1961 Detroit Tigers season
| 1961 Detroit Tigers | |
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| Owner(s) | John Fetzer |
| General manager(s) | Rick Ferrell |
| Manager(s) | Bob Scheffing |
| Local television | WJBK |
| Local radio |
WKMH (George Kell, Ernie Harwell) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1961 Detroit Tigers won 101 games but finished in second place, eight games behind the Yankees. The team's 1961 record tied the 1934 Tigers team record of 101 wins, and only twice in team history have the Tigers won more games: 1968 (103 wins) and 1984 (104 wins).
On January 1, the Tigers' home park, Briggs Stadium. was renamed Tiger Stadium.
The 1961 Tigers were led by Norm Cash, Rocky Colavito, and Al Kaline. Cash won the AL batting title with a .361 batting average, and had 132 RBIs, and Colavito hit 45 home runs and had 140 RBIs. Kaline led the AL with 41 doubles and finished second to Cash for the batting title with a .324 average. Frank Lary led the pitching staff with 23 wins. The 1961 Tigers' winning percentage ranks as the 6th best in team history.
Catcher Dick Brown had his best two seasons with Detroit in 1961 and 1962. He hit 16 home runs in 1961, including back-to-back-to-back home runs with Norm Cash and Steve Boros on May 23, 1961. He hit a grand slam less than one month earlier on April 29, 1961.
Brown shared catching duties with rookie Mike Roarke who played in 86 games and hit .223 with 2 home runs and 22 RBIs. Roarke was a 30-year-old rookie in 1961. Roarke graduated from Boston College in 1952 where he was captain of the football and baseball teams in his senior season.
Brown appeared in 91 games at catcher in 1961, and Roarke in 85.
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