1938 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

3 leagues · 150 team games · 62 ranking tables · 2 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Jimmie FoxxAmerican League
Ernie LombardiNational League

Not every award existed in this season. This database has Rookie of the Year (from 1947), Cy Young Award (from 1956), Gold Glove (from 1957), Silver Slugger (from 1980). Their absence here is not a statement about these players: those awards had not been invented yet.

American League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Hank Greenberg	144
2	Jimmie Foxx	139
3	Charlie Gehringer	133
4	Red Rolfe	132
5	Joe DiMaggio	129
6	Buddy Lewis	122
7	Joe Vosmik	121
8	Harlond Clift	119
9	Doc Cramer	116
10	Lou Gehrig	115

HitsH

1	Joe Vosmik	201
2	Doc Cramer	198
3	Mel Almada	197
3	Jimmie Foxx	197
5	Red Rolfe	196
6	George McQuinn	195
7	Joe DiMaggio	194
7	Buddy Lewis	194
9	Cecil Travis	190
10	Pete Fox	186

Doubles2B

1	Joe Cronin	51
2	George McQuinn	42
3	Ben Chapman	40
3	Hal Trosky	40
5	Joe Vosmik	37
6	Doc Cramer	36
6	Lyn Lary	36
6	Red Rolfe	36
9	Beau Bell	35
9	Frankie Crosetti	35
9	Pete Fox	35
9	Buddy Lewis	35

Triples3B

1	Jeff Heath	18
2	Earl Averill	15
3	Joe DiMaggio	13
4	Bruce Campbell	12
4	Lou Finney	12
4	Mike Kreevich	12
7	Pete Fox	10
7	Taffy Wright	10
9	Jimmie Foxx	9
9	Bob Johnson	9
9	Ken Keltner	9
9	Buddy Lewis	9
9	Hal Trosky	9

Home RunsHR

1	Hank Greenberg	58
2	Jimmie Foxx	50
3	Harlond Clift	34
4	Rudy York	33
5	Joe DiMaggio	32
6	Bob Johnson	30
7	Lou Gehrig	29
8	Bill Dickey	27
9	Ken Keltner	26
10	Joe Gordon	25

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Jimmie Foxx	175
2	Hank Greenberg	146
3	Joe DiMaggio	140
4	Rudy York	127
5	Harlond Clift	118
6	Bill Dickey	115
7	Zeke Bonura	114
7	Lou Gehrig	114
9	Bob Johnson	113
9	Ken Keltner	113

WalksBB

1	Jimmie Foxx	119
1	Hank Greenberg	119
3	Harlond Clift	118
4	Charlie Gehringer	113
5	Lou Gehrig	107
6	Frankie Crosetti	106
7	Buddy Myer	93
7	Billy Werber	93
9	Tommy Henrich	92
9	Rudy York	92

Stolen BasesSB

1	Frankie Crosetti	27
2	Lyn Lary	23
3	Billy Werber	19
4	Buddy Lewis	17
5	Pete Fox	16
6	Wally Moses	15
7	Charlie Gehringer	14
8	Mel Almada	13
8	Ben Chapman	13
8	Mike Kreevich	13
8	Red Rolfe	13

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Jimmie Foxx	10.2
2	Hank Greenberg	9.0
3	Harlond Clift	8.4
4	Joe Cronin	8.2
5	Bob Johnson	7.9
6	Joe DiMaggio	7.7
7	Charlie Gehringer	7.2
8	Bill Dickey	6.8
9	Earl Averill	6.8
10	Rudy York	6.7

Batting Averagemin 465 PA

1	Jimmie Foxx	.349
2	Jeff Heath	.343
3	Ben Chapman	.340
4	Buddy Myer	.336
5	Cecil Travis	.335
6	Hal Trosky	.334
7	Earl Averill	.330
7	Rip Radcliff	.330
9	Joe Cronin	.325
10	Joe DiMaggio	.324
10	George McQuinn	.324
10	Joe Vosmik	.324

On-Base Percentagemin 465 PA

1	Jimmie Foxx	.462
2	Buddy Myer	.454
3	Hank Greenberg	.438
4	Earl Averill	.429
5	Joe Cronin	.428
6	Charlie Gehringer	.425
7	Harlond Clift	.423
8	Ben Chapman	.418
9	Rudy York	.417
10	Bill Dickey	.412

Slugging Percentagemin 465 PA

1	Jimmie Foxx	.704
2	Hank Greenberg	.683
3	Jeff Heath	.602
4	Joe DiMaggio	.581
5	Rudy York	.579
6	Bill Dickey	.568
7	Harlond Clift	.554
8	Bob Johnson	.552
9	Hal Trosky	.542
10	Joe Cronin	.536

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 465 PA

1	Jimmie Foxx	1.166
2	Hank Greenberg	1.122
3	Rudy York	.995
4	Jeff Heath	.985
5	Bill Dickey	.981
6	Harlond Clift	.977
7	Joe DiMaggio	.967
8	Earl Averill	.965
9	Joe Cronin	.964
10	Bob Johnson	.959

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Red Ruffing	21
2	Bobo Newsom	20
3	Lefty Gomez	18
4	Bob Feller	17
4	Mel Harder	17
6	George Caster	16
6	Monte Pearson	16
8	Jim Bagby	15
8	Wes Ferrell	15
8	Monty Stratton	15
8	Jack Wilson	15

SavesSV

1	Johnny Murphy	11
2	Johnny Humphries	6
2	Archie McKain	6
4	Pete Appleton	5
4	Nels Potter	5
6	Harry Eisenstat	4
6	Mel Harder	4
6	Eddie Smith	4
9	Ed Cole	3
9	Denny Galehouse	3
9	Elon Hogsett	3
9	Fred Johnson	3

StrikeoutsSO

1	Bob Feller	240
2	Bobo Newsom	226
3	Howard Mills	134
4	Lefty Gomez	129
5	Red Ruffing	127
6	Johnny Allen	112
6	George Caster	112
8	Joe Krakauskas	104
9	Mel Harder	102
10	Tommy Bridges	101

Innings PitchedIP

1	Bobo Newsom	329.7
2	George Caster	281.3
3	Bob Feller	277.7
4	Red Ruffing	247.3
5	Thornton Lee	245.3
6	Mel Harder	240.0
7	Lefty Gomez	239.0
8	Dutch Leonard	223.3
9	Bud Thomas	212.3
10	Howard Mills	210.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Bobo Newsom	31
2	Red Ruffing	22
3	George Caster	20
3	Bob Feller	20
3	Lefty Gomez	20
6	Thornton Lee	18
7	Ted Lyons	17
7	Monte Pearson	17
7	Monty Stratton	17
10	Mel Harder	15
10	Dutch Leonard	15
10	Howard Mills	15

ShutoutsSHO

1	Lefty Gomez	4
2	Dutch Leonard	3
2	Red Ruffing	3
2	Jack Wilson	3
5	George Caster	2
5	Spud Chandler	2
5	Bob Feller	2
5	Mel Harder	2
5	Harry Kelley	2
5	John Whitehead	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Lefty Gomez	4.5
2	Red Ruffing	4.0
3	Lefty Grove	3.4
4	Dutch Leonard	3.4
5	Mel Harder	3.4
6	Bob Feller	3.3
7	Thornton Lee	3.2
8	Bobo Newsom	3.0
9	Ted Lyons	2.9
10	Johnny Allen	2.5

Earned Run Averagemin 150 IP

1	Lefty Grove	3.08
2	Red Ruffing	3.31
3	Lefty Gomez	3.35
4	Dutch Leonard	3.42
5	Thornton Lee	3.48
6	Johnny Rigney	3.56
7	Bump Hadley	3.60
8	Ted Lyons	3.70
9	Mel Harder	3.83
10	Monte Pearson	3.96

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 150 IP

1	Dutch Leonard	1.23
2	Monty Stratton	1.30
3	Red Ruffing	1.33
4	Mel Harder	1.33
5	Spud Chandler	1.34
6	Johnny Allen	1.35
6	Lefty Grove	1.35
8	Bump Hadley	1.38
9	Thornton Lee	1.41
10	Johnny Rigney	1.41

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 150 IP

1	Lefty Grove	3.49
2	Lefty Gomez	3.65
3	Red Ruffing	3.90
4	Dutch Leonard	3.93
5	Mel Harder	3.94
6	Spud Chandler	4.06
7	Tommy Bridges	4.15
8	Johnny Allen	4.21
8	Ted Lyons	4.21
10	Thornton Lee	4.29

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Mel Ott	116
2	Stan Hack	109
3	Dolph Camilli	106
4	Ival Goodman	103
5	Joe Medwick	100
6	Johnny Rizzo	97
7	Lee Handley	91
8	Frank McCormick	89
9	Arky Vaughan	88
10	Billy Herman	86

HitsH

1	Frank McCormick	209
2	Stan Hack	195
3	Lloyd Waner	194
4	Joe Medwick	190
5	Johnny Mize	179
6	Paul Waner	175
7	Arky Vaughan	174
8	Billy Herman	173
9	Ernie Lombardi	167
9	Johnny Rizzo	167

Doubles2B

1	Joe Medwick	47
2	Frank McCormick	40
3	Hersh Martin	36
3	Pep Young	36
5	Gus Suhr	35
5	Arky Vaughan	35
7	Stan Hack	34
7	Billy Herman	34
7	Cookie Lavagetto	34
7	Johnny Mize	34

Triples3B

1	Johnny Mize	16
2	Don Gutteridge	15
3	Gus Suhr	14
4	Ernie Koy	13
4	Lew Riggs	13
6	Dolph Camilli	11
6	Stan Hack	11
6	Goody Rosen	11
9	Ival Goodman	10
9	Carl Reynolds	10
9	Enos Slaughter	10

Home RunsHR

1	Mel Ott	36
2	Ival Goodman	30
3	Johnny Mize	27
4	Dolph Camilli	24
5	Johnny Rizzo	23
6	Joe Medwick	21
7	Ernie Lombardi	19
8	Wally Berger	16
9	Harry Craft	15
10	Vince DiMaggio	14

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Joe Medwick	122
2	Mel Ott	116
3	Johnny Rizzo	111
4	Frank McCormick	106
5	Johnny Mize	102
6	Dolph Camilli	100
7	Ernie Lombardi	95
8	Ival Goodman	92
9	Harry Craft	83
10	Cookie Lavagetto	79
10	Pep Young	79

WalksBB

1	Dolph Camilli	119
2	Mel Ott	118
3	Arky Vaughan	104
4	Stan Hack	94
5	Gus Suhr	87
6	Johnny Mize	74
7	Cookie Lavagetto	68
8	Vince DiMaggio	65
8	Goody Rosen	65
10	Emmett Mueller	64
10	Phil Weintraub	64

Stolen BasesSB

1	Stan Hack	16
2	Ernie Koy	15
2	Cookie Lavagetto	15
4	Don Gutteridge	14
4	Arky Vaughan	14
6	Vince DiMaggio	11
6	George Scharein	11
8	George Myatt	10
9	Terry Moore	9
9	Lynn Myers	9
9	Carl Reynolds	9

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Mel Ott	8.1
2	Arky Vaughan	8.0
3	Johnny Mize	6.4
4	Stan Hack	6.1
5	Ernie Lombardi	5.7
6	Ival Goodman	5.1
6	Joe Medwick	5.1
8	Dick Bartell	4.3
9	Johnny Rizzo	4.0
10	Pep Young	3.8

Batting Averagemin 465 PA

1	Ernie Lombardi	.342
2	Johnny Mize	.337
3	Frank McCormick	.327
4	Joe Medwick	.322
4	Arky Vaughan	.322
6	Stan Hack	.320
7	Debs Garms	.315
8	Lloyd Waner	.313
9	Mel Ott	.311
10	Harry Danning	.306

On-Base Percentagemin 465 PA

1	Mel Ott	.442
2	Arky Vaughan	.433
3	Johnny Mize	.422
4	Stan Hack	.411
5	Gus Suhr	.394
6	Dolph Camilli	.393
7	Ernie Lombardi	.391
8	Debs Garms	.371
9	Joe Medwick	.369
10	Ival Goodman	.368
10	Johnny Rizzo	.368
10	Goody Rosen	.368

Slugging Percentagemin 465 PA

1	Johnny Mize	.614
2	Mel Ott	.583
3	Joe Medwick	.536
4	Ival Goodman	.533
5	Ernie Lombardi	.524
6	Johnny Rizzo	.514
7	Dolph Camilli	.485
8	Wally Berger	.478
9	Ernie Koy	.468
10	Arky Vaughan	.444

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 465 PA

1	Johnny Mize	1.036
2	Mel Ott	1.024
3	Ernie Lombardi	.915
4	Joe Medwick	.905
5	Ival Goodman	.901
6	Johnny Rizzo	.882
7	Dolph Camilli	.879
8	Arky Vaughan	.876
9	Stan Hack	.843
10	Wally Berger	.826

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Bill Lee	22
2	Paul Derringer	21
3	Clay Bryant	19
4	Bob Weiland	16
5	Mace Brown	15
5	Harry Gumbert	15
5	Johnny Vander Meer	15
5	Bucky Walters	15
9	Danny MacFayden	14
9	Cliff Melton	14
9	Jim Tobin	14
9	Jim Turner	14

SavesSV

1	Dick Coffman	12
2	Charlie Root	8
3	Dick Errickson	6
3	Luke Hamlin	6
5	Jumbo Brown	5
5	Mace Brown	5
5	Bill McGee	5
8	Joe Cascarella	4
8	Ira Hutchinson	4
8	Bill Swift	4

StrikeoutsSO

1	Clay Bryant	135
2	Paul Derringer	132
3	Johnny Vander Meer	125
4	Bill Lee	121
5	Russ Bauers	117
5	Bob Weiland	117
7	Carl Hubbell	104
7	Bill McGee	104
9	Cliff Melton	101
10	Claude Passeau	100

Innings PitchedIP

1	Paul Derringer	307.0
2	Bill Lee	291.0
3	Clay Bryant	270.3
4	Jim Turner	268.0
5	Hugh Mulcahy	267.3
6	Bucky Walters	251.0
7	Russ Bauers	243.0
7	Cliff Melton	243.0
9	Jim Tobin	241.3
10	Lou Fette	239.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Paul Derringer	26
2	Jim Turner	22
3	Bucky Walters	20
4	Bill Lee	19
4	Danny MacFayden	19
6	Clay Bryant	17
6	Lou Fette	17
8	Johnny Vander Meer	16
9	Hugh Mulcahy	15
9	Claude Passeau	15

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bill Lee	9
2	Danny MacFayden	5
3	Paul Derringer	4
3	Lon Warneke	4
5	Clay Bryant	3
5	Lou Fette	3
5	Freddie Fitzsimmons	3
5	Larry French	3
5	Luke Hamlin	3
5	Hal Schumacher	3
5	Jim Turner	3
5	Johnny Vander Meer	3
5	Bucky Walters	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Paul Derringer	6.0
2	Bill Lee	4.8
3	Clay Bryant	4.3
4	Russ Bauers	4.1
5	Bob Weiland	4.0
6	Bill McGee	4.0
7	Claude Passeau	3.7
8	Luke Hamlin	3.7
9	Freddie Fitzsimmons	3.6
10	Cliff Melton	3.5

Earned Run Averagemin 150 IP

1	Bill Lee	2.66
2	Ira Hutchinson	2.74
3	Charlie Root	2.86
4	Paul Derringer	2.93
5	Danny MacFayden	2.95
6	Bob Klinger	2.99
7	Freddie Fitzsimmons	3.02
8	Carl Hubbell	3.07
9	Russ Bauers	3.07
10	Clay Bryant	3.10

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 150 IP

1	Carl Hubbell	1.14
2	Paul Derringer	1.19
3	Jim Turner	1.20
4	Charlie Root	1.20
5	Bill Lohrman	1.22
6	Bob Klinger	1.22
7	Bill Lee	1.22
8	Freddie Fitzsimmons	1.22
9	Hal Schumacher	1.23
10	Curt Davis	1.24

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 150 IP

1	Bill McGee	3.47
2	Paul Derringer	3.56
3	Charlie Root	3.63
4	Carl Hubbell	3.68
5	Bill Swift	3.73
6	Clay Bryant	3.78
7	Bob Weiland	3.80
8	Russ Bauers	3.80
9	Curt Davis	3.84
10	Bob Klinger	3.84

Negro Leagues in 1938

16 more ranking tables from 1938. These clubs played a much shorter league schedule than the American and National Leagues did, so the counting statistics are not on the same scale as the ones above.

The Negro Leagues had none of these awards. There was no Most Valuable Player vote, no Cy Young Award, no Gold Glove and no Silver Slugger in Black baseball, so no player in those sections below could appear in the award list above however he played. A blank there says something about how the leagues were organised and nothing at all about the players.

Negro Leagues

Led the Negro 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 1938 is 465 plate appearances — three point one per team game across a 150-game schedule. The Negro 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.

Batting9 categories

RunsR

1	Josh Gibson	54
2	Henry Milton	51
3	Roy Parnell	50
4	Vic Harris	43
5	Jerry Benjamin	42
5	Buck Leonard	42
7	Clyde Spearman	41
8	Jake Dunn	37
9	Willard Brown	36
9	Matt Carlisle	36
9	Bill Perkins	36

HitsH

1	Clyde Spearman	74
2	Roy Parnell	65
3	Buck Leonard	64
4	Willard Brown	62
4	Henry Milton	62
6	Josh Gibson	61
6	Bill Perkins	61
8	Jake Dunn	56
9	Curtis Harris	54
9	Harry Williams	54

Doubles2B

1	Willard Brown	16
2	Pat Patterson	13
3	Jake Dunn	12
3	Buck Leonard	12
3	Jim West	12
3	Harry Williams	12
7	Josh Gibson	11
7	Jim Williams	11
9	Babe Davis	10
9	George Giles	10
9	Henry Milton	10
9	Roy Parnell	10
9	Clyde Spearman	10
9	Henry Spearman	10

Triples3B

1	Henry Milton	6
2	Jerry Benjamin	5
2	Roosevelt Cox	5
2	Babe Davis	5
2	Vic Harris	5
2	Buck Leonard	5
2	Alex Radcliff	5
2	Clyde Spearman	5
2	Chester Williams	5
10	Gene Benson	4
10	Willard Brown	4
10	Josh Gibson	4
10	Joe Greene	4
10	Sammy Hughes	4
10	Cowan Hyde	4
10	Mex Johnson	4
10	Roy Parnell	4
10	Don Pelham	4
10	Donald Reeves	4
10	Turkey Stearnes	4
10	Ted Strong	4
10	Harry Williams	4

Home RunsHR

1	Josh Gibson	13
2	Buck Leonard	9
3	Willard Brown	7
3	Pat Patterson	7
3	Bill Perkins	7
6	Jerry Benjamin	6
6	Ray Brown	6
6	Roy Parnell	6
6	Mule Suttles	6
10	Jake Dunn	5
10	Curtis Harris	5
10	Donald Reeves	5
10	Jim West	5

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Josh Gibson	54
2	Buck Leonard	53
3	Willard Brown	48
4	Bill Perkins	44
5	Curtis Harris	38
6	Pat Patterson	36
7	Jake Dunn	34
7	Donald Reeves	34
9	Harry Williams	32
10	Wild Bill Wright	31

WalksBB

1	Josh Gibson	30
2	Bill Perkins	29
2	Clyde Spearman	29
4	Jake Dunn	28
5	Roy Parnell	26
6	Buck Leonard	25
7	Jerry Benjamin	24
8	George Giles	23
9	Pat Patterson	20
9	George Scales	20

Stolen BasesSB

1	Henry Milton	25
2	Willard Brown	20
3	Buck O'Neil	11
4	Rainey Bibbs	10
5	Cowan Hyde	9
6	Lloyd Davenport	7
6	Gabby Kemp	7
6	Donald Reeves	7
6	Turkey Stearnes	7
6	Ted Strong	7

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Josh Gibson	3.6
2	Buck Leonard	3.0
3	Willard Brown	2.2
4	Bill Perkins	2.0
5	Harry Williams	1.9
6	Sammy Hughes	1.8
7	Pat Patterson	1.7
8	Jerry Benjamin	1.6
9	Ted Strong	1.6
10	Willie Wells	1.5

Pitching7 categories

WinsW

1	Ray Brown	14
2	Edsall Walker	10
3	Willie Cornelius	9
3	Hilton Smith	9
5	Bill Byrd	7
5	Spoon Carter	7
5	Henry McHenry	7
5	Johnny Taylor	7
9	Felix Evans	6
9	Tommy Johnson	6
9	Bo Mitchell	6
9	Andy Porter	6

SavesSV

1	Ray Brown	3
1	Willie Cornelius	3
1	Eddie Dixon	3
4	Louis Dula	2
4	Bob Griffith	2
4	Webster McDonald	2
4	Porter Moss	2
4	Roy Partlow	2
9	Frank Bradley	1
9	Bill Byrd	1
9	Lefty Calhoun	1
9	Jimmy Direaux	1
9	Jesse Houston	1
9	Slim Jones	1
9	Johnny Markham	1
9	Frank McAllister	1
9	Terris McDuffie	1
9	Ted Radcliffe	1
9	Hilton Smith	1
9	Theolic Smith	1
9	Neck Stanley	1

StrikeoutsSO

1	Hilton Smith	88
2	Willie Cornelius	77
3	Ray Brown	70
4	Vet Barnes	61
4	Henry McHenry	61
6	Frank Bradley	60
7	Spoon Carter	59
8	Eddie Dixon	55
8	Telosh Howard	55
8	Barney Morris	55

Innings PitchedIP

1	Ray Brown	129.0
2	Spoon Carter	117.3
3	Henry McHenry	116.0
4	Hilton Smith	112.7
5	Willie Cornelius	102.0
6	Eddie Dixon	98.7
7	Bo Mitchell	98.3
8	Webster McDonald	97.7
9	Tommy Johnson	95.0
10	Terris McDuffie	94.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Ray Brown	11
2	Bob Griffith	9
2	Henry McHenry	9
4	Willie Cornelius	8
4	Johnny Taylor	8
6	Bill Byrd	7
6	Bo Mitchell	7
6	Barney Morris	7
6	Hilton Smith	7
10	Barney Brown	6
10	Spoon Carter	6
10	Eddie Dixon	6
10	Bob Evans	6
10	Webster McDonald	6
10	Edsall Walker	6

ShutoutsSHO

1	Ray Brown	4
2	Floyd Kranson	2
2	Specs Roberts	2
2	Edsall Walker	2
5	Vet Barnes	1
5	Barney Brown	1
5	Leon Day	1
5	Telosh Howard	1
5	Willie Jefferson	1
5	Tommy Johnson	1
5	Johnny Markham	1
5	Henry McHenry	1
5	Henry Miller	1
5	Jim Missouri	1
5	Barney Morris	1
5	Porter Moss	1
5	Ted Radcliffe	1
5	Hilton Smith	1
5	Ted Trent	1

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Hilton Smith	3.5
2	Ray Brown	3.0
3	Willie Cornelius	2.3
4	Henry McHenry	2.1
5	Edsall Walker	2.0
6	Eddie Dixon	1.9
7	Frank Bradley	1.9
8	Barney Brown	1.8
9	Barney Morris	1.6
10	Bob Griffith	1.6

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1938 is 465 plate appearances and 150 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 150 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. 1938 is counted as 3 separate leagues — American League, National League and Negro 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 62 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 1938 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.