Baseball Strike - 1981

Aug 10 1981 New York, NY - 2nd season

The 1981 Baseball Strike was the first work stoppage to effect Major League Baseball. On Feb 25 the Major League Baseball Players Association board approved a May 29 strike. The issue at hand was free agency compensation.

On May 28 the players and owners met with National Labor Relations Board officials and agreed to put off a strike deadline while negotiations continued with the owners.

June 10, Judge Henry Werker of the US District Court, Rochester, NY rejects the NLRB request and on June 12 the players stage the first mid-season strike. Negotiations continued until July 31 when a tentative agreement was reached between the players and owners.

The players stayed off the field until August 9, when play resumed with the All-Star game played in Cleveland.

Actual games were resumed on Aug 10. Each team had played between 102 to 110 games and games were not made up to even out the schedule. Playoffs were held with the winner of each half season facing each other in the first playoff round.

On Aug 10 the New York Yankees would defeat the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium to open the second half of their season.

The Yankees would win the first half of their season, but finish 4th in the second half, giving them a playoff position. Their overall record was 59-48. The Texas Rangers would finish their first half in 2nd and their second half in 3rd with an overall record of 57-48.

The LA Dodgers would go on to defeat the NY Yankees in the World Series 4 - 2.