League standings - 1981 National League
Regular season
| Divisional | 
| Year | Team | W | L | Pct | GB |  | L10 | Strk | Recent | RF | RA | Mgn | Mgc | 
| NL EAST |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 
| 1981 | Fairfax Peppers | 101 | 61 |  .623 | - |   | 5-5 | L2 | llwwwwwlll | 701 | 511 | 190 | 0 | 
| 1981 | Evanston Black Sox | 99 | 63 |  .611 | 2 |   | 6-4 | L1 | lwlwwllwww | 704 | 540 | 164 |   | 
| 1981 | Blue Ridge Mountaineers | 86 | 76 |  .531 | 15 |   | 5-5 | W2 | wwllllwwwl | 653 | 580 | 73 |   | 
| 1981 | Flushing Rats | 79 | 83 |  .488 | 22 |   | 4-6 | L1 | lwlwwllllw | 614 | 666 | -52 |   | 
| 1981 | Collierstown Highlanders | 76 | 86 |  .469 | 25 |   | 6-4 | W1 | wlwllwlwww | 687 | 736 | -49 |   | 
| 1981 | Cleveland Spiders | 67 | 95 |  .414 | 34 |   | 4-6 | W1 | wlwllwwlll | 665 | 789 | -124 |   | 
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 
| NL WEST |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 
| 1981 | Rockford Forest Citys | 90 | 72 |  .556 | - |   | 4-6 | L2 | llwllwwwll | 762 | 692 | 70 | 0 | 
| 1981 | South Bend Cubs | 85 | 77 |  .525 | 5 |   | 9-1 | W2 | wwlwwwwwww | 688 | 673 | 15 |   | 
| 1981 | Bloomington Hoosiers | 71 | 91 |  .438 | 19 |   | 3-7 | L2 | llwlllllww | 635 | 719 | -84 |   | 
| 1981 | Asheville Tourists | 68 | 94 |  .420 | 22 |   | 6-4 | W2 | wwlwwlllww | 607 | 687 | -80 |   | 
| 1981 | Manchester Pine Barons | 66 | 96 |  .407 | 24 |   | 4-6 | L4 | llllwwwwll | 570 | 720 | -150 |   | 
| 1981 | Niskayuna Nationals | 46 | 116 |  .284 | 44 |   | 4-6 | W4 | wwwwllllll | 635 | 954 | -319 |   | 
| Wildcard | 
| Year | Team | W | L | Pct | GB |  | L10 | Strk | Recent | Mgc | 
| 1981 | Fairfax Peppers | 101 | 61 |  .623 | na |   | 5-5 | L2 | llwwwwwlll |   | 
| 1981 | Rockford Forest Citys | 90 | 72 |  .556 | na |   | 4-6 | L2 | llwllwwwll |   | 
| 1981 | Evanston Black Sox | 99 | 63 |  .611 | - |   | 6-4 | L1 | lwlwwllwww | 0 | 
| 1981 | Blue Ridge Mountaineers | 86 | 76 |  .531 | 13 |   | 5-5 | W2 | wwllllwwwl |   | 
| 1981 | South Bend Cubs | 85 | 77 |  .525 | 14 |   | 9-1 | W2 | wwlwwwwwww |   | 
| 1981 | Flushing Rats | 79 | 83 |  .488 | 20 |   | 4-6 | L1 | lwlwwllllw |   | 
| 1981 | Collierstown Highlanders | 76 | 86 |  .469 | 23 |   | 6-4 | W1 | wlwllwlwww |   | 
| 1981 | Bloomington Hoosiers | 71 | 91 |  .438 | 28 |   | 3-7 | L2 | llwlllllww |   | 
| 1981 | Asheville Tourists | 68 | 94 |  .420 | 31 |   | 6-4 | W2 | wwlwwlllww |   | 
| 1981 | Cleveland Spiders | 67 | 95 |  .414 | 32 |   | 4-6 | W1 | wlwllwwlll |   | 
| 1981 | Manchester Pine Barons | 66 | 96 |  .407 | 33 |   | 4-6 | L4 | llllwwwwll |   | 
| 1981 | Niskayuna Nationals | 46 | 116 |  .284 | 53 |   | 4-6 | W4 | wwwwllllll |   | 
| Expanded1 | 
| Year | Team | Home | Road | Grass | Turf | vsLHP | vsRHP | Div | InterLg | 
| 1981 | Fairfax Peppers | 53-28 | 48-33 | 83-52 | 18-9 | 34-17 | 67-44 | 37-23 | 29-19 | 
| 1981 | Rockford Forest Citys | 52-29 | 38-43 | 78-60 | 12-12 | 34-23 | 56-49 | 34-26 | 27-21 | 
| 1981 | Evanston Black Sox | 50-31 | 49-32 | 82-52 | 17-11 | 28-19 | 71-44 | 31-29 | 31-17 | 
| 1981 | Blue Ridge Mountaineers | 44-37 | 42-39 | 74-64 | 12-12 | 36-22 | 50-54 | 34-26 | 24-24 | 
| 1981 | South Bend Cubs | 39-42 | 46-35 | 67-66 | 18-11 | 31-24 | 54-53 | 39-21 | 22-26 | 
| 1981 | Flushing Rats | 47-34 | 32-49 | 67-73 | 12-10 | 27-27 | 52-56 | 28-32 | 20-28 | 
| 1981 | Collierstown Highlanders | 34-47 | 42-39 | 30-31 | 46-55 | 25-27 | 51-59 | 29-31 | 18-30 | 
| 1981 | Bloomington Hoosiers | 37-44 | 34-47 | 57-77 | 14-14 | 28-27 | 43-64 | 30-30 | 20-28 | 
| 1981 | Asheville Tourists | 32-49 | 36-45 | 24-38 | 44-56 | 23-24 | 45-70 | 24-36 | 18-30 | 
| 1981 | Cleveland Spiders | 36-45 | 31-50 | 57-82 | 10-13 | 15-31 | 52-64 | 21-39 | 15-33 | 
| 1981 | Manchester Pine Barons | 36-45 | 30-51 | 54-84 | 12-12 | 17-40 | 49-56 | 29-31 | 14-34 | 
| 1981 | Niskayuna Nationals | 21-60 | 25-56 | 16-42 | 30-74 | 15-34 | 31-82 | 24-36 | 12-36 | 
| Expanded2 | 
| Year | Team | Lead7 | Tied7 | Trail7 | 1-run | Extra | 
| 1981 | Fairfax Peppers | 78-6 | 17-8 | 6-47 | 26-26 | 10-5 | 
| 1981 | Rockford Forest Citys | 69-6 | 13-9 | 8-57 | 25-25 | 10-4 | 
| 1981 | Evanston Black Sox | 82-9 | 9-8 | 8-46 | 29-25 | 8-5 | 
| 1981 | Blue Ridge Mountaineers | 67-6 | 12-10 | 7-60 | 24-31 | 5-10 | 
| 1981 | South Bend Cubs | 71-8 | 7-7 | 7-62 | 27-28 | 6-8 | 
| 1981 | Flushing Rats | 61-3 | 12-13 | 6-67 | 29-24 | 9-8 | 
| 1981 | Collierstown Highlanders | 54-8 | 11-10 | 11-68 | 27-23 | 14-7 | 
| 1981 | Bloomington Hoosiers | 53-7 | 11-11 | 7-73 | 28-24 | 8-7 | 
| 1981 | Asheville Tourists | 53-8 | 6-14 | 9-72 | 22-33 | 4-5 | 
| 1981 | Cleveland Spiders | 52-9 | 8-15 | 7-71 | 22-26 | 8-13 | 
| 1981 | Manchester Pine Barons | 50-3 | 11-14 | 5-79 | 30-24 | 6-12 | 
| 1981 | Niskayuna Nationals | 35-11 | 7-13 | 4-92 | 13-27 | 4-7 |