1961 Boston Red Sox season
Major League Baseball season
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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 (AL) with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses, 33 games behind the AL and World Series champion New York Yankees.
| 1961 Boston Red Sox | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 76–86 (.469) |
| League place | 6th |
| Owners | Tom Yawkey |
| President | Tom Yawkey |
| Managers | Pinky Higgins |
| Television | WHDH-TV, Ch. 5 |
| Radio | WHDH-AM 850 (Curt Gowdy, Ned Martin, Art Gleeson) |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference |
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,[1] 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.[2]
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
| 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 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA | MIN | NYY | WAS | |||
| Baltimore | — | 11–7 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 9–9–1 | 14–4 | |||
| Boston | 7–11 | — | 9–9 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7–1 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 10–8 | |||
| Chicago | 7–11 | 9–9 | — | 12–6 | 6–12 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 9–9–1 | 6–12 | 13–5 | |||
| Cleveland | 9–9 | 13–5 | 6–12 | — | 6–12 | 8–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 12–6 | |||
| Detroit | 9–9 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 12–6 | — | 12–6–1 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 13–5 | |||
| Kansas City | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–8 | 6–12–1 | — | 9–9 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 9–9 | |||
| Los Angeles | 10–8 | 7–11–1 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | — | 8–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | |||
| Minnesota | 7–11 | 7–11 | 9–9–1 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 9–8 | — | 4–14 | 8–9 | |||
| New York | 9–9–1 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 14–4 | — | 11–7 | |||
| Washington | 4–14 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 6–12 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–8 | 7–11 | — | |||
Notable transactions
- May 17, 1961: Joe Ginsberg was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.[3]
- June 26, 1961: Rip Repulski was released by the Red Sox.[4]
Opening Day lineup
| 2 | Chuck Schilling | 2B |
| 7 | Gary Geiger | CF |
| 6 | Vic Wertz | 1B |
| 4 | Jackie Jensen | RF |
| 8 | Carl Yastrzemski | LF |
| 3 | Pete Runnels | 3B |
| 22 | Russ Nixon | C |
| 12 | Pumpsie Green | SS |
| 27 | Bill Monbouquette | P |
Roster
| 1961 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Jim Pagliaroni | 120 | 376 | 91 | .242 | 16 | 58 |
| 1B | Pete Runnels | 143 | 360 | 114 | .317 | 3 | 38 |
| 2B | Chuck Schilling | 158 | 646 | 167 | .259 | 5 | 62 |
| 3B | Frank Malzone | 151 | 590 | 157 | .266 | 14 | 87 |
| SS | Don Buddin | 115 | 339 | 89 | .263 | 6 | 42 |
| LF | Carl Yastrzemski | 148 | 583 | 155 | .266 | 11 | 80 |
| CF | Gary Geiger | 140 | 499 | 116 | .232 | 18 | 64 |
| RF | Jackie Jensen | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vic Wertz | 99 | 317 | 83 | .262 | 11 | 60 |
| Carroll Hardy | 85 | 281 | 74 | .263 | 3 | 36 |
| Russ Nixon | 87 | 242 | 70 | .289 | 1 | 19 |
| Pumpsie Green | 88 | 219 | 57 | .260 | 6 | 27 |
| Lou Clinton | 17 | 51 | 13 | .255 | 0 | 3 |
| Billy Harrell | 37 | 37 | 6 | .162 | 0 | 1 |
| Rip Repulski | 15 | 25 | 7 | .280 | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Ginsberg | 19 | 24 | 6 | .250 | 0 | 5 |
| Don Gile | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Monbouquette | 32 | 236.1 | 14 | 14 | 3.39 | 161 |
| Gene Conley | 33 | 199.2 | 11 | 14 | 4.91 | 113 |
| Don Schwall | 25 | 178.2 | 15 | 7 | 3.22 | 91 |
| Ike Delock | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galen Cisco | 17 | 52.1 | 2 | 4 | 6.71 | 26 |
| Chet Nichols Jr. | 26 | 51.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.09 | 20 |
| Tom Brewer | 10 | 42.0 | 3 | 2 | 3.43 | 13 |
| Ted Wills | 17 | 19.2 | 3 | 2 | 5.95 | 11 |
| Wilbur Wood | 6 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 5.54 | 7 |
| Tom Borland | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Fornieles | 57 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 4.68 | 70 |
| Tracy Stallard | 43 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4.88 | 109 |
| Billy Muffett | 38 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 5.67 | 47 |
| Arnold Earley | 33 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3.99 | 44 |
| Dave Hillman | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.77 | 39 |