In 1981, some of my veterans, such as George Foster and Joe Dupuis, along with both my catchers, didn't do so well. Rookies picked up the slack, though, at bat and especially on the mound.
Raul Trevino made it possible to move slugger David Griffin from 2B to 1B (my first basemen were horrible before that point), while Joel Daniel took over the starting LF job from Foster in the final month.
Two rookie pitchers, though, were the story of the year. Bill Hudson won the ROY, going 18-6 with a 2.91 ERA in 210.1 innings and finishing second in the league in Ks with 234, only six behind the leader, teammate Nolan Ryan, who won the Cy Young. New closer Steve Jensen, taking over for the traded Rollie Fingers, saved 43 games and posted a stellar 1.71 ERA. Blyleven won 20 games.
The Mariners won a team record 105 games to easily take the AL West crown by 18 games over the Royals. Guess who they faced in the ALCS? Yep, the Detroit Tigers! It took the whole five games, but the M's got past their eternal nemesis to face the Dodgers, who also took five games to beat the Expos in the NLCS, in the World Series.
Seattle made short work of L.A., though, winning in only five games for their second Championship, although Game 5 was something of an Epic Pitching Duel. Pop those champagne corks, boys!
1981 AL Standings:
1981 AL Award Winners & Batting Leaders:
1981 AL Pitching Leaders:
1981 NL Standings:
1981 NL Award Winners & Batting Leaders:
1981 NL Pitching Leaders:
1981 Seattle Mariners Team Stats:
