1981 Oakland Athletics season
| 1981 Oakland Athletics | |
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| 1981 AL West Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 64–45 (.587) |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Walter A. Haas, Jr. |
| General manager(s) | Billy Martin |
| Manager(s) | Billy Martin |
| Local television |
KPIX-TV (Bill King, Harmon Killebrew) |
| Local radio |
KSFO (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Wayne Hagin) KIQI (Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, Julio Gonzalez) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The Oakland Athletics' 1981 season saw the A's finish with an overall record of 64 wins and 45 losses. They finished the season with the best record in the American League (and second best in all of baseball). Due to the infamous 1981 players strike, the league resorted to a split-season format; this new format saw the winners of both halves of the season playing in the first divisional playoff in MLB history. The A's qualified by posting the AL West's best record in the first half of the season. While they swept the Kansas City Royals in the AL West playoff, they were themselves swept by the New York Yankees in the 1981 American League Championship Series.
The Athletics' 1981 season ranks among the organization's most interesting. The A's, only two years removed from a disastrous 54-108 finish, won their first AL West crown since 1975 under second-year manager Billy Martin. The "Billyball" A's began the season with a then-AL record 11 consecutive wins (this record was later broken by the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, who raced out to a 13-0 start). The squad followed its first loss of the season, a tough 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners, with six more victories. Their 17-1 start (through 18 games) remains unmatched. The A's starting rotation (consisting of Rick Langford, Matt Keough, Steve McCatty, Mike Norris, and Brian Kingman) received national attention during the torrid start; the unit was collectively featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated's April 27, 1981, edition. The periodic heroics of Tony Armas and Rickey Henderson also drew notice.
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