High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Oakland Athletics` 1981 season involved the A`s finishing with the best overall record in the American League West with a record of 64 wins and 45 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike, and the league resorted to a split-season format with the winners of both halves of the season playing in the first divisional playoff in MLB history. The A`s beat the Kansas City Royals in the AL West playoff, then lost to the New York Yankees in the 1981 American League Championship Series.