View source for 1981 National League Championship Series

{{Short description|13th edition of Major League Baseball's National League Championship Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox LCS
  | image =1981_NLDS_logo.gif
  | year = 1981
  | champion = [[1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] (3)
  | champion_manager = [[Tommy Lasorda]]
  | champion_games = 36–21, .632, GA: ½ (1st half)<br />27–26, .509, GB: 6 (2nd half)
  | runnerup = [[1981 Montreal Expos season|Montreal Expos]] (2)
  | runnerup_manager = [[Jim Fanning]]
  | runnerup_games = 30–25, .545, GB: 4 (1st half)<br />30–23, .566, GA: ½ (2nd half)
  | date = October 13–19
  | MVP = [[Burt Hooton]] (Los Angeles)
  | television = [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]]<br>[[KTTV]] (LAD)<br>[[CBC Sports|CBC]] (MON – English)<br>[[Ici Radio-Canada Télé#Programming#Sports|SRC]] (MON – French)
  | announcers = '''NBC''': [[Dick Enberg]] and [[Tom Seaver]]<br>'''KTTV''': [[Vin Scully]], [[Jerry Doggett]] and [[Ross Porter (sportscaster)|Ross Porter]]<br>'''CBC''': [[Dave Van Horne]] and [[Duke Snider]]<br>'''SRC''': [[Jean-Pierre Roy]] and Guy Ferron
  | radio_network = [[Major League Baseball on CBS Radio|CBS]]<br>[[KABC (AM)|KABC]] (LAD)<br>[[CINW|CFCF]] (MON – English)<br>[[CKAC]] (MON – French)
  | radio_announcers = '''CBS''': [[Jack Buck]] and [[Jerry Coleman]]<br>'''KABC''': [[Vin Scully]], [[Jerry Doggett]] and [[Ross Porter (sportscaster)|Ross Porter]]<br>'''CFCF''': [[Dave Van Horne]], [[Duke Snider]] and [[Ron Reusch]]<br>'''CKAC''': [[Claude Raymond (baseball)|Claude Raymond]] and [[Jacques Doucet (sportscaster)|Jacques Doucet]]
  | umpires = [[Paul Pryor]]<br>[[Eric Gregg]]<br>[[Paul Runge (umpire)|Paul Runge]]<br>[[Dutch Rennert]]<br>[[Harry Wendelstedt]] <small>(crew chief)</small><br>[[Joe West (umpire)|Joe West]]
  | LDS1 = [[1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] over [[1981 Houston Astros season|Houston Astros]] (3–2)
  | LDS2 = [[1981 Montreal Expos season|Montreal Expos]] over [[1981 Philadelphia Phillies season|Philadelphia Phillies]] (3–2)
}}

The '''1981 National League Championship Series''' was a best-of-five playoff series in [[Major League Baseball]]’s [[1981 Major League Baseball postseason|1981 postseason]] to end the 1981 National League season. It was the 13th [[National League Championship Series|NLCS]] in all. The series featured the first-half [[National League West|West Division]] champion [[1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] and the second-half [[National League East|East Division]] champion [[1981 Montreal Expos season|Montreal Expos]]. The Dodgers won the series three games to two over the Expos, thanks to a ninth-inning home run in Game 5 by [[Rick Monday]] in what has ever since been referred to as "'''Blue Monday'''" by Expos fans.  

The Dodgers would go on to defeat the [[1981 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] in the [[1981 World Series|World Series]].

== Background ==
{{see also|1981 Major League Baseball postseason}}
Due to the [[1981 Major League Baseball strike]], a team had to win two postseason series in order to go to the [[1981 World Series|World Series]]. Teams that finished first in their division in the first and second halves of the season advanced to the postseason. This was the first year the baseball postseason had three rounds, an arrangement that would permanently return beginning with the 1995 season. The Expos advanced to the NLCS after defeating the defending World Series champion [[Philadelphia Phillies]] in the [[1981 National League Division Series|NL Division Series]] three games to two, and the Dodgers made their way to the NLCS after beating the [[Houston Astros]] three games to two in the NLDS.

This was also the first NLCS since [[1973 National League Championship Series|1973]] that did not feature either the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] or their cross-state rival [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], and only the third since the NLCS was first played in {{mlby|1969}}.

== Summary ==

=== Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers ===
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary =
| winner = Los Angeles
| score = 3–2

| score1 = Montreal Expos – 1, '''Los Angeles Dodgers''' – 5
| date1 = October 13
| loc1 = [[Dodger Stadium]]
| time1 = 2:47
| att1 = 51,273
| ref1 = <ref name="Game1">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B10130LAN1981.htm|title=1981 NLCS Game 1 – Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>

| score2 = '''Montreal Expos''' – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 0
| date2 = October 14
| loc2 = Dodger Stadium
| time2 = 2:48
| att2 = 53,463
| ref2 = <ref name="Game2">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B10140LAN1981.htm|title=1981 NLCS Game 2 – Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>

| score3 = Los Angeles Dodgers – 1, '''Montreal Expos''' – 4
| date3 = October 16
| loc3 = [[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium]]
| time3 = 2:27
| att3 = 54,372
| ref3 = <ref name="Game3">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B10160MON1981.htm|title=1981 NLCS Game 3 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Montreal Expos|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>

| score4 = '''Los Angeles Dodgers''' – 7, Montreal Expos – 1
| date4 = October 17
| loc4 = Olympic Stadium
| time4 = 3:14
| att4 = 54,499
| ref4 = <ref name="Game4">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B10170MON1981.htm|title=1981 NLCS Game 4 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Montreal Expos|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>

| score5 = '''Los Angeles Dodgers''' – 2, Montreal Expos – 1
| date5 = October 19
| loc5 = Olympic Stadium
| time5 = 2:41
| att5 = 36,491
| ref5 = <ref name="Game5">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B10190MON1981.htm|title=1981 NLCS Game 5 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Montreal Expos|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
}}

== Game summaries ==

=== Game 1 ===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 13, 1981
|Time=1:05{{nbsp}}pm ([[Pacific Time Zone|PT]])
|Location=[[Dodger Stadium]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]
|Road=Montreal|RoadAbr=MTL
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=1|RR=1|RH=9|RE=0
|Home='''Los Angeles'''|HomeAbr=LAD
|H1=0|H2=2|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=3|H9=X|HR=5|HH=8|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Burt Hooton]] (1–0)|LP=[[Bill Gullickson]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=[[Pedro Guerrero (baseball, born 1956)|Pedro Guerrero]] (1), [[Mike Scioscia]] (1)
|Other={{convert|64|F|C}}, mostly cloudy}}

The Dodgers took the first game of the series behind the strong pitching of starter [[Burt Hooton]]. For the first seven innings the game stayed close, with the only scoring coming in the second inning when the Dodgers got two runs on an RBI double by [[Ron Cey]] and a squeeze bunt by [[Bill Russell (shortstop)|Bill Russell]]. Hooton and reliever [[Bob Welch (baseball)|Bob Welch]] made the 2–0 lead stand up until the eighth when the Dodgers broke the game open with three more runs on back-to-back homers by [[Pedro Guerrero (baseball, born 1956)|Pedro Guerrero]] and [[Mike Scioscia]]. The Expos got one run back in the ninth when [[Larry Parrish]] doubled home [[Gary Carter]]. But reliever [[Steve Howe (baseball)|Steve Howe]] came on for the Dodgers and got the final three outs to preserve Los Angeles' victory.

=== Game 2 ===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 14, 1981
|Time=5:20{{nbsp}}pm (PT)
|Location=Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California
|Road='''Montreal'''|RoadAbr=MTL
|R1=0|R2=2|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=1|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=3|RH=10|RE=1
|Home=Los Angeles|HomeAbr=LAD
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=0|HH=5|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Ray Burris]] (1–0)|LP=[[Fernando Valenzuela]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=
|Other={{convert|63|F|C}}, clear}}

Montreal's [[Ray Burris]] helped even the series with a masterful complete game shutout in Game 2. The Dodgers managed only five singles against Burris, and their only real threats, in the sixth and ninth, were foiled by double plays. Typically in what would be a very low-scoring series, the Expos didn't do much more hitting against Dodger starter [[Fernando Valenzuela]]. But Montreal did manage to push across two runs in the second on RBI hits by [[Warren Cromartie]] and [[Tim Raines]]. Montreal added another run in the sixth, aided by [[Dusty Baker]]'s error in left. Burris did the rest to notch his 3–0 victory.

=== Game 3 ===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 16, 1981
|Time=8:20{{nbsp}}pm ([[Eastern Time Zone|ET]])
|Location=[[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]]
|Road=Los Angeles|RoadAbr=LAD
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=1|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=1|RH=7|RE=0
|Home='''Montreal'''|HomeAbr=MTL
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=4|H7=0|H8=0|H9=X|HR=4|HH=7|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Steve Rogers (baseball)|Steve Rogers]] (1–0)|LP=[[Jerry Reuss]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=[[Jerry White (baseball)|Jerry White]] (1)
||Other={{convert|44|F|C}}, partly cloudy}}

Montreal got another superb pitching performance in Game 3, this time from [[Steve Rogers (baseball)|Steve Rogers]], to take a 2–1 lead in the series. Rogers allowed only a single run on a [[Ron Cey]] groundout after singles by [[Dusty Baker]] and [[Steve Garvey]] in the fourth. For a while it looked like Dodger starter [[Jerry Reuss]] might make that 1–0 score hold up. But Montreal finally rallied for four runs in the sixth on a run-scoring single by [[Larry Parrish]] and a three-run homer by [[Jerry White (baseball)|Jerry White]]. Rogers easily preserved the 4–1 lead over the final three innings, and Montreal was now only one victory away from the World Series.

=== Game 4 ===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 17, 1981
|Time=1:05{{nbsp}}pm (ET)
|Location=Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec
|Road='''Los Angeles'''|RoadAbr=LAD
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=1|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=2|R9=4|RR=7|RH=12|RE=1
|Home=Montreal|HomeAbr=MTL
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=1|HH=5|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Burt Hooton]] (2–0)|LP=[[Bill Gullickson]] (0–2)|SV=
|RoadHR=[[Steve Garvey]] (1)|HomeHR=
||Other={{convert|48|F|C}}, partly cloudy}}

For the first seven innings Game 4 followed the usual pattern of the series, with dominant performances from both starting pitchers. Montreal's [[Bill Gullickson]] allowed an unearned run in the third, after [[Bill Russell (shortstop)|Bill Russell]] reached on [[Larry Parrish]]'s error and scored on [[Dusty Baker]]'s double. Los Angeles' [[Burt Hooton]] gave up the game-tying run in the fourth on another unearned tally, when [[Gary Carter]] reached on [[Ron Cey]]'s error and scored on a single by [[Warren Cromartie]]. The starters yielded nothing more until the eighth, when [[Steve Garvey]]'s two-run homer put the Dodgers up 3–1 and chased Gullickson. The Dodgers blew the game open with four more runs in the ninth, highlighted by Baker's two-run single. Hooton finally tired in the eighth but the Dodger bullpen got the last five outs and the series was even.

=== Game 5 ===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 19, 1981
|Time=1:05{{nbsp}}pm (ET)
|Location=Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec
|Road='''Los Angeles'''|RoadAbr=LAD
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=1|RR=2|RH=6|RE=0
|Home=Montreal|HomeAbr=MTL
|H1=1|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=1|HH=3|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Fernando Valenzuela]] (1–1)|LP=[[Steve Rogers (baseball)|Steve Rogers]] (1–1)|SV=[[Bob Welch (baseball)|Bob Welch]] (1)
|RoadHR=[[Rick Monday]] (1)|HomeHR=
||Other={{convert|41|F|C}}, drizzle}}

After a rainout (actually a snow/cold out) on Sunday, October 18, Olympic Stadium was only two-thirds full for Game 5 on a cold and drizzly Monday afternoon, which turned out to be the series' most dramatic contest. As usual in the series, the starting pitchers dominated, with the Dodgers' [[Fernando Valenzuela]] and the Expos' [[Ray Burris]]. Montreal broke on top with a single run in the first when [[Tim Raines]] led off with a double and eventually scored on a double play. The Dodgers tied the game in the fifth after [[Rick Monday]] singled, went to third on a [[Pedro Guerrero (baseball, born 1956)|Pedro Guerrero]] single, and scored on a groundout. Burris finally left the game in the eighth when the Expos pinch-hit for him. Montreal brought on their ace Steve Rogers to pitch the ninth, and with two out in the inning, he gave up a homer to Monday on a 3–1 count to put the Dodgers up 2–1. The Expos got a couple of two-out walks in the bottom of the ninth off Valenzuela, but Bob Welch came on to get the final out and send the Dodgers to the World Series. It would be the final postseason game played in Montreal and it would take another 31 seasons until the franchise returned to the postseason again as the [[Washington Nationals]].

The date came to be known as "Blue Monday" by Expos' fans.<ref>[[#blue|CBC]]: 2004</ref><ref>[[#nbcblue|NBC]]: 2004. Monday, October 19, 1981. It was cold, it was damp — and it was the end of the Expos' most successful season. In Montreal, everybody just calls it Blue Monday.</ref> Expos' broadcaster [[Dave Van Horne]] described the loss as one of the lowest points in team history.<ref>[[#lowpoint|Cowan]]: 2011. "Everybody who followed the Expos will remember the National League Championship Series of 1981 when they lost out on Blue Monday to the Los Angeles Dodgers," Van Horne said. "That was a low point for all of us because the team had reached an elevated stature within the National League and we were within one game of going to the World Series."</ref>

==Composite box==
1981 NLCS '''(3–2): [[Los Angeles Dodgers]]''' over [[Montreal Expos]]
{{Linescore
|Road='''[[Los Angeles Dodgers]]'''
|R1=0|R2=2|R3=1|R4=1|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=5|R9=5|RR=15|RH=38|RE=2
|Home='''[[Montreal Expos]]'''
|H1=1|H2=2|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6=5|H7=0|H8=0|H9=1|HR=10|HH=34|HE=4
|TotalAttendance=250,098 |AveAttendance=50,020
}}

==Aftermath==
[[File:Washington Nationals logo.svg|thumb|upright|The Montreal Expos moved to Washington D.C. in [[2005 Washington Nationals season|2005]] and became the Nationals]]
The Dodgers went on to defeat the [[1981 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] four games to two in the [[1981 World Series]], their only championship in the [[Steve Garvey|Garvey]]-[[Davey Lopes|Lopes]]-[[Bill Russell (shortstop)|Russell]]-[[Ron Cey|Cey]] era. From 1973–1981, the historic infield combined for 21 All-Star selections, with each man receiving at least three.

According to “The Colorful Montreal Expos” episode of ''MLB Network Presents'', Monday himself was left unaware of “Blue Monday” until he tried eating at a restaurant in Montreal with [[Steve Yeager]] during the Dodgers’ first road series in 1982 against the Expos and were asked by the manager to leave since six of the patrons were wanting to instigate a fight with him, with Monday commenting that “The winters are long in Montreal and they don’t forget anything” in response.

This was the only postseason appearance for the Montreal Expos before the franchise moved to Washington, D.C., and became the [[Washington Nationals]]. In ''Blue Monday: The Expos, the Dodgers, and the Home Run That Changed Everything'', author Danny Gallagher argues that [[Rick Monday]]'s home run in the 9th inning of game five, which eliminated the Expos from advancing to the World Series, was the moment that exacerbated the Expos exit in Montreal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Gail |title=The Home Run That Changed Everything |url=https://www.dodgersnation.com/home-run-changed-everything-gj1271/2018/03/01/ |publisher=Dodgers Nation|date=March 13, 2018 |access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref>

In Washington D.C., the then-named Nationals would play the Dodgers twice more in the postseason, losing in five games in the NLDS in [[2016 National League Division Series|2016]] and winning in five games in [[2019 National League Division Series|2019]]. In 2019, the Nationals would go on the win the franchise's first [[2019 World Series|World Series]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Washington Nationals get final out to win the 2019 World Series! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eGuP-uUZMQ |website=YouTube |access-date=16 September 2024 |date=30 October 2019}}</ref> All three of the Nationals/Expos versus Dodgers postseason series have gone to a winner-take-all elimination game.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1981_NLCS.shtml Baseball-Reference.com] – 1981 NLCS
*{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/expos/top10.html|title=Top 10 Expos moments|work=CBCSports.ca|publisher=CBC Sports Online|date=September 29, 2004|access-date=March 3, 2012|ref=blue}}
*{{cite news|url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/6124617/|title=Expos will always remember Blue Monday|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=NBC Sports, NBC Universal|date=October 7, 2004|access-date=March 3, 2012|ref=nbcblue|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818125049/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/6124617/|archive-date=August 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite news|url=http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/10/19/30th-anniversary-of-blue-monday/|title=30th anniversary of Blue Monday|last=Cowan|first=Stu|newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=October 19, 2011|access-date=March 3, 2012|ref=lowpoint|archive-date=February 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221031328/http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/10/19/30th-anniversary-of-blue-monday/|url-status=dead}}

{{1981 MLB Playoffs navbox}}
{{Navboxes|list1=
{{NLCS}}
{{Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{Montreal Expos}}
{{Major League Baseball on NBC}}
{{Major League Baseball on CBS Radio}}
}}

[[Category:1981 Major League Baseball season|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:Montreal Expos postseason]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers postseason]]
[[Category:National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:History of Canada (1960–1981)]]
[[Category:1981 in sports in California]]
[[Category:1981 in Los Angeles|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1981 in Montreal]]
[[Category:1981 in sports in Quebec]]
[[Category:October 1981 sports events in Canada|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:October 1981 sports events in the United States|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:Baseball competitions in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Baseball competitions in Montreal]]
[[Category:Nicknamed sporting events]]