The 1961 New York Yankees lineup is generally marked as one of the best to ever take the field. Following is a in-depth look at that lineup and the team that earned the nickname of the Bronx Bombers.
The team finished with a record of 109–53, eight games ahead of the Detroit Tigers, and won their 26th American League pennant. Managed by Ralph Houk, the New York Yankees plowed their way through a season in which the pennant race was an afterthought.
What mattered was the “M&M Boys”, who launched into a epic assault on the single-season record of 60 home runs set by Babe Ruth way back in 1927.
On a daily basis, New York newspapers, and eventually the entire nation, monitored the competition between an already encapsulated superstar Mickey Mantle and a relatively unknown Roger Maris as the home runs continued to mount throughout the summer
The sideshow continued and as we all know, Roger Maris entered the lore of baseball on a 2-0 pitch from Tracy Stallard that he delivered into the short right field porch at the old Yankee Stadium. Here’s the call by the inimitable Phil Rizzuto…
The Yankees’ 240 home runs that year would eclipse every team and doubled the total of several teams as they entered the World Series, which they won in five games over the Cincinnati Reds. Here is the typical starting lineup for the New York Yankees during that magical season…