Another incredible season of Major League Baseball has come to an end, and in just a few days, the 2023 postseason will officially be upon us. But before we dive into October baseball, we’re honoring the players who led their respective leagues in significant stats during the regular season.
From home runs to strikeouts to strikeouts above average, here are your 2023 league leaders.
Al: Shohei Ohtani (LAA), 44
Ohtani led the AL in home runs in September despite playing in only three games, becoming the first home run leader since Dick Allen in 1974 to hit zero home runs in a September. His best month came in June when he crushed 15 home runs. hit .400) in July to help his lead by adding nine more.
AL: Yandy Diaz (TB), .330
With Diaz and the Rangers’ Corey Seager both hitting .330 entering Game 162, it came down to the wire. However, Seager went 0-for-4 in Texas’ 1-0 loss to Seattle on Sunday, giving Diaz, who was off that day, the Rays’ first batting title in franchise history.
NL/MLB: Luis Arraez (MIA), .354
Ares was averaging over .400 as late as June 24, so even a second-half “faint” — hitting .314 since the All-Star break — couldn’t stop him from taking home his second straight batting title. . With his 2023 honors, Ares became only the second player since 1901 to win the batting title in both leagues, and the first player to do so in two full seasons.
AL: Kyle Tucker (HOU), 112
A year after recording his first career 100-RBI season, Tucker set a new career high in RBIs, leading the American League. The season was Tucker’s second straight with at least 25 homers, 25 steals and 100 RBIs.
NL/MLB: Matt Olson (ATL), 139
In his third straight 100-RBI season, Olson also set the Braves single-season RBI record, tying Eddie Matthews’ (124) record since 1953.
NL/MLB: Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL), 73
Along with posting MLB’s first 70-SB season since 2009, Acuña also recorded the first 40-70 season in AL/NL history as part of his incredible year.
Al: Shohei Ohtani (LAA), 70
Ohtani, who already set the Angels’ team record (from 2015) with an MLB-best 78 in 2021, hit at least 70 for the third consecutive season.
NL/MLB: Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL), 86
Acuna’s incredible 2023 season was no eyewash — his 86 hits led all of baseball. Most Hits by a player not named Aaron Judge in the only season since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
AL: Chris Bassitt (TOR) and Zach Eflin (TB), 16
These AL East opponents finished tied for wins — which makes sense for their usage. Bassitt tied for the AL lead in starts (33) and cleared the 200-inning plateau for the first time in his career, while Eflin recorded a career-high 31st start and had seven hits during the Rays’ red-hot streak. Starting in the first two months of the season.
NL/MLB: Spencer Strider (ATL), 20
Strider is the only baseball pitcher to reach the 20-win milestone in 2023. To no one’s surprise — the Braves won 104 games in 2023, and only one eligible pitcher (teammate Charlie Morton) had more run support per nine innings. Strider.
AL: Gerrit Cole (NYY), 2.63
In what ended up being Cole’s first Cy Young campaign, he also earned his second career ERA title — the Yankees’ first since 1980 (Rudy May, 2.46).
NL/MLB: Blake Snell (SD), 2.25
In addition to his MLB-best 2.25 ERA, Snell’s extraordinary 2023 season — a leading Cy contender — saw him lead all qualifiers in hits (5.8) and walks (99) per nine.
Buy: Kevin Gausman (TOR), 237
Gausman was a strikeout machine again in 2023 and is one of five pitchers to strike out at least 200 batters in the last three seasons (Corbin Burns, Dylan Sease, Cole, Aaron Nola).
NL/MLB: Spencer Strider (ATL), 281
Strider’s first All-Star season was rocky at times, but he brought the same swing-and-miss stuff the Braves expected. His 281 strikeouts were the most by a Braves pitcher since 1901.
AL/MLB: Emmanuel Class (CLE), 44
Despite a down year for both the right-hander and his club, Klass led the majors in saves for two straight seasons — Klass’ ERA doubled and the Guardians missed the playoffs after winning the AL Central. 2022.
NL: Camilo Doval (SF) and David Bettner (PIT), 39
In his first All-Star season, the Giants’ 26-year-old flamethrower became their first NL saves leader since Brian Wilson in 2010. Bedner, who recorded 19 saves in his first season as the Pirates’ full-time closer, doubled his lead. 2023 total — 18 of which came in one-run games, helping the Pirates to a 22-17 record, which was 6th in MLB.
Above Average Outs (Outfielders):
AL: Kevin Kiermaier (TOR) and Lewis Robert Jr. (CWS), +13
Kiermaier, the all-time leader Above average outs (since 2016), had a show in his first season in Toronto. Robert, for his part, has drawn more attention with his bat — his 38 homers since 2016 are the most by a White Sox hitter — but has been on pace with Kiermier.
NL/MLB: Brendan Doyle (COL), +16
Doyle made his presence felt on defense after his MLB debut in late April. Not only did the 25-year-old lead all outfielders in the OAA, he posted 107.5 mph in August, the fastest by an outfielder under Statcast tracking.
