| 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) | |
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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 (the franchise's next appearance in the playoffs was in 2012, as the Washington Nationals). 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. In addition, their 31-year playoff drought after this season is currently the longest in the Divisional era.
The season was separated into two halves due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.