1951 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 155 team games · 46 ranking tables · 4 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Yogi BerraAmerican League
Roy CampanellaNational League

Rookie of the Year

Willie MaysNational League
Gil McDougaldAmerican 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	Dom DiMaggio	113
2	Minnie Miñoso	112
3	Ted Williams	109
3	Eddie Yost	109
5	Eddie Joost	107
6	Nellie Fox	93
6	Johnny Pesky	93
8	Yogi Berra	92
8	Billy Goodman	92
8	George Kell	92
8	Gus Zernial	92

HitsH

1	George Kell	191
2	Dom DiMaggio	189
2	Nellie Fox	189
4	Minnie Miñoso	173
5	Ted Williams	169
6	Bobby Avila	165
7	Gil Coan	163
8	Billy Goodman	162
9	Yogi Berra	161
9	Eddie Yost	161

Doubles2B

1	George Kell	36
1	Sam Mele	36
1	Eddie Yost	36
4	Dom DiMaggio	34
4	Billy Goodman	34
4	Minnie Miñoso	34
7	Irv Noren	33
8	Nellie Fox	32
9	Ferris Fain	30
9	Al Rosen	30
9	Mickey Vernon	30
9	Gus Zernial	30

Triples3B

1	Minnie Miñoso	14
2	Ray Coleman	12
2	Nellie Fox	12
4	Bobby Young	9
5	Elmer Valo	8
5	Gene Woodling	8
7	Gil Coan	7
7	Sam Mele	7
7	Dale Mitchell	7
7	Dave Philley	7
7	Mickey Vernon	7

Home RunsHR

1	Gus Zernial	33
2	Ted Williams	30
3	Eddie Robinson	29
4	Yogi Berra	27
4	Luke Easter	27
4	Vic Wertz	27
7	Al Rosen	24
8	Clyde Vollmer	22
9	Larry Doby	20
10	Eddie Joost	19

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Gus Zernial	129
2	Ted Williams	126
3	Eddie Robinson	117
4	Luke Easter	103
5	Al Rosen	102
6	Sam Mele	94
6	Vic Wertz	94
8	Yogi Berra	88
9	Mickey Vernon	87
10	Irv Noren	86

WalksBB

1	Ted Williams	144
2	Eddie Yost	126
3	Eddie Joost	106
4	Larry Doby	101
5	Al Rosen	85
6	Johnny Pesky	84
7	Ferris Fain	80
8	Billy Goodman	79
9	Vic Wertz	78
10	Eddie Robinson	77

Stolen BasesSB

1	Minnie Miñoso	31
2	Jim Busby	26
3	Phil Rizzuto	18
4	Bobby Avila	14
4	Chico Carrasquel	14
4	Gil McDougald	14
7	Elmer Valo	11
8	Eddie Joost	10
8	George Kell	10
8	Irv Noren	10

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Eddie Joost	8.4
2	Ted Williams	8.3
3	Larry Doby	6.6
4	Nellie Fox	5.9
5	Eddie Yost	5.9
6	Minnie Miñoso	5.7
7	Yogi Berra	5.7
8	Johnny Pesky	5.2
9	George Kell	5.0
10	Ferris Fain	5.0

Batting Averagemin 481 PA

1	Ferris Fain	.344
2	Minnie Miñoso	.326
3	George Kell	.319
4	Ted Williams	.318
5	Nellie Fox	.313
5	Johnny Pesky	.313
7	Bobby Avila	.304
8	Gil Coan	.303
9	Elmer Valo	.302
10	Billy Goodman	.297

On-Base Percentagemin 481 PA

1	Ted Williams	.464
2	Ferris Fain	.451
3	Larry Doby	.428
4	Eddie Yost	.423
5	Minnie Miñoso	.422
6	Johnny Pesky	.417
7	Elmer Valo	.412
8	Eddie Joost	.409
9	Billy Goodman	.388
10	George Kell	.386

Slugging Percentagemin 481 PA

1	Ted Williams	.556
2	Larry Doby	.512
3	Vic Wertz	.511
3	Gus Zernial	.511
5	Minnie Miñoso	.500
6	Eddie Robinson	.495
7	Yogi Berra	.492
8	Luke Easter	.481
9	Ferris Fain	.471
10	Gene Woodling	.462

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 481 PA

1	Ted Williams	1.019
2	Larry Doby	.941
3	Minnie Miñoso	.922
4	Ferris Fain	.921
5	Vic Wertz	.894
6	Eddie Joost	.870
7	Eddie Robinson	.866
8	Elmer Valo	.858
9	Gus Zernial	.856
10	Eddie Yost	.847

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Bob Feller	22
2	Eddie Lopat	21
2	Vic Raschi	21
4	Mike Garcia	20
4	Ned Garver	20
4	Early Wynn	20
7	Mel Parnell	18
7	Bobby Shantz	18
9	Bob Lemon	17
9	Allie Reynolds	17

SavesSV

1	Ellis Kinder	14
2	Carl Scheib	10
3	Lou Brissie	9
4	Allie Reynolds	7
5	Mike Garcia	6
6	Bob Hooper	5
6	Bob Kuzava	5
6	Joe Ostrowski	5
6	Satchel Paige	5
6	Dizzy Trout	5

StrikeoutsSO

1	Vic Raschi	164
2	Early Wynn	133
3	Bob Lemon	132
4	Ted Gray	131
5	Mickey McDermott	127
6	Allie Reynolds	126
7	Mike Garcia	118
8	Billy Pierce	113
9	Bob Feller	111
10	Alex Kellner	94

Innings PitchedIP

1	Early Wynn	274.3
2	Bob Lemon	263.3
3	Vic Raschi	258.3
4	Mike Garcia	254.0
5	Bob Feller	249.7
6	Ned Garver	246.0
7	Billy Pierce	240.3
8	Eddie Lopat	234.7
9	Mel Parnell	221.0
9	Allie Reynolds	221.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Ned Garver	24
2	Early Wynn	21
3	Eddie Lopat	20
4	Billy Pierce	18
5	Bob Lemon	17
5	Saul Rogovin	17
7	Bob Feller	16
7	Connie Marrero	16
7	Allie Reynolds	16
10	Mike Garcia	15
10	Vic Raschi	15

ShutoutsSHO

1	Allie Reynolds	7
2	Bob Feller	4
2	Eddie Lopat	4
2	Vic Raschi	4
5	Mel Parnell	3
5	Bob Porterfield	3
5	Saul Rogovin	3
5	Bobby Shantz	3
5	Early Wynn	3
10	Tommy Byrne	2
10	Ken Holcombe	2
10	Fred Hutchinson	2
10	Connie Marrero	2
10	Tom Morgan	2
10	Spec Shea	2
10	Bill Wight	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Mike Garcia	4.4
2	Billy Pierce	4.3
3	Eddie Lopat	4.3
4	Vic Raschi	4.1
5	Early Wynn	3.9
6	Mel Parnell	3.8
7	Fred Hutchinson	3.4
8	Ned Garver	3.2
9	Saul Rogovin	3.2
10	Connie Marrero	3.2

Earned Run Averagemin 155 IP

1	Saul Rogovin	2.78
2	Eddie Lopat	2.92
3	Early Wynn	3.02
4	Billy Pierce	3.03
5	Allie Reynolds	3.05
6	Mike Garcia	3.15
7	Mel Parnell	3.26
8	Vic Raschi	3.27
9	Mickey McDermott	3.35
10	Bob Feller	3.50

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 155 IP

1	Eddie Lopat	1.19
2	Saul Rogovin	1.21
3	Early Wynn	1.22
4	Allie Reynolds	1.23
5	Fred Hutchinson	1.23
6	Mike Garcia	1.26
7	Dizzy Trout	1.29
8	Billy Pierce	1.29
9	Vic Raschi	1.30
10	Ken Holcombe	1.32

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 155 IP

1	Mike Garcia	3.06
2	Fred Hutchinson	3.14
3	Billy Pierce	3.22
4	Eddie Lopat	3.30
5	Mickey McDermott	3.45
6	Vic Raschi	3.47
6	Allie Reynolds	3.47
8	Mel Parnell	3.47
9	Connie Marrero	3.52
10	Early Wynn	3.56

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Ralph Kiner	124
1	Stan Musial	124
3	Gil Hodges	118
4	Al Dark	114
5	Jackie Robinson	106
6	Sam Jethroe	101
7	Earl Torgeson	99
8	Sid Gordon	96
8	Duke Snider	96
10	Monte Irvin	94
10	Pee Wee Reese	94

HitsH

1	Richie Ashburn	221
2	Stan Musial	205
3	Carl Furillo	197
4	Al Dark	196
5	Jackie Robinson	185
6	Pee Wee Reese	176
7	Monte Irvin	174
8	Whitey Lockman	173
9	Duke Snider	168
10	Gus Bell	167
10	Johnny Wyrostek	167

Doubles2B

1	Al Dark	41
2	Ted Kluszewski	35
3	Roy Campanella	33
3	Jackie Robinson	33
5	Carl Furillo	32
5	Red Schoendienst	32
7	Richie Ashburn	31
7	Ralph Kiner	31
7	Johnny Wyrostek	31
10	Stan Musial	30

Triples3B

1	Gus Bell	12
1	Stan Musial	12
3	Monte Irvin	11
4	Frank Baumholtz	10
4	Sam Jethroe	10
6	Solly Hemus	9
7	Pee Wee Reese	8
7	Enos Slaughter	8
7	Bobby Thomson	8
10	Al Dark	7
10	Granny Hamner	7
10	Whitey Lockman	7
10	Willard Marshall	7
10	Don Mueller	7
10	Jackie Robinson	7
10	Red Schoendienst	7
10	George Strickland	7

Home RunsHR

1	Ralph Kiner	42
2	Gil Hodges	40
3	Roy Campanella	33
4	Stan Musial	32
4	Bobby Thomson	32
6	Andy Pafko	30
6	Hank Sauer	30
8	Sid Gordon	29
8	Duke Snider	29
10	Monte Irvin	24
10	Earl Torgeson	24

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Monte Irvin	121
2	Sid Gordon	109
2	Ralph Kiner	109
4	Roy Campanella	108
4	Stan Musial	108
6	Gil Hodges	103
7	Duke Snider	101
7	Bobby Thomson	101
9	Andy Pafko	93
10	Earl Torgeson	92

WalksBB

1	Ralph Kiner	137
2	Eddie Stanky	127
3	Wes Westrum	104
4	Earl Torgeson	102
5	Stan Musial	98
6	Gil Hodges	93
7	Monte Irvin	89
8	Pee Wee Reese	81
9	Sid Gordon	80
10	Jackie Robinson	79
10	Connie Ryan	79

Stolen BasesSB

1	Sam Jethroe	35
2	Richie Ashburn	29
3	Jackie Robinson	25
4	Pee Wee Reese	20
4	Earl Torgeson	20
6	Randy Jackson	14
6	Duke Snider	14
8	Al Dark	12
8	Monte Irvin	12
10	Eddie Miksis	11
10	Connie Ryan	11

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Stan Musial	9.6
2	Ralph Kiner	9.0
3	Jackie Robinson	8.7
4	Roy Campanella	7.9
5	Richie Ashburn	7.1
6	Monte Irvin	6.7
7	Bobby Thomson	6.5
8	Al Dark	5.6
9	Sid Gordon	5.6
10	Sam Jethroe	5.6

Batting Averagemin 481 PA

1	Stan Musial	.355
2	Richie Ashburn	.344
3	Jackie Robinson	.338
4	Roy Campanella	.325
5	Monte Irvin	.312
6	Johnny Wyrostek	.311
7	Ralph Kiner	.309
8	Al Dark	.303
9	Carl Furillo	.295
10	Bobby Thomson	.293

On-Base Percentagemin 481 PA

1	Ralph Kiner	.452
2	Stan Musial	.449
3	Jackie Robinson	.429
4	Monte Irvin	.415
5	Eddie Stanky	.401
6	Solly Hemus	.395
7	Richie Ashburn	.393
7	Roy Campanella	.393
9	Enos Slaughter	.386
10	Bobby Thomson	.385

Slugging Percentagemin 481 PA

1	Ralph Kiner	.627
2	Stan Musial	.614
3	Roy Campanella	.590
4	Bobby Thomson	.562
5	Gil Hodges	.527
5	Jackie Robinson	.527
7	Monte Irvin	.514
8	Andy Pafko	.501
9	Sid Gordon	.500
10	Hank Sauer	.486

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 481 PA

1	Ralph Kiner	1.079
2	Stan Musial	1.063
3	Roy Campanella	.983
4	Jackie Robinson	.957
5	Bobby Thomson	.947
6	Monte Irvin	.929
7	Gil Hodges	.901
8	Sid Gordon	.883
9	Andy Pafko	.848
10	Willie Jones	.828
10	Willie Mays	.828
10	Duke Snider	.828

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Larry Jansen	23
1	Sal Maglie	23
3	Preacher Roe	22
3	Warren Spahn	22
5	Robin Roberts	21
6	Murry Dickson	20
6	Don Newcombe	20
8	Gerry Staley	19
9	Jim Hearn	17
10	Ewell Blackwell	16
10	Carl Erskine	16
10	Ken Raffensberger	16

SavesSV

1	Ted Wilks	13
2	Frank Smith	11
3	Jim Konstanty	9
4	Al Brazle	7
5	Clyde King	6
5	George Spencer	6
5	Bill Werle	6
8	Ken Raffensberger	5
9	Bob Chipman	4
9	Carl Erskine	4
9	Sheldon Jones	4
9	Sal Maglie	4

StrikeoutsSO

1	Don Newcombe	164
1	Warren Spahn	164
3	Sal Maglie	146
4	Larry Jansen	145
5	Bob Rush	129
6	Robin Roberts	127
7	Mel Queen	123
8	Ewell Blackwell	120
9	Ralph Branca	118
10	Preacher Roe	113

Innings PitchedIP

1	Robin Roberts	315.0
2	Warren Spahn	310.7
3	Sal Maglie	298.0
4	Murry Dickson	288.7
5	Larry Jansen	278.7
6	Don Newcombe	272.0
7	Preacher Roe	257.7
8	Ken Raffensberger	248.7
9	Bubba Church	247.0
10	Max Surkont	237.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Warren Spahn	26
2	Sal Maglie	22
2	Robin Roberts	22
4	Murry Dickson	19
4	Preacher Roe	19
6	Larry Jansen	18
6	Don Newcombe	18
8	Bubba Church	15
9	Paul Minner	14
9	Ken Raffensberger	14

ShutoutsSHO

1	Warren Spahn	7
2	Robin Roberts	6
3	Ken Raffensberger	5
4	Bubba Church	4
4	Howie Fox	4
4	Gerry Staley	4
7	Vern Bickford	3
7	Ralph Branca	3
7	Murry Dickson	3
7	Larry Jansen	3
7	Ken Johnson	3
7	Sal Maglie	3
7	Paul Minner	3
7	Don Newcombe	3
7	Chet Nichols	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Robin Roberts	6.2
2	Warren Spahn	5.3
3	Don Newcombe	5.1
4	Larry Jansen	5.1
5	Sal Maglie	4.4
6	Bob Rush	4.0
7	Bubba Church	3.4
8	Ewell Blackwell	3.3
9	Preacher Roe	3.3
10	Howie Fox	2.9

Earned Run Averagemin 155 IP

1	Chet Nichols	2.88
2	Sal Maglie	2.93
3	Warren Spahn	2.98
4	Robin Roberts	3.03
5	Larry Jansen	3.04
6	Preacher Roe	3.04
7	Vern Bickford	3.12
8	Max Lanier	3.26
9	Ralph Branca	3.27
10	Don Newcombe	3.28

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 155 IP

1	Ken Raffensberger	1.09
2	Robin Roberts	1.10
3	Larry Jansen	1.11
4	Sal Maglie	1.14
5	Don Newcombe	1.20
6	Preacher Roe	1.21
7	Max Lanier	1.24
8	Warren Spahn	1.25
9	Ewell Blackwell	1.29
10	Ralph Branca	1.30

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 155 IP

1	Robin Roberts	3.14
2	Chet Nichols	3.25
3	Bob Rush	3.25
4	Don Newcombe	3.25
5	Larry Jansen	3.29
6	Warren Spahn	3.32
7	Vern Bickford	3.60
8	Sal Maglie	3.60
9	Bubba Church	3.64
10	Ewell Blackwell	3.71

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1951 is 481 plate appearances and 155 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 155 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. 1951 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, 17 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 1951 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.