The 1961 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 79th year in Major League Baseball, their fourth season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their second season at Candlestick Park. The team finished in third place in the National League with an 85 wins and 69 losses record, eight games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds. The Giants were managed by Alvin Dark. As of 2021, this remains the only Giants season in franchise history in which two players (Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays) each hit 40 or more home runs.[1]
1961 San Francisco Giants | ||
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League | National League | |
Ballpark | Candlestick Park | |
City | San Francisco | |
Owners | Horace Stoneham | |
General managers | Chub Feeney | |
Managers | Alvin Dark | |
Television | KTVU (Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons) | |
Radio | KSFO (Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons, Bill King) | |
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Regular season
editWillie Mays had both a three home run game (on June 29) and a four home run game (on April 30)[2] during the 1961 season. Mays became the ninth player, and first Giant, in MLB history to hit four home runs in one game.
Season standings
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati Reds | 93 | 61 | .604 | — | 47–30 | 46–31 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 89 | 65 | .578 | 4 | 45–32 | 44–33 |
San Francisco Giants | 85 | 69 | .552 | 8 | 45–32 | 40–37 |
Milwaukee Braves | 83 | 71 | .539 | 10 | 45–32 | 38–39 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 80 | 74 | .519 | 13 | 48–29 | 32–45 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 75 | 79 | .487 | 18 | 38–39 | 37–40 |
Chicago Cubs | 64 | 90 | .416 | 29 | 40–37 | 24–53 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 47 | 107 | .305 | 46 | 22–55 | 25–52 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | CHC | CIN | LAD | MIL | PHI | PIT | SF | STL | |||||
Chicago | — | 12–10 | 7–15 | 9–13–1 | 13–9 | 11–11 | 5–17 | 7–15–1 | |||||
Cincinnati | 10–12 | — | 12–10 | 15–7 | 19–3 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 14–8 | |||||
Los Angeles | 15–7 | 10–12 | — | 12–10 | 17–5 | 13–9 | 10–12 | 12–10 | |||||
Milwaukee | 13–9–1 | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 16–6 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 14–8 | |||||
Philadelphia | 9–13 | 3–19 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 7–15 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 11–11 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 10–12 | 15–7 | — | 10–12 | 9–13 | |||||
San Francisco | 17–5 | 10–12 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | 12–10 | — | 9–13 | |||||
St. Louis | 15–7–1 | 8–14 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | — |
Opening Day starters
edit- Felipe Alou
- Ed Bressoud
- Orlando Cepeda
- Tom Haller
- Chuck Hiller
- Sam Jones
- Harvey Kuenn
- Willie Mays
- Willie McCovey[3]
Roster
edit1961 San Francisco Giants | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
editBatting
editStarters by position
editNote: 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 | Ed Bailey | 107 | 340 | 81 | .238 | 13 | 51 |
1B | Willie McCovey | 106 | 328 | 89 | .271 | 18 | 50 |
2B | Joey Amalfitano | 109 | 384 | 98 | .255 | 2 | 23 |
SS | José Pagán | 134 | 434 | 110 | .253 | 5 | 46 |
3B | Jim Davenport | 137 | 436 | 121 | .278 | 12 | 65 |
LF | Harvey Kuenn | 131 | 471 | 125 | .265 | 5 | 46 |
CF | Willie Mays | 154 | 572 | 176 | .308 | 40 | 123 |
RF | Felipe Alou | 132 | 415 | 120 | .289 | 18 | 52 |
Other batters
editNote: 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orlando Cepeda | 152 | 585 | 182 | .311 | 46 | 142 |
Chuck Hiller | 70 | 240 | 57 | .238 | 2 | 12 |
Matty Alou | 81 | 200 | 62 | .310 | 6 | 24 |
Ed Bressoud | 59 | 114 | 24 | .211 | 3 | 11 |
John Orsino | 25 | 83 | 23 | .277 | 4 | 12 |
Hobie Landrith | 43 | 71 | 17 | .239 | 2 | 10 |
Tom Haller | 30 | 62 | 9 | .145 | 2 | 8 |
Ernie Bowman | 38 | 38 | 8 | .211 | 0 | 2 |
Jim Marshall | 44 | 36 | 8 | .222 | 1 | 7 |
Bob Farley | 13 | 20 | 2 | .100 | 0 | 1 |
Bob Schmidt | 2 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 1 |
Don Blasingame | 3 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike McCormick | 40 | 250.0 | 13 | 16 | 3.20 | 163 |
Jack Sanford | 38 | 217.1 | 13 | 9 | 4.22 | 112 |
Juan Marichal | 29 | 185.0 | 13 | 10 | 3.89 | 124 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Billy O'Dell | 46 | 130.1 | 7 | 5 | 3.59 | 110 |
Sam Jones | 37 | 128.1 | 8 | 8 | 4.49 | 105 |
Billy Loes | 26 | 114.2 | 6 | 5 | 4.24 | 55 |
Dick LeMay | 27 | 83.1 | 3 | 6 | 3.56 | 54 |
Relief pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stu Miller | 63 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 2.66 | 89 |
Bobby Bolin | 37 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3.19 | 48 |
Jim Duffalo | 24 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4.23 | 37 |
Eddie Fisher | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5.35 | 16 |
Dom Zanni | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.95 | 11 |
Awards and honors
editAll-Star Game (first game) All-Star Game (second game)
Farm system
editLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tacoma, Springfield, Quincy
Rio Grande Valley club moved to Victoria, June 10, 1961; Pocatello affiliation shared with Kansas City Athletics[4]
Notes
edit- ^ "Player Batting Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, In the Regular Season, since 1871, Playing for SFG, requiring Home Runs >= 40, sorted by most instances". Stathead Baseball. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 258, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ^ "1961 San Francisco Giants Roster by Baseball Almanac".
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
edit- 1961 San Francisco Giants at Baseball Reference
- 1961 San Francisco Giants at Baseball Almanac