1961 Milwaukee Braves season

Offseason

• October 14, 1960: Red Schoendienst was released by the Braves.
• October 14, 1960: Stan Lopata was released by the Braves.
• December 3, 1960: Billy Martin was purchased by the Braves from the Cincinnati Reds.
• December 14, 1960: Joe Azcue was purchased by the Braves from the Cincinnati Reds.
• Prior to 1961 season (exact date unknown)
  • Jim Campbell was traded by the Braves to the Houston Colt .45s for Morrie Martin.
  • Clay Carroll was signed by the Braves as an amateur free agent.

Regular season

On April 28, Warren Spahn threw a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants.

On June 8, against the Cincinnati Reds, four consecutive Braves batters hit home runs off pitchers Jim Maloney (two) and Marshall Bridges (two more) in the seventh inning. The batters who accomplished this feat were Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, and Frank Thomas. Oddly, both Adcock and Thomas were former players for the Reds.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• April 1961: Morrie Martin was released by the Braves.
• May 9, 1961: Mel Roach was traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for Frank Thomas.
• May 10, 1961: Wes Covington was selected off waivers from the Braves by the Chicago White Sox.
• June 1, 1961: Billy Martin was traded by the Braves to the Minnesota Twins for Billy Consolo.

Managerial turnover

Chuck Dressen, 66, was fired on September 2, less than a month shy of finishing his second year as the Braves' manager. The club was in third place at seven games behind the league-leading Cincinnati Reds, when the change was announced after a Saturday home win over {{nowrap|the Dodgers.

His successor was executive vice president Birdie Tebbetts, 48, a former Cincinnati manager, who came down from the Milwaukee front office to take the reins; the Braves went under him to finish the season. Tebbetts was signed through the 1963 season but he would spend only 1962 as the Braves' skipper before leaving to become manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1963. Tebbetts retained two of Dressen's coaches, Andy Pafko and Whit Wyatt, while George Myatt departed for the American League Detroit Tigers.

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

Awards and honors

League leaders

• Warren Spahn, National League leader, wins

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville

Notes

References

• 1961 Milwaukee Braves season at Baseball Reference

References

1. (October 2, 1961). "The Major Leagues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
2. Thisted, Red. (October 2, 1961). "Braves split, finish 4th". Milwaukee Sentinel.
3. (October 3, 1961). "Attendance down 5.6% in majors". Milwaukee Sentinel.
4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/schoere01.shtml Red Schoendienst page at Baseball Reference]
5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lopatst01.shtml Stan Lopata page at Baseball Reference]
6. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/martibi02.shtml Billy Martin page at Baseball Reference]
7. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/azcuejo01.shtml Joe Azcue page at Baseball-Reference]
8. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/martimo01.shtml Morrie Martin page at Baseball Reference]
9. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carrocl02.shtml Clay Carroll page at Baseball-Reference]
10. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19610510&id=NUImAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8_4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=804,3417032&hl=en Braves trade Mel Roach for Frank Thomas]
11. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/covinwe01.shtml Wes Covington page at Baseball Reference]
12. Chapman, Lou. (September 3, 1961). "Fire Dressen, hire Birdie". Milwaukee Sentinel.
13. Kuehele, Oliver E.. (September 3, 1961). "Dressen fired by Braves; Tebbetts is new manager". Milwaukee Journal.
14. Walfoort, Cleon. (September 3, 1961). "Dressen is shocked by his dismissal, 'So many vice presidents,' he says". Milwaukee Journal.
15. Anheuser, Ernie. (September 3, 1961). "Bring on the new...Tebbetts...farewell to the old...Dressen". Milwaukee Sentinel.
16. (September 4, 1961). "Charlie Dressen fired by Braves, Tebbetts named as successor". Montreal Gazette.
17. ''Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures'', 2008 Edition, p.99, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, {{ISBN. 978-0-451-22363-0