1898 Season Leaders

Top performers from the 1898 baseball season. Click column headers to sort.

These are the 1898 Major League Baseball season leaders in batting and pitching. Jimmy Collins led with 15 home runs, Nap Lajoie led with 127 RBI, and Willie Keeler led with 216 hits. Batting average, OBP, SLG and OPS list qualified hitters only — 3.1 plate appearances per team game, which is 471 plate appearances at 152 team games; ERA and WHIP require one inning per team game (152 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

← Back to 1898 Season Overview

Batting Leaders

Qualified: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 471 plate appearances at 152 team games. 75 of the 114 hitters listed qualify; the rest cleared 200+ plate appearances and are marked UNQ. Rate columns (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS) rank qualified hitters first.

1898 OPS Distribution

Every qualified batter that season, plotted as a histogram. The highlighted bin contains the league leader.

Complete Statistics

1898 Season Leaders — Complete Statistics
Player Team G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Willie Keeler BLN 129 604 561 126 216 7 2 1 44 28 31 4 .385 .420 .410 .830
Billy Hamilton BSN 110 508 417 110 154 16 5 3 50 54 87 30 .369 .480 .453 .933
John McGraw BLN 143 652 515 143 176 8 10 0 53 43 112 13 .342 .475 .396 .871
Elmer Smith CIN 123 563 486 79 166 21 10 1 66 20 69 17 .342 .425 .432 .858
Jesse Burkett CL4 150 706 624 114 213 18 9 0 42 19 69 30 .341 .415 .399 .814
Ed Delahanty PHI 144 640 548 115 183 36 9 4 92 58 77 29 .334 .426 .454 .880
Jimmy Collins BSN 152 657 597 107 196 35 5 15 111 12 40 18 .328 .377 .479 .856
Gene DeMontreville BLN 151 641 567 93 186 19 2 0 86 49 52 25 .328 .394 .369 .763
Fred Tenney BSN 117 536 488 106 160 25 5 0 62 23 33 23 .328 .370 .400 .770
Hughie Jennings BLN 143 665 534 135 175 25 11 1 87 28 78 20 .328 .454 .421 .876
Nap Lajoie PHI 147 641 608 113 197 43 11 6 127 25 21 23 .324 .354 .461 .814
Jimmy Ryan CHN 144 657 572 122 185 32 13 4 79 29 73 24 .323 .405 .446 .850
Joe Kelley BLN 124 530 464 71 149 18 15 2 110 24 56 24 .321 .398 .438 .835
Bill Lange CHN 113 490 442 79 141 16 11 5 69 22 36 17 .319 .377 .439 .816
Bill Everitt CHN 149 661 596 102 190 15 6 0 69 28 53 43 .319 .377 .364 .741
Lave Cross SLN 151 646 602 71 191 28 8 3 79 14 28 8 .317 .348 .405 .753
George Van Haltren NY1 156 722 654 129 204 28 16 2 68 36 59 40 .312 .372 .413 .785
Duff Cooley PHI 149 692 629 123 196 24 12 4 55 17 48 38 .312 .364 .407 .771
Chick Stahl BSN 125 529 467 72 144 21 8 3 52 6 46 25 .308 .375 .407 .782
Fred Clarke LS3 149 667 599 116 184 23 12 3 47 40 48 21 .307 .373 .401 .774
George Davis NY1 121 529 486 80 149 20 5 2 86 26 32 15 .307 .351 .381 .731
Billy Hoy LS3 148 659 582 104 177 15 16 6 66 37 49 33 .304 .367 .416 .783
Fielder Jones BRO 146 667 596 89 181 15 9 1 69 36 46 36 .304 .362 .364 .726
Kip Selbach WAS 132 589 515 88 156 28 11 3 60 25 64 21 .303 .383 .417 .801
Henry Reitz WAS 132 543 489 62 148 20 2 2 47 11 32 15 .303 .357 .364 .721
Algie McBride CIN 120 557 486 94 147 14 12 2 43 16 51 36 .302 .383 .393 .776
Elmer Flick PHI 134 565 453 84 137 16 13 8 81 23 86 36 .302 .430 .448 .878
Patsy Donovan PIT 147 661 610 112 184 16 9 0 37 41 34 33 .302 .346 .357 .703
Dan McGann BLN 145 635 535 99 161 18 8 5 106 33 53 30 .301 .404 .393 .796
Mike Griffin BRO 134 610 537 88 161 18 6 2 40 15 60 13 .300 .379 .367 .745
Honus Wagner LS3 151 635 588 80 176 29 3 10 105 27 31 20 .299 .341 .410 .751
Dusty Miller CIN 152 653 586 99 175 24 12 3 90 32 38 28 .299 .351 .396 .747
Hugh Duffy BSN 152 645 568 97 169 13 3 8 108 29 59 13 .298 .365 .373 .738
John Anderson 2 teams 135 569 520 82 153 33 22 9 81 20 29 26 .294 .348 .494 .842
Jake Beckley CIN 118 506 459 86 135 20 12 4 72 6 28 27 .294 .348 .416 .764
Jack Doyle 2 teams 125 501 474 68 138 17 5 3 69 23 19 13 .291 .324 .367 .691
Bill Dahlen CHN 142 619 521 96 151 35 8 1 79 27 58 41 .290 .385 .393 .779
Jack McCarthy PIT 137 596 537 75 155 13 12 4 78 7 34 24 .289 .336 .380 .716
Cupid Childs CL4 110 500 413 90 119 9 4 1 31 9 69 29 .288 .395 .337 .732
Ed McKean CL4 151 674 604 89 172 23 1 9 94 11 56 18 .285 .346 .371 .717
Ed McFarland PHI 121 484 429 65 121 21 5 3 71 4 44 23 .282 .352 .375 .727
Mike Tiernan NY1 103 475 415 90 116 15 11 5 49 19 43 12 .280 .357 .405 .762
Jake Gettman WAS 142 612 567 75 157 16 5 5 47 32 29 60 .277 .319 .349 .668
Ducky Holmes 2 teams 136 587 543 63 150 11 10 1 64 29 25 52 .276 .320 .339 .659
Jake Stenzel 2 teams 143 625 542 97 149 20 13 1 55 25 53 13 .275 .360 .365 .725
Bobby Lowe BSN 147 611 559 65 152 11 7 4 94 12 29 26 .272 .311 .338 .649
George Decker 2 teams 118 475 434 53 118 14 3 1 64 13 29 21 .272 .323 .325 .648
Fred Hartman NY1 123 507 475 57 129 16 11 2 88 11 25 24 .272 .313 .364 .678
Bobby Wallace CL4 154 671 593 81 160 25 13 3 99 7 63 14 .270 .344 .371 .715
Deacon McGuire WAS 131 529 489 59 131 18 3 1 57 10 24 19 .268 .310 .323 .633
Herman Long BSN 144 645 589 99 156 21 10 6 99 20 39 24 .265 .311 .365 .676
Tommy Tucker 2 teams 145 591 535 53 139 16 6 1 54 2 30 31 .260 .322 .318 .640
Bill Joyce NY1 145 619 508 91 131 20 9 10 91 34 88 60 .258 .386 .392 .778
Patsy Tebeau CL4 131 546 477 53 123 11 4 1 63 5 53 26 .258 .341 .304 .645
Klondike Douglass PHI 146 673 582 105 150 26 4 2 48 18 55 20 .258 .333 .326 .660
Monte Cross PHI 149 599 525 68 135 25 5 1 50 20 55 46 .257 .337 .330 .666
Dick Padden PIT 128 522 463 61 119 7 6 2 43 11 35 17 .257 .335 .311 .646
Billy Clingman LS3 154 609 538 65 138 12 6 0 50 15 51 60 .257 .327 .301 .628
Claude Ritchey LS3 151 637 551 65 140 10 4 5 51 19 46 29 .254 .322 .314 .636
Tom O'Brien 2 teams 125 544 473 62 120 10 8 1 59 13 35 28 .254 .321 .315 .636
Tommy Corcoran CIN 153 664 619 80 155 28 15 2 87 19 26 17 .250 .283 .354 .637
Bid McPhee CIN 133 565 486 72 121 26 9 1 60 21 66 34 .249 .341 .346 .687
Jack O'Connor CL4 131 517 478 50 119 17 4 1 56 8 26 17 .249 .291 .308 .598
Barry McCormick CHN 137 594 530 76 131 15 9 2 78 15 47 54 .247 .314 .321 .635
George LaChance BRO 136 576 526 62 130 23 7 5 65 23 31 60 .247 .299 .346 .645
Dick Harley SLN 142 611 549 74 135 6 5 0 42 13 34 53 .246 .316 .275 .591
Harry Blake CL4 136 567 474 65 116 18 7 0 58 12 69 26 .245 .342 .312 .654
Tommy Dowd SLN 139 635 586 70 143 17 7 0 32 16 30 26 .244 .287 .297 .584
Bill Hallman BRO 134 554 509 57 124 10 7 2 63 9 29 21 .244 .291 .303 .594
Charlie Irwin CIN 136 556 501 77 120 14 5 3 55 18 31 13 .240 .297 .305 .602
Bill Gray PIT 137 585 528 56 121 17 5 0 67 5 28 38 .229 .283 .280 .564
Jim Connor CHN 138 563 505 51 114 9 9 0 67 11 42 34 .226 .289 .279 .568
Billy Shindle BRO 120 493 466 50 105 10 3 1 41 3 10 25 .225 .249 .266 .516
Kid Gleason NY1 150 619 570 78 126 8 5 0 62 21 39 28 .221 .278 .253 .531
Bones Ely PIT 148 556 519 49 110 14 5 2 44 6 24 34 .212 .247 .270 .517
Win Mercer UNQ WAS 80 277 249 38 80 3 5 2 25 14 18 31 .321 .369 .398 .767
Duke Farrell UNQ WAS 99 379 338 47 106 12 6 1 53 12 34 12 .314 .383 .393 .776
Charlie Dexter UNQ LS3 112 467 421 76 132 13 5 1 66 44 26 35 .314 .363 .375 .739
Willie Clark UNQ PIT 57 236 209 29 64 9 7 1 31 0 22 7 .306 .378 .431 .808
Farmer Vaughn UNQ CIN 78 295 275 35 84 12 4 1 46 4 11 5 .305 .339 .389 .728
Jud Smith UNQ WAS 66 267 234 33 71 7 5 3 28 11 22 18 .303 .378 .415 .792
Sam Mertes UNQ CHN 83 316 269 45 80 4 8 1 47 27 34 28 .297 .388 .383 .771
Mike Grady UNQ NY1 93 340 287 64 85 19 5 3 49 20 38 28 .296 .399 .429 .827
Harry Steinfeldt UNQ CIN 88 355 308 47 91 18 6 0 43 9 27 29 .295 .354 .393 .747
Walter Thornton UNQ CHN 62 235 210 34 62 5 2 0 14 8 22 14 .295 .362 .338 .700
Frank Bowerman UNQ 2 teams 74 271 257 22 73 7 3 0 30 5 9 10 .284 .313 .335 .648
James Stafford UNQ 2 teams 86 339 304 47 86 5 0 2 33 10 23 24 .283 .337 .319 .656
Marty Bergen UNQ BSN 120 469 446 62 125 16 5 3 60 9 13 29 .280 .302 .359 .661
Steve Brodie UNQ 2 teams 65 276 254 27 71 8 2 0 40 6 11 4 .280 .320 .327 .646
Lou Criger UNQ CL4 84 338 287 43 80 13 4 1 32 2 40 22 .279 .377 .362 .739
Jimmy Sheckard UNQ BRO 105 459 408 51 113 17 9 4 64 8 37 28 .277 .349 .392 .741
Wilbert Robinson UNQ BLN 79 313 289 29 80 12 2 0 38 3 16 18 .277 .317 .332 .649
Cy Seymour UNQ NY1 80 309 297 41 82 5 2 4 23 8 9 22 .276 .300 .347 .646
Heinie Peitz UNQ CIN 105 374 330 49 90 15 5 1 43 9 35 24 .273 .348 .358 .705
George Yeager UNQ BSN 68 244 221 37 59 13 1 3 24 1 16 14 .267 .328 .376 .703
Tom McCreery UNQ 2 teams 88 363 311 48 83 9 10 3 37 6 45 53 .267 .360 .389 .749
Billy Lauder UNQ PHI 97 393 361 42 95 14 7 2 67 6 19 27 .263 .300 .357 .657
Harry Davis UNQ 2 teams 96 392 363 49 95 14 15 2 40 13 19 38 .262 .300 .399 .700
Aleck Smith UNQ BRO 52 210 199 25 52 6 5 0 23 7 3 15 .261 .276 .342 .618
Jack Warner UNQ NY1 110 409 373 40 96 14 5 0 42 9 22 28 .257 .316 .322 .638
Jack Clements UNQ SLN 99 371 335 39 86 19 5 3 41 1 21 13 .257 .314 .370 .684
Joe Sugden UNQ SLN 89 320 289 29 73 7 1 0 34 5 23 20 .253 .314 .284 .598
Joe Quinn UNQ 2 teams 115 445 407 40 102 11 5 0 41 13 25 31 .251 .299 .302 .601
Charlie Gettig UNQ NY1 64 214 196 30 49 6 2 0 26 5 15 16 .250 .310 .301 .611
Zeke Wrigley UNQ WAS 111 428 400 50 98 9 10 2 39 10 20 25 .245 .283 .333 .615
Malachi Kittridge UNQ LS3 86 312 287 27 70 8 5 1 31 9 15 10 .244 .281 .317 .599
William Clarke UNQ BLN 82 308 285 26 69 5 2 0 27 2 4 14 .242 .289 .274 .563
Jimmy McAleer UNQ CL4 106 424 366 47 87 3 0 0 48 7 46 32 .238 .331 .246 .577
Jack Crooks UNQ SLN 72 281 225 33 52 4 2 1 20 3 40 28 .231 .359 .280 .639
Pop Schriver UNQ PIT 95 351 315 25 72 15 3 0 32 0 23 14 .229 .287 .295 .583
Butts Wagner UNQ 2 teams 74 284 261 22 59 12 3 1 34 4 16 10 .226 .279 .307 .585
George Magoon UNQ BRO 93 377 343 35 77 7 0 1 39 7 30 18 .224 .293 .254 .546
Tim Donahue UNQ CHN 122 465 396 52 87 12 3 0 39 17 49 31 .220 .318 .265 .583
Jack Ryan UNQ BRO 87 321 301 39 57 11 4 0 24 5 15 12 .189 .233 .252 .485
Showing 1-50 of 114 batters listed (75 qualified)

Pitching Leaders

Qualified: 1 inning pitched per team game — 152 innings at 152 team games. 45 of the 68 pitchers listed qualify; the rest cleared 50+ innings and are marked UNQ. ERA and WHIP rank qualified pitchers first.

Complete Statistics

1898 Season Leaders — Complete Statistics
Player Team W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
Clark Griffith CHN 24 10 38 38 36 4 0 325.2 305 68 64 97 1.88 1.13
Al Maul BLN 20 7 28 28 26 1 0 239.2 207 56 49 31 2.10 1.07
Kid Nichols BSN 31 12 50 42 40 5 4 388.0 316 92 85 138 2.13 1.03
James McJames BLN 27 15 45 42 40 2 0 374.0 327 98 113 178 2.36 1.18
Jimmy Callahan CHN 20 10 31 31 30 2 0 274.1 267 75 71 73 2.46 1.23
Cy Young CL4 25 13 46 41 40 1 0 377.2 387 106 41 101 2.53 1.13
Vic Willis BSN 25 13 41 38 29 1 0 311.0 264 98 148 160 2.84 1.32
Ted Lewis BSN 26 8 41 33 29 1 2 313.1 267 101 109 72 2.90 1.20
Jesse Tannehill PIT 25 13 43 38 34 5 2 326.2 338 107 63 93 2.95 1.23
Jack Powell CL4 23 15 42 41 36 6 0 342.0 328 114 112 93 3.00 1.29
Al Orth PHI 15 13 32 28 25 1 0 250.0 290 84 53 52 3.02 1.37
Amos Rusie NY1 20 11 37 36 33 4 1 300.0 288 101 103 114 3.03 1.30
Frank Dwyer CIN 16 10 31 28 24 0 0 240.0 257 81 42 29 3.04 1.25
Walt Woods CHN 9 13 27 22 18 3 0 215.0 224 75 59 26 3.14 1.32
Bert Cunningham LS3 28 15 44 42 41 0 0 362.0 387 127 65 34 3.16 1.25
Wiley Piatt PHI 24 14 39 37 33 6 0 306.0 285 108 97 121 3.18 1.25
Cy Seymour NY1 25 19 45 43 39 4 0 356.2 313 126 213 239 3.18 1.47
Jay Hughes BLN 23 12 38 35 31 5 0 300.2 268 107 100 81 3.20 1.22
Jim Gardner PIT 10 13 25 22 19 1 0 185.1 179 66 48 41 3.21 1.22
Jack Fifield PHI 11 9 21 21 18 2 0 171.1 170 63 60 31 3.31 1.34
Walter Thornton CHN 13 10 28 25 21 2 0 215.1 226 80 56 56 3.34 1.31
Brickyard Kennedy BRO 16 22 40 39 38 0 0 339.1 360 127 123 73 3.37 1.42
Pink Hawley CIN 27 11 43 37 32 3 0 331.0 357 124 91 69 3.37 1.35
Theodore Breitenstein CIN 20 14 39 37 32 3 0 315.2 313 120 123 68 3.42 1.38
Billy Rhines PIT 12 16 31 29 27 2 0 258.0 289 101 61 48 3.52 1.36
Red Donahue PHI 16 17 35 35 33 1 0 284.1 327 112 80 57 3.55 1.43
Jerry Nops BLN 16 9 33 29 23 2 0 235.0 241 93 78 91 3.56 1.36
Jack Dunn BRO 16 21 41 37 31 0 0 322.2 352 129 82 66 3.60 1.35
Zeke Wilson CL4 13 18 33 31 28 1 0 254.2 307 102 51 45 3.60 1.41
Bill Dammann CIN 16 10 35 22 16 2 2 224.2 277 90 67 51 3.61 1.53
Joe Yeager BRO 12 22 36 33 32 0 0 291.1 333 118 80 70 3.65 1.42
Ed Doheny NY1 7 19 28 27 23 0 0 213.0 238 87 101 96 3.68 1.59
Frank Killen 2 teams 16 20 40 39 32 0 0 306.0 350 125 70 91 3.68 1.37
Jouett Meekin NY1 16 18 38 37 34 1 0 320.0 329 134 108 82 3.77 1.37
Fred Klobedanz BSN 19 10 35 33 25 0 0 270.2 281 117 99 51 3.89 1.40
Jack Taylor SLN 15 29 50 47 42 0 1 397.1 465 172 83 89 3.90 1.38
Jim Hughey SLN 7 24 35 33 31 0 0 283.2 325 124 71 74 3.93 1.40
Bill Hill CIN 13 14 33 32 26 2 0 262.0 261 116 119 75 3.98 1.45
Bill Dinneen WAS 9 16 29 27 22 0 0 218.1 238 97 88 83 4.00 1.49
Bill Magee LS3 16 15 38 33 29 3 0 295.1 294 133 129 55 4.05 1.43
Pete Dowling LS3 13 20 36 32 30 0 0 285.2 284 132 120 84 4.16 1.41
Willie Sudhoff SLN 11 27 41 38 35 0 1 315.0 355 152 102 65 4.34 1.45
Gus Weyhing WAS 15 26 45 42 39 0 0 361.0 428 181 84 92 4.51 1.42
Win Mercer WAS 12 18 33 30 24 0 0 233.2 309 125 71 52 4.81 1.63
Chick Fraser 2 teams 9 20 32 32 26 1 0 245.0 279 146 112 77 5.36 1.60
Cowboy Jones UNQ CL4 4 4 9 9 7 0 0 72.0 76 24 29 26 3.00 1.46
Frank Kitson UNQ BLN 8 5 17 13 13 1 0 119.1 123 43 35 32 3.24 1.32
George Cuppy UNQ CL4 9 8 18 15 13 1 0 128.0 147 47 25 27 3.30 1.34
Roy Evans UNQ WAS 3 3 7 6 4 0 0 50.2 50 19 25 11 3.38 1.48
Charlie Hastings UNQ PIT 4 10 19 13 12 0 0 137.1 142 52 52 40 3.41 1.41
Frank Isbell UNQ CHN 4 7 13 9 7 0 0 81.0 86 32 42 16 3.56 1.58
Pete Daniels UNQ SLN 1 6 10 6 3 0 0 54.2 62 22 14 13 3.62 1.39
Charlie Gettig UNQ NY1 6 3 17 8 7 0 0 115.0 141 49 39 14 3.83 1.57
George Wheeler UNQ PHI 6 8 15 13 10 0 0 112.1 155 52 36 20 4.17 1.70
Cy Swaim UNQ WAS 3 11 16 13 9 0 1 101.1 119 48 28 30 4.26 1.45
Bill Donovan UNQ WAS 1 6 17 7 6 0 0 88.0 88 42 69 36 4.30 1.78
Matt Kilroy UNQ CHN 6 7 13 11 10 0 0 100.1 119 48 30 18 4.31 1.49
Nick Altrock UNQ LS3 3 3 11 7 6 0 0 70.0 89 35 21 13 4.50 1.57
Sport McAllister UNQ CL4 3 4 9 7 6 0 0 65.1 73 33 23 9 4.55 1.47
Bill Hoffer UNQ 2 teams 3 4 8 7 7 0 0 65.1 88 34 31 16 4.68 1.82
Bill Hart UNQ PIT 5 9 16 15 13 1 1 125.0 141 67 44 19 4.82 1.48
Ralph Miller UNQ BRO 4 14 23 21 16 0 0 151.2 161 90 86 43 5.34 1.63
Bill Duggleby UNQ PHI 3 3 9 5 4 0 0 54.0 70 33 18 12 5.50 1.63
Kit McKenna UNQ BRO 2 6 14 9 7 0 0 100.2 118 63 57 27 5.63 1.74
Red Ehret UNQ LS3 3 7 12 10 9 0 0 89.0 130 57 20 20 5.76 1.69
Duke Esper UNQ SLN 3 5 10 8 6 0 0 64.2 86 43 22 14 5.98 1.67
Kid Carsey UNQ SLN 2 12 20 13 10 0 0 123.2 177 87 37 10 6.33 1.73
Davy Dunkle UNQ PHI 1 4 12 7 4 0 0 68.1 83 53 38 21 6.98 1.77
Showing 1-50 of 68 pitchers listed (45 qualified)

Reading the 1898 leader tables

75 of the 114 hitters in the 1898 table reach the qualification line. Sorted by average, the qualified race is headed by Willie Keeler at .385, with Billy Hamilton next at .369. Jimmy Collins has the most home runs in the table, 15, and Nap Lajoie's 127 runs batted in top that column. The 1898 pitching table lists 68 pitchers, 45 of them qualified. The qualified ERA race is led by Clark Griffith at 1.88, and Kid Nichols has the best WHIP, 1.03. Sorted by the counting stats, the leaders are Kid Nichols in wins (31) and Cy Seymour in strikeouts (239).

1898 Season Leaders: Frequently Asked Questions

Who led MLB in home runs in 1898?
Jimmy Collins led with 15 home runs in 1898.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1898?
Nap Lajoie led with 127 RBI in 1898.
Who led MLB in hits in 1898?
Willie Keeler led with 216 hits in 1898.
Who led MLB in batting average in 1898?
Willie Keeler led at .385 in 1898, among qualified hitters (3.1 plate appearances per team game).
Who led MLB in wins in 1898?
Kid Nichols led with 31 wins in 1898.
Who led MLB in strikeouts in 1898?
Cy Seymour led with 239 strikeouts in 1898.