1981 Montreal Expos season
| 1981 Montreal Expos | |
|---|---|
| National League East champions | |
| League | National League |
| Division | East |
| Ballpark | Olympic Stadium |
| City | Montreal |
| Record | 1st half: 30–25 (.545)
2nd half: 30–23 (.566) Overall: 60–48 (.556) |
| Divisional place | 1st half: 3rd
2nd half: 1st Overall: 2nd |
| Owners | Charles Bronfman |
| General managers | John McHale |
| Managers | Dick Williams, Jim Fanning |
| Television | CBC Television (Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider) Télévision de Radio-Canada (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron) |
| Radio | CFCF (English) (Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider, Ron Reusch) CKAC (French) (Claude Raymond, Jacques Doucet) |
The 1981 Montreal Expos season was the 13th season in franchise history. They made it to the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Their playoff run ended in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Rick Monday hitting a ninth-inning solo home run in game 5, subsequently referred to as "Blue Monday" by Expos fans. This was the closest the Expos ever got to a World Series appearance while in Montreal. This was also their last time winning a playoff series until 2019, which they won the Wild Card game. The season was separated into two halves due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.
This would be the first and only time the team made the postseason as the Montreal Expos. The next time the franchise would reach the playoffs was in the 2012 season, after relocating to Washington, D.C., and becoming the Washington Nationals. The 30-year postseason drought set a Major League Baseball record for the longest in MLB history.