# 1981 Montreal Expos season

The 1981 Montreal Expos season was the 13th season in franchise history. They made it to the postseason for the first time in franchise history (the franchise's next appearance in the playoffs was in 2012, as the Washington Nationals). Their playoff run ended in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Rick Monday hitting a ninth-inning solo home run in game 5, subsequently referred to as "Blue Monday" by Expos fans. This was the closest the Expos ever got to a World Series appearance while in Montreal. This was also their last time winning a playoff series until 2019, which they won the Wild Card game. In addition, their 31-year playoff drought after this season is currently the longest in the Divisional era.
The season was separated into two halves due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.

## Offseason

* December 8, 1980: Jack O'Connor was drafted from the Expos by the Minnesota Twins in the rule 5 draft.
* December 12, 1980: Tony Bernazard was traded by the Expos to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Wortham.
* December 12, 1980: Willie Montañez was signed as a free agent by the Expos.
* January 15, 1981: Ken Macha was purchased from the Expos by the Toronto Blue Jays.
* February 18, 1981: Ray Burris was signed as a free agent by the Expos.

## Spring training

After holding spring training at City Island Ball Park in Daytona Beach, Florida, from 1973 to 1980, the Expos returned to West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida – a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves – for spring training in 1981. It was their fifth season at the stadium; they also had conducted spring training there from 1969 to 1972. The Expos would train at Municipal Stadium through 1997.

## Regular season

* April 29, 1981: Steve Carlton struck out Tim Wallach for the 3000th strikeout of his career.
* May 10, 1981: Charlie Lea pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants, defeating them 4–0 at Olympic Stadium. The last out was recorded by Andre Dawson in center field. Lea would go on to shut out the Giants again a week later on four hits in San Francisco for good measure.

### Game log
#### First half

1981 Regular Season Game Log First Half (30–25) (Home: 21–7; Road: 9–18) :
April (12–4) (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
1April 9@ Pirates6–5Fryman (1–0)Tekulve (0–1)40,3321–0Boxscore
2April 12@ Pirates2–3Rhoden (1–0)Burris (0–1)Romo (1)8,4301–1Boxscore
3April 15Cubs5–4Bahnsen (1–0)Tidrow (1–1)30,0032–1Boxscore
4April 16Cubs7–0Sanderson (1–0)McGlothen (0–1)11,6023–1Boxscore
5April 18@ Mets5–3Gullickson (1–0)Jones (0–1)Bahnsen (1)23,7104–1Boxscore
6April 19@ Mets4–3Burris (1–1)Swan (0–1)Fryman (1)N/A5–1Boxscore
7April 19@ Mets2–7Zachry (3–0)Lea (0–1)21,4645–2Boxscore
8April 20Phillies9–8Rogers (1–0)McGraw (1–1)Fryman (2)24,8176–2Boxscore
9April 21Phillies10–3Sanderson (2–0)Ruthven (2–1)10,8877–2Boxscore
10April 22Phillies4–3 (11 inn.)Sosa (1–0)McGraw (1–2)14,1768–2Boxscore
April 24MetsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for April 26
11April 25Mets4–2Rogers (2–0)Jones (0–2)Lee (1)18,1509–2Boxscore
12April 26Mets8–4Burris (2–1)Zachry (3–1)N/A10–2Boxscore
13April 26Mets7–6Sanderson (3–0)Swan (0–2)Fryman (3)41,69711–2Boxscore
14April 27@ Phillies1–3Ruthven (3–1)Gullickson (1–1)27,34711–3Boxscore
15April 28@ Phillies6–3Ratzer (1–0)Christenson (1–2)Sosa (1)26,19212–3Boxscore
16April 29@ Phillies2–6Carlton (4–0)Rogers (2–1)30,14212–4Boxscore :
May (14–15) (Home: 10–7; Road: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
17May 1Dodgers9–8 (13 inn.)Lee (1–0)Castillo (0–2)28,17913–4Boxscore
18May 2Dodgers0–4Reuss (2–1)Sanderson (3–1)22,82013–5Boxscore
19May 3Dodgers1–6 (10 inn.)Valenzuela (6–0)Gullickson (1–2)46,40513–6Boxscore
20May 4Dodgers4–3Rogers (3–1)Sutcliffe (2–2)Sosa (2)21,52714–6Boxscore
21May 5Padres4–3Fryman (2–0)15,90915–6Boxscore
22May 6Padres5–13Burris (2–2)13,06615–7Boxscore
23May 7Padres2–1Sanderson (4–1)12,24816–7Boxscore
24May 8Giants3–4Gullickson (1–3)21,85016–8Boxscore
25May 9Giants2–8Rogers (3–2)48,14916–9Boxscore
26May 10Giants1–5Lee (1–1)N/A16–10Boxscore
27May 10Giants4–0Lea (1–1)25,34317–10Boxscore
28May 12@ Dodgers0–5Hooton (5–0)Burris (2–3)Howe (4)34,36717–11Boxscore
29May 13@ Dodgers6–8Howe (2–1)Fryman (2–1)42,71217–12Boxscore
30May 14@ Dodgers2–3Valenzuela (8–0)Ratzer (1–1)53,90617–13Boxscore
31May 15@ Giants2–4Rogers (3–3)19,76317–14Boxscore
32May 16@ Giants5–0Lea (2–1)11,13318–14Boxscore
33May 17@ Giants4–5 (12 inn.)Lee (1–2)27,97518–15Boxscore
34May 18@ Padres3–2 (10 inn.)Fryman (3–1)Lee (2)13,28319–15Boxscore
35May 19@ Padres1–3Gullickson (1–4)6,87119–16Boxscore
36May 20@ Padres6–2Rogers (4–3)9,33620–16Boxscore
37May 22@ Cubs6–3Lea (3–1)Krukow (1–5)6,07121–16Boxscore
38May 23@ Cubs4–6Reuschel (2–5)Burris (2–4)Tidrow (2)15,98121–17Boxscore
39May 24@ Cubs2–6Caudill (1–3)Sanderson (4–2)Tidrow (3)10,82121–18Boxscore
40May 25Cardinals5–3Gullickson (2–4)Lee (3)24,49022–18Boxscore
41May 26Cardinals4–3Rogers (5–3)Sosa (3)27,77523–18Boxscore
42May 27Cardinals4–1Lea (4–1)Lee (4)24,70924–18Boxscore
43May 29Pirates3–2Sanderson (5–2)Bibby (3–3)Lee (5)36,66225–18Boxscore
44May 30Pirates2–3Rhoden (6–0)Gullickson (2–5)31,64925–19Boxscore
45May 31Pirates5–1Rogers (6–3)Pérez (2–1)45,78326–19Boxscore :
June (4–6) (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
46June 1@ Cardinals2–4Lea (4–2)14,22426–20Boxscore
47June 2@ Cardinals8–1Burris (3–4)14,69727–20Boxscore
48June 3@ Cardinals2–3 (11 inn.)Sosa (1–1)13,08527–21Boxscore
49June 4@ Cardinals1–4Gullickson (2–6)18,95827–22Boxscore
50June 5@ Reds3–6Rogers (6–4)27–23Boxscore
51June 6@ Reds3–9Lea (4–3)27–24Boxscore
52June 7@ Reds0–2Burris (3–5)27–25Boxscore
53June 9Braves12–1Sanderson (6–2)28–25Boxscore
54June 10Braves11–2Gullickson (3–6)29–25Boxscore
55June 11Braves7–0Rogers (7–4)30–25Boxscore :

#### Games cancelled

1981 Games cancelled :
April
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
April 11@ PiratesCancelled (strike)
April 14CubsCancelled (strike) :
June
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
June 12RedsCancelled (strike)
June 13RedsCancelled (strike)
June 14RedsCancelled (strike)
June 15AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 16AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 17@ BravesCancelled (strike)
June 18@ BravesCancelled (strike)
June 19@ AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 20@ AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 21@ AstrosCancelled (strike)
June 23MetsCancelled (strike)
June 24MetsCancelled (strike)
June 25MetsCancelled (strike)
June 26CubsCancelled (strike)
June 27CubsCancelled (strike)
June 28CubsCancelled (strike)
June 29@ PiratesCancelled (strike)
June 30@ PiratesCancelled (strike) :
July
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
July 1PiratesCancelled (strike)
July 2PiratesCancelled (strike)
July 3@ PhilliesCancelled (strike)
July 4@ PhilliesCancelled (strike)
July 5@ PhilliesCancelled (strike)
July 7@ CubsCancelled (strike)
July 8@ CubsCancelled (strike)
July 9@ CubsCancelled (strike)
July 10@ CardinalsCancelled (strike)
July 11@ CardinalsCancelled (strike)
July 12@ CardinalsCancelled (strike)
July 16DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 17DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 18PadresCancelled (strike)
July 19PadresCancelled (strike)
July 20PadresCancelled (strike)
July 21GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 22GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 24@ DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 25@ DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 26@ DodgersCancelled (strike)
July 28@ GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 29@ GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 30@ GiantsCancelled (strike)
July 31@ PadresCancelled (strike) :
August
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
August 1@ PadresCancelled (strike)
August 2@ PadresCancelled (strike)
August 4@ MetsCancelled (strike)
August 5@ MetsCancelled (strike)
August 6@ MetsCancelled (strike)
August 7PhilliesCancelled (strike)
August 8PhilliesCancelled (strike)
August 9PhilliesCancelled (strike)
August 9PhilliesCancelled (strike) :

#### Second half

1981 Regular Season Game Log Second Half (30–23) (Home: 17–11; Road: 13–12) :
August (11–8) (Home: 6–3; Road: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
All-Star Break: NL def. AL at Cleveland Stadium, 5–4
56August 10Pirates3–1Lee (2–2)Pérez (2–3)37,27531–25Boxscore
57August 11Pirates3–6Tekulve (3–3)Fryman (3–2)33,04531–26Boxscore
58August 12@ Pirates3–2Burris (4–5)Solomon (5–4)Lee (6)12,06932–26Boxscore
59August 13@ Pirates7–2Rogers (8–4)Tiant (0–1)11,73533–26Boxscore
60August 14Cardinals1–3Sanderson (6–3)40,18733–27Boxscore
August 15CardinalsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for September 15
August 16CardinalsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for September 16
61August 17@ Astros6–2Burris (5–5)Fryman (4)34–27Boxscore
62August 18@ Astros2–4Rogers (8–5)34–28Boxscore
63August 19@ Astros1–9Sanderson (6–4)34–29Boxscore
64August 21@ Braves4–1 (11 inn.)Fryman (4–2)35–29Boxscore
65August 22@ Braves5–4Bahnsen (2–0)Reardon (1)36–29Boxscore
66August 22@ Braves1–9Lea (4–4)36–30Boxscore
67August 23@ Braves1–2Rogers (8–6)36–31Boxscore
68August 25Reds9–1Sanderson (7–4)37–31Boxscore
69August 26Reds6–0Gullickson (4–6)38–31Boxscore
70August 27Reds12–0Burris (6–5)39–31Boxscore
71August 28Braves3–0Rogers (9–6)40–31Boxscore
72August 29Braves4–3Reardon (1–0)41–31Boxscore
73August 30Braves4–5 (12 inn.)Lee (2–3)41–32Boxscore
74August 31@ Reds8–9Lee (2–4)41–33Boxscore :
September (16–14) (Home: 11–8; Road: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
75September 1@ Reds4–3Lea (5–4)Reardon (2)42–33Boxscore
76September 2@ Reds0–7Bahnsen (2–1)42–34Boxscore
77September 3Astros1–2Sanderson (7–5)42–35Boxscore
78September 4Astros0–5Gullickson (4–7)42–36Boxscore
79September 5Astros5–2Burris (7–5)43–36Boxscore
80September 6Astros3–4 (12 inn.)Sosa (1–2)43–37Boxscore
81September 7@ Phillies5–4Fryman (5–2)Proly (2–1)Reardon (3)31,40145–36Boxscore
82September 8@ Phillies5–10Larson (1–0)Sanderson (7–6)11,81245–37Boxscore
83September 9@ Phillies8–11Reed (4–1)Fryman (5–3)Lyle (1)25,46845–38Boxscore
84September 11@ Cubs5–6Griffin (2–2)Burris (7–6)Hernández (2)7,20445–39Boxscore
85September 12@ Cubs2–0Rogers (10–6)Bird (4–3)Reardon (4)18,12445–40Boxscore
86September 13@ Cubs10–6Sanderson (8–6)Krukow (6–9)14,58946–40Boxscore
87September 15Cardinals2–3Gullickson (3–8)N/A46–41Boxscore
88September 15Cardinals4–3Lee (3–4)Fryman (5)41,67147–41Boxscore
89September 16Cardinals1–7Burris (7–7)N/A47–42Boxscore
90September 16Cardinals4–3 (11 inn.)Reardon (2–0)30,22248–42Boxscore
91September 17Cardinals4–7Rogers (10–7)26,39048–43Boxscore
92September 18Cubs11–0Sanderson (9–6)Bird (4–4)23,60649–43Boxscore
93September 19Cubs1–2Krukow (7–9)Lee (3–5)Martz (4)30,09949–44Boxscore
94September 20Cubs4–0Gullickson (4–8)Griffin (2–4)40,85150–44Boxscore
95September 21Phillies1–0 (17 inn.)Smith (1–0)Reed (0–1)24,16151–44Boxscore
96September 22Phillies6–2Rogers (11–7)Ruthven (11–6)21,79752–44Boxscore
97September 23Pirates3–2Jackson (2–2)Rhoden (8–4)10,08153–44Boxscore
98September 24Pirates7–1Lee (4–5)Jones (4–4)23,45954–44Boxscore
99September 25Mets6–3Gullickson (5–8)Zachry (7–13)41,35455–44Boxscore
100September 26Mets4–2Burris (8–7)Harris (3–5)Fryman (6)38,82156–44Boxscore
101September 27Mets1–2Scott (5–10)Rogers (11–8)Allen (18)52,08956–45Boxscore
102September 28@ Cardinals2–6Sanderson (9–7)21,21656–46Boxscore
103September 29@ Cardinals4–8Lee (4–6)40,48856–47Boxscore
104September 30@ Pirates3–2Gullickson (6–8)Solomon (8–6)Fryman (7)5,82657–47Boxscore :
October (3–1) (Road: 3–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordReport
105October 1@ Pirates5–2Burris (9–7)Tiant (2–5)Reardon (5)2,93158–47Boxscore
106October 2@ Mets3–0Rogers (12–8)Zachry (7–14)6,72059–47Boxscore
107October 3@ Mets5–4Lee (5–6)Allen (7–6)Reardon (6)17,95460–47Boxscore
108October 4@ Mets1–2Falcone (5–3)Gullickson (6–9)7,61860–48Boxscore :
Legend :
| Expos win | Expos loss | All-Star Game | Game postponed |

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 59 | 43 | .578 | — | 32‍–‍21 | 27‍–‍22 |
| Montreal Expos | 60 | 48 | .556 | 2 | 38‍–‍18 | 22‍–‍30 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 48 | .551 | 2½ | 36‍–‍19 | 23‍–‍29 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 46 | 56 | .451 | 13 | 22‍–‍28 | 24‍–‍28 |
| New York Mets | 41 | 62 | .398 | 18½ | 24‍–‍27 | 17‍–‍35 |
| Chicago Cubs | 38 | 65 | .369 | 21½ | 27‍–‍30 | 11‍–‍35 |
| NL East First Half Standings | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 34 | 21 | .618 | — |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 30 | 20 | .600 | 1+1⁄2 |
| Montreal Expos | 30 | 25 | .545 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 25 | 23 | .521 | 5+1⁄2 |
| New York Mets | 17 | 34 | .333 | 15 |
| Chicago Cubs | 15 | 37 | .288 | 17+1⁄2 |
| NL East Second Half Standings | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Montreal Expos | 30 | 23 | .566 | — |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 29 | 23 | .558 | 1⁄2 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 25 | 27 | .481 | 4+1⁄2 |
| New York Mets | 24 | 28 | .462 | 5+1⁄2 |
| Chicago Cubs | 23 | 28 | .451 | 6 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 21 | 33 | .389 | 9+1⁄2 |

### Record vs. opponents

1981 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 3–2–1 | 6–5 | 4–8 | 7–7 | 3–7 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 2–3 | 9–6 | 5–7 | 4–3 |
| Chicago | 2–3–1 | — | 1–5 | 1–6 | 6–4 | 4–7 | 5–8–1 | 2–10 | 4–10 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 5–4–1 |
| Cincinnati | 5–6 | 5–1 | — | 8–4 | 8–8 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 9–5 | 0–5 |
| Houston | 8–4 | 6–1 | 4–8 | — | 4–8 | 5–2 | 6–3 | 4–6 | 2–4 | 11–3 | 9–6 | 2–4 |
| Los Angeles | 7–7 | 4–6 | 8–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 6–5 | 7–5 | 5–5 |
| Montreal | 7–3 | 7–4 | 4–5 | 2–5 | 2–5 | — | 9–3 | 7–4 | 10–3 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 6–9 |
| New York | 3–3 | 8–5–1 | 3–7 | 3–6 | 1–5 | 3–9 | — | 7–7 | 3–6–1 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 6–5 |
| Philadelphia | 5-4 | 10–2 | 2–5 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 7–7 | — | 7–5 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 7–6 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–2 | 10–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–10 | 6–3–1 | 5–7 | — | 6–4 | 3–7 | 3–8 |
| San Diego | 6–9 | 3–3 | 2–10 | 3–11 | 5–6 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 4–6 | — | 6–7 | 3–7 |
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 5–5 | 5–9 | 6–9 | 5–7 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 7–3 | 7–6 | — | 2–3 |
| St. Louis | 3–4 | 4–5–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–3 | 3–2 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 1, 1981: John Tamargo was released by the Expos.
* May 29, 1981: Ellis Valentine was traded by the Expos to the New York Mets for Jeff Reardon and Dan Norman.
* June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft
** Mike Fuentes was drafted by the Expos in the 2nd round.
** Mark McGwire was drafted by the Expos in the 8th round.
** Marvin Freeman was drafted by the Expos in the 9th round, but did not sign.
** Al Newman was drafted by the Expos in the 1st round (12th pick) of the Secondary Phase.
* August 20, 1981: Willie Montañez was traded by the Expos to the Pittsburgh Pirates for John Milner.

### Major League debuts

* Batters:
** Terry Francona (Aug 19)
** Mike Gates (May 6)
** Dave Hostetler (Sep 15)
** Tony Johnson (Sep 27)
** Wallace Johnson (Sep 8)
** Pat Rooney (Sep 9)
** Chris Smith (May 14)
** Tom Wieghaus (Oct 4)
* Pitchers:
** Rick Engle (Sep 2)
** Tom Gorman (Sep 2)
** Bryn Smith (Sep 8)

### Opening Day starters

* Gary Carter
* Warren Cromartie
* Andre Dawson
* Larry Parrish
* Tim Raines
* Steve Rogers
* Rodney Scott
* Chris Speier
* Ellis Valentine

### Roster
## Player stats
### 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 | Gary Carter | 100 | 374 | 94 | .251 | 16 | 68 |
| 1B | Warren Cromartie | 99 | 358 | 109 | .304 | 6 | 42 |
| 2B | Rodney Scott | 95 | 336 | 69 | .205 | 0 | 26 |
| 3B | Larry Parrish | 128 | 440 | 116 | .264 | 17 | 62 |
| SS | Chris Speier | 96 | 307 | 69 | .225 | 2 | 25 |
| LF | Tim Raines | 88 | 313 | 95 | .304 | 5 | 37 |
| CF | Andre Dawson | 103 | 394 | 119 | .302 | 24 | 64 |
| RF | Tim Wallach | 71 | 212 | 50 | .236 | 4 | 13 |

#### 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 |
| Jerry White | 59 | 119 | 26 | .218 | 3 | 11 |
| Terry Francona | 34 | 95 | 26 | .274 | 1 | 8 |
| John Milner | 31 | 76 | 18 | .237 | 3 | 9 |
| Ellis Valentine | 22 | 76 | 16 | .211 | 3 | 15 |
| Willie Montañez | 26 | 62 | 11 | .177 | 0 | 5 |
| Jerry Manuel | 27 | 55 | 11 | .200 | 3 | 10 |
| Mike Phillips | 34 | 55 | 12 | .218 | 0 | 4 |
| Bobby Ramos | 26 | 41 | 8 | .195 | 1 | 3 |
| Rowland Office | 26 | 40 | 7 | .175 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Hutton | 31 | 29 | 3 | .103 | 0 | 2 |
| Brad Mills | 17 | 21 | 5 | .238 | 0 | 1 |
| Dan Briggs | 9 | 11 | 1 | .091 | 0 | 0 |
| Wallace Johnson | 11 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 3 |
| Chris Smith | 7 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Pate | 8 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Hostetler | 5 | 6 | 3 | .500 | 1 | 1 |
| Pat Rooney | 4 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Gates | 1 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 1 |
| Tony Johnson | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Wieghaus | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### 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 |
| Steve Rogers | 22 | 160.2 | 12 | 8 | 3.42 | 87 |
| Bill Gullickson | 22 | 157.1 | 7 | 9 | 2.80 | 115 |
| Scott Sanderson | 22 | 137.1 | 9 | 7 | 2.95 | 77 |
| Ray Burris | 22 | 135.2 | 9 | 7 | 3.05 | 52 |

#### 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 |
| Bill Lee | 31 | 88.2 | 5 | 6 | 2.94 | 34 |
| Charlie Lea | 16 | 64.1 | 5 | 4 | 4.62 | 31 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Woodie Fryman | 35 | 43.0 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1.88 | 25 |
| Jeff Reardon | 25 | 41.2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1.30 | 21 |
| Elías Sosa | 32 | 39.1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3.66 | 18 |
| Stan Bahnsen | 25 | 49.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4.96 | 28 |
| Steve Ratzer | 12 | 17.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.23 | 4 |
| Tom Gorman | 9 | 15.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.20 | 13 |
| Bryn Smith | 7 | 13.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.77 | 9 |
| Grant Jackson | 10 | 10.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.59 | 4 |
| Rick Engle | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 2 |

## Postseason
### Game log

1981 Playoff Game Log :
1981 National League Eastern Division Series vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Montreal wins series 3–2
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeriesReport
Game 1October 7Phillies3–1Rogers (1–0)Carlton (0–1)Reardon (1)34,237Expos lead 1–0Boxscore
Game 2October 8Phillies3–1Gullickson (1–0)Ruthven (0–1)Reardon (2)45,896Expos lead 2–0Boxscore
Game 3October 9@ Phillies2–6Christenson (1–0)Burris (0–1)36,835Expos lead 2–1Boxscore
Game 4October 10@ Phillies5–6 (10 inn.)McGraw (1–0)Reardon (0–1)38,818Series tied 2–2Boxscore
Game 5October 11@ Phillies3–0Rogers (2–0)Carlton (0–2)47,384Expos win 3–2Boxscore :
1981 National League Championship Series vs. Los Angeles Dodgers – Los Angeles wins series 3–2
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeriesReport
Game 1October 13@ Dodgers1–5Hooton (1–0)Gullickson (0–1)51,273Dodgers lead 1–0Boxscore
Game 2October 14@ Dodgers3–0Burris (1–0)Valenzuela (0–1)53,463Series tied 1–1Boxscore
Game 3October 16Dodgers4–1Rogers (1–0)Reuss (0–1)54,372Expos lead 2–1Boxscore
Game 4October 17Dodgers1–7Hooton (2–0)Gullickson (0–2)54,499Series tied 2–2Boxscore
October 18DodgersPostponed (rain); rescheduled for October 19
Game 5October 19Dodgers1–2Valenzuela (1–1)Rogers (1–1)Welch (1)36,491Dodgers win 3–2Boxscore :
Legend :
| Expos win | Expos loss | Game postponed |

## National League Division Series
### Montreal Expos vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Montreal wins series, 3–2.
| Game | Score | Date |
| 1 | Montreal 3, Philadelphia 1 | October 7 |
| 2 | Montreal 3, Philadelphia 1 | October 8 |
| 3 | Philadelphia 6, Montreal 2 | October 9 |
| 4 | Philadelphia 6, Montreal 5 (10 innings) | October 10 |
| 5 | Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 | October 11 |
* October 11, 1981 – Steve Rogers defeats Steve Carlton of the Phillies 3–0 in a pitchers' duel to win the National League Division Series. Rogers drove in two of the three Expos runs to boot singling home Larry Parrish and Chris Speier in the fifth inning. The Expos advance to play the Dodgers who defeated the Astros. Rogers previously defeated Carlton in game one of the series as well.

## National League Championship Series
### Game 1

October 13, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| WP: Burt Hooton (1-0) LP: Bill Gullickson (0-1) Home runs: MON: None LAD: Pedro Guerrero (1), Mike Scioscia (1) Attendance: 51,273 Notes: Pitchers: MON – Gullickson, Reardon (8) LAD – Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 14, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Montreal | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| WP: Ray Burris (1-0) LP: Fernando Valenzuela (0-1) Home runs: MON: None LAD: None Attendance: 53,463 Notes: Pitchers: MON – Burris LAD – Valenzuela, Niedenfuer (7), Forster (7), Pena (7), Castillo (9) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 16, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| WP: Steve Rogers (1-0) LP: Jerry Reuss (0-1) Home runs: LAD: None MON: Jerry White (1) Attendance: 54,372 Notes: Pitchers: LAD – Reuss, Pena (8) MON – Rogers |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 17, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
| Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| WP: Burt Hooton (2-0) LP: Bill Gullickson (0-2) Home runs: LAD: Steve Garvey (1) MON: None Attendance: Attendance: 54,499 Notes: Pitchers: LAD – Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9) MON – Gullickson, Fryman (8), Sosa (9), Lee (9) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 19, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Montreal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| WP: Fernando Valenzuela (1-1) LP: Steve Rogers (1-1) Sv: Bob Welch (1) Home runs: LAD: Rick Monday (1) MON: None Attendance: Attendance: 36,491 Notes: Pitchers: LAD – Valenzuela, Welch (9) MON – Burris, Rogers (9) |||||||||||||
* October 19, 1981: Blue Monday. In the decisive Game 5 of their only National League Championship Series, the Expos were defeated at home, 2–1, by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tim Raines opened the bottom of the first with a double against Cy Young Award-winning rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela and scored on an Andre Dawson double play ball. Valenzuela held the Expos scoreless the rest of the way, however, and the Dodgers tied the game at 1 in the top of the fifth with two hits, a wild pitch and an RBI ground out off Expo starter Ray Burris. The teams remained tied until the top of the ninth, when Expo manager Jim Fanning made a risky decision to relieve Burris with Game 3 winner Steve Rogers. Struggling closer Jeff Reardon was throwing alongside Rogers in the bullpen at the time, but Fanning elected to summon his ace. Rogers retired Steve Garvey and Ron Cey in order, but outfielder Rick Monday homered to put Los Angeles ahead, 2–1, and crush the Expos' hopes of advancing to the World Series. Two-out walks from Gary Carter and Larry Parrish were all that the Expos could muster in the 9th, as Bob Welch preserved the one-run Dodger victory. The Expos lost the NLCS, 3–2, and never returned to the postseason again until 2012 as the Washington Nationals.

## Awards and honors

* Gary Carter, All-Star Game MVP
* Gary Carter, Gold Glove Award, Catcher
* Andre Dawson, Gold Glove Award, Outfield
* Charlie Lea, Pitcher of the Month Award, May
* Tim Raines, OF, The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
* Tim Raines, National League Leader, 71 Stolen Bases

## 52nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game

All-Star Game
* Gary Carter, National League catcher, starter
* Andre Dawson, National League outfield, starter
* Tim Raines, National League outfield, reserve
* Dick Williams, National League coach

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Denver Bears | American Association | Felipe Alou |
| AA | Memphis Chicks | Southern League | Larry Bearnarth |
| A | West Palm Beach Expos | Florida State League | Bob Bailey |
| A-Short Season | Jamestown Expos | New York–Penn League | Pat Daugherty |
| Rookie | Calgary Expos | Pioneer League | J. R. Miner |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Denver