# 1961 New York Yankees season

The 1961 New York Yankees season was the 59th season for the team. The team finished with a record of 109–53, eight games ahead of the Detroit Tigers, and won their 26th American League pennant. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they defeated the Cincinnati Reds in 5 games. This season was best known for the home run chase between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, with the former beating Babe Ruth's single season record by hitting 61.
The 1961 Yankees are often mentioned as a candidate for the unofficial title of greatest baseball team in history.

## Offseason

* December 14, 1960: Bob Cerv was drafted from the Yankees by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1960 MLB expansion draft.
* January 16, 1961: Mickey Mantle became the highest paid baseball player by signing a $75,000 contract.
* Prior to 1961 season: Art López was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees.
* Prior to 1961 season: Ole Miss Rebels football quarterback Jake Gibbs was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees.

## Regular season

The 1961 season was notable for the race between center fielder Mickey Mantle and right fielder Roger Maris to break Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a season (set in 1927). Maris eventually broke the record, hitting his 61st home run on October 1, the season's final day. During the season, Maris had seven multi-home run games; in a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, he hit four home runs.
1961 was an expansion year, with the American League increasing from eight to ten teams, the first expansion in the 61-year history of the league. The old schedule of 154 games (seven opponents multiplied by 22 games apiece) was replaced by 162 games (nine opponents multiplied by 18 games apiece) which led to some controversy due to the eight extra games that Maris had to try to hit 61.
Ultimately, when Maris broke Ruth’s record in game 162, baseball commissioner Ford Frick instigated "The Asterisk", which designated that Maris had only accomplished the feat in a longer season, and disallowed any reference to him as the record-holder. When commissioner Fay Vincent removed "The Asterisk" in 1991, Maris was finally given credit as the single-season home run record-holder. However, Maris had died in 1985, never knowing that the record belonged to him.
In addition to the individual exploits of Maris and Mantle, the '61 Yankees hit a major league record 240 home runs. The record stood until 1996 when the Baltimore Orioles, with the added benefit of the designated hitter, hit 257 home runs as a team.

### Roger Maris

In 1961, the American League expanded from eight to ten teams, generally watering down the pitching, but leaving the Yankees pretty much intact. Yankee home runs began to come at a record pace. One famous photograph lined up six 1961 Yankee players, including Mantle, Maris, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Johnny Blanchard, and Bill Skowron, under the nickname "Murderers Row", because they hit a combined 207 home runs that year. The title "Murderers Row", originally coined in 1918, had most famously been used to refer to the Yankees side of the late 1920s.
As mid-season approached, it seemed quite possible that either Maris or Mantle, or perhaps both, would break Babe Ruth's 34-year-old home run record. Unlike the home run race of 1998, in which the competition between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was given extensive positive media coverage, sportswriters in 1961 began to play the "M&M Boys" against each other, inventing a rivalry where none existed, as Yogi Berra has testified in recent interviews.
The 1961 home run race between Maris and Mantle was dramatized in the 2001 film 61*, filmed under the direction of Billy Crystal.

#### Roger Maris 61 home runs

| Number | Game | Date | Pitcher | Team | Inning |
| 1 | 11 | 04-26-1961 | Paul Foytack | Detroit Tigers | 5th |
| 2 | 17 | 05-03-1961 | Pedro Ramos | Minnesota Twins | 7th |
| 3 | 20 | 05-06-1961 | Eli Grba | Los Angeles Angels | 5th |
| 4 | 29 | 05-17-1961 | Pete Burnside | Washington Senators | 8th |
| 5 | 30 | 05-19-1961 | Jim Perry | Cleveland Indians | 1st |
| 6 | 31 | 05-20-1961 | Gary Bell | Cleveland Indians | 3rd |
| 7 | 32 | 05-21-1961 | Chuck Estrada | Baltimore Orioles | 1st |
| 8 | 35 | 05-24-1961 | Gene Conley | Boston Red Sox | 4th |
| 9 | 38 | 05-28-1961 | Cal McLish | Chicago White Sox | 2nd |
| 10 | 40 | 05-30-1961 | Gene Conley | Boston Red Sox | 3rd |
| 11 | 40 | 05-30-1961 | Mike Fornieles | Boston Red Sox | 8th |
| 12 | 41 | 05-31-1961 | Billy Muffett | Boston Red Sox | 3rd |
| 13 | 43 | 06-02-1961 | Cal McLish | Chicago White Sox | 3rd |
| 14 | 44 | 06-03-1961 | Bob Shaw | Chicago White Sox | 8th |
| 15 | 45 | 06-04-1961 | Russ Kemmerer | Chicago White Sox | 3rd |
| 16 | 48 | 06-06-1961 | Ed Palmquist | Minnesota Twins | 6th |
| 17 | 49 | 06-07-1961 | Pedro Ramos | Minnesota Twins | 3rd |
| 18 | 52 | 06-09-1961 | Ray Herbert | Kansas City Athletics | 7th |
| 19 | 55 | 06-11-1961 | Eli Grba | Los Angeles Angels | 3rd |
| 20 | 55 | 06-11-1961 | Johnny James | Los Angeles Angels | 7th |
| 21 | 57 | 06-13-1961 | Jim Perry | Cleveland Indians | 6th |
| 22 | 58 | 06-14-1961 | Gary Bell | Cleveland Indians | 4th |
| 23 | 61 | 06-17-1961 | Don Mossi | Detroit Tigers | 4th |
| 24 | 62 | 06-18-1961 | Jerry Casale | Detroit Tigers | 8th |
| 25 | 63 | 06-19-1961 | Jim Archer | Kansas City Athletics | 9th |
| 26 | 64 | 06-20-1961 | Joe Nuxhall | Kansas City Athletics | 1st |
| 27 | 66 | 06-22-1961 | Norm Bass | Kansas City Athletics | 2nd |
| 28 | 74 | 07-01-1961 | Dave Sisler | Washington Senators | 9th |
| 29 | 75 | 07-02-1961 | Pete Burnside | Washington Senators | 3rd |
| 30 | 75 | 07-02-1961 | Johnny Klippstein | Washington Senators | 7th |
| 31 | 77 | 07-04-1961 | Frank Lary | Detroit Tigers | 8th |
| 32 | 78 | 07-05-1961 | Frank Funk | Cleveland Indians | 7th |
| 33 | 82 | 07-09-1961 | Bill Monbouquette | Boston Red Sox | 7th |
| 34 | 84 | 07-13-1961 | Early Wynn | Chicago White Sox | 1st |
| 35 | 86 | 07-15-1961 | Ray Herbert | Chicago White Sox | 3rd |
| 36 | 92 | 07-21-1961 | Bill Monbouquette | Boston Red Sox | 1st |
| 37 | 95 | 07-25-1961 | Frank Baumann | Chicago White Sox | 4th |
| 38 | 95 | 07-25-1961 | Don Larsen | Chicago White Sox | 8th |
| 39 | 96 | 07-25-1961 | Russ Kemmerer | Chicago White Sox | 4th |
| 40 | 96 | 07-25-1961 | Warren Hacker | Chicago White Sox | 7th |
| 41 | 106 | 08-04-1961 | Camilo Pascual | Minnesota Twins | 1st |
| 42 | 114 | 08-11-1961 | Pete Burnside | Washington Senators | 5th |
| 43 | 115 | 08-12-1961 | Dick Donovan | Washington Senators | 4th |
| 44 | 116 | 08-13-1961 | Bennie Daniels | Washington Senators | 4th |
| 45 | 117 | 08-13-1961 | Marty Kutyna | Washington Senators | 1st |
| 46 | 118 | 08-15-1961 | Juan Pizarro | Chicago White Sox | 4th |
| 47 | 119 | 08-16-1961 | Billy Pierce | Chicago White Sox | 1st |
| 48 | 119 | 08-16-1961 | Billy Pierce | Chicago White Sox | 3rd |
| 49 | 124 | 08-20-1961 | Jim Perry | Cleveland Indians | 3rd |
| 50 | 125 | 08-22-1961 | Ken McBride | Los Angeles Angels | 6th |
| 51 | 129 | 08-26-1961 | Jerry Walker | Kansas City Athletics | 6th |
| 52 | 135 | 09-02-1961 | Frank Lary | Detroit Tigers | 6th |
| 53 | 135 | 09-02-1961 | Hank Aguirre | Detroit Tigers | 8th |
| 54 | 140 | 09-06-1961 | Tom Cheney | Washington Senators | 4th |
| 55 | 141 | 09-07-1961 | Dick Stigman | Cleveland Indians | 3rd |
| 56 | 143 | 09-09-1961 | Mudcat Grant | Cleveland Indians | 7th |
| 57 | 151 | 09-16-1961 | Frank Lary | Detroit Tigers | 3rd |
| 58 | 152 | 09-17-1961 | Terry Fox | Detroit Tigers | 12th |
| 59 | 155 | 09-20-1961 | Milt Pappas | Baltimore Orioles | 3rd |
| 60 | 159 | 09-26-1961 | Jack Fisher | Baltimore Orioles | 3rd |
| 61 | 163 | 10-01-1961 | Tracy Stallard | Boston Red Sox | 4th |
The Yankees played one tie game which was later made up, and hence took 163 games to achieve 162 decisions.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1961 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA | MIN | NYY | WSH |
| 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 | — |

### Notable transactions

* May 8, 1961: Lee Thomas, Ryne Duren, and Johnny James was traded by the Yankees to the Los Angeles Angels for Bob Cerv and Tex Clevenger.
* July 1, 1961: Roy White was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees.

### Roster
## Game log
### Regular season

Legend :
| | Yankees win |
| | Yankees loss |
| | Yankees tie |
| | Postponement |
| | Clinched pennant |
| Bold | Yankees team member |
1961 regular season game log: 109–53–1 (Home: 65–16; Away: 44–37–1) :
April: 9–5 (Home: 6–1; Away: 3–4)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
1April 11Twins6–0Ramos (1–0)Ford (0–1)14,6070–1
2April 15Athletics5–3Turley (1–0)Daley (0–1)Stafford (1)11,8021–1
3April 17Athletics3–0Ford (1–1)Walker (0–1)1,9472–1
4April 20Angels7–5Ditmar (1–0)Grba (0–1)Stafford (2)3–1
5April 20Angels4–2Turley (2–0)Garver (0–1)Arroyo (1)7,0594–1
6April 21@ Orioles4–2Ford (2–1)Barber (1–1)12,3685–1
7April 22@ Orioles5–3Wilhelm (1–0)Duren (0–1)12,5365–2
8April 22@ Orioles5 – 5 (7)14,1265–2
9April 23@ Orioles4–1Estrada (1–1)McDevitt (0–1)Hall (1)18,7045–3
10April 24@ Tigers4–3Lary (3–0)Turley (2–1)5,6625–4
11April 26@ Tigers13 – 11 (10)Arroyo (1–0)Aguirre (0–1)4,6766–4
12April 27Indians4–3Ditmar (2–0)Antonelli (0–2)8,8977–4
13April 29Indians4–2Terry (1–0)Perry (2–1)Arroyo (2)14,6248–4
14April 30@ Senators4–3Ford (3–1)Donovan (0–4)Arroyo (3)9–4
15April 30@ Senators2–1Woodeshick (1–1)Sheldon (0–1)Burnside (1)21,9049–5 :
May: 14–12 (Home: 7–6; Away: 7–6)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
16May 2@ Twins6 – 4 (10)Coates (1–0)Pascual (2–1)Arroyo (4)16,66910–5
17May 3@ Twins7–3Turley (3–1)Ramos (2–1)18,15811–5
18May 4@ Twins5–2Ford (4–1)Kaat (1–2)Coates (1)18,17912–5
19May 5@ Angels5–4McDevitt (1–1)Clevenger (2–1)Arroyo (5)17,80113–5
20May 6@ Angels5–3Grba (2–2)Ditmar (2–1)19,86513–6
21May 7@ Angels5–3Kline (1–0)Coates (1–1)Clevenger (1)19,72213–7
22May 9@ Athletics5–4Herbert (2–1)Arroyo (1–1)Archer (1)13,62313–8
23May 10@ Athletics9–4Clevenger (3–1)Daley (3–4)15,98614–8
24May 12Tigers4–3Lary (5–1)Coates (1–2)23,55614–9
25May 13Tigers8–3Regan (3–0)Turley (3–2)18,03614–10
26May 14Tigers5 – 4 (11)Coates (2–2)Aguirre (1–2)15–10
27May 14Tigers8–6Coates (3–2)Bunning (2–3)40,96816–10
28May 16Senators3–2Woodeshick (2–1)Stafford (0–1)Sisler (5)10,05016–11
29May 17Senators8–7Burnside (1–2)Ditmar (2–2)Gabler (1)6,19716–12
30May 19@ Indians9–7Latman (3–0)Clevenger (3–2)Allen (2)21,24016–13
31May 20@ Indians4–3Funk (4–2)Stafford (0–2)8,43116–14
32May 21Orioles4–2Ford (5–1)Estrada (2–3)17–14
33May 21Orioles3–2Barber (5–3)Sheldon (0–2)Wilhelm (5)47,89017–15
34May 22Orioles8–2Coates (4–2)Fisher (1–5)Arroyo (6)16,92318–15
35May 24Red Sox3–2Terry (2–0)Nichols (0–1)7,67319–15
36May 25Red Sox6–4Ford (6–1)Muffett (0–4)Arroyo (7)13,08720–15
37May 28White Sox14–9Lown (2–2)Arroyo (1–2)Pierce (2)20–16
38May 28White Sox5–3Coates (5–2)McLish (2–5)44,43521–16
39May 29@ Red Sox2–1Delock (3–1)Ford (6–2)21,80421–17
40May 30@ Red Sox12–3Stafford (1–2)Conley (2–4)Coates (2)19,58222–17
41May 31@ Red Sox7–6Sheldon (1–2)Muffett (0–5)McDevitt (1)17,31823–17 :
June: 22–10 (Home: 10–1; Away: 12–9)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
42June 1@ Red Sox7–5Monbouquette (4–5)Turley (3–3)Stallard (1)5,25723–18
43June 2@ White Sox6–2Ford (7–2)McLish (2–6)38,41024–18
44June 3@ White Sox6 – 5 (13)Hacker (1–0)Ditmar (2–3)16,48024–19
45June 4@ White Sox10–1Stafford (2–2)Pierce (1–5)28,36225–19
46June 5Twins6–2Coates (6–2)Lee (0–2)Arroyo (8)26–19
47June 5Twins6–1Sheldon (2–2)Stobbs (0–2)23,10327–19
48June 6Twins7–2Ford (8–2)Kralick (4–4)Arroyo (9)17,12928–19
49June 7Twins5–1Terry (3–0)Ramos (3–7)9,01629–19
50June 8Athletics6–1Stafford (3–2)Bass (4–3)30–19
51June 8Athletics9–6Archer (3–1)McDevitt (1–2)13,15730–20
52June 9Athletics8–6Arroyo (2–2)Herbert (3–6)22,41831–20
53June 10Athletics5–3Ford (9–2)Nuxhall (4–2)17,27232–20
54June 11Angels2–1Terry (4–0)McBride (5–4)33–20
55June 11Angels5–1Sheldon (3–2)Grba (5–5)Arroyo (10)37,37834–20
56June 12Angels3–1Stafford (4–2)Bowsfield (2–2)16,36335–20
57June 13@ Indians7–2Perry (5–4)Coates (6–3)Funk (5)21,70435–21
58June 14@ Indians11–5Ford (10–2)Bell (4–6)Arroyo (11)25,09536–21
59June 15@ Indians3 – 2 (11)Terry (5–0)Funk (7–5)23,35037–21
60June 16@ Tigers4–2Regan (7–2)Stafford (4–3)51,74437–22
61June 17@ Tigers12–10Foytack (4–4)Daley (4–9)Fox (4)51,50937–23
62June 18@ Tigers9–0Ford (11–2)Lary (10–4)Arroyo (12)44,45938–23
63June 19@ Athletics4–3Archer (5–1)Arroyo (2–3)16,71538–24
64June 20@ Athletics6–2Stafford (5–3)Nuxhall (4–3)Coates (3)19,92839–24
65June 21@ Athletics5–3Daley (5–9)Shaw (3–6)Arroyo (13)19,41640–24
66June 22@ Athletics8–3Ford (12–2)Bass (4–6)Arroyo (14)17,25441–24
67June 23@ Twins4–0Pascual (5–9)Turley (3–4)30,94041–25
68June 24@ Twins10–7Sheldon (4–2)Cueto (0–2)Arroyo (15)35,19942–25
69June 25@ Twins8–4Stafford (6–3)Kralick (6–5)Coates (4)35,15243–25
70June 26@ Angels8–6Ford (13–2)Donohue (1–2)Arroyo (16)18,87044–25
71June 27@ Angels7–6Bowsfield (4–2)Daley (5–10)Grba (2)16,10844–26
72June 28@ Angels5–3Duren (3–8)Turley (3–5)Donohue (3)14,67444–27
73June 30@ Senators5–1Ford (14–2)Donovan (3–8)28,01945–27 :
July: 20–9 (Home: 11–5; Away: 9–4)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
74July 1@ Senators7–6Arroyo (3–3)Sisler (1–3)16,01546–27
75July 2@ Senators13–4Daley (6–10)Burnside (1–5)Arroyo (17)19,79447–27
76July 4Tigers6–2Ford (15–2)Mossi (9–2)48–27
77July 4Tigers4 – 3 (10)Lary (12–4)Stafford (6–4)Fox (6)74,24648–28
78July 5Indians6–0Sheldon (5–2)Bell (5–9)24,37749–28
79July 6Indians4–0Stafford (7–4)Stigman (2–2)37,13650–28
80July 7Red Sox14–3Daley (7–10)Conley (3–7)29,19951–28
81July 8Red Sox8–5Ford (16–2)Delock (5–5)Arroyo (18)23,38152–28
82July 9Red Sox3–0Sheldon (6–2)Monbouquette (8–7)53–28
83July 9Red Sox9–6Schwall (7–2)Terry (5–1)Earley (1)47,87553–29
—July 1130th All-Star Game in San Francisco, CA
84July 13@ White Sox6–2Stafford (8–4)Wynn (7–2)Arroyo (19)43,96054–29
85July 14@ White Sox6–1Pizarro (5–3)Sheldon (6–3)43,45054–30
86July 15@ White Sox9 – 8 (10)Arroyo (4–3)Hacker (2–2)37,73055–30
87July 16@ Orioles2–1Daley (8–10)Barber (10–7)38,48756–30
88July 17@ Orioles5–0Ford (17–2)Pappas (6–5)44,33257–30
89July 18@ Senators5–3Arroyo (5–3)McClain (7–9)17,69558–30
90July 19@ Senators8–4Daniels (5–5)Daley (8–11)58–31
91July 19@ Senators12–2Donovan (6–8)Downing (0–1)27,17658–32
92July 21@ Red Sox11–8Arroyo (6–3)Earley (1–4)32,18659–32
93July 22@ Red Sox11–9Arroyo (7–3)Conley (4–9)25,08960–32
94July 23@ Red Sox5–4Schwall (10–2)Daley (8–12)28,57560–33
95July 25White Sox5–1Ford (18–2)Baumann (7–8)Arroyo (20)61–33
96July 25White Sox12–0Stafford (9–4)Pizarro (6–4)46,24062–33
97July 26White Sox5–2Sheldon (7–3)Herbert (7–9)22,36663–33
98July 27White Sox4–3Terry (6–1)Pierce (5–7)Arroyo (21)20,52964–33
99July 28Orioles4–0Brown (8–3)Daley (8–13)39,62364–34
100July 29Orioles5–4Ford (19–2)Fisher (4–10)42,99065–34
101July 30Orioles4–0Barber (12–8)Stafford (9–5)65–35
102July 30Orioles2–1Pappas (7–6)Daley (8–14)Hall (3)57,18065–36
—July 3131st All-Star Game in Boston, MA :
August: 22–9 (Home: 7–9; Away: 7–5)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
103August 2Athletics6–5Arroyo (8–3)Archer (7–6)66–36
104August 2Athletics12–5Terry (7–1)Ditmar (2–6)Reniff (1)23,61667–36
105August 3Athletics6–1Shaw (7–9)Daley (8–15)12,58467–37
106August 4Twins8 – 5 (10)Arroyo (9–3)Pleis (3–2)24,10968–37
107August 5Twins2–1Coates (7–3)Kralick (10–7)18,88069–37
108August 6Twins7 – 6 (15)Reniff (1–0)Moore (4–4)70–37
109August 6Twins3–2Sheldon (8–3)Schroll (0–1)39,40871–37
110August 7Angels4–1Daley (9–15)McBride (9–8)13,94472–37
111August 8Angels5 – 4 (10)Arroyo (10–3)Fowler (5–5)24,08473–37
112August 9Angels2–0Coates (8–3)Bowsfield (8–4)17,26174–37
113August 10Angels3–1Ford (20–2)Donohue (4–5)Arroyo (22)15,57575–37
114August 11@ Senators12–5Terry (8–1)McClain (7–13)Reniff (2)22,60176–37
115August 12@ Senators5–1Donovan (8–8)Stafford (9–6)15,87076–38
116August 13@ Senators12–2Daniels (7–6)Daley (9–16)76–39
117August 13@ Senators9–4Coates (9–3)Kutyna (6–4)27,36877–39
118August 15White Sox2–1Pizarro (8–5)Ford (20–3)49,05977–40
119August 16White Sox5–4Terry (9–1)Lown (6–5)29,72878–40
120August 17White Sox5–3Stafford (10–6)Baumann (9–10)Arroyo (23)25,53279–40
121August 18@ Indians5–1Grant (12–6)Coates (9–4)37,84079–41
122August 19@ Indians3 – 2 (10)Ford (21–3)Locke (4–2)Arroyo (24)23,39880–41
123August 20@ Indians6–0Terry (10–1)Perry (9–11)81–41
124August 20@ Indians5–2Sheldon (9–3)Bell (8–13)56,30782–41
125August 22@ Angels4–3McBride (10–10)Stafford (10–7)19,93082–42
126August 23@ Angels8 – 6 (10)Arroyo (11–3)Donohue (4–6)19,77383–42
127August 24@ Angels6–4Morgan (6–2)Coates (9–5)19,81983–43
128August 25@ Athletics3–0Terry (11–1)Archer (8–10)30,83084–43
129August 26@ Athletics5–1Stafford (11–7)Walker (5–11)32,14985–43
130August 27@ Athletics8–7Ford (22–3)Shaw (8–12)Arroyo (25)34,06586–43
131August 29@ Twins3–0Pascual (12–13)Terry (11–2)40,11886–44
132August 30@ Twins4–0Stafford (12–7)Kaat (7–13)41,35787–44
133August 31@ Twins5–4Kralick (12–9)Sheldon (9–4)33,70987–45 :
September: 21–8 (Home: 15–1; Away: 6–7)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
134September 1Tigers1–0Arroyo (12–3)Mossi (14–4)65,56688–45
135September 2Tigers7–2Terry (12–2)Lary (19–8)Arroyo (26)50,26189–45
136September 3Tigers8–5Arroyo (13–3)Staley (2–5)55,67690–45
137September 4Senators5–3Reniff (2–0)Daniels (8–10)91–45
138September 4Senators3–2Daley (10–16)Burnside (1–7)34,68392–45
139September 5Senators6–1Coates (10–5)McClain (8–16)16,91793–45
140September 6Senators8–0Ford (23–3)Cheney (1–3)12,29594–45
141September 7Indians7–3Terry (13–2)Stigman (2–4)18,54995–45
142September 8Indians9–1Stafford (13–7)Bell (9–15)41,76296–45
143September 9Indians8–7Arroyo (14–3)Funk (11–10)37,16197–45
144September 10Indians7–6Coates (11–5)Locke (4–4)Arroyo (27)98–45
145September 10Indians9–3Daley (11–16)Perry (10–14)57,82499–45
146September 12@ White Sox4 – 3 (6)Terry (14–2)Pierce (9–9)36,166100–45
147September 14@ White Sox8–3Herbert (10–12)Sheldon (9–5)Hacker (7)100–46
148September 14@ White Sox4–3Kemmerer (3–3)Arroyo (14–4)18,120100–47
149September 15@ Tigers11–1Ford (24–3)Mossi (14–7)101–47
150September 15@ Tigers4–2Kline (7–8)Daley (11–17)42,267101–48
151September 16@ Tigers10–4Lary (21–9)Terry (14–3)35,820101–49
152September 17@ Tigers6 – 4 (12)Arroyo (15–4)Fox (4–2)44,219102–49
153September 19@ Orioles1–0Barber (17–11)Ford (24–4)102–50
154September 19@ Orioles3–1Daley (12–17)Brown (10–6)31,317103–50
155September 20@ Orioles4–2Terry (15–3)Pappas (12–9)21,032104–50
156September 21@ Orioles5–3Fisher (10–12)Stafford (13–8)22,089104–51
157September 23@ Red Sox8–3Ford (25–4)Schwall (15–6)Arroyo (28)28,128105–51
158September 24@ Red Sox3–1Monbouquette (14–13)Arroyo (15–5)30,802105–52
159September 26Orioles3–2Sheldon (10–5)Fisher (10–13)19,401106–52
160September 27Orioles3–2Barber (18–12)Stafford (13–9)Hall (4)7,594106–53
161September 29Red Sox2–1Sheldon (11–5)Monbouquette (14–14)21,485107–53
162September 30Red Sox3–1Terry (16–3)Schwall (15–7)Coates (5)19,061108–53 :
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
163October 1Red Sox1–0Stafford (14–9)Stallard (2–7)Arroyo (29)23,154109–53 :

### Postseason Game log

Legend :
| | Yankees win |
| | Yankees loss |
| Bold | Yankees team member |
1961 Postseason game log: 4–1 (Home: 1–1; Away: 3–0) :
World Series vs Cincinnati Reds (Home: 1–1; Away: 3–0)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceSeriesBox/ Streak
1October 41:00 p.m. EDTRedsW 2–0Ford (1–0)O'Toole (0–1)—2:1162,397NYA 1–0W1
2October 51:00 p.m. EDTRedsL 2–6Jay (1–0)Terry (0–1)—2:4363,083Tied 1–1L1
3October 72:00 p.m. EDT@ RedsW 3–2Arroyo (1–0)Purkey (0–1)—2:1532,589NYA 2–1W1
4October 82:00 p.m. EDT@ RedsW 7–0Ford (2–0)O'Toole (0–2)Coates (1)2:2732,589NYA 3–1W2
5October 92:00 p.m. EDT@ RedsW 13–5Daley (1–0)Jay (1–1)—3:0532,589NYA 4–1W3 :

## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader
* = Indicates league 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 | Elston Howard | 129 | 446 | 155 | .348 | 21 | 77 |
| 1B | Bill Skowron | 150 | 561 | 150 | .267 | 28 | 89 |
| 2B | Bobby Richardson | 162 | 662 | 173 | .261 | 4 | 49 |
| 3B | Clete Boyer | 148 | 504 | 113 | .224 | 11 | 55 |
| SS | Tony Kubek | 153 | 617 | 170 | .276 | 8 | 46 |
| LF | Yogi Berra | 119 | 395 | 107 | .271 | 22 | 61 |
| CF | Mickey Mantle | 153 | 514 | 163 | .317 | 54 | 128 |
| RF | Roger Maris | 161 | 590 | 159 | .269 | 61 | 141* |
* Tied with Jim Gentile for league lead in RBI.

#### 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 |
| Johnny Blanchard | 93 | 243 | 74 | .305 | 21 | 54 |
| Héctor López | 93 | 243 | 54 | .222 | 3 | 22 |
| Bob Cerv | 57 | 118 | 32 | .271 | 6 | 20 |
| Billy Gardner | 41 | 99 | 21 | .212 | 1 | 2 |
| Joe DeMaestri | 30 | 41 | 6 | .146 | 0 | 2 |
| Deron Johnson | 13 | 19 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 2 |
| Earl Torgeson | 22 | 18 | 2 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Reed | 28 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Hale | 11 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 1 | 1 |
| Jesse Gonder | 15 | 12 | 4 | .333 | 0 | 3 |
| Tom Tresh | 9 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Thomas | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Whitey Ford | 39 | 283.0 | 25 | 4 | 3.21 | 209 |
| Bill Stafford | 36 | 195.0 | 14 | 9 | 2.68 | 101 |
| Ralph Terry | 31 | 188.1 | 16 | 3 | 3.15 | 86 |
| Bud Daley | 23 | 129.2 | 8 | 9 | 3.96 | 83 |
| Bob Turley | 15 | 72.0 | 3 | 5 | 5.75 | 48 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Rollie Sheldon | 35 | 162.2 | 11 | 5 | 3.60 | 84 |
| Jim Coates | 43 | 141.1 | 11 | 5 | 3.44 | 80 |
| Art Ditmar | 12 | 54.1 | 2 | 3 | 4.64 | 24 |
| Danny McDevitt | 8 | 13.0 | 1 | 2 | 7.62 | 8 |
| Al Downing | 5 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 8.00 | 12 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Luis Arroyo | 65 | 119.0 | 15 | 5 | 29 | 2.19 | 87 |
| Hal Reniff | 25 | 45.1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.58 | 21 |
| Tex Clevenger | 21 | 31.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.83 | 14 |
| Ryne Duren | 4 | 5.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 7 |
| Johnny James | 1 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Duke Maas | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54.00 | 0 |

## 1961 World Series

1961 World Series New York Yankees def. Cincinnati Reds, 4–1 MVP Award: Whitey Ford, P, New York :
| Game | Date | Score | Series (NYY-CIN) | Location | Attendance | Time |
| 1 | October 4 | Yankees 2, Reds 0 | 1–0 | Yankee Stadium | 62,397 | 2:11 |
| 2 | October 5 | Reds 6, Yankees 2 | 1–1 | Yankee Stadium | 63,083 | 2:43 |
| 3 | October 7 | Yankees 3, Reds 2 | 2–1 | Crosley Field | 32,589 | 2:15 |
| 4 | October 8 | Yankees 7, Reds 0 | 3–1 | Crosley Field | 32.589 | 2:27 |
| 5 | October 9 | Yankees 13, Reds 5 | 4–1 | Crosley Field | 32,589 | 3:05 |

## Awards and honors

* Roger Maris, American League MVP
* Roger Maris, Associated Press Athlete of the Year
* Whitey Ford, Cy Young Award
* Whitey Ford, Babe Ruth Award
1961 All-Star Game
* Whitey Ford, starter, pitcher
* Tony Kubek, starter, shortstop
* Mickey Mantle, starter, center field
* Roger Maris, starter, right field
* Luis Arroyo, reserve
* Yogi Berra, reserve
* Elston Howard, reserve
* Bill Skowron, reserve

### League leaders

* Whitey Ford, led league in innings: (283)
* Whitey Ford, led league in games started: (39)
* Whitey Ford, led league in batters faced: (1,159)
* Luis Arroyo, led league in games pitched: (65) and saves: (29)
* Roger Maris, Major League Baseball home run champion, (61)

### Franchise records

* Roger Maris, Yankees single season record, home runs in a season: (61)
* Mickey Mantle, Yankees single season record, home runs by a center fielder: (54)

### Team leaders

* Home runs – Roger Maris (61)
* RBI – Roger Maris (142)
* Batting average – Mickey Mantle (.317)
* Hits – Bobby Richardson (173)
* Stolen bases – Mickey Mantle (12)
* Walks – Mickey Mantle (126)
* Wins – Whitey Ford (25)
* Earned run average – Bill Stafford (2.68)
* Strikeouts – Whitey Ford (209)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Richmond Virginians | International League | Cal Ermer |
| AA | Amarillo Gold Sox | Texas League | Sheriff Robinson |
| A | Binghamton Triplets | Eastern League | Jim Gleeson |
| B | Greensboro Yankees | Carolina League | Wayne Terwilliger |
| C | Modesto Reds | California League | Vern Rapp |
| D | Harlan Smokies | Appalachian League | Frank Parenti and Eddie Lyons |
| D | St. Petersburg Saints | Florida State League | Bob Bauer |
| D | Auburn Yankees | New York–Penn League | Loren Babe |
Harlan affiliation shared with Chicago White Sox