1989 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 162 team games · 46 ranking tables · 42 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Kevin MitchellNational League
Robin YountAmerican League

Cy Young Award

Mark DavisNational League
Bret SaberhagenAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Gregg OlsonAmerican League
Jerome WaltonNational League

Gold Glove

Bob BooneAmerican League
Ron DarlingNational League
Eric DavisNational League
Tony FernandezAmerican League
Gary GaettiAmerican League
Andres GalarragaNational League
Tony GwynnNational League
Don MattinglyAmerican League
Terry PendletonNational League
Gary PettisAmerican League
Kirby PuckettAmerican League
Harold ReynoldsAmerican League
Bret SaberhagenAmerican League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Benito SantiagoNational League
Ozzie SmithNational League
Andy Van SlykeNational League
Devon WhiteAmerican League

Silver Slugger

Harold BainesAmerican League
Craig BiggioNational League
Wade BoggsAmerican League
Will ClarkNational League
Eric DavisNational League
Julio FrancoAmerican League
Tony GwynnNational League
Howard JohnsonNational League
Barry LarkinNational League
Fred McGriffAmerican League
Kevin MitchellNational League
Kirby PuckettAmerican League
Cal RipkenAmerican League
Don RobinsonNational League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Ruben SierraAmerican League
Mickey TettletonAmerican League
Robin YountAmerican League

American League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Wade Boggs	113
1	Rickey Henderson	113
3	Ruben Sierra	101
3	Robin Yount	101
5	Fred McGriff	98
6	George Bell	88
6	Steve Sax	88
8	Mike Greenwell	87
8	Harold Reynolds	87
10	Bo Jackson	86
10	Devon White	86

HitsH

1	Kirby Puckett	215
2	Wade Boggs	205
2	Steve Sax	205
4	Robin Yount	195
5	Paul Molitor	194
5	Ruben Sierra	194
7	Don Mattingly	191
8	Carney Lansford	185
9	Harold Reynolds	184
10	George Bell	182

Doubles2B

1	Wade Boggs	51
2	Kirby Puckett	45
3	Jody Reed	42
4	George Bell	41
5	Robin Yount	38
6	Don Mattingly	37
7	Mike Greenwell	36
8	Paul Molitor	35
8	Ruben Sierra	35
10	Ivan Calderon	34

Triples3B

1	Ruben Sierra	14
2	Devon White	13
3	Phil Bradley	10
4	Ivan Calderon	9
4	Tony Fernandez	9
4	Harold Reynolds	9
4	Robin Yount	9
8	Junior Felix	8
8	Ozzie Guillen	8
10	Wade Boggs	7
10	Jim Eisenreich	7
10	Cecil Espy	7
10	Greg Gagne	7
10	Kurt Stillwell	7
10	Willie Wilson	7

Home RunsHR

1	Fred McGriff	36
2	Joe Carter	35
3	Mark McGwire	33
4	Bo Jackson	32
5	Nick Esasky	30
6	Ruben Sierra	29
7	Lou Whitaker	28
8	Rob Deer	26
8	Mickey Tettleton	26
10	Kent Hrbek	25

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Ruben Sierra	119
2	Don Mattingly	113
3	Nick Esasky	108
4	Joe Carter	105
4	Bo Jackson	105
6	George Bell	104
7	Robin Yount	103
8	Dwight Evans	100
9	Dave Parker	97
10	Alvin Davis	95
10	Mike Greenwell	95
10	Mark McGwire	95

WalksBB

1	Rickey Henderson	126
2	Fred McGriff	119
3	Wade Boggs	107
4	Kevin Seitzer	102
5	Alvin Davis	101
6	Dwight Evans	99
7	Lou Whitaker	89
8	Jesse Barfield	87
9	Gary Pettis	84
10	Mark McGwire	83
10	Pete O'Brien	83

Stolen BasesSB

1	Rickey Henderson	77
2	Cecil Espy	45
3	Devon White	44
4	Gary Pettis	43
4	Steve Sax	43
6	Carney Lansford	37
7	Ozzie Guillen	36
8	Roberto Kelly	35
9	Jim Eisenreich	27
9	Paul Molitor	27

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Robin Yount	8.2
2	Kirby Puckett	7.4
3	Wade Boggs	7.1
4	Fred McGriff	6.9
5	Paul Molitor	6.7
6	Rickey Henderson	6.7
7	Lou Whitaker	6.2
8	Alvin Davis	5.8
9	Mickey Tettleton	5.8
10	Dwight Evans	5.5

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Kirby Puckett	.339
2	Carney Lansford	.336
3	Wade Boggs	.330
4	Robin Yount	.318
5	Julio Franco	.316
6	Paul Molitor	.315
6	Steve Sax	.315
8	Harold Baines	.309
9	Mike Greenwell	.308
10	Ruben Sierra	.306

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Wade Boggs	.430
2	Alvin Davis	.424
3	Rickey Henderson	.411
4	Fred McGriff	.399
5	Carney Lansford	.398
6	Dwight Evans	.397
7	Harold Baines	.395
8	Kevin Seitzer	.387
9	Julio Franco	.386
10	Robin Yount	.384

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Ruben Sierra	.543
2	Fred McGriff	.525
3	Robin Yount	.511
4	Nick Esasky	.500
5	Alvin Davis	.496
6	Bo Jackson	.495
7	Don Mattingly	.477
8	Mark McGwire	.467
9	Harold Baines	.465
9	Joe Carter	.465
9	Kirby Puckett	.465

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Fred McGriff	.924
2	Alvin Davis	.920
3	Robin Yount	.896
4	Ruben Sierra	.889
5	Wade Boggs	.879
6	Dwight Evans	.861
7	Harold Baines	.860
8	Nick Esasky	.855
9	Julio Franco	.848
10	Kirby Puckett	.843

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Bret Saberhagen	23
2	Dave Stewart	21
3	Storm Davis	19
3	Mike Moore	19
5	Jeff Ballard	18
6	Allan Anderson	17
6	Bert Blyleven	17
6	Roger Clemens	17
6	Tom Gordon	17
6	Dave Stieb	17
6	Bob Welch	17

SavesSV

1	Jeff Russell	38
2	Bobby Thigpen	34
3	Dennis Eckersley	33
3	Dan Plesac	33
3	Mike Schooler	33
6	Doug Jones	32
7	Jeff Reardon	31
8	Gregg Olson	27
9	Bryan Harvey	25
9	Dave Righetti	25
9	Lee Smith	25

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	301
2	Roger Clemens	230
3	Frank Viola	211
4	Bret Saberhagen	193
5	Chris Bosio	173
5	Mark Gubicza	173
7	Mike Moore	172
8	Bobby Witt	166
9	Chuck Finley	156
10	Dave Stewart	155

Innings PitchedIP

1	Bret Saberhagen	262.3
2	Frank Viola	261.0
3	Dave Stewart	257.7
4	Mark Gubicza	255.0
5	Roger Clemens	253.3
6	Bob Milacki	243.0
7	Mike Moore	241.7
8	Bert Blyleven	241.0
9	Nolan Ryan	239.3
10	Chris Bosio	234.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Bret Saberhagen	12
2	Jack Morris	10
3	Chuck Finley	9
3	Frank Viola	9
5	Bert Blyleven	8
5	Chris Bosio	8
5	Roger Clemens	8
5	Mark Gubicza	8
5	Dave Stewart	8
10	Kevin Brown	7
10	John Farrell	7

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bert Blyleven	5
2	Kirk McCaskill	4
2	Bret Saberhagen	4
4	Buddy Black	3
4	Roger Clemens	3
4	Mike Moore	3
7	Jim Abbott	2
7	Scott Bankhead	2
7	Mike Boddicker	2
7	Chris Bosio	2
7	John Farrell	2
7	Mark Gubicza	2
7	Andy Hawkins	2
7	Brian Holman	2
7	Mike Jeffcoat	2
7	Bob Milacki	2
7	Nolan Ryan	2
7	Dave Stieb	2
7	Greg Swindell	2
7	Frank Viola	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Bret Saberhagen	6.5
2	Nolan Ryan	5.9
3	Mark Gubicza	5.6
4	Chris Bosio	4.7
5	Frank Viola	4.5
6	Roger Clemens	4.4
7	Bert Blyleven	4.1
8	Mike Moore	3.8
9	Tom Candiotti	3.8
10	Jimmy Key	3.3

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Bret Saberhagen	2.16
2	Chuck Finley	2.57
3	Mike Moore	2.61
4	Bert Blyleven	2.73
5	Kirk McCaskill	2.93
6	Chris Bosio	2.95
7	Bob Welch	3.00
8	Mark Gubicza	3.04
9	John Cerutti	3.07
10	Tom Candiotti	3.10

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Bret Saberhagen	0.96
2	Nolan Ryan	1.09
3	Bert Blyleven	1.12
4	Mike Moore	1.14
5	Dave Stieb	1.16
6	Chris Bosio	1.16
7	Jimmy Key	1.17
8	Tom Candiotti	1.18
9	Scott Bankhead	1.19
10	Buddy Black	1.19

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Bret Saberhagen	2.45
2	Nolan Ryan	2.51
3	Mark Gubicza	2.72
4	Chris Bosio	2.87
5	Tom Candiotti	3.05
6	Bert Blyleven	3.08
7	Frank Viola	3.14
8	Mike Moore	3.15
9	Roger Clemens	3.17
10	Jimmy Key	3.17

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Will Clark	104
1	Howard Johnson	104
1	Ryne Sandberg	104
4	Brett Butler	100
4	Kevin Mitchell	100
6	Barry Bonds	96
6	Bobby Bonilla	96
8	Vince Coleman	94
9	Von Hayes	93
10	Robby Thompson	91

HitsH

1	Tony Gwynn	203
2	Will Clark	196
3	Roberto Alomar	184
4	Pedro Guerrero	177
5	Ryne Sandberg	176
6	Bobby Bonilla	173
7	Brett Butler	168
8	Howard Johnson	164
9	Jose Oquendo	162
9	Terry Pendleton	162
9	Ozzie Smith	162

Doubles2B

1	Pedro Guerrero	42
1	Tim Wallach	42
3	Howard Johnson	41
4	Will Clark	38
5	Bobby Bonilla	37
6	Jeff Hamilton	35
7	Barry Bonds	34
7	Kevin Mitchell	34
7	Lonnie Smith	34
10	Lenny Dykstra	32

Triples3B

1	Robby Thompson	11
2	Bobby Bonilla	10
3	Will Clark	9
3	Vince Coleman	9
3	Andy Van Slyke	9
6	Bip Roberts	8
6	Ozzie Smith	8
6	Milt Thompson	8
9	Tony Gwynn	7
9	Dave Martinez	7
9	Jose Oquendo	7
9	Gary Redus	7

Home RunsHR

1	Kevin Mitchell	47
2	Howard Johnson	36
3	Eric Davis	34
3	Glenn Davis	34
5	Ryne Sandberg	30
6	Darryl Strawberry	29
7	Jack Clark	26
7	Von Hayes	26
9	Bobby Bonilla	24
10	Will Clark	23
10	Andres Galarraga	23

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Kevin Mitchell	125
2	Pedro Guerrero	117
3	Will Clark	111
4	Eric Davis	101
4	Howard Johnson	101
6	Jack Clark	94
7	Glenn Davis	89
8	Eddie Murray	88
9	Bobby Bonilla	86
10	Tom Brunansky	85
10	Andres Galarraga	85
10	Kevin McReynolds	85

WalksBB

1	Jack Clark	132
2	Von Hayes	101
3	Barry Bonds	93
3	Tim Raines	93
5	Kevin Mitchell	87
5	Eddie Murray	87
7	Mark Grace	80
8	Pedro Guerrero	79
8	Jose Oquendo	79
10	Howard Johnson	77

Stolen BasesSB

1	Vince Coleman	65
2	Roberto Alomar	42
2	Juan Samuel	42
4	Howard Johnson	41
4	Tim Raines	41
6	Tony Gwynn	40
7	Otis Nixon	37
8	Gerald Young	34
9	Barry Bonds	32
10	Brett Butler	31

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Kevin Mitchell	7.8
2	Will Clark	7.3
3	Lonnie Smith	6.8
4	Bobby Bonilla	6.8
5	Howard Johnson	6.1
6	Ryne Sandberg	5.9
7	Eric Davis	5.6
8	Jose Oquendo	5.1
9	Mark Grace	4.8
10	Tony Gwynn	4.7

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Tony Gwynn	.336
2	Will Clark	.333
3	Lonnie Smith	.315
4	Mark Grace	.314
5	Pedro Guerrero	.311
6	Roberto Alomar	.295
7	Jerome Walton	.293
8	Kevin Mitchell	.291
8	Jose Oquendo	.291
10	Ryne Sandberg	.290
10	Milt Thompson	.290

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Lonnie Smith	.415
2	Jack Clark	.410
3	Will Clark	.407
4	Mark Grace	.405
5	Tim Raines	.395
6	Pedro Guerrero	.391
7	Tony Gwynn	.389
8	Kevin Mitchell	.388
9	Von Hayes	.376
10	Jose Oquendo	.375

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Kevin Mitchell	.635
2	Howard Johnson	.559
3	Will Clark	.546
4	Eric Davis	.541
5	Lonnie Smith	.533
6	Ryne Sandberg	.497
7	Glenn Davis	.492
8	Bobby Bonilla	.490
9	Pedro Guerrero	.477
10	Darryl Strawberry	.466

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Kevin Mitchell	1.023
2	Will Clark	.953
3	Lonnie Smith	.948
4	Howard Johnson	.928
5	Eric Davis	.908
6	Jack Clark	.869
7	Pedro Guerrero	.868
8	Mark Grace	.862
9	Ryne Sandberg	.853
10	Bobby Bonilla	.848

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Mike Scott	20
2	Greg Maddux	19
3	Mike Bielecki	18
3	Joe Magrane	18
5	Rick Reuschel	17
6	Jose DeLeon	16
6	Mark Langston	16
6	Dennis Martinez	16
6	Rick Sutcliffe	16
6	Ed Whitson	16

SavesSV

1	Mark Davis	44
2	Mitch Williams	36
3	John Franco	32
4	Tim Burke	28
4	Jay Howell	28
6	Bill Landrum	26
7	Dave Smith	25
8	Randy Myers	24
9	Steve Bedrosian	23
9	Roger McDowell	23

StrikeoutsSO

1	Mark Langston	235
2	Jose DeLeon	201
3	Tim Belcher	200
4	Sid Fernandez	198
5	David Cone	190
6	Bruce Hurst	179
7	Orel Hershiser	178
8	Mike Scott	172
9	John Smoltz	168
10	Ken Howell	164

Innings PitchedIP

1	Orel Hershiser	256.7
2	Mark Langston	250.0
3	Tom Browning	249.7
4	Jose DeLeon	244.7
4	Bruce Hurst	244.7
6	Doug Drabek	244.3
7	Greg Maddux	238.3
8	Joe Magrane	234.7
9	Dennis Martinez	232.0
10	Tim Belcher	230.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Tim Belcher	10
1	Bruce Hurst	10
3	Tom Browning	9
3	Joe Magrane	9
3	Mike Scott	9
6	Doug Drabek	8
6	Orel Hershiser	8
6	Mark Langston	8
6	John Smiley	8
10	David Cone	7
10	Greg Maddux	7

ShutoutsSHO

1	Tim Belcher	8
2	Doug Drabek	5
2	Mark Langston	5
4	Tom Glavine	4
4	Orel Hershiser	4
6	Mike Bielecki	3
6	Jose DeLeon	3
6	Jim Deshaies	3
6	Kevin Gross	3
6	Joe Magrane	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Orel Hershiser	5.2
2	Bruce Hurst	4.7
3	Jose DeLeon	4.6
4	Joe Magrane	4.5
5	Mark Langston	4.4
6	John Smoltz	3.6
7	Pascual Perez	3.6
8	Greg Maddux	3.5
9	Rick Sutcliffe	3.5
10	Scott Garrelts	3.4

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Scott Garrelts	2.28
2	Orel Hershiser	2.31
3	Ed Whitson	2.66
4	Bruce Hurst	2.69
5	Mark Langston	2.74
6	Doug Drabek	2.80
7	John Smiley	2.81
8	Tim Belcher	2.82
9	Sid Fernandez	2.83
10	Bryn Smith	2.84

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Scott Garrelts	1.01
2	Jose DeLeon	1.03
3	Mike Scott	1.06
4	Sid Fernandez	1.06
5	Bryn Smith	1.07
6	Ed Whitson	1.08
7	John Smiley	1.09
8	John Smoltz	1.11
9	Don Robinson	1.12
10	Pascual Perez	1.12

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Orel Hershiser	2.77
2	Joe Magrane	2.95
2	Pascual Perez	2.95
4	Bruce Hurst	2.96
5	Scott Garrelts	2.98
6	Jose DeLeon	3.02
7	Mark Langston	3.11
8	Ken Howell	3.15
9	John Smoltz	3.15
10	David Cone	3.28

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1989 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. 1989 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, 20 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 1989 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.