|| Blue Jays |- | 106 || September 30 || Blue Jays |- |- | 107 || October 2 || @ Royals |- | 108 || October 3 || @ Royals |- | 109 || October 4 || @ Royals |- Season standings Record vs. opponents Notable transactions April 6, 1981: The Athletics traded a player to be named later and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bob Owchinko. The Athletics completed the trade by sending Ernie Camacho to the Pirates on April 10. April 9, 1981: Dave Heaverlo was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. April 10, 1981: Gorman Heimueller was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. April 14, 1981: Chris Codiroli was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. April 22, 1981: Chuck Hensley was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics. May 20, 1981: Dave Revering, Mike Patterson and Chuck Dougherty (minors) were traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Jim Spencer and Tom Underwood. June 10, 1981: Rick Bosetti was purchased by the Athletics from the Toronto Blue Jays. August 27, 1981: Tim Hosley was released by the Athletics. Draft picks June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball draft Mike Gallego was drafted by the Athletics in the 2nd round (33rd pick). Player signed June 12, 1981. Rick Rodriguez was drafted by the Athletics in the 2nd round (41st pick). Mickey Tettleton was drafted by the Athletics in the 5th round. Billyball, year two Following the team's surprising success in 1980, manager Billy Martin was given the additional title of general manager in 1981. The team won the division title for the first time since 1975, winning the first half of the split season, then defeating the Royals in the divisional playoffs before losing to the Yankees in the ALCS. While the team was successful, it came at a high price, both for the team and for the pitching staff. Following a season in which the team led the league in complete games with 94—an astonishing number for the time—the Athletics again led the league with 60 complete games out of 109 total games in the strike-shortened season. For the second time, the pitching staff completed more than half their total number of games and more than double the number of the team with the second-highest total (The Indians and Tigers each had 33). The workload