1953 National League Pitching Leaders

Previous Season Next Season

Other Leagues: Major Leagues, AL

Pennant Winner: Brooklyn Dodgers

NL Most Valuable Player: Roy Campanella

NL Rookie of the Year: Jim Gilliam

Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free.

1953 NL Menu

National 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. Roberts • PHI 9.9

2. Snider • BRO 9.1

Spahn • MLN 9.1

4. Mathews • MLN 8.0

5. Musial • STL 7.6

6. Haddix • STL 7.3

7. Robinson • BRO 6.9

8. Campanella • BRO 6.8

9. Schoendienst • STL 6.7

10. Ashburn • PHI 6.4

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. Roberts • PHI 9.8

2. Spahn • MLN 8.8

3. Haddix • STL 6.4

4. Simmons • PHI 4.4

5. Mizell • STL 4.4

6. Gómez • NYG 4.4

7. Erskine • BRO 4.2

8. Hacker • CHC 3.9

9. Wilhelm • NYG 3.6

10. Burdette • MLN 3.4

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. Spahn • MLN 2.10

2. Roberts • PHI 2.75

3. Buhl • MLN 2.97

4. Haddix • STL 3.06

5. Antonelli • MLN 3.18

6. Simmons • PHI 3.21

7. Burdette • MLN 3.24

8. Gómez • NYG 3.40

9. Mizell • STL 3.49

10. Erskine • BRO 3.54

Wins

1. Spahn • MLN 23

Roberts • PHI 23

3. Haddix • STL 20

Erskine • BRO 20

5. Staley • STL 18

6. Simmons • PHI 16

7. Burdette • MLN 15

Meyer • BRO 15

9. Konstanty • PHI 14

Loes • BRO 14

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. Erskine • BRO .769

2. Spahn • MLN .767

3. Meyer • BRO .750

Burdette • MLN .750

5. Haddix • STL .690

6. Surkont • MLN .688

7. Staley • STL .667

8. Labine • BRO .647

9. Loes • BRO .636

10. Buhl • MLN .619

Walks & Hits per IP

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

1. Spahn • MLN 1.058

2. Roberts • PHI 1.111

3. Haddix • STL 1.142

4. Simmons • PHI 1.231

5. Erskine • BRO 1.249

6. Hacker • CHC 1.259

7. Staley • STL 1.291

8. Jansen • NYG 1.300

9. Gómez • NYG 1.309

10. Minner • CHC 1.328

Hits per 9 IP

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

1. Spahn • MLN 7.148

2. Gómez • NYG 7.324

3. Mizell • STL 7.743

4. Buhl • MLN 7.756

5. Erskine • BRO 7.772

6. Haddix • STL 7.826

7. Simmons • PHI 7.979

8. Roberts • PHI 8.412

9. Antonelli • MLN 8.572

10. Lindell • 2TM 8.819

Bases On Balls per 9 IP

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

1. Roberts • PHI 1.584

2. Raffensberger • CIN 1.707

3. Minner • CHC 1.791

4. Staley • STL 2.113

5. Hacker • CHC 2.192

6. Konstanty • PHI 2.215

7. Roe • BRO 2.293

8. Spahn • MLN 2.371

9. Miller • PHI 2.403

10. Drews • PHI 2.428

Strikeouts per 9 IP

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

1. Mizell • STL 6.941

2. Erskine • BRO 6.823

3. Antonelli • MLN 6.724

4. Klippstein • CHC 6.066

5. Haddix • STL 5.798

6. Lindell • 2TM 5.337

7. Simmons • PHI 5.218

8. Roberts • PHI 5.140

9. Spahn • MLN 5.014

10. Meyer • BRO 4.986

Games Played

Games Played or Pitched

1. Wilhelm • NYG 68

2. Brazle • STL 61

3. Hetki • PIT 54

4. Smith • CIN 50

5. Lown • CHC 49

White • STL 49

7. Corwin • NYG 48

Hughes • BRO 48

Klippstein • CHC 48

Konstanty • PHI 48

Saves

1. Brazle • STL 18

2. Wilhelm • NYG 15

3. Burdette • MLN 9

Leonard • CHC 9

Hughes • BRO 9

6. White • STL 7

Labine • BRO 7

8. Klippstein • CHC 6

9. Black • BRO 5

Konstanty • PHI 5

Innings Pitched

1. Roberts • PHI 346.2

2. Spahn • MLN 265.2

3. Haddix • STL 253.0

4. Erskine • BRO 246.2

5. Simmons • PHI 238.0

6. Staley • STL 230.0

7. Mizell • STL 224.1

8. Hacker • CHC 221.2

9. Gómez • NYG 204.0

10. Minner • CHC 201.0

Strikeouts

1. Roberts • PHI 198

2. Erskine • BRO 187

3. Mizell • STL 173

4. Haddix • STL 163

5. Spahn • MLN 148

6. Simmons • PHI 138

7. Antonelli • MLN 131

8. Lindell • 2TM 118

9. Gómez • NYG 113

Klippstein • CHC 113

Games Started

1. Roberts • PHI 41

2. Mizell • STL 33

Haddix • STL 33

Erskine • BRO 33

5. Meyer • BRO 32

Spahn • MLN 32

Hearn • NYG 32

Staley • STL 32

Hacker • CHC 32

10. Simmons • PHI 30

Complete Games

Complete Game

1. Roberts • PHI 33

2. Spahn • MLN 24

3. Simmons • PHI 19

Haddix • STL 19

5. Erskine • BRO 16

6. Lindell • 2TM 15

7. Gómez • NYG 13

8. Antonelli • MLN 11

Surkont • MLN 11

10. Staley • STL 10

Dickson • PIT 10

Mizell • STL 10

Meyer • BRO 10

Baczewski • 2TM 10

Shutouts

Shutouts No runs allowed and a complete game.

1. Haddix • STL 6

2. Spahn • MLN 5

Roberts • PHI 5

4. Erskine • BRO 4

Simmons • PHI 4

6. Maglie • NYG 3

Buhl • MLN 3

Miller • PHI 3

Gómez • NYG 3

10. Worthington • NYG 2

Surkont • MLN 2

Meyer • BRO 2

Antonelli • MLN 2

Miller • STL 2

Minner • CHC 2

Perkowski • CIN 2

Home Runs

Home Runs Hit/Allowed

1. Hacker • CHC 35

2. Staley • STL 31

3. Roberts • PHI 30

4. Dickson • PIT 27

Roe • BRO 27

6. Drews • PHI 26

Perkowski • CIN 26

8. Meyer • BRO 25

Church • 2TM 25

10. Haddix • STL 24

Jansen • NYG 24

Bases on Balls

Bases on Balls/Walks

1. Lindell • 2TM 139

2. Mizell • STL 114

3. Klippstein • CHC 107

4. Gómez • NYG 101

5. Erskine • BRO 95

6. Hearn • NYG 84

Lown • CHC 84

8. Simmons • PHI 82

9. Wilhelm • NYG 77

10. Buhl • MLN 73

Hits

Hits/Hits Allowed

1. Roberts • PHI 324

2. Staley • STL 243

3. Dickson • PIT 240

4. Minner • CHC 227

5. Hacker • CHC 225

6. Haddix • STL 220

7. Drews • PHI 218

8. Podbielan • CIN 214

9. Erskine • BRO 213

10. Simmons • PHI 211

Spahn • MLN 211

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 3.246

2. Haddix • STL 2.362

3. Roe • BRO 2.125

4. Spahn • MLN 2.114

5. Erskine • BRO 1.968

6. Hacker • CHC 1.963

7. Antonelli • MLN 1.845

8. Simmons • PHI 1.683

9. Meyer • BRO 1.683

10. Staley • STL 1.630

Home Runs per 9 IP

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

1. Burdette • MLN 0.360

2. Spahn • MLN 0.474

3. Mizell • STL 0.481

4. Buhl • MLN 0.525

5. Simmons • PHI 0.643

6. Minner • CHC 0.672

7. Gómez • NYG 0.750

8. Erskine • BRO 0.766

9. Lindell • 2TM 0.769

10. Antonelli • MLN 0.770

Losses

1. Hacker • CHC 19

Dickson • PIT 19

3. Lindell • 2TM 17

4. Podbielan • CIN 16

Jansen • NYG 16

Roberts • PHI 16

LaPalme • PIT 16

8. Minner • CHC 15

9. Raffensberger • CIN 14

Rush • CHC 14

Earned Runs

Earned Runs Allowed

1. Hacker • CHC 108

2. Roberts • PHI 106

3. Lindell • 2TM 103

4. Staley • STL 102

5. Dickson • PIT 101

6. Hearn • NYG 99

7. Podbielan • CIN 98

8. Erskine • BRO 97

Meyer • BRO 97

Perkowski • CIN 97

Wild Pitches

1. Lindell • 2TM 11

2. Klippstein • CHC 10

Hearn • NYG 10

4. LaPalme • PIT 9

Haddix • STL 9

Wilhelm • NYG 9

7. Miller • PHI 7

Hall • PIT 7

9. Lown • CHC 6

10. Dickson • PIT 4

Erskine • BRO 4

Meyer • BRO 4

Milliken • BRO 4

Mizell • STL 4

Presko • STL 4

Smith • CIN 4

Hit By Pitch

Times Hit by a Pitch.

1. Staley • STL 17

2. Drews • PHI 10

3. Nuxhall • CIN 8

Podbielan • CIN 8

Klippstein • CHC 8

6. Collum • 2TM 6

Lindell • 2TM 6

8. Rush • CHC 5

Burdette • MLN 5

Presko • STL 5

Jones • CHC 5

Ridzik • PHI 5

Batters Faced

1. Roberts • PHI 1,412

2. Spahn • MLN 1,055

3. Haddix • STL 1,031

4. Erskine • BRO 1,030

5. Simmons • PHI 993

6. Mizell • STL 980

Staley • STL 980

8. Hacker • CHC 955

9. Lindell • 2TM 910

10. Dickson • PIT 877

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. Wilhelm • NYG 39

2. Brazle • STL 35

3. Hetki • PIT 31

4. Smith • CIN 27

Leonard • CHC 27

6. Burdette • MLN 24

7. White • STL 23

8. Klippstein • CHC 21

Labine • BRO 21

10. Hughes • BRO 20

Konstanty • PHI 20

Adjusted ERA+

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

1. Spahn • MLN 188

2. Roberts • PHI 153

3. Haddix • STL 139

4. Buhl • MLN 133

5. Simmons • PHI 131

6. Gómez • NYG 128

7. Antonelli • MLN 124

8. Burdette • MLN 122

9. Mizell • STL 122

10. Erskine • BRO 121

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. Spahn • MLN 2.97

2. Roberts • PHI 3.12

3. Mizell • STL 3.32

4. Erskine • BRO 3.38

5. Haddix • STL 3.40

6. Simmons • PHI 3.43

7. Antonelli • MLN 3.44

8. Burdette • MLN 3.50

9. Minner • CHC 3.57

10. Buhl • MLN 3.75

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. Roberts • PHI 58

2. Spahn • MLN 57

3. Haddix • STL 34

4. Simmons • PHI 24

5. Erskine • BRO 22

6. Mizell • STL 22

7. Gómez • NYG 20

8. Labine • BRO 18

9. Wilhelm • NYG 18

10. Buhl • MLN 18

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. Spahn • MLN 6.0

2. Roberts • PHI 6.0

3. Haddix • STL 3.4

4. Simmons • PHI 2.4

5. Erskine • BRO 2.2

6. Mizell • STL 2.2

7. Gómez • NYG 2.0

8. Labine • BRO 1.8

9. Wilhelm • NYG 1.8

10. Buhl • MLN 1.8

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. Roberts • PHI 68.37

2. Spahn • MLN 61.76

3. Erskine • BRO 30.81

4. Haddix • STL 27.78

5. Burdette • MLN 27.45

6. Simmons • PHI 26.37

7. Gómez • NYG 21.71

8. Labine • BRO 20.88

9. Buhl • MLN 15.58

10. White • STL 13.94

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. Spahn • MLN 7.0

2. Burdette • MLN 5.0

3. Roberts • PHI 4.9

4. Haddix • STL 3.9

5. Erskine • BRO 3.6

6. Labine • BRO 3.1

7. Gómez • NYG 2.6

8. Buhl • MLN 2.4

9. Simmons • PHI 2.4

10. Konstanty • PHI 2.0

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. Spahn • MLN 5.5

2. Roberts • PHI 5.0

3. Simmons • PHI 3.3

4. Gómez • NYG 2.7

5. Erskine • BRO 2.7

6. Haddix • STL 2.3

7. Labine • BRO 1.9

8. Burdette • MLN 1.8

9. Baczewski • 2TM 1.3

Buhl • MLN 1.3

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. Spahn • MLN 10.9

2. Burdette • MLN 10.1

3. Erskine • BRO 9.5

4. Roberts • PHI 5.2

5. Labine • BRO 3.8

6. Buhl • MLN 3.3

7. Surkont • MLN 3.0

8. Haddix • STL 3.0

9. Staley • STL 2.6

10. Antonelli • MLN 2.4

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. Roberts • PHI 7.3

2. Spahn • MLN 6.9

3. Erskine • BRO 3.1

4. Burdette • MLN 2.9

5. Haddix • STL 2.8

6. Simmons • PHI 2.7

7. Gómez • NYG 2.2

8. Labine • BRO 2.1

9. Buhl • MLN 1.6

10. White • STL 1.4

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