1981 Montreal Expos
National League East Champions
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkOlympic Stadium
CityMontreal
Record1st half: 30–25 (.545)

2nd half: 30–23 (.566)

Overall: 60–48 (.556)
Divisional place1st half: 3rd

2nd half: 1st

Overall: 2nd
OwnersCharles Bronfman
General managersJohn McHale
ManagersDick Williams, Jim Fanning
TelevisionCBC Television
(Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider)
Télévision de Radio-Canada
(Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron)
RadioCFCF (English)
(Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider, Ron Reusch)
CKAC (French)
(Claude Raymond, Jacques Doucet)
Seasons

The 1981 Montreal Expos season was the 13th season in franchise history. They made it to the postseason for the first time in franchise history (the franchise's next appearance in the playoffs was in 2012, as the Washington Nationals). Their playoff run ended in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Rick Monday hitting a ninth-inning solo home run in game 5, subsequently referred to as "Blue Monday" by Expos fans. This was the closest the Expos ever got to a World Series appearance while in Montreal.

The season was separated into two halves due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.

Offseason

Spring training

After holding spring training at City Island Ball Park in Daytona Beach, Florida, from 1973 to 1980, the Expos returned to West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida – a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves – for spring training in 1981. It was their fifth season at the stadium; they also had conducted spring training there from 1969 to 1972. The Expos would train at Municipal Stadium through 1997.

Regular season

  • April 29, 1981: Steve Carlton struck out Tim Wallach for the 3000th strikeout of his career.[6]
  • May 10, 1981: Charlie Lea pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants, defeating them 4–0 at Olympic Stadium. The last out was recorded by Andre Dawson in center field. Lea would go on to shut out the Giants again a week later on four hits in San Francisco for good measure.

Game log

First half

1981 Regular Season Game Log First Half (30–25) (Home: 21–7; Road: 9–18)
April (12–4) (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
1April 9@ Pirates6–5Fryman (1–0)Tekulve (0–1)40,3321–0Boxscore
2April 12@ Pirates2–3Rhoden (1–0)Burris (0–1)Romo (1)8,4301–1Boxscore
3April 15Cubs5–4Bahnsen (1–0)Tidrow (1–1)30,0032–1Boxscore
4April 16Cubs7–0Sanderson (1–0)McGlothen (0–1)11,6023–1Boxscore
5April 18@ Mets5–3Gullickson (1–0)Jones (0–1)Bahnsen (1)23,7104–1Boxscore
6April 19@ Mets4–3Burris (1–1)Swan (0–1)Fryman (1)N/A5–1Boxscore
7April 19@ Mets2–7Zachry (3–0)Lea (0–1)21,4645–2Boxscore
8April 20Phillies9–8Rogers (1–0)McGraw (1–1)Fryman (2)24,8176–2Boxscore
9April 21Phillies10–3Sanderson (2–0)Ruthven (2–1)10,8877–2Boxscore
10April 22Phillies4–3 (11 inn.)Sosa (1–0)McGraw (1–2)14,1768–2Boxscore
April 24MetsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for April 26
11April 25Mets4–2Rogers (2–0)Jones (0–2)Lee (1)18,1509–2Boxscore
12April 26Mets8–4Burris (2–1)Zachry (3–1)N/A10–2Boxscore
13April 26Mets7–6Sanderson (3–0)Swan (0–2)Fryman (3)41,69711–2Boxscore
14April 27@ Phillies1–3Ruthven (3–1)Gullickson (1–1)27,34711–3Boxscore
15April 28@ Phillies6–3Ratzer (1–0)Christenson (1–2)Sosa (1)26,19212–3Boxscore
16April 29@ Phillies2–6Carlton (4–0)Rogers (2–1)30,14212–4Boxscore
May (14–15) (Home: 10–7; Road: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
17May 1Dodgers9–8 (13 inn.)Lee (1–0)Castillo (0–2)28,17913–4Boxscore
18May 2Dodgers0–4Reuss (2–1)Sanderson (3–1)22,82013–5Boxscore
19May 3Dodgers1–6 (10 inn.)Valenzuela (6–0)Gullickson (1–2)46,40513–6Boxscore
20May 4Dodgers4–3Rogers (3–1)Sutcliffe (2–2)Sosa (2)21,52714–6Boxscore
21May 5Padres4–3Fryman (2–0)15,90915–6Boxscore
22May 6Padres5–13Burris (2–2)13,06615–7Boxscore
23May 7Padres2–1Sanderson (4–1)12,24816–7Boxscore
24May 8Giants3–4Gullickson (1–3)21,85016–8Boxscore
25May 9Giants2–8Rogers (3–2)48,14916–9Boxscore
26May 10Giants1–5Lee (1–1)N/A16–10Boxscore
27May 10Giants4–0Lea (1–1)25,34317–10Boxscore
28May 12@ Dodgers0–5Hooton (5–0)Burris (2–3)Howe (4)34,36717–11Boxscore
29May 13@ Dodgers6–8Howe (2–1)Fryman (2–1)42,71217–12Boxscore
30May 14@ Dodgers2–3Valenzuela (8–0)Ratzer (1–1)53,90617–13Boxscore
31May 15@ Giants2–4Rogers (3–3)19,76317–14Boxscore
32May 16@ Giants5–0Lea (2–1)11,13318–14Boxscore
33May 17@ Giants4–5 (12 inn.)Lee (1–2)27,97518–15Boxscore
34May 18@ Padres3–2 (10 inn.)Fryman (3–1)Lee (2)13,28319–15Boxscore
35May 19@ Padres1–3Gullickson (1–4)6,87119–16Boxscore
36May 20@ Padres6–2Rogers (4–3)9,33620–16Boxscore
37May 22@ Cubs6–3Lea (3–1)Krukow (1–5)6,07121–16Boxscore
38May 23@ Cubs4–6Reuschel (2–5)Burris (2–4)Tidrow (2)15,98121–17Boxscore
39May 24@ Cubs2–6Caudill (1–3)Sanderson (4–2)Tidrow (3)10,82121–18Boxscore
40May 25Cardinals5–3Gullickson (2–4)Lee (3)24,49022–18Boxscore
41May 26Cardinals4–3Rogers (5–3)Sosa (3)27,77523–18Boxscore
42May 27Cardinals4–1Lea (4–1)Lee (4)24,70924–18Boxscore
43May 29Pirates3–2Sanderson (5–2)Bibby (3–3)Lee (5)36,66225–18Boxscore
44May 30Pirates2–3Rhoden (6–0)Gullickson (2–5)31,64925–19Boxscore
45May 31Pirates5–1Rogers (6–3)Pérez (2–1)45,78326–19Boxscore
June (4–6) (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
46June 1@ Cardinals2–4Lea (4–2)14,22426–20Boxscore
47June 2@ Cardinals8–1Burris (3–4)14,69727–20Boxscore
48June 3@ Cardinals2–3 (11 inn.)Sosa (1–1)13,08527–21Boxscore
49June 4@ Cardinals1–4Gullickson (2–6)18,95827–22Boxscore
50June 5@ Reds3–6Rogers (6–4)27–23Boxscore
51June 6@ Reds3–9Lea (4–3)27–24Boxscore
52June 7@ Reds0–2Burris (3–5)27–25Boxscore
53June 9Braves12–1Sanderson (6–2)28–25Boxscore
54June 10Braves11–2Gullickson (3–6)29–25Boxscore
55June 11Braves7–0Rogers (7–4)30–25Boxscore

Games cancelled

1981 Games cancelled
April
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
April 11@ PiratesCancelled (strike)
April 14CubsCancelled (strike)
June
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
June 12RedsCancelled (strike)
June 13RedsCancelled (strike)
June 14RedsCancelled (strike)
June 15AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 16AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 17@ BravesCancelled (strike)
June 18@ BravesCancelled (strike)
June 19@ AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 20@ AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 21@ AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 23MetsCancelled (strike)
June 24MetsCancelled (strike)
June 25MetsCancelled (strike)
June 26CubsCancelled (strike)
June 27CubsCancelled (strike)
June 28CubsCancelled (strike)
June 29@ PiratesCancelled (strike)
June 30@ PiratesCancelled (strike)
July
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
July 1PiratesCancelled (strike)
July 2PiratesCancelled (strike)
July 3@ PhilliesCancelled (strike)
July 4@ PhilliesCancelled (strike)
July 5@ PhilliesCancelled (strike)
July 7@ CubsCancelled (strike)
July 8@ CubsCancelled (strike)
July 9@ CubsCancelled (strike)
July 10@ CardinalsCancelled (strike)
July 11@ CardinalsCancelled (strike)
July 12@ CardinalsCancelled (strike)
July 16DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 17DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 18PadresCancelled (strike)
July 19PadresCancelled (strike)
July 20PadresCancelled (strike)
July 21GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 22GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 24@ DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 25@ DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 26@ DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 28@ GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 29@ GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 30@ GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 31@ PadresCancelled (strike)
August
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
August 1@ PadresCancelled (strike)
August 2@ PadresCancelled (strike)
August 4@ MetsCancelled (strike)
August 5@ MetsCancelled (strike)
August 6@ MetsCancelled (strike)
August 7PhilliesCancelled (strike)
August 8PhilliesCancelled (strike)
August 9PhilliesCancelled (strike)
August 9PhilliesCancelled (strike)

Second half

1981 Regular Season Game Log Second Half (30–23) (Home: 17–11; Road: 13–12)
August (11–8) (Home: 6–3; Road: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
All-Star Break: NL def. AL at Cleveland Stadium, 5–4
56August 10Pirates3–1Lee (2–2)Pérez (2–3)37,27531–25Boxscore
57August 11Pirates3–6Tekulve (3–3)Fryman (3–2)33,04531–26Boxscore
58August 12@ Pirates3–2Burris (4–5)Solomon (5–4)Lee (6)12,06932–26Boxscore
59August 13@ Pirates7–2Rogers (8–4)Tiant (0–1)11,73533–26Boxscore
60August 14Cardinals1–3Sanderson (6–3)40,18733–27Boxscore
August 15CardinalsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for September 15
August 16CardinalsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for September 16
61August 17@ Astros6–2Burris (5–5)Fryman (4)34–27Boxscore
62August 18@ Astros2–4Rogers (8–5)34–28Boxscore
63August 19@ Astros1–9Sanderson (6–4)34–29Boxscore
64August 21@ Braves4–1 (11 inn.)Fryman (4–2)35–29Boxscore
65August 22@ Braves5–4Bahnsen (2–0)Reardon (1)36–29Boxscore
66August 22@ Braves1–9Lea (4–4)36–30Boxscore
67August 23@ Braves1–2Rogers (8–6)36–31Boxscore
68August 25Reds9–1Sanderson (7–4)37–31Boxscore
69August 26Reds6–0Gullickson (4–6)38–31Boxscore
70August 27Reds12–0Burris (6–5)39–31Boxscore
71August 28Braves3–0Rogers (9–6)40–31Boxscore
72August 29Braves4–3Reardon (1–0)41–31Boxscore
73August 30Braves4–5 (12 inn.)Lee (2–3)41–32Boxscore
74August 31@ Reds8–9Lee (2–4)41–33Boxscore
September (16–14) (Home: 11–8; Road: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
75September 1@ Reds4–3Lea (5–4)Reardon (2)42–33Boxscore
76September 2@ Reds0–7Bahnsen (2–1)42–34Boxscore
77September 3Astros1–2Sanderson (7–5)42–35Boxscore
78September 4Astros0–5Gullickson (4–7)42–36Boxscore
79September 5Astros5–2Burris (7–5)43–36Boxscore
80September 6Astros3–4 (12 inn.)Sosa (1–2)43–37Boxscore
81September 7@ Phillies5–4Fryman (5–2)Proly (2–1)Reardon (3)31,40145–36Boxscore
82September 8@ Phillies5–10Larson (1–0)Sanderson (7–6)11,81245–37Boxscore
83September 9@ Phillies8–11Reed (4–1)Fryman (5–3)Lyle (1)25,46845–38Boxscore
84September 11@ Cubs5–6Griffin (2–2)Burris (7–6)Hernández (2)7,20445–39Boxscore
85September 12@ Cubs2–0Rogers (10–6)Bird (4–3)Reardon (4)18,12445–40Boxscore
86September 13@ Cubs10–6Sanderson (8–6)Krukow (6–9)14,58946–40Boxscore
87September 15Cardinals2–3Gullickson (3–8)N/A46–41Boxscore
88September 15Cardinals4–3Lee (3–4)Fryman (5)41,67147–41Boxscore
89September 16Cardinals1–7Burris (7–7)N/A47–42Boxscore
90September 16Cardinals4–3 (11 inn.)Reardon (2–0)30,22248–42Boxscore
91September 17Cardinals4–7Rogers (10–7)26,39048–43Boxscore
92September 18Cubs11–0Sanderson (9–6)Bird (4–4)23,60649–43Boxscore
93September 19Cubs1–2Krukow (7–9)Lee (3–5)Martz (4)30,09949–44Boxscore
94September 20Cubs4–0Gullickson (4–8)Griffin (2–4)40,85150–44Boxscore
95September 21Phillies1–0 (17 inn.)Smith (1–0)Reed (0–1)24,16151–44Boxscore
96September 22Phillies6–2Rogers (11–7)Ruthven (11–6)21,79752–44Boxscore
97September 23Pirates3–2Jackson (2–2)Rhoden (8–4)10,08153–44Boxscore
98September 24Pirates7–1Lee (4–5)Jones (4–4)23,45954–44Boxscore
99September 25Mets6–3Gullickson (5–8)Zachry (7–13)41,35455–44Boxscore
100September 26Mets4–2Burris (8–7)Harris (3–5)Fryman (6)38,82156–44Boxscore
101September 27Mets1–2Scott (5–10)Rogers (11–8)Allen (18)52,08956–45Boxscore
102September 28@ Cardinals2–6Sanderson (9–7)21,21656–46Boxscore
103September 29@ Cardinals4–8Lee (4–6)40,48856–47Boxscore
104September 30@ Pirates3–2Gullickson (6–8)Solomon (8–6)Fryman (7)5,82657–47Boxscore
October (3–1) (Road: 3–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
105October 1@ Pirates5–2Burris (9–7)Tiant (2–5)Reardon (5)2,93158–47Boxscore
106October 2@ Mets3–0Rogers (12–8)Zachry (7–14)6,72059–47Boxscore
107October 3@ Mets5–4Lee (5–6)Allen (7–6)Reardon (6)17,95460–47Boxscore
108October 4@ Mets1–2Falcone (5–3)Gullickson (6–9)7,61860–48Boxscore
Legend
Expos win Expos loss All-Star Game Game postponed

Season standings

NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 5943 0.578 32–21 27–22
Montreal Expos 6048 0.556 2 38–18 22–30
Philadelphia Phillies 5948 0.551 36–19 23–29
Pittsburgh Pirates 4656 0.451 13 22–28 24–28
New York Mets 4162 0.398 18½ 24–27 17–35
Chicago Cubs 3865 0.369 21½ 27–30 11–35
NL East
First Half Standings
W L Pct. GB
Philadelphia Phillies3421.618
St. Louis Cardinals3020.6001+12
Montreal Expos3025.5454
Pittsburgh Pirates2523.5215+12
New York Mets1734.33315
Chicago Cubs1537.28817+12
NL East
Second Half Standings
W L Pct. GB
Montreal Expos3023.566
St. Louis Cardinals2923.55812
Philadelphia Phillies2527.4814+12
New York Mets2428.4625+12
Chicago Cubs2328.4516
Pittsburgh Pirates2133.3899+12

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta3–2–16–54–87–73–73–34–52–39–65–74–3
Chicago2–3–11–51–66–44–75–8–12–104–103–35–55–4–1
Cincinnati5–65–18–48–85–47–35–24–210–29–50–5
Houston8–46–14–84–85–26–34–62–411–39–62–4
Los Angeles 7–74–68–88–45–25–13–35–16–57–55–5
Montreal7–37–44–52–52–59–37–410–34–22–56–9
New York3–38–5–13–73–61–53–97–73–6–12–52–46–5
Philadelphia5-410–22–56–43–34–77–77–54–24–37–6
Pittsburgh3–210–42–44–21–53–106–3–15–76–43–73–8
San Diego6–93–32–103–115–62–45–22–44–66–73–7
San Francisco7–55–55–96–95–75–24–23–47–37–62–3
St. Louis3–44–5–15–04–25–59–65–66–78–37–33–2

Notable transactions

Major League debuts

  • Batters:
    • Terry Francona (Aug 19)
    • Mike Gates (May 6)
    • Dave Hostetler (Sep 15)
    • Tony Johnson (Sep 27)
    • Wallace Johnson (Sep 8)
    • Pat Rooney (Sep 9)
    • Chris Smith (May 14)
    • Tom Wieghaus (Oct 4)
  • Pitchers:
    • Rick Engle (Sep 2)
    • Tom Gorman (Sep 2)
    • Bryn Smith (Sep 8)[13]

Opening Day starters

Roster

1981 Montreal Expos
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CGary Carter10037494.2511668
1BWarren Cromartie99358109.304642
2BRodney Scott9533669.205026
3BLarry Parrish128440116.2641762
SSChris Speier9630769.225225
LFTim Raines8831395.304537
CFAndre Dawson103394119.3022464
RFTim Wallach7121250.236413

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Jerry White5911926.218311
Terry Francona349526.27418
John Milner317618.23739
Ellis Valentine227616.211315
Willie Montañez266211.17705
Jerry Manuel275511.200310
Mike Phillips345512.21804
Bobby Ramos26418.19513
Rowland Office26407.17500
Tommy Hutton31293.10302
Brad Mills17215.23801
Dan Briggs9111.09100
Wallace Johnson1192.22203
Chris Smith770.00000
Bob Pate862.33300
Dave Hostetler563.50011
Pat Rooney450.00000
Mike Gates121.50001
Tony Johnson210.00000
Tom Wieghaus110.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Steve Rogers22160.21283.4287
Bill Gullickson22157.1792.80115
Scott Sanderson22137.1972.9577
Ray Burris22135.2973.0552

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bill Lee3188.2562.9434
Charlie Lea1664.1544.6231

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO
Woodie Fryman3543.05371.8825
Jeff Reardon2541.22061.3021
Elías Sosa3239.11233.6618
Stan Bahnsen2549.02114.9628
Steve Ratzer1217.11106.234
Tom Gorman915.00004.2013
Bryn Smith713.01002.779
Grant Jackson1010.21007.594
Rick Engle12.000018.002

Postseason

Game log

1981 Playoff Game Log
1981 National League Eastern Division Series vs. Philadelphia Phillies Montreal wins series 32
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeriesReport
Game 1October 7Phillies31Rogers (10)Carlton (01)Reardon (1)34,237Expos lead 10Boxscore
Game 2October 8Phillies31Gullickson (10)Ruthven (01)Reardon (2)45,896Expos lead 20Boxscore
Game 3October 9@ Phillies26Christenson (10)Burris (01)36,835Expos lead 21Boxscore
Game 4October 10@ Phillies56 (10 inn.)McGraw (10)Reardon (01)38,818Series tied 22Boxscore
Game 5October 11@ Phillies30Rogers (20)Carlton (02)47,384Expos win 32Boxscore
1981 National League Championship Series vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles wins series 32
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeriesReport
Game 1October 13@ Dodgers15Hooton (10)Gullickson (01)51,273Dodgers lead 10Boxscore
Game 2October 14@ Dodgers30Burris (10)Valenzuela (01)53,463Series tied 11Boxscore
Game 3October 16Dodgers41Rogers (10)Reuss (01)54,372Expos lead 21Boxscore
Game 4October 17Dodgers17Hooton (20)Gullickson (02)54,499Series tied 22Boxscore
October 18DodgersPostponed (rain); rescheduled for October 19
Game 5October 19Dodgers12Valenzuela (11)Rogers (11)Welch (1)36,491Dodgers win 32Boxscore
Legend
Expos win Expos loss Game postponed

National League Division Series

Montreal Expos vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Montreal wins series, 3–2.

GameScoreDate
1Montreal 3, Philadelphia 1October 7
2Montreal 3, Philadelphia 1October 8
3Philadelphia 6, Montreal 2October 9
4Philadelphia 6, Montreal 5 (10 innings)October 10
5Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0October 11
  • October 11, 1981 – Steve Rogers defeats Steve Carlton of the Phillies 3–0 in a pitchers' duel to win the National League Division Series. Rogers drove in two of the three Expos runs to boot singling home Larry Parrish and Chris Speier in the fifth inning. The Expos advance to play the Dodgers who defeated the Astros. Rogers previously defeated Carlton in game one of the series as well.

National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 13, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team123456789RHE
Montreal000000001190
Los Angeles02000003X580
WP: Burt Hooton (1-0)   LP: Bill Gullickson (0-1)
Home runs:
MON: None
LAD: Pedro Guerrero (1), Mike Scioscia (1)
Attendance: 51,273
Notes: Pitchers: MON Gullickson, Reardon (8)  LAD Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9)

Game 2

October 14, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team123456789RHE
Montreal0200010003101
Los Angeles000000000051
WP: Ray Burris (1-0)   LP: Fernando Valenzuela (0-1)
Home runs:
MON: None
LAD: None
Attendance: 53,463
Notes: Pitchers: MON Burris  LAD Valenzuela, Niedenfuer (7), Forster (7), Pena (7), Castillo (9)

Game 3

October 16, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team123456789RHE
Los Angeles000100000170
Montreal00000400X471
WP: Steve Rogers (1-0)   LP: Jerry Reuss (0-1)
Home runs:
LAD: None
MON: Jerry White (1)
Attendance: 54,372
Notes: Pitchers: LAD Reuss, Pena (8)  MON Rogers

Game 4

October 17, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team123456789RHE
Los Angeles0010000247121
Montreal000100000151
WP: Burt Hooton (2-0)   LP: Bill Gullickson (0-2)
Home runs:
LAD: Steve Garvey (1)
MON: None
Attendance: Attendance: 54,499
Notes: Pitchers: LAD Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9)  MON Gullickson, Fryman (8), Sosa (9), Lee (9)

Game 5

October 19, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team123456789RHE
Los Angeles000010001260
Montreal100000000131
WP: Fernando Valenzuela (1-1)   LP: Steve Rogers (1-1)   Sv: Bob Welch (1)
Home runs:
LAD: Rick Monday (1)
MON: None
Attendance: Attendance: 36,491
Notes: Pitchers: LAD Valenzuela, Welch (9)  MON Burris, Rogers (9)
  • October 19, 1981: Blue Monday. In the decisive Game 5 of their only National League Championship Series, the Expos were defeated at home, 2–1, by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tim Raines opened the bottom of the first with a double against Cy Young Award-winning rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela and scored on an Andre Dawson double play ball. Valenzuela held the Expos scoreless the rest of the way, however, and the Dodgers tied the game at 1 in the top of the fifth with two hits, a wild pitch and an RBI ground out off Expo starter Ray Burris. The teams remained tied until the top of the ninth, when Expo manager Jim Fanning made a risky decision to relieve Burris with Game 3 winner Steve Rogers. Struggling closer Jeff Reardon was throwing alongside Rogers in the bullpen at the time, but Fanning elected to summon his ace. Rogers retired Steve Garvey and Ron Cey in order, but outfielder Rick Monday homered to put Los Angeles ahead, 2–1, and crush the Expos' hopes of advancing to the World Series. Two-out walks from Gary Carter and Larry Parrish were all that the Expos could muster in the 9th, as Bob Welch preserved the one-run Dodger victory. The Expos lost the NLCS, 3–2, and never returned to the postseason again until 2012 as the Washington Nationals.

Awards and honors

52nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game

All-Star Game

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Denver Bears American Association Felipe Alou
AA Memphis Chicks Southern League Larry Bearnarth
A West Palm Beach Expos Florida State League Bob Bailey
A-Short Season Jamestown Expos New York–Penn League Pat Daugherty
Rookie Calgary Expos Pioneer League J. R. Miner

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Denver

References

  1. Jack O'Connor at Baseball-Reference
  2. Tony Bernazard at Baseball-Reference
  3. 1 2 Willie Montañez at Baseball-Reference
  4. Ken Macha at Baseball-Reference
  5. Ray Burris at Baseball-Reference
  6. Steve Carlton | The Baseball Page
  7. John Tamargo at Baseball-Reference
  8. Jeff Reardon at Baseball-Reference
  9. Mike Fuentes at Baseball-Reference
  10. Mark McGwire at Baseball-Reference
  11. Marvin Freeman at Baseball-Reference
  12. Al Newman at Baseball-Reference
  13. "1981 Montreal Expos". The Baseball Cube.
  14. Stolen Bases Single Season National League Leaders by Baseball Almanac

Further reading

  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
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