1961 National League

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The 1961 season of the National League was the eighty-sixth season of the league.

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Season summary[edit]

Standings[edit]

Bold indicates league champion, Italics indicates World Series champion
Rank Team G W L T WPCT GB RS (RS/G) RA (RA/G) AVG OBP SLG ERA FPCT
1 Cincinnati Reds 154 93 61 0 .604 -.- 710 (4.61) 653 (4.24) 0.270 0.324 0.421 3.78 0.977
2 Los Angeles Dodgers 154 89 65 0 .578 4.0 735 (4.77) 697 (4.53) 0.262 0.338 0.405 4.04 0.976
3 San Francisco Giants 155 85 69 1 .548 8.0 773 (4.99) 655 (4.23) 0.264 0.328 0.423 3.77 0.977
4 Milwaukee Braves 155 83 71 1 .535 10.0 712 (4.59) 656 (4.23) 0.258 0.326 0.415 3.89 0.982
5 St. Louis Cardinals 155 80 74 1 .516 13.0 703 (4.54) 668 (4.31) 0.271 0.333 0.393 3.74 0.972
6 Pittsburgh Pirates 154 75 79 0 .487 18.0 694 (4.51) 675 (4.38) 0.273 0.327 0.410 3.92 0.975
7 Chicago Cubs 156 64 90 2 .410 29.0 689 (4.42) 800 (5.13) 0.255 0.323 0.418 4.48 0.970
8 Philadelphia Phillies 155 47 107 1 .303 46.0 584 (3.77) 796 (5.14) 0.243 0.306 0.357 4.61 0.976

League leaders[edit]

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Games Played Hank Aaron Milwaukee Braves 155
At Bats Maury Wills Los Angeles Dodgers 613
Runs Scored Willie Mays San Francisco Giants 129
Hits Vada Pinson Cincinnati Reds 208
Doubles Hank Aaron Milwaukee Braves 39
Triples George Altman Chicago Cubs 12
Home Runs Orlando Cepeda San Francisco Giants 46
Total Bases Hank Aaron Milwaukee Braves 358
Runs Batted In Orlando Cepeda San Francisco Giants 142
Stolen Bases Maury Wills Los Angeles Dodgers 35
Caught Stealing Maury Wills Los Angeles Dodgers 15
Walks Eddie Mathews Milwaukee Braves 93
Intentional Base-on-Balls Frank Robinson Cincinnati Reds 23
Hit by Pitch Joe Cunningham St. Louis Cardinals 11
Strikeouts Dick Stuart Pittsburgh Pirates 121
Sacrifice Hits Maury Wills Los Angeles Dodgers 13
Sacrifice Flies Frank Robinson Cincinnati Reds 10
Grounded into Double Plays Frank Bolling
Ron Santo
Milwaukee Braves
Chicago Cubs
25
Batting Average Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates 0.351
On-Base Percentage Wally Moon Los Angeles Dodgers 0.434
Slugging Percentage Frank Robinson Cincinnati Reds 0.611
On-Base plus Slugging Frank Robinson Cincinnati Reds 1.015
On-Base plus Slugging Plus Frank Robinson Cincinnati Reds 164

Pitching[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Wins Joey Jay
Warren Spahn
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Braves
21
Losses Bob Friend
Art Mahaffey
Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies
19
Win-Loss Percentage Johnny Podres Los Angeles Dodgers 0.783
Appearances Jack Baldschun Philadelphia Phillies 65
Games Started Don Cardwell Chicago Cubs 38
Complete Games Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves 21
Shutouts Joey Jay
Warren Spahn
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Braves
4
Games Finished Roy Face Pittsburgh Pirates 47
Saves Roy Face
Stu Miller
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants
17
Innings Pitched Lew Burdette Milwaukee Braves 272.1
Batters Faced Lew Burdette Milwaukee Braves 1126
Hits Allowed Lew Burdette Milwaukee Braves 295
Home Runs Allowed Mike McCormick San Francisco Giants 33
Base-on-Balls Allowed Bob Gibson St. Louis Cardinals 119
Intentional Base-on-Balls Don Drysdale
Turk Farrell
Los Angeles Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies/Los Angeles Dodgers
15
Hit Batsmen Don Drysdale Los Angeles Dodgers 20
Strikeouts Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers 269
Wild Pitches Chris Short Philadelphia Phillies 14
Balks Tony Cloninger
Jack Sanford
Milwaukee Braves
San Francisco Giants
4
Runs Allowed Lew Burdette Milwaukee Braves 131
Earned Runs Allowed Lew Burdette Milwaukee Braves 121
Earned Run Average Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves 3.02
Walks plus Hits
per Inning Pitched
Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves 1.142

All-Star Game[edit]

The 1961 season featured two All-Star Games. In the first game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA on Tuesday, July 11, 1961, the National League won by a score of 5 to 4 in 10 innings. The second game at Fenway Park in Boston, MA on Monday, July 31, 1961 ended in a 1-1 tie after 9 innings when it was called due to rain. For both games, the league's manager was Danny Murtaugh.

Postseason[edit]

In the World Series, the National League champion Cincinnati Reds were defeated by the American League's New York Yankees, 4 games to 1.

Award winners[edit]

The winner of the league's Most Valuable Player Award, given its Most Valuable Player, was Frank Robinson, an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds. In the award's voting, he had 219 out of a possible 224 points and 15 first place votes.

The winner of the Cy Young Award, given to the best pitcher in Major League Baseball irrespective of league, was Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees (AL). In the award's voting, he had 9 out of a possible 18 points and 9 first place votes.

The winner of the league's Rookie of the Year Award, given its best rookie player, was Billy Williams (willibi01), an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs. In the award's voting, he had 10 out of a possible 16 points and 10 first place votes.

Gold Gloves[edit]

The following players won the Gold Glove Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by sportswriters, at their respective position.

Position Player Team
P Bobby Shantz Pittsburgh Pirates
C Johnny Roseboro Los Angeles Dodgers
1B Bill White St. Louis Cardinals
2B Bill Mazeroski Pittsburgh Pirates
3B Maury Wills Los Angeles Dodgers
SS Ken Boyer St. Louis Cardinals
OF Vada Pinson Cincinnati Reds
Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates
Willie Mays San Francisco Giants

Monthly Awards[edit]

Hall of Fame Game[edit]

The twentieth annual Hall of Fame Game was played on July 24 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY near the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In the game, the National League's Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Baltimore Orioles of the American League by a score of 6 to 2.

Notable events[edit]

Umpires[edit]

Further Reading[edit]