1981 San Francisco Giants season

1981  San Francisco Giants
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Candlestick Park
City	San Francisco, California
Owners	Bob Lurie
General managers	Spec Richardson, Tom Haller
Managers	Frank Robinson
Television	KTVU (Lindsey Nelson, Gary Park, Edgard Martinez)
Radio	KNBR (Lindsey Nelson, Hank Greenwald, David Glass)
←  1980 Seasons 1982  →

The 1981 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 99th season in Major League Baseball, their 24th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 22nd at Candlestick Park. Giants manager Frank Robinson became the first black manager in the history of the National League. ^[1] Robinson was also the first black manager in the history of the American League.

Offseason

• December 8, 1980: Chris Bourjos and Bob Knepper were traded by the Giants to the Houston Astros for Enos Cabell. ^[2]
• December 9, 1980: DeWayne Buice was drafted from the Giants by the Oakland Athletics in the 1980 minor league draft. ^[3]
• December 12, 1980: John Montefusco and Craig Landis (minors) were traded by the Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander. ^[4]
• December 12, 1980: Joe Strain and Philip Nastu were traded by the Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Jerry Martin, Jesús Figueroa, and a player to be named later. ^[5] The Cubs completed the deal by sending Mike Turgeon (minors) to the Giants on August 11, 1981. ^[6]
• February 9, 1981: Joe Morgan was signed as a free agent by the Giants. ^[7]
• March 23, 1981: Billy Smith was purchased by the Giants from the Philadelphia Phillies. ^[8]
• March 31, 1981: Gorman Heimueller was released by the Giants. ^[9]

Regular season

Season standings

v t e NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	66	42	0.611	—	32–22	34–20
Los Angeles Dodgers	63	47	0.573	4	33–23	30–24
Houston Astros	61	49	0.555	6	31–20	30–29
San Francisco Giants	56	55	0.505	11½	29–24	27–31
Atlanta Braves	50	56	0.472	15	22–27	28–29
San Diego Padres	41	69	0.373	26	20–35	21–34

NL West First Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Los Angeles Dodgers	36	21	.632	—
Cincinnati Reds	35	21	.625	1⁄2
Houston Astros	28	29	.491	8
Atlanta Braves	25	29	.463	9+1⁄2
San Francisco Giants	27	32	.458	10
San Diego Padres	23	33	.411	12+1⁄2

NL West Second Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Houston Astros	33	20	.623	—
Cincinnati Reds	31	21	.596	1+1⁄2
San Francisco Giants	29	23	.558	3+1⁄2
Los Angeles Dodgers	27	26	.509	6
Atlanta Braves	25	27	.481	7+1⁄2
San Diego Padres	18	36	.333	15+1⁄2

Record vs. opponents

1981 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	3–2–1	6–5	4–8	7–7	3–7	3–3	4–5	2–3	9–6	5–7	4–3
Chicago	2–3–1	—	1–5	1–6	6–4	4–7	5–8–1	2–10	4–10	3–3	5–5	5–4–1
Cincinnati	5–6	5–1	—	8–4	8–8	5–4	7–3	5–2	4–2	10–2	9–5	0–5
Houston	8–4	6–1	4–8	—	4–8	5–2	6–3	4–6	2–4	11–3	9–6	2–4
Los Angeles	7–7	4–6	8–8	8–4	—	5–2	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–5	7–5	5–5
Montreal	7–3	7–4	4–5	2–5	2–5	—	9–3	7–4	10–3	4–2	2–5	6–9
New York	3–3	8–5–1	3–7	3–6	1–5	3–9	—	7–7	3–6–1	2–5	2–4	6–5
Philadelphia	5-4	10–2	2–5	6–4	3–3	4–7	7–7	—	7–5	4–2	4–3	7–6
Pittsburgh	3–2	10–4	2–4	4–2	1–5	3–10	6–3–1	5–7	—	6–4	3–7	3–8
San Diego	6–9	3–3	2–10	3–11	5–6	2–4	5–2	2–4	4–6	—	6–7	3–7
San Francisco	7–5	5–5	5–9	6–9	5–7	5–2	4–2	3–4	7–3	7–6	—	2–3
St. Louis	3–4	4–5–1	5–0	4–2	5–5	9–6	5–6	6–7	8–3	7–3	3–2	—

Opening Day starters

• Vida Blue
• Enos Cabell
• Jack Clark
• Darrell Evans
• Larry Herndon
• Johnnie LeMaster
• Milt May
• Joe Morgan
• Billy North ^[10]

Notable transactions

• April 20, 1981: Mike Ivie was traded by the Giants to the Houston Astros for Dave Bergman and Jeffrey Leonard. ^[11]
• May 17, 1981: Phil Ouellette was signed by the Giants as an amateur free agent. ^[12]
• August 3, 1981: Mike Sadek was released by the Giants. ^[13]

Roster

1981 San Francisco Giants
Roster
Pitchers 33 Doyle Alexander 14 Vida Blue 48 Fred Breining 43 Tom Griffin 40 Alan Hargesheimer 19 Al Holland 46 Gary Lavelle 38 Greg Minton 17 Randy Moffitt 45 Allen Ripley 28 Mike Rowland 17 Bob Tufts 32 Ed Whitson		Catchers 15 Bob Brenly  7 Milt May  3 Jeff Ransom  3 Mike Sadek Infielders 16 Dave Bergman 23 Enos Cabell 41 Darrell Evans 15 Mike Ivie 10 Johnnie LeMaster  8 Joe Morgan  2 Joe Pettini 21 Billy Smith  6 Rennie Stennett 18 Guy Sularz		Outfielders 22 Jack Clark 30 Chili Davis 31 Larry Herndon 26 Jeffrey Leonard 25 Jerry Martin 36 Billy North 49 Max Venable  1 Jim Wohlford		Manager 20 Frank Robinson Coaches  8 Vern Benson  9 Don Buford (First Base) 12 Jim Davenport (Third Base)  5 Jim Lefebvre (Hitting) 47 Don McMahon (Pitching) 42 John VanOrnum (Bullpen)

Game log

Regular season Game log

First half

1981 regular season game log: 27–32 (Home: 13–15; Away: 14–17)
April: 9–12 (Home: 4–8; Away: 5–4) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak 5 April 13 Dodgers 6 April 14 Dodgers 7 April 15 Dodgers 19 April 27 @ Dodgers 20 April 28 @ Dodgers 21 April 29 @ Dodgers
May: 16–13 (Home: 8–5; Away: 8–8) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak — May 1 @ Phillies Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: May 2) 22 May 2(1) @ Phillies 23 May 2(2) @ Phillies 24 May 3 @ Phillies 25 May 4 @ Phillies 29 May 8 @ Expos 30 May 9 @ Expos 31 May 10(1) @ Expos 32 May 10(2) @ Expos 33 May 12 Phillies 34 May 13 Phillies 35 May 14 Phillies 36 May 15 Expos 37 May 16 Expos 38 May 17 Expos 42 May 22 @ Astros 43 May 23 @ Astros 44 May 24 @ Astros — May 26 @ Reds Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: August 14) 48 May 29 Astros 49 May 30 Astros 50 May 31 Astros
June: 2–7 (Home: 1–2; Away: 1–5) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak
Legend:       = Win       = Loss;   = Postponement Bold = Giants team member

Games canceled

1981 regular season game log
June # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak
July # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak — July 3 Dodgers Canceled — July 4 Dodgers Canceled — July 5 Dodgers Canceled — July 10 @ Dodgers Canceled — July 11 @ Dodgers Canceled — July 12 @ Dodgers Canceled — July 16 @ Phillies Canceled — July 17 @ Phillies Canceled — July 21 @ Expos Canceled — July 22 @ Expos Canceled — July 24 Phillies Canceled — July 25 Phillies Canceled — July 26 Phillies Canceled — July 28 Expos Canceled — July 29 Expos Canceled — July 30 Expos Canceled
August # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak — August 3 @ Astros Canceled — August 4 @ Astros Canceled — August 5 @ Astros Canceled
Legend:       = Postponement

Second half

1981 regular season game log: 28–23 (Home: 15–10; Away: 13–13)
August: 12–8 (Home: 5–2; Away: 7–6) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak 52nd All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio 58 August 10 Astros 59 August 11 Astros 60 August 12 Astros
September: 14–13 (Home: 9–6; Away: 5–7) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak 86 September 7 @ Dodgers 87 September 8 @ Dodgers 88 September 9 @ Dodgers 89 September 11 @ Astros 90 September 12 @ Astros 91 September 13 @ Astros 96 September 18 Astros 97 September 19 Astros 98 September 20 Astros 99 September 22 Dodgers 100 September 23 Dodgers 101 September 24 Dodgers
October: 2–2 (Home: 1–2; Away: 1–0) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Streak — October 2 Padres Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: October 3)
Legend:       = Win       = Loss;   = Postponement Bold = Giants team member

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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	Milt May	97	316	98	.310	2	33
1B	Enos Cabell	96	396	101	.255	2	36
2B	Joe Morgan	90	308	74	.240	8	31
3B	Darrell Evans	102	357	92	.258	12	48
SS	Johnnie LeMaster	104	324	82	.253	0	28
LF	Jack Clark	99	385	103	.268	17	53
CF	Larry Herndon	96	364	105	.288	5	41
RF	Jerry Martin	72	241	58	.241	4	25

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
Dave Bergman	63	145	37	.255	3	13
Billy North	46	131	29	.221	1	12
Jeffrey Leonard	37	127	39	.307	4	26
Rennie Stennett	38	87	20	.230	1	7
Jim Wohlford	50	68	11	.162	1	7
Billy Smith	36	61	11	.180	1	5
Bob Brenly	19	45	15	.333	1	4
Mike Sadek	19	36	6	.167	0	3
Max Venable	18	32	6	.188	0	1
Joe Pettini	35	29	2	.069	0	2
Guy Sularz	10	20	4	.200	0	2
Mike Ivie	7	17	5	.294	0	3
Chili Davis	8	15	2	.133	0	0
Jeff Ransom	5	15	4	.267	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
Doyle Alexander	24	152.1	11	7	2.89	77
Tom Griffin	22	129.1	8	8	3.76	83
Ed Whitson	22	123.0	6	9	4.02	65
Vida Blue	18	124.2	8	6	2.45	63
Allen Ripley	19	90.2	4	4	4.07	47

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
Alan Hargesheimer	6	18.2	1	2	4.34	6

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Greg Minton	55	84.1	4	5	21	2.88	29
Al Holland	47	100.2	7	5	7	2.41	78
Fred Breining	45	77.2	5	2	1	2.55	37
Gary Lavelle	34	65.2	2	6	4	3.84	45
Mike Rowland	9	15.2	0	1	0	3.45	8
Bob Tufts	11	15.1	0	0	0	3.52	12
Randy Moffitt	10	11.1	0	0	0	7.94	11

Awards and honors

• 1981 Larry Herndon LF, Willie Mac Award

All-Star Game

• Vida Blue, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Phoenix Giants	Pacific Coast League	Rocky Bridges
AA	Shreveport Captains	Texas League	Jack Mull
A	Fresno Giants	California League	Wayne Cato
A	Clinton Giants	Midwest League	Wendell Kim
Rookie	Great Falls Giants	Pioneer League	Ernie Rodriguez

References

1. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.198, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN   978-0-451-22363-0
2. Chris Bourjos at Baseball Reference
3. DeWayne Buice at Baseball Reference
4. Doyle Alexander at Baseball Reference
5. "Giants trade twice on final day". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. Associated Press (AP). December 13, 1980. p. 3D. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
6. Joe Strain at Baseball Reference
7. Joe Morgan at Baseball Reference
8. Billy Smith at Baseball Reference
9. Gorman Heimueller at Baseball Reference
10. "1981 San Francisco Giants Roster by Baseball Almanac".
12. Phil Ouellette at Baseball Reference
13. Mike Sadek at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1981 San Francisco Giants at Baseball Reference
• 1981 San Francisco Giants at Baseball Almanac