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FENWAY PARK DIARIES
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1961 BOSTON RED SOX
...
1961 was the
year major league baseball expanded for the very first
time. The current Washington Senators team moved to
Minneapolis and changed their name to the Minnesota Twins.
Two new teams were born in 1961, the Los Angeles Angels
and a new replacement version of the Washington Senators.
Tom Yawkey
and his old cronies and drinking buddies continued to run
the Red Sox organization and without
Ted Williams, Yawkey
lost interest. But Yawkey was the guy his players loved.
He overpaid them and had expected little in return on the
field.
The Red Sox
came into the new decade with nothing to motivate them and
were boring, going about their business without purpose.
Not only had
Ted retired, but also did
Sammy White, who
decided to pursue a career in bowling. They had finished
poorly with them and made no moves now that they was gone.
They were
apparently satisfied with what was the poor product,
sprinkled in with some new rookies. What young kids they
had in their system in the 1950s were too often rushed up
to the parent club, would not be welcomed and helped by
those veterans, who just wanted to keep their cushy jobs.
For the most part they all failed to produce.
And so this
was the atmosphere that greeted the rookies of the 1961
team. Those new rookies were
Carl Yastrzemski,
secondbaseman Chuck Schilling, and also the eventual
American League Rookie-of-the-Year, pitcher
Don Schwall,
who started the second All Star Game for the American
League in Boston.
It's very
hard to replace a legend and that is precisely the
situation 21 year old
Carl Yastrzemski found himself in.
As the heir to
Ted Williams,
Yaz stepped into the shoes of
a retired hero, and was hyped up by the Boston newspapers
all out of proportion.
The pitching
was better in 1961.
Don Schwall went 15-7 and finished
with a 3.22 ERA (2.72 at Fenway). In addition to
Schwall,
Bill Monbouquette went 14-14, but six of his losses were
one-run games, four of them before the end of May. YAZ, GARY GEIGER, JACKIE JENSEN
Vice
President Dick O'Connell, who was achieving his place
through hard work and not cronyism, was working hard to
build a good farm system.
Yaz would go on to become as big
an icon to the new generation, as
Ted was to the older
generation of Red Sox fans in the 1940s and 50s. Just as
the turbulent culture of the 1960s emerged, so would a
team led by it's new leaders on the field and behind the
scenes. Things were going to eventually change, but it
wouldn't be an easy task.
Spring
training marked the return to the club of
Jackie Jensen
who spent the previous year dealing with family issues and
an abnormal fear of flying. His flying dilemma had
grown worse because the American League had a new team in
Los Angeles, necessitating the addition of two long
round-trip plane rides to meet the new schedule. He made
it through the season, but finished with just 13 home runs
and 66 RBIs, well off the numbers he had posted annually
for so many years. After the season, he retired again,
this time for good.
Pumpsie Green had a spectacular spring training, batting
.478 and earned the starting job at shortstop.
Opening Day was at Fenway Park on
April 11th, and
although the Sox lost to the Kansas City Athletics, 5-2,
Carl Yastrzemski, after making a hard charge to throw a
runner out at the plate in the second inning, then came up
and got his first major league hit in his first plate
appearance.
In the Los Angeles Angels debut at Fenway on April 15th,
Ike Delock shut the new team out, 3-0, yielding only four
base hits. Of the three Sox runs,
Yaz knocked in two and
scored once. Chuck Schilling opened the first inning with
a double. Then after a walk to Gary Geiger and a strike
out by Vic Wertz,
Yaz brought home Schilling with a base
hit. Then with two down in the third inning,
Yaz tripled
off the wall in left-center. He scored on
Pete Runnels'
double to center. The third run was brought in by
Yaz with
a sacrifice fly that scored Geiger from third base.
GENE CONLEY
On April 22nd Pumpsie Green knocked out a game winning homer in the
11th inning to top the White Sox, 7 to 6. Down 4-1 at
Comiskey Park, the Sox battled back in the ninth inning to
go ahead 6 to 4.
Runnels started with a two-run homer.
Pumpsie doubled and Rip Repulski scored him with the tying
run with a single to center. Then Gary Geiger's homer put
the Sox out front 6 to 4. But
Mike Fornieles allowed the
game to go into extra innings, by issuing a walk and a
home run to J.C. Martin in the Chicago's ninth.
Eleven years after
Gene Conley made his debut in a Boston
Braves uniform and two weeks after shedding his World
Champion Boston Celtics uniform,
Conley appeared for the
first time in a Boston Red Sox uniform on April 25th. The
new Washington Senators got seven hits off him in eight
innings and he left with a 6 to 1 win. (Conley
is the only player to have played for three of Boston's
major sports teams)
Yaz
made another highlight reel play on April 26th against the
Senators. Harry Bright hit a liner down the left field
line with Willie Tasby at second. As Bright made into
second, Tasby turned at third and headed for home,
Yaz
picked up the ball in the left field corner and threw a
310 ft strike to Russ Nixon, who tagged out Tasby.
The Sox lost
to the Tigers in Detroit on April 29th by a score of 9 to
5. But Yaz was immense, knocking out three hits driving in
three runs and made two "web-gem" catches.
On May 7th, Chuck Schilling had
a great day. At Metropolitan
Stadium, Schilling came to bat
in the top of the fourth inning.
The Twins were leading, 3-2, and
the bases were loaded. Schilling
knocked out his first major
league home run into the left
field seats. The grandslam gave
the Sox a 6-3 lead. Then, in the
top of the eighth inning, with
the Sox now leading by just a
run, 8-7, Schilling doubled in
two more runs and the Sox ended
up winning 11 to 9.
Hitting only .130 and despondent,
Jackie Jensen left the team in Detroit and took a train to Reno.
His wife reportedly burst into tears when she saw her
husband’s defeated face. The two drove to Las Vegas to see
a noted nightclub hypnotist, Arthur Ellen, as a last
resort. He re-joined the Red Sox in
Los Angeles on May 8th, and hit his first home run of the year
and then singled in the
eighth.
The Sox concluded their first trip to Los Angeles, losing
two of the three games played with the expansion team.
They won the final game on May 10th.
Carl Yastrzemski, who
had 15 strikeouts thus far and was hitting the ball hard,
slugged a 400 ft two-run homer, the second in as many
games, and it proved to be the difference in the 3-2
victory.
Jensen had two more hits and was now batting
.214.
On May 12th
in Washington,
Bill Monbouquette struck out 17 Senators, breaking the Sox record of 15,
set by "Smoky"
Joe Wood in 1911.
Monbo came within one strikeout of matching the
major-league record at the time of 18, held by Bob Feller
and Sandy Koufax. He would have had it if Jim Pagliaroni had not dropped a fouled third strike
in the eighth inning.
The Sox were
slumping as they left Washington, having only scored three
runs on 11 hits in their four games. They were shutout for
28 innings. They went 5-10 on their road trip, staring 2
1/2 games out of first and finishing 8 games behind.
On May 16th, the Sox banged out 16 hits and halted their
four-game losing streak.
Pete Runnels collected three hits
and Frank Malzone knocked out his first homer of the year
in his first trip to the plate. Jim Pagliaroni's two-run homer
in the sixth inning, proved the be
the decisive blow, in a game the Sox won 8 to 7 over
Cleveland at Fenway.
Bill Monbouquette (2-4) lost his fourth game to
Washington, 2-1, on May 17th giving up only six hits. His
2.11 ERA was leading the American League however.
Against the Detroit the next day, May 18th,
Gene Conley
pitched a four hit shutout that the Sox won, 1-0.
Jackie Jensen rapped out two of the five hits the Sox made, but
Don Buddin knocked in
Pete Runnels with a slashing base
hit down the first base line for the Sox only run.
Jensen
slammed a run-scoring single with two down in the bottom
of the 10th inning in the series finale on
May 20th. It
provided the Sox with a 4 to 3 win over the Tigers. DON SCHWALL
Rookie
Don Schwall
made his first major league start on May 21st, after being called up
from the Sox new Triple-A affiliate in Seattle. He
scattered six hits against the White Sox and won, 4 to 1,
the second game of a doubleheader.
The next day,
Sox batters finallly hit for
Bill Monbouquette, going the
distance and beating the White Sox, 4 to 1. He increased
his record to 3 and 4, on seven singles, lowering his ERA
to 1.93. It was his fifth complete game in seven starts
and in 60 2/3 innings he had allowed only 13 earned runs.
The Sox moved
into Yankee Stadium and lost to the Yankees, 3 to 2 on May
24th. It was their 18th one-run game of the 34 games
played, and the 10th they had lost. They lost to the
Yankees again for the eighth time, in another close game,
the next day. The difference was that the '61 Yankees were
bombers and the Sox were slappers, who couldn't compete
with this powerful team. But the Sox tied an AL record
with their ninth consecutive errorless game.
Don Schwall's
second start came in Baltimore on May 28th, pitching his
first shutout, getting his first hit and his first RBI.
The Sox won 5 to 0, highlighted by
Frank Malzone's
three-run homer.
The Sox
returned to Fenway to play four games against the Yankees.
In the first game, Ike Delock held down the power-house
Yanks, 2 to 1, out-dueling Whitey Ford on May 29th. Delock
allowed only five hits, striking out seven and walking
nobody. Jackie Jensen homered in the second inning and
Mickey Mantle homered in the seventh inning, the only
Yankee to make it past first base. In the seventh inning,
Ford gave up two walks and a single to
Vic Wertz, that
brought in the winning run.
In the second
game, on May 30th, the Yankees fell one home run short of
the major league record for homers in a game. They slammed
out seven. Four were hit off
Gene Conley by Mantle, Maris,
Skowron and Berra. Dave Hillman gave up another homer to
Skowron and both Maris and Mantle homered again off
Mike Fornieles.
In the third
game, Mantle and Maris both homered once again and the
Yankees won 7 to 6. Then in the final game, on June 1st,
Carl Yastrzemski homered and
Wertz hit his first triple in
six years to lead the Sox past the Yanks, 7 to 5. The
split of the series, left the Sox in seventh place, nine
games behind the Yankees.
Don Schwall
won his third start against the Orioles on
June 2nd, 4-2,
thanks to a ninth-inning walk-off homer by
Wertz.
Schwall had given up only three runs in 26 innings of
pitching in the majors.
Then, a pinch-hit single in the ninth inning by Joe
Ginsberg, beat the Baltimore 6 to 5, at Fenway two nights later, on
June 4th. Ginsberg,
picked up as a free agent in May, got his first hit since joining the
club and it was a game winner.
The Red Sox lost their 23rd game by one run on June 9th.
If they had a power hitter, the might have been in the
race. But they didn't and also suffered an embarrassment,
when the Angels' Ryne Duren struck out seven Sox batters
in a row, setting an American League record for
consecutive strikeouts.
On June 8th,
with the Sox down 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning
against the Angels, Gary Geiger hit his second triple of
the game off the wall in deep center field. It brought in
Schilling, who had walked, with the tying run. Unfortunately for the
Sox, Geiger might have scored also, because Ken Aspromonte
had just gotten the relay about 15 feet behind second
base, when Geiger rounded third. But Geiger then ran into the dugout, thinking the game
had been won when Schilling scored and was tagged out to
end the inning. The game ended in a tie after it was
called in the 12th inning, when a thunderstorm soaked the
field.
Schwall
won his fifth straight major league game by a score of
8-2, over the Minnesota Twins on June 11th. He had allowed
only six runs in 42 innings, allowing only two singles
thru six innings, until giving up his first home run to
Bob Allison in the seventh inning.
The Sox
completed an 11-7 homestand finishing the same as when
they started it, nine games behind. After losing two games
in Detroit, they salvaged the finale on June 14th.
Monbouquette silenced the Tigers, 10 to 1. The big blow
came off the bat of
Vic Wertz, who socked his 10th career
grandslam. JIM PAGLIARONI
Jim
Pagliaroni's sixth inning homer gave the Sox a 6 to 5 win
over Washington on June 17th. Then, on
June 18th,
there were two outs in the bottom of the
ninth inning and the Red Sox were behind, 12 to 5, in the first game
of a doubleheader with the Senators. Don Buddin was on
first base, having lined a single to right. Nine batters later, Pagliaroni tied the score with a grandslam home run. Russ
Nixon came then up as a pinch-hitter. He lined the ball past the dive of
secondbaseman, Chuck Cottier and the Sox had miraculously won the
game, 13 to 12.
But that was just the first game of a doubleheader with
Washington. The Sox were leading 5 to 4, in the top of the
eight inning of the nitecap, when Willie Tasby led off and tied the score with a home run for the Nats.
Fast forward to the 13th inning. It now had been a pitcher's duel
between Mike Fornieles and Tom Sturdivant.
Fornieles, pitched six innings without letting a runner get
past second base. Sturdivant had pitched no-hit ball for six innings.
Up comes Pagliaroni again and he smashes a 3-2 pitch from Sturdivant
into the left field net for a walk-off, 6-to-5 Sox win.
Schilling had one of his finest nights in Los Angeles on June
20th. He had three successive singles and two walks. He led the team
with 35 runs scored, 68 base hits, 14 doubles, 41 walks and had four
stolen bases.
Yaz did fine as well in the game, knocking in three
runs with a single and the unloading a home run, as the Sox outlasted
the Angels, 11-8.
Don Buddin had quietly been playing well. The Sox had gone 12-5 while
his average climbed from .198 to .273 in the last 13 games, during
which he batted .413 with three homers and three triples.
Don Schwall won a game on June 25th in Kansas City, thanks primarily
to Mike Fornieles.
Fornieles came in during the sixth innings for
Schwall, who was laboring.
Mike went on to pitch shutout ball,
allowing only one infield single. In his last 23 innings,
Fornieles
had given up only two runs for an ERA over that period of 0.75
The Sox won 7 to 4 and
Schwall was 6-1.
19-year-old knuckleballer, Wilbur Wood made his pitching debut for
the Sox on June 30th. He pitched the final four innings in a game the
Sox were blown out of against the Indians, 10-2, at Fenway. He turned
back the Tribe in order for three innings, but gave two runs in
another inning of work.
Against the Indians, in losing efforts,
Carl Yastrzemski knocked out
three hits on July 1st and tripled, doubled and singled in the
next game.
Yaz was leading the team with 43 RBIs, but only batting
.244 Gene Conley led Sox pitchers in homers yielded with 19,
but also homered himself and doubled on the July 2nd loss to the
Indians.
The week and a half at the start of July, before the first All Star
Game break, sealed the fate of the Red Sox. Of the 11 games they
played, the Sox only won two and fell to 15 games out of first.
Malzone (.234 BA) and
Jensen (.257), two of the Sox biggest
bats had not been able to produce like they had previously. MIKE FORNIELES
There were again two All Star Games played in 1961. The first was in
San Francisco on July 11th and
Fornieles was the only player
picked from the Red Sox. The game was won in the 10th inning by the
National League All Stars, 5 to 4, on a base hit by Roberto Clemente.
It wasn't pretty as the All Stars made seven errors to break a
record.
Fornieles only lasted 1/3 of an inning. In the seventh inning, with
the N.L. leading 2-1, leadoff hitter George Altman homered off
him. After getting Willie Mays to fly out and after giving up a base
hit to Frank Robinson, he was taken out.
Yaz remained hot at the plate and in the field. In the game before
the All Star break, against the Yankees, he had gone four-for-five.
In the game after the break at Fenway, against the Orioles, he
walked, singled and was hit by a pitch. The Sox won, 3-2, and a play
Yaz made in the left field corner was instrumental in the win. Russ
Snyder lofted a ball into the corner and Frank Robinson, who was on
first, tried to make it to third. But
Yaz threw a strike to
Frank Malzone to get him.
On July 16th in Chicago,
Yaz scored the winning run in the 12th
inning of the second game in a doubleheader, the the Red Sox won, 5
to 3. He had four hits and upped his batting average to .254
Geiger hit a pair of two-run homers in Cleveland on July 18th.
The Sox beat the Indians, 9 to 2 and the Sox winningest pitcher,
Don Schwall, won his 9th game.
The Red Sox turned the tables on the New York
Yankees on July 23rd at
Fenway, by scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and
walked-off with a 5 to 4 victory. In the process,
Schwall won his
10th game.
The game had a double climax. The Yankees came from behind in the top
of the ninth inning on a two-run homer off the bat of Elston Howard,
putting them ahead 4-3.
But Don Buddin started the bottom of the ninth with a base hit to
left. Then
Yastrzemski moved him up with a sacrifice bunt.
Pumpsie Green, pinch-hitting for
Schwall came up next. He pumped a
curve ball off the scoreboard for a double, that enabled Buddin to
romp home with the tying run. Finally, Geiger singled to right
and Pumpsie jubilantly came across the plate with the winning run.
The Red Sox hid not have a .300 hitter on the team. There was not one
batter who had yet collected his 100th hit and the leading home run
hitter only had 15. But the pitching was worse. In the middle of June
the pitchers had a 3.87 ERA, now it was 4.59, one of the highest in
the American League. They had lost 25 out of their last 32 games and
nine of their last ten. They were 20 games out of first place.
But they had
Don Schwall and on July 28th,
Schwall won his 11th game,
by beating the White Sox, 8 to 3. It was his fifth straight win and
he seemed to spark his teammates.
Pete Runnels had three hits and Don
Buddin and
Yaz pulled off some great defensive plays.
A seven run lead at Fenway Park can sometimes not be enough. On
July 30th, the White Sox
clubbed Gene Conley for six runs and added another off
Fornieles. By the end of the third inning they had a 7-0 lead.
But the Red Sox fought their way back inch by inch. Pumpsie
gave them a kick start with a pinch-hit two run homer. However, the
Red Sox still trailed until the last of the ninth inning, when
Vic Wertz slammed a 400 ft solo homer to tie the game at 8-8. And with
two men out, in the last of the 10th inning,
Jensen got a base
hit and made a vital steal of second base. Pinch hitter Joe Ginsberg
next took a pitch and slapped it off the pitcher's mound, for a base
hit that gave the Red Sox a 9 to 8 win.
Don Schwall
TED WILLIAMS THROWS OUT THE
"FIRST PITCH" AT THE ALL STAR GAME
Two times in one
day, on August 2nd,
Chuck Schilling made the hit that won the game for the Red Sox. In
the afternoon game of a twi-light doubleheader with the Los Angeles
Angels, Schilling broke a 2-2 tie with an eighth inning single to
center that scored Carroll Hardy from second and sent the Sox to a
7-2 triumph. Then in the twilight game, with the score tied at
7-7 in the last of the ninth inning, Schilling poked a home run into
the left field nets that gave the Sox an 8-7 victory.
In the final game with the Angels,
Don Schwall (12-2) worked his
second shutout of the season, a 4 to 0, three-hit win. His sinker
allowed three Sox doubleplays.
The Sox won their seventh game of their last nine played on August
5th. Against the A's, Vic Wertz drove home four runs with a triple,
double and a single. Don Buddin homered and
Carl Yastrzemski knocked
home two runs, in the 10-4 victory.
On August 7th, the Sox swept a doubleheader from the Twins by
identical 5 to 4 scores. In the first game, Ike Delock and
Minnesota's Don Lee dueled to a 4-4 tie until the ninth inning.
Mike Fornieles relieved him in the ninth and earned the win with his
double off the wall, followed by
Yaz's game-winning line drive single
to center.
Schwall won his 13th in the second game and at Fenway
Park his record was 9-0.
Gary Geiger
hit an inside-the-park grandslam the next night, on August 8th, only one of three Sox players
to do so in Red Sox history.
Jensen led off the
third inning with a double to right center. Buddin and
Pete Runnels were each walked to load the bases. Geiger
next smashed the ball down the right field line. It
bounced off the wall beyond the foul pole and eluded Bob
Allison, ricocheting around and coming to rest in front of
the Twins' bullpen. Allison finally caught up to the ball,
relayed it to Billy Martin, whose throw was not in time to
get the sliding Geiger at the plate. The Sox however,
dropped a 6 to 5 decision to the Twins, after blowing a
4-0 lead.
FRANK MALZONE, DON BUDDIN,
In the series
fourth game, the Sox beat the Twins in a 5 to 4 squeaker.
Frank Malzone was all smiles, having belted a pair of
doubles, knocking in the game-winner and scoring another
run. In his last 23 at-bats, he had 10 hits and driven in
eight runs.
The Sox swept
the five game series with the Twins on August 10th, 3 to
2.
Malzone had another big day. In the second
inning, he doubled, went to second on a wild pitch and
scored on
Jensen's double. Then in the third,
Yaz singled,
Wertz walked and
Malzone doubled down the left field line
to score
Yaz.
During the
home stand, they had won 11 games and lost 4, to give
themselves a 38-25 home record. Yet, because the Yankees
were so hot, the Sox started their streak, 20 games behind
and finished it 21 1/2 games behind. But the road trip
that followed produced only one win in the next ten games
played, leaving the team 27 games out.
In their only
win, which came in Cleveland on August 15th,
Gene Conley
threw a six-hit shutout, winning 8 to 0. The Sox thumped
five homers and the big gun, once again, was
Malzone. He knocked out two home runs and chipped in three
singles. On August 19th at Briggs Stadium, in Detroit,
Malzone homered in the top of the ninth to tie the score,
but the Sox would lose 3-2 in the bottom of the
ninth.
A crowd of 19,773 went
through the rain and raised between $50,000 and $60,000
for the Jimmy Fund, in welcoming the Braves back to Boston
for at least one night. They booed the Red Sox and
cheered the Braves who defeated their once cross-town
rivals 4-1, on August
21st.
Jackie Jensen was wielding a hot bat. On homered against
the Senators in a 9-4 victory and in the next game, on
August 24th, he
homered twice. He tied the game in the sixth inning and
won the game, 5-4 with a 10th inning walk-off.
But with the Red Sox scheduled now to make a second trip to Los
Angeles,
Jensen told the Red Sox he could
not go, and instead joined the team in Kansas City, their
next stop. His off-field struggles about flying were a
serious matter. He thought he had beaten it once but it
was apparent he hadn't. He played well but like a person
with a huge weight on his shoulders.
In Los Angeles, the Sox blasted four homers in a 12 to 6
victory on August 25th.
Malzone drove in four runs
with two doubles while Pumpsie homered twice. The
topper was a grandslam off the bat of Carroll Hardy.
September started with a loss in Minnesota, but on the 2nd
Bill Monbouquette (11-12) won his third straight game. But
the attention in baseball was the attempt by both Mickey
Mantle and Roger Maris to beat the home run record of Babe
Ruth. Maris pounded his 52nd and 53rd homers at Yankee
Stadium against the Tigers.
The Sox concluded their best road trip of the season with
a victory over the Twins, 8 to 6 on September 3rd. Their
6-3 road record was their best of the season and only
their second winning trip. Meanwhile, in New York, Mickey
Mantle knocked out his 49th and 50th homers of the season.
On September 5th, Mantle added number 51 against the
Senators.
On September 5th, Roger Maris hit his 54th homer in New
York. At Fenway,
Schwall won his 14th by a 9 to 4
score over the Indians. It was his 10th win without a loss
at home.
Maris hit his 55th just as
Vic Wertz was surprisingly sold
by the Sox to the Tigers on September 7th. The move came
as Detroit opened a series at Fenway Park, losing to the
Sox 8 to 4.
In the next
game, Jim Pagliaroni had 5 RBIs,
coming within a triple of hitting for the cycle, leading
the Sox to a 9-2 win over the Tigers.
Maris banged
out his 56th against the Indians on September 9th.
The next day, Mantle slugged his 53rd and
Carl Yastrzemski
hit his fourth homer of the season at Fenway, and the
first one he ever hit to right field.
Don Schwall
won his 15th game in Washington on September 11th, by a
14-4 score. The Sox posted eight runs in the seventh
inning, breaking a 4-4 tie, sending 12 men to the plate.
Yaz
bombed a walk-off homer into Fenway's center field
bleachers in the 10th inning, giving the Sox a 3-2 win
over the Orioles on
September 15th.
Schwall
lost his first game at Fenway, to the Orioles on September
16th. It was accomplished by another rare feat, an error
by Chuck Schilling. In Detroit Roger Maris, homerless in
his last seven games, hit his 57th home run and the next
game he knocked out his 58th.
Monbouquette
won a 1-0 thriller against Baltimore, on September 17th,
allowing only three hits. The only run came on
Pagliaroni's run-scoring double.
Roger Maris
added his 59th home run on September 20th in Baltimore. It
was the 154th game played by the Yankees. Commisioner Ford
Frick had ruled that Babe Ruth's home run record could
only be erased if Maris did it within the 154 game
time-frame as Ruth did. Meanwhile in Chicago, Chuck
Schilling quietly set an American League and tied Jackie
Robinson for the fielding record of fewest errors by a
secondbaseman, also in the Sox 154th game.
The Yankees
came to Fenway to face the Sox for two games. On September
3rd, Maris walked twice and lined out a single. Mantle hit
his 54th homer and Whitey Ford won his 25th game, beating
Don Schwall,
8 to 3. In the second game,
Monbouquette held Maris to a single, and the Yankees
to just five hits, beating them 3 to 1.
On September
26th, Maris finally blasted out his 60th homer at Yankee
Stadium off Baltimore's Jack Fisher into the right field
upper deck. It was the 159th game for the Yankees. ROGER MARIS
The final
series of the season came in New York against the Yankees.
In the first game, on September 29th, the Sox lost 2 to 1,
with Maris scoring the winning run in the bottom of the
ninth inning. He hadn't homered but with the score tied at
1-1, walked to lead off the inning, went to second on a
grounder and scored the walk-off run on a single. The
loser was
Bill Monbouquette
who had given up only three runs in his last three games.
The Sox lost
the second game, 3 to 1.
Schwall
was the losing pitcher, but he blanked Roger Maris, who
could only manage a single in his last plate appearance,
after walking and grounding out two times to Schilling.
And so, the
season came down to the final game on October 1st. The Sox
lost 1-0 to the Yankees and it was the best game Tracy
Stallard had pitched all year. He held the Yanks to five
hits in seven innings, striking out five and giving up
just a single run on one of the most famous home runs in
baseball history. With the count at two balls and no
strikes, Roger Maris flicked his powerful wrist and the
ball sailed over Lou Clinton's head, settling into the
right field grandstand. It was Maris' 61st homer and the
most ever hit in one season.
As for the
Red Sox of 1961,
Carl Yastrzemski's
rookie season earned him
only a .266 batting average, with 11 home runs and 80 RBIs, only
leading the team in doubles and total bases. Gary Geiger
led the punchless team with 18 home runs, but only hit
.232. An ankle injury hurt
Frank Malzone, but he
still knocked
in 87 RBIs, seven more than
Yaz, the next-closest Red Sox
hitter.
And
Pete Runnels
continued to produce, batting .317.
Don Schwall
(15-7) took the United Press International A.L. Rookie of the Year
Award, and won the Baseball Writers Association A.L. Rookie of the Year
Award, getting seven of the latter’s 20 votes.
Schwall completed 10 of 25 starts, had two
shutouts, and
had a 3.22 earned run average. He allowed only eight home runs, including five
at Fenway, where his ERA was 2.72.
Chuck
Schilling's offensive stats at years end were comparable to those of
Yaz. He batted .259 with 62 RBIs. His OBP was .340 and he
scored 87 runs. Schilling set the major league record
for second basemen by making only eight errors
and his .991 fielding average led everyone at that
position. The Boston Baseball Writers named him the
Sox MVP. It was the first time a rookie had achieved the
award.
|
| GAME LOG | ||||||||||
| DATE | RECORD | PLACE | GB/GF | OPPONENT | SCORE | PITCHER | W/L | |||
| 04/11/1961 | 0-1 | 6th | -1 | Kansas City Athletics | L | 5-2 | Bill Monbouquette | 0-1 | ||
| 04/12/1961 | 0-1 | 6th | -1 | Kansas City Athletics | pp | |||||
| 04/13/1961 | 0-1 | 6th | -1 | Kansas City Athletics | pp | |||||
| 04/14/1961 | 0-1 | 8th | -1 1/2 | |||||||
| 04/15/1961 | 1-1 | 4th | -1/2 | Los Angeles Angels | W | 3-0 | Ike Delock | 1-0 | ||
| 04/16/1961 | 1-1 | 4th | -1 1/2 | Los Angeles Angels | pp | |||||
| 04/17/1961 | 2-1 | 3rd | -1 | Los Angeles Angels | W | 3-2 | Tom Brewer | 1-0 | ||
| 04/18/1961 | 2-2 | 5th | -2 | Minnesota Twins | L | 3-2 | Billy Muffett | 0-1 | ||
| 04/19/1961 | 2-2 | 5th | -2 | Minnesota Twins | pp | |||||
| 04/20/1961 | 2-2 | 4th | -2 | |||||||
| 04/21/1961 | 2-3 | 6th | -2 1/2 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 3-2 | Bill Monbouquette | 0-2 | ||
| 04/22/1961 | 3-3 | 4th | -2 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 7-6 | Ted Wills | 1-0 | ||
| 04/23/1961 | 4-3 | 5th | -2 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 4-3 | Tom Brewer | 2-0 | ||
| 4-4 | 5th | -3 | L | 7-1 | Billy Muffett | 0-2 | ||||
| 04/24/1961 | 4-4 | 5th | -3 1/2 | |||||||
| 04/25/1961 | 5-4 | 3rd | -3 | Washington Senators | W | 6-1 | Gene Conley | 1-0 | ||
| 04/26/1961 | 5-5 | 5th | -3 | Washington Senators | L | 2-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 0-3 | ||
| 04/27/1961 | 6-5 | 4th | -2 1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 5-2 | Dave Hillman | 1-0 | ||
| 04/28/1961 | 6-5 | 4th | -2 | at Detroit Tigers | pp | |||||
| 04/29/1961 | 6-6 | 4th | -3 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 9-5 | Tom Brewer | 2-1 | ||
| 04/30/1961 | 7-6 | 5th | -3 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 4-2 | Bill Monbouquette | 1-3 | ||
| 7-7 | 5th | -3 | L | 10-1 | Gene Conley | 1-1 | ||||
| 05/01/1961 | 7-7 | 4th | -3 | |||||||
| 05/02/1961 | 7-8 | 6th | -4 | at Kansas City Athletics | L | 7-4 | Ike Delock | 1-1 | ||
| 05/03/1961 | 7-9 | 7th | -4 | at Kansas City Athletics | L | 9-8 | Mike Fornieles | 0-1 | ||
| 05/04/1961 | 7-9 | 7th | -4 1/2 | |||||||
| 05/05/1961 | 7-10 | 7th | -5 1/2 | at Minnesota Twins | L | 5-1 | Tom Brewer | 2-2 | ||
| 05/06/1961 | 7-10 | 7th | -6 | at Minnesota Twins | pp | |||||
| 05/07/1961 | 8-10 | 7th | -6 1/2 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 11-9 | Mike Fornieles | 1-1 | ||
| 05/08/1961 | 8-11 | 7th | -7 | at Los Angeles Angels | L | 6-5 | Gene Conley | 1-2 | ||
| 05/09/1961 | 8-12 | 8th | -7 1/2 | at Los Angeles Angels | L | 8-7 | Ted Wills | 1-1 | ||
| 05/10/1961 | 9-12 | 7th | -7 1/2 | at Los Angeles Angels | W | 3-2 | Tom Brewer | 3-2 | ||
| 05/11/1961 | 9-12 | 7th | -7 | |||||||
| 05/12/1961 | 10-12 | 6th | -7 | at Washington Senators | W | 2-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 2-3 | ||
| 05/13/1961 | 10-13 | 6th | -8 | at Washington Senators | L | 4-0 | Gene Conley | 1-3 | ||
| 05/14/1961 | 10-14 | 7th | -8 | at Washington Senators | L | 3-0 | Billy Muffett | 0-3 | ||
| 10-15 | 9th | -8 | L | 2-1 | Mike Fornieles | 1-2 | ||||
| 05/15/1961 | 10-16 | 9th | -9 | Cleveland Indians | L | 13-2 | Ted Wills | 1-2 | ||
| 05/16/1961 | 11-16 | 9th | -9 | Cleveland Indians | W | 8-7 | Ike Delock | 2-1 | ||
| 05/17/1961 | 11-17 | 9th | -10 | Cleveland Indians | L | 1-0 | Bill Monbouquette | 2-4 | ||
| 05/18/1961 | 12-17 | 9th | -9 | Detroit Tigers | W | 1-0 | Gene Conley | 2-3 | ||
| 05/19/1961 | 12-17 | 8th | -9 | Detroit Tigers | pp | |||||
| 05/20/1961 | 13-17 | 7th | -8 | Detroit Tigers | W | 4-3 | Dave Hillman | 2-0 | ||
| 05/21/1961 | 13-18 | 8th | -9 | Chicago White Sox | L | 6-5 | Dave Hillman | 2-1 | ||
| 14-18 | 8th | -8 1/2 | W | 4-1 | Don Schwall | 1-0 | ||||
| 05/22/1961 | 15-18 | 6th | -8 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | W | 4-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 3-4 | ||
| 05/23/1961 | 15-18 | 7th | -9 | |||||||
| 05/24/1961 | 15-19 | 7th | -10 | at New York Yankees | L | 3-2 | Chet Nichols | 0-1 | ||
| 05/25/1961 | 15-20 | 8th | -10 | at New York Yankees | L | 6-4 | Billy Muffett | 0-4 | ||
| 05/26/1961 | 15-20 | 8th | -10 | at Baltimore Orioles | pp | |||||
| 05/27/1961 | 15-21 | 8th | -9 1/2 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 5-4 | Bill Monbouquette | 3-5 | ||
| 05/28/1961 | 16-21 | 8th | -9 1/2 | at Baltimore Orioles | W | 5-0 | Don Schwall | 2-0 | ||
| 05/29/1961 | 17-21 | 8th | -9 | New York Yankees | W | 2-1 | Ike Delock | 3-1 | ||
| 05/30/1961 | 17-22 | 7th | -9 1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 12-3 | Gene Conley | 2-4 | ||
| 05/31/1961 | 17-23 | 8th | -9 1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 7-6 | Billy Muffett | 0-5 | ||
| 06/01/1961 | 18-23 | 7th | -9 | New York Yankees | W | 2-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 4-5 | ||
| 06/02/1961 | 19-23 | 7th | -9 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 4-2 | Don Schwall | 3-0 | ||
| 06/03/1961 | 19-24 | 7th | -10 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 3-1 | Ike Delock | 3-2 | ||
| 06/04/1961 | 20-24 | 7th | -10 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 6-5 | Billy Muffett | 1-5 | ||
| 06/05/1961 | 21-24 | 7th | -10 | Kansas City Athletics | W | 6-2 | Mike Fornieles | 2-2 | ||
| 21-25 | 7th | -10 | L | 10-6 | Dave Hillman | 2-2 | ||||
| 06/06/1961 | 22-25 | 7th | -9 | Kansas City Athletics | W | 5-3 | Bill Monbouquette | 5-5 | ||
| 06/07/1961 | 23-25 | 5th | -9 | Kansas City Athletics | W | 6-2 | Don Schwall | 4-0 | ||
| 06/08/1961 | 24-25 | 5th | -8 1/2 | Los Angeles Angels | W | 6-5 | Ted Wills | 2-2 | ||
| 24-25 | 5th | -8 1/2 |
T |
4-4 |
||||||
| 06/09/1961 | 25-25 | 5th | -8 1/2 | Los Angeles Angels | W | 5-3 | Billy Muffett | 2-5 | ||
| 25-26 | 5th | -9 | L | 5-1 | Mike Fornieles | 2-3 | ||||
| 06/10/1961 | 25-27 | 6th | -9 | Los Angeles Angels | L | 10-5 | Bill Monbouquette | 5-6 | ||
| 06/11/1961 | 26-27 | 6th | -9 | Minnesota Twins | W | 8-2 | Don Schwall | 5-0 | ||
| 26-28 | 6th | -10 | L | 10-5 | Galen Cisco | 0-1 | ||||
| 06/12/1961 | 27-28 | 5th | -9 | Minnesota Twins | W | 10-8 | Ike Delock | 4-2 | ||
| 06/13/1961 | 27-29 | 5th | -10 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 7-1 | Gene Conley | 2-5 | ||
| 06/14/1961 | 27-30 | 6th | -10 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 4-2 | Billy Muffett | 2-6 | ||
| 06/15/1961 | 28-30 | 6th | -9 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 10-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 6-6 | ||
| 06/16/1961 | 29-30 | 4th | -9 | Washington Senators | W | 14-9 | Mike Fornieles | 3-3 | ||
| 06/17/1961 | 30-30 | 4th | -9 | Washington Senators | W | 6-5 | Galen Cisco | 1-1 | ||
| 06/18/1961 | 31-30 | 4th | -8 | Washington Senators | W | 13-12 | Ted Wills | 3-2 | ||
| 32-30 | 4th | -7 1/2 | W | 6-5 | Mike Fornieles | 4-3 | ||||
| 06/19/1961 | 32-30 | 4th | -7 1/2 | |||||||
| 06/20/1961 | 33-30 | 4th | -7 1/2 | at Los Angeles Angels | W | 11-8 | Bill Monbouquette | 7-6 | ||
| 06/21/1961 | 33-31 | 4th | -8 | at Los Angeles Angels | L | 5-1 | Don Schwall | 5-1 | ||
| 06/22/1961 | 34-31 | 4th | -8 | at Los Angeles Angels | W | 3-2 | Mike Fornieles | 5-3 | ||
| 06/23/1961 | 35-31 | 4th | -8 | at Kansas City Athletics | W | 5-4 | Gene Conley | 3-5 | ||
| 06/24/1961 | 35-32 | 4th | -9 | at Kansas City Athletics | L | 9-3 | Ike Delock | 4-3 | ||
| 06/25/1961 | 36-32 | 4th | -9 | at Kansas City Athletics | W | 7-4 | Don Schwall | 6-1 | ||
| 36-33 | 4th | -9 | L | 3-2 | Billy Muffett | 2-7 | ||||
| 06/26/1961 | 36-33 | 4th | -9 | |||||||
| 06/27/1961 | 36-34 | 5th | -9 | at Minnesota Twins | L | 6-5 | Mike Fornieles | 5-4 | ||
| 36-35 | 6th | -9 | L | 6-3 | Gene Conley | 3-6 | ||||
| 06/28/1961 | 37-35 | 6th | -9 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 6-2 | Ike Delock | 5-3 | ||
| 06/29/1961 | 38-35 | 5th | -9 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 9-5 | Arnold Earley | 1-0 | ||
| 06/30/1961 | 38-36 | 5th | -10 | Cleveland Indians | L | 10-2 | Billy Muffett | 2-8 | ||
| 07/01/1961 | 38-37 | 6th | -11 | Cleveland Indians | L | 7-3 | Galen Cisco | 1-2 | ||
| 07/02/1961 | 38-38 | 6th | -11 | Cleveland Indians | L | 12-6 | Arnold Earley | 1-1 | ||
| 07/03/1961 | 38-39 | 6th | -11 1/2 | at Washington Senators | L | 6-3 | Ike Delock | 5-4 | ||
| 07/04/1961 | 38-40 | 5th | -12 | at Washington Senators | L | 7-3 | Don Schwall | 6-2 | ||
| 07/05/1961 | 38-41 | 5th | -12 | Detroit Tigers | L | 6-2 | Billy Muffett | 2-9 | ||
| 39-41 | 5th | -12 | W | 8-3 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-6 | ||||
| 07/06/1961 | 39-42 | 6th | -13 | Detroit Tigers | L | 3-0 | Galen Cisco | 1-3 | ||
| 07/07/1961 | 39-43 | 6th | -13 1/2 | at New York Yankees | L | 14-3 | Gene Conley | 3-7 | ||
| 07/08/1961 | 39-44 | 6th | -14 1/2 | at New York Yankees | L | 8-5 | Ike Delock | 5-5 | ||
| 07/09/1961 | 39-45 | 6th | -15 1/2 | at New York Yankees | L | 3-0 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-7 | ||
| 40-45 | 6th | -15 | W | 9-6 | Don Schwall | 7-2 | ||||
| 07/10/1961 | First All Star Game Break | |||||||||
| 07/11/1961 | ||||||||||
| 07/12/1961 | ||||||||||
| 07/13/1961 | 41-45 | 6th | -14 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 3-2 | Don Schwall | 8-2 | ||
| 07/14/1961 | 41-46 | 6th | -14 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 7-6 | Mike Fornieles | 5-5 | ||
| 07/15/1961 | 42-46 | 6th | -14 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 2-1 | Gene Conley | 4-7 | ||
| 07/16/1961 | 42-47 | 6th | -15 1/2 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 4-3 | Arnold Early | 1-2 | ||
| 43-47 | 6th | -15 1/2 | W | 5-3 | Dave Hillman | 3-2 | ||||
| 07/17/1961 | 43-48 | 6th | -16 1/2 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 4-1 | Galen Cisco | 1-4 | ||
| 07/18/1961 | 44-48 | 6th | -16 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 9-2 | Don Schwall | 9-2 | ||
| 07/19/1961 | 44-49 | 6th | -16 | at Cleveland Indians | L | 4-1 | Gene Conley | 4-8 | ||
| 44-50 | 6th | -16 | L | 9-8 | Arnold Early | 1-3 | ||||
| 07/20/1961 | 44-51 | 6th | -17 | at Cleveland Indians | L | 12-11 | Billy Muffett | 2-10 | ||
| 07/21/1961 | 44-52 | 6th | -17 1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 11-8 | Arnold Earley | 1-4 | ||
| 07/22/1961 | 44-53 | 6th | -18 1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 11-9 | Gene Conley | 4-9 | ||
| 07/23/1961 | 45-53 | 6th | -18 | New York Yankees | W | 5-4 | Don Schwall | 10-2 | ||
| 07/24/1961 | 45-53 | 6th | -18 1/2 | |||||||
| 07/25/1961 | 45-54 | 6th | -19 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 5-1 | Ike Delock | 5-6 | ||
| 07/26/1961 | 45-55 | 6th | -20 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 5-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-8 | ||
| 45-56 | 6th | -20 1/2 | L | 9-2 | Gene Conley | 4-10 | ||||
| 07/27/1961 | 45-57 | 6th | -21 1/2 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 8-5 | Billy Muffett | 2-11 | ||
| 07/28/1961 | 46-57 | 6th | -20 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | W | 8-3 | Don Schwall | 11-2 | ||
| 07/29/1961 | 46-57 | 6th | -21 | Chicago White Sox | pp | |||||
| 07/30/1961 | 46-58 | 6th | -20 | Chicago White Sox | L | 4-2 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-9 | ||
| 47-58 | 6th | -20 | W | 9-8 | Chet Nichols | 1-1 | ||||
| 07/31/1961 | Second All Star Game Break | |||||||||
| 08/01/1961 | ||||||||||
| 08/02/1961 | 48-58 | 6th | -20 | Los Angeles Angels | W | 7-2 | Ike Delock | 6-6 | ||
| 49-58 | 6th | -20 | W | 8-7 | Arnold Early | 2-4 | ||||
| 08/03/1961 | 50-58 | 6th | -19 | Los Angeles Angels | W | 4-0 | Don Schwall | 12-2 | ||
| 08/04/1961 | 50-59 | 6th | -20 | Kansas City Athletics | L | 5-0 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-10 | ||
| 08/05/1961 | 51-59 | 6th | -20 | Kansas City Athletics | W | 10-4 | Gene Conley | 5-10 | ||
| 08/06/1961 | 52-59 | 6th | -21 | Kansas City Athletics | W | 4-2 | Chet Nichols | 2-1 | ||
| 52-60 | 6th | -21 | L | 1-0 | Tracy Stallard | 0-1 | ||||
| 08/07/1961 | 53-60 | 6th | -21 | Minnesota Twins | W | 5-4 | Mike Fornieles | 6-5 | ||
| 54-60 | 6th | -20 1/2 | W | 5-4 | Don Schwall | 13-2 | ||||
| 08/08/1961 | 54-61 | 6th | -21 1/2 | Minnesota Twins | L | 6-5 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-11 | ||
| 08/09/1961 | 55-61 | 6th | -21 1/2 | Minnesota Twins | W | 5-4 | Gene Conley | 6-10 | ||
| 08/10/1961 | 56-61 | 6th | -21 1/2 | Minnesota Twins | W | 3-2 | Tracy Stallard | 1-1 | ||
| 08/11/1961 | 56-62 | 6th | -22 1/2 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 6-3 | Chet Nichols | 2-2 | ||
| 08/12/1961 | 56-63 | 6th | -22 1/2 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 8-3 | Ike Delock | 6-7 | ||
| 08/13/1961 | 56-64 | 6th | -23 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 6-5 | Mike Fornieles | 6-6 | ||
| 08/14/1961 | 56-64 | 6th | -23 | |||||||
| 08/15/1961 | 57-64 | 6th | -22 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 8-0 | Gene Conley | 7-10 | ||
| 08/16/1961 | 57-65 | 6th | -23 | at Cleveland Indians | L | 6-4 | Tracy Stallard | 1-2 | ||
| 08/17/1961 | 57-66 | 6th | -23 | at Cleveland Indians | L | 4-3 | Mike Fornieles | 6-7 | ||
| 08/18/1961 | 57-67 | 6th | -24 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 5-0 | Bill Monbouquette | 8-12 | ||
| 08/19/1961 | 57-68 | 6th | -25 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 3-2 | Mike Fornieles | 6-8 | ||
| 08/20/1961 | 57-69 | 6th | -26 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 6-1 | Gene Conley | 7-11 | ||
| 57-70 | 6th | -27 | L | 7-6 | Tracy Stallard | 1-3 | ||||
| 08/21/1961 | 57-70 | 6th | -27 | Milwaukee Braves |
L |
4-1 |
||||
| 08/22/1961 | 58-70 | 6th | -26 | Washington Senators | W | 3-2 | Mike Fornieles | 7-8 | ||
| 08/23/1961 | 59-70 | 6th | -26 | Washington Senators | W | 9-4 | Bill Monbouquette | 9-12 | ||
| 08/24/1961 | 60-70 | 6th | -25 | Washington Senators | W | 5-4 | Mike Fornieles | 8-8 | ||
| 08/25/1961 | 61-70 | 6th | -25 | at Los Angeles Angels | W | 12-6 | Gene Conley | 8-11 | ||
| 08/26/1961 | 61-71 | 6th | -26 | at Los Angeles Angels | L | 5-2 | Tracy Stallard | 1-4 | ||
| 08/27/1961 | 61-72 | 6th | -27 | at Los Angeles Angels | L | 8-3 | Don Schwall | 13-3 | ||
| 08/28/1961 | 62-72 | 6th | -26 1/2 | at Kansas City Athletics | W | 4-3 | Bill Monbouquette | 10-12 | ||
| 08/29/1961 | 63-72 | 6th | -25 1/2 | at Kansas City Athletics | W | 8-4 | Chet Nichols | 3-2 | ||
| 08/30/1961 | 64-72 | 6th | -25 1/2 | at Kansas City Athletics | W | 9-3 | Gene Conley | 9-11 | ||
| 08/31/1961 | 64-72 | 6th | -25 | |||||||
| 09/01/1961 | 64-73 | 6th | -26 | at Minnesota Twins | L | 5-1 | Don Schwall | 13-4 | ||
| 09/02/1961 | 65-73 | 6th | -26 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 2-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 11-12 | ||
| 09/03/1961 | 66-73 | 6th | -26 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 8-6 | Tracy Stallard | 2-4 | ||
| 09/04/1961 | 66-74 | 6th | -27 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | L | 7-2 | Ike Delock | 6-8 | ||
| 09/05/1961 | 66-75 | 6th | -28 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | L | 9-5 | Gene Conley | 9-12 | ||
| 09/06/1961 | 67-75 | 6th | -28 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | W | 9-4 | Don Schwall | 14-4 | ||
| 09/07/1961 | 68-75 | 6th | -28 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | W | 8-4 | Bill Monbouquette | 12-12 | ||
| 09/08/1961 | 69-75 | 6th | -28 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | W | 9-2 | Mike Fornieles | 9-8 | ||
| 09/09/1961 | 69-76 | 6th | -29 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | L | 3-1 | Ike Delock | 6-9 | ||
| 09/10/1961 | 70-76 | 6th | -30 | Detroit Tigers | W | 8-7 | Gene Conley | 10-12 | ||
| 09/11/1961 | 71-76 | 6th | -29 1/2 | at Washington Senators | W | 14-4 | Don Schwall | 15-4 | ||
| 09/12/1961 | 71-77 | 6th | -30 1/2 | at Washington Senators | L | 5-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 12-13 | ||
| 09/13/1961 | 71-78 | 6th | -31 | at Washington Senators | L | 4-2 | Tracy Stallard | 2-5 | ||
| 09/14/1961 | 71-78 | 6th | -30 | |||||||
| 09/15/1961 | 72-78 | 6th | -29 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 3-2 | Gene Conley | 11-12 | ||
| 09/16/1961 | 72-79 | 6th | -29 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 5-4 | Don Schwall | 15-5 | ||
| 09/17/1961 | 73-79 | 6th | -29 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 1-0 | Bill Monbouquette | 13-13 | ||
| 09/18/1961 | 73-79 | 6th | -29 1/2 | |||||||
| 09/19/1961 | 73-80 | 6th | -30 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 5-1 | Tracy Stallard | 2-6 | ||
| 09/20/1961 | 73-81 | 6th | -31 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 3-1 | Gene Conley | 11-13 | ||
| 09/21/1961 | 73-81 | 6th | -30 1/2 | |||||||
| 09/22/1961 | 73-81 | 6th | -30 1/2 | |||||||
| 09/23/1961 | 73-82 | 6th | -31 1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 8-3 | Don Schwall | 15-6 | ||
| 09/24/1961 | 74-82 | 6th | -30 1/2 | New York Yankees | W | 3-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 14-13 | ||
| 09/25/1961 | 74-82 | 6th | -30 1/2 | |||||||
| 09/26/1961 | 74-83 | 6th | -31 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | L | 7-5 | Gene Conley | 11-14 | ||
| 75-83 | 6th | -31 | W | 7-5 | Billy Muffett | 3-11 | ||||
| 09/27/1961 | 76-83 | 6th | -30 | Chicago White Sox | W | 6-4 | Galen Cisco | 2-4 | ||
| 09/28/1961 | 76-83 | 6th | -30 | |||||||
| 09/29/1961 | 76-84 | 6th | -31 | at New York Yankees | L | 2-1 | Bill Monbouquette | 14-14 | ||
| 09/30/1961 | 76-85 | 6th | -32 | at New York Yankees | L | 3-1 | Don Schwall | 15-7 | ||
| 10/01/1961 | 76-86 | 6th | -33 | at New York Yankees | L | 1-0 | Tracy Stallard | 2-7 | ||
| 1961 RED SOX BATTING & PITCHING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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