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MLB Baseball Leaders by Category

For each category, name the top 5 all-time leaders in Major League history.
Through 2023. Modern era records only.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 29, 2023
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First submittedApril 7, 2012
Times taken50,000
Average score38.9%
Rating4.28
6:00
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Home Runs
(career)
762
Barry Bonds
755
Hank Aaron
714
Babe Ruth
703
Albert Pujols
696
Alex Rodriguez
 
 
Batting Average
(career)
.366
Ty Cobb
.359
Rogers Hornsby
.356
Joe Jackson
.349
Lefty O'Doul
.345
Tris Speaker
 
 
Saves (career)
652
Mariano Rivera
601
Trevor Hoffman
478
Lee Smith
437
Francisco Rodríguez
424
John Franco
 
 
Slugging Average
(career)
.690
Babe Ruth
.634
Ted Williams
.632
Lou Gehrig
.609
Jimmie Foxx
.607
Barry Bonds
Home Runs
(single-season)
73
Barry Bonds
70
Mark McGwire
66
Sammy Sosa
62
Aaron Judge
61
Roger Maris
 
 
Batting Average
(single season, 1950–)
.394
Tony Gwynn
.390
George Brett
.388
Ted Williams
.388
Rod Carew
.379
Larry Walker
 
 
Hits (career)
4,256
Pete Rose
4,189
Ty Cobb
3,771
Hank Aaron
3,630
Stan Musial
3,514
Tris Speaker
 
 
Strikeouts
(pitching, career)
5,714
Nolan Ryan
4,875
Randy Johnson
4,672
Roger Clemens
4,136
Steve Carlton
3,701
Bert Blyleven
RBIs
(single-season, 1950–)
165
Manny Ramirez
160
Sammy Sosa
157
Juan Gonzalez
156
Alex Rodriguez
153
Tommy Davis
 
 
ERA
(single-season, 1950–)
1.12
Bob Gibson
1.53
Dwight Gooden
1.56
Greg Maddux
1.60
Luis Tiant
1.63
Shane Bieber
 
 
Steals (career)
1406
Rickey Henderson
938
Lou Brock
897
Ty Cobb
808
Tim Raines
752
Vince Coleman
 
 
Most Cy Young Awards
7
Roger Clemens
5
Randy Johnson
4
Greg Maddux
4
Steve Carlton
Batting Average
(career, 1950–)
.338
Tony Gwynn
.328
Rod Carew
.326
Wade Boggs
.318
Kirby Puckett
.318
Vladimir Guerrero
 
 
Wins
(career, 1950–)
355
Greg Maddux
354
Roger Clemens
329
Steve Carlton
324
Nolan Ryan
324
Don Sutton
 
 
Seasons Played
27
Nolan Ryan
26
Tommy John
25
Jamie Moyer
25
Rickey Henderson
25
Jim Kaat
25
Charlie Hough
25
Eddie Collins
+2
Level 67
Oct 3, 2013
Just Rose doesn't work for Pete Rose
+2
Level ∞
Oct 3, 2013
Fixed!
+6
Level 79
Oct 8, 2013
Yep, Pete Rose sure did fix things.
+1
Level 85
Sep 29, 2020
@BobSaget

Ha, Ha! No, he didn't.

+1
Level 36
Oct 8, 2013
You should add Julio Franco, he was 23 years, plus 2 overseas, and played til he was 49
+3
Level 44
Oct 6, 2016
So, he played 23 seasons...which is fewer than anyone else on this list. Why should he be added, exactly?
+2
Level 66
Apr 23, 2015
All the "since 1950" ones threw me for a loop. I know a lot of ACTUAL leaders, but most of them didn't play since the 50's
+1
Level 44
Jun 6, 2016
How many names can you think of for a home run? http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/103225/different-names-for-a-home-run
+3
Level 69
Oct 9, 2016
Slugging Percentage is the common term, never heard anyone call it slugging average.
+2
Level 66
Jan 13, 2017
Vladimir Guerrero has a .318 batting average too.
+1
Level 84
May 12, 2017
Got 42/53 without even typing the names of Bonds, A-Roid, McGwire, Sosa and Clemens. Missed Lefty O'Doul, K-Rod, Dean Chance and Eddie Collins. Also missed Juan Gonzalez, but he juiced too, so no biggie.
+1
Level 63
Aug 14, 2017
O'Douo only qualifies marginally. He didn't quite have 10 full seasons in the majors.
+2
Level 55
Jan 26, 2018
As a batter, O'Doul only had four TRULY full seasons. He won two batting titles (.398 with Phillies in 1929---his first full season! & .368 with Dodgers in 1932). For those four full seasons (1929-1932) he hit a blistering .373. Not bad production for a guy who was already in his 30s when he had those four seasons. It's closed now but he had a restaurant in San Francisco, near Union Square, "Lefty O'Doul's", that was a great cafeteria style place to eat, and it had scores of photos all over the walls autographed by players galore. Lefty didn't stick around in the majors because he missed S.F. and the Bay Area too much to stay away. For a guy with a .349 lifetime BA, he did NOT leave because there weren't any teams wanting him!!!
+2
Level 63
Oct 29, 2020
Lefty wasn't a regular in his last years, but an important back-up.

He got what proved to be the game-winning hit in game2 of the 1933 World Series.

I ate at his restaurant. Quite a place.

+2
Level 55
Jan 26, 2018
Just a note on Rogers Hornsby: **beginning of the 20th century through the present, Hornsby holds the top 3 highest seasonal batting averages for the Cardinals (.424, .403, .401 in 1924, 1925, 1922), the top one for the Cubs (.380 in 1929), the top one for the Braves (.387 in 1928), and when he hit .361 (in 1927) for the Giants it was also their 20th century single-season record until broken a couple years (or so) later. He may have been a curmudgeon but that guy could hit in his sleep!
+3
Level 63
May 8, 2018
Had my first corned beef at Lefty O'Doul's when I was ten and my dad took me there. Ten years later, Pop sent a copy of "The Glory of Their Times" to me in Vietnam. He had Lefty autograph his picture (Harry Hooper, too).
+2
Level 55
May 9, 2018
We must have a lot in common, at least baseball-wise. One year when I was in-between college years(?) I actually drove down to Santa Cruz and went to Harry Hooper's home. Got a couple autographs (one on a photo from his playing days). Harry passed away two or so years later. Another time I was able to get Joe DiMaggio's when I went to a ballfield that was being named for him, or the kids' league playing there (in Marin), saw it in the paper, said "I'm going", and surrounded by a bunch of kids (I was the only adult who ventured out on the field to get his autograph, unashamedly) I was fortunate that he was gracious enough to give it---he looked surprised such a "big kid" was out there.
+2
Level 75
Apr 20, 2019
Why only since 1950? Most people start the modern era with the 1901 season - the first World Series.
+2
Level 84
Sep 30, 2020
The first World Series was played in 1903. (Boston Americans/Red Sox vs Pittsburgh Pirates)
+2
Level 75
Oct 2, 2020
Duh. You're right. Still doesn't answer the question about only since 1950.
+4
Level 53
Apr 7, 2021
A lot of records haven't been approached, nor will be approached due to a wildly different style of play since the early modern era. Also, this allows you to really think about it, rather than just remember the names of a lot of players who were dead long before you were born
+2
Level 64
Jan 27, 2022
Not to mention the stat differences (advancing from 1st to 3rd on a single was called a steal those days)
+2
Level 14
May 29, 2019
Tris Speaker is actually 6th in career batting average at .3447. Ed Delahanty is #5 with at lifetime .3458.
+2
Level ∞
Sep 30, 2019
Ed Delahanty played most of his career prior to the modern era so he is not included as per the caveats.
+2
Level 23
Jul 2, 2020
Billy Hamilton has 914 career stolen bases. Is there a reason he isn't included here?
+2
Level ∞
Sep 29, 2020
Billy Hamilton played most of his career prior to the modern era so he is not included as per the caveats.
+3
Level 21
Jan 21, 2021
I dont think you should add Bieber. The metrics show that his ERA would go up if it was a 162 game season not 60
+1
Level 86
Oct 3, 2022
Needs updating. Good quiz
+3
Level 75
Oct 20, 2022
Now that the Negro league stats (such as they are) are considered Major League, can this be updated to include the likes of Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, et al?
+1
Level 77
Dec 27, 2022
Never realized that Julio Franco played 2 years overseas. He was always the super old guy on the field to me, but looks like the 2 years he played in Japan made him miss the cut. But at least i got John Franco because of it. I wonder how many of the 23% actually knew John Franco, or if they got him guessing Julio Franco.
+1
Level 62
Feb 22, 2023
Didn't Greg Maddux get a 1.63 ERA in 1995?
+1
Level 42
Jul 18, 2023
Shane Bieber 1.63 era shouldn't count. It was 2020 and he only pitched 77.1 innings
+1
Level ∞
Sep 29, 2023
Yeah. I'll probably remove this next time the quiz needs an update for other reasons, likely when Scherzer or Verlander cracks the top 5 all time for strikeouts.