1961 Major League Baseball season in the context of "Pittsburgh Pirates"

The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities moniker for the two adjacent cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

The franchise was founded in Kansas City in 1894 as the minor league Kansas City Blues. The team relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1901 to become the major league Washington Senators. The franchise moved to Minnesota and was renamed the Minnesota Twins for the start of the 1961 season. The Twins played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2009. The team has played at Target Field since 2010.

The Washington Senators were a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Senators competed in Major League Baseball (MLB) as one of the American League's first expansion franchises. The club was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1961 to replace the recently departed Washington Senators who moved to Minnesota as the Minnesota Twins. Following the 1971 season, the team relocated to Dallas–Fort Worth, where they were renamed the Texas Rangers.

The 11-year tenure in Washington, D.C. saw the team plagued with poor performances, and were the definition of futility, losing an average of 94 games a season. The team's struggles led to a twist on a joke about the old Senators: "Washington: first in war, first in peace and still last in the American League." Their only winning season was in 1969 when Hall of Famer Ted Williams managed the club to an 86–76 record, placing fourth in the AL East.

The Washington Senators were a Major League Baseball team based in Washington, D.C. It was one of the American League's eight charter franchises, founded in 1901. The team moved to Minneapolis in 1961, becoming the Minnesota Twins.

The team was officially named the "Senators" during 1901–1904, the Nationals during 1905–1955 and the Senators again during 1956–1960, but nonetheless was commonly referred to as the Senators throughout its history (and unofficially as the "Grifs" during Clark Griffith's tenure as manager during 1912–1920). The name "Nationals" appeared on the uniforms for only two seasons, and then was replaced with the "W" logo. However, the names "Senators," "Nationals" and shorter "Nats" were used interchangeably by fans and media throughout the team's history; in 2005, the latter two names were revived for the current National League franchise that had previously played in Montreal.