Fernandomania: 1981 Dodgers’ Wild Ride

Fernandomania: 1981 Dodgers’ Wild Ride

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers: Fernando

A Strike-Shortened Season and a Split Division Title

The 1981 MLB regular season was an interesting one, as the players went on strike midway through the year. This work stoppage forced the 1981 Major League Baseball strike that wiped out roughly a third of the schedule, and it left the Los Angeles Dodgers caught up in a split National League West race, which determined first-half and second-half champions like every other division in baseball. The Dodgers went 63-47 overall, going 36-21 to win the first half of the National League West by half a game over the Cincinnati Reds. The team then finished fourth in the second half, six games behind the second-half champion Houston Astros. At 66-42, the Cincinnati Reds would have won the National League West outright under a normal, unsplit format. Full season statistics for the club are available on Baseball-Reference’s 1981 Dodgers team page.

The Dodgers’ Everyday Lineup

Left fielder Dusty Baker batted .320 with 9 home runs, 128 hits, 17 doubles and 10 stolen bases in 103 games. Right fielder Pedro Guerrero batted .300 with 12 home runs, 104 hits and 17 doubles in 98 games. Third baseman Ron Cey batted .288 with 13 home runs, 90 hits and 15 doubles in 85 games. First baseman Steve Garvey batted .283 with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs on 122 hits and 23 doubles. Catcher Mike Scioscia batted .276 with 80 hits and 10 doubles in 93 games. Center fielder Ken Landreaux had 7 home runs, 98 hits, 16 doubles, 4 triples and 18 stolen bases in 99 games. Second baseman Davey Lopes stole 20 bases in 58 games, while middle infielder Derrel Thomas stole 7 bases in 80 games. Reserve right fielder Rick Monday batted .315 with 11 home runs in 66 games.

Pitching Staff Fuels the Rotation

Fernandomania Takes Root

Going by the nickname “El Toro,” Fernando Valenzuela was a sensation for the Dodgers and Los Angeles baseball fans. At the young age of 20, Valenzuela went 13-7 in 1981 with 180 strikeouts, a 2.48 ERA, 11 complete games and 8 shutouts. Valenzuela pitched a total of 192.1 innings, by far the most of any Dodgers pitcher; his full record is documented on his Baseball-Reference player page. It wouldn’t be long before the phenomenon known as Fernandomania, chronicled in detail by the Society for American Baseball Research, took hold of the sport.

A Deep and Steady Staff

Jerry Reuss went 10-4 with a 2.30 ERA, recording 8 complete games and 2 shutouts. Burt Hooton went 11-6 with a 2.28 ERA, recording 5 complete games and 4 shutouts. Bob Welch went 9-5 with a 3.44 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Closer Steve Howe went 5-3 with 8 saves and a 2.50 ERA. Relief pitcher Dave Stewart went 4-3 with 6 saves and a 2.49 ERA, and Bobby Castillo added 5 saves.

National League Division Series: Dodgers vs. Astros

The first-half West champion Dodgers faced the second-half West champion Houston Astros in the National League Division Series, and the Astros protected their Astrodome home with a 3-1 win in Game 1 on October 6. Nolan Ryan pitched a complete game, giving up 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 7 strikeouts. Fernando Valenzuela pitched well despite losing, going 8 innings and giving up 6 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 6 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th inning, center fielder Tony Scott had an RBI single. In the top of the 7th, Steve Garvey hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 9th, catcher Alan Ashby hit a walk-off two-run home run to give the Astros the win.

The Dodgers were blanked 1-0 by the Astros in Game 2 on October 7. Jerry Reuss pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks while recording 3 strikeouts. Normally that would be enough for a starting pitcher to win, but in the bottom of the 11th inning, pinch hitter Denny Walling delivered a walk-off RBI single off Dave Stewart to push the Dodgers up against the ropes.

The Dodgers won 6-1 in Game 3 on October 9, back at Dodger Stadium. Dusty Baker started things off with an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st inning, and Garvey followed by blasting a two-run home run. In the top of the 3rd, third baseman Art Howe hit a solo home run, but Houston was silenced in the bottom of the 8th when shortstop Bill Russell had an RBI single, pinch-hitting first baseman and outfielder Reggie Smith added a sacrifice fly, and Ken Landreaux capped it with an RBI single.

In Game 4 on October 10, the Dodgers won 2-1. Valenzuela pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Pedro Guerrero hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 7th, Russell had an RBI single, and Tony Scott’s RBI single in the top of the 9th wasn’t enough for Houston.

The Dodgers then blanked the Astros 4-0 in the deciding Game 5 on October 11. Reuss pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 3 walks while recording 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Rick Monday and Mike Scioscia had RBI singles, and Russell then reached on an error to score Monday. Garvey added an RBI triple in the bottom of the 7th.

National League Championship Series: Dodgers vs. Expos

The Dodgers then met the Montreal Expos in the National League Championship Series, and this series also went the five-game distance. In Game 1 on October 13 at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers beat the Expos 5-1. Ron Cey had an RBI double in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and Russell followed with a sacrifice bunt to score Cey. In the bottom of the 8th, Guerrero smacked a two-run home run, and Scioscia followed with a solo home run. Third baseman Larry Parrish’s RBI double in the top of the 9th did nothing for the Expos.

In Game 2 on October 14, the Expos blanked the Dodgers 3-0. Montreal’s Ray Burris pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks while recording 3 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd inning, first baseman Warren Cromartie had an RBI double, and left fielder Tim Raines followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 6th, catcher Gary Carter added an RBI single.

In Game 3 on October 16 at Olympic Stadium, the Expos won 4-1, again pushing the Dodgers up against the ropes. Montreal’s Steve Rogers pitched a complete game, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 5 strikeouts. Cey had an RBI groundout in the top of the 4th inning, but that was all for Los Angeles. Parrish had an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th, and right fielder Jerry White followed by crushing a three-run home run.

In Game 4 on October 17, the Dodgers won 7-1 to even the series. Baker had an RBI double in the top of the 3rd inning, and in the bottom of the 4th, Cromartie tied the game with an RBI single. In the top of the 8th, Garvey smacked a two-run home run, and the Dodgers piled on with RBI singles by Baker, Cey and Reggie Smith in the top of the 9th.

In Game 5 on October 19, the Dodgers squeaked out a hard-fought 2-1 victory to win the National League pennant. In the bottom of the 1st inning, center fielder Andre Dawson grounded into a double play to score Raines, but Fernando Valenzuela helped his own cause with an RBI groundout in the top of the 5th. A memorable solo home run by Rick Monday in the top of the 9th sent Los Angeles into the Fall Classic.

The 1981 World Series: Dodgers vs. Yankees

The Yankees Grab an Early Lead

The 1981 World Series pitted the Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion New York Yankees, and the Dodgers started off by losing 5-3 in Game 1 on October 20 at Yankee Stadium II. First baseman Bob Watson belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning, and catcher Lou Piniella added an RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd. In the bottom of the 4th, left fielder Dave Winfield drew a bases-loaded walk to score shortstop Larry Milbourne, and catcher Steve Yeager finally got the Dodgers on the board with a solo home run in the top of the 5th. In the top of the 8th, pinch-hitting outfielder Jay Johnstone had an RBI single, and Dusty Baker added a sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers fell short.

The Dodgers were then blanked by the Yankees 3-0 in Game 2 on October 21. Tommy John, whose name would later become synonymous with the elbow reconstruction surgery that revived his own career, pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 hits while recording 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Milbourne had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 8th, Watson had an RBI single and second baseman Willie Randolph followed with a sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers Storm Back

Shifting to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on October 23, the Dodgers won 5-4. Ron Cey clubbed a three-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning, and Watson answered with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd, with Milbourne adding an RBI single. In the top of the 3rd, catcher Rick Cerone put the Yankees on top 4-3 with a booming two-run home run, but the Dodgers came back. In the bottom of the 5th, Pedro Guerrero had an RBI double, and Mike Scioscia grounded into a double play to score Cey.

Game 4 on October 24 was a wild barn-burner, won by the Dodgers 8-7. Milbourne had an RBI double in the top of the 1st inning, and Watson followed with a sacrifice fly. Randolph then hit a solo home run in the top of the 2nd, and Cerone had an RBI single in the top of the 3rd to give New York an early 4-0 lead. Davey Lopes had an RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd to get Los Angeles on the board, and Cey followed with an RBI groundout. Cey came back in the bottom of the 5th with an RBI single, and the Yankees appeared to pull away in the top of the 6th with RBI singles by left fielder Oscar Gamble and Watson. The Dodgers stormed back, though, with a two-run home run by Johnstone and an RBI single by Russell in the bottom of the 6th, followed by a sacrifice fly by Yeager and an infield RBI single by Lopes in the bottom of the 7th. Right fielder Reggie Jackson’s solo home run in the top of the 8th wasn’t enough for New York.

In Game 5 on October 25, the Dodgers won 2-1. Lou Piniella had an infield RBI single in the top of the 2nd inning, but a pair of solo home runs by Guerrero and Yeager in the bottom of the 7th propelled the Dodgers to victory.

In Game 6 on October 28, the Dodgers closed the season for Yankee fans in the best way possible, winning 9-2 to capture their first World Series title of the 1980s. Willie Randolph hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but the Dodgers took over from there, starting with an RBI single by Steve Yeager in the top of the 4th. Ron Cey had an RBI single in the top of the 5th, and Pedro Guerrero followed with a two-run triple. Bill Russell had an RBI single in the top of the 6th, Derrel Thomas added an RBI groundout, and Guerrero topped it off with a two-run single. Lou Piniella had an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th, but Guerrero’s solo home run in the top of the 8th put the final stamp on the World Series.

Co-MVPs Cap a Championship Run

Three Dodgers were named World Series Co-Most Valuable Players. Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager were all given the award, closing out a season that began under the shadow of a labor strike and ended with Fernandomania in full bloom and a championship banner raised over Dodger Stadium.