1953 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 157 team games · 46 ranking tables · 4 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Roy CampanellaNational League
Al RosenAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Jim GilliamNational League
Harvey KuennAmerican 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	Al Rosen	115
2	Eddie Yost	107
3	Mickey Mantle	105
4	Minnie Miñoso	104
5	Mickey Vernon	101
6	Ray Boone	94
6	Harvey Kuenn	94
8	Larry Doby	92
8	Nellie Fox	92
10	Jackie Jensen	87

HitsH

1	Harvey Kuenn	209
2	Mickey Vernon	205
3	Al Rosen	201
4	Dave Philley	188
5	Jim Busby	183
6	Nellie Fox	178
7	Minnie Miñoso	174
8	Billy Goodman	161
9	Bobby Avila	160
10	Jim Piersall	159

Doubles2B

1	Mickey Vernon	43
2	George Kell	41
3	Sammy White	34
4	Billy Goodman	33
4	Harvey Kuenn	33
6	Jackie Jensen	32
6	Bob Nieman	32
8	Nellie Fox	31
9	Chico Carrasquel	30
9	Walt Dropo	30
9	Dave Philley	30
9	Eddie Yost	30

Triples3B

1	Jim Rivera	16
2	Mickey Vernon	11
3	Dave Philley	9
3	Jim Piersall	9
5	Ray Boone	8
5	Nellie Fox	8
5	Jackie Jensen	8
5	Sam Mele	8
5	Minnie Miñoso	8
10	Jim Busby	7
10	Harvey Kuenn	7
10	Gil McDougald	7
10	Eddie Yost	7

Home RunsHR

1	Al Rosen	43
2	Gus Zernial	42
3	Larry Doby	29
4	Yogi Berra	27
5	Ray Boone	26
6	Eddie Robinson	22
7	Dick Gernert	21
7	Mickey Mantle	21
9	Vic Wertz	19
10	Joe Collins	17

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Al Rosen	145
2	Mickey Vernon	115
3	Ray Boone	114
4	Yogi Berra	108
4	Gus Zernial	108
6	Minnie Miñoso	104
7	Larry Doby	102
7	Eddie Robinson	102
9	Walt Dropo	96
10	Mickey Mantle	92

WalksBB

1	Eddie Yost	123
2	Ferris Fain	108
3	Larry Doby	96
4	Dick Gernert	88
5	Al Rosen	85
6	Gene Woodling	82
7	Mickey Mantle	79
8	Minnie Miñoso	74
9	Jackie Jensen	73
10	Ray Boone	72
10	Vic Wertz	72

Stolen BasesSB

1	Minnie Miñoso	25
2	Jim Rivera	22
3	Jackie Jensen	18
4	Jim Busby	13
4	Dave Philley	13
6	Jim Piersall	11
7	Bobby Avila	10
8	Mickey Mantle	8
8	Al Rosen	8
10	Gil Coan	7
10	Cass Michaels	7
10	Wayne Terwilliger	7
10	Eddie Yost	7

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Al Rosen	10.8
2	Ray Boone	6.9
3	Eddie Yost	5.8
4	Mickey Mantle	5.8
5	Yogi Berra	5.7
6	Larry Doby	5.5
7	Gus Zernial	5.3
8	Mickey Vernon	5.1
9	Jim Busby	4.9
10	Jim Delsing	4.4

Batting Averagemin 487 PA

1	Mickey Vernon	.337
2	Al Rosen	.336
3	Billy Goodman	.313
3	Minnie Miñoso	.313
5	Jim Busby	.312
6	Harvey Kuenn	.308
7	George Kell	.307
8	Hank Bauer	.304
9	Dave Philley	.303
10	Dale Mitchell	.300

On-Base Percentagemin 487 PA

1	Al Rosen	.422
2	Minnie Miñoso	.410
3	Ferris Fain	.405
4	Mickey Vernon	.403
4	Eddie Yost	.403
6	Mickey Mantle	.398
7	Hank Bauer	.394
8	Ray Boone	.390
9	Larry Doby	.385
10	Billy Goodman	.384

Slugging Percentagemin 487 PA

1	Al Rosen	.613
2	Gus Zernial	.559
3	Yogi Berra	.523
4	Ray Boone	.519
5	Mickey Vernon	.518
6	Mickey Mantle	.497
7	Larry Doby	.487
8	George Kell	.483
9	Minnie Miñoso	.466
9	Vic Wertz	.466

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 487 PA

1	Al Rosen	1.034
2	Mickey Vernon	.921
3	Gus Zernial	.914
4	Ray Boone	.909
5	Mickey Mantle	.895
6	Yogi Berra	.886
7	Minnie Miñoso	.875
8	Larry Doby	.873
9	George Kell	.866
10	Vic Wertz	.842

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Bob Porterfield	22
2	Bob Lemon	21
2	Mel Parnell	21
4	Virgil Trucks	20
5	Whitey Ford	18
5	Mike Garcia	18
5	Mickey McDermott	18
5	Billy Pierce	18
9	Early Wynn	17
10	Eddie Lopat	16

SavesSV

1	Ellis Kinder	27
2	Fritz Dorish	18
3	Allie Reynolds	13
4	Satchel Paige	11
5	Johnny Sain	9
6	Bob Hooper	7
6	Morrie Martin	7
6	Marlin Stuart	7
9	Tom Gorman	6
9	Ray Herbert	6

StrikeoutsSO

1	Billy Pierce	186
2	Virgil Trucks	149
3	Early Wynn	138
4	Mel Parnell	136
5	Mike Garcia	134
6	Harry Byrd	122
7	Ted Gray	115
8	Whitey Ford	110
9	Dick Littlefield	104
10	Bob Lemon	98

Innings PitchedIP

1	Bob Lemon	286.7
2	Mike Garcia	271.7
3	Billy Pierce	271.3
4	Virgil Trucks	264.3
5	Bob Porterfield	255.0
6	Early Wynn	251.7
7	Mel Parnell	241.0
8	Harry Byrd	236.7
9	Marion Fricano	211.0
10	Whitey Ford	207.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Bob Porterfield	24
2	Bob Lemon	23
3	Mike Garcia	21
4	Billy Pierce	19
5	Virgil Trucks	17
6	Early Wynn	16
7	Alex Kellner	14
8	Ned Garver	13
9	Mel Parnell	12
10	Harry Byrd	11
10	Whitey Ford	11
10	Spec Shea	11

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bob Porterfield	9
2	Billy Pierce	7
3	Bob Lemon	5
3	Mel Parnell	5
3	Virgil Trucks	5
6	Walt Masterson	4
6	Mickey McDermott	4
6	Vic Raschi	4
9	Whitey Ford	3
9	Mike Garcia	3
9	Eddie Lopat	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Billy Pierce	5.1
2	Mike Garcia	4.8
3	Alex Kellner	4.8
4	Virgil Trucks	4.4
5	Mel Parnell	3.7
6	Bob Porterfield	3.5
7	Early Wynn	3.3
8	Bob Lemon	3.3
9	Don Larsen	3.2
10	Mickey McDermott	3.0
10	Vic Raschi	3.0

Earned Run Averagemin 157 IP

1	Eddie Lopat	2.42
2	Billy Pierce	2.72
3	Virgil Trucks	2.93
4	Whitey Ford	3.00
4	Johnny Sain	3.00
6	Mickey McDermott	3.01
7	Mel Parnell	3.06
8	Mike Garcia	3.25
9	Vic Raschi	3.33
10	Bob Porterfield	3.35

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 157 IP

1	Eddie Lopat	1.13
2	Vic Raschi	1.13
3	Billy Pierce	1.17
4	Johnny Sain	1.24
5	Bob Porterfield	1.24
6	Walt Masterson	1.24
7	Mike Garcia	1.25
8	Virgil Trucks	1.26
9	Bob Feller	1.27
10	Alex Kellner	1.29

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 157 IP

1	Alex Kellner	3.12
2	Billy Pierce	3.34
3	Mike Garcia	3.39
4	Don Larsen	3.40
5	Vic Raschi	3.47
6	Virgil Trucks	3.55
7	Johnny Sain	3.56
8	Eddie Lopat	3.58
9	Mel Parnell	3.77
10	Early Wynn	3.80

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Duke Snider	132
2	Stan Musial	127
3	Al Dark	126
4	Jim Gilliam	125
5	Richie Ashburn	110
5	Solly Hemus	110
5	Eddie Mathews	110
8	Jackie Robinson	109
9	Pee Wee Reese	108
10	Red Schoendienst	107

HitsH

1	Richie Ashburn	205
2	Stan Musial	200
3	Duke Snider	198
4	Al Dark	194
5	Red Schoendienst	193
6	Dee Fondy	184
7	Gus Bell	183
8	Ted Kluszewski	180
9	Whitey Lockman	179
10	Eddie Mathews	175
10	Bobby Thomson	175

Doubles2B

1	Stan Musial	53
2	Al Dark	41
3	Carl Furillo	38
3	Duke Snider	38
5	Gus Bell	37
6	Frank Baumholtz	36
7	Red Schoendienst	35
8	Jackie Robinson	34
8	Enos Slaughter	34
10	Joe Adcock	33

Triples3B

1	Jim Gilliam	17
2	Bill Bruton	14
3	Dee Fondy	11
3	Solly Hemus	11
5	Richie Ashburn	9
5	Stan Musial	9
5	Enos Slaughter	9
8	Carlos Bernier	8
8	Granny Hamner	8
8	Randy Jackson	8
8	Johnny Logan	8
8	Eddie Mathews	8
8	Danny O'Connell	8
8	Hank Thompson	8
8	Earl Torgeson	8

Home RunsHR

1	Eddie Mathews	47
2	Duke Snider	42
3	Roy Campanella	41
4	Ted Kluszewski	40
5	Ralph Kiner	35
6	Gil Hodges	31
7	Gus Bell	30
7	Stan Musial	30
7	Frank Thomas	30
10	Del Ennis	29

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Roy Campanella	142
2	Eddie Mathews	135
3	Duke Snider	126
4	Del Ennis	125
5	Gil Hodges	122
6	Ralph Kiner	116
7	Stan Musial	113
8	Ray Jablonski	112
9	Ted Kluszewski	108
10	Bobby Thomson	106

WalksBB

1	Stan Musial	105
2	Jim Gilliam	100
2	Ralph Kiner	100
4	Eddie Mathews	99
5	Solly Hemus	86
6	Willie Jones	85
7	Pee Wee Reese	82
7	Duke Snider	82
9	Enos Slaughter	80
10	Gil Hodges	75

Stolen BasesSB

1	Bill Bruton	26
2	Pee Wee Reese	22
3	Jim Gilliam	21
4	Jackie Robinson	17
5	Duke Snider	16
6	Carlos Bernier	15
7	Richie Ashburn	14
8	Eddie Miksis	13
9	Dee Fondy	10
10	Randy Jackson	8

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Duke Snider	9.7
2	Eddie Mathews	9.6
3	Stan Musial	8.2
4	Roy Campanella	8.2
5	Red Schoendienst	7.9
6	Gus Bell	7.1
7	Richie Ashburn	6.1
8	Solly Hemus	5.8
9	Al Dark	5.8
10	Jackie Robinson	5.3

Batting Averagemin 487 PA

1	Carl Furillo	.344
2	Red Schoendienst	.342
3	Stan Musial	.337
4	Duke Snider	.336
5	Don Mueller	.333
6	Richie Ashburn	.330
7	Monte Irvin	.329
7	Jackie Robinson	.329
9	Ted Kluszewski	.316
10	Roy Campanella	.312

On-Base Percentagemin 487 PA

1	Stan Musial	.437
2	Jackie Robinson	.425
3	Duke Snider	.419
4	Monte Irvin	.406
4	Eddie Mathews	.406
6	Red Schoendienst	.405
7	Roy Campanella	.395
7	Enos Slaughter	.395
9	Richie Ashburn	.394
10	Carl Furillo	.393
10	Gil Hodges	.393

Slugging Percentagemin 487 PA

1	Eddie Mathews	.627
1	Duke Snider	.627
3	Roy Campanella	.611
4	Stan Musial	.609
5	Carl Furillo	.580
6	Ted Kluszewski	.570
7	Gil Hodges	.550
8	Monte Irvin	.541
9	Gus Bell	.525
10	Ralph Kiner	.512

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 487 PA

1	Stan Musial	1.046
1	Duke Snider	1.046
3	Eddie Mathews	1.033
4	Roy Campanella	1.006
5	Carl Furillo	.973
6	Ted Kluszewski	.950
7	Monte Irvin	.947
8	Gil Hodges	.943
9	Jackie Robinson	.927
10	Red Schoendienst	.907

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Robin Roberts	23
1	Warren Spahn	23
3	Carl Erskine	20
3	Harvey Haddix	20
5	Gerry Staley	18
6	Curt Simmons	16
7	Lew Burdette	15
7	Russ Meyer	15
9	Jim Konstanty	14
9	Billy Loes	14

SavesSV

1	Al Brazle	18
2	Hoyt Wilhelm	15
3	Jim Hughes	9
4	Lew Burdette	8
4	Dutch Leonard	8
6	Clem Labine	7
6	Hal White	7
8	Johnny Klippstein	6
9	Joe Black	5
9	Jim Konstanty	5

StrikeoutsSO

1	Robin Roberts	198
2	Carl Erskine	187
3	Vinegar Bend Mizell	173
4	Harvey Haddix	163
5	Warren Spahn	148
6	Curt Simmons	138
7	Johnny Antonelli	131
8	Johnny Lindell	118
9	Ruben Gomez	113
9	Johnny Klippstein	113

Innings PitchedIP

1	Robin Roberts	346.7
2	Warren Spahn	265.7
3	Harvey Haddix	253.0
4	Carl Erskine	246.7
5	Curt Simmons	238.0
6	Gerry Staley	230.0
7	Vinegar Bend Mizell	224.3
8	Warren Hacker	221.7
9	Ruben Gomez	204.0
10	Paul Minner	201.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Robin Roberts	33
2	Warren Spahn	24
3	Harvey Haddix	19
3	Curt Simmons	19
5	Carl Erskine	16
6	Johnny Lindell	15
7	Ruben Gomez	13
8	Johnny Antonelli	11
8	Max Surkont	11
10	Fred Baczewski	10
10	Murry Dickson	10
10	Russ Meyer	10
10	Vinegar Bend Mizell	10
10	Gerry Staley	10

ShutoutsSHO

1	Harvey Haddix	6
2	Robin Roberts	5
2	Warren Spahn	5
4	Carl Erskine	4
4	Curt Simmons	4
6	Bob Buhl	3
6	Ruben Gomez	3
6	Sal Maglie	3
6	Bob Miller	3
10	Johnny Antonelli	2
10	Russ Meyer	2
10	Stu Miller	2
10	Paul Minner	2
10	Harry Perkowski	2
10	Max Surkont	2
10	Al Worthington	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Robin Roberts	7.5
2	Warren Spahn	5.9
3	Harvey Haddix	4.7
4	Carl Erskine	4.5
4	Vinegar Bend Mizell	4.5
6	Curt Simmons	4.3
7	Paul Minner	3.4
8	Johnny Antonelli	2.8
9	Ruben Gomez	2.2
10	Russ Meyer	1.9

Earned Run Averagemin 157 IP

1	Warren Spahn	2.10
2	Robin Roberts	2.75
3	Harvey Haddix	3.06
4	Johnny Antonelli	3.18
5	Curt Simmons	3.21
6	Lew Burdette	3.24
7	Ruben Gomez	3.40
8	Vinegar Bend Mizell	3.49
9	Carl Erskine	3.54
10	Ken Raffensberger	3.93

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 157 IP

1	Warren Spahn	1.06
2	Robin Roberts	1.11
3	Harvey Haddix	1.14
4	Curt Simmons	1.23
5	Carl Erskine	1.25
6	Warren Hacker	1.26
7	Gerry Staley	1.29
8	Larry Jansen	1.30
9	Ruben Gomez	1.31
10	Paul Minner	1.33

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 157 IP

1	Warren Spahn	2.96
2	Robin Roberts	3.12
3	Vinegar Bend Mizell	3.32
4	Carl Erskine	3.37
5	Harvey Haddix	3.40
6	Curt Simmons	3.43
7	Johnny Antonelli	3.44
8	Lew Burdette	3.49
9	Paul Minner	3.57
10	Bob Miller	3.79

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1953 is 487 plate appearances and 157 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 157 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. 1953 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 1953 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.