1979 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 162 team games · 46 ranking tables · 26 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Don BaylorAmerican League
Keith HernandezNational League · shared
Willie StargellNational League · shared

Cy Young Award

Mike FlanaganAmerican League
Bruce SutterNational League

Rookie of the Year

John CastinoAmerican League · shared
Alfredo GriffinAmerican League · shared
Rick SutcliffeNational League

Gold Glove

Buddy BellAmerican League
Bob BooneNational League
Rick BurlesonAmerican League
Dave ConcepcionNational League
Cecil CooperAmerican League
Dwight EvansAmerican League
Keith HernandezNational League
Sixto LezcanoAmerican League
Fred LynnAmerican League
Garry MaddoxNational League
Phil NiekroNational League
Jim PalmerAmerican League
Dave ParkerNational League
Mike SchmidtNational League
Jim SundbergAmerican League
Manny TrilloNational League
Frank WhiteAmerican League
Dave WinfieldNational 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	Don Baylor	120
2	George Brett	119
3	Jim Rice	117
4	Fred Lynn	116
5	Carney Lansford	114
6	Willie Wilson	113
7	Ron LeFlore	110
8	Ruppert Jones	109
9	Darrell Porter	101
10	Dan Ford	100
10	Amos Otis	100

HitsH

1	George Brett	212
2	Jim Rice	201
3	Buddy Bell	200
4	Carney Lansford	188
4	Paul Molitor	188
6	Don Baylor	186
7	Willie Wilson	185
8	Cecil Cooper	182
9	Willie Horton	180
9	Ron LeFlore	180

Doubles2B

1	Cecil Cooper	44
1	Chet Lemon	44
3	Buddy Bell	42
3	George Brett	42
3	Fred Lynn	42
6	Ron Jackson	40
7	Jim Rice	39
8	Bruce Bochte	38
9	Rick Bosetti	35
10	Don Baylor	33
10	Claudell Washington	33

Triples3B

1	George Brett	20
2	Paul Molitor	16
3	Willie Randolph	13
3	Willie Wilson	13
5	Alfredo Griffin	10
5	Ron LeFlore	10
5	Darrell Porter	10
8	Kiko Garcia	9
8	Ruppert Jones	9
10	Alan Bannister	8
10	John Castino	8
10	Mickey Rivers	8
10	Lou Whitaker	8

Home RunsHR

1	Gorman Thomas	45
2	Fred Lynn	39
2	Jim Rice	39
4	Don Baylor	36
5	Ken Singleton	35
6	Bobby Grich	30
7	Willie Horton	29
7	Reggie Jackson	29
7	Ben Oglivie	29
10	Butch Hobson	28
10	Sixto Lezcano	28

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Don Baylor	139
2	Jim Rice	130
3	Gorman Thomas	123
4	Fred Lynn	122
5	Darrell Porter	112
6	Ken Singleton	111
7	George Brett	107
8	Cecil Cooper	106
8	Willie Horton	106
10	Steve Kemp	105

WalksBB

1	Darrell Porter	121
2	Ken Singleton	109
3	Gorman Thomas	98
4	Willie Randolph	95
5	Andre Thornton	90
6	Toby Harrah	89
7	Mike Hargrove	88
8	Ruppert Jones	85
9	Dwayne Murphy	84
10	Fred Lynn	82

Stolen BasesSB

1	Willie Wilson	83
2	Ron LeFlore	78
3	Julio Cruz	49
4	Al Bumbry	37
5	Bump Wills	35
6	Bobby Bonds	34
7	Rickey Henderson	33
7	Ruppert Jones	33
7	Paul Molitor	33
7	Willie Randolph	33

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Fred Lynn	9.8
2	George Brett	8.7
3	Darrell Porter	7.4
4	Gorman Thomas	6.8
5	Chet Lemon	6.5
6	Jim Rice	6.5
7	Roy Smalley	6.2
8	Brian Downing	6.0
9	Paul Molitor	6.0
10	Sixto Lezcano	5.9

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Fred Lynn	.333
2	George Brett	.329
3	Brian Downing	.326
4	Jim Rice	.325
5	Al Oliver	.323
6	Paul Molitor	.322
7	Sixto Lezcano	.321
8	Steve Kemp	.318
8	Chet Lemon	.318
10	Bruce Bochte	.316

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Fred Lynn	.423
2	Darrell Porter	.421
3	Brian Downing	.418
4	Sixto Lezcano	.414
5	Ken Singleton	.405
6	Mike Hargrove	.404
7	Steve Kemp	.398
8	Lou Whitaker	.395
9	Chet Lemon	.391
10	Toby Harrah	.389

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Fred Lynn	.637
2	Jim Rice	.596
3	Sixto Lezcano	.573
4	George Brett	.563
5	Reggie Jackson	.544
6	Steve Kemp	.543
7	Gorman Thomas	.539
8	Bobby Grich	.537
9	Ken Singleton	.533
10	Don Baylor	.530

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Fred Lynn	1.059
2	Sixto Lezcano	.987
3	Jim Rice	.977
4	Steve Kemp	.941
5	George Brett	.939
6	Ken Singleton	.938
7	Reggie Jackson	.926
8	Darrell Porter	.905
9	Bobby Grich	.903
10	Don Baylor	.901

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Mike Flanagan	23
2	Tommy John	21
3	Jerry Koosman	20
4	Ron Guidry	18
5	Steve Comer	17
5	Dennis Eckersley	17
5	Jack Morris	17
8	Mike Caldwell	16
8	Dave Frost	16
8	Fergie Jenkins	16
8	Nolan Ryan	16
8	Bob Stanley	16
8	Mike Torrez	16
8	Rick Waits	16

SavesSV

1	Mike Marshall	32
2	Jim Kern	29
3	Aurelio Lopez	21
3	Don Stanhouse	21
5	Sid Monge	19
6	Rich Gossage	18
7	Mark Clear	14
7	Ed Farmer	14
7	Byron McLaughlin	14
10	Dick Drago	13
10	Sparky Lyle	13

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	223
2	Ron Guidry	201
3	Mike Flanagan	190
4	Fergie Jenkins	164
5	Jerry Koosman	157
6	Dennis Eckersley	150
7	Jim Kern	136
8	Dave Goltz	132
8	Ken Kravec	132
8	Dennis Martinez	132

Innings PitchedIP

1	Dennis Martinez	292.3
2	Tommy John	276.3
3	Mike Flanagan	265.7
4	Jerry Koosman	263.7
5	Fergie Jenkins	259.0
6	Mike Torrez	252.3
7	Dave Goltz	250.7
8	Ken Kravec	250.0
9	Dennis Eckersley	246.7
10	Steve Comer	242.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Dennis Martinez	18
2	Dennis Eckersley	17
2	Tommy John	17
2	Nolan Ryan	17
5	Mike Caldwell	16
5	Mike Flanagan	16
5	Lary Sorensen	16
8	Ron Guidry	15
9	Rick Langford	14
10	Mike Parrott	13

ShutoutsSHO

1	Mike Flanagan	5
1	Dennis Leonard	5
1	Nolan Ryan	5
4	Mike Caldwell	4
4	Bob Stanley	4
6	Ross Baumgarten	3
6	Fergie Jenkins	3
6	Tommy John	3
6	Ken Kravec	3
6	Dave Lemanczyk	3
6	Dennis Martinez	3
6	Jim Slaton	3
6	Rick Waits	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Tommy John	5.4
2	Ron Guidry	4.6
3	Mike Flanagan	4.6
4	Jerry Koosman	4.4
5	Nolan Ryan	4.1
6	Dave Goltz	3.7
7	Mike Caldwell	3.6
8	Dennis Eckersley	3.3
9	Dennis Martinez	2.9
10	Jim Slaton	2.8

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Ron Guidry	2.78
2	Tommy John	2.96
3	Dennis Eckersley	2.99
4	Mike Flanagan	3.08
5	Jack Morris	3.28
6	Mike Caldwell	3.29
7	Scott McGregor	3.35
8	Jerry Koosman	3.38
9	Ross Baumgarten	3.54
10	Geoff Zahn	3.57

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Scott McGregor	1.08
2	Ron Guidry	1.16
3	Mike Flanagan	1.19
4	Dennis Eckersley	1.19
5	Dennis Leonard	1.20
6	Jack Morris	1.20
7	Tommy John	1.21
8	Dennis Martinez	1.22
9	Mike Caldwell	1.24
10	Lary Sorensen	1.24

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Ron Guidry	3.03
2	Tommy John	3.10
3	Nolan Ryan	3.22
4	Mike Flanagan	3.25
5	Jerry Koosman	3.46
6	Mike Caldwell	3.52
7	Scott McGregor	3.65
8	Dave Goltz	3.66
9	Jim Slaton	3.69
10	Bob Stanley	3.72

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Keith Hernandez	116
2	Omar Moreno	110
3	Davey Lopes	109
3	Dave Parker	109
3	Mike Schmidt	109
6	Garry Templeton	105
7	Jerry Royster	103
8	Dave Kingman	97
8	Gary Matthews	97
8	Dave Winfield	97

HitsH

1	Garry Templeton	211
2	Keith Hernandez	210
3	Pete Rose	208
4	Steve Garvey	204
5	Omar Moreno	196
6	Dave Parker	193
7	Gary Matthews	192
8	Dave Winfield	184
9	Warren Cromartie	181
9	Lee Mazzilli	181

Doubles2B

1	Keith Hernandez	48
2	Warren Cromartie	46
3	Dave Parker	45
4	Ken Reitz	41
5	Pete Rose	40
6	Larry Parrish	39
7	Ray Knight	37
7	Joel Youngblood	37
9	Bill Buckner	34
9	Jerry Martin	34
9	Gary Matthews	34
9	Lee Mazzilli	34

Triples3B

1	Garry Templeton	19
2	Andre Dawson	12
2	Bake McBride	12
2	Omar Moreno	12
5	Larry Bowa	11
5	Keith Hernandez	11
7	Ivan de Jesus	10
7	Tony Scott	10
7	Dave Winfield	10
10	Craig Reynolds	9
10	Gene Richards	9
10	Frank Taveras	9

Home RunsHR

1	Dave Kingman	48
2	Mike Schmidt	45
3	Dave Winfield	34
4	Bob Horner	33
5	Willie Stargell	32
6	George Foster	30
6	Larry Parrish	30
8	Ron Cey	28
8	Steve Garvey	28
8	Davey Lopes	28

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Dave Winfield	118
2	Dave Kingman	115
3	Mike Schmidt	114
4	Steve Garvey	110
5	Keith Hernandez	105
6	George Foster	98
6	Bob Horner	98
8	Dave Parker	94
9	Andre Dawson	92
10	Gary Matthews	90

WalksBB

1	Mike Schmidt	120
2	Gene Tenace	105
3	Davey Lopes	97
4	Bill North	96
5	Pete Rose	95
6	Lee Mazzilli	93
6	Joe Morgan	93
8	Darrell Evans	91
9	Ron Cey	86
10	Dave Winfield	85

Stolen BasesSB

1	Omar Moreno	77
2	Bill North	58
3	Davey Lopes	44
3	Frank Taveras	44
5	Rodney Scott	39
6	Enos Cabell	37
6	Tony Scott	37
8	Jose Cruz	36
9	Andre Dawson	35
9	Jerry Royster	35

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Mike Schmidt	7.7
2	Keith Hernandez	6.7
3	Dave Winfield	6.6
4	Garry Templeton	6.1
5	Lee Mazzilli	5.9
6	Dave Parker	5.3
7	Ron Cey	5.3
8	Larry Parrish	5.1
9	Dave Concepcion	5.0
10	Gene Tenace	5.0

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Keith Hernandez	.344
2	Pete Rose	.331
3	Ray Knight	.318
4	Steve Garvey	.315
5	Bob Horner	.314
5	Garry Templeton	.314
7	Dave Parker	.310
8	Dave Winfield	.308
9	Larry Parrish	.307
10	Gary Matthews	.304

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Pete Rose	.418
2	Keith Hernandez	.417
3	Gene Tenace	.403
4	Lee Mazzilli	.395
4	Dave Winfield	.395
6	Ron Cey	.389
7	George Foster	.386
7	Bill North	.386
7	Mike Schmidt	.386
10	Dave Parker	.380

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Dave Kingman	.613
2	Mike Schmidt	.564
3	George Foster	.561
4	Dave Winfield	.558
5	Bob Horner	.552
6	Larry Parrish	.551
7	Dave Parker	.526
8	Keith Hernandez	.513
9	Ted Simmons	.507
10	Gary Matthews	.502

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Dave Kingman	.956
2	Dave Winfield	.953
3	Mike Schmidt	.950
4	George Foster	.948
5	Keith Hernandez	.930
6	Larry Parrish	.909
7	Dave Parker	.906
8	Bob Horner	.898
9	Ron Cey	.888
10	Ted Simmons	.875

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Joe Niekro	21
1	Phil Niekro	21
3	Steve Carlton	18
3	Rick Reuschel	18
3	J. R. Richard	18
6	Rick Sutcliffe	17
7	Bill Lee	16
7	Tom Seaver	16
9	Silvio Martinez	15
9	Pete Vuckovich	15

SavesSV

1	Bruce Sutter	37
2	Kent Tekulve	31
3	Gene Garber	25
4	Joe Sambito	22
5	Gary Lavelle	20
6	Elias Sosa	18
7	Tom Hume	17
8	Doug Bair	16
8	Tug McGraw	16
10	Grant Jackson	14

StrikeoutsSO

1	J. R. Richard	313
2	Steve Carlton	213
3	Phil Niekro	208
4	Bert Blyleven	172
5	Lynn McGlothen	147
6	Don Sutton	146
7	Craig Swan	145
7	Pete Vuckovich	145
9	Steve Rogers	143
10	Gaylord Perry	140

Innings PitchedIP

1	Phil Niekro	342.0
2	J. R. Richard	292.3
3	Joe Niekro	263.7
4	Randy Jones	263.0
5	Craig Swan	251.3
6	Steve Carlton	251.0
7	Steve Rogers	248.7
8	Rick Sutcliffe	242.0
9	Rick Reuschel	239.0
10	Bert Blyleven	237.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Phil Niekro	23
2	J. R. Richard	19
3	Steve Carlton	13
3	Steve Rogers	13
5	Burt Hooton	12
6	Joe Niekro	11
7	Vida Blue	10
7	Ken Forsch	10
7	John Fulgham	10
7	Gaylord Perry	10
7	Craig Swan	10

ShutoutsSHO

1	Joe Niekro	5
1	Steve Rogers	5
1	Tom Seaver	5
4	Steve Carlton	4
4	J. R. Richard	4
6	Nino Espinosa	3
6	Bill Lee	3
6	Eric Rasmussen	3
6	Scott Sanderson	3
6	Craig Swan	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	J. R. Richard	8.7
2	Gaylord Perry	4.4
3	Steve Rogers	4.4
4	Craig Swan	4.3
5	Burt Hooton	4.2
6	Steve Carlton	4.2
7	Rick Reuschel	4.0
8	Randy Jones	3.9
9	Tom Seaver	3.8
10	Bert Blyleven	3.5

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	J. R. Richard	2.71
2	Tom Hume	2.76
3	Dan Schatzeder	2.83
4	Burt Hooton	2.97
5	Joe Niekro	3.00
5	Steve Rogers	3.00
7	Ken Forsch	3.04
8	Bill Lee	3.04
9	Gaylord Perry	3.06
10	Tom Seaver	3.14

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Ken Forsch	1.07
2	J. R. Richard	1.09
3	Tom Seaver	1.15
4	Steve Carlton	1.16
4	Don Sutton	1.16
6	John Candelaria	1.17
7	Bruce Kison	1.17
8	Craig Swan	1.19
9	Tom Hume	1.20
10	Burt Hooton	1.20

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	J. R. Richard	2.21
2	Burt Hooton	3.11
3	Gaylord Perry	3.12
4	Steve Rogers	3.30
5	Tom Hume	3.31
6	Craig Swan	3.32
7	Tom Seaver	3.33
8	Scott Sanderson	3.35
9	Bruce Kison	3.35
10	Steve Carlton	3.45

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1979 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. 1979 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 1979 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.