1974 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

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

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Jeff BurroughsAmerican League
Steve GarveyNational League

Cy Young Award

Catfish HunterAmerican League
Mike MarshallNational League

Rookie of the Year

Mike HargroveAmerican League
Bake McBrideNational League

Gold Glove

Mark BelangerAmerican League
Johnny BenchNational League
Paul BlairAmerican League
Bobby BondsNational League
Cesar CedenoNational League
Dave ConcepcionNational League
Steve GarveyNational League
Cesar GeronimoNational League
Bobby GrichAmerican League
Jim KaatAmerican League
Andy MessersmithNational League
Joe MorganNational League
Thurman MunsonAmerican League
Amos OtisAmerican League
Doug RaderNational League
Brooks RobinsonAmerican League
Joe RudiAmerican League
George ScottAmerican 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	Carl Yastrzemski	93
2	Bobby Grich	92
3	Reggie Jackson	90
4	Amos Otis	87
5	Rod Carew	86
6	Don Money	85
7	Dick Allen	84
7	Sal Bando	84
7	Jeff Burroughs	84
10	Frank Robinson	81

HitsH

1	Rod Carew	218
2	Tommy Davis	181
3	Don Money	178
4	Ken Henderson	176
5	Joe Rudi	174
6	George Scott	170
7	Jeff Burroughs	167
7	Hal McRae	167
9	Bobby Murcer	166
9	Jorge Orta	166

Doubles2B

1	Joe Rudi	39
2	Hal McRae	36
2	George Scott	36
4	Ken Henderson	35
5	Jeff Burroughs	33
6	Steve Brye	32
6	Don Money	32
8	Jorge Orta	31
8	Amos Otis	31
10	John Briggs	30
10	Rod Carew	30

Triples3B

1	Mickey Rivers	11
2	Amos Otis	9
3	John Briggs	8
3	Bert Campaneris	8
3	Dwight Evans	8
3	Roy White	8
7	Bobby Darwin	7
7	Larry Hisle	7
7	Tim Johnson	7
7	Jim Wohlford	7

Home RunsHR

1	Dick Allen	32
2	Reggie Jackson	29
3	Gene Tenace	26
4	Jeff Burroughs	25
4	Bobby Darwin	25
6	Sal Bando	22
6	John Mayberry	22
6	Graig Nettles	22
6	Frank Robinson	22
6	Joe Rudi	22
6	Charlie Spikes	22

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Jeff Burroughs	118
2	Sal Bando	103
3	Joe Rudi	99
4	Ken Henderson	95
5	Bobby Darwin	94
6	Reggie Jackson	93
7	Dick Allen	88
7	Hal McRae	88
7	Bobby Murcer	88
10	Tommy Davis	84

WalksBB

1	Gene Tenace	110
2	Carl Yastrzemski	104
3	Jeff Burroughs	91
4	Bobby Grich	90
5	Sal Bando	86
5	Reggie Jackson	86
7	Frank Robinson	85
8	John Mayberry	77
8	Freddie Patek	77
10	Rod Carew	74

Stolen BasesSB

1	Bill North	54
2	Rod Carew	38
3	John Lowenstein	36
4	Bert Campaneris	34
5	Freddie Patek	33
6	Mickey Rivers	30
7	Don Baylor	29
7	Herb Washington	29
9	Tommy Harper	28
10	Paul Blair	27

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Rod Carew	8.1
2	Bobby Grich	7.4
3	Reggie Jackson	6.9
4	Ken Henderson	6.8
5	Amos Otis	5.9
6	Hal McRae	5.3
7	Paul Blair	5.1
8	Elliott Maddox	5.1
9	Bill North	4.8
10	Dick Allen	4.7

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Rod Carew	.364
2	Jorge Orta	.316
3	Hal McRae	.310
4	Lou Piniella	.305
5	Elliott Maddox	.303
6	Lenny Randle	.302
7	Dick Allen	.301
7	Jeff Burroughs	.301
7	Carl Yastrzemski	.301
10	Bill Freehan	.297

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Rod Carew	.433
2	Carl Yastrzemski	.414
3	Jeff Burroughs	.397
4	Elliott Maddox	.395
5	Reggie Jackson	.391
6	Bobby Grich	.376
7	Dick Allen	.375
7	Hal McRae	.375
9	Frank Robinson	.367
9	Gene Tenace	.367
9	Roy White	.367

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Dick Allen	.563
2	Reggie Jackson	.514
3	Jeff Burroughs	.504
4	Joe Rudi	.484
5	Bill Freehan	.479
6	Hal McRae	.475
7	Oscar Gamble	.469
8	Ken Henderson	.467
9	Larry Hisle	.465
10	Frank Robinson	.453

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Dick Allen	.938
2	Reggie Jackson	.905
3	Jeff Burroughs	.901
4	Rod Carew	.879
5	Carl Yastrzemski	.859
6	Hal McRae	.850
7	Bill Freehan	.840
8	Oscar Gamble	.833
9	Ken Henderson	.827
10	Frank Robinson	.820

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Catfish Hunter	25
1	Fergie Jenkins	25
3	Steve Busby	22
3	Mike Cuellar	22
3	Nolan Ryan	22
3	Luis Tiant	22
7	Jim Kaat	21
7	Gaylord Perry	21
9	Wilbur Wood	20
10	Jim Bibby	19
10	Pat Dobson	19
10	Ken Holtzman	19
10	Doc Medich	19

SavesSV

1	Terry Forster	24
2	Tom Murphy	20
3	Bill Campbell	19
4	Tom Buskey	18
4	Rollie Fingers	18
6	Sparky Lyle	15
7	John Hiller	13
8	Steve Foucault	12
8	Grant Jackson	12
10	Doug Bird	10
10	Diego Segui	10

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	367
2	Bert Blyleven	249
3	Fergie Jenkins	225
4	Gaylord Perry	216
5	Mickey Lolich	202
6	Steve Busby	198
7	Frank Tanana	180
8	Joe Coleman	177
9	Luis Tiant	176
10	Vida Blue	174

Innings PitchedIP

1	Nolan Ryan	332.7
2	Fergie Jenkins	328.3
3	Gaylord Perry	322.3
4	Wilbur Wood	320.3
5	Catfish Hunter	318.3
6	Luis Tiant	311.3
7	Mickey Lolich	308.0
8	Ross Grimsley	295.7
9	Steve Busby	292.3
10	Joe Coleman	285.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Fergie Jenkins	29
2	Gaylord Perry	28
3	Mickey Lolich	27
4	Nolan Ryan	26
5	Luis Tiant	25
6	Catfish Hunter	23
7	Wilbur Wood	22
8	Steve Busby	20
8	Mike Cuellar	20
10	Bert Blyleven	19

ShutoutsSHO

1	Luis Tiant	7
2	Catfish Hunter	6
2	Fergie Jenkins	6
4	Jim Bibby	5
4	Mike Cuellar	5
6	Al Fitzmorris	4
6	Ross Grimsley	4
6	Dave McNally	4
6	Doc Medich	4
6	Gaylord Perry	4
6	Frank Tanana	4

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Bert Blyleven	7.3
2	Fergie Jenkins	6.6
3	Steve Busby	5.8
4	Nolan Ryan	5.5
5	Luis Tiant	5.3
6	Gaylord Perry	4.8
7	Jim Kaat	4.5
8	Catfish Hunter	4.5
9	Wilbur Wood	4.2
10	Ken Holtzman	4.0

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Catfish Hunter	2.49
2	Gaylord Perry	2.51
3	Andy Hassler	2.61
4	Bert Blyleven	2.66
5	Al Fitzmorris	2.79
6	Fergie Jenkins	2.82
7	Nolan Ryan	2.90
8	Luis Tiant	2.92
9	Jim Kaat	2.92
10	Jim Perry	2.96

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Catfish Hunter	0.99
2	Fergie Jenkins	1.01
3	Gaylord Perry	1.02
4	Bert Blyleven	1.14
5	Ross Grimsley	1.16
6	Luis Tiant	1.17
7	Jim Kaat	1.18
8	Wilbur Wood	1.20
9	Jim Perry	1.21
10	Vida Blue	1.22

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Bert Blyleven	2.37
2	Fergie Jenkins	2.76
3	Steve Busby	2.88
4	Nolan Ryan	2.98
5	Ken Holtzman	3.01
6	Jim Kaat	3.14
7	Luis Tiant	3.15
8	Catfish Hunter	3.17
9	Vida Blue	3.18
10	Jackie Brown	3.20

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Pete Rose	110
2	Johnny Bench	108
2	Mike Schmidt	108
4	Joe Morgan	107
5	Lou Brock	105
6	Jim Wynn	104
7	Darrell Evans	99
8	Bobby Bonds	97
8	Larry Bowa	97
8	Richie Hebner	97

HitsH

1	Ralph Garr	214
2	Dave Cash	206
3	Steve Garvey	200
4	Al Oliver	198
5	Rennie Stennett	196
6	Lou Brock	194
7	Greg Gross	185
7	Pete Rose	185
9	Larry Bowa	184
10	Bill Buckner	182

Doubles2B

1	Pete Rose	45
2	Johnny Bench	38
2	Al Oliver	38
4	Willie Stargell	37
5	Dusty Baker	35
5	Jose Cardenal	35
7	Willie Montanez	33
7	Ted Simmons	33
9	Steve Garvey	32
10	Garry Maddox	31
10	Joe Morgan	31

Triples3B

1	Ralph Garr	17
2	Al Oliver	12
3	Dave Cash	11
4	Larry Bowa	10
4	Roger Metzger	10
6	Willie Davis	9
6	Reggie Smith	9
8	Bobby Bonds	8
8	Cesar Geronimo	8
8	Greg Gross	8

Home RunsHR

1	Mike Schmidt	36
2	Johnny Bench	33
3	Jim Wynn	32
4	Tony Perez	28
5	Cesar Cedeno	26
6	Darrell Evans	25
6	Willie Stargell	25
8	Lee May	24
9	Reggie Smith	23
10	Willie McCovey	22
10	Joe Morgan	22

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Johnny Bench	129
2	Mike Schmidt	116
3	Steve Garvey	111
4	Jim Wynn	108
5	Ted Simmons	103
6	Cesar Cedeno	102
7	Tony Perez	101
8	Reggie Smith	100
8	Richie Zisk	100
10	Ron Cey	97

WalksBB

1	Darrell Evans	126
2	Joe Morgan	120
3	Jim Wynn	108
4	Pete Rose	106
4	Mike Schmidt	106
6	Bob Bailey	100
7	Willie McCovey	96
8	Bobby Bonds	95
9	Ken Singleton	93
10	Wayne Garrett	89

Stolen BasesSB

1	Lou Brock	118
2	Davey Lopes	59
3	Joe Morgan	58
4	Cesar Cedeno	57
5	Larry Lintz	50
6	Bobby Bonds	41
6	Dave Concepcion	41
8	Larry Bowa	39
9	Enzo Hernandez	37
10	Bill Buckner	31

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Mike Schmidt	9.5
2	Joe Morgan	8.8
3	Johnny Bench	7.6
4	Jim Wynn	7.2
5	Darrell Evans	7.1
6	Cesar Cedeno	7.0
7	Al Oliver	6.2
8	Reggie Smith	5.9
9	Willie Stargell	5.8
10	Richie Zisk	5.7

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Ralph Garr	.353
2	Al Oliver	.321
3	Bill Buckner	.314
3	Greg Gross	.314
5	Bill Madlock	.313
5	Richie Zisk	.313
7	Steve Garvey	.312
8	Bake McBride	.309
8	Reggie Smith	.309
10	Lou Brock	.306

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Joe Morgan	.427
2	Willie Stargell	.407
3	Bob Bailey	.396
4	Mike Schmidt	.395
5	Greg Gross	.393
6	Reggie Smith	.389
7	Jim Wynn	.387
8	Richie Zisk	.386
9	Pete Rose	.385
9	Ken Singleton	.385

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Mike Schmidt	.546
2	Willie Stargell	.537
3	Reggie Smith	.528
4	Johnny Bench	.507
5	Ralph Garr	.503
6	Jim Wynn	.497
7	Joe Morgan	.494
8	Richie Zisk	.476
9	Al Oliver	.475
10	Steve Garvey	.469

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Willie Stargell	.944
2	Mike Schmidt	.941
3	Joe Morgan	.921
4	Reggie Smith	.917
5	Ralph Garr	.886
6	Jim Wynn	.884
7	Johnny Bench	.870
8	Richie Zisk	.862
9	Bob Bailey	.842
9	Rick Monday	.842

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Andy Messersmith	20
1	Phil Niekro	20
3	Jack Billingham	19
3	Don Sutton	19
5	Don Gullett	17
5	Jim Lonborg	17
7	Buzz Capra	16
7	Steve Carlton	16
7	Lynn McGlothen	16
7	Carl Morton	16
7	Jerry Reuss	16

SavesSV

1	Mike Marshall	21
2	Randy Moffitt	15
3	Pedro Borbon	14
4	Dave Giusti	12
5	Tom House	11
5	Chuck Taylor	11
7	Ken Forsch	10
7	Dale Murray	10
7	Oscar Zamora	10
10	Al Hrabosky	9
10	Vicente Romo	9

StrikeoutsSO

1	Steve Carlton	240
2	Andy Messersmith	221
3	Tom Seaver	201
4	Jon Matlack	195
4	Phil Niekro	195
6	Bill Bonham	191
7	Jerry Koosman	188
8	Don Gullett	183
9	Don Sutton	179
10	John D'Acquisto	167

Innings PitchedIP

1	Phil Niekro	302.3
2	Andy Messersmith	292.3
3	Steve Carlton	291.0
4	Jim Lonborg	283.0
5	Don Sutton	276.0
6	Carl Morton	274.7
7	Jon Matlack	265.3
8	Jerry Koosman	265.0
9	Jim Rooker	262.7
10	Jerry Reuss	260.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Phil Niekro	18
2	Steve Carlton	17
3	Jim Lonborg	16
4	Jim Rooker	15
5	Jon Matlack	14
5	Jerry Reuss	14
7	Jerry Koosman	13
7	Andy Messersmith	13
9	Tom Seaver	12
10	Jim Barr	11
10	Buzz Capra	11
10	Steve Rogers	11

ShutoutsSHO

1	Jon Matlack	7
2	Phil Niekro	6
3	Jim Barr	5
3	Buzz Capra	5
3	Tom Seaver	5
3	Don Sutton	5
7	Don Wilson	4
8	Jack Billingham	3
8	Ken Brett	3
8	Larry Dierker	3
8	Tom Griffin	3
8	Don Gullett	3
8	Tommy John	3
8	Jim Lonborg	3
8	Lynn McGlothen	3
8	Andy Messersmith	3
8	Sonny Siebert	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Jon Matlack	6.5
2	Phil Niekro	5.3
3	Jerry Koosman	4.7
4	Tom Seaver	4.4
5	Andy Messersmith	4.4
6	Carl Morton	4.3
7	Steve Carlton	4.2
8	Jim Rooker	4.2
9	Bill Bonham	3.8
10	Steve Rogers	3.7

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Buzz Capra	2.28
2	Phil Niekro	2.38
3	Jon Matlack	2.41
4	Mike Marshall	2.42
5	Andy Messersmith	2.59
6	Lynn McGlothen	2.69
7	Jim Barr	2.74
8	Jim Rooker	2.77
9	Larry Dierker	2.90
10	Mike Caldwell	2.95

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Andy Messersmith	1.10
2	Phil Niekro	1.11
3	Jon Matlack	1.12
4	Jim Barr	1.13
5	Buzz Capra	1.14
6	Ron Reed	1.14
7	Dock Ellis	1.16
8	Tom Seaver	1.16
9	Don Sutton	1.16
10	Jim Rooker	1.18

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Jon Matlack	2.42
2	Mike Marshall	2.59
3	Tom Seaver	2.91
4	Jerry Koosman	2.99
5	Ken Brett	3.03
6	Phil Niekro	3.04
7	Jim Rooker	3.06
8	Bill Bonham	3.12
9	Andy Messersmith	3.13
10	Lynn McGlothen	3.19

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1974 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. 1974 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 1974 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.