1981 Seattle Mariners season


The Seattle Mariners season was their fifth since the franchise creation, and were 6th in the American League West at. Due to the 1981 player's strike, the season was split in half, with pre-strike and post-strike results. The Mariners were sixth in the division in the first half at, and fifth in the second half at. The strike began on June 12 and regular season play resumed on August 10.
Manager Maury Wills was fired on May 6 with a record, the M's worst start yet; he was succeeded by 36-year-old Rene Lachemann, the manager at Triple-A Spokane.

Offseason

Overview

On January 14, 1981, the Mariners' were sold to George Argyros, a California real estate developer, for an estimated $12.5 million. The sale of the team, which needed the approval of 10 of 14 owners of American League teams, received a unanimous vote of consent on January 29.
hit.326 and then was traded
On April 25, Mariners' manager Maury Wills advised the Kingdome groundskeepers to enlarge the batter's box by a foot, and A's manager Billy Martin noticed. He showed umpire Bill Kunkel that the batter's box was in length. Martin felt that batters being able to move up a foot in the box could cut at pitches before a curveball broke. Wills was suspended for two games and fined $500; he was fired on May 6.
While in Arlington in late May to play the Texas Rangers, the Mariners' uniforms were stolen. For the May 30 game against the Rangers, Seattle wore their batting practice jerseys, Milwaukee Brewers' caps, and Rangers' batting helmets. The Mariners purchased the Brewers caps at the Rangers' souvenir-stand; the Rangers did not offer Seattle caps for sale.
Journeyman Tom Paciorek put together a career season with the M's in 1981. Playing full-time for the only time in his career at age 34, he batted.326, second in the American League, and was fourth in the AL in slugging percentage. Paciorek earned his only appearance to an All-Star team in 1981 and was tenth in the AL MVP race. After a request for increased compensation and a three-year contract, the Mariners traded him in December 1981 to the Chicago White Sox for three players, none of whom made an impact with Seattle. Paciorek hit over.300 his first two years with the Sox, and was part of Chicago's division championship team in 1983.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
2B9435290.256224
3B8325266.262322
DH94357111.3111643

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
6920851.2451331
309424.25549
388413.15516
36225.22715
15184.22202
1260.00000
1320.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
22130.1493.9435
21121.1994.4585
1366.2322.9736
748323.7520
534.2212.6022

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
22101274.6332
2085.1474.7531

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO
413352.6640
394655.5327
131114.8314
601010.616

Awards and records

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wausau