divisional 'title' wrapped up, we lost our intensity." To make matters worse, the Cincinnati Reds (National League West) and St. Louis Cardinals (National League East) each failed to make the playoffs. This was despite the fact that they had the two best full-season records in the National League that season (and thus would have won their divisions under normal circumstances). The Cardinals would receive some vindication the following year when they won the World Series while the Reds would not make the postseason again until 1990, when they won the franchise's most recent World Series title. In contrast to the Reds' and Cardinals' bad luck, the defending American League champion Kansas City Royals made the postseason despite owning the fourth-best full-season record in their division and posting a losing record overall (50–53). Notably, the format allowed the second-half National League East champion Montreal Expos to make the playoffs, the only time the Expos franchise would make the postseason in their 36-year stay in Montreal and their only postseason appearance of any kind until 2012, long after the team became the Washington Nationals. Ironically, the next time there would be a significant players' strike, 13 years later in 1994, the Expos would be end up being the team most hurt by the season's abrupt end. The Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates ended up playing the fewest games of any team at 102. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants played the most at 111. Most teams finished with anywhere between 106 and 109 games. Palmer summed it up thusly: "The strike of 1981 lasted fifty-one days. It hurt the owners, it hurt the players, but mostly it hurt the game. Eventually, the game recovered. But it's like a player. Every time he's injured, it's harder to come back." See also 1981 Major League Baseball season Notes References External links Google Search (timeline) Jan–Jun, 1981 Jul–Dec, 1981 Major League Baseball Strike, 1981 Strike Major League Baseball labor disputes