Outfielder, New
York Yankees
Age: 27 (Sept. 10)
2nd season
with Yankees
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 197
Prior to 1961:
Born in
Minnesota, Maris moved with his family to Fargo, North Dakota at a young age. A
star athlete at Bishop Shanley High School, in football he once returned four
kickoffs for touchdowns in a single game. Playing American Legion baseball, he
impressed scouts with his all-around ability. Signed by the Cleveland Indians
at age 18 in 1953, he was initially assigned to Fargo-Morehead of the Class C
Northern League where he appeared in 114 games and batted .325 with 9 home runs
and 80 RBIs. Advancing to the Keokuk Kernels of the Class B
Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League in 1954, Maris hit .315 with 32 home
runs and 111 RBIs. In the field he tied the league record for put outs by an
outfielder with 305. Having gone from being a contact hitter to a pull hitter
who could hit for power, he hit a total of 20 home runs in 1955 for Reading of
the Class A Eastern League and Tulsa of the Class AA Texas League while batting
a combined .278. Promoted to Indianapolis of the Class AAA American Association
in 1956, Maris batted .293 with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs. The team won the
Junior World Series and Maris made it to the Indians in 1957 where he flashed
more of his potential by hitting 14 home runs with 51 RBIs while batting a
disappointing .235 as he played in pain from broken ribs suffered in May. He
appeared in 116 games, 99 of them starts. During the 1958 season, Maris was
traded to the Kansas City Athletics where he moved into right field and proved
to be a star in the making as he batted a combined .240 with 19 home runs and
53 RBIs. An All-Star for the first time in 1959, Maris hit .273 with 16 home
runs and 72 RBIs. In the offseason, the Yankees swung a deal for him, and taking
over Hank Bauer’s vacated spot in right field he paired up well with star
center fielder Mickey Mantle in the middle of the batting order, batting .283
with 39 home runs (one behind Mantle’s league-leading total), and league-best
totals in RBIs (112) and slugging (.581). His performance earned him American
League MVP recognition. In his first taste of postseason action, he hit .267
with two home runs in the seven-game World Series loss to Pittsburgh.
1961 Season Summary
Appeared in 161
games
RF – 150, CF – 17,
PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 698 [7]
At Bats – 590
[12, tied with Frank Malzone]
Runs – 132 [1]
Hits – 159 [16]
Doubles – 16
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 61
[1]
RBI – 141 [1,
tied with Jim Gentile]
Bases on Balls
– 94 [8]
Int. BB – 0
Strikeouts – 67
Stolen Bases – 0
Caught Stealing
– 0
Average - .269
OBP - .372 [15]
Slugging Pct. -
.620 [4]
Total Bases – 366
[1]
GDP – 16 [14,
tied with Norm Cash, Al Kaline & Jackie Jensen]
Hit by Pitches
– 7 [7]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 7 [10,
tied with five others]
League-leading
runs scored were +1 ahead of runner-up Mickey Mantle
League-leading
home runs were +7 ahead of runner-up Mickey Mantle
League-leading total
bases were +12 ahead of runner-up Norm Cash
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 33, RBI - 80, AVG - .282, SLG - .648, OBP – .388
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at KC A’s 6/22
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 30
HR on road – 31
Most home runs,
game – 2 on seven occasions
Multi-HR games
– 7
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Chi. White Sox 7/25
Pinch-hitting – 1 for 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 284
Put Outs – 266
Assists – 9
Errors – 9
DP – 1
Pct. - .968
Postseason
Batting: 5 G (World Series vs. Cincinnati)
PA – 23,AB – 19,
R – 4, H – 2, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 4, IBB – 1, SO – 6, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .105, OBP - .261, SLG - .316, TB – 6, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star (Started
for AL in RF in first game)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Roger Maris,
NYY.: 202 points - 7 of 20 first place votes, 72% share
Mickey Mantle,
NYY: 198 points – 6 first place votes, 71% share
Jim Gentile,
Balt.: 157 points – 5 first place votes, 56% share
Norm Cash, Det.:
151 points – 1 first place vote, 54% share
Whitey Ford,
NYY: 102 points – 36% share
(1 first place
vote for Luis Arroyo, NYY who ranked sixth)
---
The Yankees,
under new manager Ralph Houk, went 109-53 to win the AL pennant by 8 games over
the Detroit Tigers, while leading the league in home runs (240), RBIs (781),
slugging (.442) & total bases (2455). The Yankees surged to the pennant in
a season dominated by the home run race between Maris and Mickey Mantle. From
May 17 to June 22, Maris hit 24 home runs in 38 games, taking the lead over his
teammate. The low-key Maris became tense and testy from the pressure fed by the
media frenzy. His hair began falling out and he became short-tempered. With
expansion having caused the AL to expand the schedule from 154 to 162 games
(the NL would follow in 1962), commissioner Ford Frick ruled that any home run
record would need to be accomplished in 154 games or would be accompanied by an
asterisk in the record books. Maris entered September with 51 homers, but his
pace began to slow down the stretch. An injury took Mantle out of the race,
putting the spotlight entirely on Maris. He hit his 59th home run at
Baltimore in the 154th game of the season. Number 60 came at Yankee
Stadium on September 26 and the record-breaking 61st in the season
finale at home against the Red Sox and RHP Tracy Stallard. Won World Series
over the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1. The Series was highlighted by New Yotk LHP
Whitey Ford’s record string of 33 consecutive shutout innings pitched. Maris
contributed a home run while garnering only two hits.
Aftermath of 1961:
Maris followed
up with a respectable season in 1962 in which he hit .256 with 33 home runs and
100 RBIs. He also made a big defensive play in Game 7 of the World Series
against the Giants when, in the ninth inning with two outs, a one-run lead, and
the fleet-footed Matty Alou on first, batter Willie Mays hit a ball into the
right field corner. Maris cut the ball off and threw to second baseman Bobby
Richardson to force Alou to hold at third. First baseman Willie McCovey lined
out to end the game and the Series in the Yanks’ favor. Limited to 90 games in
1963 due to an assortment of injuries, Maris still managed to slug 23 home runs
along with 53 RBIs and a .269 average. Rebounding somewhat in 1964, when he
occasionally filled in for the ailing Mantle in center field, Maris batted .281
with 26 home runs and 71 RBIs. With the drop of the Yankees to sixth place in
1965, Maris, who was limited to 46 games by a hand injury, hit just .239 with 8
home runs. Following another injury-marred season in 1966, in which he batted
.233 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs while playing in 119 games, the Yankees
traded Maris to the St. Louis Cardinals for nondescript third baseman Charley
Smith. Pleased with the opportunity for a fresh start, he was an effective
player for a pennant-winning club in 1967, hitting .261 with 18 doubles, 7
triples, 9 home runs, and 55 RBIs. He also batted .385 with 7 RBIs in the
seven-game World Series victory over the Red Sox. Dealing with injuries again
in 1968, he hit .255 in 100 games and retired following one last World Series
appearance at age 34. For his major league career, Maris batted .260 with 1325
hits that included 195 doubles, 42 triples, and 275 home runs. He further
scored 826 runs and compiled 850 RBIs and drew 652 walks. With the Yankees he
hit .265 with 797 hits, 520 runs scored, 110 doubles, 17 triples, 203 home
runs, 547 RBIs, and a .356 OBP with 413 walks drawn. Appearing in 41 World
Series games, Maris hit .217 with 6 home runs and 18 RBIs. An All-Star during
four seasons as well as a two-time MVP, the Yankees eventually retired his #9
and placed a plaque in his honor at Monument Park in Yankee Stadium. In
retirement, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch set Maris up with a beer
distributorship in Florida that he operated until his death from cancer at age
51 in 1985. A player too-often dismissed as a one-year wonder, Maris was a
productive hitter and very good outfielder. A small-town man, he was
uncomfortable dealing with newfound notoriety in New York, although he came to
be held in greater esteem in retrospect. His 61 home runs in 1961 remained as
the AL record until 2022.
---
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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