Back دورى كورة القاعده الرئيسى 1961 ARZ Temporada 1961 de las Grandes Ligas de Béisbol Spanish 1961年のメジャーリーグベースボール Japanese МЛБ в сезоне 1961 Russian 1961年美國職棒大聯盟球季 Chinese
| 1961 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 162 (AL) 154 (NL) |
| Number of teams | 18 total: 10 (AL) 8 (NL) |
| TV partner(s) | NBC, CBS, ABC |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Roger Maris (NY) NL: Frank Robinson (CIN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Detroit Tigers |
| NL champions | Cincinnati Reds |
| NL runners-up | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Cincinnati Reds |
| World Series MVP | Whitey Ford (NY) |
The 1961 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1961. The regular season ended on October 1, with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 58th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 5 on October 9. The Yankees defeated the Reds, capturing their 19th championship in franchise history. The season is best known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris' and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record of 60. Maris ultimately broke the record when he hit his 61st home run on the final day of the regular season, while Mantle was forced out of the lineup in late September due to a hip infection and finished with 54 home runs.
For the third year, there were two separate All-Star Games played. The first, the 30th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was played on July 11, hosted by the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, California, with the National League winning, 5–4. The second, the 31st Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was played on July 31, hosted by the Boston Red Sox in Boston, Massachusetts, with the game ending in a 1–1 tie, due to a rainout following the end of the ninth inning.
In response to the proposed Continental League, the American League expanded by two teams in the first MLB expansion since 1901, ushering in the expansion era. The original Washington Senators moved to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota and became the Minnesota Twins, being the sixth team since 1953 to relocate, and the third of American League teams since then. The American League therefore placed a new team in Washington, D.C., also called the Washington Senators. Also, the American League placed a team in Los Angeles called the Los Angeles Angels.