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1961 Los Angeles Angels season

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1961 Los Angeles Angels
File:Los angeles angels.png
BallparkWrigley Field
CityLos Angeles
OwnersGene Autry
ManagersBill Rigney
TelevisionKHJ
RadioKMPC
(Bob Kelley, Don Wells, Steve Bailey)
Seasons 1962 →

The 1961 Los Angeles Angels season ended with the Angels finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 70–91, 38½ games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. It was the Angels' first season in franchise history, and their only season at Wrigley Field. Gene Autry owned the franchise, which was created as a rival to the Los Angeles Dodgers,[citation needed] who played that year at the Coliseum before moving to nearby Dodger Stadium in 1962.

Offseason

The Angels, along with the new Washington Senators, were the first ever American League expansion teams. Both teams participated in Major League Baseball's first ever expansion draft. The Angels had the first pick in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft, which they used to select Eli Grba from the New York Yankees. Grba wound up playing two-plus seasons for Los Angeles before returning to the minor leagues.

Notable transactions

Regular season

As an expansion team, the Angels were not expected to do well. However, they not only finished ahead of the Senators, but also the Kansas City A's, who tied the Senators for last place, nine games behind Los Angeles.

Season standings

American 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

Opening Day starting lineup

The first game in franchise history took place at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, on Tuesday, April 11, 1961. Powered by Ted Kluszewski's first- and second-inning home runs, which accounted for five runs, and Grba's complete game six-hitter, the Angels defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 7–2.[7] They would then lose eight games in a row, including their home opener April 27 against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles.

10 Eddie Yost 3B
11 Ken Aspromonte    2B
28 Albie Pearson RF
15 Ted Kluszewski 1B
30 Bob Cerv LF
26 Ken Hunt CF
16 Fritz Brickell SS
  9 Del Rice C
33 Eli Grba P

Record vs. opponents

1961 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
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 —


Offense

The Angels were no stranger to offense in their first season, with five players hitting 20 or more home runs, a mark which at the time was considered a remarkable feat.[citation needed] Leon Wagner, who led the team with 28 home runs, was one of the team's best offensive threats, also leading the team by slugging .517. The other players who hit 20 home runs were Ken Hunt (25), Lee Thomas (24), Earl Averill, Jr. (21), and Steve Bilko (20). Albie Pearson, who led the team in batting average, had an on-base percentage of .420, also a mark that was considered more valuable than the current game.[citation needed] Pearson led the team in several other offensive categories, leading the team in stolen bases (11), runs (92), and walks (96). Lee Thomas, who ended the season second on the team in batting at .284, led the team in hits, with 128, edging out Wagner by 1 hit.

Pitching

Ken McBride, who led the team with 12 wins, also led the team with 15 losses. Eli Grba had an 11–13 record, good enough for second in both wins and losses amongst the team's pitchers. Ted Bowsfield was the Angels' only starter with a winning record, going 11–8. McBride had 180 strikeouts, 75 more than Grba, who was second on the team with 105. As a team, the Angels led the American League, throwing more strikeouts than any of the other 9 teams.[8] Art Fowler and Tom Morgan were the Angels' top two in saves, with 11 and 10, respectively, leading the team to finish second in the American League in that category.

Notable transactions

Roster

1961 Los Angeles Angels
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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 Earl Averill 115 323 86 .266 21 59
1B Steve Bilko 114 294 82 .279 20 59
2B Ken Aspromonte 66 238 53 .223 2 14
SS Joe Koppe 91 338 85 .251 5 40
3B Eddie Yost 76 213 43 .202 3 15
LF Leon Wagner 133 453 127 .280 28 79
CF Ken Hunt 149 479 122 .255 25 84
RF Albie Pearson 144 427 123 .288 7 41

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
Lee Thomas 130 450 128 .284 24 70
George Thomas 79 282 79 .280 13 59
Ted Kluszewski 107 263 64 .243 15 39
Rocky Bridges 84 229 55 .240 2 15
Gene Leek 57 199 45 .226 5 20
Billy Moran 54 173 45 .260 2 22
Ed Sadowski 69 164 38 .232 4 12
Tom Satriano 35 96 19 .198 1 8
Ken Hamlin 42 91 19 .209 1 5
Del Rice 44 83 20 .241 4 11
Bob Cerv 18 57 9 .158 2 6
Buck Rodgers 16 56 18 .321 2 13
Fritz Brickell 21 49 6 .122 0 3
Faye Throneberry 24 31 6 .194 0 0
Jim Fregosi 11 27 6 .222 0 3
Chuck Tanner 7 8 1 .125 0 0
Julio Bécquer 11 8 0 .000 0 0
Leo Burke 6 5 0 .000 0 0
Dan Ardell 7 4 1 .250 0 0
Lou Johnson 1 0 0 ---- 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
Ken McBride 38 241.2 12 15 3.65 180
Eli Grba 40 211.2 11 13 4.25 105
Dean Chance 5 18.1 0 2 6.87 11
Bob Sprout 1 4 0 0 4.50 2

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
Ted Bowsfield 41 157 11 8 3.73 88
Ron Moeller 33 112.2 4 8 5.83 87
Ron Kline 26 104.2 3 6 4.90 70
Jim Donohue 38 100.1 4 6 4.31 79
Ryne Duren 40 99 6 12 5.18 108
Jerry Casale 13 42.2 1 5 6.54 35
Jack Spring 18 38 3 0 4.26 27
Ned Garver 12 29 0 3 5.59 9

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Tom Morgan 59 8 2 10 2.36 39
Art Fowler 53 5 8 11 3.64 78
Jim Donohue 38 4 6 5 4.31 79
Johnny James 36 0 2 0 5.30 41
Tex Clevenger 12 2 1 1 1.69 11
Russ Heman 6 0 0 0 1.80 2
Ray Semproch 2 0 0 0 9.00 1

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers American Association Walker Cooper
D Statesville Owls Western Carolinas League George Wilson

Notes

  1. ^ Jim Fregosi page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Bob Cerv page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Steve Bilko page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Earl Averill, Jr. page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ a b Jim McAnany page at Baseball Reference[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Del Rice page at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Retrosheet box score, 1961-04-11
  8. ^ "1961 American League Team Statistics and Standings". baseball-reference.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  9. ^ Ray Semproch page at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ Yanks, Angels complete six player trade
  11. ^ Art Fowler page at Baseball-Reference
  12. ^ Tom Satriano page at Baseball-Reference
  13. ^ Angels purchase Chuck Tanner

References

Further reading

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