodgers championship it still somehow felt completely we just who is that men those who either this Moncayo ceremonia and those part of me is significant Santa Yeager was to me for the matter I know know what though got mad when I said on Monday it was the maximum though Fernando Valenzuela would never again quite reach the heights of those first weeks of his rookie season he'd remained one of the NL's top pitchers throughout the 1980s finishing in the top five in siyoung voting four times his Dodgers would make the playoffs three more times in a decade capturing another title as Cinderella's in 1988 by contrast 1981 was a harbinger of eventual descent of the Yankees who wouldn't make the postseason again until 1995 the Cardinals meanwhile would rise to winter then at least the next year and then prevail over the Brewers in the 82 World Series baseball had paused in the summer of 81 but returned to showcase in October unlike any other [Music] [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 44min 59sec (2699 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 15 2019