1961 Major League Baseball season 18 times each for a total of 162 games. The National League played a 154 game schedule for the final time in 1961 before switching to 162 games when they also expanded to ten teams for the following season. 1961 Major League Baseball season The 1961 Major League Baseball season was played from April 10 to October 12, 1961. That season saw the New York Yankees defeat the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the World Series. The season is best known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris' and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record
Babe Barna Babe Barna Herbert Paul "Babe" Barna (March 2, 1915 – May 18, 1972) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938), New York Giants (1941–1943) and Boston Red Sox (1943). Barna batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia and attended West Virginia University, where he played college baseball for the Mountaineers from 1935–1937. In a five-season career, Barna was a .232 hitter with 12 home runs and 96 RBI in 207 games played. His best season statistically was , when he posted 85 hits, seven triples, six home