The 1961 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 72nd season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 4th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 4th and final season playing their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles California, since they moved to their new stadium the following season. The Dodgers finished in second place in the National League with a record of 89–65, four games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

Offseason November 28, 1960: Ray Semproch was drafted by the Washington Senators from the Dodgers in the 1960 rule 5 draft.Ray Semproch at Baseball-Reference December 15, 1960: Earl Robinson was purchased from the Dodgers by the Baltimore Orioles.Earl Robinson at Baseball-Reference December 16, 1960: Danny McDevitt was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Yankees.Danny McDevitt at Baseball-Reference January 31, 1961: Joe Pignatano was purchased from the Dodgers by the Kansas City Athletics.Joe Pignatano at Baseball-Reference March 30, 1961: Ed Rakow was traded by the Dodgers to the Kansas City Athletics for Howie Reed and cash.Ed Rakow at Baseball-Reference

Regular season On April 17, 1961, Duke Snider hit his 370th career home run, which at the time moved him into 7th place on the all-time career home runs list. Later in the same game, Snider suffered a broken elbow, and he was knocked out for a good part of the season when he was hit by a pitch from Bob Gibson of the Cardinals.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup +Opening Day starters # Name Position30 Maury Wills SS3 Willie Davis CF12 Tommy Davis 3B4 Duke Snider RF9 Wally Moon LF5 Norm Larker 1B43 Charlie Neal 2B8 John RoseboroC53 Don Drysdale P 1961 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference

Notable transactions May 4, 1961: Don Demeter and Charley Smith were traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Turk Farrell and Joe Koppe.Charley Smith at Baseball-Reference May 26, 1961: Art Fowler was purchased from the Dodgers by the Los Angeles Angels.Art Fowler at Baseball-Reference May 30, 1961: Bob Lillis and Carl Warwick were traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Daryl Spencer.Bob Lillis at Baseball-Reference

Roster 1961 Los Angeles Dodgers Roster Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= 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 128 394 99 .251 18 59 1B 97 282 76 .270 5 38 2B 108 341 80 .235 10 48 SS 148 613 173 .282 1 31 3B 60 189 46 .243 8 27 LF 134 463 152 .328 17 88 CF 128 339 86 .254 12 45 RF 92 267 79 .296 15 45

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 132 460 128 .278 15 58 144 439 107 .244 4 32 111 245 79 .322 10 48 85 233 69 .296 16 56 109 215 52 .242 8 31 47 121 31 .256 5 21 47 58 14 .241 0 2 34 33 8 .242 2 6 13 30 4 .133 3 4 15 29 5 .172 1 2 9 24 6 .250 2 3 19 11 1 .091 0 1 19 9 1 .111 0 1 5 8 4 .500 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 42 255.2 18 13 3.52 269 40 244.0 13 10 3.69 182 41 235.1 15 12 3.90 205 32 182.2 18 5 3.74 124

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 40 112.2 5 6 6.15 53 4 13.0 0 2 5.54 15

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 53 4 4 15 3.90 79 50 6 6 10 5.06 80 53 7 5 6 2.65 56 28 1 1 0 5.79 18 5 2 0 0 5.00 9 5 0 1 1 6.23 5

Awards and honors Gold Glove Award Maury Wills John Roseboro

All-Stars 1961 Major League Baseball All-Star Game – Game 1 Maury Wills starter Sandy Koufax reserve John Roseboro reserve 1961 Major League Baseball All-Star Game – Game 2 Maury Wills starter Don Drysdale reserve Sandy Koufax reserve John Roseboro reserve TSN National League All-Star Maury Wills

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great Falls, Reno

References

External links Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page 1961 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform Los Angeles Dodgers official web site 1961 Dodgers Roster through baseball cards