League standings -- American League
Regular season
| Divisional |
| Year | Team | W | L | Pct | GB | | L10 | Strk | Recent | RF | RA | Mgn | Mgc |
| 1961 | Cleveland | 105 | 56 | .652 | - |   | 4-6 | W1 | wlwlllwlwl | 871 | 597 | 274 | 0 |
| 1961 | Detroit | 92 | 70 | .568 | 13 1/2 |   | 8-2 | W3 | wwwlwwwwlw | 771 | 693 | 78 |   |
| 1961 | Chicago (A) | 91 | 71 | .562 | 14 1/2 |   | 5-5 | L3 | lllwlwwwwl | 676 | 591 | 85 |   |
| 1961 | Boston | 87 | 75 | .537 | 18 1/2 |   | 6-4 | L1 | lwwwlwlwlw | 840 | 796 | 44 |   |
| 1961 | Kansas City | 81 | 80 | .503 | 24 |   | 4-6 | W1 | wlwwllllwl | 737 | 732 | 5 |   |
| 1961 | Minnesota | 80 | 80 | .500 | 24 1/2 |   | 4-6 | L3 | lllwwwlllw | 861 | 867 | -6 |   |
| 1961 | New York (A) | 75 | 87 | .463 | 30 1/2 |   | 5-5 | W1 | wllwlwllww | 733 | 799 | -66 |   |
| 1961 | Washington | 74 | 87 | .460 | 31 |   | 7-3 | L1 | lwlwwwwwwl | 665 | 743 | -78 |   |
| 1961 | Baltimore | 72 | 90 | .444 | 33 1/2 |   | 4-6 | W2 | wwlwlllwll | 778 | 793 | -15 |   |
| 1961 | Los Angeles (A) | 50 | 111 | .311 | 55 |   | 2-8 | L1 | lwlllllwll | 710 | 1031 | -321 |   |
| Wildcard |
| Year | Team | W | L | Pct | GB | | L10 | Strk | Recent | Mgc |
| 1961 | Cleveland | 105 | 56 | .652 | na |   | 4-6 | W1 | wlwlllwlwl |   |
| 1961 | Detroit | 92 | 70 | .568 | - |   | 8-2 | W3 | wwwlwwwwlw | 0 |
| 1961 | Chicago (A) | 91 | 71 | .562 | 1 |   | 5-5 | L3 | lllwlwwwwl |   |
| 1961 | Boston | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 |   | 6-4 | L1 | lwwwlwlwlw |   |
| 1961 | Kansas City | 81 | 80 | .503 | 10 1/2 |   | 4-6 | W1 | wlwwllllwl |   |
| 1961 | Minnesota | 80 | 80 | .500 | 11 |   | 4-6 | L3 | lllwwwlllw |   |
| 1961 | New York (A) | 75 | 87 | .463 | 17 |   | 5-5 | W1 | wllwlwllww |   |
| 1961 | Washington | 74 | 87 | .460 | 17 1/2 |   | 7-3 | L1 | lwlwwwwwwl |   |
| 1961 | Baltimore | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 |   | 4-6 | W2 | wwlwlllwll |   |
| 1961 | Los Angeles (A) | 50 | 111 | .311 | 41 1/2 |   | 2-8 | L1 | lwlllllwll |   |
| Expanded1 |
| Year | Team | Home | Road | Grass | Turf | vsLHP | vsRHP | Div | InterLg |
| 1961 | Cleveland | 63-18 | 42-38 | 105-56 |   | 26-9 | 79-47 | 105-56 |   |
| 1961 | Detroit | 51-30 | 41-40 | 92-70 |   | 21-8 | 71-62 | 92-70 |   |
| 1961 | Chicago (A) | 55-26 | 36-45 | 91-71 |   | 22-19 | 69-52 | 91-71 |   |
| 1961 | Boston | 50-31 | 37-44 | 87-75 |   | 16-23 | 71-52 | 87-75 |   |
| 1961 | Kansas City | 44-36 | 37-44 | 81-80 |   | 18-13 | 63-67 | 81-80 |   |
| 1961 | Minnesota | 44-36 | 36-44 | 80-80 |   | 18-16 | 62-64 | 80-80 |   |
| 1961 | New York (A) | 51-30 | 24-57 | 75-87 |   | 16-20 | 59-67 | 75-87 |   |
| 1961 | Washington | 41-38 | 33-49 | 74-87 |   | 17-21 | 57-66 | 74-87 |   |
| 1961 | Baltimore | 44-37 | 28-53 | 72-90 |   | 18-18 | 54-72 | 72-90 |   |
| 1961 | Los Angeles (A) | 35-47 | 15-64 | 50-111 |   | 11-21 | 39-90 | 50-111 |   |
| Expanded2 |
| Year | Team | Lead7 | Tied7 | Trail7 | 1-run | Extra |
| 1961 | Cleveland | 85-2 | 12-6 | 8-48 | 29-18 | 12-2 |
| 1961 | Detroit | 75-9 | 10-6 | 7-55 | 32-19 | 6-7 |
| 1961 | Chicago (A) | 71-8 | 14-10 | 6-53 | 29-25 | 8-8 |
| 1961 | Boston | 66-7 | 7-7 | 14-61 | 28-24 | 5-7 |
| 1961 | Kansas City | 62-6 | 11-10 | 8-64 | 30-28 | 12-7 |
| 1961 | Minnesota | 65-7 | 8-10 | 7-63 | 20-22 | 8-8 |
| 1961 | New York (A) | 52-14 | 13-15 | 10-58 | 25-30 | 10-10 |
| 1961 | Washington | 56-7 | 12-11 | 6-69 | 29-29 | 14-13 |
| 1961 | Baltimore | 54-11 | 11-12 | 7-67 | 15-35 | 9-13 |
| 1961 | Los Angeles (A) | 39-10 | 3-14 | 8-87 | 17-24 | 2-11 |