1903 MLB Season Leaders

3 leagues · 140 team games · 54 ranking tables

Awards

None of these awards existed yet. The earliest award in this database is from 1911, so a 1903 season has no award to show. That is a fact about the calendar, not about the players on this page.

American League

Led the American League — the first row of every table below.

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Patsy Dougherty	107
2	Bill Bradley	101
3	Jimmy Barrett	95
3	Willie Keeler	95
5	Harry Bay	94
6	Ollie Pickering	93
7	Nap Lajoie	90
8	Jimmy Collins	88
8	Sam Crawford	88
10	Freddy Parent	83

HitsH

1	Patsy Dougherty	195
2	Sam Crawford	184
3	Freddy Parent	170
4	Harry Bay	169
5	Bill Bradley	168
6	Nap Lajoie	167
7	Jimmy Barrett	163
7	Lave Cross	163
7	Buck Freeman	163
10	Jimmy Collins	160
10	Willie Keeler	160

Doubles2B

1	Socks Seybold	45
2	Nap Lajoie	41
3	Buck Freeman	39
4	Bill Bradley	36
5	John Anderson	34
6	Jimmy Collins	33
7	Charlie Hickman	31
7	Danny Murphy	31
7	Freddy Parent	31
10	Jimmy Williams	30

Triples3B

1	Sam Crawford	25
2	Bill Bradley	22
3	Buck Freeman	20
4	Jimmy Collins	17
4	Freddy Parent	17
6	Elmer Flick	16
7	Emmet Heidrick	15
8	Topsy Hartsel	14
8	Billy Lush	14
10	Harry Bay	12
10	Wid Conroy	12
10	Patsy Dougherty	12
10	Kip Selbach	12
10	Jimmy Williams	12

Home RunsHR

1	Buck Freeman	13
2	Charlie Hickman	12
3	Hobe Ferris	9
4	Socks Seybold	8
5	Nap Lajoie	7
5	Jimmy Ryan	7
7	Bill Bradley	6
7	Harry Davis	6
7	Danny Green	6
10	Jimmy Collins	5
10	Topsy Hartsel	5
10	Herm McFarland	5

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Buck Freeman	104
2	Charlie Hickman	97
3	Nap Lajoie	93
4	Lave Cross	90
5	Sam Crawford	89
6	Socks Seybold	84
7	Jimmy Williams	82
8	Freddy Parent	80
9	Charlie Carr	79
10	John Anderson	78

WalksBB

1	Jimmy Barrett	74
2	Billy Lush	70
3	Ollie Pickering	53
4	Jesse Burkett	52
5	Elmer Flick	51
6	Monte Cross	49
6	Topsy Hartsel	49
6	George Magoon	49
9	John Gochnaur	48
10	Danny Green	47
10	Fielder Jones	47

Stolen BasesSB

1	Harry Bay	45
2	Ollie Pickering	40
3	Patsy Dougherty	35
3	Ducky Holmes	35
5	Wid Conroy	33
6	Monte Cross	31
7	Bill Coughlin	30
8	Dave Fultz	29
8	Danny Green	29
10	Jimmy Barrett	27

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Nap Lajoie	9.2
2	Jimmy Barrett	6.8
3	Bill Bradley	6.1
4	Sam Crawford	5.5
5	Patsy Dougherty	5.2
6	Kid Elberfeld	4.8
7	Freddy Parent	4.8
8	Danny Green	4.6
9	Jimmy Collins	4.5
10	Billy Lush	4.3

Batting Averagemin 434 PA

1	Nap Lajoie	.344
2	Sam Crawford	.335
3	Patsy Dougherty	.331
4	Jimmy Barrett	.315
5	Bill Bradley	.313
5	Willie Keeler	.313
7	Danny Green	.309
8	Freddy Parent	.304
9	Kid Elberfeld	.301
10	Socks Seybold	.299

On-Base Percentagemin 434 PA

1	Jimmy Barrett	.407
2	Nap Lajoie	.379
2	Billy Lush	.379
4	Danny Green	.375
5	Patsy Dougherty	.372
6	Elmer Flick	.368
6	Willie Keeler	.368
8	Sam Crawford	.366
9	Kid Elberfeld	.365
10	Jesse Burkett	.361

Slugging Percentagemin 434 PA

1	Nap Lajoie	.518
2	Bill Bradley	.496
2	Buck Freeman	.496
4	Sam Crawford	.489
5	Charlie Hickman	.466
6	Socks Seybold	.462
7	Jimmy Collins	.448
8	Freddy Parent	.441
9	Harry Davis	.440
10	Danny Green	.425

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 434 PA

1	Nap Lajoie	.896
2	Sam Crawford	.855
3	Bill Bradley	.844
4	Buck Freeman	.823
5	Socks Seybold	.815
6	Danny Green	.800
7	Jimmy Barrett	.798
8	Patsy Dougherty	.796
9	Charlie Hickman	.790
10	Harry Davis	.783

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Cy Young	28
2	Eddie Plank	23
3	Jack Chesbro	21
3	Bill Dinneen	21
3	Willie Sudhoff	21
3	Rube Waddell	21
7	Tom Hughes	20
7	Earl Moore	20
9	George Mullin	19
10	Addie Joss	18

SavesSV

1	Bill Dinneen	2
1	George Mullin	2
1	Al Orth	2
1	Jack Powell	2
1	Cy Young	2
6	Merle Adkins	1
6	Davy Dunkle	1
6	Patsy Flaherty	1
6	Frank Owen	1
6	Casey Patten	1
6	Roy Patterson	1
6	Barney Pelty	1
6	Ed Pinnance	1
6	Lewis Wiltse	1

StrikeoutsSO

1	Rube Waddell	302
2	Bill Donovan	187
3	Eddie Plank	176
3	Cy Young	176
5	George Mullin	170
6	Jack Powell	169
7	Bill Dinneen	148
7	Earl Moore	148
9	Jack Chesbro	147
10	Casey Patten	133

Innings PitchedIP

1	Cy Young	341.7
2	Eddie Plank	336.0
3	Jack Chesbro	324.7
4	Rube Waddell	324.0
5	George Mullin	320.7
6	Bill Donovan	307.0
7	Jack Powell	306.3
8	Casey Patten	300.0
8	Doc White	300.0
10	Bill Dinneen	299.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Bill Donovan	34
1	Rube Waddell	34
1	Cy Young	34
4	Jack Chesbro	33
4	Eddie Plank	33
4	Jack Powell	33
7	Bill Dinneen	32
7	Casey Patten	32
9	Addie Joss	31
9	George Mullin	31

ShutoutsSHO

1	Cy Young	7
2	Bill Dinneen	6
2	George Mullin	6
4	Tom Hughes	5
4	Willie Sudhoff	5
6	Red Donahue	4
6	Bill Donovan	4
6	Jack Powell	4
6	Rube Waddell	4
10	Bill Bernhard	3
10	Addie Joss	3
10	Ed Killian	3
10	Earl Moore	3
10	Eddie Plank	3
10	Doc White	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Rube Waddell	10.5
2	Cy Young	9.1
3	Eddie Plank	7.8
4	Bill Donovan	7.0
5	Jack Chesbro	6.8
6	Addie Joss	6.8
7	Bill Dinneen	6.7
8	Jack Powell	6.6
9	Earl Moore	6.4
10	George Mullin	6.2

Earned Run Averagemin 140 IP

1	Earl Moore	1.74
2	Cy Young	2.08
3	Bill Bernhard	2.12
4	Doc White	2.13
5	Addie Joss	2.19
6	George Mullin	2.25
7	Bill Dinneen	2.26
8	Willie Sudhoff	2.27
9	Bill Donovan	2.29
10	Eddie Plank	2.38

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 140 IP

1	Addie Joss	0.95
2	Cy Young	0.97
3	Bill Bernhard	1.04
4	Earl Moore	1.04
5	Bill Dinneen	1.07
6	Willie Sudhoff	1.08
7	Doc White	1.09
8	Clark Griffith	1.10
9	Rube Waddell	1.11
10	Bill Donovan	1.11

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 140 IP

1	Rube Waddell	1.86
2	Cy Young	2.35
3	Earl Moore	2.36
4	Bill Bernhard	2.48
5	Addie Joss	2.52
6	Jesse Tannehill	2.58
7	Red Donahue	2.62
8	Bill Donovan	2.63
9	Eddie Plank	2.68
10	Bill Dinneen	2.72

National League

Led the National League — the first row of every table below.

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Ginger Beaumont	137
2	Mike Donlin	110
3	George Browne	105
4	Jimmy Slagle	104
5	Sammy Strang	101
6	Sam Mertes	100
7	Jimmy Sheckard	99
8	Tommy Leach	97
8	Honus Wagner	97
10	Fred Clarke	88
10	Roy Thomas	88

HitsH

1	Ginger Beaumont	209
2	Cy Seymour	191
3	George Browne	185
4	Honus Wagner	182
5	Mike Donlin	174
6	Jimmy Sheckard	171
7	Jack Doyle	164
8	Jimmy Slagle	162
9	Duff Cooley	160
10	Roy Thomas	156

Doubles2B

1	Fred Clarke	32
1	Sam Mertes	32
1	Harry Steinfeldt	32
4	Ginger Beaumont	30
4	Roger Bresnahan	30
4	Honus Wagner	30
7	Jake Beckley	29
7	Johnny Kling	29
7	Jimmy Sheckard	29
10	Claude Ritchey	28

Triples3B

1	Honus Wagner	19
2	Mike Donlin	18
3	Tommy Leach	17
4	Dave Brain	15
4	Fred Clarke	15
4	Cy Seymour	15
7	Sam Mertes	14
8	Johnny Kling	13
8	Jimmy Sebring	13
10	Harry Steinfeldt	12
10	Harry Wolverton	12

Home RunsHR

1	Jimmy Sheckard	9
2	Ginger Beaumont	7
2	Mike Donlin	7
2	Tommy Leach	7
2	Sam Mertes	7
2	Pat Moran	7
2	Cy Seymour	7
8	Harry Steinfeldt	6
9	Fred Clarke	5
9	Ed Gremminger	5
9	Honus Wagner	5

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Sam Mertes	104
2	Honus Wagner	101
3	Jack Doyle	91
4	Tommy Leach	87
5	Harry Steinfeldt	83
6	Jake Beckley	81
6	Frank Chance	81
8	Jimmy Sheckard	75
9	Tommy Corcoran	73
10	Cy Seymour	72

WalksBB

1	Roy Thomas	107
2	Bill Dahlen	82
3	Jimmy Slagle	81
4	Frank Chance	78
5	Jimmy Sheckard	75
5	Sammy Strang	75
7	Fred Tenney	70
8	Roger Bresnahan	61
8	Charlie Dexter	61
8	Sam Mertes	61

Stolen BasesSB

1	Frank Chance	67
1	Jimmy Sheckard	67
3	Sammy Strang	46
3	Honus Wagner	46
5	Sam Mertes	45
6	Billy Gilbert	37
7	Dan McGann	36
8	Roger Bresnahan	34
8	Bill Dahlen	34
8	Jack Doyle	34

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Honus Wagner	10.2
2	Jimmy Sheckard	10.1
3	Roy Thomas	8.2
4	Cy Seymour	7.4
5	Roger Bresnahan	6.9
6	Mike Donlin	6.6
7	Frank Chance	6.5
8	Ginger Beaumont	6.2
9	Harry Steinfeldt	6.2
10	Fred Clarke	6.1

Batting Averagemin 434 PA

1	Honus Wagner	.355
2	Fred Clarke	.351
2	Mike Donlin	.351
4	Roger Bresnahan	.350
5	Cy Seymour	.342
6	Ginger Beaumont	.341
7	Jimmy Sheckard	.332
8	Jake Beckley	.327
8	Frank Chance	.327
8	Patsy Donovan	.327
8	Roy Thomas	.327

On-Base Percentagemin 434 PA

1	Roy Thomas	.453
2	Roger Bresnahan	.443
3	Frank Chance	.439
4	Jimmy Sheckard	.423
5	Mike Donlin	.420
6	Fred Tenney	.415
7	Fred Clarke	.414
7	Honus Wagner	.414
9	Joe Kelley	.402
10	Jimmy Slagle	.393

Slugging Percentagemin 434 PA

1	Fred Clarke	.532
2	Honus Wagner	.518
3	Mike Donlin	.516
4	Roger Bresnahan	.493
5	Harry Steinfeldt	.481
6	Cy Seymour	.478
7	Jimmy Sheckard	.476
8	Jake Beckley	.447
9	Ginger Beaumont	.444
10	Frank Chance	.440

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 434 PA

1	Fred Clarke	.946
2	Roger Bresnahan	.936
2	Mike Donlin	.936
4	Honus Wagner	.931
5	Jimmy Sheckard	.899
6	Frank Chance	.878
7	Harry Steinfeldt	.867
8	Cy Seymour	.861
9	Ginger Beaumont	.833
10	Jake Beckley	.831

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Joe McGinnity	31
2	Christy Mathewson	30
3	Sam Leever	25
3	Deacon Phillippe	25
5	Noodles Hahn	22
5	Henry Schmidt	22
7	Jack Taylor	21
8	Jake Weimer	20
8	Bob Wicker	20
10	Oscar Jones	19

SavesSV

1	Carl Lundgren	3
1	Roscoe Miller	3
3	Clarence Currie	2
3	Ed Doheny	2
3	Bill Duggleby	2
3	Ned Garvin	2
3	Christy Mathewson	2
3	Joe McGinnity	2
3	Deacon Phillippe	2
3	Henry Schmidt	2

StrikeoutsSO

1	Christy Mathewson	267
2	Joe McGinnity	171
3	Ned Garvin	154
4	Togie Pittinger	140
5	Jake Weimer	128
6	Noodles Hahn	127
7	Vic Willis	125
8	Deacon Phillippe	123
9	Bob Wicker	113
10	Bob Ewing	104
10	Chick Fraser	104

Innings PitchedIP

1	Joe McGinnity	434.0
2	Christy Mathewson	366.3
3	Togie Pittinger	351.7
4	Oscar Jones	324.3
5	Jack Taylor	312.3
6	Henry Schmidt	301.0
7	Ned Garvin	298.0
8	Noodles Hahn	296.0
9	Deacon Phillippe	289.3
10	Sam Leever	284.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Joe McGinnity	44
2	Christy Mathewson	37
3	Togie Pittinger	35
4	Noodles Hahn	34
5	Jack Taylor	33
6	Oscar Jones	31
6	Deacon Phillippe	31
8	Ned Garvin	30
8	Sam Leever	30
10	Henry Schmidt	29
10	Vic Willis	29

ShutoutsSHO

1	Sam Leever	7
2	Noodles Hahn	5
2	Henry Schmidt	5
4	Oscar Jones	4
4	Deacon Phillippe	4
6	Bill Duggleby	3
6	Christy Mathewson	3
6	Joe McGinnity	3
6	Togie Pittinger	3
6	Jack Sutthoff	3
6	Jake Weimer	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Christy Mathewson	9.8
2	Joe McGinnity	8.5
3	Noodles Hahn	7.5
4	Deacon Phillippe	7.4
5	Ned Garvin	6.3
6	Jack Taylor	6.1
7	Sam Leever	5.7
8	Oscar Jones	5.3
9	Bob Ewing	5.2
10	Vic Willis	5.1

Earned Run Averagemin 140 IP

1	Sam Leever	2.06
2	Christy Mathewson	2.26
3	Jake Weimer	2.30
4	Joe McGinnity	2.43
4	Deacon Phillippe	2.43
6	Jack Taylor	2.45
7	Noodles Hahn	2.52
8	Mordecai Brown	2.60
9	Tully Sparks	2.72
10	Bob Ewing	2.77

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 140 IP

1	Deacon Phillippe	1.03
2	Jack Taylor	1.07
3	Sam Leever	1.11
4	Christy Mathewson	1.15
5	Joe McGinnity	1.15
6	Noodles Hahn	1.16
7	Ned Garvin	1.21
8	Jake Weimer	1.22
9	Oscar Jones	1.22
10	Tully Sparks	1.23

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 140 IP

1	Christy Mathewson	2.33
2	Deacon Phillippe	2.42
3	Noodles Hahn	2.58
4	Ned Garvin	2.78
5	Sam Leever	2.89
6	Jack Taylor	2.89
7	Chappie McFarland	2.90
8	Bob Wicker	2.96
9	Bob Ewing	2.96
10	Joe McGinnity	2.96

Other leagues

Led the Other leagues — the first row of every table below.

There is no batting average table in this section, and that is not a gap in the record. Rate statistics need a qualifying line, and the one this site uses for 1903 is 434 plate appearances — three point one per team game across a 140-game schedule. The Other leagues played a far shorter league season than that, so no player in it reaches the line and no rate table can be built without comparing a handful of games to a full year. The counting tables above are unaffected: those are simply what the players did.

Batting8 categories

RunsR

1	Charlie Grant	7
2	Bob Jordan	6
3	Sol White	4
4	Harry Buckner	3
4	Rube Foster	3
4	Will Jackson	3
4	Willis Jones	3
4	Albert Toney	3
4	Clarence Williams	3
10	Frank Grant	2
10	Johnny Hill	2
10	Billy Holland	2
10	Grant Johnson	2
10	John Nelson	2
10	John Patterson	2
10	Andrew Payne	2
10	George Richardson	2
10	Ginney Robinson	2

HitsH

1	Bob Jordan	13
2	Sol White	9
3	Grant Johnson	8
3	Clarence Williams	8
5	Will Jackson	7
6	Rube Foster	6
6	Charlie Grant	6
6	Frank Grant	6
6	Johnny Hill	6
10	Sherman Barton	5
10	Bert Jones	5
10	George Richardson	5

Doubles2B

1	Harry Buckner	2
1	Chappie Johnson	2
1	Bob Jordan	2
1	George Richardson	2
5	Sherman Barton	1
5	Rube Foster	1
5	Charlie Grant	1
5	Billy Holland	1
5	Grant Johnson	1
5	Bert Jones	1
5	Willis Jones	1
5	John Patterson	1
5	Andrew Payne	1
5	Sol White	1
5	Clarence Williams	1

Triples3B

1	Rube Foster	1
1	Billy Holland	1
1	Bill Monroe	1
1	John Nelson	1

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Rube Foster	3
1	Grant Johnson	3
1	Bert Jones	3
1	Bob Jordan	3
1	Clarence Williams	3
6	Johnny Hill	2
6	Chappie Johnson	2
6	Willis Jones	2
6	John Nelson	2
10	Sherman Barton	1
10	William Bell	1
10	Harry Buckner	1
10	Herm Evans	1
10	Robert Footes	1
10	Charlie Grant	1
10	Frank Grant	1
10	Billy Holland	1
10	Will Jackson	1
10	Andrew Payne	1
10	George Richardson	1
10	Albert Toney	1
10	Sol White	1

WalksBB

1	Danny McClellan	4
2	Frank Grant	3
2	John Patterson	3
4	William Binga	2
4	Harry Buckner	2
4	Charlie Grant	2
4	Grant Johnson	2
4	Willis Jones	2
4	Harry Moore	2
4	George Richardson	2
4	Clarence Williams	2

Stolen BasesSB

1	John Patterson	3
2	Chappie Johnson	2
2	Willis Jones	2
4	William Bell	1
4	Harry Buckner	1
4	Sol White	1

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Bob Jordan	0.4
2	George Richardson	0.4
3	Sol White	0.4
4	Rube Foster	0.2
5	Clarence Williams	0.2
6	Frank Grant	0.1
7	Willis Jones	0.1
8	Johnny Davis	0.1
9	Bert Jones	0.1
10	Bill Monroe	0.0

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1903 is 434 plate appearances and 140 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 140 games per team, measured from the season files themselves — at the official rate of 3.1 plate appearances and one inning per team game. Batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, earned run average and WHIP all use it; a player who came to the plate twice and got two hits does not appear at the top of the batting average table, which is exactly what that line is for. Counting statistics such as home runs and strikeouts have no minimum, because none is needed.

How the rankings were made

Wins above replacement in these tables is ours rather than the source database's, so it will not match a published figure exactly. Also: why every ranking stops at one league, and why some categories are missing on purpose.

Every ranking on this page is worked out inside one league. 1903 is counted as 3 separate leagues — American League, National League and Other leagues, and a player is ranked only against the men in his own. Leading the American League and leading baseball are different claims, and the one we can make from these files is the first. There is no combined table anywhere on this page, because adding two leagues together would produce a number that no record book recognises.

There are 54 ranking tables here, 22 places deep. Players tied on a value share a place, so a table can run past ten rows when the tenth spot is shared, and a league with fewer than ten qualified players in a category is left out rather than shown as a top ten that is not one. A player who did none of the thing is not ranked in it either — a shutout table lists the pitchers who threw one, not the hundreds who threw none tied on zero. Some categories are missing on purpose: nobody leads a league in strikeouts at the plate, in losses, or in home runs allowed. A ranking is meant to mark an achievement, so only achievements are ranked.

Wins above replacement on this page is ours, not the source database's. The hitting and pitching files carry a WAR column that we compute here from the same season lines you see, using park factors and a run environment worked out per season. Published versions elsewhere use different methods and will not match ours exactly. Every other column is the record as the database supplies it.

Names on this page lead to that player's own record. Most of them open a full career page with every season he appeared in. Some open a summary screen instead — we pre-build pages for the players people look for, and everyone else is assembled on demand from the same files, so the numbers are identical either way even though the address looks different.

Data for 1871 to 2025: Lahman Baseball Database 2025, compiled by SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Negro Leagues data licensed from Seamheads.com and included under SABR major-league recommendations (2021-02-11, 2024-06-03). This page ranks the 1903 season lines published on this site, league by league, with WAR worked out here. — the WAR columns are computed here — and they are published under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence, as ShareAlike requires. That database is published once a season is complete, so the 2026 figures on this site come from a different place: the MLB Stats API, whose notice reads “Copyright 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Use of any content on this page acknowledges agreement to the terms posted here http://gdx.mlb.com/components/copyright.txt”. Those numbers are MLB Advanced Media, L.P.’s, not SABR (Society for American Baseball Research)’s, and they carry that notice rather than the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence above. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Major League Baseball or any of its clubs.