Headline event of the year Roger Maris hits 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth's record.
Champions
Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Cincinnati Reds (4–1); Whitey Ford, MVP All-Star Game (#1), July 11 at Candlestick Park: National League, 5–4 (10 innings) All-Star Game (#2), July 31 at Fenway Park: 1–1 tie (9 innings, rain)
Other champions College World Series: USC Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4–2) Little League World Series: Northern, El Cajon, California Senior League World Series: Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Max Carey Billy Hamilton
Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA Award National League American LeagueRookie of the Year Billy Williams (CHC) Don Schwall (BOS)Cy Young Award — Whitey Ford (NYY)Most Valuable Player Frank Robinson (CIN) Roger Maris (NYY)Gold Glove AwardsPosition National League American LeaguePitcher Bobby Shantz (PIT) Frank Lary (DET)Catcher John Roseboro (LAD) Earl Battey (MIN)1st Base Bill White (STL) Vic Power (CLE)2nd Base Bill Mazeroski (PIT) Bobby Richardson (NYY)3rd Base Ken Boyer (STL) Brooks Robinson (BAL)Shortstop Maury Wills (LAD) Luis Aparicio (CWS)Outfield Vada Pinson (CIN) Jim Landis (CWS) Roberto Clemente (PIT) Al Kaline (DET) Willie Mays (SF) Jimmy Piersall (CLE)
Statistical leaders
American LeagueNational League Stat Player Total Player Total AVG Norm Cash (DET) .361 Roberto Clemente (PIT) .351 HR Roger Maris (NYY) 61 Orlando Cepeda (SF) 46 RBI Jim Gentile (BAL)Roger Maris (NYY) 141 Orlando Cepeda (SF) 142 W Whitey Ford (NYY) 25 Joey Jay (CIN)Warren Spahn (MIL) 21 ERA Dick Donovan (WAS) 2.40 Warren Spahn (MIL) 3.02 K Camilo Pascual (MIN) 221 Sandy Koufax (LAD) 269
Major league baseball final standings American League final standings
National League final standings
Nippon Professional Baseball final standings Central League final standings Central League G W L T Pct. GBYomiuri Giants 130 71 53 6 .569 —Chunichi Dragons 130 72 56 2 .562 1.0Kokutetsu Swallows 130 67 60 3 .527 5.5Hanshin Tigers 130 60 67 3 .473 12.5Hiroshima Carp 130 58 67 5 .465 13.5Taiyo Whales 130 50 75 5 .404 21.5
Pacific League final standings Pacific League G W L T Pct. GBNankai Hawks 140 85 49 6 .629 —Toei Flyers 140 83 52 5 .611 2.5Nishitetsu Lions 140 81 56 3 .589 5.5Daimai Orions 140 72 66 2 .521 15.0Hankyu Braves 140 53 84 3 .389 33.5Kintetsu Buffaloes 140 36 103 1 .261 51.5
Events January
January 3 – "Frantic" Frank Lane steps down as general manager of the Cleveland Indians to sign an eight-year contract to assume a similar position with the Kansas City Athletics, working under the club's new owner, Charles O. Finley. Within eight months, Finley will fire Lane. January 19 – The Cleveland Indians release pitcher Don Newcombe, National League Most Valuable Player and MLB Cy Young Award winner during his heyday with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Newcombe finishes with a 153–96 (3.57 ERA) career mark, and three seasons of 20 or more victories. January 24 – Frank Lane, known for constantly shaking up his roster, makes his first deal as GM of the Kansas City Athletics, sending outfielders Whitey Herzog and Russ Snyder to the Baltimore Orioles for rookie left-hander Jim Archer, catcher Clint Courtney, first baseman Bob Boyd, shortstop Wayne Causey and outfielder Al Pilarcik. Courtney will appear in one game for Kansas City on April 15 (as a pinch hitter) before the Athletics ship him back to Baltimore later that day. January 25 – In a waiver deal, the Cincinnati Reds trade stalwart southpaw Joe Nuxhall to Lane's Athletics for right-handers John Briggs and John Tsitouris. Nuxhall first pitched for the Reds at age 15 on June 10, 1944, becoming the youngest man ever to play Major League Baseball. After eight years in the minors, he rejoined the Reds in 1952 and made two NL All-Star teams (, ). He will return to Cincinnati in late July 1962 as an effective pitcher, then popular radio broadcaster, and member of the Reds' Hall of Fame. January 28 – After a five-year absence, Syracuse rejoins the International League. Taking on its longtime nickname, the "Chiefs" franchise affiliates with the Minnesota Twins and replaces the Montreal Royals, whose departure leaves the Québec metropolis without professional baseball for the next eight seasons. January 29 – Billy Hamilton and Max Carey are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
February February 1 – The Los Angeles Dodgers sell the contract of outfielder Chuck Essegian, record-setting pinch hitter and one of the stars of the club's 1959 World Series championship, to the Baltimore Orioles. February 7 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen makes a return to the major leagues by signing a $40,000 contract. Jensen had retired in 1960 due to a fear of flying. Jensen will hit .263 with 13 home runs in 1961. February 15 – The inaugural Interamerican Series concludes in Caracas with the Industriales de Valencia crowned its first champion. The Industriales are one of two teams representing Venezuela; the other, the Rapiños de Occidente, finish second. The other two contestants represent Panama and Puerto Rico. The Interamerican Series is intended to replace the Caribbean Series of 1949–1960, which collapsed in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
March March – The Cuban government, led by Fidel Castro, abolishes professional baseball (and all professional sports), ending the Cuban League, which was founded in 1878; the Serie Nacional de Béisbol is established to take its place. March 6 – The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club Inc. formally receives a certificate of membership from National League president Warren Giles."Mets Franchise Timeline: 1960s." mlb.com. Eight days later, the newborn franchise appoints George Weiss, 66, as club president. Future Hall of Famer Weiss is coming off 29 years with the rival New York Yankees, who won 15 World Series during Weiss's long term as their farm system director, then general manager. Speculation immediately begins that Weiss will hire Casey Stengel, who managed his Bombers for 12 seasons, ten pennants and seven World Series titles, as the team's maiden pilot. March 15 – The St. Louis Cardinals welcome the return of free-agent second baseman Red Schoendienst, who had been released by the Milwaukee Braves on October 14, 1960. The future Hall of Famer, now 38, played 11½ seasons for the Cardinals before being traded away on June 14, 1956; he'll appear in 72 games during the coming season, largely as a pinch hitter, and bat an even .300. March 31 – The Chicago Cubs trade two pitchers, Moe Drabowsky and Seth Morehead, to the Milwaukee Braves for two infielders, Daryl Robertson and Andre Rodgers. Drabowsky, a 25-year old, Polish-born "bonus baby," went 32–41 (4.02 ERA) in five years as a Cub; he will become best known as a Baltimore Orioles reliever whose shutdown performance (6 shutout innings pitched, one hit allowed, 11 strikeouts) against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 kicks off the Orioles' four-game sweep of the 1966 World Series.
April April 4 – The New York Yankees acquire pitcher Duke Maas from the first-year expansion Los Angeles Angels in exchange for shortstop Fritz Brickell. April 10 — In the traditional "Presidential Opener" in Washington, D.C., the Chicago White Sox defeat the "new" Washington Senators, 4–3, with John F. Kennedy throwing out the first pitch and a crowd of 26,725 looking on. The Senators are an expansion team created expressly to replace the original Senator franchise that moved to Minneapolis–Saint Paul over the winter as the Minnesota Twins. The 1961 season is the first of the expansion era, and this Presidential Opener is the last in the history of Griffith Stadium, Washington's venerable baseball park. April 11 At Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox rookie Carl Yastrzemski singles off Ray Herbert of the Kansas City Athletics in his first MLB at bat. It's the first of 3,318 hits that Yastrzemski, 21, will amass over his illustrious 23-year career. The Red Sox commit four errors in the field and lose, 5–2, before only 10,277 fans."Kansas City Athletics 5, Boston Red Sox 2." Retrosheet box score (April 11, 1962). The Los Angeles Angels play the first game in franchise history, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 7–2, at Memorial Stadium. For the Angels, Ted Kluszewski hits two home runs while Eli Grba pitches a complete game. At Yankee Stadium, the Minnesota Twins shut out the New York Yankees, 6–0, in their first game since their move from Washington, D.C. Pedro Ramos is the winning pitcher, helping himself with a two-run single while allowing just three singles in beating Yankees starter Whitey Ford. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts ties Grover Cleveland Alexander's National League record with a 12th-straight Opening Day start‚ but Philadelphia loses 6–2 to Don Drysdale and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Roberts is now 5–6 on Opening Day. The Chicago Cubs play their first National League game of the experimental "College of Coaches" era and are defeated by the Cincinnati Reds, 7–1, at Crosley Field. Vedie Himsl serves as the Cubs' first-ever "head coach." Three other coaches will rotate as the Cubs' de facto manager in 1961—Himsl and El Tappe each will have three stints in the post—and the team will finish seventh in the eight-team Senior Circuit. April 12 – The Baltimore Orioles acquire pitcher Dick Hall and outfielder Dick Williams from the Kansas City Athletics for former "kiddie corps" pitcher Jerry Walker, 22, and outfielder Chuck Essegian.
April 13 – The fledgling Los Angeles Angels trade outfielder Lou Johnson to the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League for fellow-outfielder Leon Wagner. It's a career-saving trade for "Daddy Wags," who will slug 188 home runs for the Angels and Cleveland Indians through June 13, 1968, and make two American League All-Star teams. April 14 – At Tiger Stadium, Frank Lary of the Detroit Tigers fires a one-hitter in a 7–0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Jim Landis' infield single in the fifth inning is the lone safety that Lary permits. Lary's is the first of nine one-hitters in the majors during 1961."Top Team Performances of 1961." Retrosheet. April 16 – Feisty Leo Durocher marks his return to baseball by getting the heave-ho from umpire Jocko Conlan in a wild argument over a foul ball call. During the dispute, Durocher kicks dirt on Conlan, who retaliates by kicking Durocher in the shin, who then kicks the umpire back—an act which earns Durocher a three-game suspension. It's his first ejection since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers as a coach on the staff of manager Walter Alston before the season. He had been out of uniform since quitting as skipper of the New York Giants in September 1955. April 20 – Durable, nine-time NL All-Star and 3x Gold-Glove-winning catcher Del Crandall of the Milwaukee Braves leaves today's game against the Philadelphia Phillies after only five innings in favor of backup receiver Charley Lau. Crandall, 31—who started 139 of the Braves' 154 games in 1960 and has caught an average of 1,060 innings a year since —is suffering from a bad throwing shoulder and has caught his last game for the 1961 Braves. Crandall will bounce back with an All-Star season in , but his absence this year will impair the Braves' pennant chances only five games into the new campaign. April 21 – The Minnesota Twins play their first-ever home game, losing to the team that coincidentally replaced them in the nation's capital, the expansion Washington Senators, 5–3. A gathering of 24,606 witnesses the game at Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington. April 22 – The Boston Red Sox snap a 13-game losing streak at Comiskey Park by edging the Chicago White Sox 7–6 on Pumpsie Green's 11th-inning home run.