1961 Boston Red Sox season
The 1961 Boston Red Sox season was the 61st season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished sixth in the American League with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses, 33 games behind the AL and World Series champion New York Yankees.Regular season
Future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski made his major league debut on Opening Day, April 11. He was considered the heir apparent to Ted Williams, who had retired at the end of 1960.
On June 30, Wilbur Wood made his major league baseball debut with the Red Sox. In a game against the Cleveland Indians, Wood pitched 4 innings, allowed 3 hits, and 2 earned runs. He had 3 strikeouts and allowed 1 walk.
On October 1, in a game against the New York Yankees, Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard gave up Roger Maris' 61st home run of the season, breaking Babe Ruth's record for most home runs in a season.Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
Roster
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | | 120 | 376 | 91 | .242 | 16 | 58 |
| 1B | | 143 | 360 | 114 | .317 | 3 | 38 |
| 2B | | 158 | 646 | 167 | .259 | 5 | 62 |
| 3B | | 151 | 590 | 157 | .256 | 14 | 87 |
| SS | | 115 | 339 | 89 | .263 | 6 | 42 |
| LF | | 148 | 583 | 155 | .266 | 11 | 80 |
| CF | | 140 | 499 | 116 | .232 | 18 | 64 |
| RF | | 147 | 498 | 131 | .263 | 13 | 66 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| 99 | 317 | 83 | .262 | 11 | 60 |
| 85 | 281 | 74 | .263 | 3 | 36 |
| 88 | 219 | 57 | .260 | 6 | 27 |
| 87 | 242 | 70 | .289 | 1 | 19 |
| 17 | 51 | 13 | .255 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | 37 | 6 | .162 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | 25 | 7 | .280 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | 24 | 6 | .250 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | 18 | 5 | .278 | 1 | 1 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 32 | 236.1 | 14 | 14 | 3.39 | 161 |
| 33 | 199.2 | 11 | 14 | 4.91 | 113 |
| 25 | 178.2 | 15 | 7 | 3.22 | 91 |
| 28 | 156.0 | 6 | 9 | 4.90 | 80 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 17 | 52.1 | 2 | 4 | 6.71 | 26 |
| 26 | 51.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.09 | 20 |
| 10 | 42.0 | 3 | 2 | 3.43 | 13 |
| 17 | 19.2 | 3 | 2 | 5.95 | 11 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.54 | 7 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 0 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 57 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 4.68 | 70 |
| 43 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4.88 | 109 |
| 38 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 5.67 | 47 |
| 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.77 | 39 |
| 33 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3.99 | 44 |
Farm system
