The 1961 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing third in the American League with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses, 14 games behind the AL and World Series champion New York Yankees. The team was managed by Paul Richards and Lum Harris, and played their home games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
The 95 wins set a new franchise record for wins in a season, beating the 93 wins by the 1922 St. Louis Browns. It was only the second time that the Orioles, and their previous incarnations as the Milwaukee Brewers and Browns, ever won 90 games in a season.
Offseason October 13, 1960: Del Rice was released by the Orioles.Del Rice page at Baseball Reference October 13, 1960: Dave Philley was released by the Orioles.Dave Philley page at Baseball Reference January 24, 1961: Bob Boyd, Al Pilarcik, Jim Archer, Wayne Causey, and Clint Courtney were traded by the Orioles to the Kansas City Athletics for Whitey Herzog and Russ Snyder. Clint Courtney was returned to the Orioles on April 14.Whitey Herzog page at Baseball Reference January 31, 1961: Dave Philley was signed as a free agent by the Orioles. February 9, 1961: Darold Knowles was signed as an amateur free agent by the Orioles.Darold Knowles page at Baseball Reference February 24, 1961: Frank House was purchased by the Orioles from the Cincinnati Reds.Frank House page at Baseball Reference
Regular season Roger Maris of the Yankees hit his 59th and 60th home runs of the season against the Orioles, tying what was at the time Babe Ruth's single-season record. The 59th was hit on September 20 at Memorial Stadium, and the 60th was hit on September 26 at Yankee Stadium.
Opening Day starters Jackie Brandt Marv Breeding Jim Gentile Ron Hansen Milt Pappas Brooks Robinson Russ Snyder Gene Stephens Gus Triandos
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 12, 1961: Chuck Essegian and Jerry Walker were traded by the Orioles to the Kansas City Athletics in exchange for Dick Hall and Dick Williams. May 24, 1961: Walt Dropo was released by the Orioles.Walt Dropo page at Baseball Reference June 8, 1961: Gene Stephens was traded by the Orioles to the Kansas City Athletics for Marv Throneberry.Marv Throneberry page at Baseball Reference July 21, 1961: Frank House was traded by the Orioles to the Detroit Tigers for Harry Chiti.
Roster 1961 Baltimore Orioles Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader
= Indicates league 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 115 397 97 .244 17 63 1B 148 486 147 .302 46 141 2B 133 386 102 .264 9 37 3B 163 668 192 .287 7 61 SS 155 533 132 .248 12 51 LF 103 310 64 .206 8 24 CF 139 516 153 .297 16 72 RF 113 323 94 .291 5 35
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 115 312 91 .292 1 13 90 244 51 .209 1 16 96 222 59 .266 8 30 99 144 36 .250 1 23 43 124 34 .274 6 19 56 96 20 .208 5 11 75 89 23 .258 0 6 32 58 11 .190 0 2 17 47 8 .170 1 4 22 45 12 .267 0 4 14 27 7 .259 1 2 4 13 1 .077 0 1 3 7 1 .143 0 1 5 4 2 .500 0 0 1 1 0 .000 0 0
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 37 248.1 18 12 3.33 150 33 212.0 15 9 3.69 160 36 196.0 10 13 3.90 118 26 177.2 13 9 3.04 89 27 166.2 10 6 3.19 61
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 35 138.0 7 4 2.02 100 29 122.1 7 5 3.09 92
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 51 9 7 18 2.30 87 35 5 0 3 3.01 47 15 1 2 0 5.57 15 3 0 0 1 5.40 4 2 0 0 0 0.00 0 2 0 0 0 18.00 3
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AberdeenVictoria club moved to Ardmore, May 27, 1961
Notes
References
1961 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference 1961 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com