1981 International League season

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The 1981 International League season was the 96th in the league's history, and ended with the Columbus Clippers becoming the first team in league history to win three straight Governors' Cups.

The Clippers were the first IL team to win three consecutive titles since the Rochester Red Wings won four in a row from 1928 to 1931.

Columbus won a rain-shortened final series over the Richmond Braves. After Game Three on September 16, two more days of rain prompted the farm directors of the Braves and Yankees to contact IL president Harold Cooper and suggest the rest of the series be canceled. Cooper declared the Clippers champions. There were 10 rainouts in total during the playoffs.

Final standings[edit]

Playoff teams in bold.

W L Pct. GB Manager Affiliation
Columbus Clippers 88 51 .633 -- Frank Verdi New York Yankees
Richmond Braves 83 56 .597 5 Eddie Haas Atlanta Braves
Tidewater Tides 70 68 .507 17½ Jack Aker New York Mets
Rochester Red Wings 69 70 .496 19 Doc Edwards Baltimore Orioles
Charleston Charlies 67 72 .482 21 Cal Emery/Frank Lucchesi Cleveland Indians
Pawtucket Red Sox 67 73 .479 20½ Joe Morgan Boston Red Sox
Syracuse Chiefs 60 80 .429 27½ Bob Humphreys Toronto Blue Jays
Toledo Mud Hens 53 87 .379 27½ Cal Ermer Minnesota Twins

Playoffs[edit]

  First Round Governors' Cup Finals
                 
1  Columbus Clippers 3  
4  Rochester Red Wings 2  
    1  Columbus Clippers 2
  2  Richmond Braves 1
2  Richmond Braves 3
3  Tidewater Tides 2  



First Round[edit]

Columbus vs. Rochester
Date Away Home
September 7 Columbus 2 Rochester 3
September 9 Columbus 6 Rochester 9
September 10 Rochester 2 Columbus 10
September 11 Rochester 0 Columbus 7
September 12 Rochester 1 Columbus 2
10 innings
Columbus wins series 3-2
Richmond vs. Tidewater
Date Away Home
September 4 Tidewater 5 Richmond 4
September 5 Tidewater 1 Richmond 2
September 6 Richmond 1 Tidewater 2
11 innings
September 9 Richmond 7 Tidewater 2
September 10 Richmond 5 Tidewater 2
Richmond wins series 3-2

Governor's Cup Finals[edit]

Columbus vs. Richmond
Date Away Home
September 13 Richmond 5 Columbus 6
12 innings
September 15 Richmond 12 Columbus 3
September 16 Columbus 5 Richmond 1
Columbus wins series 2-1

League Leaders[edit]

Batting[edit]

Pitching[edit]

All-Star Team[edit]

References[edit]

Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. W. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.

1982 Baseball Guide

External Links[edit]

1981 Rochester Red Wings review – On A Silver Diamond

1981 IL - The Baseball Cube