The following are the baseball events of the year 1961 throughout the world.
Headline Event of the Year
Champions
Major League Baseball
Other champions
Awards and honors
MLB Statistical Leaders
Major League Baseball final standings
American League final standings
National League final standings
Events
January-April
- January 29 - Billy Hamilton and Max Carey are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
- March - The Cuban government, led by Fidel Castro, abolishes professional baseball and ends the Cuban League which was started in 1878.
- April 11 - At New York's Yankee Stadium, the Minnesota Twins, in their first game since their move from Washington, shut out the Yankees 6-0. The Twins' Pedro Ramos was the winning pitcher. Ramos had a 2-run single and allowed just 3 singles in beating the Yankee starting pitcher, Whitey Ford.
- April 22 - The Boston Red Sox snap a 13-game losing streak in Chicago's Comiskey Park by edging the Chicago White Sox 7-6 on Pumpsie Green's 11th inning home run.
- April 27 - The Los Angeles Angles drew a disappointing crowd of 11,931 for their home opener against the Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. Ty Cobb, in his last appearance at a ball park, throws out the first ball. The Twins' Camilo Pascual spoils the opener by winning, 4-2, sending the Angels to their 8th loss in 9 games.
- April 30 - San Francisco Giants slugger Willie Mays became the ninth player to hit four home runs in a single game as the Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 14-4, at Milwaukee's County Stadium.
May-August
- May 31 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for rookie Carl Yastrzemski. On September 20, 1960, Hardy pinch hit for Ted Williams, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland (May 18, 1958).
- June 29 - Willie Mays hits 3 home runs helping San Francisco Giants beat Philadelphia Phillies 8-7.
- July 4 - Willie Mays hits 300th career home run.
- July 11 - Strong winds at Candlestick Park dominate the first All-Star Game of the season. A capacity crowd sees pitcher Stu Miller blown off the mound in the ninth inning when a balk is called, and it enables the American League to forge a 3–3 tie before losing 5–4 in 10 innings.
- July 17 - Commissioner Ford Frick decrees that Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a 154-game schedule in 1927 "cannot be broken unless some batter hits 61 or more within his club's first 154 games." Two days later, Frick, an old friend of Ruth, announces that should Ruth's record be beaten after 154 games, the record will carry an asterisk. When asked about the ruling, Roger Maris replies, "A season is a season."
- July 31 - At Fenway Park, the second All-Star Game of the year ends in a 1–1 tie as heavy rain halted play. It is the first tie in All-Star history.
- August 11 - Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves records his 300th career win.
- August 20 - The Philadelphia Phillies snap a modern-day record 23-game losing streak, defeating the Milwaukee Braves 7-4 in the second game of a doubleheader at Milwaukee County Stadium. Phillie pitcher John Buzhardt goes the distance for the victory; he had also been the winning pitcher in the Phillies' last victory prior to the start of the losing streak, on July 28 against the San Francisco Giants.
- August 22 - Roger Maris becomes the first player to hit his 50th home run of the season in the month of August as the Yankees lose to the Los Angeles Angels 4-3. Angels' pitcher Ken McBride tees up the gopher ball in the 6th inning with one on.
- August 23 - At Cincinnati's Crosley Field, the Giants hit five home runs in a 12-run ninth inning, beat the Cincinnati reds 14-0.
- August 24 - Ageless Satchel Paige signs with Portland of the Pacific Coast League. in 25 innings for the Beavers, he will have a 2.88 ERA.
September-December
- November 26 - The Professional Baseball Rules Committee votes 8-1 against legalizing the spitball. Only National League supervisor of umpires Cal Hubbard votes in favor.
- December 2 - MLB clubs vote to curb bonuses. All first-year players not on major rosters, except one minor leaguer, can be drafted by any other club for $8,000. Clubs are expected to be unwilling to pay large bonuses for players who will be subject to a draft for just $8,000.
Births
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
Deaths
- January 5 - Fred Luderus, 75, Phillies first baseman of the 1910s, captain of the 1915 NL champions
- January 8 - Schoolboy Rowe, 50, 3-time All-Star pitcher who won 158 games, mainly with the Tigers and Phillies
- January 30 - Aaron Ward, 64, second baseman on the Yankees' first championship team in 1923
- February 16 - Dazzy Vance, 69, Hall of Fame pitcher who led the NL in strikeouts seven years in a row and won the 1924 MVP award
- February 19 - Red Smith, shortstop for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920s
- April 15 - Nick Cullop, 73, pitcher for the Cleveland Naps, New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns, who also won 22 games for the 1915 Kansas City Packers in the outlaw Federal League
- April 23 - Jack Barry, 73, shortstop in the Athletics' "$100,000 infield", coach since 1921 at Holy Cross, where he won the 1952 College World Series and posted the highest career winning percentage (.806) in collegiate history
- April 28 - Tommy Connolly, 90, Hall of Fame umpire from 1898 to 1931 who worked the first American League game ever, as well as the first contests at Comiskey Park, Shibe Park, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium
- May 17 - Otto Knabe, 76, Second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies for many years, and was the player-manager for the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League.
- June 18 - Eddie Gaedel, 36, 3'7" player who made one appearance for the 1951 Browns in a stunt promotion
- July 17 - Ty Cobb, 74, Hall of Fame center fielder widely recognized during his lifetime as the greatest player in the sport's history, and holder of more records than any other player including highest lifetime batting average (.367) and most career hits (4,191), runs (2,245), steals (892), games (3,033) and at bats (11,429)
- July 17 - Ed Reulbach, 78, pitcher who starred for the Cubs from 1905 to 1913, winning 182 career games
- July 18 - Hod Eller, 67, pitcher for the Reds from 1917-1921, including a 1919 World Series game which saw him strike out 6 in a row
- August 3 - Thomas Edward Downey, 77, played from 1909 to 1915 for the Reds, Phillies, Cubs, and Bisons.
- September 9 - Jesse Barnes, 69, pitcher who won 152 games for the Braves, Giants and Dodgers, including a no-hitter
- September 9 - Rube Oldring, 77, outfielder who played mainly for the Athletics, including 4 pennant winners
- October 21 - Harry Gleason, 86, infielder/outfielder who played from 1901 through 1905 for the Boston Americans and St. Louis Browns
- December 15 - Dummy Hoy, 99, center fielder who scored over 100 runs nine times, and the game's most accomplished deaf player; he threw out the first ball of the World Series' third game on October 7
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