1961 San Francisco Giants season explained

San Francisco Giants
Season:	1961
League:	National League
Ballpark:	Candlestick Park
City:	San Francisco
Owners:	Horace Stoneham
General Managers:	Chub Feeney
Managers:	Alvin Dark
Television:	KTVU (Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons)
Radio:	KSFO (Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons, Bill King)

The 1961 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 79th year in Major League Baseball, their fourth season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their second season at Candlestick Park. The team finished in third place in the National League with an 85 wins and 69 losses record, eight games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds. The Giants were managed by Alvin Dark. As of 2021, this remains the only Giants season in franchise history in which two players (Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays) each hit 40 or more home runs.^[1]

Regular season

Willie Mays had both a three home run game (on June 29) and a four home run game (on April 30)^[2] during the 1961 season. Mays became the ninth player, and first Giant, in MLB history to hit four home runs in one game.

Opening Day starters

• Felipe Alou
• Ed Bressoud
• Orlando Cepeda
• Tom Haller
• Chuck Hiller
• Sam Jones
• Harvey Kuenn
• Willie Mays
• Willie McCovey^[3]

Roster

1961 San Francisco Giants
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		OutfieldersOther batters		ManagerCoaches

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		107	340	81	.238	13	51
1B		106	328	89	.271	18	50
2B		109	384	98	.255	2	23
SS		134	434	110	.253	5	46
3B		137	436	121	.278	12	65
LF		131	471	125	.265	5	46
CF		154	572	176	.308	40	123
RF		132	415	120	.289	18	52

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
	152	585	182	.311	46	142
	70	240	57	.238	2	12
	81	200	62	.310	6	24
	59	114	24	.211	3	11
	25	83	23	.277	4	12
	43	71	17	.239	2	10
	30	62	9	.145	2	8
	38	38	8	.211	0	2
	44	36	8	.222	1	7
	13	20	2	.100	0	1
	2	6	1	.167	0	1
	3	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
	40	250.0	13	16	3.20	163
	38	217.1	13	9	4.22	112
	29	185.0	13	10	3.89	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
	46	130.1	7	5	3.59	110
	37	128.1	8	8	4.49	105
	26	114.2	6	5	4.24	55
	27	83.1	3	6	3.56	54

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
	63	14	5	17	2.66	89
	37	2	2	5	3.19	48
	24	5	1	1	4.23	37
	15	0	2	1	5.35	16
	8	1	0	0	3.95	11

Awards and honors

All-Star Game (first game)All-Star Game (second game)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tacoma, Springfield, Quincy

Rio Grande Valley club moved to Victoria, June 10, 1961; Pocatello affiliation shared with Kansas City Athletics^[4]

References

• 1961 San Francisco Giants at Baseball Reference
• 1961 San Francisco Giants at Baseball Almanac

Notes and References

1. Web site: Player Batting Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, In the Regular Season, since 1871, Playing for SFG, requiring Home Runs >= 40, sorted by most instances. . Stathead Baseball . August 29, 2021.
2. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 258, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,
3. Web site: 1961 San Francisco Giants Roster by Baseball Almanac.
4. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007