1981 MLB AL East standings

The Milwaukee Brewers won the 1981 MLB AL East division race at 62-47, 1 game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. The strike split the season into two halves, and the division title went to the New York Yankees, who won the first half and then beat the Milwaukee Brewers, the second-half winners, in a playoff. It came down to the final days: the Milwaukee Brewers did not lead for good until September 30, 1981.

The 1981 playoffs, series by series

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AL East standings, 1981

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	L10	Streak
Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) x	62	47	.569	-	6-4	L1
Baltimore Orioles (BAL)	59	46	.562	1	6-4	W2
New York Yankees (NYY) x	59	48	.551	2	4-6	L2
Detroit Tigers (DET)	60	49	.550	2	3-7	W1
Boston Red Sox (BOS)	59	49	.546	2.5	4-6	W2
Cleveland Indians (CLE)	52	51	.505	7	6-4	L3
Toronto Blue Jays (TOR)	37	69	.349	23.5	2-8	L1

Final standings.

Clinch key

x: clinched a playoff place

Turning points

The lead changed hands 22 times.
The Milwaukee Brewers trailed by as many as 4.5 games on May 23, 1981.
The Milwaukee Brewers took first place for good on September 30, 1981.
The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers each won 9 games in a row, the longest run of the race.
The Baltimore Orioles led by 3 games as late as May 30, 1981.
The Milwaukee Brewers went 11-5 from September 15, 1981 to October 3, 1981, turning a deficit of 4 games into a lead of 2 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 82 of the 121 days played.
Six teams held or shared first place.
The Milwaukee Brewers spent 11 of the season's 181 charted days in first place. The season's charted days include the Players' strike.