Did you know that in 1961, American League teams played 162 games while National League teams played just 154? Crazy, right? Yes, but let me explain.
Before 1961, there were eight teams in each league in the MLB. However, the MLB decided to expand in ’61 to compete with the newly proposed Continental League that would actually fold in 1960. The expansion teams of that year were the Washington Senators (the present-day Texas Rangers) and the LA Angels. As great as it was that the MLB was getting larger, there was now a scheduling issue in the American League. Prior to the additions, each team played each other 22 times a season, but with the additions, that number would be way too much. So, it was decided that each AL team would play each other 18 times a season for a total of 162 games played.
There was still one problem: what about the NL teams? Well, they actually stuck with the 154-game season in 1961. The only reason that worked is because AL and NL teams didn’t play each other in the regular season until 1997. Once the National League added the Astros and Mets in 1962, they adopted the 162-game season. Now the argument for why Roger Maris’s single-season home run record was illegitimate in 1961 gets a little more interesting.
Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of “all the buzz on what wuzz.”
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