The New York Yankees’ hope for a three-peat is off to a good start as the 1961 Yanks are the only unbeaten team after the first week of the season.
But, the rest of the league is hoping to keep a trend going: the two previous teams that started 4-0 after the first week didn’t win the league.
Week 1 saw each squad play four different teams. Week 2 will go back to the traditional four-game series.
The Yankees didn’t hit for a high average (.227), but had a league-best 10 home runs to go with a league-best 2.54 team ERA.
It will be interesting to see if the 1969 Minnesota Twins can keep anything close to their incredible start at the plate going — a .376 team average, four starters above .400, seven of eight starters above .300. They averaged more than eight runs per game. And their pitching was quite good in week 1 as well. Their one loss was to the Yankees.
There were a lot of good individual offensive showings in week 1, as three players hit .500 or better and seven more were at .400 or above.
The Yankees will face the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers, who are tied for second with the Twins, in the marquee matchup of week 2.
| Week 1 | W | L | PCT | GB | R | RA | +/- | AVG | ERA | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 New York Yankees | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 24 | 12 | +12 | .227 | 2.54 | Stats |
| 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1.0 | 16 | 16 | 0 | .225 | 4.00 | Stats |
| 1969 Minnesota Twins | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1.0 | 34 | 14 | +20 | .376 | 3.23 | Stats |
| 1962 San Francisco Giants | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2.0 | 16 | 24 | -8 | .279 | 5.66 | Stats |
| 1967 Boston Red Sox | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2.0 | 21 | 11 | +10 | .297 | 2.57 | Stats |
| 1961 Detroit Tigers | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3.0 | 12 | 28 | -16 | .235 | 6.17 | Stats |
| 1967 St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3.0 | 11 | 21 | -10 | .207 | 5.14 | Stats |
| 1969 New York Mets | 0 | 4 | .000 | 4.0 | 9 | 17 | -8 | .161 | 4.50 | Stats |
Week 1 recaps:
> Gameday #1
> Gameday #2
> Gameday #3
> Gameday #4
Week 1 featured YouTube broadcasts:
> 1969 Mets vs. 1961 Yankees (Gameday #1)
BATTING LEADERS
Average
.563 George Scott, 1967 Red Sox
.529 Tony Oliva, 1969 Twins
.500 Rico Petrocelli, 1967 Red Sox
.467 Yogi Berra, 1961 Yankees
.444 Cesar Tovar, 1969 Twins
.444 Rod Carew, 1969 Twins
.438 Willie Mays, 1962 Giants
.412 Harvey Kuenn, 1962 Giants
.400 Rich Reese, 1969 Twins
.400 Jim Gilliam, 1962 Dodgers
Runs
6 Tony Oliva, 1969 Twins
6 Yogi Berra, 1961 Yankees
5 Rod Carew, 1969 Twins
5 Ted Uhlaender, 1969 Twins
4 many
Hits
9 Tony Oliva, 1969 Twins
9 George Scott, 1967 Red Sox
8 Rod Carew, 1969 Twins
8 Ted Uhlaender, 1969 Twins
8 Rich Reese, 1969 Twins
8 Cesar Tovar, 1969 Twins
Doubles
4 Rod Carew, 1969 Twins
3 Reggie Smith, 1967 Red Sox
3 Tom Haller, 1962 Giants
2 many
Triples
2 Tony Oliva, 1969 Twins
2 Harvey Kuenn, 1962 Giants
1 many
Home Runs
2 many
RBI
9 Harmon Killebrew, 1969 Twins
6 Rico Petrocelli, 1967 Red Sox
6 Bill Skowron, 1961 Yankees
6 Rich Reese, 1969 Twins
6 Tony Oliva, 1969 Twins
6 Curt Flood, 1967 Cardinals
6 George Scott, 1967 Red Sox
Stolen Bases
3 Rod Carew, 1969 Twins
2 Jim Gilliam, 1962 Dodgers
2 Cesar Tovar, 1969 Twins
1 many
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 