1976 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 162 team games · 46 ranking tables · 25 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Joe MorganNational League
Thurman MunsonAmerican League

Cy Young Award

Randy JonesNational League
Jim PalmerAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Mark FidrychAmerican League
Butch MetzgerNational League · shared
Pat ZachryNational League · shared

Gold Glove

Mark BelangerAmerican League
Johnny BenchNational League
Cesar CedenoNational League
Dave ConcepcionNational League
Dwight EvansAmerican League
Steve GarveyNational League
Cesar GeronimoNational League
Bobby GrichAmerican League
Jim KaatNational League
Garry MaddoxNational League
Rick ManningAmerican League
Joe MorganNational League
Jim PalmerAmerican League
Aurelio RodriguezAmerican League
Joe RudiAmerican League
Mike SchmidtNational League
George ScottAmerican League
Jim SundbergAmerican 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	Roy White	104
2	Rod Carew	97
3	Mickey Rivers	95
4	George Brett	94
5	Bobby Grich	93
5	Ron LeFlore	93
5	Amos Otis	93
8	Bill North	91
9	Graig Nettles	88
10	Dan Ford	87

HitsH

1	George Brett	215
2	Rod Carew	200
3	Chris Chambliss	188
4	Thurman Munson	186
5	Mickey Rivers	184
6	Roy White	179
7	Rusty Staub	176
8	Hal McRae	175
9	Jorge Orta	174
10	Ron LeFlore	172

Doubles2B

1	Amos Otis	40
2	George Brett	34
2	Rico Carty	34
2	Dwight Evans	34
2	Hal McRae	34
6	Chris Chambliss	32
6	Fred Lynn	32
6	Joe Rudi	32
9	Bobby Grich	31
9	Mickey Rivers	31

Triples3B

1	George Brett	14
2	Rod Carew	12
2	Phil Garner	12
4	Tom Poquette	10
5	Lyman Bostock	9
6	Ron LeFlore	8
6	Fred Lynn	8
6	Jorge Orta	8
6	Jim Rice	8
6	Mickey Rivers	8

Home RunsHR

1	Graig Nettles	32
2	Sal Bando	27
2	Reggie Jackson	27
4	George Hendrick	25
4	Lee May	25
4	Jim Rice	25
7	Gene Tenace	22
8	Carl Yastrzemski	21
9	Dan Ford	20
9	Tom Grieve	20

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Lee May	109
2	Thurman Munson	105
3	Carl Yastrzemski	102
4	Chris Chambliss	96
4	Larry Hisle	96
4	Rusty Staub	96
7	John Mayberry	95
8	Joe Rudi	94
9	Graig Nettles	93
10	Reggie Jackson	91

WalksBB

1	Mike Hargrove	97
2	Toby Harrah	91
3	Bobby Grich	86
4	Rusty Staub	83
4	Roy White	83
6	John Mayberry	82
7	Gene Tenace	81
8	Carl Yastrzemski	80
9	Ken Singleton	79
9	Butch Wynegar	79

Stolen BasesSB

1	Bill North	75
2	Ron LeFlore	58
3	Bert Campaneris	54
4	Don Baylor	52
5	Freddie Patek	51
6	Rod Carew	49
7	Mickey Rivers	43
8	Al Bumbry	42
9	Willie Randolph	37
9	Claudell Washington	37

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	George Brett	7.4
2	Bobby Grich	6.6
3	Graig Nettles	6.5
4	Ron LeFlore	6.5
5	Hal McRae	6.3
6	Mickey Rivers	6.1
7	Fred Lynn	6.1
8	Reggie Jackson	5.7
9	Rod Carew	5.5
10	Toby Harrah	5.4

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	George Brett	.333
2	Hal McRae	.332
3	Rod Carew	.331
4	Lyman Bostock	.323
5	Ron LeFlore	.316
6	Fred Lynn	.314
7	Mickey Rivers	.312
8	Rico Carty	.310
9	Thurman Munson	.302
10	Ralph Garr	.300

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Hal McRae	.407
2	Mike Hargrove	.397
3	Rod Carew	.395
4	Rusty Staub	.386
5	Rico Carty	.379
6	George Brett	.377
7	Ron LeFlore	.376
8	Bobby Grich	.373
8	Gene Tenace	.373
10	Fred Lynn	.367

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Reggie Jackson	.502
2	Jim Rice	.482
3	Graig Nettles	.475
4	Fred Lynn	.467
5	Rod Carew	.463
6	George Brett	.462
7	Hal McRae	.461
8	Gene Tenace	.458
9	Dan Ford	.457
10	George Hendrick	.448

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Hal McRae	.868
2	Rod Carew	.858
3	Reggie Jackson	.853
4	George Brett	.839
5	Fred Lynn	.835
6	Gene Tenace	.831
7	Rico Carty	.821
8	Rusty Staub	.818
9	Graig Nettles	.802
10	Jim Rice	.797

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Jim Palmer	22
2	Luis Tiant	21
3	Wayne Garland	20
4	Mark Fidrych	19
4	Ed Figueroa	19
4	Frank Tanana	19
7	Vida Blue	18
8	Bill Campbell	17
8	Dock Ellis	17
8	Catfish Hunter	17
8	Dennis Leonard	17
8	Nolan Ryan	17

SavesSV

1	Sparky Lyle	23
2	Dave LaRoche	21
3	Bill Campbell	20
3	Rollie Fingers	20
5	Mark Littell	16
6	Jim Kern	15
7	John Hiller	13
8	Danny Frisella	10
8	Dave Hamilton	10
8	Tippy Martinez	10
8	Steve Mingori	10
8	Dick Tidrow	10
8	Jim Willoughby	10

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	327
2	Frank Tanana	261
3	Bert Blyleven	219
4	Dennis Eckersley	200
5	Catfish Hunter	173
6	Vida Blue	166
7	Jim Palmer	159
8	Dennis Leonard	150
9	Gaylord Perry	143
10	Fergie Jenkins	142

Innings PitchedIP

1	Jim Palmer	315.0
2	Catfish Hunter	298.7
3	Vida Blue	298.3
4	Bert Blyleven	297.7
5	Jim Slaton	292.7
6	Frank Tanana	288.3
7	Nolan Ryan	284.3
8	Luis Tiant	279.0
9	Mike Torrez	266.3
10	Dennis Leonard	259.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Mark Fidrych	24
2	Jim Palmer	23
2	Frank Tanana	23
4	Catfish Hunter	21
4	Gaylord Perry	21
4	Nolan Ryan	21
7	Vida Blue	20
8	Luis Tiant	19
9	Bert Blyleven	18
9	Dave Roberts	18

ShutoutsSHO

1	Nolan Ryan	7
2	Vida Blue	6
2	Bert Blyleven	6
2	Jim Palmer	6
5	Mark Fidrych	4
5	Ed Figueroa	4
5	Wayne Garland	4
5	Dave Goltz	4
5	Dave Roberts	4
5	Bill Singer	4
5	Mike Torrez	4
5	Rick Wise	4

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Vida Blue	6.3
2	Bert Blyleven	6.0
3	Frank Tanana	5.3
4	Gaylord Perry	4.7
5	Nolan Ryan	4.6
6	Mark Fidrych	3.7
7	Dennis Eckersley	3.6
8	Jim Slaton	3.5
9	Dennis Leonard	3.5
10	Jim Palmer	3.4

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Mark Fidrych	2.34
2	Vida Blue	2.35
3	Frank Tanana	2.44
4	Mike Torrez	2.50
5	Jim Palmer	2.51
6	Wayne Garland	2.67
7	Paul Hartzell	2.77
8	Bill Travers	2.81
9	Bert Blyleven	2.87
10	Gary Ross	3.00

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Frank Tanana	0.99
2	Jim Palmer	1.08
3	Mark Fidrych	1.08
4	Vida Blue	1.11
5	Doug Bird	1.12
6	Catfish Hunter	1.13
7	Gaylord Perry	1.13
8	Fergie Jenkins	1.17
9	Doyle Alexander	1.17
9	Dennis Eckersley	1.17

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Vida Blue	2.56
2	Bert Blyleven	2.71
3	Dennis Eckersley	2.72
4	Frank Tanana	2.76
5	Gaylord Perry	2.84
6	Nolan Ryan	2.91
7	Al Fitzmorris	3.05
8	Reggie Cleveland	3.12
9	Wayne Garland	3.12
10	Jim Bibby	3.13

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Pete Rose	130
2	Joe Morgan	113
3	Mike Schmidt	112
4	Ken Griffey	111
5	Rick Monday	107
6	Dave Cash	92
7	Richie Zisk	91
8	Cesar Cedeno	89
9	George Foster	86
10	Enos Cabell	85
10	Steve Garvey	85

HitsH

1	Pete Rose	215
2	Willie Montanez	206
3	Steve Garvey	200
4	Bill Buckner	193
5	Dave Cash	189
5	Ken Griffey	189
7	Bob Watson	183
8	Garry Maddox	175
9	Bill Madlock	174
10	George Foster	172

Doubles2B

1	Pete Rose	42
2	Jay Johnstone	38
3	Steve Garvey	37
3	Garry Maddox	37
5	Tim Foli	36
5	Bill Madlock	36
7	Ted Simmons	35
7	Richie Zisk	35
9	Tony Perez	32
10	Mike Schmidt	31
10	Rennie Stennett	31
10	Bob Watson	31

Triples3B

1	Dave Cash	12
2	Cesar Geronimo	11
3	Willie Davis	10
3	Dave Parker	10
5	Larry Bowa	9
5	George Foster	9
5	Ken Griffey	9
5	Rennie Stennett	9
5	Mike Tyson	9
10	Darrel Chaney	8
10	Rod Gilbreath	8
10	Roger Metzger	8

Home RunsHR

1	Mike Schmidt	38
2	Dave Kingman	37
3	Rick Monday	32
4	George Foster	29
5	Joe Morgan	27
6	Ron Cey	23
6	Bobby Murcer	23
8	Greg Luzinski	21
8	Bill Robinson	21
8	Richie Zisk	21

Runs Batted InRBI

1	George Foster	121
2	Joe Morgan	111
3	Mike Schmidt	107
4	Bob Watson	102
5	Greg Luzinski	95
6	Tony Perez	91
7	Bobby Murcer	90
7	Dave Parker	90
9	Richie Zisk	89
10	Dave Kingman	86

WalksBB

1	Jim Wynn	127
2	Joe Morgan	114
3	Mike Schmidt	100
4	Ron Cey	89
5	Pete Rose	86
6	Bobby Murcer	84
7	Wayne Garrett	82
8	Johnny Bench	81
9	Gary Matthews	75
10	Ted Simmons	73

Stolen BasesSB

1	Davey Lopes	63
2	Joe Morgan	60
3	Cesar Cedeno	58
3	Frank Taveras	58
5	Lou Brock	56
6	Enos Cabell	35
7	Ken Griffey	34
8	Larry Bowa	30
9	Garry Maddox	29
10	Bill Buckner	28
10	Jose Cruz	28

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Joe Morgan	10.7
2	Mike Schmidt	9.4
3	Pete Rose	7.4
4	Garry Maddox	7.4
5	George Foster	6.7
6	Ron Cey	6.7
7	Cesar Cedeno	6.7
8	Bill Madlock	6.0
9	Dave Concepcion	5.7
10	Rick Monday	5.5

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Bill Madlock	.339
2	Ken Griffey	.336
3	Garry Maddox	.330
4	Pete Rose	.323
5	Joe Morgan	.320
6	Steve Garvey	.317
6	Willie Montanez	.317
8	Dave Parker	.313
8	Bob Watson	.313
10	Cesar Geronimo	.307

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Joe Morgan	.444
2	Bill Madlock	.412
3	Pete Rose	.404
4	Ken Griffey	.401
5	Ron Cey	.386
6	Cesar Geronimo	.382
7	Garry Maddox	.377
7	Bob Watson	.377
7	Jim Wynn	.377
10	Mike Schmidt	.376

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Joe Morgan	.576
2	George Foster	.530
3	Mike Schmidt	.524
4	Rick Monday	.507
5	Dave Kingman	.506
6	Bill Madlock	.500
7	Greg Luzinski	.478
8	Dave Parker	.475
9	Richie Zisk	.465
10	Ron Cey	.462

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Joe Morgan	1.020
2	Bill Madlock	.912
3	Mike Schmidt	.900
4	George Foster	.894
5	Pete Rose	.854
6	Rick Monday	.853
7	Ken Griffey	.851
8	Ron Cey	.848
9	Greg Luzinski	.847
10	Bob Watson	.835

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Randy Jones	22
2	Jerry Koosman	21
2	Don Sutton	21
4	Steve Carlton	20
4	J. R. Richard	20
6	Jim Lonborg	18
7	Jon Matlack	17
7	Phil Niekro	17
9	John Candelaria	16
9	John Montefusco	16
9	Doug Rau	16

SavesSV

1	Rawly Eastwick	26
2	Ken Forsch	19
2	Skip Lockwood	19
4	Charlie Hough	18
5	Butch Metzger	16
6	Mike Marshall	14
6	Randy Moffitt	14
6	Ron Reed	14
9	Al Hrabosky	13
9	Dale Murray	13

StrikeoutsSO

1	Tom Seaver	235
2	J. R. Richard	214
3	Jerry Koosman	200
4	Steve Carlton	195
5	Phil Niekro	173
6	John Montefusco	172
7	Don Sutton	161
8	Jon Matlack	153
9	Steve Rogers	150
10	Rick Reuschel	146

Innings PitchedIP

1	Randy Jones	315.3
2	J. R. Richard	291.0
3	Tom Seaver	271.0
4	Phil Niekro	270.7
5	Don Sutton	267.7
6	Jon Matlack	262.0
7	Rick Reuschel	260.0
8	John Montefusco	253.3
9	Steve Carlton	252.7
10	Jim Barr	252.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Randy Jones	25
2	Jerry Koosman	17
3	Jon Matlack	16
4	Don Sutton	15
5	J. R. Richard	14
6	Steve Carlton	13
6	Tom Seaver	13
8	Andy Messersmith	12
9	John Candelaria	11
9	John Montefusco	11
9	Jerry Reuss	11

ShutoutsSHO

1	Jon Matlack	6
1	John Montefusco	6
3	Randy Jones	5
3	Tom Seaver	5
5	Joaquin Andujar	4
5	Ray Burris	4
5	John Candelaria	4
5	Larry Dierker	4
5	Ed Halicki	4
5	Burt Hooton	4
5	Lynn McGlothen	4
5	Steve Rogers	4
5	Dick Ruthven	4
5	Don Sutton	4

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Tom Seaver	5.9
2	John Montefusco	4.9
3	Steve Carlton	4.4
4	Steve Rogers	4.4
5	Jerry Koosman	4.2
6	Randy Jones	4.1
7	Rick Reuschel	4.0
8	Jon Matlack	3.8
9	Jim Barr	3.5
10	Phil Niekro	3.4

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	John Denny	2.52
2	Doug Rau	2.57
3	Tom Seaver	2.59
4	Jerry Koosman	2.69
5	Pat Zachry	2.73
6	Randy Jones	2.74
7	J. R. Richard	2.75
8	John Montefusco	2.84
9	Jim Barr	2.89
10	Jon Matlack	2.95

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Randy Jones	1.03
2	John Candelaria	1.06
3	Tom Seaver	1.06
4	Gary Nolan	1.08
5	Jerry Koosman	1.10
6	Jon Matlack	1.12
7	Andy Messersmith	1.16
8	Burt Hooton	1.16
9	Don Sutton	1.17
10	Jim Lonborg	1.17

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Tom Seaver	2.47
2	John Montefusco	2.76
3	Jerry Koosman	2.83
4	Steve Rogers	2.85
5	Steve Carlton	2.93
6	Ed Halicki	2.95
7	Pat Zachry	2.99
8	Jon Matlack	3.04
9	Tommy John	3.08
10	Steve Renko	3.13

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1976 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. 1976 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, 14 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 1976 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.