1873 Season Leaders
Top performers from the 1873 baseball season. Click column headers to sort.
These are the 1873 Major League Baseball season leaders in batting and pitching. Lip Pike led with 4 home runs, Deacon White led with 77 RBI, and Ross Barnes led with 138 hits. Batting average, OBP, SLG and OPS list qualified hitters only — 3.1 plate appearances per team game, which is 164 plate appearances at 53 team games; ERA and WHIP require one inning per team game (53 innings). Lines below those thresholds are shown and marked unqualified.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
Data updated
Batting Leaders
Qualified: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 164 plate appearances at 53 team games. 48 of the 48 hitters listed qualify; the rest cleared 200+ plate appearances and are marked UNQ. Rate columns (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS) rank qualified hitters first.
Every qualified batter that season, plotted as a histogram. The highlighted bin contains the league leader.
Complete Statistics
| Player | Team | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Barnes | BS1 | 60 | 340 | 320 | 125 | 138 | 31 | 11 | 2 | 60 | 43 | 20 | 2 | .431 | .465 | .616 | 1.080 |
| Cap Anson | PH1 | 52 | 259 | 254 | 53 | 101 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 5 | 2 | .398 | .409 | .449 | .858 |
| Deacon White | BS1 | 60 | 311 | 311 | 79 | 122 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 77 | 19 | 0 | 2 | .392 | .392 | .508 | .900 |
| George Wright | BS1 | 59 | 332 | 323 | 99 | 125 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 43 | 9 | 9 | 2 | .387 | .404 | .511 | .914 |
| Davy Force | BL1 | 49 | 242 | 233 | 77 | 85 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 9 | 1 | .365 | .388 | .416 | .805 |
| Charlie Pabor | BR2 | 55 | 234 | 228 | 36 | 82 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 3 | .360 | .376 | .425 | .802 |
| Jim O'Rourke | BS1 | 57 | 295 | 280 | 79 | 98 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 9 | 15 | 3 | .350 | .383 | .450 | .833 |
| Levi Meyerle | PH2 | 48 | 240 | 238 | 53 | 83 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 59 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .349 | .354 | .479 | .833 |
| Bob Addy | 2 teams | 41 | 207 | 203 | 49 | 70 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 1 | .345 | .357 | .424 | .781 |
| Wes Fisler | PH1 | 44 | 220 | 218 | 44 | 75 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .344 | .350 | .445 | .795 |
| Dave Eggler | NY2 | 53 | 272 | 266 | 82 | 90 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 3 | 6 | 2 | .338 | .353 | .417 | .770 |
| Tom Carey | BL1 | 56 | 292 | 291 | 76 | 98 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 55 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .337 | .339 | .430 | .769 |
| Ezra Sutton | PH1 | 51 | 245 | 243 | 51 | 81 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .333 | .339 | .412 | .750 |
| Everett Mills | BL1 | 54 | 264 | 262 | 64 | 87 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 56 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .332 | .337 | .477 | .814 |
| Al Spalding | BS1 | 60 | 326 | 323 | 83 | 106 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 71 | 9 | 3 | 2 | .328 | .334 | .390 | .724 |
| Jim Holdsworth | NY2 | 53 | 232 | 232 | 46 | 75 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .323 | .323 | .409 | .733 |
| Jimmy Wood | PH2 | 42 | 217 | 209 | 67 | 67 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .321 | .346 | .383 | .728 |
| Andy Leonard | BS1 | 58 | 302 | 300 | 81 | 96 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 27 | 2 | 0 | .320 | .325 | .403 | .728 |
| Lip Pike | BL1 | 56 | 293 | 285 | 71 | 90 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 51 | 8 | 8 | 4 | .316 | .334 | .467 | .801 |
| Dick Higham | NY2 | 49 | 246 | 244 | 57 | 77 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .316 | .321 | .369 | .690 |
| John Hatfield | NY2 | 52 | 258 | 255 | 54 | 78 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 2 | 3 | 2 | .306 | .314 | .396 | .710 |
| John Clapp | PH1 | 45 | 206 | 204 | 36 | 62 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .304 | .311 | .387 | .698 |
| Tom York | BL1 | 57 | 281 | 278 | 70 | 84 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 50 | 4 | 3 | 4 | .302 | .310 | .414 | .723 |
| Mike McGeary | PH1 | 52 | 276 | 275 | 63 | 83 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .302 | .304 | .338 | .643 |
| Jack Remsen | BR2 | 50 | 209 | 207 | 29 | 61 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .295 | .301 | .391 | .693 |
| Denny Mack | PH2 | 48 | 220 | 205 | 55 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 15 | 9 | .293 | .341 | .317 | .658 |
| Fergy Malone | PH2 | 53 | 273 | 259 | 59 | 75 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 6 | 14 | 7 | .290 | .326 | .347 | .673 |
| John Radcliff | BL1 | 45 | 248 | 244 | 59 | 70 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 2 | .287 | .298 | .307 | .606 |
| Dick McBride | PH1 | 49 | 255 | 253 | 41 | 71 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .281 | .286 | .308 | .595 |
| Charles Fulmer | PH2 | 49 | 238 | 236 | 42 | 66 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 4 | .280 | .286 | .364 | .650 |
| Bill Boyd | BR2 | 48 | 230 | 228 | 31 | 63 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .276 | .283 | .346 | .629 |
| Ned Cuthbert | PH2 | 51 | 281 | 279 | 78 | 77 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 34 | 14 | 2 | 4 | .276 | .281 | .337 | .618 |
| Tom Barlow | BR2 | 55 | 274 | 269 | 48 | 74 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 1 | .275 | .288 | .301 | .589 |
| Dickey Pearce | BR2 | 55 | 270 | 262 | 42 | 72 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 2 | .275 | .296 | .309 | .605 |
| John McMullin | PH1 | 52 | 235 | 227 | 54 | 62 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 9 | 8 | 4 | .273 | .298 | .313 | .611 |
| Harry Schafer | BS1 | 60 | 299 | 296 | 65 | 79 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 42 | 14 | 3 | 4 | .267 | .274 | .341 | .615 |
| Count Gedney | NY2 | 53 | 231 | 225 | 41 | 60 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 6 | 4 | .267 | .286 | .347 | .632 |
| Joe Start | NY2 | 53 | 256 | 252 | 42 | 67 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .266 | .277 | .333 | .611 |
| Cherokee Fisher | PH1 | 51 | 257 | 253 | 50 | 66 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 2 | 4 | 5 | .261 | .272 | .312 | .585 |
| Bob Ferguson | BR2 | 51 | 232 | 228 | 36 | 59 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 8 | .259 | .272 | .316 | .587 |
| Harry Wright | BS1 | 58 | 274 | 263 | 57 | 68 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 3 | 11 | 4 | .259 | .288 | .331 | .619 |
| Fred Treacey | PH2 | 51 | 248 | 243 | 49 | 62 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 7 | .255 | .270 | .313 | .583 |
| Jack Burdock | BR2 | 55 | 252 | 245 | 56 | 62 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 3 | 7 | 4 | .253 | .274 | .314 | .588 |
| George Bechtel | PH2 | 53 | 267 | 258 | 53 | 63 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 9 | 1 | .244 | .270 | .310 | .580 |
| Herman Dehlman | BR2 | 54 | 230 | 219 | 50 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 9 | .237 | .274 | .269 | .543 |
| George Zettlein | PH2 | 51 | 242 | 241 | 39 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 4 | .207 | .211 | .216 | .427 |
| Jim Britt | BR2 | 54 | 248 | 240 | 29 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 14 | .196 | .222 | .208 | .430 |
| Bobby Mathews | NY2 | 52 | 233 | 223 | 40 | 43 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 3 | .193 | .227 | .233 | .461 |
Pitching Leaders
Qualified: 1 inning pitched per team game — 53 innings at 53 team games. 11 of the 11 pitchers listed qualify; the rest cleared 50+ innings and are marked UNQ. ERA and WHIP rank qualified pitchers first.
Complete Statistics
| Player | Team | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee Fisher | PH1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 84.1 | 90 | 17 | 10 | 14 | 1.81 | 1.19 |
| Bobby Mathews | NY2 | 29 | 23 | 52 | 52 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 443.0 | 489 | 127 | 62 | 79 | 2.58 | 1.24 |
| Candy Cummings | BL1 | 28 | 14 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 382.0 | 475 | 119 | 33 | 34 | 2.80 | 1.33 |
| George Zettlein | PH2 | 36 | 15 | 51 | 51 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 460.0 | 594 | 146 | 41 | 29 | 2.86 | 1.38 |
| Hugh Campbell | ELI | 2 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 165.0 | 251 | 54 | 8 | 7 | 2.95 | 1.57 |
| Al Spalding | BS1 | 41 | 14 | 60 | 54 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 496.2 | 643 | 165 | 36 | 50 | 2.99 | 1.37 |
| Dick McBride | PH1 | 24 | 19 | 46 | 46 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 382.2 | 453 | 142 | 47 | 25 | 3.34 | 1.31 |
| Jim Britt | BR2 | 17 | 36 | 54 | 54 | 51 | 1 | 0 | 480.2 | 696 | 218 | 41 | 16 | 4.08 | 1.53 |
| Asa Brainard | BL1 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 108.2 | 182 | 50 | 9 | 3 | 4.14 | 1.76 |
| Bill Stearns | WS5 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 283.0 | 481 | 145 | 16 | 5 | 4.61 | 1.76 |
| John Greason | WS5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 63.0 | 113 | 41 | 10 | 5 | 5.86 | 1.95 |
Reading the 1873 leader tables
48 of the 48 hitters in the 1873 table reach the qualification line. Sorted by average, the qualified race is headed by Ross Barnes at .431, with Cap Anson next at .398. Lip Pike has the most home runs in the table, 4, and Deacon White's 77 runs batted in top that column. Ross Barnes's 43 steals are the most listed. 11 pitchers qualify out of the 11 in the 1873 table. The qualified ERA race is led by Cherokee Fisher at 1.81. The counting columns are topped by Al Spalding in wins (41) and Bobby Mathews in strikeouts (79).
1873 Season Leaders: Frequently Asked Questions
- Who led MLB in home runs in 1873?
- Lip Pike led with 4 home runs in 1873.
- Who led MLB in RBI in 1873?
- Deacon White led with 77 RBI in 1873.
- Who led MLB in hits in 1873?
- Ross Barnes led with 138 hits in 1873.
- Who led MLB in batting average in 1873?
- Ross Barnes led at .431 in 1873, among qualified hitters (3.1 plate appearances per team game).
- Who led MLB in wins in 1873?
- Al Spalding led with 41 wins in 1873.
- Who led MLB in strikeouts in 1873?
- Bobby Mathews led with 79 strikeouts in 1873.