1990 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

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

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Barry BondsNational League
Rickey HendersonAmerican League

Cy Young Award

Doug DrabekNational League
Bob WelchAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Sandy AlomarAmerican League
David JusticeNational League

Gold Glove

Sandy AlomarAmerican League
Mike BoddickerAmerican League
Barry BondsNational League
Ellis BurksAmerican League
Andres GalarragaNational League
Ken GriffeyAmerican League
Kelly GruberAmerican League
Ozzie GuillenAmerican League
Tony GwynnNational League
Greg MadduxNational League
Mark McGwireAmerican League
Gary PettisAmerican League
Harold ReynoldsAmerican League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Benito SantiagoNational League
Ozzie SmithNational League
Andy Van SlykeNational League
Tim WallachNational League

Silver Slugger

Barry BondsNational League
Bobby BonillaNational League
Ellis BurksAmerican League
Jose CansecoAmerican League
Cecil FielderAmerican League
Julio FrancoAmerican League
Kelly GruberAmerican League
Rickey HendersonAmerican League
Barry LarkinNational League
Eddie MurrayNational League
Dave ParkerAmerican League
Lance ParrishAmerican League
Don RobinsonNational League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Benito SantiagoNational League
Darryl StrawberryNational League
Alan TrammellAmerican League
Matt WilliamsNational League

American League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Rickey Henderson	119
2	Cecil Fielder	104
3	Harold Reynolds	100
4	Robin Yount	98
5	Tony Phillips	97
6	Julio Franco	96
7	Jerry Browne	92
7	Kelly Gruber	92
9	Ken Griffey	91
9	Fred McGriff	91
9	Kevin Seitzer	91

HitsH

1	Rafael Palmeiro	191
2	Wade Boggs	187
3	Roberto Kelly	183
4	Mike Greenwell	181
5	George Brett	179
5	Ken Griffey	179
7	Dave Parker	176
8	Tony Fernandez	175
9	Ellis Burks	174
10	Jody Reed	173

Doubles2B

1	George Brett	45
1	Jody Reed	45
3	Wade Boggs	44
3	Ivan Calderon	44
5	Brian Harper	42
6	Kirby Puckett	40
7	Ruben Sierra	37
7	Alan Trammell	37
9	Kelly Gruber	36
9	Harold Reynolds	36
9	Mookie Wilson	36

Triples3B

1	Tony Fernandez	17
2	Sammy Sosa	10
3	Lance Johnson	9
3	Nelson Liriano	9
3	Luis Polonia	9
6	Ellis Burks	8
6	Gary Pettis	8
8	George Brett	7
8	Jim Eisenreich	7
8	Junior Felix	7
8	Ken Griffey	7

Home RunsHR

1	Cecil Fielder	51
2	Mark McGwire	39
3	Jose Canseco	37
4	Fred McGriff	35
5	Kelly Gruber	31
6	Rickey Henderson	28
6	Bo Jackson	28
8	Rob Deer	27
9	Jesse Barfield	25
10	Pete Incaviglia	24
10	Lance Parrish	24

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Cecil Fielder	132
2	Kelly Gruber	118
3	Mark McGwire	108
4	Jose Canseco	101
5	Ruben Sierra	96
6	Candy Maldonado	95
7	Dave Parker	92
8	Ellis Burks	89
8	Rafael Palmeiro	89
8	Alan Trammell	89

WalksBB

1	Mark McGwire	110
2	Mickey Tettleton	106
3	Tony Phillips	99
4	Rickey Henderson	97
5	Fred McGriff	94
6	Cecil Fielder	90
7	Randy Milligan	88
8	Wade Boggs	87
9	Alvin Davis	85
10	Jesse Barfield	82
10	Julio Franco	82
10	Cal Ripken	82

Stolen BasesSB

1	Rickey Henderson	65
2	Steve Sax	43
3	Roberto Kelly	42
4	Alex Cole	40
5	Gary Pettis	38
6	Lance Johnson	36
7	Ivan Calderon	32
7	Sammy Sosa	32
9	Julio Franco	31
9	Harold Reynolds	31

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Rickey Henderson	10.1
2	Cecil Fielder	7.1
3	Fred McGriff	6.2
4	Alan Trammell	5.6
5	Jose Canseco	5.5
6	Kelly Gruber	5.5
7	Carlton Fisk	5.4
8	Tony Fernandez	5.2
9	Julio Franco	5.2
10	George Brett	5.0

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	George Brett	.329
2	Rickey Henderson	.325
3	Rafael Palmeiro	.319
4	Alan Trammell	.304
5	Wade Boggs	.302
5	Edgar Martinez	.302
7	Ken Griffey	.300
7	Fred McGriff	.300
9	Chris James	.299
10	Kirby Puckett	.298

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Rickey Henderson	.439
2	Fred McGriff	.400
3	Edgar Martinez	.397
4	George Brett	.387
4	Alvin Davis	.387
6	Wade Boggs	.386
7	Julio Franco	.383
8	Carlton Fisk	.378
9	Cecil Fielder	.377
9	Kent Hrbek	.377
9	Alan Trammell	.377

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Cecil Fielder	.592
2	Rickey Henderson	.577
3	Jose Canseco	.543
4	Fred McGriff	.530
5	George Brett	.515
6	Kelly Gruber	.512
7	Mark McGwire	.489
8	Ellis Burks	.486
9	Ken Griffey	.481
10	Kent Hrbek	.474

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Rickey Henderson	1.016
2	Cecil Fielder	.969
3	Fred McGriff	.930
4	Jose Canseco	.914
5	George Brett	.902
6	Mark McGwire	.859
7	Kent Hrbek	.850
8	Ken Griffey	.847
9	Kelly Gruber	.842
10	Ellis Burks	.835

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Bob Welch	27
2	Dave Stewart	22
3	Roger Clemens	21
4	Chuck Finley	18
4	Erik Hanson	18
4	Dave Stieb	18
7	Mike Boddicker	17
7	Scott Sanderson	17
7	Bobby Witt	17
10	Tom Candiotti	15
10	Jack Morris	15

SavesSV

1	Bobby Thigpen	57
2	Dennis Eckersley	48
3	Doug Jones	43
4	Gregg Olson	37
5	Dave Righetti	36
6	Rick Aguilera	32
6	Tom Henke	32
8	Mike Schooler	30
9	Bryan Harvey	25
10	Jeff Montgomery	24
10	Dan Plesac	24

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	232
2	Bobby Witt	221
3	Erik Hanson	211
4	Roger Clemens	209
5	Mark Langston	195
6	Randy Johnson	194
7	Chuck Finley	177
8	Matt Young	176
9	Tom Gordon	175
10	Dave Stewart	166

Innings PitchedIP

1	Dave Stewart	267.0
2	Jack Morris	249.7
3	Bob Welch	238.0
4	Chuck Finley	236.0
4	Erik Hanson	236.0
6	Roger Clemens	228.3
7	Mike Boddicker	228.0
8	Matt Young	225.3
9	Mark Langston	223.0
10	Bobby Witt	222.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Jack Morris	11
1	Dave Stewart	11
3	Roger Clemens	7
3	Chuck Finley	7
3	Ron Robinson	7
3	Bobby Witt	7
3	Matt Young	7
8	Kevin Brown	6
8	Tom Gordon	6
8	Tim Leary	6

ShutoutsSHO

1	Roger Clemens	4
1	Dave Stewart	4
3	Kevin Appier	3
3	Jack Morris	3
3	Melido Perez	3
6	Buddy Black	2
6	Kevin Brown	2
6	Chuck Finley	2
6	Randy Johnson	2
6	Eric King	2
6	Mark Knudson	2
6	Ben McDonald	2
6	Ron Robinson	2
6	Nolan Ryan	2
6	Dave Stieb	2
6	Bob Welch	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Roger Clemens	6.9
2	Erik Hanson	5.5
3	Nolan Ryan	4.4
4	Bobby Witt	4.2
5	Dave Stewart	4.0
6	Chuck Finley	3.7
7	Mark Langston	3.6
8	Dave Stieb	3.5
9	Mike Boddicker	3.4
10	Kevin Tapani	3.2

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Roger Clemens	1.93
2	Chuck Finley	2.40
3	Dave Stewart	2.56
4	Kevin Appier	2.76
5	Dave Stieb	2.93
6	Bob Welch	2.95
7	David Wells	3.14
8	Greg Hibbard	3.16
9	Erik Hanson	3.24
10	Kirk McCaskill	3.25

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Nolan Ryan	1.03
2	Roger Clemens	1.08
3	David Wells	1.11
4	Erik Hanson	1.16
4	Dave Stewart	1.16
6	Dave Stieb	1.17
7	Buddy Black	1.17
8	Greg Hibbard	1.22
9	Bob Welch	1.22
10	Chuck Finley	1.23

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Roger Clemens	2.18
2	Erik Hanson	2.74
3	Nolan Ryan	2.87
4	Bobby Witt	3.06
5	Mark Langston	3.28
6	Chuck Finley	3.30
6	David Wells	3.30
8	Kevin Appier	3.32
9	Dave Stewart	3.33
10	Dave Stieb	3.36

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Ryne Sandberg	116
2	Bobby Bonilla	112
3	Brett Butler	108
4	Ron Gant	107
5	Lenny Dykstra	106
6	Barry Bonds	104
6	Bip Roberts	104
8	Willie McGee	99
9	Gregg Jefferies	96
9	Eddie Murray	96

HitsH

1	Willie McGee	199
2	Brett Butler	192
2	Lenny Dykstra	192
4	Ryne Sandberg	188
5	Barry Larkin	185
5	Tim Wallach	185
7	Eddie Murray	184
8	Mark Grace	182
9	Will Clark	177
9	Tony Gwynn	177

Doubles2B

1	Gregg Jefferies	40
2	Bobby Bonilla	39
3	Chris Sabo	38
4	Howard Johnson	37
4	Tim Wallach	37
6	Bip Roberts	36
7	Lenny Dykstra	35
7	Willie McGee	35
9	Ron Gant	34
9	Jim Presley	34

Triples3B

1	Mariano Duncan	11
2	Tony Gwynn	10
3	Brett Butler	9
3	Vince Coleman	9
3	Lonnie Smith	9
6	Shawon Dunston	8
6	John Kruk	8
8	Jay Bell	7
8	Bobby Bonilla	7
8	Willie McGee	7
8	Milt Thompson	7

Home RunsHR

1	Ryne Sandberg	40
2	Darryl Strawberry	37
3	Kevin Mitchell	35
4	Barry Bonds	33
4	Matt Williams	33
6	Bobby Bonilla	32
6	Ron Gant	32
8	David Justice	28
9	Kal Daniels	27
9	Andre Dawson	27

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Matt Williams	122
2	Bobby Bonilla	120
3	Joe Carter	115
4	Barry Bonds	114
5	Darryl Strawberry	108
6	Andre Dawson	100
6	Ryne Sandberg	100
8	Tim Wallach	98
9	Will Clark	95
9	Eddie Murray	95

WalksBB

1	Jack Clark	104
2	Barry Bonds	93
3	Brett Butler	90
4	Lenny Dykstra	89
5	Von Hayes	87
6	Eddie Murray	82
7	Bill Doran	79
8	Dave Magadan	74
8	Jose Oquendo	74
10	Darren Daulton	72

Stolen BasesSB

1	Vince Coleman	77
2	Eric Yelding	64
3	Barry Bonds	52
4	Brett Butler	51
5	Otis Nixon	50
6	Tim Raines	49
7	Bip Roberts	46
8	Delino DeShields	42
9	Juan Samuel	38
10	Howard Johnson	34

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Lenny Dykstra	8.5
2	Barry Bonds	8.0
3	Ryne Sandberg	7.0
4	Ron Gant	6.4
5	Eddie Murray	6.0
6	Brett Butler	6.0
7	Willie McGee	5.6
8	Matt Williams	5.1
9	Barry Larkin	5.1
10	Kevin Mitchell	5.1

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Eddie Murray	.330
2	Dave Magadan	.328
3	Lenny Dykstra	.325
4	Willie McGee	.324
5	Andre Dawson	.310
6	Brett Butler	.309
6	Mark Grace	.309
6	Tony Gwynn	.309
6	Bip Roberts	.309
10	Ryne Sandberg	.306

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Lenny Dykstra	.418
2	Dave Magadan	.417
3	Eddie Murray	.414
4	Barry Bonds	.406
5	Brett Butler	.397
6	Kal Daniels	.389
7	John Kruk	.386
8	Lonnie Smith	.384
9	Tim Raines	.379
10	Delino DeShields	.375
10	Von Hayes	.375
10	Bip Roberts	.375

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Barry Bonds	.565
2	Ryne Sandberg	.559
3	Kevin Mitchell	.544
4	Ron Gant	.539
5	Andre Dawson	.535
5	David Justice	.535
7	Kal Daniels	.531
8	Eddie Murray	.520
9	Bobby Bonilla	.518
9	Darryl Strawberry	.518

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Barry Bonds	.970
2	Eddie Murray	.934
3	Kal Daniels	.920
4	Ryne Sandberg	.913
5	David Justice	.908
6	Kevin Mitchell	.904
7	Ron Gant	.896
8	Andre Dawson	.893
9	Darryl Strawberry	.879
10	Dave Magadan	.874

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Doug Drabek	22
2	Ramon Martinez	20
2	Frank Viola	20
4	Dwight Gooden	19
5	Tom Browning	15
5	Greg Maddux	15
7	John Burkett	14
7	David Cone	14
7	Jose Rijo	14
7	John Smoltz	14
7	Ed Whitson	14

SavesSV

1	John Franco	33
2	Randy Myers	31
2	Lee Smith	31
4	Craig Lefferts	23
4	Dave Smith	23
6	Roger McDowell	22
7	Tim Burke	20
8	Jeff Brantley	19
9	Steve Bedrosian	17
10	Jay Howell	16
10	Mitch Williams	16

StrikeoutsSO

1	David Cone	233
2	Dwight Gooden	223
2	Ramon Martinez	223
4	Frank Viola	182
5	Sid Fernandez	181
6	John Smoltz	170
7	Jose DeLeon	164
8	Bruce Hurst	162
9	Dennis Martinez	156
10	Jose Rijo	152

Innings PitchedIP

1	Frank Viola	249.7
2	Greg Maddux	237.0
3	Ramon Martinez	234.3
4	Dwight Gooden	232.7
5	Doug Drabek	231.3
5	John Smoltz	231.3
7	Ed Whitson	228.7
8	Tom Browning	227.7
9	Dennis Martinez	226.0
10	Bruce Hurst	223.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Ramon Martinez	12
2	Doug Drabek	9
2	Bruce Hurst	9
4	Greg Maddux	8
5	Dennis Martinez	7
5	Jose Rijo	7
5	Frank Viola	7
8	David Cone	6
8	Mike Morgan	6
8	Terry Mulholland	6
8	John Smoltz	6
8	Ed Whitson	6

ShutoutsSHO

1	Bruce Hurst	4
1	Mike Morgan	4
3	Oil Can Boyd	3
3	Doug Drabek	3
3	Mark Gardner	3
3	Ramon Martinez	3
3	Frank Viola	3
3	Ed Whitson	3
9	Tim Belcher	2
9	Pat Combs	2
9	David Cone	2
9	Scott Garrelts	2
9	Charlie Leibrandt	2
9	Greg Maddux	2
9	Joe Magrane	2
9	Dennis Martinez	2
9	Mike Scott	2
9	Zane Smith	2
9	John Smoltz	2
9	Bob Tewksbury	2
9	Fernando Valenzuela	2
9	Trevor Wilson	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Dwight Gooden	6.1
2	Frank Viola	5.3
3	Greg Maddux	4.7
4	David Cone	4.5
5	Ramon Martinez	4.4
6	Ed Whitson	4.4
7	Dennis Martinez	4.1
8	Jose Rijo	3.8
9	Doug Drabek	3.6
10	Zane Smith	3.4

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Danny Darwin	2.21
2	Zane Smith	2.55
3	Ed Whitson	2.60
4	Frank Viola	2.67
5	Jose Rijo	2.69
6	Doug Drabek	2.76
7	Ramon Martinez	2.92
8	Oil Can Boyd	2.93
9	Dennis Martinez	2.95
10	Bruce Hurst	3.14

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Danny Darwin	1.03
2	Dennis Martinez	1.06
3	Doug Drabek	1.06
4	Sid Fernandez	1.10
5	Ramon Martinez	1.10
6	Bruce Hurst	1.12
7	Oil Can Boyd	1.13
8	Zane Smith	1.14
9	David Cone	1.14
10	Ed Whitson	1.15

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Dwight Gooden	2.44
2	David Cone	2.83
3	Frank Viola	2.88
4	Danny Darwin	2.99
5	Ramon Martinez	3.03
6	Ed Whitson	3.07
7	Dennis Martinez	3.08
8	Jose Rijo	3.14
9	Greg Maddux	3.15
10	Zane Smith	3.25

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1990 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. 1990 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 1990 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.