October 7, 2026
October 7, 2026
1981 Montreal Expos: Almost Until Monday
The 1981 regular season was an unusual time for Major League Baseball. Everything started off well, but ongoing disputes over free agency and pressure from team owners eventually pushed the players to walk out. The 1981 players’ strike lasted from June 12 to July 31, and as a result an estimated $146 million in player salaries, ticket sales, broadcast revenue, and concession revenue was lost.
Because of the strike, the season was split into two halves, meaning there would be first-half and second-half division champions. In the event that the same team won both halves, that team would play the second-half runner-up in the postseason.
Thankfully for the 1981 Montreal Expos, they were still able to make franchise history, reaching the postseason for the first time ever. Overall, the Expos went 60-48 in the abbreviated season, finishing two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League East. In the first half, the Expos finished four games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the division crown, but they captured the second-half division title by just half a game over the Cardinals. The Expos went 7-4 against the Phillies but only 6-9 against the Cardinals in head-to-head play. According to Baseball-Reference, Montreal went 32-21 at home at Stade Olympique (Olympic Stadium) and 27-22 on the road.
The 1981 Montreal Expos lineup was built around a mix of emerging young talent and steady veterans. Left fielder Tim Raines burst onto the scene in Montreal, batting .304 with 95 hits, 13 doubles, 7 triples, and a National League-best 71 stolen bases. Raines went on to win The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award and would later be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. First baseman Warren Cromartie batted .304 with 109 hits and 19 doubles. Center fielder Andre Dawson, nicknamed “The Hawk,” batted .302 with 24 home runs and 64 RBIs off 119 hits, 21 doubles, and 26 stolen bases. Third baseman Larry Parrish had 8 home runs, 85 hits, and 19 doubles. Catcher Gary Carter, also known as “Kid,” had 16 home runs and 68 RBIs off 94 hits and 20 doubles. Second baseman Rodney Scott had 69 hits, 9 doubles, and 30 stolen bases. Shortstop Chris Speier had 69 hits and 10 doubles, and right fielder Tim Wallach had 50 hits and 9 doubles in 71 games.
Starting pitcher Steve Rogers went 12-8 with 87 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 3 shutouts. Bill Gullickson posted 115 strikeouts and a 2.80 ERA despite going 7-9, with 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Scott Sanderson went 9-7 with 77 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA, recording 4 complete games and 1 shutout. Ray Burris entered free agency in the 1980-81 offseason and signed with the Expos on February 18, giving Montreal a solid season by going 9-7 with a 3.05 ERA and 4 complete games. Charlie Lea went 5-4 with 2 complete games and 2 shutouts.
The Expos ran a “closer by committee” system in which any relief pitcher could be called on to step up. Woodrow “Woodie” Fryman went 5-3 with 7 saves and a 1.88 ERA. Bill “Spaceman” Lee posted 6 saves and a 2.94 ERA despite going 5-6. Jeff Reardon went 2-0 with 6 saves and a 1.30 ERA. Stan Bahnsen went 2-1 with 1 save, and despite going 1-2 on the year, Elias Sosa notched 3 saves and a 3.66 ERA.
The second-half National League East champion Montreal Expos squared off against the first-half champion Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series.
In Game 1 on October 7 at Olympic Stadium, the Expos won 3-1. Steve Rogers pitched 8.2 innings and gave up 10 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. In the bottom of the first inning, Gary Carter had an RBI double. In the top of the second, catcher Keith Moreland hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the second, Chris Speier had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the fourth, Warren Cromartie added an RBI double.
In Game 2 on October 8, the Expos won 3-1, pushing the Phillies to the brink of elimination. Bill Gullickson pitched 7.2 innings and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. In the bottom of the second inning, Speier had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the third, Carter belted a two-run home run. An RBI single by first baseman Pete Rose wasn’t enough for Philadelphia.
Momentum swung back to Philadelphia once the series shifted to Veterans Stadium, as the Phillies won Game 3 on October 9 by a score of 6-2. Larry Christenson was excellent on the mound for Philadelphia, pitching 6 innings while giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run and recording 8 strikeouts. In the top of the second inning, Speier had an RBI single, but in the bottom of the second, second baseman Manny Trillo delivered a two-run single. In the bottom of the sixth, pinch hitter and right fielder George Vukovich and Rose both had RBI singles, and in the bottom of the seventh, left fielder Gary Matthews and shortstop Larry Bowa both added RBI singles. Carter’s sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth couldn’t spark a Montreal rally.
Game 4 was much closer, but the Phillies still prevailed, 6-5, on October 10. In the bottom of the first inning, third baseman Mike Schmidt belted a two-run home run, and in the bottom of the third, Moreland had a two-run single. In the top of the fourth, Carter hit a solo home run. In the top of the fifth, right fielder Jerry White had a sacrifice fly, and in the top of the sixth, pinch hitters John Milner and Wallace Johnson both had RBI singles. In the bottom of the sixth, Matthews hit a solo home run, and in the top of the seventh, Carter tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI double. In the bottom of the tenth, John Vukovich delivered for Philadelphia with a walk-off solo home run.
In the deciding Game 5 on October 11, the Expos finally got their road win, blanking the Phillies 3-0 to advance deeper into the postseason. Steve Rogers turned in another great performance, pitching a complete game while giving up 6 hits and 1 walk and recording 2 strikeouts. Rogers even helped himself in the top of the fifth with a two-run single, and Larry Parrish added an RBI double in the top of the sixth.
The 1981 National League Championship Series is best remembered for breaking the hearts of Montreal baseball fans when right fielder Rick Monday hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning of the deciding Game 5 on October 19 at Olympic Stadium. With that home run, Monday sent the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series, a berth the Montreal Expos might otherwise have claimed for themselves.
Until Monday’s shot, however, the Expos made the NLCS an exciting series to watch. In Game 2 on October 14 at Dodger Stadium, the Expos blanked the Dodgers 3-0. Ray Burris pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks while recording 3 strikeouts. In the top of the second inning, Cromartie had an RBI double, and Raines followed with an RBI single. Carter then added an RBI single in the top of the sixth, and all of this offense came against “El Toro” Fernando Valenzuela, the young sensation behind “Fernandomania.”
In Game 3 on October 16 at Olympic Stadium, the Expos won 4-1. Steve Rogers was once again stellar for Montreal, pitching a complete game while giving up 7 hits and 1 walk and recording 5 strikeouts. Though the Dodgers got on the board first in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI groundout by third baseman Ron Cey, the Expos took over. In the bottom of the sixth, Parrish had an RBI single, and Jerry White then blasted a three-run home run.
Despite the thrilling series, the 1981 Montreal Expos ultimately fell one home run short of their first World Series appearance, a defeat still remembered in Montreal simply as “Blue Monday.”
Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Tim Raines all made the All-Star Game on August 9, 1981, at Cleveland Stadium. Carter and Dawson started for the National League, while Raines came on as a reserve. Expos manager Dick Williams served as a coach for the National League All-Stars. Carter and Dawson would go on to win Gold Glove Awards, while Charlie Lea was named Player of the Month in May.
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