1981 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.| Pick | Player | Team | Position | Hometown/School |
| 1 | Mike Moore | Seattle Mariners | Pitcher | Oral Roberts University |
| 2 | Joe Carter | Chicago Cubs | Outfield | Wichita State University |
| 3 | Dick Schofield | California Angels | Shortstop | Griffin High School |
| 4 | Terry Blocker | New York Mets | Outfield | Tennessee State University |
| 5 | Matt Williams | Toronto Blue Jays | Pitcher | Rice University |
| 6 | Kevin McReynolds | San Diego Padres | Outfield | Arkansas Razorbacks |
| 7 | Daryl Boston | Chicago White Sox | Outfield | Woodward High School |
| 8 | Bobby Meacham | St. Louis Cardinals | Shortstop | San Diego State Aztecs |
| 9 | Ron Darling | Texas Rangers | Pitcher | Yale University |
| 10 | Mark Grant | San Francisco Giants | Pitcher | Joliet Catholic High School |
| 11 | Mike Sodders | Minnesota Twins | Third Base | Arizona State University |
| 12 | Jay Roberts | Atlanta Braves | Outfield | Centralia High School |
| 13 | George Alpert | Cleveland Indians | Outfield | Livingston HS |
| 14 | Jim Winn | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pitcher | John Brown University |
| 15 | Tim Pyznarski | Oakland Athletics | Third Base | Eastern Illinois University |
| 16 | Vance Lovelace | Chicago Cubs | Pitcher | Hillsborough High School |
| 17 | Ricky Barlow | Detroit Tigers | Pitcher | Woodville High School |
| 18 | Darren Dilks | Montreal Expos | Pitcher | Oklahoma State University |
| 19 | Steve Lyons | Boston Red Sox | Shortstop | Oregon State University |
| 20 | Johnny Abrego | Philadelphia Phillies | Pitcher | Mission High School |
| 21 | John Cerutti | Toronto Blue Jays | Pitcher | Amherst College |
| 22 | Dave Anderson | Los Angeles Dodgers | Shortstop | University of Memphis |
| 23 | Dave Leeper | Kansas City Royals | Outfield | University of Southern California |
| 24 | Al Lachowicz | Texas Rangers | Pitcher | University of Pittsburgh |
| 25 | Kevin Burrell | Boston Red Sox | Catcher | Poway High School |
| 26 | Frank Castro | San Diego Padres | Catcher | University of Miami |
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
- Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
- Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33rd overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Mark Gubicza†, 2nd round, 34th overall by the Kansas City Royals
- Mark Langston†, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Seattle Mariners
- Frank Viola†, 2nd round, 37th overall by the Minnesota Twins
- Neal Heaton†, 2nd round, 39th overall by the Cleveland Indians
- Sid Bream, 2nd round, 48th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- John Elway, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the New York Yankees
- Phil Bradley†, 3rd round, 53rd overall by the Seattle Mariners
- Tony Gwynn‡, 3rd round, 58th overall by the San Diego Padres
- Sid Fernandez†, 3rd round, 73rd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- David Cone†, 3rd round, 74th overall by the Kansas City Royals
- Curt Young, 4th round, 92nd overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Paul O'Neill†, 4th round, 93rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds
- Todd Benzinger, 4th round, 96th overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Shane Mack, 4th round, 100th overall by the Kansas City Royals, but did not sign
- Eric Plunk, 4th round, 103rd overall by the New York Yankees
- Bip Roberts, 5th round, 117th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
- Mickey Tettleton†, 5th round, 118th overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Bill Wegman, 5th round, 124th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers
- John Franco†, 5th round, 125th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Devon White†, 6th round, 132nd overall by the California Angels
- Alvin Davis†, 6th round, 144th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign
- Mike Pagliarulo, 6th round, 155th overall by the New York Yankees
- Mark McGwire†, 8th round, 199th overall by the Montreal Expos, but did not sign
- Steve Lombardozzi, 9th round, 218th overall by the Minnesota Twins
- Fred McGriff†, 9th round, 233rd overall by the New York Yankees
- Roger Clemens†, 12th round, 289th overall by the New York Mets, but did not sign
- Lenny Dykstra†, 13th round, 315th overall by the New York Mets
- Danny Cox, 13th round, 319th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
- Bob Tewksbury†, 19th round, 493rd overall by the New York Yankees
- Matt Nokes†, 20th round, 503rd overall by the San Francisco Giants
- Vince Coleman, 20th round, 513th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign
- Chris Bosio, 29th round, 722nd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
- Lance Johnson, 30th round, 742nd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
- Cecil Fielder, 31st round, 767th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign
‡ Hall of Famer
NFL players drafted
- John Elway, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the New York Yankees
- Jack Del Rio, 22nd round, 550th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but did not sign