[Hekeziah]

Preseason expectations for the expansion Senators were bleak, with many suggesting the team would be lucky to avoid 100 losses and near unanimity the team was destined for the second division.

And for good reason - the first-ever expansion draft, from which the Senators and their fellow expansion Los Angeles Angels drew their rosters, was a motley collection of players past their prime and AAAA in-betweens.

Nonetheless, after the bad taste Cal Griffith had left in the mouth of the Capital, there was excitement on the field for the future - and besides, it wasn’t like the old Senators were anything to write home about.

The Sens got off to a great start and were even on top of the league at the end of April - of course, they faded as the season progressed, but to the shock of many, they finished in the first division, with a winning record of 85-77, 17 games behind the Yankees, who repeated as League Champion (but lost to the Braves in the World Series). Overall, it was a successful season, and what made it extra sweet was that the new Senators finished in front of the old Senators, now playing in Minnesota.

It was also a bit of luck - the Senators had a negative 79-run differential and outperformed their Pythagorean by eleven games (the largest gap in the majors). The team was devoid of stand-outs, but also, to their credit, devoid of any massive holes. Mediocrity may not win pennants, but it’s not terrible for a first-year club.

The primary catcher was Harry Bright, 31 years old and with 59 games in the majors prior to the year. Slashing 256/312/439 along with 18HR and 61RBI and respectable fielding, he was good for 1.7 WAR. At first, was Dale Long, the seven-year veteran slashed 251/310/481 with 31 homers and 98 RBIs (leading the team in both), in his best season since 1958. At second was the team’s only all-star, eight-year veteran Danny O’Connell, whose 241/353/315 slash line didn’t turn any heads, but whose durability and solid fielding led to a 3.3 WAR. At third was slugger Gene Green, with a modest 239/288/413 slash to go with his 24 homers and team-leading 98 RBIs (tied with Dale Long) for 1.8 WAR. At short was second-year player Bob Johnson, slashing 257/324/385 with 12 homers and 80 RBIs, and solid defense, good for 2.7 WAR. In the outfield, Gene Woodling (292/415/425), former Oriole Willie Tasby (272/345/400), and four-year veteran Jim King (248/335/383)

The regulars got most of the games, thanks to both durability and a lack of depth; only three other batters got more than 100 at-bats: Marty Keough (239/298/381), Ken Retzer (248/306/331), and Chuck Hinton (251/333/434)

With a team ERA of 4.41 (8th in the league), pitching was hardly a strength, but the staff did enough to get by, at least. Eight different pitchers started games, with six pitchers being the core staff - Dick Donovan (17-9, 3.94 in 34GS), Carl Mathias (14-6, 4.01 in 33G/25GS), Hall Woodeshick (6-8, 4.09 in 36G/22GS) and Bennie Daniels (8-12, 4.20 in 32GS) led the rotation, while Tom Sturdivant (7-6, 2.89, 8sv in 65G) and John Gabler (8-4, 2.75, 20SV in 63G) powered the bullpen.

For 1961, the Senators only had two lower-level farm clubs - the Middlesboro Senators in the Appy League (Class C) and the Pensacola Senators in the Florida-Alabama League (Class D). Both won league championships, although this had less to do with a high-quality farm system as it did with a good deal of players playing below their ideal level (lacking higher-level teams). Overall, the Senators ranked 17th in the majors with one prospect in the top 100 (and he was a mid-season acquisition, ranked 86th) improvements to the system are badly needed.

Without many pieces to move, the team was not active on the transaction market, save for a few trades in late July - minor league 2B John Kennedy was traded to the Red Sox for RHP Billy Muffett and RHp Dave Morehead (7/27/61), Muffett and minor league LHP Paul Wennik were flipped to the Athletics a day later for OF Hank Bauer (who had been having a good season in K.C. but didn’t do much in Washington. Lastly, utilityman Chuck Hinton was traded to the White Sox for RHP Al Worthington, LPH Joe Joerner, and CF Ken Berry (the aforementioned prospect).

On the business side of things, the year was a success. The Senators drew about 950K on the year, much better than the “old” Senators had done in the prior season, and made a profit of a bit over a million dollars.

Briefly around the rest of the league - The Braves won the World Series, 4 games to 2, over the Yankees. Ruth’s home run record wasn’t broken - but was tied by Harmon Killebrew. Al Downing of the Yankees (20-7, 3.02 ERA) was the AL Rookie of the Year. Ray Culp (12-12, 3.02 ERA) of the Phillies was the NL Rookie of the Year. Gary Peters of the White Sox (21-8, 2.98 ERA) won the AL Cy Young, Sandy Koufax (19-7, 2.73 ERA) won in the NL. Mickey Mantle was the AL MVP (.300,42,105) and Milwaukee’s Hank Aaron (.309,44,132) won in the National League.