# 1961 Chicago White Sox season

The 1961 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 61st season in the major leagues, and its 62nd season overall. They finished with a record of 86–76, good enough for fourth place in the American League, 23 games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Their pitching staff surrendered 13 of Roger Maris's 61 home runs that year, the most of any team.

## Offseason

* December 14, 1960: 1960 MLB expansion draft
** Earl Averill, Jr. was drafted from the White Sox by the Los Angeles Angels.
** Jim McAnany was drafted from the White Sox by the Los Angeles Angels.

## Regular season
### 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 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

* Luis Aparicio, SS
* Nellie Fox, 2B
* Minnie Miñoso, LF
* Roy Sievers, 1B
* J. C. Martin, 3B
* Al Smith, RF
* Jim Landis, CF
* Sherm Lollar, C
* Early Wynn, P

### Notable transactions

* May 10, 1961: Wes Covington was selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox from the Milwaukee Braves.
* May 15, 1961: Joe Ginsberg was released by the White Sox.
* June 1, 1961: Warren Hacker was purchased by the White Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies.
* June 10, 1961: Wes Covington, Stan Johnson, Bob Shaw, and Gerry Staley were traded by the White Sox to the Kansas City Athletics for Ray Herbert, Don Larsen, Andy Carey, and Al Pilarcik.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Luis Aparicio, SS | 156 | 625 | 90 | 170 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 45 | 38 | 33 | .272 | 53 |
| Andy Carey, 3B | 56 | 143 | 21 | 38 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 24 | .266 | 0 |
| Cam Carreon, C | 78 | 229 | 32 | 62 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 27 | 21 | 24 | .271 | 0 |
| Wes Covington, LF,RF | 22 | 59 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 5 | .288 | 0 |
| Sammy Esposito, 3B,SS,2B | 63 | 94 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 21 | .170 | 0 |
| Nellie Fox, 2B | 159 | 606 | 67 | 152 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 51 | 59 | 12 | .251 | 2 |
| Joe Ginsberg, C | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | 0 |
| Billy Goodman, 3B | 41 | 51 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 6 | .255 | 0 |
| Mike Hershberger, OF | 15 | 55 | 9 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | .309 | 1 |
| Jim Landis, CF | 140 | 534 | 87 | 151 | 18 | 8 | 22 | 85 | 65 | 71 | .283 | 19 |
| Ted Lepcio, 3B | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Sherm Lollar, C | 116 | 337 | 38 | 95 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 41 | 37 | 22 | .282 | 0 |
| Dean Look, LF | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| J. C. Martin, 1B,3B | 110 | 274 | 26 | 63 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 21 | 31 | .230 | 1 |
| Minnie Miñoso, LF | 152 | 540 | 91 | 151 | 28 | 3 | 14 | 82 | 67 | 46 | .280 | 9 |
| Al Pilarcik, CF | 47 | 62 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 5 | .177 | 1 |
| Jim Rivera, PR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Floyd Robinson, RF | 132 | 432 | 69 | 134 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 59 | 52 | 32 | .310 | 7 |
| Bob Roselli, C | 22 | 38 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | .263 | 0 |
| Roy Sievers, 1B | 141 | 492 | 76 | 145 | 26 | 6 | 27 | 92 | 61 | 62 | .295 | 1 |
| Al Smith, 3B,OF | 147 | 532 | 88 | 148 | 29 | 4 | 28 | 93 | 56 | 67 | .278 | 4 |
| Earl Torgeson, 1B | 20 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | .067 | 0 |
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Frank Baumann, P | 55 | 61 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 25 | .262 | 1 |
| Warren Hacker, P | 42 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .111 | 0 |
| Ray Herbert, P | 21 | 53 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | .226 | 0 |
| Joe Horlen, P | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 |
| Russ Kemmerer, P | 47 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | .200 | 0 |
| Don Larsen, P | 25 | 25 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | .320 | 0 |
| Turk Lown, P | 60 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 0 |
| Cal McLish, P | 31 | 54 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 24 | .167 | 0 |
| Gary Peters, P | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | 0 |
| Billy Pierce, P | 39 | 56 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | .143 | 0 |
| Juan Pizarro, P | 40 | 69 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 19 | .246 | 1 |
| Herb Score, P | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 0 |
| Bob Shaw, P | 14 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .000 | 0 |
| Early Wynn, P | 17 | 37 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | .162 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 163 | 5556 | 765 | 1475 | 216 | 46 | 138 | 704 | 550 | 612 | .265 | 100 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Frank Baumann | 10 | 13 | 5.61 | 53 | 23 | 3 | 187.2 | 249 | 128 | 117 | 22 | 63 | 75 |
| Alan Brice | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Mike DeGerick | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Warren Hacker | 3 | 3 | 3.77 | 42 | 0 | 8 | 57.1 | 62 | 26 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 40 |
| Ray Herbert | 9 | 6 | 4.05 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 137.2 | 142 | 69 | 62 | 15 | 38 | 50 |
| Joe Horlen | 1 | 3 | 6.62 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 17.2 | 25 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 11 |
| Russ Kemmerer | 3 | 3 | 4.38 | 47 | 2 | 2 | 96.2 | 102 | 53 | 47 | 10 | 27 | 35 |
| Don Larsen | 7 | 2 | 4.12 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 74.1 | 64 | 36 | 34 | 5 | 31 | 53 |
| Turk Lown | 7 | 5 | 2.76 | 59 | 0 | 11 | 101.0 | 87 | 37 | 31 | 13 | 38 | 50 |
| Cal McLish | 10 | 13 | 4.38 | 31 | 27 | 1 | 162.1 | 178 | 87 | 79 | 21 | 48 | 80 |
| Gary Peters | 0 | 0 | 1.74 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Billy Pierce | 10 | 9 | 3.80 | 39 | 28 | 3 | 180.0 | 190 | 85 | 76 | 17 | 57 | 106 |
| Juan Pizarro | 14 | 7 | 3.05 | 39 | 25 | 2 | 194.2 | 164 | 73 | 66 | 17 | 90 | 188 |
| Herb Score | 1 | 2 | 6.66 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 24.1 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 3 | 25 | 14 |
| Bob Shaw | 3 | 4 | 3.79 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 71.1 | 85 | 40 | 30 | 11 | 25 | 31 |
| Gerry Staley | 0 | 3 | 5.00 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Early Wynn | 8 | 2 | 3.51 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 110.1 | 88 | 43 | 43 | 11 | 47 | 64 |
| Team Totals | 86 | 76 | 4.06 | 163 | 163 | 33 | 1448.2 | 1491 | 726 | 653 | 158 | 523 | 814 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | San Diego Padres | Pacific Coast League | Jimmie Reese, Whitey Wietelmann and Bill Norman |
| A | Charleston White Sox | Sally League | Ira Hutchinson |
| B | Lincoln Chiefs | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | George Noga |
| C | Idaho Falls Russets | Pioneer League | Herman Reich and Chips Sobek |
| D | Harlan Smokies | Appalachian League | Frank Parenti and Eddie Lyons |
| D | Daytona Beach Islanders | Florida State League | Homer Ray Wilson |
| D | Clinton C-Sox | Midwest League | Dick Kinaman |
Harlan affiliation shared with New York Yankees