1961 Chicago White Sox season

1961 Chicago White Sox
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Comiskey Park (since 1910) Chicago (since 1900)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bill Veeck, Arthur Allyn, Jr., John Allyn
General manager(s)	Hank Greenberg, Ed Short
Manager(s)	Al López
Local television	WGN-TV (Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd)
Local radio	WCFL (Bob Elson, Ralph Kiner)
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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 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.

Contents

• 
  1 Offseason
  


• 
  2 Regular season
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Season standings
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Record vs. opponents
    
  
  
  • 
    2.3 Opening Day lineup
    
  
  
  • 
    2.4 Notable transactions
    
  
  
  • 
    2.5 Roster
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Player stats
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Batting
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Pitching
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Farm system
  


• 
  5 Notes
  


• 
  6 References
  

Offseason

• December 14, 1960: 1960 MLB expansion draft
  
  
  
  • 
    Earl Averill, Jr. was drafted from the White Sox by the Los Angeles Angels.^[1]
    
  
  
  • 
    Jim McAnany was drafted from the White Sox by the Los Angeles Angels.^[2]
    
  
  
  
  

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	109	53	.673	--
Detroit Tigers	101	61	.623	8
Baltimore Orioles	95	67	.586	14
Chicago White Sox	86	76	.531	23
Cleveland Indians	78	83	.484	30.5
Boston Red Sox	76	86	.469	33
Minnesota Twins	70	90	.438	38
Los Angeles Angels	70	91	.435	38.5
Kansas City Athletics	61	100	.379	47.5
Washington Senators	61	100	.379	47.5

Record vs. opponents

1961 American League Records v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	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.^[3]
  


• May 15, 1961: Joe Ginsberg was released by the White Sox.^[4]
  


• June 1, 1961: Warren Hacker was purchased by the White Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies.^[5]
  


• 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.^[3]
  

Roster

1961 Chicago White Sox
Roster
Pitchers 38 Frank Baumann 46 Alan Brice 36 Mike DeGerick 28 Warren Hacker 21,23 Ray Herbert 20 Joe Horlen 44 Russ Kemmerer 26 Don Larsen 27 Turk Lown 15 Cal McLish 23 Gary Peters 19 Billy Pierce 32 Juan Pizarro 18 Herb Score 35 Bob Shaw 21 Jerry Staley 24 Early Wynn		Catchers 45 Cam Carreon 28 Joe Ginsberg 10 Sherm Lollar 31 Bob Roselli Infielders 11 Luis Aparicio  7 Andy Carey 14 Sammy Esposito  2 Nellie Fox  6 Billy Goodman 36 Ted Lepcio 12 J. C. Martin  5 Roy Sievers 16 Al Smith 17 Earl Torgeson		Outfielders 26 Wes Covington 40 Mike Hershberger  1 Jim Landis 30 Dean Look  9 Minnie Miñoso 29 Al Pilarcik  3 Floyd Robinson Other batters  7 Jim Rivera		Manager 42 Al López Coaches 37 Ray Berres 34 Johnny Cooney 33 Tony Cuccinello 39 Don Gutteridge

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

See also: Minor League Baseball

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^[6]

Notes

1. 
   ^ Earl Averill, Jr. page at Baseball Reference
   


2. 
   ^ Jim McAnany page at Baseball Reference
   


3. 
   ^ ^ab Wes Covington page at Baseball Reference
   


4. 
   ^ Joe Ginsberg page at Baseball Reference
   


5. 
   ^ Warren Hacker page at Baseball Reference
   


6. 
   ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997
   

References

• 1961 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference

v t e 1961 MLB season by team
American League	Baltimore Boston Chicago Cleveland Detroit Kansas City Los Angeles Minnesota New York Washington
National League	Chicago Cincinnati Los Angeles Milwaukee Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis San Francisco
1961 All-Star Game (1st, 2nd) 1961 World Series 1961 MLB expansion draft

v t e Chicago White Sox
Established in 1888 Based in Chicago, Illinois
Franchise	History Seasons Owners and executives Managers Players Opening Day starting pitchers first-round draft picks Broadcasters Team records Award winners No-hitters
Ballparks	South Side Park Comiskey Park Guaranteed Rate Field Spring training: * Recreation Park Palm Springs Stadium Plant Field Al Lopez Field Payne Park Ed Smith Stadium Tucson Electric Park Camelback Ranch
Culture	Andy the Clown Armour Square/Bridgeport Black Sox Scandal Curse of the Black Sox Eight Men Out Field of Dreams Shoeless Joe (novel) Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers Gene Honda "Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox" Nancy Faust Nicknames Only The Lonely Ribbie and Roobarb The Sodfather Southpaw Sox–35th The Stratton Story "Sweet Home Chicago" "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" Turn Back the Clock White Flag Trade
Lore	1994 bat burglary 2008 Blackout Game 2015 crowdless game Disco Demolition Night The Hitless Wonders Perfect games Charlie Robertson Mark Buehrle Philip Humber South Side Hitmen Winning Ugly
Rivalries	Chicago Cubs
Key personnel	Chairman: Jerry Reinsdorf Vice Chairman: Eddie Einhorn Executive Vice President: Ken Williams General Manager: Rick Hahn Special Assistant to the GM: Jim Thome Manager: Rick Renteria
World Series championships (3)	1906 1917 2005
American League championships (6)	1901 1906 1917 1919 1959 2005
Division championships (5)	West: 1983 1993 Central: 2000 2005 2008
Minor league affiliates	Charlotte Knights (AAA) Birmingham Barons (AA) Winston-Salem Dash (A Adv.) Kannapolis Intimidators (A) Great Falls Voyagers (Rookie Adv.) AZL White Sox (Rookie) DSL White Sox (Rookie)
Media	NBC Sports Chicago WGN Sports (WGN9/CW50) WGN Radio White Sox Radio Network ESPN Deportes 1220 AM
Seasons (119) 1900s 1900 · 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

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