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1961 Minnesota Twins season
| 1961 Minnesota Twins | |
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| First season in Minnesota | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Calvin Griffith |
| Manager(s) | Cookie Lavagetto and Sam Mele |
| Local television | WTCN-TV |
| Local radio |
830 WCCO AM (Bob Wolff, Halsey Hall, Ray Scott) |
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In 1961 the Twins finished the season with a record of 70–90, good for seventh in the American League, which had expanded from 8 to 10 teams during the 1960–61 offseason. It was the franchise's first season in Minnesota after 60 seasons in Washington, D.C. The Twins played their home games at Metropolitan Stadium.
Contents
Offseason
After 60 seasons in Washington, the Senators franchise moved to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area – or, more precisely, Bloomington, Minnesota – in 1961. In honor of the cities' nickname, "The Twin Cities", the franchise changed the team's name to the Twins. As one of the conditions to allow the team to move, there would be a new Senators franchise in Washington in 1961, an expansion team that joined the league along with the Los Angeles Angels.
Regular season
The move to Minnesota immediately paid dividends at the turnstiles, where they drew 1,256,723 fans, the third highest total in the American League. The previous year in Washington, the Senators drew just 743,404 fans, worst in the league.[1] However, the team's record went in the other direction, as they dropped from 73–81 and fifth place in 1960 to 70–90 and seventh place under the new 162-game AL schedule.
Two Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Harmon Killebrew and pitcher Camilo Pascual. Pedro Ramos was the first pitcher to lead the American League in losses for four years in a row.[2]
Harmon Killebrew led the team with 46 home runs, 122 runs batted in, and 94 runs scored. Camilo Pascual led the Twins with 15 wins and a 3.46 ERA. Catcher Earl Battey won his 2nd Gold Glove Award.
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 109 | 53 | .673 | -- |
| Detroit Tigers | 101 | 61 | .623 | 8 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 95 | 67 | .586 | 14 |
| Chicago White Sox | 86 | 76 | .531 | 23 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 83 | .484 | 30.5 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 86 | .469 | 33 |
| Minnesota Twins | 70 | 90 | .438 | 38 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 70 | 91 | .435 | 38.5 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 61 | 100 | .379 | 47.5 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 100 | .379 | 47.5 |
Notable transactions
- December 14, 1960: Faye Throneberry was drafted from the Twins by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1960 MLB expansion draft.[3]
- Prior to 1961 season: Jackie Collum was acquired by the Twins from the Los Angeles Dodgers.[4]
- June 1, 1961: Billy Consolo was traded by the Twins to the Milwaukee Braves for Billy Martin.[5]
- June 1, 1961: Reno Bertoia, Paul Giel and a player to be named later were traded by the Twins to the Kansas City Athletics for Bill Tuttle and a player to be named later. The Athletics completed the deal by returning Paul Giel to the Twins in exchange for cash on June 10.[6]
Roster
| 1961 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Battey, EarlEarl Battey | 133 | 460 | 139 | .302 | 17 | 55 |
| 1B | Killebrew, HarmonHarmon Killebrew | 150 | 541 | 156 | .288 | 46 | 122 |
| 2B | Martin, BillyBilly Martin | 108 | 374 | 92 | .246 | 6 | 36 |
| CF | Green, LennyLenny Green | 156 | 600 | 171 | .285 | 9 | 50 |
| RF | Allison, BobBob Allison | 159 | 556 | 136 | .245 | 29 | 105 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valdivielso, JoséJosé Valdivielso | 76 | 149 | 29 | .195 | 1 | 9 |
| Bertoia, RenoReno Bertoia | 39 | 104 | 22 | .212 | 1 | 8 |
| Henry, RonRon Henry | 20 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 3 |
| Consolo, BillyBilly Consolo | 11 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts