1949 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 156 team games · 46 ranking tables · 4 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Jackie RobinsonNational League
Ted WilliamsAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Don NewcombeNational League
Roy SieversAmerican League

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	Ted Williams	150
2	Eddie Joost	128
3	Dom DiMaggio	126
4	Vern Stephens	113
5	Johnny Pesky	111
6	Phil Rizzuto	110
7	Larry Doby	106
8	George Kell	97
9	Vic Wertz	96
10	Bobby Doerr	91

HitsH

1	Dale Mitchell	203
2	Ted Williams	194
3	Dom DiMaggio	186
4	Johnny Pesky	185
4	Vic Wertz	185
6	George Kell	179
7	Vern Stephens	177
8	Bob Dillinger	176
9	Cass Michaels	173
10	Dave Philley	171

Doubles2B

1	Ted Williams	39
2	George Kell	38
3	Dom DiMaggio	34
4	Al Zarilla	33
5	Vern Stephens	31
6	Bobby Doerr	30
7	Dick Kokos	28
7	Roy Sievers	28
9	Cass Michaels	27
9	Johnny Pesky	27
9	Eddie Robinson	27
9	Elmer Valo	27
9	Mickey Vernon	27

Triples3B

1	Dale Mitchell	23
2	Bob Dillinger	13
3	Elmer Valo	12
4	Bobby Doerr	9
4	George Kell	9
4	Cass Michaels	9
7	Gil Coan	8
7	Dave Philley	8
9	Johnny Pesky	7
9	Phil Rizzuto	7
9	Gene Woodling	7
9	Eddie Yost	7

Home RunsHR

1	Ted Williams	43
2	Vern Stephens	39
3	Sam Chapman	24
3	Larry Doby	24
3	Jack Graham	24
3	Tommy Henrich	24
7	Eddie Joost	23
7	Dick Kokos	23
9	Yogi Berra	20
9	Joe Gordon	20
9	Vic Wertz	20

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Vern Stephens	159
1	Ted Williams	159
3	Vic Wertz	133
4	Bobby Doerr	109
5	Sam Chapman	108
6	Yogi Berra	91
6	Roy Sievers	91
8	Larry Doby	85
8	Tommy Henrich	85
8	Elmer Valo	85

WalksBB

1	Ted Williams	162
2	Eddie Joost	149
3	Ferris Fain	136
4	Luke Appling	121
5	Elmer Valo	119
6	Cass Michaels	101
6	Vern Stephens	101
8	Johnny Pesky	100
9	Dom DiMaggio	96
10	Larry Doby	91
10	Eddie Yost	91

Stolen BasesSB

1	Bob Dillinger	20
2	Phil Rizzuto	18
3	Elmer Valo	14
4	Dave Philley	13
5	Larry Doby	10
5	Dale Mitchell	10
5	Sherry Robertson	10
8	Gil Coan	9
8	Dom DiMaggio	9
8	Mickey Vernon	9

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Ted Williams	11.4
2	Eddie Joost	9.2
3	Vern Stephens	8.0
4	Bobby Doerr	7.7
5	Cass Michaels	7.0
6	George Kell	6.2
7	Dom DiMaggio	6.0
8	Sam Chapman	6.0
9	Luke Appling	5.9
10	Johnny Pesky	5.7

Batting Averagemin 484 PA

1	George Kell	.343
1	Ted Williams	.343
3	Bob Dillinger	.324
4	Dale Mitchell	.317
5	Bobby Doerr	.309
6	Cass Michaels	.308
7	Dom DiMaggio	.307
8	Johnny Pesky	.306
8	Roy Sievers	.306
10	Vic Wertz	.304

On-Base Percentagemin 484 PA

1	Ted Williams	.490
2	Luke Appling	.439
3	Eddie Joost	.429
4	George Kell	.424
5	Cass Michaels	.417
6	Tommy Henrich	.416
7	Ferris Fain	.415
8	Elmer Valo	.413
9	Johnny Pesky	.408
10	Dom DiMaggio	.404

Slugging Percentagemin 484 PA

1	Ted Williams	.650
2	Vern Stephens	.539
3	Tommy Henrich	.526
4	Bobby Doerr	.497
5	Roy Sievers	.471
6	Larry Doby	.468
7	George Kell	.467
8	Vic Wertz	.465
9	Dick Kokos	.459
9	Eddie Robinson	.459

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 484 PA

1	Ted Williams	1.141
2	Tommy Henrich	.942
3	Vern Stephens	.930
4	George Kell	.892
5	Bobby Doerr	.890
6	Eddie Joost	.883
7	Roy Sievers	.869
8	Larry Doby	.857
9	Vic Wertz	.851
10	Eddie Robinson	.840

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Mel Parnell	25
2	Ellis Kinder	23
3	Bob Lemon	22
4	Vic Raschi	21
5	Alex Kellner	20
6	Virgil Trucks	19
7	Hal Newhouser	18
8	Allie Reynolds	17
9	Lou Brissie	16
10	Tommy Byrne	15
10	Bob Feller	15
10	Dick Fowler	15
10	Art Houtteman	15
10	Fred Hutchinson	15
10	Eddie Lopat	15
10	Bill Wight	15

SavesSV

1	Joe Page	27
2	Al Benton	10
3	Tom Ferrick	6
4	Satchel Paige	5
5	Ellis Kinder	4
5	Walt Masterson	4
5	Marino Pieretti	4
5	Max Surkont	4
5	Virgil Trucks	4
10	Lou Brissie	3
10	Ned Garver	3
10	Bubba Harris	3
10	Tex Hughson	3
10	Ed Klieman	3
10	Cuddles Marshall	3
10	Dizzy Trout	3

StrikeoutsSO

1	Virgil Trucks	153
2	Hal Newhouser	144
3	Ellis Kinder	138
3	Bob Lemon	138
5	Tommy Byrne	129
6	Vic Raschi	124
7	Mel Parnell	122
8	Lou Brissie	118
9	Joe Coleman	109
10	Bob Feller	108

Innings PitchedIP

1	Mel Parnell	295.3
2	Hal Newhouser	292.0
3	Bob Lemon	279.7
4	Virgil Trucks	275.0
5	Vic Raschi	274.7
6	Ellis Kinder	252.0
7	Alex Kellner	245.0
7	Bill Wight	245.0
9	Joe Coleman	240.3
10	Randy Gumpert	234.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Mel Parnell	27
2	Bob Lemon	22
2	Hal Newhouser	22
4	Vic Raschi	21
5	Alex Kellner	19
5	Ellis Kinder	19
7	Lou Brissie	18
7	Joe Coleman	18
7	Randy Gumpert	18
10	Virgil Trucks	17

ShutoutsSHO

1	Ellis Kinder	6
1	Virgil Trucks	6
3	Mike Garcia	5
4	Dick Fowler	4
4	Fred Hutchinson	4
4	Eddie Lopat	4
4	Mel Parnell	4
8	Tommy Byrne	3
8	Ted Gray	3
8	Randy Gumpert	3
8	Hal Newhouser	3
8	Vic Raschi	3
8	Bill Wight	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Mel Parnell	5.3
2	Hal Newhouser	4.9
3	Virgil Trucks	4.2
4	Bill Wight	4.1
5	Ellis Kinder	3.5
6	Mike Garcia	3.3
7	Vic Raschi	3.3
8	Bob Lemon	3.1
9	Joe Coleman	3.0
10	Joe Dobson	2.9

Earned Run Averagemin 156 IP

1	Mike Garcia	2.36
2	Mel Parnell	2.77
3	Virgil Trucks	2.81
4	Fred Hutchinson	2.96
5	Bob Lemon	2.99
6	Eddie Lopat	3.26
7	Bill Wight	3.31
8	Vic Raschi	3.34
9	Ellis Kinder	3.36
10	Hal Newhouser	3.36

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 156 IP

1	Fred Hutchinson	1.16
2	Virgil Trucks	1.21
3	Mike Garcia	1.22
4	Bob Lemon	1.24
5	Randy Gumpert	1.31
6	Mel Parnell	1.33
7	Hal Newhouser	1.33
8	Bob Feller	1.34
9	Eddie Lopat	1.35
10	Ted Gray	1.36

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 156 IP

1	Mike Garcia	2.94
2	Early Wynn	3.45
3	Mel Parnell	3.45
4	Hal Newhouser	3.51
5	Bill Wight	3.53
6	Virgil Trucks	3.55
7	Ellis Kinder	3.70
8	Bob Kuzava	3.71
9	Ray Scarborough	3.78
10	Bob Feller	3.81

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Pee Wee Reese	132
2	Stan Musial	128
3	Jackie Robinson	122
4	Ralph Kiner	116
5	Red Schoendienst	102
6	Duke Snider	100
7	Bobby Thomson	99
8	Whitey Lockman	97
9	Carl Furillo	95
10	Gil Hodges	94

HitsH

1	Stan Musial	207
2	Jackie Robinson	203
3	Bobby Thomson	198
4	Enos Slaughter	191
5	Red Schoendienst	190
6	Richie Ashburn	188
7	Whitey Lockman	186
8	Del Ennis	184
9	Carl Furillo	177
10	Granny Hamner	174

Doubles2B

1	Stan Musial	41
2	Del Ennis	39
3	Grady Hatton	38
3	Jackie Robinson	38
5	Willie Jones	35
5	Bobby Thomson	35
7	Enos Slaughter	34
8	Granny Hamner	32
8	Whitey Lockman	32
10	Marty Marion	31

Triples3B

1	Stan Musial	13
1	Enos Slaughter	13
3	Jackie Robinson	12
4	Richie Ashburn	11
4	Del Ennis	11
6	Carl Furillo	10
6	Roy Smalley	10
8	Bobby Thomson	9
9	Chuck Diering	8
9	Wally Westlake	8

Home RunsHR

1	Ralph Kiner	54
2	Stan Musial	36
3	Hank Sauer	31
4	Bobby Thomson	27
5	Sid Gordon	26
6	Del Ennis	25
7	Andy Seminick	24
8	Gil Hodges	23
8	Duke Snider	23
8	Wally Westlake	23

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Ralph Kiner	127
2	Jackie Robinson	124
3	Stan Musial	123
4	Gil Hodges	115
5	Del Ennis	110
6	Bobby Thomson	109
7	Carl Furillo	106
8	Wally Westlake	104
9	Hank Sauer	99
10	Enos Slaughter	96

WalksBB

1	Ralph Kiner	117
2	Pee Wee Reese	116
3	Eddie Stanky	113
4	Stan Musial	107
5	Sid Gordon	95
6	Bob Elliott	90
7	Jackie Robinson	86
8	Elbie Fletcher	84
9	Enos Slaughter	79
10	Willard Marshall	78

Stolen BasesSB

1	Jackie Robinson	37
2	Pee Wee Reese	26
3	Gene Hermanski	12
3	Hal Jeffcoat	12
3	Whitey Lockman	12
3	Duke Snider	12
7	Gil Hodges	10
7	Bobby Thomson	10
9	Richie Ashburn	9
9	Johnny Hopp	9
9	Bob Ramazzotti	9

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Stan Musial	9.3
2	Ralph Kiner	9.1
3	Jackie Robinson	9.0
4	Bobby Thomson	7.4
5	Pee Wee Reese	6.4
6	Bob Elliott	6.0
7	Enos Slaughter	5.9
8	Del Ennis	5.8
9	Roy Campanella	5.2
10	Duke Snider	4.7

Batting Averagemin 484 PA

1	Jackie Robinson	.342
2	Stan Musial	.338
3	Enos Slaughter	.336
4	Carl Furillo	.322
5	Ralph Kiner	.310
6	Ted Kluszewski	.309
6	Bobby Thomson	.309
8	Willard Marshall	.307
9	Del Ennis	.302
10	Whitey Lockman	.301

On-Base Percentagemin 484 PA

1	Stan Musial	.438
2	Ralph Kiner	.432
2	Jackie Robinson	.432
4	Enos Slaughter	.418
5	Eddie Stanky	.417
6	Sid Gordon	.404
7	Willard Marshall	.401
8	Elbie Fletcher	.396
8	Pee Wee Reese	.396
10	Bob Elliott	.395

Slugging Percentagemin 484 PA

1	Ralph Kiner	.658
2	Stan Musial	.624
3	Jackie Robinson	.528
4	Del Ennis	.525
5	Bobby Thomson	.518
6	Enos Slaughter	.511
7	Hank Sauer	.507
8	Carl Furillo	.506
9	Sid Gordon	.505
10	Roy Campanella	.498

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 484 PA

1	Ralph Kiner	1.089
2	Stan Musial	1.062
3	Jackie Robinson	.960
4	Enos Slaughter	.929
5	Sid Gordon	.909
6	Del Ennis	.892
7	Roy Campanella	.883
8	Carl Furillo	.875
9	Bobby Thomson	.873
10	Bob Elliott	.862

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Warren Spahn	21
2	Howie Pollet	20
3	Ken Raffensberger	18
4	Ken Heintzelman	17
4	Russ Meyer	17
4	Don Newcombe	17
7	Vern Bickford	16
8	Larry Jansen	15
8	Sheldon Jones	15
8	Red Munger	15
8	Robin Roberts	15
8	Preacher Roe	15

SavesSV

1	Ted Wilks	9
2	Jim Konstanty	7
2	Nels Potter	7
4	Erv Palica	6
4	Gerry Staley	6
6	Hugh Casey	5
6	Harry Gumbert	5
6	Bob Muncrief	5
9	Monk Dubiel	4
9	Dave Koslo	4
9	Robin Roberts	4
9	Bob Rush	4

StrikeoutsSO

1	Warren Spahn	151
2	Don Newcombe	149
3	Larry Jansen	113
4	Ralph Branca	109
4	Preacher Roe	109
6	Howie Pollet	108
7	Bill Werle	106
8	Ken Raffensberger	103
9	Vern Bickford	101
10	Jack Banta	97

Innings PitchedIP

1	Warren Spahn	302.3
2	Ken Raffensberger	284.0
3	Larry Jansen	259.7
4	Ken Heintzelman	250.0
5	Don Newcombe	244.3
6	Johnny Sain	243.0
7	Vern Bickford	230.7
7	Howie Pollet	230.7
9	Robin Roberts	226.7
10	Murry Dickson	224.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Warren Spahn	25
2	Ken Raffensberger	20
3	Don Newcombe	19
4	Larry Jansen	17
4	Howie Pollet	17
6	Johnny Sain	16
7	Vern Bickford	15
7	Ken Heintzelman	15
7	Dave Koslo	15
10	Harry Brecheen	14
10	Monty Kennedy	14
10	Russ Meyer	14

ShutoutsSHO

1	Ken Heintzelman	5
1	Don Newcombe	5
1	Howie Pollet	5
1	Ken Raffensberger	5
5	Monty Kennedy	4
5	Warren Spahn	4
5	Bill Voiselle	4
8	Larry Jansen	3
8	Robin Roberts	3
8	Preacher Roe	3
8	Johnny Schmitz	3
8	Johnny Vander Meer	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Howie Pollet	5.3
2	Don Newcombe	5.1
3	Warren Spahn	4.9
4	Dutch Leonard	4.5
5	Ken Raffensberger	4.5
6	Johnny Sain	3.5
7	Dave Koslo	3.5
8	Bill Werle	3.4
9	Preacher Roe	3.3
10	Harry Brecheen	3.2

Earned Run Averagemin 156 IP

1	Dave Koslo	2.50
2	Gerry Staley	2.73
3	Howie Pollet	2.77
4	Preacher Roe	2.79
5	Ken Heintzelman	3.02
6	Warren Spahn	3.07
7	Russ Meyer	3.08
8	Don Newcombe	3.17
9	Al Brazle	3.18
10	Murry Dickson	3.29

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 156 IP

1	Dave Koslo	1.11
2	Gerry Staley	1.14
3	Preacher Roe	1.15
4	Don Newcombe	1.21
5	Warren Spahn	1.22
6	Howie Pollet	1.24
7	Russ Meyer	1.26
8	Harry Brecheen	1.27
9	Larry Jansen	1.28
10	Hank Borowy	1.30

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 156 IP

1	Dutch Leonard	2.71
2	Howie Pollet	2.88
3	Don Newcombe	3.13
4	Gerry Staley	3.17
5	Dave Koslo	3.31
6	Bob Rush	3.54
7	Warren Spahn	3.56
8	Robin Roberts	3.59
9	Cliff Chambers	3.63
10	Russ Meyer	3.63

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1949 is 484 plate appearances and 156 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 156 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. 1949 is counted as 2 separate leagues — American League and National League, 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 46 ranking tables here, 16 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 1949 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.