1996 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

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

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Ken CaminitiNational League
Juan GonzalezAmerican League

Cy Young Award

Pat HentgenAmerican League
John SmoltzNational League

Rookie of the Year

Todd HollandsworthNational League
Derek JeterAmerican League

Gold Glove

Roberto AlomarAmerican League
Craig BiggioNational League
Barry BondsNational League
Jay BuhnerAmerican League
Ken CaminitiNational League
Steve FinleyNational League
Mark GraceNational League
Ken GriffeyAmerican League
Marquis GrissomNational League
Charles JohnsonNational League
Barry LarkinNational League
Kenny LoftonAmerican League
Greg MadduxNational League
Mike MussinaAmerican League
Ivan RodriguezAmerican League
J. T. SnowAmerican League
Robin VenturaAmerican League
Omar VizquelAmerican League

Silver Slugger

Roberto AlomarAmerican League
Albert BelleAmerican League
Barry BondsNational League
Ellis BurksNational League
Ken CaminitiNational League
Andres GalarragaNational League
Tom GlavineNational League
Juan GonzalezAmerican League
Ken GriffeyAmerican League
Barry LarkinNational League
Mark McGwireAmerican League
Paul MolitorAmerican League
Mike PiazzaNational League
Alex RodriguezAmerican League
Ivan RodriguezAmerican League
Gary SheffieldNational League
Jim ThomeAmerican League
Eric YoungNational League

American League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Alex Rodriguez	141
2	Chuck Knoblauch	140
3	Roberto Alomar	132
3	Kenny Lofton	132
5	Ken Griffey	125
6	Albert Belle	124
7	Jim Thome	122
8	Edgar Martinez	121
9	Tony Phillips	119
10	Mo Vaughn	118

HitsH

1	Paul Molitor	225
2	Alex Rodriguez	215
3	Kenny Lofton	210
4	Mo Vaughn	207
5	Chuck Knoblauch	197
6	Roberto Alomar	193
7	Ivan Rodriguez	192
8	Albert Belle	187
8	Kevin Seitzer	187
10	Jeff Cirillo	184
10	Darryl Hamilton	184
10	Frank Thomas	184

Doubles2B

1	Alex Rodriguez	54
2	Edgar Martinez	52
3	Ivan Rodriguez	47
4	Jeff Cirillo	46
4	Marty Cordova	46
6	Manny Ramirez	45
7	Roberto Alomar	43
8	Rusty Greer	41
8	Paul Molitor	41
10	Jason Giambi	40
10	Rafael Palmeiro	40
10	Cal Ripken	40

Triples3B

1	Chuck Knoblauch	14
2	Fernando Vina	10
3	Ozzie Guillen	8
3	Dave Martinez	8
3	Paul Molitor	8
3	Jose Offerman	8
7	Joe Carter	7
7	Pat Meares	7
7	Jose Valentin	7
7	Bernie Williams	7

Home RunsHR

1	Mark McGwire	52
2	Brady Anderson	50
3	Ken Griffey	49
4	Albert Belle	48
5	Juan Gonzalez	47
6	Jay Buhner	44
6	Mo Vaughn	44
8	Greg Vaughn	41
9	Frank Thomas	40
10	Cecil Fielder	39
10	Rafael Palmeiro	39

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Albert Belle	148
2	Juan Gonzalez	144
3	Mo Vaughn	143
4	Rafael Palmeiro	142
5	Ken Griffey	140
6	Jay Buhner	138
7	Frank Thomas	134
8	Alex Rodriguez	123
9	John Jaha	118
10	Cecil Fielder	117
10	Tino Martinez	117
10	Greg Vaughn	117

WalksBB

1	Tony Phillips	125
2	Edgar Martinez	123
2	Jim Thome	123
4	Mark McGwire	116
5	Frank Thomas	109
6	Paul O'Neill	102
7	Albert Belle	99
8	Chuck Knoblauch	98
9	Rafael Palmeiro	95
9	Mickey Tettleton	95
9	Mo Vaughn	95

Stolen BasesSB

1	Kenny Lofton	75
2	Tom Goodwin	66
3	Otis Nixon	54
4	Chuck Knoblauch	45
5	Omar Vizquel	35
6	Ray Durham	30
7	Mark McLemore	27
8	Rich Amaral	25
8	Johnny Damon	25
8	Pat Listach	25

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Alex Rodriguez	8.7
2	Ken Griffey	8.2
3	Brady Anderson	8.1
4	Edgar Martinez	7.6
5	Mark McGwire	7.6
6	Jim Thome	7.6
7	Albert Belle	7.3
8	Frank Thomas	7.0
9	Roberto Alomar	6.8
10	Chuck Knoblauch	6.3

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Alex Rodriguez	.358
2	Frank Thomas	.349
3	Chuck Knoblauch	.341
3	Paul Molitor	.341
5	Rusty Greer	.332
6	Dave Nilsson	.331
7	Roberto Alomar	.328
8	Edgar Martinez	.327
9	Kevin Seitzer	.326
9	Mo Vaughn	.326

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Mark McGwire	.467
2	Edgar Martinez	.464
3	Frank Thomas	.459
4	Jim Thome	.450
5	Chuck Knoblauch	.448
6	Mo Vaughn	.420
7	Kevin Seitzer	.416
8	Alex Rodriguez	.414
9	Roberto Alomar	.411
9	Paul O'Neill	.411

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Mark McGwire	.730
2	Juan Gonzalez	.643
3	Brady Anderson	.637
4	Alex Rodriguez	.631
5	Ken Griffey	.628
6	Frank Thomas	.626
7	Albert Belle	.623
8	Jim Thome	.612
9	Edgar Martinez	.595
10	Mo Vaughn	.583

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Mark McGwire	1.198
2	Frank Thomas	1.085
3	Jim Thome	1.062
4	Edgar Martinez	1.059
5	Alex Rodriguez	1.045
6	Brady Anderson	1.034
7	Albert Belle	1.033
8	Ken Griffey	1.020
9	Juan Gonzalez	1.011
10	Mo Vaughn	1.003

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Andy Pettitte	21
2	Pat Hentgen	20
3	Mike Mussina	19
4	Charles Nagy	17
5	Alex Fernandez	16
5	Ken Hill	16
5	Bobby Witt	16
8	Wilson Alvarez	15
8	Tim Belcher	15
8	Chuck Finley	15
8	Orel Hershiser	15
8	Roger Pavlik	15

SavesSV

1	John Wetteland	43
2	Jose Mesa	39
3	Roberto Hernandez	38
4	Troy Percival	36
5	Mike Fetters	32
6	Mike Henneman	31
6	Randy Myers	31
6	Heathcliff Slocumb	31
6	Mike Timlin	31
10	Jeff Montgomery	24

StrikeoutsSO

1	Roger Clemens	257
2	Chuck Finley	215
3	Kevin Appier	207
4	Mike Mussina	204
5	Alex Fernandez	200
6	Wilson Alvarez	181
7	Pat Hentgen	177
8	Tom Gordon	171
9	Ken Hill	170
10	Charles Nagy	167

Innings PitchedIP

1	Pat Hentgen	265.7
2	Alex Fernandez	258.0
3	Ken Hill	250.7
4	Mike Mussina	243.3
5	Roger Clemens	242.7
6	Tim Belcher	238.7
7	Chuck Finley	238.0
8	Brad Radke	232.0
9	Chris Haney	228.0
10	Kevin Tapani	225.3

Complete GamesCG

1	Pat Hentgen	10
2	Ken Hill	7
2	Roger Pavlik	7
4	Roger Clemens	6
4	Scott Erickson	6
4	Alex Fernandez	6
4	Tim Wakefield	6
8	Kevin Appier	5
8	Jack McDowell	5
8	Charles Nagy	5
8	Rich Robertson	5

ShutoutsSHO

1	Pat Hentgen	3
1	Ken Hill	3
1	Rich Robertson	3
4	Roger Clemens	2
4	Felipe Lira	2
6	Willie Adams	1
6	Kevin Appier	1
6	Tim Belcher	1
6	Alex Fernandez	1
6	Chuck Finley	1
6	Dwight Gooden	1
6	Tom Gordon	1
6	Jason Grimsley	1
6	Mark Gubicza	1
6	Juan Guzman	1
6	Chris Haney	1
6	Erik Hanson	1
6	Scott Karl	1
6	Dennis Martinez	1
6	Jack McDowell	1
6	Mike Mussina	1
6	Chad Ogea	1
6	Darren Oliver	1
6	Kenny Rogers	1
6	Jose Rosado	1
6	Dennis Springer	1
6	Dave Telgheder	1
6	Salomon Torres	1
6	Todd Van Poppel	1
6	Bob Wells	1
6	Don Wengert	1
6	Brian Williams	1

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Roger Clemens	5.5
2	Kevin Appier	4.8
3	Pat Hentgen	4.5
4	Ken Hill	4.3
5	Charles Nagy	4.1
6	Mike Mussina	3.8
7	Juan Guzman	3.5
8	Chuck Finley	3.4
9	Andy Pettitte	3.4
10	Alex Fernandez	3.2

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Juan Guzman	2.92
2	Pat Hentgen	3.22
3	Charles Nagy	3.40
4	Alex Fernandez	3.45
5	Kevin Appier	3.62
6	Ken Hill	3.63
7	Roger Clemens	3.63
8	Andy Pettitte	3.87
9	Ben McDonald	3.90
10	Tim Belcher	3.92

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Juan Guzman	1.12
2	Alex Fernandez	1.24
3	Brad Radke	1.24
4	Pat Hentgen	1.25
5	Charles Nagy	1.25
6	Kevin Appier	1.26
7	Roger Clemens	1.33
8	David Wells	1.33
9	James Baldwin	1.33
10	Ben McDonald	1.33

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Kevin Appier	3.39
2	Roger Clemens	3.43
3	Juan Guzman	3.76
4	Charles Nagy	3.76
5	Pat Hentgen	3.94
6	Ken Hill	4.01
7	Mike Mussina	4.04
8	Andy Pettitte	4.08
9	Wilson Alvarez	4.16
10	Chuck Finley	4.16

National League

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

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Ellis Burks	142
2	Steve Finley	126
3	Barry Bonds	122
4	Andres Galarraga	119
5	Gary Sheffield	118
6	Lance Johnson	117
6	Barry Larkin	117
8	Dante Bichette	114
8	Chipper Jones	114
10	Craig Biggio	113
10	Eric Young	113

HitsH

1	Lance Johnson	227
2	Ellis Burks	211
3	Marquis Grissom	207
4	Mark Grudzielanek	201
5	Dante Bichette	198
6	Steve Finley	195
7	Vinny Castilla	191
8	Andres Galarraga	190
9	Al Martin	189
10	Raul Mondesi	188

Doubles2B

1	Jeff Bagwell	48
2	Ellis Burks	45
2	Steve Finley	45
4	Bernard Gilkey	44
5	Henry Rodriguez	42
6	Derek Bell	40
6	Mike Lansing	40
6	Al Martin	40
6	Raul Mondesi	40
10	Dante Bichette	39
10	Andres Galarraga	39
10	Mark Grace	39

Triples3B

1	Lance Johnson	21
2	Marquis Grissom	10
2	Thomas Howard	10
4	Steve Finley	9
5	Ellis Burks	8
5	Delino DeShields	8
5	Ray Lankford	8
5	Jose Vizcaino	8
9	Kurt Abbott	7
9	Raul Mondesi	7
9	Ricky Otero	7

Home RunsHR

1	Andres Galarraga	47
2	Barry Bonds	42
2	Gary Sheffield	42
4	Todd Hundley	41
5	Ellis Burks	40
5	Ken Caminiti	40
5	Vinny Castilla	40
5	Sammy Sosa	40
9	Mike Piazza	36
9	Henry Rodriguez	36

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Andres Galarraga	150
2	Dante Bichette	141
3	Ken Caminiti	130
4	Barry Bonds	129
5	Ellis Burks	128
6	Jeff Bagwell	120
6	Gary Sheffield	120
8	Bernard Gilkey	117
9	Derek Bell	113
9	Vinny Castilla	113

WalksBB

1	Barry Bonds	151
2	Gary Sheffield	142
3	Jeff Bagwell	135
4	Rickey Henderson	125
5	Barry Larkin	96
6	Chipper Jones	87
7	Todd Zeile	82
8	Mike Piazza	81
9	Walt Weiss	80
10	Todd Hundley	79
10	Ray Lankford	79

Stolen BasesSB

1	Eric Young	53
2	Lance Johnson	50
3	Delino DeShields	48
4	Barry Bonds	40
5	Al Martin	38
6	Rickey Henderson	37
6	Brian McRae	37
8	Barry Larkin	36
9	Brian Hunter	35
9	Ray Lankford	35

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Ken Caminiti	8.0
2	Barry Bonds	7.7
3	Jeff Bagwell	7.4
4	Mike Piazza	7.4
5	Barry Larkin	7.3
6	Gary Sheffield	6.6
7	Ellis Burks	6.5
8	Todd Hundley	5.5
9	Bernard Gilkey	5.5
10	Vinny Castilla	5.4

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Ellis Burks	.344
2	Mike Piazza	.336
3	Lance Johnson	.333
4	Mark Grace	.331
5	Ken Caminiti	.326
6	Eric Young	.324
7	Bernard Gilkey	.317
8	Jeff Bagwell	.315
9	Gary Sheffield	.314
10	Dante Bichette	.313
10	Hal Morris	.313

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Gary Sheffield	.465
2	Barry Bonds	.461
3	Jeff Bagwell	.451
4	Mike Piazza	.422
5	Rickey Henderson	.410
5	Barry Larkin	.410
7	Ellis Burks	.408
7	Ken Caminiti	.408
9	Mark Grace	.396
10	Bernard Gilkey	.393
10	Chipper Jones	.393
10	Eric Young	.393

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Ellis Burks	.639
2	Gary Sheffield	.624
3	Ken Caminiti	.621
4	Barry Bonds	.615
5	Andres Galarraga	.601
6	Jeff Bagwell	.570
7	Barry Larkin	.567
8	Sammy Sosa	.564
9	Mike Piazza	.563
10	Bernard Gilkey	.562
10	Henry Rodriguez	.562

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Gary Sheffield	1.090
2	Barry Bonds	1.076
3	Ellis Burks	1.047
4	Ken Caminiti	1.028
5	Jeff Bagwell	1.021
6	Mike Piazza	.985
7	Barry Larkin	.977
8	Andres Galarraga	.958
9	Bernard Gilkey	.955
10	Chipper Jones	.923

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	John Smoltz	24
2	Andy Benes	18
3	Kevin Brown	17
3	Kevin Ritz	17
5	Al Leiter	16
5	Denny Neagle	16
5	Hideo Nomo	16
5	Shane Reynolds	16
9	Jeff Fassero	15
9	Tom Glavine	15
9	Joey Hamilton	15
9	Greg Maddux	15
9	Ramon Martinez	15
9	Jaime Navarro	15
9	Ismael Valdez	15

SavesSV

1	Jeff Brantley	44
1	Todd Worrell	44
3	Trevor Hoffman	42
4	Mark Wohlers	39
5	Mel Rojas	36
6	Rod Beck	35
6	Robb Nen	35
8	Ricky Bottalico	34
9	Dennis Eckersley	30
10	John Franco	28

StrikeoutsSO

1	John Smoltz	276
2	Hideo Nomo	234
3	Jeff Fassero	222
3	Pedro Martinez	222
5	Darryl Kile	219
6	Shane Reynolds	204
7	Al Leiter	200
8	Todd Stottlemyre	194
9	Joey Hamilton	184
10	Curt Schilling	182

Innings PitchedIP

1	John Smoltz	253.7
2	Greg Maddux	245.0
3	Shane Reynolds	239.0
4	Jaime Navarro	236.7
5	Tom Glavine	235.3
6	Kevin Brown	233.0
7	Jeff Fassero	231.7
8	Andy Benes	230.3
9	Hideo Nomo	228.3
10	Ismael Valdez	225.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Curt Schilling	8
2	John Smoltz	6
3	Kevin Brown	5
3	Jeff Fassero	5
3	Greg Maddux	5
3	Todd Stottlemyre	5
7	Mark Gardner	4
7	Darryl Kile	4
7	Pedro Martinez	4
7	Jaime Navarro	4
7	Shane Reynolds	4

ShutoutsSHO

1	Kevin Brown	3
2	Ramon Martinez	2
2	Hideo Nomo	2
2	Curt Schilling	2
2	John Smiley	2
2	John Smoltz	2
2	Todd Stottlemyre	2
2	Steve Trachsel	2
9	Alan Benes	1
9	Andy Benes	1
9	Jim Bullinger	1
9	John Burkett	1
9	Frank Castillo	1
9	Rheal Cormier	1
9	Jeff Fassero	1
9	Mark Gardner	1
9	Mike Grace	1
9	Joey Hamilton	1
9	Mike Hampton	1
9	Pete Harnisch	1
9	Jason Isringhausen	1
9	Kevin Jarvis	1
9	Bobby Jones	1
9	Al Leiter	1
9	Esteban Loaiza	1
9	Greg Maddux	1
9	Pedro Martinez	1
9	Jaime Navarro	1
9	Donovan Osborne	1
9	Mark Portugal	1
9	Shane Reynolds	1
9	Roger Salkeld	1
9	Zane Smith	1
9	Mark Thompson	1
9	Donne Wall	1

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	John Smoltz	7.9
2	Greg Maddux	7.4
3	Kevin Brown	6.4
4	Jeff Fassero	6.0
5	Shane Reynolds	5.6
6	Tom Glavine	5.3
7	Pedro Martinez	5.3
8	Curt Schilling	4.6
9	John Smiley	4.5
10	Hideo Nomo	4.4

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Kevin Brown	1.89
2	Greg Maddux	2.72
3	Al Leiter	2.93
4	John Smoltz	2.94
5	Tom Glavine	2.98
6	Steve Trachsel	3.03
7	Curt Schilling	3.19
8	Hideo Nomo	3.19
9	Jeff Fassero	3.30
10	Ismael Valdez	3.32

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Kevin Brown	0.94
2	John Smoltz	1.00
3	Greg Maddux	1.03
4	Curt Schilling	1.08
5	Shane Reynolds	1.13
6	Danny Darwin	1.14
7	Hideo Nomo	1.16
8	Jeff Fassero	1.17
9	Steve Trachsel	1.19
10	Pedro Martinez	1.20

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	John Smoltz	2.64
2	Greg Maddux	2.73
3	Kevin Brown	2.88
4	Jeff Fassero	3.13
5	Curt Schilling	3.19
6	Shane Reynolds	3.21
7	Pedro Martinez	3.27
8	Tom Glavine	3.49
9	Ismael Valdez	3.55
10	Hideo Nomo	3.57

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1996 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. 1996 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, 35 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 1996 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.