Here are your 2023 MLB stat leaders

October 1st, 2023

Another unbelievable season of Major League Baseball has ended, and in just a few days, the 2023 postseason will officially be upon us. But before we dive headfirst into October baseball, we honor the players who led their respective leagues in notable statistics in the regular season.

From home runs to strikeouts to Outs Above Average, here's a look at your 2023 league leaders.

BATTING

Home runs

AL: Shohei Ohtani (LAA), 44
Ohtani led the AL in home runs despite only playing in three games in September, becoming the first home run leader to hit zero home runs in September since Dick Allen in 1974. His best month came in June when he crushed 15 home runs (and nearly hit .400) before he added nine more in July to help pad his lead. 

NL/MLB: Matt Olson (ATL), 54
Olson set a new Braves franchise record with his 54 homers, surpassing Andruw Jones' 51 in 2005, and heavily contributed to Atlanta's total of 307 on the season, which tied the 2019 Twins for the highest single-season team total in MLB history.

Batting average:

AL: Yandy Díaz (TB), .330
It came down to the wire, with Díaz and the Rangers' Corey Seager each entering Game 162 hitting .330. However, Seager went 0-for-4 in Texas' 1-0 loss to Seattle on Sunday, giving Díaz, who had the day off, the Rays' first batting title in franchise history.

NL/MLB: Luis Arraez (MIA), .354
Arraez had an average above .400 as late as June 24, so even a second-half "swoon" -- he hit .314 from the All-Star break on -- couldn't keep him from taking home his second consecutive batting title. With his 2023 honors, Arraez became the second player to win a batting title in both leagues since 1901, and the first to do so in two full seasons.

RBIs:

AL: Kyle Tucker (HOU), 112
A year after recording his first career 100-RBI season, Tucker set a new career-high in RBIs that led the American League. This season also marked 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, blazing past Eddie Mathews’ mark (124) from 1953.

Stolen bases:

AL: Esteury Ruiz (OAK), 67
Ruiz swiped 67 bags, which broke Kenny Lofton’s single-season record for stolen bases by an AL rookie. Remarkably, Ruiz hit the number despite missing a month of the season with a shoulder injury.

NL/MLB: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), 73
In addition to putting up MLB's first 70-SB season since 2009, as part of his incredible year Acuña also recorded the first 40-70 season in AL/NL history.

Statcast barrels:

AL: Shohei Ohtani (LAA), 70
Ohtani hit at least 70 barrels for the third straight season, having already set the Angels team record (since 2015) with an MLB-best 78 in 2021.

NL/MLB: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), 86
There was no eyewash involved in Acuña's unbelievable 2023 season -- his 86 barrels led all of baseball and were the most hit by a player not named Aaron Judge in a single season since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

PITCHING

Wins:

AL: Chris Bassitt (TOR) and Zach Eflin (TB), 16
These AL East opponents finished in a tie for wins -- which makes sense given their usage. Bassitt was 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 31 starts and picked up seven of his wins during the Rays’ red-hot start in the first two months of the season.  

NL/MLB: Spencer Strider (ATL), 20
Strider was the only pitcher in baseball to reach the 20-win milestone in 2023. Not that anyone's too surprised -- the Braves won 104 games in 2023, and only one qualifying pitcher (teammate Charlie Morton) received more run support per nine innings than Strider.

ERA:

AL: Gerrit Cole (NYY), 2.63
In what could end up being Cole's first Cy Young campaign, he also took home his second career ERA title -- also the Yankees' first since 1980 (Rudy May, 2.46).

NL/MLB: Blake Snell (SD), 2.25
Aside from his MLB-best 2.25 ERA, Snell's unusual 2023 season -- a leading Cy contender -- also saw him lead all qualifiers in hits per nine (5.8) and walks (99).

Strikeouts:

AL: Kevin Gausman (TOR), 237
Gausman was a strikeout machine once again in 2023 and stands as one of just five pitchers to strike out at least 200 batters in each of the last three seasons (Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, Cole, Aaron Nola).

NL/MLB: Spencer Strider (ATL), 281
Strider's first All-Star season was at times a rocky one, but he brought the same swing-and-miss stuff the Braves expected. His 281 strikeouts are the most by a Braves pitcher since 1901, unseating John Smoltz's 276-K season in 1996.

Saves:

AL/MLB: Emmanuel Clase (CLE), 44
This makes two straight seasons in which Clase has led the Majors in saves, despite what was an otherwise down year for both the right-hander and his club -- Clase's ERA more than doubled and the Guardians missed the playoffs after winning the AL Central in 2022.

NL: Camilo Doval (SF) and David Bednar (PIT), 39
In his first All-Star season, the Giants' 26-year-old flamethrower was their first NL saves leader since Brian Wilson in 2010. Bednar, who notched 19 saves in his first season as the Pirates' full-time closer, doubled his total in 2023 -- 18 of which came in one-run games, aiding in the Pirates' 22-17 record in said contests, which ranked 6th in MLB.

FIELDING

Outs Above Average (outfielders):

AL: Kevin Kiermaier (TOR) and Luis Robert Jr. (CWS), +13
Kiermaier, the all-time leader in OF Outs Above Average (since 2016), put on a show in his first season in Toronto. Robert, for his part, drew more attention with his bat -- his 38 homers were the most by a White Sox hitter since 2016 -- but kept pace with Kiermaier all the same.

NL/MLB: Brenton Doyle (COL), +16
Doyle made his presence felt on defense after making his MLB debut in late April. The 25-year-old not only led all outfielders in OAA but also recorded a 107.5 mph throw in August, the fastest by an outfielder under Statcast tracking.