# 1961 International League season

The 1961 International League was a Class AAA baseball season played between April 17 and September 22. Eight teams played a 154-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Buffalo Bisons won the Governors' Cup, defeating the Rochester Red Wings in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Rochester Red Wings ended their affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals and began an affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles.
* The Montreal Royals relocated to Syracuse, New York and were renamed the Syracuse Chiefs. The club also ended their affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers and began an affiliation with the Minnesota Twins.
* The Miami Marlins relocated to San Juan, Puerto Rico and were renamed the San Juan Marlins. The club also ended their affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles and began an affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Marlins would eventually relocate once again during the season to Charleston, West Virginia and be renamed the Charleston Marlins.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs ended their affiliation with the Cleveland Indians.

## Teams

1961 International League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Buffalo Bisons | Buffalo, New York | Philadelphia Phillies | War Memorial Stadium |
| Columbus Jets | Columbus, Ohio | Pittsburgh Pirates | Jets Stadium |
| Jersey City Jerseys | Jersey City, New Jersey | Cincinnati Reds | Roosevelt Stadium |
| Richmond Virginians | Richmond, Virginia | New York Yankees | Parker Field |
| Rochester Red Wings | Rochester, New York | Baltimore Orioles | Red Wing Stadium |
| San Juan Marlins Charleston Marlins | San Juan, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Charleston, West Virginia | St. Louis Cardinals | Sixto Escobar Stadium Watt Powell Park |
| Syracuse Chiefs | Syracuse, New York | Minnesota Twins | MacArthur Stadium |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, Ontario | None | Maple Leaf Stadium |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Columbus Jets finished with the best record in the league for the first time in franchise history.
* On May 19, The San Juan Marlins relocated to Charleston, West Virginia and became the Charleston Marlins.
* On September 11, the Rochester Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs held a one-game playoff for the final playoff position. The Red Wings defeated the Maple Leafs 12-11 in ten innings to clinch the final post-season berth.

### Standings

International League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Columbus Jets | 92 | 62 | .597 | – |
| San Juan Marlins/Charleston Marlins | 88 | 66 | .571 | 4 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 85 | 67 | .559 | 6 |
| Rochester Red Wings | 77 | 78 | .497 | 15.5 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 76 | 79 | .490 | 16.5 |
| Richmond Virginians | 71 | 83 | .461 | 21 |
| Jersey City Jerseys | 70 | 82 | .461 | 21 |
| Syracuse Chiefs | 56 | 98 | .364 | 36 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ted Savage, Buffalo Bisons | .325 |
| H | Ted Savage, Buffalo Bisons | 178 |
| R | Ted Savage, Buffalo Bisons | 111 |
| 2B | Jim Pendleton, Jersey City Jerseys | 33 |
| 3B | Lou Jackson, Toronto Maple Leafs | 18 |
| HR | Boog Powell, Rochester Red Wings | 32 |
| RBI | Félix Torres, Buffalo Bisons | 97 |
| SB | Ted Savage, Buffalo Bisons | 31 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Ray Washburn, San Juan / Charleston | 16 |
| L | Fred Kipp, Richmond Virginians | 16 |
| ERA | Ray Washburn, San Juan / Charleston | 2.34 |
| CG | Al Jackson, Columbus Jets Dave Stenhouse, Jersey City Jerseys Ray Washburn, San Juan / Charleston | 12 |
| SHO | Herb Moford, Rochester Red Wings | 5 |
| SO | Bob Veale, Columbus Jets | 208 |
| IP | Herb Moford, Rochester Red Wings | 219.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Buffalo Bisons won their fourth Governors' Cup, defeating the Rochester Red Wings in five games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Governors' Cup | Governors' Cup | Governors' Cup |
| 1 | Columbus | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Rochester | 4 | | | |
| 4 | Rochester | 4 | 4 | Rochester | 1 |
| | | | 3 | Buffalo | 4 |
| 2 | Charleston | 0 | 3 | Buffalo | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 4 | | | |

## Awards

Player awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Ted Savage, Buffalo Bisons |
| Pitcher of the Year | Diomedes Olivo, Columbus Jets |
| Rookie of the Year | Tom Tresh, Richmond Virginians |