1961 Los Angeles Angels season

Offseason

The Los Angeles Angels and the new Washington Senators were the American League's first expansion clubs. They took part in MLB's initial expansion draft, where Los Angeles had the top pick and chose Eli Grba from the New York Yankees. Other selections included Jim Fregosi from the Boston Red Sox, Bob Cerv from the Yankees, Steve Bilko from the Detroit Tigers, and Earl Averill, Jr. and Jim McAnany from the Chicago White Sox. Catcher Del Rice joined the Angels as a free agent on December 29, 1960.

Regular season

As an expansion team, the Angels were not expected to perform well, but they finished ahead of both the Senators and the Kansas City A's, who tied for last place nine games behind Los Angeles. The franchise's first game occurred on April 11, 1961, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, where Ted Kluszewski hit home runs in the first and second innings for five runs, and Eli Grba threw a complete-game six-hitter, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 7–2. The Angels then lost eight consecutive games, including their home opener on April 27 against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. Five players hit 20 or more home runs: Leon Wagner (28), Ken Hunt (25), Lee Thomas (24), Earl Averill, Jr. (21), and Steve Bilko (20).

Albie Pearson led the team in batting average, on-base percentage (.420), stolen bases (11), runs (92), and walks (96). Lee Thomas led in hits with 128, one more than Wagner. Ken McBride led the pitching staff with 12 wins and 15 losses, while Eli Grba went 11–13. Ted Bowsfield was the only starter with a winning record at 11–8.

McBride's 180 strikeouts were 75 more than Grba's 105. The Angels led the American League in strikeouts as a team. Art Fowler and Tom Morgan recorded 11 and 10 saves respectively, helping the team finish second in the league in saves. Several transactions occurred during the season: on April 1, Jim McAnany was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Lou Johnson; on April 7, Ray Semproch was purchased from the Washington Senators; on May 8, Bob Cerv and Tex Clevenger were traded to the New York Yankees for Lee Thomas, Ryne Duren, and Johnny James; on May 26, Art Fowler was purchased from the Los Angeles Dodgers; and on July 22, Tom Satriano was signed as an amateur free agent.