| 1961 Detroit Tigers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Ballpark | Tiger Stadium | |||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | |||
| Owners | John Fetzer | |||
| General managers | Rick Ferrell | |||
| Managers | Bob Scheffing | |||
| Television | WJBK | |||
| Radio | WKMH WWJ WJR (George Kell,Ernie Harwell) | |||
| ||||
The1961Detroit Tigers won 101 games but finished in second place, eight games behind theYankees. The team's 1961 record tied the1934 Tigers team record of 101 wins, and only twice in team history have the Tigers won more games:1968 (103 wins) and1984 (104 wins).
On January 1, the Tigers' home park, Briggs Stadium, was renamedTiger Stadium.
The 1961 Tigers were led byNorm Cash,Rocky Colavito, andAl Kaline. Cash won the AL batting title with a .361batting average, and had 132RBIs, and Colavito hit 45home runs and had 140 RBIs. Kaline led the AL with 41doubles and finished second to Cash for the batting title with a .324 average.Frank Lary led the pitching staff with 23 wins. The 1961 Tigers' winning percentage ranks as the 6th best in team history.
CatcherDick Brown hit 16 home runs in 1961, including back-to-back-to-back home runs withNorm Cash andSteve Boros on May 23, 1961. He hit a grand slam less than one month earlier on April 29, 1961.
Brown shared catching duties with rookieMike Roarke who played in 86 games and hit .223 with 2 home runs and 22 RBIs. Roarke was a 30-year-old rookie in 1961. Roarke graduated fromBoston College in 1952 where he was captain of the football and baseball teams in his senior season.[3]
Brown appeared in 91 games at catcher in 1961, and Roarke in 85.
First basemanNorm Cash won the AL batting crown with a .361 average and also led the league with a .488 on-base percentage and 193 hits. He was also among the league leaders with 41 home runs (6th in the AL), 132 RBIs (4th in the AL), 119 runs scored (4th in the AL), 124 walks (2nd in the AL), 354 total bases (2nd in the AL), and a .662 slugging average (2nd in the AL). He also led the AL in putouts in 1961. While Cash's performance was overshadowed by the 61 home runs ofRoger Maris, his .361 average would be the highest by any major league player in the 1960s. Cash was 4th in the MVP voting.
ShortstopChico Fernández was Detroit's regular shortstop for three seasons from 1960 to 1962. In 1960, he led American League shortstops with 34 errors. After six seasons in which he never hit more than 6 home runs, Fernández hit 20 home runs and 59 RBIs for the Tigers in 1962.
Second basemanJake Wood was the Tigers' starting second baseman from 1961 to 1963. 1961 was his rookie season, and he led the AL intriples with 14 and instrikeouts with 141. He was also third in the AL instolen bases with 30.
Third basemanSteve Boros signed a bonus contract with the Detroit Tigers in 1957. He was named the most valuable player of the Class AAA American Association in 1960 after he tied for the lead in runs batted in with 119. In his first full MLB season, 1961, Boros appeared in 116 games for the Tigers as a third baseman and hit .270 with 62 runs batted in. His season was cut short when he collided withFrank Lary and broke his collarbone.
Left fielderRocky Colavito came to the Tigers in 1960 in a trade forHarvey Kuenn, who had won the 1959 batting title. The trade proved to be a good one for the Tigers. In 1961 with the Tigers, Colavito enjoyed career highs of 45 home runs, 140 RBI and 129 runs scored as the team led the major leagues in scoring. Colavito placed eighth in the MVP race, but Tiger fans didn't take to him. SportswriterJoe Falls, who viewed Colavito as a "self-ordained deity, started a feature chronicling the runs he failed to drive in. In one game, Falls – acting as the official scorer – charged Colavito with a controversial error, and the outfielder tried to attack him. And on May 12, 1961, he was ejected from the game after climbing into the stands to go after a drunken fan who had been harassing his wife and father.[4][5] After his excellent 1961 season, he drew the local fans' criticism by holding out for a higher salary than established team starAl Kaline. He was traded to the Athletics after the 1963 season.
Center fielderBill Bruton put in a strong performance as the Tigers' center fielder. Hisrange factor of 2.67 was far above the league average of 1.98. Bruton played in 160 games for the 1961 Tigers, scored 99 runs, collected 153 hits, and had 17 home runs, 63 RBIs, 22 stolen bases and a .257 batting average.
Right fielderAl Kaline finished second in the AL with a .324 batting average and led the league with 41 doubles. Kaline also had 19 home runs, 82 RBIs, 116 runs scored, finished 9th in the AL MVP voting, and won a Gold Glove award for his fine performance in right field.
Frank Lary was 23–9 in 1961, leading the team in wins and finishing second in the AL behindWhitey Ford. He also won a Gold Glove award in 1961, led the AL with 22 complete games, threw a one-hitter, appeared in the All Star Game, finished 7th in the AL MVP voting, was 3rd in the AL Cy Young voting. Known as "The Yankee Killer", Lary had a career record of 27–13 against the Yankees, including a 13–1 run from 1958 to 1959.
Future Hall of FamerJim Bunning went 17–11 for the Tigers in 38 games in 1961. He was chosen for the AL All-Star team and was among the AL leaders with a 3.19 ERA (7th best in AL), 17 wins (4th best in AL), 194 strikeouts (3rd in AL), 12 complete games (4th in AL), and 4 shutouts (3rd in AL).
Don Mossi pitched the greatest season of his career in 1961, going 15–7 with a 2.96 ERA. Nicknamed "The Sphinx" and "Ears", baseball historianBill James dubbed Mossi "The Man Who Invented Winning Ugly." James wrote: "Mossi's ears looked as if they had been borrowed from a much larger species, and reattached without proper supervision. His nose was crooked, his eyes were in the wrong place, and though he was skinny he had no neck to speak of, just a series of chins that melted into his chest. . . . Don Mossi was the complete five-tool ugly player. He could run ugly, hit ugly, throw ugly, field ugly and ugly for power."[6]
The Tigers #4 starterPaul Foytack played 10 seasons for the Tigers (1953, 1955–63) and is best known for giving up the longest home run in Tigers Stadium history—a 1960 blast byMickey Mantle that landed in the Brooks lumberyard across Trumbull Avenue from the stadium. In 1961, Foytack was 11–10 with a 3.93 ERA.
Relief pitcherPhil Regan became known as "The Vulture" because of his skill as a closer. In 1961, Regan was 10–7 in 32 games (16 as a starter, 16 in relief). He pitched 120 innings with a 5.25 ERA.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 109 | 53 | .673 | — | 65–16 | 44–37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 101 | 61 | .623 | 8 | 50–31 | 51–30 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 95 | 67 | .586 | 14 | 48–33 | 47–34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 86 | 76 | .531 | 23 | 53–28 | 33–48 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 83 | .484 | 30½ | 40–41 | 38–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 86 | .469 | 33 | 50–31 | 26–55 |
| Minnesota Twins | 70 | 90 | .438 | 38 | 36–44 | 34–46 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 70 | 91 | .435 | 38½ | 46–36 | 24–55 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 61 | 100 | .379 | 47½ | 33–47 | 28–53 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 100 | .379 | 47½ | 33–46 | 28–54 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA | MIN | NYY | WAS | |||
| Baltimore | — | 11–7 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 9–9–1 | 14–4 | |||
| Boston | 7–11 | — | 9–9 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7–1 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 10–8 | |||
| Chicago | 7–11 | 9–9 | — | 12–6 | 6–12 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 9–9–1 | 6–12 | 13–5 | |||
| Cleveland | 9–9 | 13–5 | 6–12 | — | 6–12 | 8–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 12–6 | |||
| Detroit | 9–9 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 12–6 | — | 12–6–1 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 13–5 | |||
| Kansas City | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–8 | 6–12–1 | — | 9–9 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 9–9 | |||
| Los Angeles | 10–8 | 7–11–1 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | — | 8–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | |||
| Minnesota | 7–11 | 7–11 | 9–9–1 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 9–8 | — | 4–14 | 8–9 | |||
| New York | 9–9–1 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 14–4 | — | 11–7 | |||
| Washington | 4–14 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 6–12 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–8 | 7–11 | — | |||
| 1961 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league 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 | Dick Brown | 93 | 308 | 82 | .266 | 16 | 45 |
| 1B | Norm Cash | 159 | 535 | 193 | .361 | 41 | 132 |
| 2B | Jake Wood | 162 | 663 | 171 | .258 | 11 | 69 |
| 3B | Steve Boros | 116 | 396 | 107 | .270 | 5 | 62 |
| SS | Chico Fernández | 133 | 435 | 108 | .248 | 3 | 40 |
| LF | Rocky Colavito | 163 | 583 | 169 | .290 | 45 | 140 |
| CF | Bill Bruton | 160 | 596 | 153 | .257 | 17 | 63 |
| RF | Al Kaline | 153 | 586 | 190 | .324 | 19 | 82 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick McAuliffe | 80 | 285 | 73 | .256 | 6 | 33 |
| Mike Roarke | 86 | 229 | 51 | .223 | 2 | 22 |
| Charlie Maxwell | 79 | 131 | 30 | .229 | 5 | 18 |
| Bubba Morton | 77 | 108 | 31 | .287 | 2 | 19 |
| Bobo Osborne | 71 | 93 | 20 | .215 | 2 | 13 |
| Reno Bertoia | 24 | 46 | 10 | .217 | 1 | 4 |
| Ozzie Virgil | 20 | 30 | 4 | .133 | 1 | 1 |
| Frank House | 17 | 22 | 5 | .227 | 0 | 3 |
| George Alusik | 15 | 14 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 2 |
| Harry Chiti | 5 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Freehan | 4 | 10 | 4 | .400 | 0 | 4 |
| Chuck Cottier | 10 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 0 | 1 |
| Vic Wertz | 8 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 1 |
| George Thomas | 17 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Gernert | 6 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 1 | 1 |
Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Lary | 36 | 275.1 | 23 | 9 | 3.24 | 146 |
| Jim Bunning | 38 | 268.0 | 17 | 11 | 3.19 | 194 |
| Don Mossi | 35 | 240.1 | 15 | 7 | 2.96 | 137 |
| Ron Kline | 10 | 56.1 | 5 | 3 | 2.72 | 27 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Foytack | 32 | 169.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.93 | 89 |
| Phil Regan | 32 | 120.0 | 10 | 7 | 5.25 | 46 |
| Bob Bruce | 14 | 44.2 | 1 | 2 | 4.43 | 25 |
| Hal Woodeshick | 12 | 18.1 | 1 | 1 | 7.85 | 13 |
| Howie Koplitz | 4 | 12.0 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 | 9 |
| Jerry Casale | 3 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 5.25 | 6 |
| Ron Nischwitz | 6 | 11.1 | 0 | 1 | 5.56 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Fox | 39 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 1.41 | 32 |
| Hank Aguirre | 45 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3.25 | 32 |
| Bill Fischer | 26 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5.01 | 18 |
| Jim Donohue | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.54 | 20 |
| Gerry Staley | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3.38 | 8 |
| Manny Montejo | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 15 |
| Fred Gladding | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.31 | 11 |
| Joe Grzenda | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.94 | 0 |
The following members of the 1961 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their positions, as ranked byThe New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
