2006 Season

30 teams competing across 6 divisions

The 2006 Major League Baseball season was played by 30 teams. The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers. Ryan Howard led with 58 home runs, Ryan Howard led with 149 RBI, and Ichiro Suzuki led with 224 hits. This page carries the 2006 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

2006 Bracket
World Series SLN def. DET (4-1)
AL Championship DET def. OAK (4-0)
NL Championship SLN def. NYN (4-3)
AL Division Series DET def. NYA (3-1)
AL Division Series OAK def. MIN (3-0)
NL Division Series NYN def. LAN (3-0)
NL Division Series SLN def. SDN (3-1)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

2006 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 Joe Mauer .347 2 Freddy Sanchez .344 3 Derek Jeter .343 4 Robinson Cano .342 5 Miguel Cabrera .339

OPS qualified

1 Albert Pujols 1.102 2 Travis Hafner 1.097 3 Ryan Howard 1.084 4 Manny Ramirez 1.058 5 David Ortiz 1.049

Home Runs all players

1 Ryan Howard 58 2 David Ortiz 54 3 Albert Pujols 49 4 Alfonso Soriano 46 5 Lance Berkman 45

RBI all players

1 Ryan Howard 149 2 David Ortiz 137 3 Albert Pujols 137 4 Lance Berkman 136 5 Justin Morneau 130

Hits all players

1 Ichiro Suzuki 224 2 Michael Young 217 3 Derek Jeter 214 4 Miguel Tejada 214 5 Juan Pierre 204

Runs all players

1 Grady Sizemore 134 2 Chase Utley 131 3 Carlos Beltran 127 4 Jimmy Rollins 127 5 Jose Reyes 122

Stolen Bases all players

1 Jose Reyes 64 2 Carl Crawford 58 3 Juan Pierre 58 4 Chone Figgins 52 5 Hanley Ramirez 51
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

2006 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 Johan Santana 2.77 2 Roy Oswalt 2.98 3 Chris Carpenter 3.09 4 Brandon Webb 3.10 5 Roy Halladay 3.19

WHIP qualified

1 Johan Santana 1.00 2 Chris Carpenter 1.07 3 Roy Halladay 1.10 4 Mike Mussina 1.11 5 Brandon Webb 1.13

Wins all pitchers

1 Johan Santana 19 2 Chien-Ming Wang 19 3 Jon Garland 18 4 Freddy Garcia 17 5 Randy Johnson 17

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Johan Santana 245 2 Aaron Harang 216 3 Jake Peavy 215 4 John Smoltz 211 5 Carlos Zambrano 210

Saves all pitchers

1 Francisco Rodriguez 47 2 Trevor Hoffman 46 3 Bobby Jenks 41 4 Billy Wagner 40 5 B. J. Ryan 38
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

AL Central

Minnesota Twins ★ 96-66 Detroit Tigers 95-67 Chicago White Sox 90-72 Cleveland Indians 78-84 Kansas City Royals 62-100

AL East

New York Yankees ★ 97-65 Toronto Blue Jays 87-75 Boston Red Sox 86-76 Baltimore Orioles 70-92 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 61-101

AL West

Oakland Athletics ★ 93-69 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 89-73 Texas Rangers 80-82 Seattle Mariners 78-84

NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals ★ 83-78 Houston Astros 82-80 Cincinnati Reds 80-82 Milwaukee Brewers 75-87 Pittsburgh Pirates 67-95 Chicago Cubs 66-96

NL East

New York Mets ★ 97-65 Philadelphia Phillies 85-77 Atlanta Braves 79-83 Florida Marlins 78-84 Washington Nationals 71-91

NL West

San Diego Padres ★ 88-74 Los Angeles Dodgers 88-74 San Francisco Giants 76-85 Arizona Diamondbacks 76-86 Colorado Rockies 76-86

The 2006 season in brief

The best record in the 2006 standings belonged to the New York Yankees, who finished 97-65. 61-101 left the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the lowest winning percentage of 2006. Group by group, the National League West ended with the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers level at 88-74, the San Diego Padres ranked first, the Minnesota Twins (96-66) edged the Detroit Tigers (95-67) in the American League Central, the St. Louis Cardinals (83-78) held off the Houston Astros (82-80) in the National League Central, and the Oakland Athletics topped the American League West at 93-69, a few games clear of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The 2006 title went to the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, 4 games to 1. The other series results were the Detroit Tigers over the Oakland Athletics in the AL Championship Series (4-0), the St. Louis Cardinals over the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series (4-3), the Detroit Tigers over the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series (3-1), and the Oakland Athletics over the Minnesota Twins in the AL Division Series (3-0). On the home run tile, Ryan Howard sat first with 58, ahead of David Ortiz with 54. The qualified batting-average board starts with Joe Mauer at .347, with Freddy Sanchez next at .344. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 2006 leaders page.

2006 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 2006?
The St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, beating the Detroit Tigers.
How many teams played in 2006?
30 teams played in the 2006 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 2006?
Ryan Howard led with 58 home runs in 2006.
Who led MLB in RBI in 2006?
Ryan Howard led with 149 RBI in 2006.
Who led MLB in hits in 2006?
Ichiro Suzuki led with 224 hits in 2006.
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