1998 Season

30 teams competing across 6 divisions

The 1998 Major League Baseball season was played by 30 teams. The New York Yankees won the World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres. Mark McGwire led with 70 home runs, Sammy Sosa led with 158 RBI, and Dante Bichette led with 219 hits. This page carries the 1998 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1998 Bracket
World Series NYA def. SDN (4-0)
AL Championship NYA def. CLE (4-2)
NL Championship SDN def. ATL (4-2)
AL Division Series CLE def. BOS (3-1)
AL Division Series NYA def. TEX (3-0)
NL Division Series ATL def. CHN (3-0)
NL Division Series SDN def. HOU (3-1)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1998 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 502 plate appearances at 162 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Larry Walker .363 2 John Olerud .354 3 Bernie Williams .339 4 Mo Vaughn .337 5 Dante Bichette .331

OPS qualified

1 Mark McGwire 1.222 2 Larry Walker 1.075 3 Albert Belle 1.055 4 Barry Bonds 1.047 5 Sammy Sosa 1.024

Home Runs all players

1 Mark McGwire 70 2 Sammy Sosa 66 3 Ken Griffey 56 4 Greg Vaughn 50 5 Albert Belle 49

RBI all players

1 Sammy Sosa 158 2 Juan Gonzalez 157 3 Albert Belle 152 4 Mark McGwire 147 5 Ken Griffey 146

Hits all players

1 Dante Bichette 219 2 Alex Rodriguez 213 3 Craig Biggio 210 4 Vinny Castilla 206 5 Mo Vaughn 205

Runs all players

1 Sammy Sosa 134 2 Mark McGwire 130 3 Derek Jeter 127 4 Ray Durham 126 5 Jeff Bagwell 124

Stolen Bases all players

1 Rickey Henderson 66 2 Tony Womack 58 3 Kenny Lofton 54 4 Shannon Stewart 51 5 Craig Biggio 50
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1998 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 162 innings at 162 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Greg Maddux 2.22 2 Kevin Brown 2.38 3 Al Leiter 2.47 4 Tom Glavine 2.47 5 Roger Clemens 2.65

WHIP qualified

1 Greg Maddux 0.98 2 David Wells 1.05 3 Kevin Brown 1.07 4 Pedro Martinez 1.09 5 Roger Clemens 1.10

Wins all pitchers

1 Roger Clemens 20 2 David Cone 20 3 Tom Glavine 20 4 Rick Helling 20 5 Randy Johnson 19

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Randy Johnson 329 2 Curt Schilling 300 3 Roger Clemens 271 4 Kevin Brown 257 5 Pedro Martinez 251

Saves all pitchers

1 Trevor Hoffman 53 2 Rod Beck 51 3 Jeff Shaw 48 4 Tom Gordon 46 5 Troy Percival 42
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

AL Central

Cleveland Indians ★ 89-73 Chicago White Sox 80-82 Kansas City Royals 72-89 Minnesota Twins 70-92 Detroit Tigers 65-97

AL East

New York Yankees ★ 114-48 Boston Red Sox 92-70 Toronto Blue Jays 88-74 Baltimore Orioles 79-83 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 63-99

AL West

Texas Rangers ★ 88-74 Anaheim Angels 85-77 Seattle Mariners 76-85 Oakland Athletics 74-88

NL Central

Houston Astros ★ 102-60 Chicago Cubs 90-73 St. Louis Cardinals 83-79 Cincinnati Reds 77-85 Milwaukee Brewers 74-88 Pittsburgh Pirates 69-93

NL East

Atlanta Braves ★ 106-56 New York Mets 88-74 Philadelphia Phillies 75-87 Montreal Expos 65-97 Florida Marlins 54-108

NL West

San Diego Padres ★ 98-64 San Francisco Giants 89-74 Los Angeles Dodgers 83-79 Colorado Rockies 77-85 Arizona Diamondbacks 65-97

The 1998 season in brief

1998 belonged, by record, to the New York Yankees: 114-48. The Florida Marlins finished at the bottom of the 1998 table at 54-108. Race by race in 1998, the Texas Rangers (88-74) held off the Anaheim Angels (85-77) in the American League West, the Cleveland Indians won the American League Central going away, 89-73 against 80-82 for the Chicago White Sox, the National League West was not close, the San Diego Padres finishing 98-64 to the San Francisco Giants's 89-74, and nobody in the National League Central came near the Houston Astros's 102-60. 1998's champions were the New York Yankees, World Series winners against the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 0. The other series results were the New York Yankees over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Championship Series (4-2), the San Diego Padres over the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series (4-2), the Cleveland Indians over the Boston Red Sox in the AL Division Series (3-1), and the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series (3-0). The home run board is topped by Mark McGwire at 70, ahead of Sammy Sosa with 66. The qualified batting-average board starts with Larry Walker at .363, with John Olerud next at .354. The board counts only hitters with 502 or more plate appearances, which is what 162 team games require. For the complete tables behind these tiles, see the 1998 leaders page.

1998 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1998?
The New York Yankees won the 1998 World Series, beating the San Diego Padres.
How many teams played in 1998?
30 teams played in the 1998 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1998?
Mark McGwire led with 70 home runs in 1998.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1998?
Sammy Sosa led with 158 RBI in 1998.
Who led MLB in hits in 1998?
Dante Bichette led with 219 hits in 1998.
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