1961 Los Angeles Angels season

MLB yearly infobox-pre1969
name = Los Angeles Angels
season = 1961
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1961
division = West Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform logo =
ballpark = Wrigley Field
y4 = 1961
city = Los Angeles, California
y5 = 1961
owners = Gene Autry
managers = Bill Rigney
television =KHJ
radio = KMPC
(Bob Kelley, Don Wells,Steve Bailey)|

The Los Angeles Angels 1961 season ended with the Angels finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 70-91. It was the Angels' first season in franchise history, and their only season at Wrigley Field. Gene Autry, whom the Angels' 2002 World Series championship was dedicated to, owned the franchise, which was created as a rival to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who played that year at the Coliseum before moving to nearby Dodger Stadium in 1962.

Offseason

Expansion Draft

* December 14, 1960: Jim Fregosi was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels from the Boston Red Sox in the 1960 expansion draft.
*December 14, 1960: Bob Cerv was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels from the New York Yankees in the 1960 expansion draft. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cervbo01.shtml Bob Cerv Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*December 14, 1960: Steve Bilko was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels from the Detroit Tigers in the 1960 expansion draft. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bilkost01.shtml]

Regular Season

eason Standings

Transactions

*May 8, 1961: Bob Cerv was traded by the Los Angeles Angels with Tex Clevenger to the New York Yankees for Lee Thomas, Ryne Duren, and Johnny James.
*September 8, 1961: Chuck Tanner was sold by Cleveland Indians to Los Angeles Angels. [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/trades.php?p=tannech01 Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac ] ] .

Offense

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

Pitching

The Angels had a solid starting rotation in their first season. Ken McBride, who led the team with 12 wins, also led the team with 12 losses. Eli Grba had a 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 threw a dominating 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. Art Fowler and Tom Morgan were the Angels' top-two save winners, who as a team ranked 2nd in the American League, with 11 and 10, respectively.

Player stats

Farm system [Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997]

* Class AAA: Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (American Association; Walker Cooper, manager)
* Class D: Statesville Owls (Western Carolinas League; George Wilson, manager)

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAA/1961.shtml 1961 Los Angeles Angels team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1961&t=LAA 1961 Los Angeles Angels team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]