Wins : 1961 National League Top 25

Finding the American or National League leader in virtually every hitting & pitching statistic is easy-to-do. Finding the top 25 players during any given season is far more challenging. Baseball Almanac has taken away that difficult problem and is pleased to present the data you requested:

"The guys who made up this schedule must have been in a room with a bottle of Wild Turkey and 40 straws." - Dave Bergman
 

1961 Wins Leaders

Top 25 in the National League

Joey Jay 21 Cincinnati Reds 1
Warren Spahn 21 Milwaukee Braves  
Jim O'Toole 19 Cincinnati Reds 3
Lew Burdette 18 Milwaukee Braves 4
Sandy Koufax 18 Los Angeles Dodgers  
Johnny Podres 18 Los Angeles Dodgers  
Bob Purkey 16 Cincinnati Reds 7
Don Cardwell 15 Chicago Cubs 8
Stan Williams 15 Los Angeles Dodgers  
Bob Friend 14 Pittsburgh Pirates 10
Larry Jackson 14 St. Louis Cardinals  
Stu Miller 14 San Francisco Giants  
Ray Sadecki 14 St. Louis Cardinals  
Don Drysdale 13 Los Angeles Dodgers 14
Joe Gibbon 13 Pittsburgh Pirates  
Bob Gibson 13 St. Louis Cardinals  
Juan Marichal 13 San Francisco Giants  
Mike McCormick 13 San Francisco Giants  
Jack Sanford 13 San Francisco Giants  
Art Mahaffey 11 Philadelphia Phillies 20
Jim Brosnan 10 Cincinnati Reds 21
Jack Curtis 10 Chicago Cubs  
Dick Ellsworth 10 Chicago Cubs  
Harvey Haddix 10 Pittsburgh Pirates  
Lindy McDaniel 10 St. Louis Cardinals  



Jose Cruz of the Houston Astros had his number twenty-five retired on October 3, 1992, and became the first Major League player with that particular retired number.

The most recognizable Detroit Tiger to wear the number twenty-five was probably Norm Cash (who wore it from 1960 through 1974), but did you know that Hall of Famer Larry Doby also wore it during his single season with Detroit?

Jim Thome wore number twenty-five since he first came up with the Cleveland Indians making him the franchise record holder for that particular number (Mike Garcia is second).