1978 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

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

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Dave ParkerNational League
Jim RiceAmerican League

Cy Young Award

Ron GuidryAmerican League
Gaylord PerryNational League

Rookie of the Year

Bob HornerNational League
Lou WhitakerAmerican League

Gold Glove

Mark BelangerAmerican League
Bob BooneNational League
Larry BowaNational League
Chris ChamblissAmerican League
Dwight EvansAmerican League
Keith HernandezNational League
Davey LopesNational League
Fred LynnAmerican League
Garry MaddoxNational League
Rick MillerAmerican League
Graig NettlesAmerican League
Phil NiekroNational League
Jim PalmerAmerican League
Dave ParkerNational League
Mike SchmidtNational League
Jim SundbergAmerican League
Ellis ValentineNational League
Frank WhiteAmerican 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	Ron LeFlore	126
2	Jim Rice	121
3	Don Baylor	103
4	Andre Thornton	97
5	Larry Hisle	96
6	Carlton Fisk	94
7	Bobby Bonds	93
8	Hal McRae	90
9	Don Money	88
10	Willie Randolph	87
10	Jerry Remy	87

HitsH

1	Jim Rice	213
2	Ron LeFlore	198
3	Rod Carew	188
4	Thurman Munson	183
5	Rusty Staub	175
6	Eddie Murray	174
7	Chris Chambliss	171
8	Hal McRae	170
8	Al Oliver	170
10	Jason Thompson	169

Doubles2B

1	George Brett	45
2	Carlton Fisk	39
2	Hal McRae	39
4	Doug DeCinces	37
5	Dan Ford	36
6	Al Oliver	35
7	Lou Piniella	34
8	Fred Lynn	33
9	Rick Burleson	32
9	Eddie Murray	32

Triples3B

1	Jim Rice	15
2	Rod Carew	10
2	Dan Ford	10
4	Ralph Garr	9
4	Robin Yount	9
6	Buddy Bell	8
6	George Brett	8
6	Al Cowens	8
6	Dave McKay	8
6	Mickey Rivers	8

Home RunsHR

1	Jim Rice	46
2	Don Baylor	34
2	Larry Hisle	34
4	Andre Thornton	33
5	Gorman Thomas	32
6	Bobby Bonds	31
6	Rico Carty	31
8	Doug DeCinces	28
9	Gary Alexander	27
9	Reggie Jackson	27
9	Eddie Murray	27
9	Graig Nettles	27

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Jim Rice	139
2	Rusty Staub	121
3	Larry Hisle	115
4	Andre Thornton	105
5	Don Baylor	99
5	Rico Carty	99
7	Reggie Jackson	97
8	Amos Otis	96
8	Jason Thompson	96
10	Eddie Murray	95

WalksBB

1	Mike Hargrove	107
2	Ken Singleton	98
3	Steve Kemp	97
4	Andre Thornton	93
5	Roy Smalley	85
6	Toby Harrah	83
7	Willie Randolph	82
8	Bobby Bonds	79
9	Rod Carew	78
10	Rusty Staub	76
10	Carl Yastrzemski	76

Stolen BasesSB

1	Ron LeFlore	68
2	Julio Cruz	59
3	Bump Wills	52
4	Miguel Dilone	50
5	Willie Wilson	46
6	Bobby Bonds	43
7	Freddie Patek	38
8	Willie Randolph	36
9	Amos Otis	32
10	Toby Harrah	31

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Jim Rice	8.4
2	Amos Otis	7.5
3	Carlton Fisk	6.7
4	Roy Smalley	6.5
5	Doug DeCinces	6.3
6	Ron LeFlore	6.2
7	Fred Lynn	6.1
8	Sal Bando	5.7
9	Larry Hisle	5.7
10	Robin Yount	5.5

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Rod Carew	.333
2	Al Oliver	.324
3	Jim Rice	.315
4	Lou Piniella	.314
5	Ben Oglivie	.303
6	Leon Roberts	.301
7	Fred Lynn	.298
7	Amos Otis	.298
9	Ron LeFlore	.297
9	Thurman Munson	.297

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Rod Carew	.411
2	Ken Singleton	.409
3	Mike Hargrove	.388
4	Willie Randolph	.381
5	Fred Lynn	.380
5	Amos Otis	.380
7	Steve Kemp	.379
8	Sixto Lezcano	.377
8	Andre Thornton	.377
10	Larry Hisle	.374

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Jim Rice	.600
2	Larry Hisle	.533
3	Doug DeCinces	.526
4	Amos Otis	.525
5	Andre Thornton	.516
6	Leon Roberts	.515
6	Gorman Thomas	.515
8	Rico Carty	.502
9	Ben Oglivie	.497
10	Fred Lynn	.492

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Jim Rice	.970
2	Larry Hisle	.906
3	Amos Otis	.905
4	Andre Thornton	.893
5	Leon Roberts	.879
6	Doug DeCinces	.872
6	Fred Lynn	.872
8	Ken Singleton	.871
9	Ben Oglivie	.867
10	Gorman Thomas	.866

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Ron Guidry	25
2	Mike Caldwell	22
3	Dennis Leonard	21
3	Jim Palmer	21
5	Dennis Eckersley	20
5	Ed Figueroa	20
7	Mike Flanagan	19
7	Paul Splittorff	19
9	Fergie Jenkins	18
9	Lary Sorensen	18
9	Frank Tanana	18

SavesSV

1	Rich Gossage	27
2	Dave LaRoche	25
3	Don Stanhouse	24
4	Mike Marshall	21
5	Al Hrabosky	20
6	Lerrin LaGrow	16
7	John Hiller	15
8	Elias Sosa	14
9	Jim Kern	13
9	Jim Willoughby	13

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	260
2	Ron Guidry	248
3	Dennis Leonard	183
4	Mike Flanagan	167
5	Dennis Eckersley	162
6	Fergie Jenkins	157
6	Jon Matlack	157
8	Ken Kravec	154
9	Dennis Martinez	142
10	Tom Underwood	139

Innings PitchedIP

1	Jim Palmer	296.0
2	Dennis Leonard	294.7
3	Mike Caldwell	293.3
4	Mike Flanagan	281.3
5	Lary Sorensen	280.7
6	Dennis Martinez	276.3
7	Ron Guidry	273.7
8	Jon Matlack	270.0
9	Dennis Eckersley	268.3
10	Roger Erickson	265.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Mike Caldwell	23
2	Dennis Leonard	20
3	Jim Palmer	19
4	Jon Matlack	18
5	Mike Flanagan	17
5	Lary Sorensen	17
7	Dennis Eckersley	16
7	Ron Guidry	16
7	Fergie Jenkins	16
7	Milt Wilcox	16

ShutoutsSHO

1	Ron Guidry	9
2	Mike Caldwell	6
2	Jim Palmer	6
4	Luis Tiant	5
5	Jack Billingham	4
5	Fergie Jenkins	4
5	Dennis Leonard	4
5	Scott McGregor	4
5	Frank Tanana	4
10	Dennis Eckersley	3
10	Rich Gale	3
10	Nolan Ryan	3
10	Lary Sorensen	3
10	Bill Travers	3
10	Jim Wright	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Ron Guidry	7.4
2	Jon Matlack	5.6
3	Mike Caldwell	5.3
4	Fergie Jenkins	4.4
5	Nolan Ryan	4.1
6	Lary Sorensen	4.0
7	Dennis Leonard	3.9
8	Dave Goltz	3.6
9	Mike Flanagan	3.3
10	Jim Palmer	3.1

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Ron Guidry	1.74
2	Jon Matlack	2.27
3	Mike Caldwell	2.36
4	Jim Palmer	2.46
5	Dave Goltz	2.49
6	Larry Gura	2.72
7	Dennis Eckersley	2.98
8	Ed Figueroa	2.99
9	Geoff Zahn	3.03
10	Fergie Jenkins	3.04

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Ron Guidry	0.95
2	Mike Caldwell	1.06
3	Fergie Jenkins	1.08
4	Larry Gura	1.10
5	Jon Matlack	1.12
6	Scott McGregor	1.13
7	Luis Tiant	1.14
8	Jim Palmer	1.16
9	Paul Splittorff	1.16
10	Lary Sorensen	1.17

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Ron Guidry	2.19
2	Jon Matlack	2.71
3	Mike Caldwell	2.94
4	Fergie Jenkins	2.95
5	Nolan Ryan	2.96
6	Dave Goltz	3.17
7	Lary Sorensen	3.27
8	Mike Flanagan	3.37
9	Dennis Leonard	3.42
10	Matt Keough	3.44

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Ivan de Jesus	104
2	Pete Rose	103
3	Dave Parker	102
4	George Foster	97
5	Omar Moreno	95
6	Davey Lopes	93
6	Mike Schmidt	93
8	Enos Cabell	92
9	Jack Clark	90
9	Ken Griffey	90
9	Keith Hernandez	90
9	Gene Richards	90

HitsH

1	Steve Garvey	202
2	Pete Rose	198
3	Enos Cabell	195
4	Dave Parker	194
5	Larry Bowa	192
6	Frank Taveras	182
7	Jack Clark	181
7	Garry Templeton	181
7	Dave Winfield	181
10	Warren Cromartie	180

Doubles2B

1	Pete Rose	51
2	Jack Clark	46
3	Ted Simmons	40
4	Larry Parrish	39
5	Tony Perez	38
6	Steve Garvey	36
6	Bill Robinson	36
8	Ellis Valentine	35
9	Jose Cruz	34
9	Garry Maddox	34

Triples3B

1	Garry Templeton	13
2	Dave Parker	12
2	Gene Richards	12
4	Jose Cruz	9
4	Phil Garner	9
4	Steve Garvey	9
4	Steve Henderson	9
4	Larry Herndon	9
4	Frank Taveras	9
10	Enos Cabell	8
10	Jack Clark	8
10	Andre Dawson	8
10	Doug Flynn	8
10	Ken Griffey	8
10	Jerry Morales	8
10	Lenny Randle	8
10	Jerry Royster	8
10	Joel Youngblood	8

Home RunsHR

1	George Foster	40
2	Greg Luzinski	35
3	Dave Parker	30
4	Reggie Smith	29
5	Dave Kingman	28
5	Willie Stargell	28
7	Jack Clark	25
7	Andre Dawson	25
7	Ellis Valentine	25
10	Dave Winfield	24

Runs Batted InRBI

1	George Foster	120
2	Dave Parker	117
3	Steve Garvey	113
4	Greg Luzinski	101
5	Jack Clark	98
6	Willie Stargell	97
6	Dave Winfield	97
8	Willie Montanez	96
9	Reggie Smith	93
10	Ron Cey	84

WalksBB

1	Jeff Burroughs	117
2	Darrell Evans	105
3	Gene Tenace	101
4	Greg Luzinski	100
5	Ron Cey	96
6	Mike Schmidt	91
7	Keith Hernandez	82
8	Omar Moreno	81
9	Bobby Murcer	80
10	Joe Morgan	79

Stolen BasesSB

1	Omar Moreno	71
2	Frank Taveras	46
3	Davey Lopes	45
4	Ivan de Jesus	41
5	Ozzie Smith	40
6	Jose Cruz	37
6	Gene Richards	37
8	Garry Templeton	34
9	Enos Cabell	33
9	Garry Maddox	33

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Ted Simmons	7.1
2	Dave Parker	7.0
3	Ron Cey	5.8
4	Davey Lopes	5.7
5	Jack Clark	5.6
6	George Foster	5.4
7	John Stearns	5.2
8	Jeff Burroughs	5.2
9	Darrell Evans	4.9
10	Dave Winfield	4.9

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Dave Parker	.334
2	Steve Garvey	.316
3	Jose Cruz	.315
4	Bill Madlock	.309
5	Gene Richards	.308
5	Dave Winfield	.308
7	Jack Clark	.306
8	Pete Rose	.302
9	Jeff Burroughs	.301
9	Dave Concepcion	.301

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Jeff Burroughs	.432
2	Dave Parker	.394
3	Gene Tenace	.392
4	Greg Luzinski	.388
5	Reggie Smith	.382
6	Gene Richards	.381
7	Ron Cey	.380
8	Bill Madlock	.378
9	Ted Simmons	.377
10	Jose Cruz	.376
10	Bobby Murcer	.376

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Dave Parker	.585
2	Reggie Smith	.559
3	George Foster	.546
4	Jack Clark	.537
5	Jeff Burroughs	.529
6	Greg Luzinski	.526
7	Ted Simmons	.512
8	Steve Garvey	.499
8	Dave Winfield	.499
10	Ellis Valentine	.489

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Dave Parker	.979
2	Jeff Burroughs	.961
3	Reggie Smith	.942
4	Greg Luzinski	.914
5	George Foster	.906
6	Jack Clark	.895
7	Ted Simmons	.889
8	Dave Winfield	.866
9	Bill Madlock	.859
10	Steve Garvey	.852

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Gaylord Perry	21
2	Ross Grimsley	20
3	Burt Hooton	19
3	Phil Niekro	19
5	Vida Blue	18
5	J. R. Richard	18
7	Tommy John	17
7	Bob Knepper	17
9	Steve Carlton	16
9	Tom Seaver	16

SavesSV

1	Rollie Fingers	37
2	Kent Tekulve	31
3	Doug Bair	28
4	Bruce Sutter	27
5	Gene Garber	25
6	Terry Forster	22
7	Ron Reed	17
8	Skip Lockwood	15
9	Gary Lavelle	14
10	Mike Garman	13

StrikeoutsSO

1	J. R. Richard	303
2	Phil Niekro	248
3	Tom Seaver	226
4	Bert Blyleven	182
5	John Montefusco	177
6	Vida Blue	171
7	Steve Carlton	161
8	Jerry Koosman	160
9	Gaylord Perry	154
9	Don Sutton	154

Innings PitchedIP

1	Phil Niekro	334.3
2	J. R. Richard	275.3
3	Ross Grimsley	263.0
4	Gaylord Perry	260.7
5	Bob Knepper	260.0
6	Tom Seaver	259.7
7	Vida Blue	258.0
8	Randy Jones	253.0
9	Steve Carlton	247.3
10	Bert Blyleven	243.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Phil Niekro	22
2	Ross Grimsley	19
3	Bob Knepper	16
3	J. R. Richard	16
5	Steve Carlton	12
5	Don Sutton	12
7	Bert Blyleven	11
7	John Denny	11
7	Steve Rogers	11
7	Dick Ruthven	11

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bob Knepper	6
2	Vida Blue	4
2	Bert Blyleven	4
2	Ed Halicki	4
2	Phil Niekro	4
6	Steve Carlton	3
6	Larry Christenson	3
6	Bob Forsch	3
6	Woodie Fryman	3
6	Ross Grimsley	3
6	Burt Hooton	3
6	Dennis Lamp	3
6	Eric Rasmussen	3
6	Rick Rhoden	3
6	J. R. Richard	3
6	Dick Ruthven	3
6	Bob Welch	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Phil Niekro	7.5
2	J. R. Richard	6.2
3	Gaylord Perry	5.4
4	Vida Blue	5.4
5	Bert Blyleven	4.8
6	Bob Knepper	4.4
7	Rick Reuschel	4.2
8	Larry Christenson	4.1
9	Tom Seaver	4.1
10	Tommy John	3.8

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Craig Swan	2.43
2	Steve Rogers	2.47
3	Pete Vuckovich	2.54
4	Bob Knepper	2.63
5	Burt Hooton	2.71
6	Gaylord Perry	2.73
7	Vida Blue	2.79
8	Steve Carlton	2.84
9	Ed Halicki	2.85
10	Tom Seaver	2.88

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Ed Halicki	1.06
2	Craig Swan	1.07
3	Burt Hooton	1.09
4	Larry Christenson	1.12
5	Don Robinson	1.14
6	Steve Rogers	1.14
7	Ross Grimsley	1.16
8	Bert Blyleven	1.16
9	Bob Knepper	1.17
9	Dick Ruthven	1.17

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	J. R. Richard	2.51
2	Pete Vuckovich	2.60
3	Gaylord Perry	2.63
4	Vida Blue	2.68
5	Phil Niekro	2.75
6	Bert Blyleven	2.88
7	Tommy John	2.91
8	Larry Christenson	2.98
9	Bob Knepper	2.98
10	Craig Swan	3.00

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1978 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. 1978 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, 18 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 1978 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.