1948 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

3 leagues · 154 team games · 62 ranking tables · 3 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Lou BoudreauAmerican League
Stan MusialNational League

Rookie of the Year

Al DarkBoth leagues — one award across both

Not every award existed in this season. This database has 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	Tommy Henrich	138
2	Dom DiMaggio	127
3	Johnny Pesky	124
3	Ted Williams	124
5	Lou Boudreau	116
6	Vern Stephens	114
7	Bob Dillinger	110
7	Joe DiMaggio	110
9	Eddie Joost	99
10	Joe Gordon	96
10	Jerry Priddy	96

HitsH

1	Bob Dillinger	207
2	Dale Mitchell	204
3	Lou Boudreau	199
4	Joe DiMaggio	190
5	Ted Williams	188
6	Dom DiMaggio	185
7	Hank Majeski	183
8	Tommy Henrich	181
9	Al Zarilla	174
10	Vern Stephens	171

Doubles2B

1	Ted Williams	44
2	Tommy Henrich	42
3	Hank Majeski	41
4	Dom DiMaggio	40
4	Jerry Priddy	40
6	Al Zarilla	39
7	Lou Boudreau	34
7	Bob Dillinger	34
9	Hoot Evers	33
10	Eddie Yost	32

Triples3B

1	Tommy Henrich	14
2	Bud Stewart	13
3	Joe DiMaggio	11
3	Pat Mullin	11
3	Eddie Yost	11
6	Yogi Berra	10
6	Bob Dillinger	10
6	Whitey Platt	10
9	Gil Coan	9
9	Larry Doby	9
9	Jerry Priddy	9
9	Sam Vico	9
9	Vic Wertz	9

Home RunsHR

1	Joe DiMaggio	39
2	Joe Gordon	32
3	Ken Keltner	31
4	Vern Stephens	29
5	Bobby Doerr	27
6	Tommy Henrich	25
6	Ted Williams	25
8	Pat Mullin	23
9	Pat Seerey	19
10	Lou Boudreau	18

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Joe DiMaggio	155
2	Vern Stephens	137
3	Ted Williams	127
4	Joe Gordon	124
5	Hank Majeski	120
6	Ken Keltner	119
7	Bobby Doerr	111
8	Lou Boudreau	106
9	Hoot Evers	103
10	Tommy Henrich	100

WalksBB

1	Ted Williams	126
2	Eddie Joost	119
3	Ferris Fain	113
4	Dom DiMaggio	101
5	Johnny Pesky	99
6	Lou Boudreau	98
7	Luke Appling	94
8	Ken Keltner	89
9	Jerry Priddy	86
9	Snuffy Stirnweiss	86

Stolen BasesSB

1	Bob Dillinger	28
2	Gil Coan	23
3	Mickey Vernon	15
4	Dale Mitchell	13
5	Tony Lupien	11
5	Thurman Tucker	11
5	Al Zarilla	11
8	Luke Appling	10
8	Dom DiMaggio	10
8	Ferris Fain	10
8	Elmer Valo	10

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Lou Boudreau	10.6
2	Ted Williams	10.0
3	Joe DiMaggio	9.9
4	Bobby Doerr	7.3
5	Jerry Priddy	7.2
6	Ken Keltner	6.8
7	Vern Stephens	6.6
8	Eddie Joost	6.3
9	Joe Gordon	6.2
10	Tommy Henrich	6.1

Batting Averagemin 477 PA

1	Ted Williams	.369
2	Lou Boudreau	.355
3	Dale Mitchell	.336
4	Al Zarilla	.329
5	Barney McCosky	.326
6	Bob Dillinger	.321
7	Joe DiMaggio	.320
8	Luke Appling	.314
8	Hoot Evers	.314
10	Billy Goodman	.310
10	Hank Majeski	.310

On-Base Percentagemin 477 PA

1	Ted Williams	.497
2	Lou Boudreau	.453
3	Luke Appling	.423
4	Billy Goodman	.414
5	Ferris Fain	.412
6	Barney McCosky	.405
7	Joe DiMaggio	.396
8	Ken Keltner	.395
9	Johnny Pesky	.394
10	Eddie Joost	.393

Slugging Percentagemin 477 PA

1	Ted Williams	.615
2	Joe DiMaggio	.598
3	Tommy Henrich	.554
4	Lou Boudreau	.534
5	Ken Keltner	.522
6	Joe Gordon	.507
7	Bobby Doerr	.505
8	Pat Mullin	.504
9	Larry Doby	.490
10	Yogi Berra	.488

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 477 PA

1	Ted Williams	1.112
2	Joe DiMaggio	.994
3	Lou Boudreau	.987
4	Tommy Henrich	.945
5	Ken Keltner	.917
6	Bobby Doerr	.891
7	Pat Mullin	.889
8	Joe Gordon	.879
9	Larry Doby	.873
10	Al Zarilla	.871

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Hal Newhouser	21
2	Gene Bearden	20
2	Bob Lemon	20
4	Bob Feller	19
4	Vic Raschi	19
6	Jack Kramer	18
7	Eddie Lopat	17
8	Joe Dobson	16
8	Allie Reynolds	16
10	Dick Fowler	15
10	Mel Parnell	15
10	Ray Scarborough	15

SavesSV

1	Russ Christopher	17
2	Joe Page	16
3	Tom Ferrick	10
3	Art Houtteman	10
5	Howie Judson	8
6	Lou Brissie	5
6	Ned Garver	5
6	Bubba Harris	5
6	Earl Johnson	5
6	Bob Savage	5

StrikeoutsSO

1	Bob Feller	164
2	Bob Lemon	147
3	Hal Newhouser	143
4	Lou Brissie	127
5	Vic Raschi	124
6	Virgil Trucks	123
7	Joe Dobson	116
8	Cliff Fannin	102
9	Allie Reynolds	101
10	Tommy Byrne	93

Innings PitchedIP

1	Bob Lemon	293.7
2	Bob Feller	280.3
3	Hal Newhouser	272.3
4	Joe Dobson	245.3
5	Allie Reynolds	236.3
6	Gene Bearden	229.7
7	Fred Sanford	227.0
8	Eddie Lopat	226.7
9	Phil Marchildon	226.3
10	Bill Wight	223.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Bob Lemon	20
2	Hal Newhouser	19
3	Bob Feller	18
3	Vic Raschi	18
5	Joe Dobson	16
5	Dick Fowler	16
5	Mel Parnell	16
8	Gene Bearden	15
8	Fred Hutchinson	15
8	Carl Scheib	15
8	Early Wynn	15

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bob Lemon	10
2	Gene Bearden	6
2	Vic Raschi	6
4	Joe Dobson	5
5	Joe Coleman	3
5	Cliff Fannin	3
5	Eddie Lopat	3
5	Spec Shea	3
9	Bob Feller	2
9	Dick Fowler	2
9	Jack Kramer	2
9	Walt Masterson	2
9	Hal Newhouser	2
9	Satchel Paige	2
9	Dizzy Trout	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Hal Newhouser	5.5
2	Bob Lemon	4.3
3	Joe Dobson	3.8
4	Bob Feller	3.7
5	Vic Raschi	3.5
6	Lou Brissie	3.3
7	Jack Kramer	3.3
8	Dizzy Trout	3.2
9	Eddie Lopat	3.0
10	Mel Parnell	2.9

Earned Run Averagemin 154 IP

1	Gene Bearden	2.43
2	Ray Scarborough	2.82
3	Bob Lemon	2.82
4	Hal Newhouser	3.01
5	Mel Parnell	3.14
6	Ned Garver	3.41
7	Spec Shea	3.41
8	Dizzy Trout	3.43
9	Sam Zoldak	3.44
10	Joe Dobson	3.56

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 154 IP

1	Fred Hutchinson	1.23
1	Bob Lemon	1.23
3	Vic Raschi	1.27
4	Gene Bearden	1.28
5	Hal Newhouser	1.28
6	Ray Scarborough	1.28
7	Virgil Trucks	1.30
8	Spec Shea	1.31
9	Sam Zoldak	1.32
10	Bob Feller	1.32

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 154 IP

1	Hal Newhouser	3.30
2	Lou Brissie	3.37
3	Dizzy Trout	3.43
4	Vic Raschi	3.57
5	Bob Lemon	3.65
6	Virgil Trucks	3.70
7	Joe Dobson	3.71
8	Art Houtteman	3.73
9	Jack Kramer	3.77
10	Bob Feller	3.79

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Stan Musial	135
2	Whitey Lockman	117
3	Johnny Mize	110
4	Jackie Robinson	108
5	Ralph Kiner	104
6	Sid Gordon	100
7	Bob Elliott	99
8	Pee Wee Reese	96
9	Enos Slaughter	91
10	Eddie Waitkus	87

HitsH

1	Stan Musial	230
2	Tommy Holmes	190
3	Stan Rojek	186
4	Enos Slaughter	176
5	Al Dark	175
6	Del Ennis	171
6	Andy Pafko	171
8	Jackie Robinson	170
9	Whitey Lockman	167
10	Eddie Waitkus	166

Doubles2B

1	Stan Musial	46
2	Del Ennis	40
3	Al Dark	39
4	Jackie Robinson	38
5	Tommy Holmes	35
6	Pee Wee Reese	31
7	Andy Pafko	30
7	Virgil Stallcup	30
9	Johnny Blatnik	27
9	Stan Rojek	27
9	Enos Slaughter	27
9	Eddie Waitkus	27

Triples3B

1	Stan Musial	18
2	Johnny Hopp	12
3	Enos Slaughter	11
4	Whitey Lockman	10
4	Eddie Waitkus	10
6	Nippy Jones	9
6	Johnny Wyrostek	9
8	Johnny Blatnik	8
8	Willard Marshall	8
8	Jackie Robinson	8

Home RunsHR

1	Ralph Kiner	40
1	Johnny Mize	40
3	Stan Musial	39
4	Hank Sauer	35
5	Del Ennis	30
5	Sid Gordon	30
7	Andy Pafko	26
8	Bob Elliott	23
9	Jeff Heath	20
10	Bill Nicholson	19

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Stan Musial	131
2	Johnny Mize	125
3	Ralph Kiner	123
4	Sid Gordon	107
5	Andy Pafko	101
6	Bob Elliott	100
7	Hank Sauer	97
8	Del Ennis	95
9	Enos Slaughter	90
10	Willard Marshall	86

WalksBB

1	Bob Elliott	131
2	Ralph Kiner	112
3	Johnny Mize	94
4	Bill Nicholson	81
4	Enos Slaughter	81
4	Earl Torgeson	81
7	Stan Musial	79
7	Pee Wee Reese	79
9	Sid Gordon	74
10	Grady Hatton	72

Stolen BasesSB

1	Richie Ashburn	32
2	Pee Wee Reese	25
3	Stan Rojek	24
4	Jackie Robinson	22
5	Earl Torgeson	19
6	Gene Hermanski	15
7	Eddie Waitkus	11
8	Danny Murtaugh	10
9	Buddy Kerr	9
10	Frank Baumholtz	8
10	Sid Gordon	8
10	Bert Haas	8
10	Hal Jeffcoat	8
10	Whitey Lockman	8
10	Marv Rackley	8

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Stan Musial	11.8
2	Bob Elliott	7.3
3	Ralph Kiner	7.1
4	Andy Pafko	6.7
5	Sid Gordon	6.5
6	Johnny Mize	6.4
7	Richie Ashburn	5.9
8	Pee Wee Reese	5.6
9	Enos Slaughter	5.3
10	Whitey Lockman	5.3

Batting Averagemin 477 PA

1	Stan Musial	.376
2	Richie Ashburn	.333
3	Tommy Holmes	.325
4	Al Dark	.322
5	Enos Slaughter	.321
6	Andy Pafko	.312
7	Sid Gordon	.299
8	Jackie Robinson	.296
9	Eddie Waitkus	.295
10	Peanuts Lowrey	.294

On-Base Percentagemin 477 PA

1	Stan Musial	.450
2	Bob Elliott	.423
3	Richie Ashburn	.410
4	Enos Slaughter	.409
5	Johnny Mize	.395
6	Ralph Kiner	.391
7	Sid Gordon	.390
8	Tommy Holmes	.375
8	Andy Pafko	.375
10	Earl Torgeson	.372

Slugging Percentagemin 477 PA

1	Stan Musial	.702
2	Johnny Mize	.564
3	Sid Gordon	.537
4	Ralph Kiner	.533
5	Del Ennis	.525
6	Andy Pafko	.516
7	Hank Sauer	.504
8	Bob Elliott	.474
9	Enos Slaughter	.470
10	Wally Westlake	.456

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 477 PA

1	Stan Musial	1.152
2	Johnny Mize	.959
3	Sid Gordon	.927
4	Ralph Kiner	.924
5	Bob Elliott	.897
6	Andy Pafko	.891
7	Enos Slaughter	.879
8	Del Ennis	.869
9	Hank Sauer	.844
10	Jackie Robinson	.820

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Johnny Sain	24
2	Harry Brecheen	20
3	Larry Jansen	18
3	Johnny Schmitz	18
5	Johnny Vander Meer	17
6	Sheldon Jones	16
7	Rex Barney	15
7	Warren Spahn	15
9	Ralph Branca	14
9	Bob Chesnes	14

SavesSV

1	Harry Gumbert	17
2	Ted Wilks	13
3	Kirby Higbe	10
4	Hank Behrman	7
4	Ken Trinkle	7
6	Sheldon Jones	5
7	Hugh Casey	4
7	Bob Chipman	4
7	Monk Dubiel	4
7	Vic Lombardi	4
7	Willie Ramsdell	4
7	Clyde Shoun	4

StrikeoutsSO

1	Harry Brecheen	149
2	Rex Barney	138
3	Johnny Sain	137
4	Larry Jansen	126
5	Ralph Branca	122
6	Johnny Vander Meer	120
7	Ewell Blackwell	114
7	Warren Spahn	114
9	Murry Dickson	113
10	Johnny Schmitz	100

Innings PitchedIP

1	Johnny Sain	314.7
2	Larry Jansen	277.0
3	Warren Spahn	257.0
4	Murry Dickson	252.3
5	Rex Barney	246.7
6	Johnny Schmitz	242.0
7	Harry Brecheen	233.3
8	Johnny Vander Meer	232.0
9	Dutch Leonard	225.7
10	Ralph Branca	215.7
10	Bill Voiselle	215.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Johnny Sain	28
2	Harry Brecheen	21
3	Johnny Schmitz	18
4	Dutch Leonard	16
4	Warren Spahn	16
6	Bob Chesnes	15
6	Larry Jansen	15
8	Johnny Vander Meer	14
9	Rex Barney	12
9	Elmer Riddle	12

ShutoutsSHO

1	Harry Brecheen	7
2	Rex Barney	4
2	Larry Jansen	4
2	Ken Raffensberger	4
2	Johnny Sain	4
6	Dave Koslo	3
6	Russ Meyer	3
6	Ray Poat	3
6	Elmer Riddle	3
6	Warren Spahn	3
6	Johnny Vander Meer	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Harry Brecheen	6.9
2	Johnny Sain	5.4
3	Dutch Leonard	4.5
4	Larry Jansen	4.3
5	Warren Spahn	3.9
6	Johnny Schmitz	3.4
7	Preacher Roe	2.9
8	Schoolboy Rowe	2.7
9	Howie Pollet	2.7
10	Ewell Blackwell	2.5

Earned Run Averagemin 154 IP

1	Harry Brecheen	2.24
2	Dutch Leonard	2.51
3	Johnny Sain	2.60
4	Preacher Roe	2.63
5	Johnny Schmitz	2.64
6	Rex Barney	3.10
7	Sheldon Jones	3.35
8	Kirby Higbe	3.36
9	Johnny Vander Meer	3.41
10	Elmer Riddle	3.49

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 154 IP

1	Harry Brecheen	1.04
2	Preacher Roe	1.06
3	Johnny Schmitz	1.17
4	Johnny Sain	1.21
5	Larry Jansen	1.22
6	Warren Spahn	1.22
7	Dutch Leonard	1.24
8	Ken Raffensberger	1.24
9	Ralph Branca	1.25
10	Rex Barney	1.28

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 154 IP

1	Harry Brecheen	2.49
2	Dutch Leonard	3.25
3	Preacher Roe	3.42
4	Johnny Sain	3.53
5	Larry Jansen	3.65
6	Al Brazle	3.69
7	Howie Pollet	3.72
8	Russ Meyer	3.75
9	Warren Spahn	3.76
10	Johnny Schmitz	3.77

Negro Leagues in 1948

16 more ranking tables from 1948. 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 1948 is 477 plate appearances — three point one per team game across a 154-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	Henry Kimbro	54
2	Hank Thompson	50
3	Jim Gilliam	48
4	Tommy Butts	44
5	Willard Brown	43
6	Lester Lockett	41
6	Herb Souell	41
8	Gene Baker	39
9	Jimmy Wilkes	35
10	Luke Easter	34
10	Lennie Pearson	34

HitsH

1	Lester Lockett	85
2	Willard Brown	71
3	Frank Austin	68
4	Frank Russell	66
5	Johnny Washington	64
6	Jim Gilliam	63
7	Bob Harvey	60
7	Lennie Pearson	60
9	Hank Thompson	59
10	Tommy Butts	58

Doubles2B

1	Willard Brown	23
2	Frank Austin	15
2	Lester Lockett	15
4	Frank Russell	13
4	Hank Thompson	13
6	Doc Dennis	11
6	Henry Kimbro	11
6	Minnie Miñoso	11
9	Lorenzo Cabrera	10
9	Ray Noble	10
9	Curtis Roberts	10
9	Earl Taborn	10

Triples3B

1	Gene Baker	7
2	Bill Cash	6
2	Minnie Miñoso	6
2	Herb Souell	6
2	Artie Wilson	6
6	Cleveland Clark	5
6	Frank Russell	5
6	Hank Thompson	5
6	Jimmy Wilkes	5
10	Mahlon Duckett	4
10	Jim Gilliam	4
10	Henry Kimbro	4
10	Lester Lockett	4
10	Ray Noble	4
10	Johnny Washington	4
10	Curley Williams	4

Home RunsHR

1	Willard Brown	7
2	Luke Easter	6
2	Lester Lockett	6
4	Monte Irvin	5
4	Hank Thompson	5
6	Buck Leonard	4
7	Gene Baker	3
7	George Crowe	3
7	Luis Márquez	3
7	Minnie Miñoso	3
7	Ray Noble	3
7	Lennie Pearson	3
7	Joe Scott	3
7	Ed Steele	3
7	Bob Wilson	3

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Willard Brown	54
2	Lester Lockett	53
3	Luke Easter	37
3	Frank Russell	37
5	Jim Gilliam	33
5	Johnny Washington	33
7	Lennie Pearson	29
7	Hank Thompson	29
9	Gene Baker	28
9	Lorenzo Cabrera	28
9	Bob Wilson	28

WalksBB

1	Henry Kimbro	59
2	Jim Gilliam	35
3	Luke Easter	27
3	Hank Thompson	27
3	Jimmy Wilkes	27
6	Buck Leonard	26
7	Bob Harvey	25
8	Tommy Butts	24
8	Curley Williams	24
10	Willard Brown	22
10	Ed Steele	22

Stolen BasesSB

1	Luis Márquez	15
2	Hank Thompson	12
3	Ed Finney	10
4	Willard Brown	8
4	Jim Gilliam	8
6	Sam Bankhead	7
6	Henry Kimbro	7
6	Johnie Scott	7
6	Ed Steele	7
6	Bob Wilson	7

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Willard Brown	3.4
2	Frank Austin	2.8
3	Lester Lockett	2.6
4	Henry Kimbro	2.5
5	Artie Wilson	2.3
6	Hank Thompson	2.3
7	Luke Easter	2.1
8	Piper Davis	2.0
9	Luis Márquez	2.0
10	Minnie Miñoso	1.7

Pitching7 categories

WinsW

1	Bill Byrd	10
2	Jim LaMarque	9
2	Max Manning	9
4	Joe Black	8
5	Jonas Gaines	7
5	Henry McHenry	7
5	Henry Miller	7
5	Patricio Scantlebury	7
9	Wilmer Fields	6
9	Leniel Hooker	6
9	Jimmie Newberry	6
9	Tom Parker	6
9	Bill Ricks	6
9	Bob Romby	6

SavesSV

1	Bob Romby	3
1	Frank Thompson	3
3	Clyde Golden	2
3	Connie Johnson	2
5	Ted Alexander	1
5	Dave Barnhill	1
5	Joe Black	1
5	Gene Collins	1
5	Toots Ferrell	1
5	Bill Greason	1
5	Jim LaMarque	1
5	Rufus Lewis	1
5	Jimmie Newberry	1
5	Bill Ricks	1
5	Ford Smith	1
5	Neck Stanley	1
5	Bob Trice	1
5	Cotton Williams	1
5	Alfred Wilmore	1
5	Sam Woods	1

StrikeoutsSO

1	Joe Black	85
2	Jim LaMarque	80
3	Bill Byrd	79
4	Max Manning	73
5	Henry Miller	68
5	Bob Romby	68
7	Henry McHenry	63
7	Patricio Scantlebury	63
9	Gene Collins	62
10	Jonas Gaines	59

Innings PitchedIP

1	Bill Byrd	123.3
2	Jim LaMarque	118.0
3	Patricio Scantlebury	116.7
4	Joe Black	113.3
4	Max Manning	113.3
6	Henry Miller	111.7
7	Henry McHenry	100.7
8	Bob Romby	89.0
9	Leniel Hooker	88.3
10	Dave Barnhill	85.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Jim LaMarque	12
1	Max Manning	12
3	Bill Byrd	11
4	Henry McHenry	10
5	Patricio Scantlebury	9
6	Dave Barnhill	8
6	Joe Black	8
6	Leniel Hooker	8
9	Henry Miller	7
9	Bob Romby	7

ShutoutsSHO

1	Rufus Lewis	3
2	Joe Black	2
2	Clyde Golden	2
2	Bill Powell	2
5	Dave Barnhill	1
5	Ernest Burke	1
5	Gene Collins	1
5	Wilmer Fields	1
5	Bill Greason	1
5	Bob Griffith	1
5	Jim LaMarque	1
5	Max Manning	1
5	Henry McHenry	1
5	Henry Miller	1
5	Bill Ricks	1
5	Bob Romby	1
5	Patricio Scantlebury	1
5	Ford Smith	1
5	Bob Thurman	1

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Bill Byrd	3.6
2	Max Manning	3.2
3	Jim LaMarque	3.2
4	Joe Black	2.9
5	Patricio Scantlebury	2.8
6	Jonas Gaines	2.5
7	Leniel Hooker	2.2
8	Henry McHenry	2.2
9	Bob Romby	2.0
10	Rufus Lewis	1.8

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1948 is 477 plate appearances and 154 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 154 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. 1948 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, 20 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 1948 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.