1968 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 162 team games · 46 ranking tables · 24 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Bob GibsonNational League
Denny McLainAmerican League

Cy Young Award

Bob GibsonNational League
Denny McLainAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Stan BahnsenAmerican League
Johnny BenchNational League

Gold Glove

Luis AparicioAmerican League
Glenn BeckertNational League
Johnny BenchNational League
Roberto ClementeNational League
Curt FloodNational League
Bill FreehanAmerican League
Bob GibsonNational League
Jim KaatAmerican League
Bobby KnoopAmerican League
Dal MaxvillNational League
Willie MaysNational League
Wes ParkerNational League
Brooks RobinsonAmerican League
Ron SantoNational League
George ScottAmerican League
Reggie SmithAmerican League
Mickey StanleyAmerican League
Carl YastrzemskiAmerican League

Not every award existed in this season. This database has 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	Dick McAuliffe	95
2	Carl Yastrzemski	90
3	Cesar Tovar	89
3	Roy White	89
5	Mickey Stanley	88
6	Bert Campaneris	87
7	Reggie Jackson	82
8	Ken Harrelson	79
8	Frank Howard	79
10	Jose Cardenal	78
10	Reggie Smith	78

HitsH

1	Bert Campaneris	177
2	Cesar Tovar	167
3	Luis Aparicio	164
3	Frank Howard	164
5	Carl Yastrzemski	162
6	Brooks Robinson	154
6	Roy White	154
8	Jim Northrup	153
9	Sal Bando	152
10	Mickey Stanley	151

Doubles2B

1	Reggie Smith	37
2	Brooks Robinson	36
3	Carl Yastrzemski	32
4	Cesar Tovar	31
5	Tony Horton	29
5	Jim Northrup	29
7	Danny Cater	28
7	Frank Howard	28
9	Rod Carew	27
9	Frank Robinson	27

Triples3B

1	Jim Fregosi	13
2	Tommy McCraw	12
3	Dick McAuliffe	10
3	Ed Stroud	10
5	Bert Campaneris	9
6	Bob Allison	8
7	Jose Cardenal	7
7	Vic Davalillo	7
7	Rick Monday	7
7	Jim Northrup	7
7	Bill Robinson	7
7	Del Unser	7
7	Roy White	7

Home RunsHR

1	Frank Howard	44
2	Willie Horton	36
3	Ken Harrelson	35
4	Reggie Jackson	29
5	Norm Cash	25
5	Bill Freehan	25
7	Carl Yastrzemski	23
8	Bob Allison	22
8	Boog Powell	22
10	Jim Northrup	21
10	Rick Reichardt	21

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Ken Harrelson	109
2	Frank Howard	106
3	Jim Northrup	90
4	Willie Horton	85
4	Boog Powell	85
6	Bill Freehan	84
7	Brooks Robinson	75
8	Reggie Jackson	74
8	Carl Yastrzemski	74
10	Rick Reichardt	73

WalksBB

1	Carl Yastrzemski	119
2	Mickey Mantle	106
3	Joe Foy	84
4	Dick McAuliffe	82
5	Mike Andrews	81
6	Tom Tresh	76
6	Pete Ward	76
8	Boog Powell	73
8	Frank Robinson	73
8	Roy White	73

Stolen BasesSB

1	Bert Campaneris	62
2	Jose Cardenal	40
3	Cesar Tovar	35
4	Don Buford	27
5	Joe Foy	26
6	Vic Davalillo	25
7	Dave Nelson	23
8	Reggie Smith	22
9	Sandy Alomar	21
10	Horace Clarke	20
10	Tommy McCraw	20
10	Roy White	20

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Carl Yastrzemski	10.1
2	Bill Freehan	8.6
3	Frank Howard	7.7
4	Ken Harrelson	6.7
5	Reggie Smith	6.7
6	Rick Monday	6.3
7	Ken McMullen	6.3
8	Willie Horton	6.1
9	Bert Campaneris	6.0
10	Don Buford	5.9

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Carl Yastrzemski	.301
2	Danny Cater	.290
3	Tony Oliva	.289
4	Willie Horton	.285
5	Ted Uhlaender	.283
6	Vic Davalillo	.277
7	Bert Campaneris	.276
8	Ken Harrelson	.275
9	Frank Howard	.274
9	Rick Monday	.274

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Carl Yastrzemski	.426
2	Frank Robinson	.390
3	Mickey Mantle	.385
4	Rick Monday	.371
5	Mike Andrews	.368
6	Bill Freehan	.366
7	Tony Oliva	.357
8	Ken Harrelson	.356
9	Willie Horton	.352
10	Roy White	.350

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Frank Howard	.552
2	Willie Horton	.543
3	Ken Harrelson	.518
4	Carl Yastrzemski	.495
5	Tony Oliva	.477
6	Bob Allison	.456
7	Bill Freehan	.454
8	Reggie Jackson	.452
9	Jim Northrup	.447
10	Frank Robinson	.444

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Carl Yastrzemski	.922
2	Willie Horton	.895
3	Frank Howard	.890
4	Ken Harrelson	.874
5	Frank Robinson	.834
6	Tony Oliva	.833
7	Bill Freehan	.819
8	Mickey Mantle	.782
9	Bob Allison	.780
10	Rick Monday	.773

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Denny McLain	31
2	Dave McNally	22
3	Mel Stottlemyre	21
3	Luis Tiant	21
5	Jim Hardin	18
6	Stan Bahnsen	17
6	Mickey Lolich	17
8	Dean Chance	16
8	Ray Culp	16
8	Dick Ellsworth	16
8	Blue Moon Odom	16

SavesSV

1	Al Worthington	18
2	Wilbur Wood	16
3	Dennis Higgins	13
4	Vicente Romo	12
4	Lee Stange	12
4	Hoyt Wilhelm	12
7	Jack Aker	11
7	Steve Hamilton	11
7	Sparky Lyle	11
7	Eddie Watt	11

StrikeoutsSO

1	Sam McDowell	283
2	Denny McLain	280
3	Luis Tiant	264
4	Dean Chance	234
5	Dave McNally	202
6	Mickey Lolich	197
7	Tom Phoebus	193
8	Ray Culp	190
9	Jim Merritt	181
10	Catfish Hunter	172

Innings PitchedIP

1	Denny McLain	336.0
2	Dean Chance	292.0
3	Mel Stottlemyre	278.7
4	Dave McNally	273.0
5	Sam McDowell	269.0
6	Stan Bahnsen	267.3
7	Luis Tiant	258.3
8	George Brunet	245.3
9	Jim Hardin	244.0
10	Tom Phoebus	240.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Denny McLain	28
2	Mel Stottlemyre	19
2	Luis Tiant	19
4	Dave McNally	18
5	Jim Hardin	16
6	Dean Chance	15
7	Joe Coleman	12
7	Jim Nash	12
9	Ray Culp	11
9	Chuck Dobson	11
9	Catfish Hunter	11
9	Sam McDowell	11
9	Jim Merritt	11

ShutoutsSHO

1	Luis Tiant	9
2	Dean Chance	6
2	Ray Culp	6
2	Denny McLain	6
2	Jim Nash	6
2	Mel Stottlemyre	6
7	George Brunet	5
7	Dave McNally	5
9	Mickey Lolich	4
9	Blue Moon Odom	4
9	Camilo Pascual	4
9	Sonny Siebert	4

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Dean Chance	6.0
2	Luis Tiant	5.8
3	Denny McLain	5.4
4	Sam McDowell	5.3
5	Stan Bahnsen	3.5
6	Dave McNally	3.5
7	Tom Phoebus	3.3
8	Jim Merritt	3.1
9	Jim Nash	2.8
10	Jim Kaat	2.8

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Luis Tiant	1.60
2	Sam McDowell	1.81
3	Dave McNally	1.95
4	Denny McLain	1.96
5	Tommy John	1.98
6	Stan Bahnsen	2.05
7	Jim Nash	2.28
8	Joe Horlen	2.37
9	Blue Moon Odom	2.45
10	Mel Stottlemyre	2.46

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Dave McNally	0.84
2	Luis Tiant	0.87
3	Denny McLain	0.91
4	Dean Chance	0.98
5	Fritz Peterson	1.02
6	Tommy John	1.04
7	Jim Nash	1.05
8	George Brunet	1.06
9	Jim Hardin	1.06
10	Stan Bahnsen	1.06

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Luis Tiant	2.04
2	Dean Chance	2.20
3	Sam McDowell	2.25
4	Denny McLain	2.53
5	Fritz Peterson	2.56
6	Stan Bahnsen	2.64
7	Tom Phoebus	2.68
8	Jim Nash	2.69
9	Stan Williams	2.75
10	Jim Kaat	2.75
10	Jim Merritt	2.75

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Glenn Beckert	98
2	Pete Rose	94
3	Tony Perez	93
4	Lou Brock	92
5	Billy Williams	91
6	Dick Allen	87
7	Willie Davis	86
7	Ron Santo	86
9	Jim Wynn	85
10	Hank Aaron	84
10	Willie Mays	84

HitsH

1	Felipe Alou	210
1	Pete Rose	210
3	Glenn Beckert	189
4	Alex Johnson	188
5	Curt Flood	186
6	Matty Alou	185
6	Billy Williams	185
8	Lou Brock	184
9	Tony Perez	176
10	Hank Aaron	174
10	Maury Wills	174

Doubles2B

1	Lou Brock	46
2	Pete Rose	42
3	Johnny Bench	40
4	Felipe Alou	37
4	Rusty Staub	37
6	Hank Aaron	33
7	Alex Johnson	32
7	Lee May	32
9	Billy Williams	30
10	Cleon Jones	29
10	Vada Pinson	29
10	Mike Shannon	29

Triples3B

1	Lou Brock	14
2	Roberto Clemente	12
3	Willie Davis	10
4	Dick Allen	9
5	Billy Williams	8
6	Don Kessinger	7
6	Tony Perez	7
8	Donn Clendenon	6
8	Alex Johnson	6
8	Tim McCarver	6
8	Denis Menke	6
8	Vada Pinson	6
8	Pete Rose	6
8	Ron Swoboda	6
8	Maury Wills	6

Home RunsHR

1	Willie McCovey	36
2	Dick Allen	33
3	Ernie Banks	32
4	Billy Williams	30
5	Hank Aaron	29
6	Ron Santo	26
6	Jim Wynn	26
8	Willie Stargell	24
9	Jim Ray Hart	23
9	Willie Mays	23

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Willie McCovey	105
2	Ron Santo	98
2	Billy Williams	98
4	Tony Perez	92
5	Dick Allen	90
6	Donn Clendenon	87
7	Hank Aaron	86
8	Ernie Banks	83
9	Johnny Bench	82
10	Lee May	80

WalksBB

1	Ron Santo	96
2	Jim Wynn	90
3	Ron Hunt	78
4	Dick Allen	74
5	Rusty Staub	73
6	Willie McCovey	72
7	Willie Mays	67
8	Hank Aaron	64
8	Denis Menke	64
10	John Briggs	58

Stolen BasesSB

1	Lou Brock	62
2	Maury Wills	52
3	Willie Davis	36
4	Hank Aaron	28
5	Cleon Jones	23
6	Tony Taylor	22
7	Matty Alou	18
7	Freddie Patek	18
9	Vada Pinson	17
10	Bobby Bonds	16
10	Sonny Jackson	16
10	Alex Johnson	16

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Hank Aaron	8.9
2	Felipe Alou	8.3
3	Willie Mays	8.1
4	Willie McCovey	7.9
5	Pete Rose	7.6
6	Jim Wynn	7.6
7	Ron Santo	7.5
8	Roberto Clemente	6.5
9	Tony Perez	6.4
10	Curt Flood	6.3

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Pete Rose	.335
2	Matty Alou	.332
3	Felipe Alou	.317
4	Alex Johnson	.312
5	Curt Flood	.301
6	Cleon Jones	.297
7	Glenn Beckert	.294
8	Willie McCovey	.293
9	Roberto Clemente	.291
9	Rusty Staub	.291

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Pete Rose	.391
2	Willie McCovey	.378
3	Jim Wynn	.376
4	Rusty Staub	.373
5	Willie Mays	.372
6	Ron Hunt	.371
7	Felipe Alou	.365
8	Matty Alou	.362
9	Roberto Clemente	.355
10	Hank Aaron	.354
10	Ron Santo	.354

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Willie McCovey	.545
2	Dick Allen	.520
3	Billy Williams	.500
4	Hank Aaron	.498
5	Willie Mays	.488
6	Roberto Clemente	.482
7	Jim Wynn	.474
8	Pete Rose	.470
9	Ernie Banks	.469
9	Lee May	.469

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Willie McCovey	.923
2	Dick Allen	.872
3	Pete Rose	.861
4	Willie Mays	.860
5	Hank Aaron	.852
6	Jim Wynn	.850
7	Roberto Clemente	.838
8	Billy Williams	.836
9	Lee May	.805
10	Felipe Alou	.803

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Juan Marichal	26
2	Bob Gibson	22
3	Fergie Jenkins	20
4	Nelson Briles	19
4	Jerry Koosman	19
4	Chris Short	19
7	Steve Blass	18
8	Bill Hands	16
8	Pat Jarvis	16
8	Jim Maloney	16
8	Gaylord Perry	16
8	Tom Seaver	16

SavesSV

1	Phil Regan	25
2	Clay Carroll	17
2	Joe Hoerner	17
4	Jim Brewer	14
5	Ted Abernathy	13
5	Roy Face	13
5	Ron Taylor	13
5	Cecil Upshaw	13
9	Turk Farrell	12
9	Frank Linzy	12

StrikeoutsSO

1	Bob Gibson	268
2	Fergie Jenkins	260
3	Bill Singer	227
4	Juan Marichal	218
5	Ray Sadecki	206
6	Tom Seaver	205
7	Chris Short	202
8	Dave Giusti	186
9	Jim Maloney	181
10	Jerry Koosman	178

Innings PitchedIP

1	Juan Marichal	326.0
2	Fergie Jenkins	308.0
3	Bob Gibson	304.7
4	Gaylord Perry	291.0
5	Tom Seaver	277.7
6	Chris Short	269.7
7	Jerry Koosman	263.7
8	Bill Hands	258.7
9	Phil Niekro	257.0
10	Bill Singer	256.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Juan Marichal	30
2	Bob Gibson	28
3	Fergie Jenkins	20
4	Gaylord Perry	19
5	Jerry Koosman	17
6	Phil Niekro	15
7	Pat Jarvis	14
7	Tom Seaver	14
9	Nelson Briles	13
9	Ray Sadecki	13
9	Bob Veale	13

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bob Gibson	13
2	Don Drysdale	8
3	Steve Blass	7
3	Jerry Koosman	7
5	Ray Sadecki	6
5	Bill Singer	6
7	Steve Carlton	5
7	Woodie Fryman	5
7	Jim Maloney	5
7	Juan Marichal	5
7	Phil Niekro	5
7	Tom Seaver	5

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Bob Gibson	7.9
2	Juan Marichal	6.0
3	Tom Seaver	5.6
4	Gaylord Perry	5.5
5	Fergie Jenkins	5.5
6	Ray Sadecki	4.6
7	Bill Singer	4.5
8	Pat Jarvis	4.1
9	Don Sutton	4.0
10	Steve Carlton	3.9

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Bob Gibson	1.12
2	Bobby Bolin	1.99
3	Bob Veale	2.05
4	Jerry Koosman	2.08
5	Steve Blass	2.12
6	Don Drysdale	2.15
7	Tom Seaver	2.20
8	Ray Washburn	2.26
9	Juan Marichal	2.43
10	Gaylord Perry	2.44

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Bob Gibson	0.85
2	Tom Seaver	0.98
3	Pat Jarvis	0.98
4	Bobby Bolin	0.98
5	Bill Hands	0.99
6	Gaylord Perry	1.03
7	Bob Moose	1.03
8	Fergie Jenkins	1.04
9	Juan Marichal	1.05
10	Phil Niekro	1.06

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Bob Gibson	1.77
2	Bob Moose	2.06
3	Don Sutton	2.08
4	Tom Seaver	2.22
5	Mike Cuellar	2.25
6	Gaylord Perry	2.29
7	Bill Singer	2.30
8	Don Wilson	2.33
9	Ray Sadecki	2.34
10	Juan Marichal	2.36

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1968 is 502 plate appearances and 162 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 162 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. 1968 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, 15 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 1968 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.