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
1969 Major League Baseball expansion for the 1968 Major League Baseball season. The American League had considered decreasing the number of games played by each team to 152 or 156 from 162 that had been played each season since 1961, and the National League either 162 or 165 games, but the leagues agreed to a 162-game schedule in a meeting on 10 July 1968. Each team would play 18 games against divisional opponents, and 12 games against league opponents in the other division. A best-of-five post-season playoff series between league division winners was also introduced. The Kansas City Royals have been the most successful of