1961 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1961 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1961 in baseball.

1961 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 10 – October 1, 1961 (AL) April 11 – October 1, 1961 (NL) World Series: October 4–9, 1961
Number of games	162 (AL) 154 (NL)
Number of teams	18 total: 10 (AL) 8 (NL)
TV partner(s)	NBC, CBS, ABC
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Roger Maris (NY) NL: Frank Robinson (CIN)
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Detroit Tigers
NL champions	Cincinnati Reds
NL runners-up	Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series
Champions	New York Yankees
Runners-up	Cincinnati Reds
World Series MVP	Whitey Ford (NY)
MLB seasons
← 1960 1962 →

Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Angels

Twins

Yankees

Senators

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Locations of teams for the 1961 American League season
American League

Cubs

Reds

Dodgers

Braves

      Phillies

Pirates   

   Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1960–1961 National League seasons
National League

The 1961 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1961. The regular season ended on October 1, with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 58th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 5 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Reds, four games to one, capturing their 19th championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1958. The season is best known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris' and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record of 60. Maris ultimately broke the record when he hit his 61st home run on the final day of the regular season, while Mantle was forced out of the lineup in late September due to a hip infection and finished with 54 home runs.

For the third year, there were two separate All-Star Games played. The first, the 30th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was played on July 11, hosted by the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, California, with the National League winning, 5–4. The second, the 31st Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was played on July 31, hosted by the Boston Red Sox in Boston, Massachusetts, with the game ending in a 1–1 tie, due to a rainout following the end of the ninth inning.

In response to the proposed Continental League, the American League expanded by two teams in the first MLB expansion since 1901, ushering in the expansion era. The original Washington Senators moved to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota and became the Minnesota Twins, being the sixth team since 1953 to relocate, and the third of American League teams since then. The American League therefore placed a new team in Washington, D.C., also called the Washington Senators. Also, the American League placed a team in Los Angeles called the Los Angeles Angels.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1961 schedule was the first time that the American and National Leagues did not follow the same scheduling format. Due to expansion of the American League, the AL schedule consisted of 162 games for all ten teams. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other nine teams. Meanwhile, the National League, still consisting of eight teams, continued the 154-game format in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919). Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams. 1961 would mark the last 154-game season in professional baseball history, as the National League itself would copy the American League 162-game format following their own expansion the following season.

American League Opening Day took place on April 10, featuring the Chicago White Sox and newly enfranchised Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 1, and saw sixteen teams play. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 9.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	49,375	Paul Richards, Lum Harris
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,357	Pinky Higgins
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	Comiskey Park	46,550	Al López
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	73,811	Jimmy Dykes, Mel Harder
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	52,904	Bob Scheffing
	Kansas City Athletics	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	34,165	Joe Gordon, Hank Bauer
	Los Angeles Angels	Los Angeles, California	Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)	20,457	Bill Rigney
	Minnesota Twins	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Stadium	30,022	Cookie Lavagetto, Sam Mele
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,337	Ralph Houk
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	27,500	Mickey Vernon
National League	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field (Chicago)	36,755	College of Coaches
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	30,322	Fred Hutchinson
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	94,600	Walter Alston
	Milwaukee Braves	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Milwaukee County Stadium	43,768	Chuck Dressen, Birdie Tebbetts
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,608	Gene Mauch
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	35,500	Danny Murtaugh
	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Candlestick Park	42,553	Alvin Dark
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Busch Stadium	30,500	Solly Hemus, Johnny Keane

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	109	53	.673	—	65‍–‍16	44‍–‍37
Detroit Tigers	101	61	.623	8	50‍–‍31	51‍–‍30
Baltimore Orioles	95	67	.586	14	48‍–‍33	47‍–‍34
Chicago White Sox	86	76	.531	23	53‍–‍28	33‍–‍48
Cleveland Indians	78	83	.484	30½	40‍–‍41	38‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox	76	86	.469	33	50‍–‍31	26‍–‍55
Minnesota Twins	70	90	.438	38	36‍–‍44	34‍–‍46
Los Angeles Angels	70	91	.435	38½	46‍–‍36	24‍–‍55
Kansas City Athletics	61	100	.379	47½	33‍–‍47	28‍–‍53
Washington Senators	61	100	.379	47½	33‍–‍46	28‍–‍54

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	93	61	.604	—	47‍–‍30	46‍–‍31
Los Angeles Dodgers	89	65	.578	4	45‍–‍32	44‍–‍33
San Francisco Giants	85	69	.552	8	45‍–‍32	40‍–‍37
Milwaukee Braves	83	71	.539	10	45‍–‍32	38‍–‍39
St. Louis Cardinals	80	74	.519	13	48‍–‍29	32‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates	75	79	.487	18	38‍–‍39	37‍–‍40
Chicago Cubs	64	90	.416	29	40‍–‍37	24‍–‍53
Philadelphia Phillies	47	107	.305	46	22‍–‍55	25‍–‍52

Postseason

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	New York Yankees	2	2	3	7	13
	NL	Cincinnati Reds	0	6	2	0	5

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Chicago Cubs	Lou Boudreau	College of Coaches
Detroit Tigers	Joe Gordon	Bob Scheffing
Kansas City Athletics	Bob Elliott	Joe Gordon
New York Yankees	Casey Stengel	Ralph Houk
San Francisco Giants	Tom Sheehan	Alvin Dark

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Baltimore Orioles	Paul Richards	Lum Harris
Cleveland Indians	Jimmy Dykes	Mel Harder
Kansas City Athletics	Joe Gordon	Hank Bauer
Milwaukee Braves	Chuck Dressen	Birdie Tebbetts
Minnesota Twins	Cookie Lavagetto	Sam Mele
St. Louis Cardinals	Solly Hemus	Johnny Keane

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Norm Cash (DET)	.361
OPS	Norm Cash (DET)	1.148
HR	Roger Maris (NY)	61
RBI	Jim Gentile (BAL) Roger Maris (NYY)	141
R	Roger Maris (NY)	132
H	Norm Cash (DET)	193
SB	Luis Aparicio (CWS)	53

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Whitey Ford (NY)	25
L	Pedro Ramos (MIN)	20
ERA	Dick Donovan (WSH)	2.40
K	Camilo Pascual (MIN)	221
IP	Whitey Ford (NY)	283.0
SV	Luis Arroyo (NY)	29
WHIP	Dick Donovan (WSH)	1.026

National League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	.351
OPS	Frank Robinson (CIN)	1.015
HR	Orlando Cepeda (SF)	46
RBI	Orlando Cepeda (SF)	142
R	Willie Mays (SF)	129
H	Vada Pinson (CIN)	208
SB	Maury Wills (LAD)	35

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Joey Jay (CIN) Warren Spahn (MIL)	21
L	Bob Friend (PIT) Art Mahaffey (PHI)	19
ERA	Warren Spahn (MIL)	3.02
K	Sandy Koufax (LAD)	269
IP	Lew Burdette (MIL)	272.1
SV	Roy Face (PIT) Stu Miller (SF)	17
WHIP	Warren Spahn (MIL)	1.142

Records

Major League

• Home runs, single-season: 61, Roger Maris, New York Yankees

Maris' 61 home runs broke Babe Ruth's 34-year-old major league single-season record of 60, set in 1927. Maris' record would stand for 37 years until it was broken by Mark McGwire's 70 in 1998. Maris’ American League record would stand for a total of 61 years until it was eclipsed by Aaron Judge’s 62 in 2022.

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Billy Williams (CHC)	Don Schwall (BOS)
Cy Young Award	—	Whitey Ford (NY)
Most Valuable Player	Frank Robinson (CIN)	Roger Maris (NY)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Bobby Shantz (PIT)	Frank Lary (DET)
Catcher	John Roseboro (LAD)	Earl Battey (MIN)
1st Base	Bill White (STL)	Vic Power (CLE)
2nd Base	Bill Mazeroski (PIT)	Bobby Richardson (NY)
3rd Base	Ken Boyer (STL)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Maury Wills (LAD)	Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Outfield	Vada Pinson (CIN)	Jim Landis (CWS)
	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Al Kaline (DET)
	Willie Mays (SF)	Jimmy Piersall (CLE)

Other awards

• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Whitey Ford (NY)
• Babe Ruth Award (BBWAA World Series MVP): Whitey Ford (NY)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [1]	—	Roger Maris (NY)
Pitcher of the Year [2]	Warren Spahn (MIL)	Whitey Ford (NY)
Fireman of the Year [3] (Relief pitcher)	Stu Miller (SF)	Luis Arroyo (NY)
Rookie of the Year [4] (Player)	Billy Williams (CHC)	Dick Howser (KC)
Rookie of the Year [4] (Pitcher)	Ken Hunt (CIN)	Don Schwall (BOS)
Manager of the Year [5]	—	Ralph Houk (NY)
Executive of the Year [6]	—	Dan Topping (NY)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Joey Jay (CIN)
June	George Altman (CHC)
July	Frank Robinson (CIN)
August	Warren Spahn (MIL)
September	Jim O'Toole (CIN)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Max Carey
• Billy Hamilton

Further information: 1961 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers [7]	89	8.5%	1,804,250	−19.9%	23,432
New York Yankees [8]	109	12.4%	1,747,725	7.4%	21,577
Detroit Tigers [9]	101	42.3%	1,600,710	37.1%	19,521
San Francisco Giants [10]	85	7.6%	1,390,679	−22.5%	18,061
Minnesota Twins [11]	70	−4.1%	1,256,723	69.0%	15,515
Pittsburgh Pirates [12]	75	−21.1%	1,199,128	−29.7%	15,573
Chicago White Sox [13]	86	−1.1%	1,146,019	−30.3%	14,148
Cincinnati Reds [14]	93	38.8%	1,117,603	68.4%	14,514
Milwaukee Braves [15]	83	−5.7%	1,101,441	−26.5%	14,304
Baltimore Orioles [16]	95	6.7%	951,089	−19.9%	11,599
St. Louis Cardinals [17]	80	−7.0%	855,305	−22.0%	10,965
Boston Red Sox [18]	76	16.9%	850,589	−24.7%	10,373
Cleveland Indians [19]	78	2.6%	725,547	−23.7%	8,957
Kansas City Athletics [20]	61	5.2%	683,817	−11.8%	8,548
Chicago Cubs [21]	64	6.7%	673,057	−16.9%	8,629
Los Angeles Angels [22]	70		603,510		7,360
Washington Senators [23]	61		597,287		7,561
Philadelphia Phillies [24]	47	−20.3%	590,039	−31.6%	7,565

Events

• January 29 – Billy Hamilton and Max Carey are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
• April 11 – At New York's Yankee Stadium, the Minnesota Twins, in their first game since their move from Washington, shut out the Yankees 6–0. The Twins' Pedro Ramos was the winning pitcher. Ramos had a 2-run single and allowed just 3 singles in beating the Yankee starting pitcher, Whitey Ford.
• April 21 – The Minnesota Twins play their first home game in franchise history, losing to the team that coincidentally replaced them in the nation's capital, the Washington Senators 5–3.
• April 22 – The Boston Red Sox snap a 13-game losing streak in Chicago's Comiskey Park by edging the Chicago White Sox 7–6 on Pumpsie Green's 11th-inning home run.
• April 27 – The Los Angeles Angels draw a disappointing crowd of 11,931 for their first-ever home opener against the Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. Ty Cobb, in his last appearance at a ball park, throws out the first ball. The Twins' Camilo Pascual spoils the opener by winning, 4–2, sending the Angels to their eighth loss in nine games.
• April 30 – San Francisco Giants slugger Willie Mays became the ninth player to hit four home runs in a single game as the Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves 14–4 at Milwaukee's County Stadium.
• May 31 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for rookie Carl Yastrzemski. On September 20, 1960, Hardy pinch hit for Ted Williams, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland (May 18, 1958).
• June 8 – In the course of a 10–8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, the Milwaukee Braves become the first team to hit 4 home runs in consecutive at bats. ^[25]
• June 29 – Willie Mays hits three home runs, helping his San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8–7.
• July 3 - Sandy Koufax is tagged out when attempting to steal home base for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Milwaukee Braves - the only time he attempted to steal a base in his career. ^[26]
• July 4 – Willie Mays hits his 300th career home run.
• July 11 – Strong winds at Candlestick Park dominate the first All-Star Game of the season. A capacity crowd sees Giants pitcher Stu Miller blown off the mound in the ninth inning when a balk is called, and it enables the American League to forge a 3–3 tie before losing 5–4 in 10 innings.
• July 17 – Commissioner Ford Frick decrees that Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a 154-game schedule in 1927 "cannot be broken unless some batter hits 61 or more within his club's first 154 games." Two days later, Frick, an old friend of Ruth, announces that should Ruth's record be beaten after 154 games, the record will carry an asterisk. When asked about the ruling, Roger Maris replies, "A season is a season." This is also the day that one of baseball's greatest hitters passes away, Ty Cobb, aged 74.
• July 31 – At Fenway Park, the second All-Star Game of the year ends in a 1–1 tie as heavy rain halted play. It is the first of two ties in All-Star history. The other would occur in 2002.
• August 11 – Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves records his 300th career win.
• August 20 – The Philadelphia Phillies snap a modern-day record 23-game losing streak, defeating the Milwaukee Braves 7–4 in the second game of a doubleheader at Milwaukee County Stadium. Phillie pitcher John Buzhardt goes the distance for the victory; he had also been the winning pitcher in the Phillies' last victory prior to the start of the losing streak, on July 28 against the San Francisco Giants.
• August 22 – Roger Maris becomes the first player to hit his 50th home run of the season in the month of August as the Yankees lose to the Los Angeles Angels, 4–3. Angels pitcher Ken McBride tees up the gopher ball in the sixth inning with one on.
• August 23 – At Cincinnati's Crosley Field, the Giants hit five home runs in a 12-run ninth inning, beating the Cincinnati Reds 14–0.
• September 1 – The Baltimore Orioles' Paul Richards resigned as manager to become the new general manager of the new Houston National League club. The club would be known as the Houston Colt .45s. Lum Harris takes over as manager of the Orioles.
• September 2 – Milwaukee Braves manager Chuck Dressen (71–58) is fired and executive vice president Birdie Tebbetts becomes the new Braves manager.
• September 20 – Helped by home runs by Yogi Berra and Roger Maris, the New York Yankees defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4–2, clinching their second straight American League pennant and 11th in 13 years. The Yankees would finish with a 109–53 record, tying the 1969 Orioles for the best won-loss record of the decade.
• September 26
  • The Cincinnati Reds clinch their first National League pennant since 1940. Homers by Frank Robinson and pinch hitter Jerry Lynch (a tie breaker in the eighth inning) give the Reds an 8–3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
  • Roger Maris hits his major league record-tying 60th home run of the season, a third-inning solo shot against Jack Fisher of the Baltimore Orioles.
• October 1 – Before a small crowd at Yankee Stadium, Roger Maris smacks a 2–0 pitch from Boston's Tracy Stallard into the right field stands for his 61st home run of the season, setting a new major league record for home runs in a season. The record will stand until Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals breaks it in 1998.
• October 9 – In Game 5 of the World Series, Johnny Blanchard and Héctor López spark a five-run first inning and 13–5 win for the New York Yankees over the Cincinnati Reds. Blanchard and López hit home runs, and López drives in five runs. Bud Daley's long relief effort wraps up the Series, as Ralph Houk becomes the third rookie manager to guide a World Series winner. Whitey Ford is named the Series MVP.

Television coverage

CBS and NBC continued to air weekend Game of the Week broadcasts, while ABC televised several games in prime time. One of ABC's prime time games occurred as Roger Maris ^{[27] [28]} was poised to tie and subsequently break Babe Ruth's regular season home run record of 60. As with all MLB games in those days, the action was totally blacked out ^[29] of major league markets. As a matter of fact, as documented in the HBO film 61* , the Maris family was welcomed into ABC's Kansas City, Missouri affiliate KMBC-TV so they could watch the in-house feed of the game, which was blacked out of Kansas City.

The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.

See also

• 1961 Nippon Professional Baseball season

References

1. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
2. "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
3. "Fireman of the Year Award / Reliever of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
4. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
5. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
6. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
7. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
8. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "Of 4 Homerun Games and Cub No-Hitters". BaseballLibrary.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
26. Paschal, John (January 29, 2019). "Once Upon A Time: When Hall of Famers Go One-And-Done". tht.fangraphs.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
27. Adams, Val (September 19, 1961). "NETWORKS PLAN WIDE U.N. REPORT". New York Times. p. 71.
28. "ABC-TV to Film Tilt 154". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. September 19, 1961.
29. "ABC Lands a 3-Sport TV Contract". The Milwaukee Sentinel. March 27, 1960. p. 2T.

External links

• 1961 Major League Baseball season schedule