1985 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 162 team games · 46 ranking tables · 43 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Don MattinglyAmerican League
Willie McGeeNational League

Cy Young Award

Dwight GoodenNational League
Bret SaberhagenAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Vince ColemanNational League
Ozzie GuillenAmerican League

Gold Glove

George BrettAmerican League
Andre DawsonNational League
Dwight EvansAmerican League · shared
Alfredo GriffinAmerican League
Ron GuidryAmerican League
Keith HernandezNational League
Don MattinglyAmerican League
Willie McGeeNational League
Dale MurphyNational League
Dwayne MurphyAmerican League · shared
Lance ParrishAmerican League
Tony PeñaNational League
Gary PettisAmerican League
Rick ReuschelNational League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Ozzie SmithNational League
Tim WallachNational League
Lou WhitakerAmerican League
Dave WinfieldAmerican League

Silver Slugger

Don BaylorAmerican League
George BellAmerican League
George BrettAmerican League
Hubie BrooksNational League
Gary CarterNational League
Jack ClarkNational League
Carlton FiskAmerican League
Rickey HendersonAmerican League
Don MattinglyAmerican League
Willie McGeeNational League
Dale MurphyNational League
Dave ParkerNational League
Rick RhodenNational League
Cal RipkenAmerican League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Tim WallachNational League
Lou WhitakerAmerican League
Dave WinfieldAmerican League

American League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Rickey Henderson	146
2	Cal Ripken	116
3	Eddie Murray	111
4	Dwight Evans	110
5	George Brett	108
6	Wade Boggs	107
6	Don Mattingly	107
8	Brett Butler	106
9	Dave Winfield	105
10	Lou Whitaker	102

HitsH

1	Wade Boggs	240
2	Don Mattingly	211
3	Bill Buckner	201
4	Kirby Puckett	199
5	Harold Baines	198
6	Phil Bradley	192
7	Cecil Cooper	185
8	George Brett	184
8	Brett Butler	184
10	Julio Franco	183

Doubles2B

1	Don Mattingly	48
2	Bill Buckner	46
3	Wade Boggs	42
4	Cecil Cooper	39
5	George Brett	38
5	Greg Walker	38
7	Kirk Gibson	37
7	Eddie Murray	37
9	Jesse Barfield	34
9	Tom Brookens	34
9	Mike Davis	34
9	Pete O'Brien	34
9	Dave Winfield	34

Triples3B

1	Willie Wilson	21
2	Brett Butler	14
3	Kirby Puckett	13
4	Tony Fernandez	10
5	Jesse Barfield	9
5	Ozzie Guillen	9
7	Phil Bradley	8
7	Cecil Cooper	8
7	Gary Pettis	8
7	Lou Whitaker	8

Home RunsHR

1	Darrell Evans	40
2	Carlton Fisk	37
3	Steve Balboni	36
4	Don Mattingly	35
5	Gorman Thomas	32
6	Eddie Murray	31
7	George Brett	30
7	Dave Kingman	30
9	Dwight Evans	29
9	Kirk Gibson	29

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Don Mattingly	145
2	Eddie Murray	124
3	Dave Winfield	114
4	Harold Baines	113
5	George Brett	112
6	Bill Buckner	110
6	Cal Ripken	110
8	Carlton Fisk	107
9	Jim Rice	103
10	Cecil Cooper	99

WalksBB

1	Dwight Evans	114
2	Toby Harrah	113
3	George Brett	103
4	Rickey Henderson	99
5	Wade Boggs	96
6	Alvin Davis	90
7	Darrell Evans	85
7	Willie Randolph	85
9	Dwayne Murphy	84
9	Eddie Murray	84
9	Gorman Thomas	84

Stolen BasesSB

1	Rickey Henderson	80
2	Gary Pettis	56
3	Lonnie Smith	52
4	Brett Butler	47
5	Willie Wilson	43
6	Lloyd Moseby	37
7	Jack Perconte	31
8	Kirk Gibson	30
8	Alan Wiggins	30
10	Dave Collins	29
10	Rudy Law	29

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Rickey Henderson	11.1
2	George Brett	9.7
3	Wade Boggs	9.5
4	Brett Butler	6.9
5	Eddie Murray	6.3
6	Cal Ripken	6.0
7	Jesse Barfield	6.0
8	Don Mattingly	5.7
9	Rich Gedman	5.7
10	Phil Bradley	5.5

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Wade Boggs	.368
2	George Brett	.335
3	Don Mattingly	.324
4	Rickey Henderson	.314
5	Brett Butler	.311
6	Harold Baines	.309
7	Phil Bradley	.300
8	Bill Buckner	.299
9	Paul Molitor	.297
9	Eddie Murray	.297

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Wade Boggs	.450
2	George Brett	.436
3	Toby Harrah	.432
4	Rickey Henderson	.419
5	Eddie Murray	.383
6	Willie Randolph	.382
7	Alvin Davis	.381
8	Dwight Evans	.378
9	Brett Butler	.377
10	Rod Carew	.371
10	Brian Downing	.371
10	Don Mattingly	.371

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	George Brett	.585
2	Don Mattingly	.567
3	Jesse Barfield	.536
4	Eddie Murray	.523
5	Darrell Evans	.519
6	Kirk Gibson	.518
7	Rickey Henderson	.516
8	Mike Young	.513
9	Phil Bradley	.498
10	Carlton Fisk	.488

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	George Brett	1.022
2	Don Mattingly	.939
3	Rickey Henderson	.934
4	Wade Boggs	.928
5	Eddie Murray	.906
6	Jesse Barfield	.905
7	Kirk Gibson	.882
8	Darrell Evans	.875
9	Phil Bradley	.862
10	Mike Young	.861

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Ron Guidry	22
2	Bret Saberhagen	20
3	Britt Burns	18
3	Frank Viola	18
5	Doyle Alexander	17
5	Bert Blyleven	17
5	Charlie Leibrandt	17
5	Mike Moore	17
9	Jack Morris	16
9	Phil Niekro	16
9	Tom Seaver	16

SavesSV

1	Dan Quisenberry	37
2	Bob James	32
3	Willie Hernandez	31
3	Donnie Moore	31
5	Jay Howell	29
5	Dave Righetti	29
7	Ron Davis	25
8	Rollie Fingers	17
9	Ed Nunez	16
10	Don Aase	14
10	Bill Caudill	14
10	Brian Fisher	14

StrikeoutsSO

1	Bert Blyleven	206
2	Floyd Bannister	198
3	Jack Morris	191
4	Bruce Hurst	189
5	Mike Witt	180
6	Britt Burns	172
7	Dave Stieb	167
8	Frank Tanana	159
9	Bret Saberhagen	158
10	Mike Moore	155

Innings PitchedIP

1	Bert Blyleven	293.7
2	Oil Can Boyd	272.3
3	Dave Stieb	265.0
4	Doyle Alexander	260.7
5	Ron Guidry	259.0
6	Jack Morris	257.0
6	Mike Smithson	257.0
8	Frank Viola	250.7
9	Charlie Hough	250.3
10	Mike Witt	250.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Bert Blyleven	24
2	Charlie Hough	14
2	Mike Moore	14
4	Oil Can Boyd	13
4	Jack Morris	13
6	Danny Darwin	11
6	Ron Guidry	11
8	Bret Saberhagen	10
9	Mike Boddicker	9
9	Frank Viola	9

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bert Blyleven	5
2	Britt Burns	4
2	Jack Morris	4
4	Oil Can Boyd	3
4	Danny Jackson	3
4	Charlie Leibrandt	3
4	Mike Smithson	3
4	Walt Terrell	3
9	Buddy Black	2
9	Mike Boddicker	2
9	John Butcher	2
9	Ron Guidry	2
9	Teddy Higuera	2
9	Mike Moore	2
9	Dave Stieb	2
9	Ed Whitson	2
9	Matt Young	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Bert Blyleven	5.5
2	Bret Saberhagen	5.1
3	Mike Moore	4.2
4	Oil Can Boyd	3.9
5	Danny Jackson	3.7
6	Ron Guidry	3.6
7	Walt Terrell	3.6
8	Dave Stieb	3.4
9	Jack Morris	3.3
10	Mike Witt	3.3

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Dave Stieb	2.48
2	Charlie Leibrandt	2.69
3	Bret Saberhagen	2.87
4	Jimmy Key	3.00
5	Bert Blyleven	3.16
6	Tom Seaver	3.17
7	Ron Guidry	3.27
8	Charlie Hough	3.31
9	Jack Morris	3.33
10	Dan Petry	3.36

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Bret Saberhagen	1.06
2	Ron Guidry	1.10
3	Jimmy Key	1.12
4	Charlie Hough	1.12
5	Dan Petry	1.14
6	Dave Stieb	1.14
7	Bert Blyleven	1.15
8	Teddy Higuera	1.17
9	Mike Moore	1.22
10	Tom Seaver	1.22

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Bret Saberhagen	2.89
2	Bert Blyleven	3.16
3	Danny Jackson	3.21
4	Mike Moore	3.28
5	Walt Terrell	3.36
6	Ron Guidry	3.47
7	Buddy Black	3.55
8	Mike Boddicker	3.58
9	Oil Can Boyd	3.58
10	Charlie Leibrandt	3.59

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Dale Murphy	118
2	Tim Raines	115
3	Willie McGee	114
4	Ryne Sandberg	113
5	Vince Coleman	107
6	Juan Samuel	101
7	Pedro Guerrero	99
8	Tom Herr	97
9	Tony Gwynn	90
10	Mike Schmidt	89

HitsH

1	Willie McGee	216
2	Dave Parker	198
3	Tony Gwynn	197
4	Ryne Sandberg	186
5	Dale Murphy	185
6	Steve Garvey	184
6	Tim Raines	184
8	Keith Hernandez	183
9	Tom Herr	180
9	Keith Moreland	180

Doubles2B

1	Dave Parker	42
2	Glenn Wilson	39
3	Tom Herr	38
4	Tim Wallach	36
5	Hubie Brooks	34
5	Jose Cruz	34
5	Steve Garvey	34
5	Keith Hernandez	34
9	Johnny Ray	33
10	Leon Durham	32
10	Dale Murphy	32

Triples3B

1	Willie McGee	18
2	Tim Raines	13
2	Juan Samuel	13
4	Vince Coleman	10
4	Phil Garner	10
6	Dan Gladden	8
6	Craig Reynolds	8
6	Mookie Wilson	8
9	Hubie Brooks	7
9	Eddie Milner	7
9	R. J. Reynolds	7

Home RunsHR

1	Dale Murphy	37
2	Dave Parker	34
3	Pedro Guerrero	33
3	Mike Schmidt	33
5	Gary Carter	32
6	Darryl Strawberry	29
7	Mike Marshall	28
8	Bob Horner	27
9	Ryne Sandberg	26
10	Andre Dawson	23

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Dave Parker	125
2	Dale Murphy	111
3	Tom Herr	110
4	Keith Moreland	106
5	Glenn Wilson	102
6	Hubie Brooks	100
6	Gary Carter	100
8	Mike Marshall	95
9	Mike Schmidt	93
10	Andre Dawson	91
10	Keith Hernandez	91

WalksBB

1	Dale Murphy	90
2	Carmelo Martinez	87
2	Mike Schmidt	87
4	Vance Law	86
4	Pete Rose	86
6	Jason Thompson	84
7	Jack Clark	83
7	Pedro Guerrero	83
9	Tim Raines	81
10	Tom Herr	80

Stolen BasesSB

1	Vince Coleman	110
2	Tim Raines	70
3	Willie McGee	56
4	Ryne Sandberg	54
5	Juan Samuel	53
6	Gary Redus	48
7	Davey Lopes	47
8	Mariano Duncan	38
9	Eddie Milner	35
10	Andy Van Slyke	34

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Ryne Sandberg	7.6
2	Willie McGee	7.5
3	Pedro Guerrero	7.0
4	Dale Murphy	6.3
5	Gary Carter	6.1
6	Tim Raines	6.0
7	Mike Schmidt	5.6
8	Mike Scioscia	5.4
9	Tim Wallach	5.0
10	Dave Parker	5.0

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Willie McGee	.353
2	Pedro Guerrero	.320
2	Tim Raines	.320
4	Tony Gwynn	.317
5	Dave Parker	.312
6	Keith Hernandez	.309
7	Keith Moreland	.307
8	Ryne Sandberg	.305
9	Tom Herr	.302
10	Jose Cruz	.300
10	Dale Murphy	.300

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Pedro Guerrero	.422
2	Mike Scioscia	.407
3	Tim Raines	.405
4	Jack Clark	.393
5	Dale Murphy	.388
6	Keith Hernandez	.384
6	Willie McGee	.384
8	Tom Herr	.379
9	Mike Schmidt	.375
10	Keith Moreland	.374

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Pedro Guerrero	.577
2	Dave Parker	.551
3	Dale Murphy	.539
4	Mike Schmidt	.532
5	Mike Marshall	.515
6	Ryne Sandberg	.504
7	Willie McGee	.503
8	Jack Clark	.502
9	Bob Horner	.499
10	Gary Carter	.488

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Pedro Guerrero	.999
2	Dale Murphy	.927
3	Dave Parker	.916
4	Mike Schmidt	.907
5	Jack Clark	.895
6	Willie McGee	.887
7	Tim Raines	.880
8	Ryne Sandberg	.868
9	Mike Marshall	.857
10	Gary Carter	.853

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Dwight Gooden	24
2	Joaquin Andujar	21
2	John Tudor	21
4	Tom Browning	20
5	Orel Hershiser	19
6	Danny Cox	18
6	Andy Hawkins	18
6	Mike Scott	18
6	Bryn Smith	18
10	Rick Mahler	17
10	Fernando Valenzuela	17

SavesSV

1	Jeff Reardon	41
2	Lee Smith	33
3	Ted Power	27
3	Dave Smith	27
5	Rich Gossage	26
6	Bruce Sutter	23
7	Jeff Lahti	19
7	Tom Niedenfuer	19
9	Roger McDowell	17
9	Jesse Orosco	17

StrikeoutsSO

1	Dwight Gooden	268
2	Mario Soto	214
3	Nolan Ryan	209
4	Fernando Valenzuela	208
5	Sid Fernandez	180
6	John Tudor	169
7	Ron Darling	167
8	Orel Hershiser	157
9	Tom Browning	155
10	Kevin Gross	151

Innings PitchedIP

1	Dwight Gooden	276.7
2	John Tudor	275.0
3	Fernando Valenzuela	272.3
4	Joaquin Andujar	269.7
5	Rick Mahler	266.7
6	Tom Browning	261.3
7	Mario Soto	256.7
8	Ron Darling	248.0
9	Danny Cox	241.0
9	Bob Knepper	241.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Dwight Gooden	16
2	John Tudor	14
2	Fernando Valenzuela	14
4	Joaquin Andujar	10
4	Danny Cox	10
6	Orel Hershiser	9
6	Rick Reuschel	9
6	Mario Soto	9
9	LaMarr Hoyt	8
9	Bob Welch	8

ShutoutsSHO

1	John Tudor	10
2	Dwight Gooden	8
3	Orel Hershiser	5
3	Fernando Valenzuela	5
5	Tom Browning	4
5	Danny Cox	4
7	LaMarr Hoyt	3
7	Jerry Reuss	3
7	Rick Sutcliffe	3
7	Bob Welch	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Dwight Gooden	8.3
2	John Tudor	6.5
3	Fernando Valenzuela	5.5
4	Orel Hershiser	5.3
5	Nolan Ryan	4.8
6	Bryn Smith	4.8
7	Rick Reuschel	4.6
8	Dennis Eckersley	4.0
9	Danny Cox	3.6
10	Kevin Gross	3.5

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Dwight Gooden	1.53
2	John Tudor	1.93
3	Orel Hershiser	2.03
4	Rick Reuschel	2.27
5	Bob Welch	2.31
6	Fernando Valenzuela	2.45
7	Sid Fernandez	2.80
8	Danny Cox	2.88
9	Ron Darling	2.90
10	Bryn Smith	2.92

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	John Tudor	0.94
2	Dwight Gooden	0.96
3	Dennis Eckersley	0.97
4	Orel Hershiser	1.03
5	Bryn Smith	1.05
5	Bob Welch	1.05
7	Rick Reuschel	1.06
8	LaMarr Hoyt	1.09
9	Sid Fernandez	1.10
10	Ed Lynch	1.13

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Dwight Gooden	2.13
2	Rick Reuschel	2.58
3	John Tudor	2.71
4	Orel Hershiser	2.73
5	Bryn Smith	2.81
6	Dennis Eckersley	2.84
7	Nolan Ryan	2.90
8	Fernando Valenzuela	2.95
9	Sid Fernandez	3.08
10	Kevin Gross	3.19

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1985 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. 1985 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 1985 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.