The maiden edition of the Twins finished 1961 with a record of 70–90, good for seventh place in the American League, which had expanded from eight to ten teams during the 1960–61 offseason.
In beating the defending American League champs 6–0, Ramos out-dueled New York ace Whitey Ford, allowing just three hits and a walk.
[2] On April 21, the Twins lost their home opener to the expansion team that replaced them in the nation's capital, the second edition of the Senators, 5–3, before 24,606 at Metropolitan Stadium.
[3] The move to Minnesota immediately paid dividends at the turnstiles, where they drew 1,256,723 fans, the third highest total in the American League.
In early June, after a losing streak that reached eleven games, Twins owner Calvin Griffith directed manager Cookie Lavagetto to take a week-long sabbatical.
[5] In a home Fourth of July double-header against Chicago, the Twins' Julio Bécquer hit a pinch hit grand slam home run that was the first of its kind in major league history—each run was credited to a different Chicago pitcher (Billy Pierce, Russ Kemmerer, Frank Baumann and Warren Hacker).