1981 Los Angeles Dodgers

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers / Franchise: Los Angeles Dodgers / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 63-47, Finished 2nd in NL Western Division (1981 NL)

World Series Champs

Coaches: Monty Basgall, Mark Cresse, Manny Mota, Danny Ozark and Ron Perranoski

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

". . . we had five outfielders during their career that were All-Stars. All four infielders were multiple All-Stars, one catcher that became an All-Star, plus seven pitchers that were or became All-Stars." - Ron Cey, talking about the 1981 team

Between games 53 and 68, the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers tied a major league record, by alternating wins and losses for 16 games. (The 1974 Phillies were the only other team to do this.)

Awards and Honors[edit]

All-Stars: Dusty Baker, Steve Garvey, Pedro Guerrero, Burt Hooton, Davey Lopes and Fernando Valenzuela
NL Cy Young Award: Fernando Valenzuela
NL Rookie of the Year Award: Fernando Valenzuela
NL Gold Glove: Dusty Baker (OF)
NL Silver Slugger Award: Dusty Baker (OF) and Fernando Valenzuela (P)
Topps All-Star Rookie Team: Fernando Valenzuela (LhP)

Further Reading[edit]

Danny Gallagher: Blue Monday: The Expos, the Dodgers, and the Home Run That Changed Everything, Dundurn Press, Toronto, ON, 2018. ISBN 978-1-45974-187-4
Jeff Katz: Split Season: 1981: Fernandomania, the Bronx Zoo, and the Strike that Saved Baseball, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, NY, 2015. ISBN 978-1-2500-4521-8
Rick Monday and Ken Gurnick: Rick Monday's Tales from the Dodger Dugout, Sports Publishing LLC, Champaign, IL, 2006.
Erik Sherman: Daybreak at Chavez Ravine: Fernandomania and the Remaking of the Los Angeles Dodgers, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2023. ISBN 978-1-4962-3101-7
Jason Turbow: They Bled Blue: Fernandomania, Strike-Season Mayhem, and the Weirdest Championship Baseball Had Ever Seen: The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York NY, 2019. ISBN 978-1328715531
Vic Wilson: "Fernandomania", in Jean Hastings Ardell and Andy McCue, ed.: Endless Seasons: Baseball in Southern California, The National Pastime, SABR, Number 41, 2011, pp. 94-96.