Originally, I was going to do the entire 80’s in this segment, but 1981 was unique in the same way 2020 was if you remove the pandemic. Shortened season, and a performance by a player playing his first full year in blue that just at the time seemed otherworldly. In 2020, it was Mookie.
1981 was a year where labor issues with the MLBPA and MLB would come to a head. No one really knew at the beginning of the season what was going to happen. The Dodgers were coming off of the heartbreaking loss to the Astros in the playoff game.