1981 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 108 team games · 46 ranking tables · 42 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Rollie FingersAmerican League
Mike SchmidtNational League

Cy Young Award

Rollie FingersAmerican League
Fernando ValenzuelaNational League

Rookie of the Year

Dave RighettiAmerican League
Fernando ValenzuelaNational League

Gold Glove

Dusty BakerNational League
Buddy BellAmerican League
Steve CarltonNational League
Gary CarterNational League
Andre DawsonNational League
Dwight EvansAmerican League
Rickey HendersonAmerican League
Keith HernandezNational League
Garry MaddoxNational League
Dwayne MurphyAmerican League
Mike NorrisAmerican League
Mike SchmidtNational League
Ozzie SmithNational League
Mike SquiresAmerican League
Jim SundbergAmerican League
Alan TrammellAmerican League
Manny TrilloNational League
Frank WhiteAmerican League

Silver Slugger

Dusty BakerNational League
Rick BurlesonAmerican League
Gary CarterNational League
Dave ConcepcionNational League
Cecil CooperAmerican League
Andre DawsonNational League
Dwight EvansAmerican League
Carlton FiskAmerican League
George FosterNational League
Bobby GrichAmerican League
Rickey HendersonAmerican League
Carney LansfordAmerican League
Al OliverAmerican League
Pete RoseNational League
Mike SchmidtNational League
Manny TrilloNational League
Fernando ValenzuelaNational League
Dave WinfieldAmerican League

American League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Rickey Henderson	89
2	Dwight Evans	84
3	Cecil Cooper	70
4	Toby Harrah	64
5	Mickey Rivers	62
6	Al Bumbry	61
6	Carney Lansford	61
8	Willie Randolph	59
9	Dwayne Murphy	58
10	Rod Carew	57
10	Julio Cruz	57
10	Eddie Murray	57

HitsH

1	Rickey Henderson	135
2	Carney Lansford	134
3	Cecil Cooper	133
3	Willie Wilson	133
5	Tom Paciorek	132
6	Al Oliver	130
7	Jim Rice	128
8	Rick Burleson	126
9	Dwight Evans	122
10	Tony Armas	115

Doubles2B

1	Cecil Cooper	35
2	Al Oliver	29
3	Tom Paciorek	28
4	George Brett	27
4	Rich Dauer	27
6	Dave Winfield	25
7	Tony Armas	24
8	Doug DeCinces	23
8	Mickey Hatcher	23
8	Carney Lansford	23
8	Chet Lemon	23
8	Hal McRae	23

Triples3B

1	John Castino	9
2	Harold Baines	7
2	George Brett	7
2	Rickey Henderson	7
2	Willie Wilson	7
6	Alfredo Griffin	6
6	Chet Lemon	6
6	Gary Ward	6
9	Miguel Dilone	5
9	Jerry Mumphrey	5
9	Robin Yount	5

Home RunsHR

1	Tony Armas	22
1	Dwight Evans	22
1	Bobby Grich	22
1	Eddie Murray	22
5	Greg Luzinski	21
5	Gorman Thomas	21
7	Willie Aikens	17
7	Don Baylor	17
7	Cliff Johnson	17
7	John Mayberry	17
7	Jim Rice	17

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Eddie Murray	78
2	Tony Armas	76
3	Ben Oglivie	72
4	Dwight Evans	71
5	Dave Winfield	68
6	Don Baylor	66
6	Tom Paciorek	66
8	Gorman Thomas	65
9	Buddy Bell	64
10	Greg Luzinski	62
10	Jim Rice	62

WalksBB

1	Dwight Evans	85
2	Dwayne Murphy	73
3	Steve Kemp	70
4	Rickey Henderson	64
5	Willie Aikens	62
6	Ken Singleton	61
7	Mike Hargrove	60
8	Greg Luzinski	58
9	Toby Harrah	57
9	Willie Randolph	57

Stolen BasesSB

1	Rickey Henderson	56
2	Julio Cruz	43
3	Ron LeFlore	36
4	Willie Wilson	34
5	Miguel Dilone	29
6	Rick Manning	25
7	Al Bumbry	22
8	Kirk Gibson	17
9	Bill Almon	16
9	Alan Bannister	16
9	Rod Carew	16
9	Amos Otis	16

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Rickey Henderson	6.7
2	Dwight Evans	6.3
3	Bobby Grich	6.1
4	Dwayne Murphy	4.9
5	Buddy Bell	4.9
6	Rick Burleson	4.6
7	Tom Paciorek	4.6
8	Chet Lemon	4.3
9	Greg Luzinski	4.3
10	Robin Yount	4.3

Batting Averagemin 335 PA

1	Carney Lansford	.336
2	Tom Paciorek	.326
3	Cecil Cooper	.320
4	Rickey Henderson	.319
5	Mike Hargrove	.317
6	George Brett	.314
7	Richie Zisk	.311
8	Al Oliver	.309
9	Jerry Mumphrey	.307
9	Jerry Remy	.307

On-Base Percentagemin 335 PA

1	Mike Hargrove	.424
2	Dwight Evans	.415
3	Rickey Henderson	.408
4	Steve Kemp	.389
4	Carney Lansford	.389
6	Chet Lemon	.384
7	Toby Harrah	.382
8	Rod Carew	.380
8	Ken Singleton	.380
10	Tom Paciorek	.379

Slugging Percentagemin 335 PA

1	Bobby Grich	.543
2	Eddie Murray	.534
3	Dwight Evans	.522
4	Tom Paciorek	.509
5	Cecil Cooper	.495
6	Gorman Thomas	.493
7	Chet Lemon	.491
8	Richie Zisk	.485
9	George Brett	.484
10	Tony Armas	.480

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 335 PA

1	Dwight Evans	.937
2	Bobby Grich	.921
3	Eddie Murray	.895
4	Tom Paciorek	.888
5	Chet Lemon	.874
6	Cecil Cooper	.858
7	Richie Zisk	.851
8	George Brett	.846
9	Rickey Henderson	.845
10	Greg Luzinski	.841
10	Gorman Thomas	.841

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Dennis Martinez	14
1	Steve McCatty	14
1	Jack Morris	14
1	Pete Vuckovich	14
5	Dennis Leonard	13
5	Scott McGregor	13
7	Rick Langford	12
7	Mike Norris	12
7	Milt Wilcox	12
10	Bert Blyleven	11
10	Mike Caldwell	11
10	Ken Forsch	11
10	Ron Guidry	11
10	Larry Gura	11
10	Moose Haas	11
10	Rick Honeycutt	11
10	Dave Stieb	11

SavesSV

1	Rollie Fingers	28
2	Rich Gossage	20
3	Dan Quisenberry	18
4	Doug Corbett	17
5	Kevin Saucier	13
6	Don Aase	11
6	Tippy Martinez	11
8	Ed Farmer	10
8	LaMarr Hoyt	10
8	Joey McLaughlin	10

StrikeoutsSO

1	Len Barker	127
2	Britt Burns	108
3	Bert Blyleven	107
3	Dennis Leonard	107
5	Ron Guidry	104
6	Danny Darwin	98
7	Jack Morris	97
8	John Denny	94
9	Steve McCatty	91
10	Dave Righetti	89
10	Dave Stieb	89

Innings PitchedIP

1	Dennis Leonard	201.7
2	Jack Morris	198.0
3	Rick Langford	195.3
4	Steve McCatty	185.7
5	Dave Stieb	183.7
6	Dennis Martinez	179.0
7	Mike Norris	172.7
8	Larry Gura	172.3
9	Milt Wilcox	166.3
10	Geoff Zahn	161.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Rick Langford	18
2	Steve McCatty	16
3	Jack Morris	15
4	Larry Gura	12
4	Mike Norris	12
6	Dave Stieb	11
7	Ken Forsch	10
7	Matt Keough	10
9	Len Barker	9
9	Bert Blyleven	9
9	Dennis Leonard	9
9	Dennis Martinez	9
9	Geoff Zahn	9

ShutoutsSHO

1	Richard Dotson	4
1	Ken Forsch	4
1	Steve McCatty	4
1	Doc Medich	4
5	Len Barker	3
5	John Denny	3
5	Scott McGregor	3
8	Floyd Bannister	2
8	Danny Darwin	2
8	Dennis Eckersley	2
8	Mike Flanagan	2
8	Larry Gura	2
8	Rick Honeycutt	2
8	Matt Keough	2
8	Rick Langford	2
8	Dennis Leonard	2
8	Dennis Martinez	2
8	Mike Norris	2
8	Dan Petry	2
8	Dave Rozema	2
8	Dave Stieb	2
8	Frank Tanana	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Len Barker	3.6
2	Bert Blyleven	3.0
3	Dennis Leonard	2.9
4	Dave Righetti	2.9
5	Dennis Eckersley	2.6
6	Ken Forsch	2.4
7	Ron Guidry	2.2
8	Dave Stieb	2.2
9	Dennis Martinez	2.0
10	Doc Medich	2.0

Earned Run Averagemin 108 IP

1	Sammy Stewart	2.32
2	Steve McCatty	2.33
3	Dennis Lamp	2.41
4	Tommy John	2.63
5	Britt Burns	2.64
6	Larry Gura	2.72
7	Ron Guidry	2.76
8	Bert Blyleven	2.88
9	Ken Forsch	2.88
10	Dennis Leonard	2.99

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 108 IP

1	Ron Guidry	0.99
2	Larry Gura	1.01
3	Rick Honeycutt	1.07
4	Steve McCatty	1.08
5	Ken Forsch	1.11
6	Dave Stieb	1.14
7	Dennis Lamp	1.15
8	Bert Blyleven	1.16
9	Jack Morris	1.17
10	Danny Darwin	1.18

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 108 IP

1	Len Barker	2.46
2	Ron Guidry	2.83
3	Bert Blyleven	2.84
4	Dennis Lamp	2.93
5	Dennis Eckersley	3.07
6	Ken Forsch	3.08
7	Doc Medich	3.15
8	Dennis Leonard	3.16
9	Rudy May	3.28
10	Scott McGregor	3.38

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Mike Schmidt	78
2	Pete Rose	73
3	Andre Dawson	71
4	George Hendrick	67
5	Ken Griffey	65
5	Keith Hernandez	65
7	George Foster	64
8	Dave Collins	63
8	Steve Garvey	63
10	Gary Matthews	62
10	Omar Moreno	62

HitsH

1	Pete Rose	140
2	Bill Buckner	131
3	Dave Concepcion	129
4	Dusty Baker	128
5	Ken Griffey	123
6	George Foster	122
6	Steve Garvey	122
8	Luis Salazar	121
9	Omar Moreno	120
10	Andre Dawson	119

Doubles2B

1	Bill Buckner	35
2	Ruppert Jones	34
3	Dave Concepcion	28
4	Keith Hernandez	27
5	Chris Chambliss	25
6	Terry Kennedy	24
7	George Foster	23
7	Steve Garvey	23
7	Ray Knight	23
7	Bill Madlock	23

Triples3B

1	Craig Reynolds	12
1	Gene Richards	12
3	Tom Herr	9
4	Larry Herndon	8
4	Omar Moreno	8
4	Garry Templeton	8
4	Mookie Wilson	8
8	Ron Oester	7
8	Tim Raines	7
10	Dave Collins	6
10	Leon Durham	6
10	Ken Griffey	6
10	Ken Oberkfell	6
10	Luis Salazar	6

Home RunsHR

1	Mike Schmidt	31
2	Andre Dawson	24
3	George Foster	22
3	Dave Kingman	22
5	George Hendrick	18
6	Jack Clark	17
7	Gary Carter	16
8	Bob Horner	15
8	Jason Thompson	15
10	Ron Cey	13
10	Jose Cruz	13
10	Dale Murphy	13

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Mike Schmidt	91
2	George Foster	90
3	Bill Buckner	75
4	Gary Carter	68
5	Dave Concepcion	67
5	Gary Matthews	67
7	Andre Dawson	64
7	Steve Garvey	64
9	George Hendrick	61
10	Dave Kingman	59

WalksBB

1	Mike Schmidt	73
2	Joe Morgan	66
3	Keith Hernandez	61
4	Gary Matthews	59
4	Jason Thompson	59
6	Dave Kingman	55
7	Darrell Evans	54
8	Gene Richards	53
9	George Foster	51
10	Rodney Scott	50

Stolen BasesSB

1	Tim Raines	71
2	Omar Moreno	39
3	Rodney Scott	30
4	Dave Collins	26
4	Andre Dawson	26
4	Bill North	26
7	Leon Durham	25
8	Lee Lacy	24
8	Mookie Wilson	24
10	Tom Herr	23
10	Eddie Miller	23

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Mike Schmidt	8.8
2	Andre Dawson	7.1
3	George Foster	4.3
4	Keith Hernandez	4.0
5	Ron Cey	3.8
6	Ken Griffey	3.8
7	Dave Concepcion	3.7
8	Bill Madlock	3.7
9	Tim Raines	3.5
10	George Hendrick	3.3

Batting Averagemin 335 PA

1	Pete Rose	.325
2	Dusty Baker	.320
3	Mike Schmidt	.316
4	Bill Buckner	.311
4	Ken Griffey	.311
6	Milt May	.310
7	Hubie Brooks	.307
8	Dave Concepcion	.306
8	Keith Hernandez	.306
10	Warren Cromartie	.304
10	Tim Raines	.304

On-Base Percentagemin 335 PA

1	Mike Schmidt	.435
2	Keith Hernandez	.401
3	Gary Matthews	.398
4	Tim Raines	.391
4	Pete Rose	.391
6	Steve Henderson	.382
7	Milt May	.376
8	George Foster	.373
8	Gene Richards	.373
10	Ron Cey	.372

Slugging Percentagemin 335 PA

1	Mike Schmidt	.644
2	Andre Dawson	.553
3	George Foster	.519
4	George Hendrick	.485
5	Bill Buckner	.480
6	Ron Cey	.474
7	Pedro Guerrero	.464
8	Keith Hernandez	.463
9	Jack Clark	.460
9	Leon Durham	.460
9	Bob Horner	.460

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 335 PA

1	Mike Schmidt	1.080
2	Andre Dawson	.918
3	George Foster	.892
4	Keith Hernandez	.864
5	Gary Matthews	.849
6	Ron Cey	.846
7	George Hendrick	.841
8	Bill Buckner	.829
8	Pedro Guerrero	.829
8	Tim Raines	.829

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Tom Seaver	14
2	Steve Carlton	13
2	Fernando Valenzuela	13
4	Steve Rogers	12
4	Dick Ruthven	12
4	Mario Soto	12
7	Doyle Alexander	11
7	Burt Hooton	11
7	Nolan Ryan	11
7	Don Sutton	11

SavesSV

1	Bruce Sutter	25
2	Greg Minton	21
3	Neil Allen	18
4	Rick Camp	17
5	Tom Hume	13
5	Gary Lucas	13
7	Tug McGraw	10
7	Joe Sambito	10
9	Enrique Romo	9
9	Dick Tidrow	9

StrikeoutsSO

1	Fernando Valenzuela	180
2	Steve Carlton	179
3	Mario Soto	151
4	Nolan Ryan	140
5	Bill Gullickson	115
6	Bruce Berenyi	106
7	Don Sutton	104
8	Mike Krukow	101
9	Bob Welch	88
10	Steve Rogers	87
10	Tom Seaver	87

Innings PitchedIP

1	Fernando Valenzuela	192.3
2	Steve Carlton	190.0
3	Mario Soto	175.0
4	Tom Seaver	166.3
5	Joe Niekro	166.0
6	Steve Rogers	160.7
7	Don Sutton	158.7
8	Bill Gullickson	157.3
9	Bob Knepper	156.7
10	Rick Reuschel	156.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Fernando Valenzuela	11
2	Steve Carlton	10
2	Mario Soto	10
4	Jerry Reuss	8
5	Steve Rogers	7
6	Bob Knepper	6
6	Tom Seaver	6
6	Don Sutton	6
9	Bruce Berenyi	5
9	Burt Hooton	5
9	Joe Niekro	5
9	Dick Ruthven	5
9	Nolan Ryan	5

ShutoutsSHO

1	Fernando Valenzuela	8
2	Bob Knepper	5
3	Burt Hooton	4
4	Bruce Berenyi	3
4	Phil Niekro	3
4	Steve Rogers	3
4	Nolan Ryan	3
4	Mario Soto	3
4	Don Sutton	3
10	Jim Bibby	2
10	Bill Gullickson	2
10	Charlie Lea	2
10	Joe Niekro	2
10	Jerry Reuss	2
10	Rick Rhoden	2
10	Chris Welsh	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Steve Carlton	4.9
2	Fernando Valenzuela	4.4
3	Bill Gullickson	4.4
4	Don Sutton	3.8
5	Nolan Ryan	3.7
6	Mario Soto	3.1
7	Burt Hooton	3.0
8	Steve Rogers	2.9
9	Lary Sorensen	2.9
10	Bob Knepper	2.7

Earned Run Averagemin 108 IP

1	Nolan Ryan	1.69
2	Bob Knepper	2.18
3	Burt Hooton	2.28
4	Jerry Reuss	2.30
5	Steve Carlton	2.42
6	Vida Blue	2.46
7	Fernando Valenzuela	2.48
8	Tom Seaver	2.54
9	Don Sutton	2.61
10	Bill Gullickson	2.80

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 108 IP

1	Don Sutton	1.01
2	Fernando Valenzuela	1.04
3	Bob Knepper	1.06
4	Jerry Reuss	1.08
5	Bob Forsch	1.09
6	Burt Hooton	1.10
7	Scott Sanderson	1.11
8	Tom Seaver	1.12
9	Bill Gullickson	1.12
10	Nolan Ryan	1.12

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 108 IP

1	Bill Gullickson	2.11
2	Nolan Ryan	2.29
3	Steve Carlton	2.33
4	Don Sutton	2.35
5	Fernando Valenzuela	2.44
6	Burt Hooton	2.57
7	Lary Sorensen	2.71
8	Bob Knepper	2.86
9	Steve Rogers	2.89
10	Mario Soto	2.94

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1981 is 335 plate appearances and 108 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 108 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. 1981 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, 22 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 1981 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.