1959 Major League Pitching Leaders

Other Leagues: AL, NL

World Series Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers

Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free.

1959 MLB Menu

Major League Pitching Leaders

Wins Above Replacement--all

Wins Above Replacement A single number that presents the number of wins the player added to the team above what a replacement player (think AAA or AAAA) would add. Scale for a single-season: 8+ MVP Quality, 5+ All-Star Quality, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Reserve, < 0 Replacement Level Developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com

1. Banks • CHC 10.2

2. Aaron • MLN 8.6

3. Pascual • WSH 8.6

4. Mathews • MLN 8.1

5. Mays • SFG 7.8

6. Boyer • STL 7.4

7. Jackson • STL 6.9

8. Wilhelm • BAL 6.8

9. Law • PIT 6.6

10. Mantle • NYY 6.6

WAR for Pitchers

Wins Above Replacement for Pitchers A single number that presents the number of wins the player added to the team above what a replacement player (think AAA or AAAA) would add. This value includes defensive support and includes additional value for high leverage situations. Scale: 8+ MVP Quality, 5+ All-Star Quality, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Reserve, < 0 Replacement Level Developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com

1. Pascual • WSH 7.8

2. Wilhelm • BAL 7.6

3. Jackson • STL 7.3

4. Law • PIT 6.5

5. Drysdale • LAD 5.9

6. Jones • SFG 5.7

7. Spahn • MLN 5.5

8. Craig • LAD 5.0

9. Antonelli • SFG 4.9

10. Newcombe • CIN 4.9

Earned Run Average

9 * ER / IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played. Bold indicates lowest ERA using current stats Gold means awarded ERA title at end of year.

1. Wilhelm • BAL 2.19

2. Pascual • WSH 2.64

3. Shaw • CHW 2.69

4. Jones • SFG 2.83

5. Miller • SFG 2.84

6. Buhl • MLN 2.86

7. Ditmar • NYY 2.90

8. Walker • BAL 2.92

9. O'Dell • BAL 2.93

10. Spahn • MLN 2.96

Wins

1. Wynn • CHW 22

2. Burdette • MLN 21

Jones • SFG 21

Spahn • MLN 21

5. McLish • CLE 19

Antonelli • SFG 19

7. Shaw • CHW 18

Face • PIT 18

Law • PIT 18

10. Bunning • DET 17

Lary • DET 17

Mossi • DET 17

Pascual • WSH 17

Drysdale • LAD 17

Win-Loss %

Win-Loss Percentage W / (W + L) For players, leaders need one decision for every ten team games. For managers, minimum to qualify for leading is 320 games.

1. Face • PIT .947

2. Shaw • CHW .750

3. McLish • CLE .704

4. Wynn • CHW .688

Craig • LAD .688

6. Law • PIT .667

7. Antonelli • SFG .655

8. Mossi • DET .654

9. Delock • BOS .647

10. Maas • NYY .636

Walks & Hits per IP

(BB + H)/IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played

1. Ditmar • NYY 1.030

2. Haddix • PIT 1.061

3. Newcombe • CIN 1.095

4. Conley • PHI 1.117

5. Law • PIT 1.120

6. Wilhelm • BAL 1.128

7. Pascual • WSH 1.135

8. Mossi • DET 1.136

9. Antonelli • SFG 1.145

10. O'Dell • BAL 1.154

Hits per 9 IP

9 x H / IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played

1. Score • CLE 6.890

2. Ditmar • NYY 6.950

3. Wilhelm • BAL 7.088

4. Wynn • CHW 7.111

5. O'Dell • BAL 7.360

6. Pappas • BAL 7.524

7. Haddix • PIT 7.582

8. Pascual • WSH 7.617

9. Grant • CLE 7.621

10. Jones • SFG 7.714

Bases On Balls per 9 IP

9 x BB / IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played

1. Newcombe • CIN 1.095

2. Burdette • MLN 1.181

3. Roberts • PHI 1.224

4. Brown • BAL 1.756

5. Purkey • CIN 1.775

6. Law • PIT 1.793

7. Lary • DET 1.857

8. Garver • KCA 1.877

9. Mossi • DET 1.934

10. Haddix • PIT 1.966

Strikeouts per 9 IP

9 x SO / IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played

1. Score • CLE 8.234

2. Drysdale • LAD 8.047

3. Bunning • DET 7.246

4. Pascual • WSH 6.976

5. Jones • SFG 6.950

6. Podres • LAD 6.692

7. Broglio • STL 6.601

8. Turley • NYY 6.473

9. Wynn • CHW 6.301

10. McCormick • SFG 6.022

Games Played

Games Played or Pitched

1. Staley • CHW 67

2. Elston • CHC 65

Henry • CHC 65

4. McDaniel • STL 62

5. Lown • CHW 60

McMahon • MLN 60

7. Miller • SFG 59

8. Face • PIT 57

9. Labine • LAD 56

10. Clevenger • WSH 50

Jones • SFG 50

Saves

1. McDaniel • STL 16

2. Lown • CHW 15

Staley • CHW 15

McMahon • MLN 15

5. Duren • NYY 14

Loes • BAL 14

Elston • CHC 14

8. Henry • CHC 12

9. Fornieles • BOS 11

10. Face • PIT 10

Lawrence • CIN 10

Innings Pitched

1. Spahn • MLN 292.0

2. Burdette • MLN 289.2

3. Antonelli • SFG 282.0

4. Drysdale • LAD 270.2

Jones • SFG 270.2

6. Law • PIT 266.0

7. Roberts • PHI 257.1

8. Jackson • STL 256.0

9. Wynn • CHW 255.2

10. Bunning • DET 249.2

Strikeouts

1. Drysdale • LAD 242

2. Jones • SFG 209

3. Bunning • DET 201

4. Pascual • WSH 185

5. Wynn • CHW 179

6. Koufax • LAD 173

7. Antonelli • SFG 165

8. McCormick • SFG 151

9. Haddix • PIT 149

10. Score • CLE 147

Games Started

1. Burdette • MLN 39

2. Antonelli • SFG 38

3. Foytack • DET 37

Wynn • CHW 37

Jackson • STL 37

6. Anderson • CHC 36

Drysdale • LAD 36

Spahn • MLN 36

9. Bunning • DET 35

Ramos • WSH 35

Friend • PIT 35

Jones • SFG 35

Roberts • PHI 35

Complete Games

Complete Game

1. Spahn • MLN 21

2. Burdette • MLN 20

Law • PIT 20

4. Roberts • PHI 19

5. Pascual • WSH 17

Antonelli • SFG 17

Newcombe • CIN 17

8. Jones • SFG 16

9. Mossi • DET 15

Pappas • BAL 15

Drysdale • LAD 15

Shutouts

Shutouts No runs allowed and a complete game.

1. Pascual • WSH 6

2. Wynn • CHW 5

3. Spahn • MLN 4

Pappas • BAL 4

Antonelli • SFG 4

Buhl • MLN 4

Burdette • MLN 4

Craig • LAD 4

Drysdale • LAD 4

Jones • SFG 4

Home Runs

Home Runs Hit/Allowed

1. Burdette • MLN 38

2. Bunning • DET 37

3. Foytack • DET 34

Roberts • PHI 34

5. Ramos • WSH 30

6. Antonelli • SFG 29

7. Bell • CLE 28

Score • CLE 28

9. McLish • CLE 26

Pierce • CHW 26

Drysdale • LAD 26

Haddix • PIT 26

Peña • CIN 26

Bases on Balls

Bases on Balls/Walks

1. Wynn • CHW 119

2. Score • CLE 115

3. Jones • SFG 109

4. Hobbie • CHC 106

5. Bell • CLE 105

6. Drysdale • LAD 93

7. Koufax • LAD 92

8. Casale • BOS 89

Ford • NYY 89

Broglio • STL 89

Mizell • STL 89

Hits

Hits/Hits Allowed

1. Burdette • MLN 312

2. Spahn • MLN 282

3. Jackson • STL 271

4. Friend • PIT 267

Roberts • PHI 267

6. McLish • CLE 253

7. Antonelli • SFG 247

8. Anderson • CHC 245

Law • PIT 245

10. Purkey • CIN 241

Strikeouts / Base On Balls

SO/W or SO/BB For recent years, pitching leaders need 1 IP per team game played. No batting leaders computed.

1. Roberts • PHI 3.914

2. Newcombe • CIN 3.704

3. Haddix • PIT 3.041

4. Lary • DET 2.978

5. Burdette • MLN 2.763

6. Pascual • WSH 2.681

7. Bunning • DET 2.680

8. Drysdale • LAD 2.602

9. Mossi • DET 2.551

10. Brown • BAL 2.531

Home Runs per 9 IP

9 x HR / IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played

1. Pappas • BAL 0.344

2. Pascual • WSH 0.377

3. Jackson • STL 0.457

4. Wilhelm • BAL 0.518

5. Owens • PHI 0.569

6. Ford • NYY 0.574

7. Hobbie • CHC 0.577

8. Brewer • BOS 0.585

9. Shaw • CHW 0.585

10. Jones • SFG 0.599

Losses

1. Ramos • WSH 19

Friend • PIT 19

3. Purkey • CIN 18

4. Kemmerer • WSH 17

Roberts • PHI 17

6. McCormick • SFG 16

7. Pierce • CHW 15

Burdette • MLN 15

Jones • SFG 15

Spahn • MLN 15

Earned Runs

Earned Runs Allowed

1. Burdette • MLN 131

2. Foytack • DET 124

3. Roberts • PHI 122

4. Bunning • DET 108

Ramos • WSH 108

Anderson • CHC 108

7. Bell • CLE 105

Friend • PIT 105

9. Drysdale • LAD 104

10. Kemmerer • WSH 103

Purkey • CIN 103

Wild Pitches

1. Pappas • BAL 14

Score • CLE 14

3. Brewer • BOS 11

4. Kemmerer • WSH 10

McDaniel • STL 10

6. Hobbie • CHC 9

Kline • PIT 9

McCormick • SFG 9

9. Bell • CLE 8

Broglio • STL 8

O'Toole • CIN 8

Owens • PHI 8

Podres • LAD 8

Hit By Pitch

Times Hit by a Pitch.

1. Drysdale • LAD 18

2. McDevitt • LAD 14

3. Kucks • 2TM 12

4. Bunning • DET 11

Daley • KCA 11

Lary • DET 11

7. Wilhelm • BAL 10

8. Ramos • WSH 9

Wynn • CHW 9

Williams • LAD 9

Batters Faced

1. Spahn • MLN 1,203

2. Burdette • MLN 1,193

3. Antonelli • SFG 1,150

4. Jones • SFG 1,148

5. Drysdale • LAD 1,142

6. Jackson • STL 1,081

7. Law • PIT 1,080

8. Wynn • CHW 1,076

9. Roberts • PHI 1,075

10. Bunning • DET 1,037

Games Finished

Games Finished Credited to the last pitcher to appear for a team in a game. Complete Games are not counted as Games Finished.

1. McMahon • MLN 49

2. Elston • CHC 48

3. Face • PIT 47

McDaniel • STL 47

5. Lown • CHW 37

Staley • CHW 37

7. Henry • CHC 36

8. Labine • LAD 33

9. Loes • BAL 31

10. Duren • NYY 29

Miller • SFG 29

Adjusted ERA+

ERA+ 100*[lgERA/ERA] Adjusted to the player’s ballpark(s).

1. Wilhelm • BAL 173

2. Pascual • WSH 149

3. Shaw • CHW 141

4. Conley • PHI 136

5. Jones • SFG 134

6. Miller • SFG 134

7. Walker • BAL 130

8. O'Dell • BAL 129

9. Newcombe • CIN 129

10. Law • PIT 129

Fielding Independent Pitching

Fielding Independent Pitching this stat measures a pitcher's effectiveness at preventing HR, BB, HBP and causing SO <tt>(13*HR + 3*(BB+HBP) - 2*SO)/IP + Constantlg</tt> The constant is set so that each season major-league average FIP is the same as the major-league avg ERA

1. Pascual • WSH 2.44

2. Jackson • STL 2.87

3. Pappas • BAL 3.03

4. Conley • PHI 3.08

5. Jones • SFG 3.16

6. Owens • PHI 3.19

7. Wilhelm • BAL 3.22

8. Spahn • MLN 3.23

9. Drysdale • LAD 3.23

10. Mossi • DET 3.27

Adj. Pitching Runs

Adjusted Pitching Runs A set of formulas developed by Gary Gillette, Pete Palmer and others that estimates a pitcher’s total contributions to a team’s runs total via linear weights. 0.0 is an avg performance, <0 is worse than avg and >0 is better than avg

1. Wilhelm • BAL 40

2. Pascual • WSH 34

3. Shaw • CHW 32

4. Craig • LAD 30

5. Law • PIT 30

6. Jones • SFG 29

7. Jackson • STL 26

8. Antonelli • SFG 24

9. Drysdale • LAD 23

10. Newcombe • CIN 22

Adj. Pitching Wins

Adjusted Pitching Wins A set of formulas developed by Gary Gillette, Pete Palmer and others that estimates a pitcher’s total contributions to a team’s wins with his arm. 0.0 is an avg performance, <0 is worse than avg and >0 is better than avg

1. Wilhelm • BAL 4.4

2. Pascual • WSH 3.6

3. Shaw • CHW 3.3

4. Craig • LAD 3.3

5. Law • PIT 3.2

6. Jones • SFG 3.0

7. Jackson • STL 2.7

8. Antonelli • SFG 2.5

9. Drysdale • LAD 2.4

10. Newcombe • CIN 2.3

Base-Out Runs Saved (RE24)

Base-Out Runs Saved Given the bases occupied/out situation, how many runs did the pitcher save in the resulting play. Compared to average, so 0 is average, and above 0 is better than average

1. Wilhelm • BAL 45.65

2. Law • PIT 39.77

3. Shaw • CHW 38.75

4. Pascual • WSH 38.59

5. Antonelli • SFG 36.09

6. Jones • SFG 32.92

7. Spahn • MLN 30.41

8. Henry • CHC 28.64

9. Craig • LAD 26.44

10. Drysdale • LAD 25.81

Win Probability Added (WPA)

Win Probability Added by Pitcher Given average teams, this is the change in probability. See <a href='https://www.baseball-reference.com/about/wpa.shtml'>Win Expectancy explainer</a> for details.

1. Wilhelm • BAL 4.3

2. Shaw • CHW 4.2

3. Law • PIT 4.0

4. Lown • CHW 3.7

5. Antonelli • SFG 3.7

6. Walker • BAL 3.3

7. Pascual • WSH 3.2

8. Pierce • CHW 3.2

9. Staley • CHW 3.1

10. Sherry • LAD 2.8

Sit. Wins Saved (WPA/LI)

Situational Wins (WPA/LI) It is the sum of WPA divided by the leverage index for each play. WPA depends greatly on the context of the at bats. This stat does not.

1. Pascual • WSH 3.8

2. Ditmar • NYY 3.5

3. Spahn • MLN 3.2

4. Wilhelm • BAL 3.1

5. Shaw • CHW 3.0

6. Craig • LAD 2.7

7. Perry • CLE 2.7

8. Mossi • DET 2.7

9. Drysdale • LAD 2.6

10. Antonelli • SFG 2.6

Championship WPA (cWPA)

Championship Win Probability Added by Pitcher Given average teams, this is the change in probability of winning the World Series, displayed in percentage points. See <a href='https://www.baseball-reference.com/about/wpa.shtml'>Win Expectancy explainer</a> for details.

1. Sherry • LAD 23.9

2. Craig • LAD 15.8

3. Lown • CHW 12.5

4. Staley • CHW 11.9

5. Pierce • CHW 11.1

6. Antonelli • SFG 10.6

7. Sanford • SFG 10.1

8. Shaw • CHW 9.5

9. Williams • LAD 8.5

10. Podres • LAD 6.7

Base-Out Wins Saved (REW)

Base-Out Wins Saved This is the number of wins above average the player was worth by their performance measured by the 24 base-out situations.

1. Wilhelm • BAL 5.1

2. Law • PIT 4.4

3. Shaw • CHW 4.2

4. Pascual • WSH 4.2

5. Antonelli • SFG 3.9

6. Jones • SFG 3.5

7. Spahn • MLN 3.4

8. Henry • CHC 3.0

9. Ditmar • NYY 2.8

10. Craig • LAD 2.7

A ** by the stat's value indicates the player had fewer than the required number of at bats or plate appearances for the BA, OBP, SLG or OPS title that year. In order to rank the player, the necessary number of hitless at bats were added to the player's season total. The value printed here is their actual value and not the value used to rank them, therefore some numbers may appear out of order.

For rate stats, generally a minimum of 3.1 Plate Appearances/Team Game (batting), 1.0 IP/Team Game (pitching), 0.67 Gm and Chances/Team Game (fielding), 0.2 SB att/Team Game (catchers), 0.1 SB att/Team Game (baserunners only since 1951), and 0.1 decision/Team Game (W-L%) is needed for single-season leaderboards. For pitcher fielding the minimums are reduced by a third. For LF, CF, RF fielding stats, we only have reliable data since 1898, so all leaders are since 1898. Explanation of min. requirements