1981 MLB NL East standings

The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1981 MLB NL East division race at 59-43, 2 games ahead of the Montreal Expos. The strike split the season into two halves, and the division title went to the Montreal Expos, who won the second half and then beat the Philadelphia Phillies, the first-half winners, in a playoff.

The 1981 playoffs, series by series

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NL East standings, 1981

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	L10	Streak
St. Louis Cardinals (STL)	59	43	.578	-	7-3	W2
Montreal Expos (MON) x	60	48	.556	2	6-4	L1
Philadelphia Phillies (PHI) x	59	48	.551	2.5	6-4	W1
Pittsburgh Pirates (PIT)	46	56	.451	13	3-7	L2
New York Mets (NYM)	41	62	.398	18.5	4-6	W1
Chicago Cubs (CHC)	38	65	.369	21.5	3-7	L1

Final standings.

Clinch key

x: clinched a playoff place

Turning points

The lead changed hands 15 times.
The St. Louis Cardinals trailed by as many as 2 games on June 2, 1981.
The St. Louis Cardinals took first place for good on August 12, 1981.
The St. Louis Cardinals won 8 games in a row from April 16, 1981 to April 26, 1981, the longest run of the race.
The Philadelphia Phillies led by 2 games as late as June 10, 1981.
The St. Louis Cardinals went 14-6 from August 12, 1981 to September 4, 1981, turning a deficit of 1.5 games into a lead of 5.5 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 74 of the 116 days played.
Four teams held or shared first place.
The St. Louis Cardinals spent 89 of the season's 181 charted days in first place. The season's charted days include the Players' strike.