Baseball’s Best Runners-Up: 1961 Detroit Tigers

101-61 (.624 winning percentage), finished in 2 ^nd to New York Yankees, 109-53

The first installment of this series on tough luck second place finishers looked at the 1886 Detroit Wolverines, who won 87 of 123 games, but lost the pennant to the powerful Chicago White Sox. 75 years later, history repeated itself in the Motor City. 1961 was a tale of two seasons for the Tigers, who won 55 in the first half of the year but just 46 in the second. They were overtaken down the stretch by the hated Yankees, who instead peaked in the latter half of the season. On a personal level, Norm Cash’s batting title was also overshadowed by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle’s quest for the home run record.

Although this article is ostensibly about the Tigers, it is only fitting that they cede the headlines to New York, for the story coming into the 1961 season in the A.L. was much the same as it had been for the past fifteen years. The 1960 Yankees had won another pennant, their 11 ^th in 14 years. Mickey Mantle, healthy and in his prime, had slugged 40 home runs, Maris was one behind him at 39, and Moose Skowron led the team in base hits. Four pitchers—Whitey Ford, Art Ditmar, Ralph Terry and Jim Coates—won 10 games, as the staff led the circuit in ERA (3.52) and shutouts (16). As the stars of the 1950s, like Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, and Ford, got older, the Bombers were able to recruit young replacements. Maris, Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek and Clete Boyer were all under 26 years old, as was pitcher Terry. The biggest change for 1961 was the dismissal of Casey Stengel as manager. The Old Perfessor had been at the helm for the Yankees’ dynasty of the 1950s, but came under fire following their loss to the Pirates in the World Series. Critics pointed to his under-use of Whitey Ford as evidence that he was getting old—which, of course, he was. He was replaced by Ralph Houk, his former back-up catcher and, later, coach.

Little was expected from the Tigers in 1961; they finished the 1960 season in 6 ^th place, winning just 71 games. They were managed that year by 63-year-old Jimmie Dykes and 45-year-old Joe Gordon, whom Detroit and Cleveland traded for one another in a bizarre move on August 3. Detroit was led by young sluggers Rocky Colavito, Norm Cash and Al Kaline, yet finished last in the league in batting average and 7 ^th in runs scored. This paltry performance meant changes for the club; during the off-season, the Tigers sent sure-handed second baseman Frank Bolling to Milwaukee for veteran outfielder Bill Bruton, catcher Dick Brown and relief pitcher Terry Fox. All three would play an important role for the club in 1961, while rookie Jake Wood filled Bolling’s shoes at second. The pitching staff was solid, led by Jim Bunning, lefty Frank Mossi and “The Yankee Killer,” Frank Lary. All of these men, as well as Colavito, Cash, and Kaline, were near the primes of their careers. One encouraging sign for the ’61 Tigers was the belief that they could not possibly fare as poorly in one-run and extra-inning games as they had the year before, when they were regularly defeated in each. Indeed, the club had missed its pythagorean prediction by six games. It was anticipated that newly-acquired Fox would be helpful in this regard. Brought in to manage the squad was Bob Scheffing, who had presided over some pitiful Chicago Cubs squads in the late 1950s.

Over 41,000 fans showed up on opening day to watch the Tigers and Indians at newly named Tiger Stadium. A strong offensive performance was wasted, however, as starter Bunning allowed six runs, three earned, in the second inning. The team bounced back immediately, however, and won the next eight games, including their first matchup of the year against the Yankees. Detroit won 17 of its first 22, and a sweep of Baltimore on May 15-17 put them 5 games ahead of New York, with whom they had split six games evenly. The Yankees, by their own standard, had stumbled out of the gate, going 9-5 in April and only barely outscoring the opposition, 61-57. May was the Bombers’ worst month of the season. They lost 8 of 11 at one point and fell all the way to fourth place, behind the Tigers, Indians and Orioles. Their fortunes finally turned on June 4 at Chicago, when they pounded the White Sox by a score of 10-1. In the next six games, they would outscore their opponents 40-8, winning every contest and vaulting back into a three-way tie for first, just in time for a weekend in Detroit.

The first game was a match-up between Phil Regan and Bill Stafford. In the bottom of the first, with Luke Wood at first, the Tigers’ Bill Bruton smacked a single to right field. Maris misplayed the ball, and Wood raced all the way around to score the game’s first run. Later, in the fifth, the situation was similar, with Bruton at the plate and Wood at first. Again, Bruton singled to right. Maris got the ball in cleanly, but shortstop Kubek threw wildly to third base, allowing Wood to score once more. Detroit’s Regan scattered 6 hits over 9 innings, and the home team hung on to win 4-2.

The Tigers might have guessed that they couldn’t keep the dangerous Yankee hitters quiet for long. The next day, the two teams combined for 22 runs, 27 hits and 6 home runs. Going into the top of the 9 ^th , Detroit led 12-5 on the strength of 4 Kaline hits in 5 at-bats, including a double and home run. Bobby Richardson and Johnny Blanchard were retired in order to begin the frame, but they were followed by a Clete Boyer home run, base hits by Kubek and Maris, a home run by Mantle, and another by Elston Howard, bringing the score to 12-10. Moose Skowron, however, lined out sharply to shortstop, ending the threat and giving Detroit a single game’s breathing room in the standings. In the finale on Sunday, Whitey Ford pitched a gem, striking out 12 and giving up just 3 hits in 8 innings, and Maris hit another home run, his 24 ^th , helping the Yanks avoid the sweep.

The end of June came with the Tigers atop the American League, at 48-26. They led the majors in scoring with 410 runs scored and had given up 324 runs. The Yankees, meanwhile, while scoring just 382 runs, had allowed fewer than any other team in the league, 296. They sat two back at 45-27; Cleveland had faded slightly, at 43-33, and Baltimore was in fourth at 40-35.

The two leaders, Detroit and New York, faced off at Yankee Stadium for a 4 ^th of July doubleheader in front of 74,000 fans. They split the pair, with Detroit winning the nightcap in the 10 ^th to keep their one game lead. The rest of the month was consumed by a frantic see-saw battle at the top of the standings, with the teams trading half-game leads nearly every night. During a July 25 doubleheader against the White Sox, Roger Maris launched four home runs, putting him at an even 40 on the season. Two days earlier, Detroit’s Norm Cash had gone 6-8 in a twinbill in Kansas City. His average at the end of the month stood at .365, tops in the league.

As it happened, the Tigers and Yankees did not meet again after the 4 ^th of July until the first day of August. For this reason, the Bombers’ takeover of first place during the month of August happened remotely. They went 22-9 in that month, which included consecutive four-game sweeps of Minnesota and Los Angeles. The Tigers, meanwhile, had been swept in their own series with the Twins, which took place in Detroit the last weekend of July. Bob Ellison hit three home runs in the three games, and as a result the Tigers fell 1.5 games behind New York. It was the first time since July 1 that the two teams had been been seperated by more than a single game in the standings. Detroit had an identical August record of 22-9, but were unable to gain any ground, and remained a game and a half back at the end of the month.

It was 88 degrees outside in New York on Friday, September 1, yet there was a definite hint of October in the air as the Tigers and Yankees met for the first game of a crucial series. Detroit sent ace left-hander Don Mossi to the mound; New York countered with another lefty, Whitey Ford. Mossi retired 20 of the first 21 men to the plate, and arrived in the 9 ^th inning haven surrendered only five hits. Mantle and Maris combined to go 0-8 with 4 strikeouts; the New York Times noted duly that “in the seventh, a helmet—suspiciously like Mickey’s—came sailing out of the New York dugout.” Detroit batters had a number of hard hit balls against Ford, including a triple by Kaline, but had not succeeded in pushing across a run. Ford left the game in the 5 ^th inning with tightness in his hip and was replaced by left-hander Bud Daley, who pitched the next three innings without allowing any damage. In the bottom of the 9 ^th , after Maris flied out and Mantle struck out, Elston Howard, Yogi Berra and Moose Skowron hit consecutive singles. Skowron’s hit scored Howard with the game-winning run, and 65,000 Yankee fans went home happy. Mossi was a true tough-luck loser: 8.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K, good for a game score of 70. Kaline had three hits on the day; he was about to embark on a searing-hot month of September in which he hit .434/.495/.651.

The next day was even hotter, 92 degrees. Detroit sent Frank Lary to the mound, New York, Ralph Terry. Friday’s loss put the Tigers 2.5 games back, so the best they could hope for was to win the second two games of the series and pull to within half a game in the standings. Towards this end, they put up a pair of quick runs in the first inning when Colavito hit his 40 ^th home run of the year with Kaline at first. New York got back one run in the 2 ^nd , one in the 4 ^th and another in the 6 ^th on a Maris home run, making the score 3-2. Detroit threatened back in the top of the 8 ^th , when they placed two men on for Bruton with two outs. Manager Schelling chose to pinch-hit for Bruton, who had a hit in the game, with seldom-used George Alusik. The 26-year-old Alusik had just 9 at-bats in his career, and only two hits. In this crucial situation, he failed to get his third, striking out instead to end the rally. The Yankees took the opportunity in the bottom half of the inning to put the game out of reach with another Maris home run, this one his 53 ^rd of the season. The final count was 7-2, and the Tigers desperately needed a win on Sunday.

Both teams scored in the first inning of the series finale, with the Yankees jumping to a 3-1 lead on a pair of home runs from Mantle and Berra. By the time the game got to the top of the 9 ^th inning, the New York lead was 4-3, and Luis Arroyo was on the hill to close out the game for Bill Stafford. Dick McAulifee walked to lead off the inning. A batter later, Dick Brown tapped a ball back to Arroyo, who threw to Skowron for the out at first. Skowron, however, failed to catch the ball; McAulifee advanced to third and Brown went to second. After Arroyo walked pinch-hitter Bubba Morton to load the bases, Jake Wood singled sharply to left, scoring two runs and putting Detroit ahead once again. Their enthusiasm, however, was short-lived. The first batter whom Tigers reliever Jerry Staley faced was Mickey Mantle, and the Mick wasted no time in depositing his second home run of the game into the right field bleachers, knotting the score at five. With no outs, Berra singled, Arroyo bunted him to second, Skowron was walked and Clete Boyer flied out. Elston Howard came to the plate with two on and two outs in the bottom of the 9 ^th , facing new reliever Ron Kline. In true 1961 Yankees fashion, Howard came through in the biggest way possible. His blast over the left field fence ended the game. More importantly, it completed the series sweep for New York, and dropped Detroit 4.5 games back with 25 to play.

The two teams still had four games to play against one another in Detroit later that month. After leaving the Bronx with their tails between their legs, however, the Tigers proceeded to get swept in Baltimore and lose three of four in Boston. They had left Chicago for New York on August 31 with only 1.5 games to make up. On September 11, they returned from the 10-game road trip with only one victory to show for it. They’d been outscored 47-27 and sat 11.5 games out of first place. It hardly mattered that they split the series against the Yankees Sept. 15-17; the real drama of that weekend was watching Maris belt his 58 ^th and 59 ^th home runs, leaving him one short of the Babe with nine games left to play. The Yankees clinched the A.L. the next week with a win at Baltimore, ending with 109 wins.

The Tigers swept Los Angeles and Minnesota in the final weeks, but still finished eight games back, with a record of 101-61. The team led the league in batting average and on-base percentage, but this offense was actually very poorly distributed through the lineup. Although Cash, Kaline and Colavito all had tremendous seasons, they received little offensive support from their teammates. Only catcher Dick Brown joined them with an OPS+ over 100. Similarly, the defense in the outfield was quite strong, while that in the infield was lacking. Furthermore, the pitching staff recorded the most walks and the fewest strikeouts of any in the A.L. The Tigers were “lucky” in that they outperformed their pythagorean win expectation by three games.

Detroit was undoubtedly a strong team in 1961, and could well have challenged for a World Series title in another year. Unfortunately for them, their success came during the peak of a Yankee dynasty. The few flaws the team had were enough to keep it from joining the ranks of the 1954 Indians and 1959 White Sox as clubs who had managed, at least temporarily, to defeat the mid-century juggernaut from New York.

References: www.baseball-reference.com, New York Times archives