Every 1981 MLB playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Los Angeles Dodgers won the 1981 title from a regular season record of 63-47. 8 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 3 rounds. Every series below is taken from the MLB Stats API; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division Series | Oakland Athletics | 3-0 in games | Kansas City Royals | October 6 to October 9, 1981 |
| Division Series | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3-2 in games | Houston Astros | October 6 to October 11, 1981 |
| Division Series | New York Yankees | 3-2 in games | Milwaukee Brewers | October 7 to October 11, 1981 |
| Division Series | Montreal Expos | 3-2 in games | Philadelphia Phillies | October 7 to October 11, 1981 |
| Championship Series | New York Yankees | 3-0 in games | Oakland Athletics | October 13 to October 15, 1981 |
| Championship Series | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3-2 in games | Montreal Expos | October 13 to October 19, 1981 |
| World Series | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-2 in games | New York Yankees | October 20 to October 28, 1981 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.
The races that filled this bracket: AL East AL West NL East NL West