1981 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1981 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 100th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; their 95th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the National League East in the first half of the season with a record of 25–23 and sixth in the second half with a record of 21–33.

1981 Pittsburgh Pirates
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Three Rivers Stadium
City	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
Record	First half: 25–23 (.521) Second half: 21–33 (.389)
Divisional place	First half: 4th Second half: 6th
Owners	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholder)
General managers	Harding "Pete" Peterson
Managers	Chuck Tanner
Television	KDKA-TV Lanny Frattare, Jim Rooker, John Sanders Action-TV Bob Prince, Ray Scott
Radio	KDKA Lanny Frattare, Jim Rooker
← 1980 Seasons 1982 →

Regular season

Officials of the Louisiana Superdome met with Pirates management in April 1981 about moving the club to New Orleans when the Pirates were unhappy with their lease at Three Rivers Stadium.^[2]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	59	43	.578	—	32‍–‍21	27‍–‍22
Montreal Expos	60	48	.556	2	38‍–‍18	22‍–‍30
Philadelphia Phillies	59	48	.551	2½	36‍–‍19	23‍–‍29
Pittsburgh Pirates	46	56	.451	13	22‍–‍28	24‍–‍28
New York Mets	41	62	.398	18½	24‍–‍27	17‍–‍35
Chicago Cubs	38	65	.369	21½	27‍–‍30	11‍–‍35

NL East First Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Philadelphia Phillies	34	21	.618	—
St. Louis Cardinals	30	20	.600	1+1⁄2
Montreal Expos	30	25	.545	4
Pittsburgh Pirates	25	23	.521	5+1⁄2
New York Mets	17	34	.333	15
Chicago Cubs	15	37	.288	17+1⁄2

NL East Second Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Montreal Expos	30	23	.566	—
St. Louis Cardinals	29	23	.558	1⁄2
Philadelphia Phillies	25	27	.481	4+1⁄2
New York Mets	24	28	.462	5+1⁄2
Chicago Cubs	23	28	.451	6
Pittsburgh Pirates	21	33	.389	9+1⁄2

Record vs. opponents

1981 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	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	—

Game log

1981 Game Log: 46–56 (Home: 22–28; Away: 24–28)
April: 7–6 (Home: 1–3; Away: 6–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 9 Expos 5–6 Fryman Tekulve (0–1) — 40,332 0–1 2 April 12 Expos 3–2 Rhoden (1–0) Burris Romo (1) 8,430 1–1 3 April 13 @ Phillies 1–5 Carlton Candelaria (0–1) — 60,404 1–2 4 April 15 @ Phillies 3–4 (11) McGraw Romo (0–1) — 27,450 1–3 5 April 16 @ Phillies 3–5 Ruthven Robinson (0–1) McGraw 26,780 1–4 6 April 17 @ Astros 4–3 Rhoden (2–0) Sutton Romo (2) 39,119 2–4 7 April 18 @ Astros 6–3 (11) Jackson (1–0) Smith — 29,790 3–4 8 April 19 @ Astros 2–0 Scurry (1–0) Niekro Solomon (1) 30,394 4–4 9 April 22 Mets 2–2 — 7,530 4–4 10 April 25 Cardinals 1–5 Shirley Candelaria (0–2) — 7,334 4–5 11 April 26 Cardinals 2–3 Kaat Jackson (1–1) Sutter 8,139 4–6 12 April 28 @ Mets 8–0 Rhoden (3–0) Scott — 6,973 5–6 13 April 29 @ Mets 10–0 Bibby (1–0) Roberts — 7,175 6–6 14 April 30 @ Mets 7–4 Candelaria (1–2) Jones Jackson (1) 5,553 7–6
May: 13–14 (Home: 5–6; Away: 8–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 15 May 1 Astros 3–5 Sambito Solomon (0–1) — 7,012 7–7 16 May 2 Astros 5–4 (12) Solomon (1–1) Smith — 21,993 8–7 17 May 3 Astros 1–3 Sutton Bibby (1–1) Smith 10,438 8–8 18 May 6 @ Reds 8–9 Hume Jackson (1–2) — 14,551 8–9 19 May 7 @ Reds 3–1 Rhoden (4–0) Soto Romo (3) 9–9 20 May 7 @ Reds 7–1 Solomon (2–1) LaCoss — 20,301 10–9 21 May 8 @ Cardinals 4–5 Shirley Bibby (1–2) Kaat 20,108 10–10 22 May 9 @ Cardinals 0–13 Rincon Scurry (1–1) — 21,361 10–11 23 May 10 @ Cardinals 8–2 Candelaria (2–2) Sorensen Romo (4) 11,112 11–11 24 May 11 @ Braves 2–3 (10) Mahler Tekulve (0–2) — 4,260 11–12 25 May 12 @ Braves 0–2 Niekro Solomon (2–2) — 9,711 11–13 26 May 13 @ Braves 7–5 (13) Cruz (1–0) Boggs Scurry (1) 10,638 12–13 27 May 15 Reds 1–4 Price Romo (0–2) Hume 10,592 12–14 28 May 16 Reds 0–4 LaCoss Scurry (1–2) — 11,890 12–15 29 May 17 Reds 3–4 Soto Solomon (2–3) — 11,775 12–16 30 May 19 Braves 5–0 Bibby (2–2) Niekro — 5,514 13–16 31 May 20 Braves 6–1 Rhoden (5–0) Walk Romo (5) 8,351 14–16 32 May 22 Phillies 3–1 Perez (1–0) Christenson — 20,695 15–16 33 May 23 Phillies 4–6 Proly Tekulve (0–3) Reed 20,340 15–17 34 May 24 Phillies 7–1 Bibby (3–2) Bystrom Cruz (1) 21,771 16–17 35 May 25 @ Cubs 9–10 (11) Tidrow Cruz (1–1) — 18,506 16–18 36 May 26 @ Cubs 6–4 Tekulve (1–3) Krukow Romo (6) 6,988 17–18 37 May 27 @ Cubs 3–2 Perez (2–0) Reuschel — 6,970 18–18 38 May 28 @ Cubs 9–4 Solomon (3–3) Caudill — 7,886 19–18 39 May 29 @ Expos 2–3 Sanderson Bibby (3–3) Lee 36,662 19–19 40 May 30 @ Expos 3–2 Rhoden (6–0) Gullickson — 31,649 20–19 41 May 31 @ Expos 1–5 Rogers Perez (2–1) — 45,784 20–20
June: 5–3 (Home: 5–3; Away: 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 42 June 2 Cubs 16–3 Solomon (4–3) Caudill — 6,437 21–20 43 June 3 Cubs 3–2 Bibby (4–3) Martz Romo (7) 5,003 22–20 44 June 4 Cubs 5–4 (10) Tekulve (2–3) McGlothen — 6,740 23–20 45 June 5 Giants 3–5 Breining Romo (0–3) Lavelle 8,361 23–21 46 June 6 Giants 7–6 Scurry (2–2) Griffin Tekulve (1) 11,362 24–21 47 June 7 Giants 3–2 Solomon (5–3) Blue Romo (8) 32,244 25–21 48 June 9 Padres 4–7 Mura Rhoden (6–1) Lucas 9,145 25–22 49 June 10 Padres 2–3 Eichelberger Perez (2–2) Lucas 9,450 25–23
August: 7–15 (Home: 4–8; Away: 3–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 50 August 10 @ Expos 1–3 Lee Perez (2–3) — 37,275 25–24 51 August 11 @ Expos 6–3 Tekulve (3–3) Fryman — 33,045 26–24 52 August 12 Expos 2–3 Burris Solomon (5–4) Lee 12,069 26–25 53 August 13 Expos 2–7 Rogers Tiant (0–1) — 11,735 26–26 54 August 15 @ Cubs 3–4 (15) Martz Scurry (2–3) — 15,388 26–27 55 August 16 @ Cubs 4–3 (11) Tekulve (4–3) Smith Jackson (2) 27–27 56 August 16 @ Cubs 4–6 Howell Perez (2–4) Martz 18,991 27–28 57 August 17 Giants 1–5 (11) Minton Scurry (2–4) — 7,117 27–29 58 August 18 Giants 2–4 Whitson Tiant (0–2) Minton 9,362 27–30 59 August 19 Giants 7–3 Jones (1–0) Alexander Jackson (3) 8,414 28–30 60 August 21 Padres 4–2 Rhoden (7–1) Mura Jackson (4) 29–30 61 August 21 Padres 3–2 Bibby (5–3) Lollar Tekulve (2) 19,049 30–30 62 August 22 Padres 6–7 Curtis Tekulve (4–4) Lucas 11,865 30–31 63 August 23 Padres 5–2 Scurry (3–4) Welsh Romo (9) 23,736 31–31 64 August 24 Dodgers 0–3 Hooton Jones (1–1) — 12,308 31–32 65 August 25 Dodgers 7–9 (11) Pena Tekulve (4–5) Niedenfuer 16,770 31–33 66 August 26 Dodgers 6–16 Reuss Rhoden (7–2) — 11,144 31–34 67 August 27 @ Giants 4–5 (13) Holland Robinson (0–2) — 10,807 31–35 68 August 28 @ Giants 1–5 Whitson Scurry (3–5) — 8,418 31–36 69 August 29 @ Giants 3–8 Alexander Tiant (0–3) — 10,738 31–37 70 August 30 @ Giants 0–5 Griffin Perez (2–5) — 18,117 31–38 71 August 31 @ Dodgers 5–4 (10) Jones (2–1) Stewart Robinson (1) 35,862 32–38
September: 13–15 (Home: 6–5; Away: 7–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 72 September 1 @ Dodgers 2–3 (14) Niedenfuer Jones (2–2) — 50,134 32–39 73 September 2 @ Dodgers 2–6 Welch Long (0–1) Pena 32,027 32–40 74 September 3 @ Padres 7–3 Tiant (1–3) Eichelberger Scurry (2) 6,153 33–40 75 September 4 @ Padres 4–5 Littlefield Robinson (0–3) Show 8,128 33–41 76 September 5 @ Padres 2–1 Rhoden (8–2) Mura Scurry (3) 7,297 34–41 77 September 6 @ Padres 9–5 Solomon (6–4) Wise Robinson (2) 4,177 35–41 78 September 7 Mets 2–1 Jones (3–2) Allen Scurry (4) 36–41 79 September 7 Mets 5–4 Long (1–1) Boitano Lee (3) 9,935 37–41 80 September 8 Mets 1–3 Lynch Tiant (1–4) Allen 5,383 37–42 81 September 9 Mets 3–5 Leach Perez (2–6) Searage 7,089 37–43 82 September 11 Phillies 0–8 Carlton Rhoden (8–3) — 12,799 37–44 83 September 12 Phillies 6–2 Solomon (7–4) Noles Scurry (5) 11,370 38–44 84 September 13 Phillies 3–2 Jones (4–2) Reed Tekulve (3) 16,493 39–44 85 September 15 @ Cubs 8–2 Tiant (2–4) Griffin — 5,254 40–44 86 September 18 @ Phillies 7–6 Scurry (4–5) Reed Lee (4) 24,537 41–44 87 September 19 @ Phillies 2–8 Larson Jones (4–3) Christenson 30,446 41–45 88 September 20 @ Phillies 4–5 Lyle Solomon (7–5) — 31,489 41–46 89 September 21 @ Mets 3–4 (13) Boitano Lee (0–1) — 7,429 41–47 90 September 22 @ Mets 5–3 Bibby (6–3) Scott Scurry (6) 6,855 42–47 91 September 23 @ Expos 2–3 Jackson Rhoden (8–4) — 10,081 42–48 92 September 24 @ Expos 1–7 Lee Jones (4–4) — 23,459 42–49 93 September 25 @ Cardinals 5–4 Solomon (8–5) Kaat Scurry (7) 15,377 43–49 94 September 26 @ Cardinals 3–5 Forsch Lee (0–2) Sutter 19,761 43–50 95 September 27 @ Cardinals 5–7 LaPoint Perez (2–7) Sutter 17,703 43–51 96 September 28 Cubs 4–0 Rhoden (9–4) Griffin — 44–51 97 September 28 Cubs 1–3 Geisel Long (1–2) Martz 3,698 44–52 98 September 29 Cubs 10–6 Romo (1–3) Tidrow — 3,439 45–52 99 September 30 Expos 2–3 Gullickson Solomon (8–6) Fryman 5,826 45–53
October: 1–3 (Home: 1–3; Away: 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 100 October 1 Expos 2–5 Burris Tiant (2–5) Reardon 2,931 45–54 101 October 2 Cardinals 8–7 Tekulve (5–5) Sutter — 2,348 46–54 102 October 3 Cardinals 3–8 Martin Camacho (0–1) — 3,589 46–55 103 October 4 Cardinals 0–4 Shirley Jones (4–5) — 10,022 46–56
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member

Roster

1981 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 26 Jim Bibby 47 Ernie Camacho 45 John Candelaria 49 Víctor Cruz 23 Grant Jackson 22 Odell Jones 46 Mark Lee 34 Bob Long 25 Pascual Pérez 29 Rick Rhoden 43 Don Robinson 15 Enrique Romo 19 Rod Scurry 44 Eddie Solomon 27 Kent Tekulve 38 Luis Tiant		Catchers 16 Steve Nicosia  6 Tony Peña Infielders 35 Gary Alexander  4 Dale Berra 11 Kurt Bevacqua 10 Tim Foli  3 Phil Garner  2 Vance Law  5 Bill Madlock 34 John Milner 14 Willie Montañez  3 Johnny Ray 28 Bill Robinson  8 Willie Stargell 30 Jason Thompson		Outfielders 36 Matt Alexander 24 Mike Easler 17 Lee Lacy 18 Omar Moreno 39 Dave Parker Other batters 12 Doe Boyland		Manager  7 Chuck Tanner Coaches 31 Harvey Haddix (pitching) 32 Joe Lonnett (third base) 42 Alex Monchak (first base) 48 Bob Skinner (hitting)

Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters
#	Name	Position
18	Omar Moreno	CF
10	Tim Foli	SS
39	Dave Parker	RF
30	Jason Thompson	1B
24	Mike Easler	LF
5	Bill Madlock	3B
4	Dale Berra	2B
16	Steve Nicosia	C
26	Jim Bibby	P

^[3]

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

= Indicates league leader

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Regular Season[4] Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI M. Lee 12 2 1 0.500 0 0 M. Alexander 15 11 4 0.364 0 0 B. Madlock 82 279 95 0.341 6 45 T. Peña 66 210 63 0.300 2 17 M. Easler 95 339 97 0.286 7 42 W. Stargell 38 60 17 0.283 0 9 O. Moreno 103 434 120 0.276 1 35 L. Lacy 78 213 57 0.268 2 10 W. Montañez 29 38 10 0.263 1 1 K. Bevacqua 29 27 7 0.259 1 4 D. Parker 67 240 62 0.258 9 48 P. Garner 56 181 46 0.254 1 20 D. Robinson 17 12 3 0.250 0 1 T. Foli 86 316 78 0.247 0 20 J. Ray 31 102 25 0.245 0 6 J. Thompson 86 223 54 0.242 15 42 D. Berra 81 232 56 0.241 2 27 J. Milner 34 59 14 0.237 2 9 J. Candelaria 6 13 3 0.231 0 3 S. Nicosia 54 169 39 0.231 2 18 B. Robinson 39 88 19 0.216 2 8 G. Alexander 21 47 10 0.213 1 6 O. Jones 13 10 2 0.200 0 0 R. Rhoden 21 48 9 0.188 0 0 L. Tiant 9 16 3 0.188 0 4 E. Solomon 25 43 7 0.163 0 3 R. Scurry 27 19 3 0.158 0 0 J. Bibby 14 28 4 0.143 1 3 P. Pérez 18 22 3 0.136 0 0 V. Law 30 67 9 0.134 0 3 D. Boyland 11 8 0 0.000 0 0 E. Camacho 7 4 0 0.000 0 0 V. Cruz 22 4 0 0.000 0 0 G. Jackson 35 2 0 0.000 0 0 B. Long 5 4 0 0.000 0 0 E. Romo 33 4 0 0.000 0 0 K. Tekulve 45 2 0 0.000 0 0 Team Totals 103 3,576 920 0.257 55 384

Pitching

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

Regular Season[5] Player G IP W L ERA SO K. Tekulve 45 65 5 5 2.49 34 J. Bibby 14 932⁄3 6 3 2.50 48 G. Jackson 35 321⁄3 1 2 2.51 17 V. Cruz 22 34 1 1 2.65 28 M. Lee 12 192⁄3 0 2 2.75 5 E. Solomon 22 127 8 6 3.12 38 O. Jones 13 541⁄3 4 5 3.31 30 J. Candelaria 6 402⁄3 2 2 3.54 14 R. Scurry 27 74 4 5 3.77 65 R. Rhoden 21 1361⁄3 9 4 3.89 76 L. Tiant 9 571⁄3 2 5 3.92 32 P. Pérez 17 861⁄3 2 7 3.96 46 E. Romo 33 412⁄3 1 3 4.54 23 E. Camacho 7 212⁄3 0 1 4.98 11 D. Robinson 16 381⁄3 0 3 5.87 17 B. Long 5 192⁄3 1 2 5.95 8 Team Totals 103 942 46 56 3.56 492

Awards and honors

1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Dave Parker, RF, starter
• Bill Madlock, 3B, reserve
• Mike Easler, OF, reserve
• Phil Garner, 2B, reserve

Transactions

• October 22, 1980 – Jesse Jefferson granted free agency.
• October 22, 1980 – John Milner granted free agency.
• October 29, 1980 – Traded a player to be named later and cash to the Seattle Mariners. Received Odell Jones. The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Larry Andersen (October 29, 1980) to the Seattle Mariners to complete the trade.
• December 9, 1980 – Traded Bert Blyleven and Manny Sanguillén to the Cleveland Indians. Received Gary Alexander, Victor Cruz, Bob Owchinko and Rafael Vasquez.
• January 13, 1981 – Drafted John Kruk in the 3rd round of the 1981 amateur draft (January), but did not sign the player.
• January 19, 1981 – Signed Larvell Blanks as a free agent.
• January 20, 1981 – Signed Rusty Torres as a free agent.
• January 23, 1981 – Signed John Milner as a free agent.
• February 23, 1981 – Signed Luis Tiant as a free agent.
• April 1, 1981 – Traded Mickey Mahler and Ed Ott to the California Angels. Received Jason Thompson.
• April 5, 1981 – Purchased Jim Smith from the Baltimore Orioles.
• April 5, 1981 – Traded Dave Dravecky to the San Diego Padres. Received Bobby Mitchell (minors).
• April 6, 1981 – Traded Bob Owchinko to the Oakland Athletics. Received a player to be named later and cash. The Oakland Athletics sent Ernie Camacho (April 10, 1981) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
• May 4, 1981 – Signed Willie Horton as a free agent.
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Ray Krawczyk in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (June Secondary).
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Jim Winn in the 1st round (14th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft.
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Lee Tunnell in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft.
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Bip Roberts in the 5th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Scott Bankhead in the 17th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Chris Bosio in the 29th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
• June 8, 1981 – Drafted Lance Johnson in the 30th round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
• June 25, 1981 – Signed Denny González as an amateur free agent.
• July 11, 1981 – Signed Bobby Bonilla as an amateur free agent.
• August 20, 1981 – Traded John Milner to the Montreal Expos. Received Willie Montañez.
• August 31, 1981 – Traded Phil Garner to the Houston Astros. Received players to be named later and Johnny Ray. The Houston Astros sent Randy Niemann (September 9, 1981) and Kevin Houston (minors) (September 9, 1981) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
• September 1, 1981 – Sold Grant Jackson to the Montreal Expos for $50,000.
• October 5, 1981 – Released Luis Tiant.
• October 23, 1981 – Purchased Manny Sarmiento from the Boston Red Sox.
• October 26, 1981 – Released Kurt Bevacqua.

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	Pete Ward
AA	Buffalo Bisons	Eastern League	Johnny Lipon
A	Alexandria Pirates	Carolina League	Mike Toomey
A	Greenwood Pirates	South Atlantic League	Joe Frisina
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Woody Huyke