1961 Awards

1961 Awards

MVP

In 1961, Hill Valley outfielder Mickey Mantle joined former Peoria Chief Ted Kluszewski as the only repeat winner of the AARBL MVP award. Playing for the league's top team, Mantle led the Lightning Bolts to their 4th straight championship. Mantle was a dominant force for Hill Valley and was largely responsible for the bolts' league record 112 wins. Mantle was a nightmare for opposing pitchers all year long as he compiled a .301 batting average, with a league best 59 home runs and a league best 160 RBI. In the voting, Mantle received 11 of the 12 first place votes, and easily bested slugging first baseman Jim Gentile of the Peoria Chief's for the AARBL's top award.

1961 AARBL MVP

Mickey Mantle

Hill Valley Lightning Bolts

AVG.

SLG.

OBP.

RBI

.301

.664

.408

162

572

146*

172

59*

160*

107

134

* Denotes led league

Cy Young

Looking to put a stranglehold on the award, for the third time in team history, the Wilmington Hornets have a Cy Young award winner. Following in the team tradition of great pitching established by Billy Pierce and Dick Donovan before him, Bob Purkey was "lights out" as he led the Hornets to their second World Series appearance in team history. Purkey finished the season with a 21-6 record, and a 2.86 E.R.A. were both were good for the number two spot in the league, and his .778 winning percentage was good for the top spot. Purkey also threw seven complete games, and a shutout. In the Cy Young Award voting, Purkey garnered nine of the twelve first place votes as he easily bested Hill Valley reliever Hoyt Wilhelm for the award.

1961 AARBL Cy Young Award Winner

Bob Purkey

Wilmington Hornets

E.R.A.

PCT.

2.86

.778*

258.1

227

122

* Denotes led league

Babe Ruth

For the first time since the 1957 season, the AARBL's MVP has also taken home the coveted Babe Ruth award, which is awarded each season to the AARBL's best offensive player. Mickey Mantle of the Hill Valley Lightning Bolts collected eight of the twelve first place votes as he joined Ted Kluszewski (3) and Ernie Banks (2) as the only repeat winners of the award. The Hill Valley outfielder clubbed a league leading 59 home runs, and knocked in a league leading 160 runs, as he compiled a .301 batting average, and an impressive a .664 slugging percentage while leading a fearsome Bolts attack to a league record 112 wins, and 4th straight championship. In the voting, Mantle totaled 50 points, besting Norm Cash of the Carolina Grays, who hit a league best .360 with 43 HRs, and 125 RBIs, by 14 points.

1961 AARBL Babe Ruth Award

Mickey Mantle

Hill Valley Lightning Bolts

AVG.

SLG.

OBP.

RBI

.301

.664

.408

162

572

146*

172

59*

160*

107

134

* Denotes led league

Rolaids Reliever

The 1961 AARBL season saw Hoyt Wilhelm of the Hill Valley Lightning bolts reclaim the Rolaids Reliever award he won during the league's inaugural 1954 season. Pitching for the league champs, Wilhelm had plenty of opportunities to preserve Hill Valley victories, something he did with regularity throughout the 1961 season. Wilhelm accumulated 139 Rolaids Relief points and a league best 45 saves and .918 save percentage. Wilhelm also compiled a 9-3 record with a 1.87 E.R.A. to anchor the Hill Valley bullpen. Stu Miller of the Wilmington Hornets was Wilhelm's primary competition for the award, but finished a distant second to Wilhelm with 102 Rolaids Relief points.

1961 AARBL Rolaids Relief Man

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hill Valley Lightning Bolts

E.R.A.

PCT.

1.87

.750

45*

106.1

* Denotes led league

Rookie of the Year

For the third straight season, the AARBL's Rookie of the Year Award belongs to a pitcher. This year's recipient is Jim Archer of the Peoria Chiefs. Drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 1961 rookie entry draft to bolster Peoria's veteran staff, Archer was better than expected, as he compiled an 18-6 record in 32 starts for the Chiefs, which was good for an impressive .750 winning percentage. In the Rookie of the Year voting, Archer received 5 of the 12 first place votes, as he won a tight race over Wilmington shortstop Dick Howser for the award.

1961 AARBL Rookie of the Year

Jim Archer

Peoria Chiefs

E.R.A.

PCT.

3.76

.750

215.1

247

114

* Denotes led league

MVP Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Mantle	Hill Valley	11	0	0	55
Gentile	Peoria	1	7	4	30
Cash	Carolina	0	3	4	13
Mathews	Wilmington	0	1	1	4
Aaron	Kansas City	0	1	0	3
Stuart	Wilmington	0	0	2	2
Purkey	Wilmington	0	0	1	1

Cy Young Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Purkey	Wilmington	9	3	0	54
Wilhelm	Hill Valley	2	4	3	25
Williams	Hill Valley	1	2	5	16
Hobbie	Hill Valley	0	3	0	9
Koufax	Carolina	0	0	2	2
Miller	Wilmington	0	0	1	1
Cardwell	Wilmington	0	0	1	1

Babe Ruth Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Mantle	Hill Valley	8	3	1	50
Cash	Carolina	3	6	3	36
Gentile	Peoria	1	3	7	21
Colavito	Oneonta	0	0	1	1

R.O.Y. Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Archer	Peoria	5	2	0	31
Howser	Wilmington	3	3	0	24
M. Alou	Carolina	3	0	1	16
Cardenas	Mt. Pleasant	0	3	0	9
J. Torre	Carolina	1	1	0	8
Wills	Oneonta	0	0	6	6
Williams	Potomac	0	2	0	6
Gibbon	Peoria	0	1	0	3
Blanchard	Hill Valley	0	0	3	3
Fox	Carolina	0	0	1	1
Robinson	Des Moines	0	0	1	1

Strat-O-Matic Awards

Strat-O-Matic Report
Strat-O-Matic Report

AWARDS VOTING FOR 1961 AA Retro League Date: 10/16/1961 MVP AWARD CY YOUNG AWARD M.Mantle(HLV) 417 H.Wilhelm(HLV) 128 J.Gentile(PEO) 357 S.Miller(WIL) 89 R.Maris(HLV) 200 S.Williams(HLV) 45 E.Mathews(WIL) 129 B.Purkey(WIL) 18 W.Mays(PEO) 95 J.Pizarro(HLV) 8 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS BY POSITION C E.Battey(PEO) 1,257,330 E.Howard(DES) 1,114,877 1B J.Gentile(PEO) 3,161,779 N.Cash(CAR) 2,928,085 2B J.Lumpe(ONT) 1,316,219 F.Bolling(KCA) 1,238,593 3B E.Mathews(WIL) 2,227,816 K.Boyer(HLV) 1,958,668 SS W.Held(DES) 1,758,967 D.Howser(WIL) 1,269,476 LF R.Colavito(ONT) 2,380,061 F.Thomas(PIT) 1,287,090 CF M.Mantle(HLV) 3,882,253 H.Aaron(KCA) 2,491,356 RF R.Maris(HLV) 2,222,893 R.Clemente(MTP) 1,962,282 Pi H.Wilhelm(HLV) 3,726,963 S.Miller(WIL) 2,467,403 B.Purkey(WIL) 2,116,877 S.Williams(HLV) 2,063,084 J.Pizarro(HLV) 1,681,758 D.Cardwell(WIL) 1,486,151 G.Hobbie(HLV) 1,453,948 L.Arroyo(HLV) 1,440,405 T.Lown(ONT) 1,370,923 S.Koufax(CAR) 1,318,876 M.Grant(ONT) 1,306,029 J.O'Toole(KCA) 1,190,668 GOLD GLOVE SELECTIONS BY POSITION WINNER RUNNER UP P W.Spahn(DES) M.Pappas(CAR) C E.Howard(DES) E.Battey(PEO) 1B O.Cepeda(DES) J.Gentile(PEO) 2B C.Schilling(HLV) F.Bolling(KCA) 3B B.Robinson(NOB) J.Davenport(CAR) SS L.Aparicio(HLV) M.Wills(ONT) OF J.Piersall(NOB) W.Mays(PEO) OF J.Landis(ONT) R.Clemente(MTP) OF M.Mantle(HLV) B.Bruton(ACD) SILVER SLUGGER SELECTIONS BY POSITION WINNER RUNNER UP C E.Battey(PEO) E.Howard(DES) 1B J.Gentile(PEO) N.Cash(CAR) 2B F.Bolling(KCA) J.Lumpe(ONT) 3B E.Mathews(WIL) K.Boyer(HLV) SS W.Held(DES) E.Banks(ONT) LF R.Colavito(ONT) F.Thomas(PIT) CF M.Mantle(HLV) H.Aaron(KCA) RF R.Maris(HLV) R.Clemente(MTP) ROLAIDS FIREMAN RELIEF AWARD MANAGER OF THE YEAR H.Wilhelm(HLV) 139 Denton Edwards(HLV) S.Miller(WIL) 102 Bob Bush(WIL) T.Lown(ONT) 80 Michael Tricarico(PEO) B.Henry(NOB) 68 Charlie Goldie(DES) R.Face(PEO) 65 Eric Melton(ONT)

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