the 1961 New York Yankees had one of the most dominating seasons in baseball history their record of 109 and 53 was eight games ahead of the second place Tigers a fascinating subplot was the Home Run race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris on the final day of the Season Maris hit his 61st home run breaking Babe Ruth's record in addition to the individual exploits of Maris and mantle the 61 Yankees hit a major league record 240 home runs having six players hit over 20 the pitching was also strong with starter Whitey Ford having a record of 25 and4 and Lisa Royo doing a great job in the bullpen after winning the American League pennant the Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the world series for the New York Yankees in 1961 many will always remember that Championship season