1961 Los Angeles Angels season

The 1961 Los Angeles Angels season ended with the Angels finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 70-91, 38½ games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. It was the Angels' first season in franchise history, and their only season at Wrigley Field. Gene Autry owned the franchise, which was created as a rival to the Los Angeles Dodgers,^{[citation needed]} who played that year at the Coliseum before moving to nearby Dodger Stadium in 1962.

Offseason

The Angels, along with the new Washington Senators, were the first ever American League expansion teams. Both teams participated in Major League Baseball's first ever expansion draft. The Angels had the first pick in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft, which they used to select Eli Grba from the New York Yankees. Grba wound up playing two-plus seasons for Los Angeles before returning to the minor leagues.

Notable transactions

• December 14, 1960: 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft
  • Jim Fregosi was drafted by the Angels from the Boston Red Sox.^[1]
  • Bob Cerv was drafted by the Angels from the New York Yankees.^[2]
  • Steve Bilko was drafted by the Angels from the Detroit Tigers.^[3]
  • Earl Averill, Jr. was drafted by the Angels from the Chicago White Sox.^[4]
  • Jim McAnany was drafted by the Angels from the Chicago White Sox.^[5]
• December 29, 1960: Del Rice was signed as a free agent by the Angels.^[6]

Regular season

As an expansion team, the Angels were not expected to do well. However, they not only finished ahead of the Senators, but also the Kansas City A's, who tied the Senators for last place, nine games behind Los Angeles.

Season standings

Offense

The Angels were no stranger to offense in their first season, with five players hitting 20 or more home runs, a mark which at the time was considered a remarkable feat.^{[citation needed]} Leon Wagner, who led the team with 28 home runs, was one of the team's best offensive threats, also leading the team by slugging .517. The other players who hit 20 home runs were Ken Hunt (25), Lee Thomas (24), Earl Averill, Jr. (21), and Steve Bilko (20). Albie Pearson, who led the team in batting average, had an on-base percentage of .420, also a mark that was considered more valuable than the current game.^{[citation needed]} 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 in batting at .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 had 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.^[7] Art Fowler and Tom Morgan were the Angels' top two in saves, with 11 and 10, respectively, leading the team to finish second in the American League in that category.

Notable transactions

• April 1, 1961: Jim McAnany was traded by the Angels to the Chicago Cubs for Lou Johnson.^[5]
• April 7, 1961: Ray Semproch was purchased by the Angels from the Washington Senators.^[8]
• May 8, 1961: Bob Cerv and Tex Clevenger were traded by the Angels to the New York Yankees for Lee Thomas, Ryne Duren, and Johnny James.^[2]
• May 26, 1961: Art Fowler was purchased by the Angels from the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[9]
• July 22, 1961: Tom Satriano was signed as an amateur free agent by the Angels.^[10]
• September 8, 1961: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Angels from the Cleveland Indians.^[11]

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Farm system

Notes

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 
• 1961 Los Angeles Angels team page at Baseball Reference
• 1961 Los Angeles Angels team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

Further Reading

• Roland Hemond. "Creating the 1961 Los Angeles Angels in 120 Days". sabr.com. Society for American Baseball Research. http://sabr.org/latest/roland-hemond-creating-1961-los-angeles-angels-120-days. Retrieved 22 July 2011.