The 1981 New York Mets season was the 20th regular season for the Mets. They went 41–62 and finished in fifth place in the National League East. They were managed by Joe Torre. They played home games at Shea Stadium. The season is remembered for a summer strike that cut the season in half.

Offseason November 16, 1980: Kevin Mitchell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.Kevin Mitchell page at Baseball Reference December 15, 1980: José Moreno and John Pacella were traded by the Mets to the San Diego Padres for Randy Jones.Jose Moreno page at Baseball Reference December 15, 1980: Rick Sweet was purchased by the Mets from the San Diego Padres.Rick Sweet page at Baseball Reference December 16, 1980: Rusty Staub was signed as a free agent by the Mets.Rusty Staub page at Baseball Reference December 19, 1980: Mike Cubbage was signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. January 13, 1981: Randy Milligan was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.Randy Milligan page at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 3, 1981: John Csefalvay (minors) was traded by the Mets to the Houston Astros for Gary Rajsich.Gary Rajsich page at Baseball Reference April 5, 1981: Dan Boitano was purchased by the New York Mets from the Milwaukee Brewers. April 6, 1981: Butch Benton was sent to the Chicago Cubs by the New York Mets as part of a conditional deal. May 29, 1981: Jeff Reardon and Dan Norman were traded by the Mets to the Montreal Expos for Ellis Valentine.Jeff Reardon page at Baseball Reference June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft John Christensen was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round.John Christensen page at Baseball Reference Roger Clemens was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round, but did not sign.Roger Clemens page at Baseball Reference Lenny Dykstra was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round. Player signed July 3, 1981.Lenny Dykstra page at Baseball Reference Lou Thornton was drafted by the Mets in the 19th round.Lou Thornton page at Baseball Reference June 15, 1981: Bill Latham was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.Bill Latham page at Baseball Reference August 19, 1981: Mike Marshall was signed as a free agent by the Mets.Mike Marshall page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1981 New York Mets Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 C John Stearns 80 273 74 .271 1 24 1B Dave Kingman 100 353 78 .221 22 59 2B Doug Flynn 105 325 72 .222 1 20 SS Frank Taveras 84 283 65 .230 0 11 3B Hubie Brooks 98 358 110 .307 4 38 LF Lee Mazzilli 95 324 74 .228 6 34 CF Mookie Wilson 92 328 89 .271 3 14 RF Ellis Valentine 48 169 35 .207 5 21

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 Rusty Staub 70 161 51 .317 5 21 Alex Treviño 56 149 39 .262 0 10 Joel Youngblood 43 143 50 .350 4 25 Mike Jorgensen 86 122 25 .205 3 15 Bob Bailor 51 81 23 .284 0 8 Mike Cubbage 67 80 17 .213 1 4 Ron Gardenhire 27 48 13 .271 0 3 Ron Hodges 35 43 13 .302 1 6 Wally Backman 26 36 10 .278 0 0 Mike Howard 14 24 4 .167 0 3 Brian Giles 9 7 0 .000 0 0

Pitching = Indicates league leader 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 Pat Zachry 24 139.0 7 14* 4.14 76 Mike Scott 23 136.0 5 10 3.90 54 Ed Lynch 17 80.1 4 5 2.91 27 Greg A. Harris 16 68.2 3 5 4.46 54 Randy Jones 13 59.1 1 8 4.85 14 Tim Leary 1 2.0 0 0 0.00 3 Tied with Steve Mura (San Diego)

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 Pete Falcone 35 95.1 5 3 2.55 56 Dave Roberts 7 15.1 0 3 9.39 10 Craig Swan 5 13.2 0 2 3.29 9 Charlie Puleo 4 13.1 0 0 0.00 8

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Neil Allen 43 7 6 18 2.97 50 Ray Searage 26 1 0 1 3.68 16 Dyar Miller 23 1 0 0 3.29 22 Terry Leach 21 1 1 0 2.55 16 Tom Hausman 20 0 1 0 2.18 13 Mike Marshall 20 3 2 0 2.61 8 Jeff Reardon 18 1 0 2 3.45 28 Dan Boitano 15 2 1 0 5.51 8 Jesse Orosco 8 0 1 1 1.56 18

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jackson

Notes

References

External links 1981 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1981 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com