Baseball Roars Into 1981 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ By: Andy Olson ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ * Players' strike cancels eight weeks of the season. * Strike settlement results in first split - season campaign in majors since 1892. * In NL, first - half winner New York tops second - half winner Milwaukee in five games. * In AL West, first - half winner Oakland sweeps second - half winner KC, which made the playoffs with a 50-53 overall record. * In NL East, first - half winner Phils are beaton by second - half winner Expos in five games. * In NL West, first - half winner LA bests second - half winner Houston in five games. * Dodgers beat Expos in NLCS, as Rick Monday wins five 2-1 with a ninth inning homer. * Yanks sweep A's in ALCS. * Dodgers win World Series in six games after losing opening two games in New York. * Yankees bullpn flops in series, especially George Frazier ( 0-3 ) * LA's Fernando Valenzuela wins NL Rookie of The Year and Cy Young, as he tops NL in innings ( 192 ), GGs ( 11 ), shutouts ( eight ), and K's ( 180 ). * Rollie Fingers named MVP and Cy Young winner in AL. * Mike Schmidt named NL MVP. * Steve Carlton becomes first left-hander to collect 3,000 career strikeouts. * Ryan has best ERA in majors ( 1.69 ).