| Boston Red Sox | |
| Season: | 1961 |
| League: | American League |
| Ballpark: | Fenway Park |
| City: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record: | 76–86 (.469) |
| League Place: | 6th (33 GB) |
| Owners: | Tom Yawkey |
| President: | Tom Yawkey |
| Managers: | Pinky Higgins |
| Television: | WHDH-TV, Ch. 5 |
| Radio: | WHDH-AM 850 (Curt Gowdy, Ned Martin, Art Gleeson) |
| Espntn: | bos |
| Brtn: | BOS |
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.
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.
| 2 | 2B | |
| 7 | CF | |
| 6 | 1B | |
| 4 | RF | |
| 8 | LF | |
| 3 | 3B | |
| 22 | C | |
| 12 | SS | |
| 27 | Bill Monbouquette | P |
| 1961 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | CatchersInfielders | Outfielders | ManagerCoaches (Third base) (Pitching) (Bullpen) (First base & Hitting) | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | .266 | 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 | |
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 | ||
| 87 | 242 | 70 | .289 | 1 | 19 | ||
| 88 | 219 | 57 | .260 | 6 | 27 | ||
| 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 |
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 |
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 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 5.54 | 7 | ||
| 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 0 |
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 | |
| 33 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3.99 | 44 | |
| 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.77 | 39 | |
See also: Minor League Baseball.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Olean
Source:[5] [6]