The1981American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of theAmerican League side of the1981 MLB Postseason, began on Tuesday, October 6, and ended on Sunday, October 11. The Division Series were approved by team owners on August 6 in response to the1981 Major League Baseball strike,^[1] which caused the cancellation of roughly one-third of the regular season between June 12 and August 9; by the time play was resumed, it was decided that the best approach was to have the first-half leaders automatically qualify for postseason play, and allow all the teams to begin the second half with a clean slate.

The first half and second-half champions in both theAmerican League East andAmerican League West divisions would meet in best-of-five series, with the winners advancing to theAL Championship Series (ALCS). If the same team won both halves, awild card team—the second-place team, based on overall record, in the division—would qualify for the postseason,^[2] but this proved unnecessary in both leagues. There were no plans to continue the format in later seasons, although the Division Series returned in1995 on a permanent basis after MLB realigned to three divisions in each league. The teams in the 1981 ALDS were:

• East Division:New York Yankees (first-half champion, 34–22) vs.Milwaukee Brewers (second-half champion, 31–22): Yankees win series, 3–2.
• West Division:Oakland Athletics (first-half champion, 37–23) vs.Kansas City Royals (second-half champion, 30–23): Athletics win series, 3–0.

The second-half champions played the first two games at home, with the first-half champions hosting all remaining games; this was predetermined in August, independent of team records.^[2] Had a team won both halves of the season, they would have hosted all games of the series other than the first game, which the wild card team would host.^[2]

The Royals became the first team to reach the MLB postseason with a .500 or worse record, and would be the only team until the 2020Astros andBrewers reached the 2020 postseason with records of 29–31 (.483). Following a 20–30 first half, Kansas City recovered to win the second half in the AL West, giving them a 50–53 (.485) overall mark. The Royals made a managerial change during the season as well; the team started at 30–40 (.429) underJim Frey,^[3] then went 20–13 (.606) underDick Howser.^[4]

The Yankees and Athletics went on to meet in the AL Championship Series. The Yankees became the American League champion, and lost to theNational League championLos Angeles Dodgers in the1981 World Series.

Oakland won the series, 3–0.

New York won the series, 3–2.

Mike Norris facedDennis Leonard and the defending AL Champions in Game 1. Both pitchers were on their game and the game was scoreless through three innings. But in the top of the fourth, the A's got a boost on a three-run home run byWayne Gross. ThenDwayne Murphy's homer in the eighth put the game away as Norris went on to pitch a four-hit complete game shutout.

Steve McCatty andMike Jones dueled in Game 2. After giving up an RBI double toTony Armas in the first, Jones settled into a groove and kept the A's from scoring for the next six innings. McCatty would give up a run in the bottom of the fifth onWillie Wilson's RBI hit. In the eighth, Armas again delivered the game-winning RBI double to make it 2–1 A's. McCatty went on to pitch a complete game masterpiece.

Game 3 pittedLarry Gura againstRick Langford. With their backs to the wall, the Royals and Gura ran into trouble in the first.Tony Armas would come through once again with another RBI hit that scoredRickey Henderson. Then an error byFrank White in the third allowed another run to score to make it 2–0 A's. The Royals would scratch out a run in the fourth onAmos Otis's forceout. But in the bottom of fourth the A's scored two runs on aDave McKay homer and an RBI double byDwayne Murphy. Langford would allow only one run in7+1⁄3 innings despite giving up ten hits.Dave Beard would close out the series with a save in the ninth.

1981 ALDS(3–0):Oakland Athletics overKansas City Royals

Milwaukee (then Braves) and New York faced off in their first October meeting since the1958 World Series.

In Game 1,Ron Guidry facedMoose Haas. In the bottom of the second, the Brewers struck first onCharlie Moore's RBI single. ThenRobin Yount's sac fly made it 2–0 in the third. But the Yankees would break through and take the lead for good in the fourth. Designated hitterOscar Gamble tied the game with a two-run homer. Then the Yanks would take the lead on a two-run double byRick Cerone. But the Brewers would cut the lead in half with an RBI single byTed Simmons. In the ninth, the Yankees managed to score a pivotal run offRollie Fingers. The run scored due to an error by Yount.Goose Gossage shut the door in the ninth.

Dave Righetti facedMike Caldwell in Game 2. The Brewers needed to win this game to stay in contention and it certainly looked good with Caldwell having allowed only run in the fourth onLou Piniella's homer. But the decision to allow Caldwell pitch the ninth proved costly as he surrendered a two-run homer toReggie Jackson.Dave Winfield collected three hits while Righetti pitched a dominant four-hit shutout for six innings andGoose Gossage got his second consecutive save.

Randy Lerch facedTommy John, who was looking to end the series with a sweep. Both pitchers were on their game and John got a run in the fourth thanks toBob Watson's RBI hit. The Yankees were closing in on a sweep in the seventh when the Brewers came back.Ted Simmons gave the Brewers the lead thanks to his two-run homer. ThenSal Bando's RBI hit made it 3–1. The Yankees would waste little time in responding as back-to-back RBI singles tied the game in the bottom of the seventh. ButPaul Molitor's leadoff homer in the eighth seemed to turn the tide as John then allowed a single toRobin Yount. His night was done but Simmons came through once again with an RBI double to make it 5–3 Brewers.Rollie Fingers won in relief and slammed the door on the Yankees in the ninth. The Brewers' win in Game 3 was their first ever postseason win.

Having taken Game 3, the Brewers looked toPete Vuckovich to take Game 4. Opposing him would beRick Reuschel. In the top of the fourth, the Brewers jumped in front 2–0 on a sac fly byCecil Cooper and an RBI double byBen Oglivie. The Yankees would get a run in the sixth on a fielder's choice byLou Piniella. The Yankees would get chances in the seventh and ninth to win the series butRollie Fingers escaped with the save and evened the series at two games apiece.

No team had ever come back down two games to none with the first two losses at home. The Yankees started Ron Guidry while the Brewers went with Moose Haas. Guidry allowed single runs in the 2nd and 3rd on Gorman Thomas' homer and Cecil Cooper's sacrifice fly, respectively. The Yankees looked helpless until the bottom of the fourth.Reggie Jackson's titanic two-run home run in the fourth tied the game.Oscar Gamble followed Jackson's homer with a homer to give the Yankees a 3–2 lead. A forceout later in the inning scoredGraig Nettles to make it 4–2. Dave Righetti relieved Guidry after the 4th and held the Brewers in check. Milwaukee would strike in the seventh on Cooper's second RBI of the game to close the gap. That was as close as they would get.Rick Cerone's homer in the seventh made it 5–3. The Brewers mounted a threat in the eighth. After recording two quick outsGoose Gossage walked Bando and Howell before getting Don Money to fly out to deep left. A double and a sacrifice fly put the series away as the Yankees took a commanding 7–3 lead to the ninth. Gossage shut the Brewers out in the ninth for his third save of the series and to keep a historical collapse from happening.

1981 ALDS(3–2):New York Yankees overMilwaukee Brewers

• OAK vs. KCR at Baseball-Reference
• NYY vs. MIL at Baseball-Reference

• American League Division Series
• 1981 Major League Baseball season
• New York Yankees postseason
• Oakland Athletics postseason
• Milwaukee Brewers postseason
• Kansas City Royals postseason
• 1981 in sports in California
• 1981 in sports in Missouri
• 1981 in sports in New York City
• 1981 in sports in Wisconsin
• 1980s in Kansas City, Missouri
• 1980s in Milwaukee
• 1980s in Oakland, California
• October 1981 sports events in the United States
• 1980s in the Bronx

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