1981 Toronto Blue Jays season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Toronto Blue Jays
season = 1981
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1977
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1977
Uniform logo =
ballpark = Exhibition Stadium
y4 = 1977
city = Toronto, Ontario
y5 = 1977
owners = Labatt Breweries,
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
managers = Bobby Mattick
television = CTV Television Network
(Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Fergie Olver)
radio = CKFH
(Jerry Howarth, Early Wynn, Tom Cheek)|The by|1981 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 7th in the American League East with a record of 37 wins and 69 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike and the league chose as its playoff teams, the division winners from the first and second halves of the season, respectively.

Offseason

*December 8, 1980: George Bell was drafted by the Blue Jays from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 rule 5 draft. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellge02.shtml George Bell page at Baseball Reference] ]
*January 15, 1981: Ken Macha was purchased by the Blue Jays from the Montreal Expos. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/machake01.shtml Ken Macha page at Baseball Reference] ]

Regular season

The Blue Jays were one of the worst teams in the majors in the first half of the split season, as the Blue Jays had a record of 16 wins and 42 losses, a percentage of .276. [ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.136, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ] Although the Blue Jays had future stars Jesse Barfield, George Bell, and Lloyd Moseby in the lineup, the team continued to struggle.

On May 15, by|1981, Len Barker of the Cleveland Indians pitched a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was the tenth perfect game ever pitched, is one of only seventeen in the history of the Major Leagues, and remains the last no-hitter thrown by an Indian. [ [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/24/26/index.htm Sports American League (Baseball) Baseball AL West Division Major League Baseball - SI Vault ] ]

The result was one of the more controversial times in franchise history. The President of the Blue Jays, Peter Bavasi, went to see the team in Anaheim against the California Angels. Bavasi's father, Buzzie Bavasi was the president of the Angels, and his team had gotten off to a lacklustre start. Buzzie wanted to fire Angels manager Jim Fregosi, and Peter Bavasi had the idea to fire his manager, Bobby Mattick. Both thought it would be big news if father and son fired their manager on the same night. [ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.137, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ] One of the Blue Jays executives advised the Jays Vice-Chairman of the Board, Peter Hardy. After a brief conversation, Hardy made it clear to Peter Bavasi that Mattick would not be fired in this way.

After the strike was resolved, the Blue Jays started the second half of the season with a close to .500 winning percentage. Peter Bavasi was heard to muse aloud the requirement to print World Series tickets. [ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.138, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ] The Jays would finish the second half with 21 wins and 27 losses, seven and a half games out of first place. Despite the attempted Bavasi firing, Mattick would resign as manager at the end of the season. On November 22, 1981, Hardy forced Bavasi to resign from the Blue Jays. [ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.157, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ]

Opening Day Roster

* Danny Ainge
* Barry Bonnell
* Jim Clancy
* Dámaso García
* Alfredo Griffin
* John Mayberry
* Lloyd Moseby
* Otto Vélez
* Ernie Whitt
* Al Woods

Notable Transactions

*June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
**Matt Williams was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (5th pick). [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/willima03.shtml Matt Williams page at Baseball Reference] ]
**Mike Sharperson was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (11th pick) of the Secondary Phase. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sharpmi01.shtml Mike Sharperson page at Baseball Reference] ]
*June 10, 1981: Rick Bosetti was purchased by the Oakland Athletics from the Toronto Blue Jays. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bosetri01.shtml]

Roster

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Award Winners

All-Star Game
* Dave Stieb, Pitcher [ [http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/history/all_stars.jsp Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History ] ]

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1981.shtml 1981 Toronto Blue Jays team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1981&t=TOR 1981 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]