1961 New York Yankees season


The 1961 New York Yankees season was the 59th season for the team in New York, and its 61st season overall. 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 their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they defeated the Cincinnati Reds in 5 games. This season was best known for the home run chase between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, with the former beating Babe Ruth's single season record by hitting 61.
The 1961 Yankees are often mentioned as a candidate for the unofficial title of greatest baseball team in history.

Offseason

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. 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 eight to ten teams, the first expansion in the 61-year history of the league. The old schedule of 154 games was replaced by 162 games which led to some controversy due to the eight extra games that Maris had to try to hit 61.
Ultimately, when Maris broke Ruth’s record in game 162, baseball commissioner Ford Frick instigated "The Asterisk", which designated that Maris had only accomplished the feat in a longer season, and disallowed any reference to him as the record-holder. When commissioner Fay Vincent removed "The Asterisk" in 1991, Maris was finally given credit as the single-season home run record-holder. However, Maris had died in 1985, never knowing that the record belonged to him.
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.

Roger Maris

In 1961, the American League expanded from eight to ten 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, Elston Howard, Johnny Blanchard, 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 1918, had most famously been used to refer to the Yankees side of the late 1920s.
" together in 1961.
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 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.
The 1961 home run race between Maris and Mantle was dramatized in the 2001 film 61*, filmed under the direction of Billy Crystal.

Roger Maris 61 Home Runs

The Yankees played one tie game which was later made up, and hence took 163 games to achieve 162 decisions.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Monthly record

Record vs. American League

Notable transactions

Game log

Postseason Game log

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
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C129446155.3482177
1B150561150.2672889
2B162662173.261449
3B148504113.2241155
SS153617170.276846
LF119395107.2712261
CF153514163.31754128
RF161590159.26961142

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
9324354.222322
9324374.3052154
5711832.271620
419921.21212
30416.14602
13192.10502
22182.11100
28132.15401
11132.15411
15124.33303
982.25000
221.50000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
392832543.21209
31188.11633.1586
361951492.68101
23129.2893.9683
1572355.7548

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
35162.21153.6084
43141.11153.4480
1254.1234.6424
813127.628
59108.0012

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLSVERASO
65119155292.1987
2545.12022.5821
2131.21104.8314
450105.407
11.10000.002
10.100054.000

1961 World Series

Awards and honors

1961 All-Star Game
Harlan affiliation shared with Chicago White Sox