Many teams have seen decades pass since one of their players led their league (AL or NL) in a particular category. Can you believe the Cubs haven't had a stolen base leader for as many years as it took for the Red Sox to break the supposed Curse of the Bambino?
So even in May we get a little excited when a “CHC” is among the stolen base leaders or, say, a “CLE” is near the top of the hits chart.
Plenty could change between now and the end of the season, but let’s look at nine players who could break their teams’ long statistical leader droughts. All stats are through Thursday's games.
1. Cal Raleigh, 12 home runs (T-1st in AL)
Last Mariners home runs leader: Ken Griffey Jr. (1999)
Twenty-six seasons is not a terribly long time to go without a home run champion, except maybe for the Mariners fans who were miffed when Alex Rodriguez left Seattle in 2001, then went on to lead the AL in homers in five of the next seven seasons. Raleigh has plenty working against him: his pitcher-friendly home park, his position as a catcher and the fact that no matter how many home runs he hits, Aaron Judge will likely always be lurking in the shadows. If nothing else, Raleigh could join Salvador Perez, Johnny Bench, Javy Lopez, Todd Hundley, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza as catchers to hit 40 homers. Raleigh’s career high is 34, set last season.
2. Steven Kwan, 49 hits (T-3rd in AL)
Last Cleveland hits leader: Kenny Lofton (1994)
Cleveland hasn’t had an AL hits leader in a non-shortened season since Dale Mitchell in 1949. So thank goodness for Kenny Lofton, otherwise that drought would be pushing 80 years. If Kwan reaches his on-pace mark of 215 hits, he’ll not only contend for the league lead, but he’ll notch the highest Cleveland total since Earl Averill had 232 hits and Hal Trosky 216 in 1936. Kwan could also threaten for the franchise’s first batting title since Bobby Avila in 1954. We’ve seen Kwan push .400 into the summer. We’ve seen him win Gold Glove Awards, excel on the bases and star in the postseason. Now he’s trying to ink his name into the record books.
3. Wilmer Flores, 33 RBIs (3rd in NL)
Last Giants RBI leader: Barry Bonds (1993)
Four different Giants players led the NL in RBIs between 1988-93: Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Matt Williams and Bonds. No Giant has done it since, even as one of them, Bonds, was on his way to setting the career home run record in 2007. Flores might not be the first choice of San Francisco players to reverse the trend -- he's never had more than 71 RBIs in a season. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities, but Flores might have to keep up something close to his current .429 batting average with runners in scoring position, which comes with a .686 slugging percentage. It helps that the Giants don’t have a prototypical slugger taking RBI chances from Flores, who has 19 RBIs from the No. 7 spot in the batting order.
4. Rafael Devers, 39 games played (T-1st in AL)
Last Red Sox games played leader: Dwight Evans (1984)
Red Sox players in the middle and later parts of the 20th century were about as durable as they come. Twelve times between 1943 and 1985, one of them either led the Majors in games played or played at least 162 games. Now, there have been 154 individual seasons of at least 162 games since Bill Buckner did it for Boston in 1985, finishing second to White Sox first baseman Greg Walker’s 163 that year. The Angels have a longer drought -- Don Baylor in his MVP season of 1979 was their last -- but no Angel has played in every game this season. Devers, Boston's designated hitter, could break the club’s 41-year spell simply by showing up every day and doing what he does best -- mash.
5. Jesús Luzardo, 2.11 ERA (4th in NL)
Last Phillies ERA leader: Steve Carlton (1972)
First, here are some numbers from Carlton’s 1972 season that Luzardo won’t reach: 27 wins, 30 complete games, 346 1/3 innings, 310 strikeouts. But here are the similarities: Carlton was 27 when he broke out for the Phillies following a trade from another National League franchise, the Cardinals. Luzardo is 27, was traded from Miami to Philadelphia in the offseason, and is on the doorstep of superstardom. Carlton and early-20th century pitcher Grover Alexander are the only Phillies to lead the NL in ERA since the start of that century. Considering the parallels, it would be fitting if Luzardo, following 21st century Phillies stars such as Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, was the one to join Carlton as an ERA champion.
6. Jung Hoo Lee, 11 doubles (T-4th in NL)
Last Giants doubles leader: Orlando Cepeda (1958)
Cepeda led the NL with 38 doubles in 1958, and only six times since (excluding the 2020 Covid season) has the NL leader finished with fewer than 40, the last coming when Tim Raines and Johnny Ray hit 38 apiece in 1984. In fact, the Giants themselves have had a player exceed 38 doubles 16 times since 1958 without one leading the league. Enter Lee, who is no stranger to the two-base hit. The “Grandson of the Wind” led the Korea Baseball Organization in doubles four times and finished second three times in his seven seasons there. The only thing that might stop Lee from leading the league in doubles is that he hits a lot of triples, too -- 43 in Korea and two so far this season.
7. Pete Crow-Armstrong, 12 stolen bases (3rd in NL)
Last Cubs stolen bases leader: Stan Hack (1939)
Stan Hack was not particularly good at stealing bases. Between 1936 and 1940, Hack stole 87 bases but was caught 92 times. It’s true that stolen bases weren’t exactly in vogue in the late 1930s, but Hack’s success rate was particularly eye-catching for the wrong reason. He likely wouldn’t fit in the current era of unmatched power and speed. But Crow-Armstrong certainly does. His center field defense is unassailable, his power is progressing exponentially, and his adeptness on the bases is a byproduct of his well-roundedness. Crow-Armstrong is hanging right with noted burners and boppers Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz and could become the first Cub in 86 years to lead the NL in steals, this time with a more respectable total.
8. Cole Ragans, 57 strikeouts (T-1st in AL)
Last Royals strikeout leader: N/A
Last season, Ragans came oh-so-close to becoming the first Royal to lead the AL in strikeouts. He led the AL in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.8 but his 223 total strikeouts was second to AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubakl's 228. To be fair, though, there haven’t been a ton of opportunities for a KC pitcher to take the strikeout torch from those who have carried it since the Royals were founded in 1969. Since then, 11 pitchers have led the AL in strikeouts at least twice, covering 40 seasons. Ragans and fellow left-handers Carlos Rodon (57 strikeouts) and Garrett Crochet (56) are bunched at the top for now, and Ragans has something they don’t, a 180-inning season -- Ragans pitched 186 1/3 in 2024.
9. Pete Alonso, 87 total bases (3rd in NL)
Last Mets total bases leader: N/A
The Mets have never had a player lead the NL in total bases in their 63 years of existence, and Alonso being the one to break the string seems appropriate. He does, after all, hold the Mets’ single-season record of 348, set in his 53-homer rookie season of 2019, when he finished three behind NL leader Cody Bellinger. Alonso trails Arizona’s Corbin Carroll and the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, and that should be an interesting race all season, with Alonso trying to run down a young speedster and arguably the NL's most powerful bat. Alonso could set himself apart by tapping into a bit more of that 50-homer power; he has nine home runs so far in 2025.