1961 New York Yankees season

MLB yearly infobox-pre1969‎
name = New York Yankees
season = 1961
misc = 1961 World Series Champions
1961 American League Champions

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
Uniform
ballpark = Yankee Stadium
y4 = 1923
city = New York City, New York
y5 = 1903
owners = Dan Topping and Del Webb
managers = Ralph Houk
television = WPIX
radio = WCBS (AM)
(Mel Allen, Phil Rizzuto, Red Barber)|

The New York Yankees' 1961 season was the 59th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 109-53, eight games ahead of the Detroit Tigers, and won their 26th American League pennant. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they defeated the Cincinnati Reds in 5 games.

The 1961 season was notable for the race between center fielder Mickey Mantle and right fielder Roger Maris to break Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a season (set in 1927). Maris eventually broke the record, hitting his 61st home run on October 1, the season's final day. During the season, Maris had seven multi-home run games; in a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, he hit four home runs.

1961 was an expansion year, with the American League increasing from 8 to 10 teams, the first expansion in the 61-year history of the league. The old schedule of 154 games (7 opponents X 22 games apiece) was replaced by 162 games (9 opponents X 18 games apiece) which led to some controversy due to the 8 extra games that Maris had to try to hit 61. Maris' major league record stood for 37 years, three years longer than Ruth's, before it was broken by Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals in by|1998. However, Maris' 61 home runs remain the American League single season record.

In addition to the individual exploits of Maris and Mantle, the '61 Yankees hit a major league record 240 home runs. The record stood until 1996 when the Baltimore Orioles, with the added benefit of the designated hitter, hit 257 home runs as a team.

The 1961 Yankees are invariably mentioned as a candidate for the unofficial title of greatest baseball team in history.

Offseason

* December 14, 1960: Bob Cerv was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels from the New York Yankees in the 1960 expansion draft. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cervbo01.shtml]
* On January 16 1961, Mantle became the highest-paid baseball player by signing a $75,000 contract.

Regular season

Roger Maris

In 1961, the American League expanded from 8 to 10 teams, generally watering down the pitching, but leaving the Yankees pretty much intact. Yankee home runs began to come at a record pace. One famous photograph lined up six 1961 Yankee players, including Mantle, Maris, Yogi Berra, and Bill Skowron, under the nickname "Murderers Row," because they hit a combined 207 home runs that year. The title "Murderers Row", originally coined in by|1918, had most famously been used to refer to the Yankees side of the late 1920s. As mid-season approached, it seemed quite possible that either Maris or Mantle, or perhaps both, would break Babe Ruth's 34-year-old home run record. Unlike the home run race of by|1998, in which the competition between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was given extensive positive media coverage, sportswriters in 1961 began to play the "M & M Boys" against each other, inventing a rivalry where none existed, as Yogi Berra has testified in recent interviews.

Transactions

*May 8, 1961: Bob Cerv was traded by the Los Angeles Angels with Tex Clevenger to the New York Yankees for Lee Thomas, Ryne Duren, and Johnny James. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cervbo01.shtml]

eason standings

Monthly Record

tarting Lineup

[http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/1961.shtml]

Other batters

Relief pitchers

[ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats12b.shtml Roger Maris 1961 Home Run Season by Baseball Almanac ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/1961.shtml 1961 New York Yankees]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1961_WS.shtml 1961 World Series]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1961&t=NYA 1961 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]

succession box
title = American League Champions
years = by|1961
before = New York Yankees
by|1960
after = New York Yankees
by|1962succession box
title = World Series Champions
New York Yankees
years = by|1961
before = Pittsburgh Pirates
by|1960
after = New York Yankees
by|1962