Surprising League Leaders of the 1980s

by Paul Semendinger

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Note - This article was written for the IBWAA and was published in their newsletter on July 5, 2025

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Over the past few weeks, I have shared lists of surprising league leaders from the 1970s, the 1960s, and the 1950s. Many people thought my next article would take us to the 1940s, but instead I decided to go in a different direction — to the 1980s. It's good to change this up every now and then.

This decade proved to be a bit more of a challenge because I came of age as a baseball fan in the 1980s. I had baseball cards of these players -- and plenty of them. I had many of these players' Strat-o-Matic cards (and still have some). As such, rather than the league leaders of the 1980s being obscure little-known players to me, these players are all very familiar. Many of these players grew up with me, or, better said, I grew up watching them.

It is much easier to assess a less popular player from the decades before I was born than with players with whom I was so familiar. Also, this was a decade dominated by some of the same big names year-after-year. The best players of the 1980s dominated the leaders board year-after-year.

Nonetheless, here are some lesser-known league leaders from the 1980s:

Rudy May, A.L. ERA, 1980 (2.46) - Rudy May pitched for 16 seasons but 1980 was his best season as he went 15-5. May won more than150 games in his career, but that was the only time he was ever a league leader.

Steve Stone, A.L. Wins, 1980 (25) - Across his career, Steve Stone won more than 15 games in a season only once. He was an All-Star once and he won one major award (the Cy Young Award). All of that happened in 1980.

Dick Tidrow, N.L. Games Pitched, 1980 (84) - Long-time Yankee Dick Tidrow was a Cub in 1980 when he led the N.L. in games pitched. Tidrow was 5-6 with 6 saves and a 2.79 ERA. This was the only time in his 13-year career that he led the league in any category.

John Castino, A.L. Triples, 1981 (9) - When I recall the way the game was played in the 1980s, I recall lots of triples being hit by speedy outfielders, many from teams like the Cardinals and Royals, not a third baseman on the Minnesota Twins. But, in 1981, John Castino led the A.L. in triples. Castino played for only six years. This was the only time he led the league in any category. I would imagine that many of the most knowledgeable fans don't even remember that he was the A.L. Co-Rookie of the Year in 1979.

George Wright, A.L. Games Played, 1983 (162, tie) - Cal Ripken Jr. played in every game in 1982, as did Alfredo Griffin (who was Co-Rookie of the Year with John Castino in 1979). And then there was George Wright, an outfielder on the Texas Rangers, who, in his second MLB season, also played in every game. This was George Wright's career year. He batted .276/18/80. He'd never bat that high again nor hit as many homers or drive in as many runs. Following this season, he never played in more than 109 games in a season. Wright's career was over after the 1986 season.

Ed Vande Berg, A.L. Games Pitched, 1982 (78) - As a rookie in 1982, Vande Berg led the league in games pitched. That was only good enough to earn him fourth place in the Rookie of the Year voting. Vande Berg went 9-4 that year but would go 16-24 over the remainder of his seven-year MLB career.

Dave Collins, A.L. Triples, 1984 (15, tie) - Dave Collins had a long career, playing for 16 seasons, but this was the only time he ever led a league in any category. This was the only time Collins ever reached double figures in triples. His next highest season total was six.

Ted Power, N.L. Games Pitched, 1984 (78) - It seems like a different pitcher leads the league in games pitched each season. Often these are one-year events for a pitcher. Ted Power was one such pitcher. This was the only time he ever led the league in any category, and it was, by far, his best season. Power earned 3.0 WAR. He never accumulated more than 1.6 WAR in any other season. Power pitched in 13 seasons and accumulated a career 7.6 WAR.

Greg Walker, A.L. Games Played, 1985 (163) - If you'd like to win a trivia question ask someone who led the A.L. in games played in 1985. The obvious answer is Cal Ripken, Jr. Of course he led the league. Only, he didn't. He played in only 161 games in 1985. (Of note - Bill Buckner and Alfredo Griffin played in 162 games.) Greg Walker played for nine years, but was never a league leader any other time.

Mitch Webster, N.L. Triples, 1986 (13) - Stop me if you heard this story before... Webster played for 13 seasons. He never led the league in any category other than this. This was the only season in which Mitch Webster reached double figures in triples.

Chuck Crim, A.L. Games Pitched, 1988 and 1989 (70,76) - I don't believe many fans remember Chuck Crim, but he led the A.L. in games pitched for two consecutive years. Crim pitched in 50 or more games for six consecutive seasons. His career was over just a few years later.

Todd Benzinger, N.L. At Bats, 1989 (628) - Across a career that lasted nine seasons, this was the only time Benzinger had more than 416 at-bats. In 1989, he played a lot. One would assume, he had a great year in 1989. Never assume. Benzinger hit .245. He was worth -0.5 WAR.

Jose DeLeon, N.L. Strikeouts, 1989 (201) - In 1988, Jose DeLeon struck out 208 batters and did not lead the league. In 1989, he struck out seven fewer and did. Those two 200+ strikeout seasons were the apex of his 13-year career. This, though, was not the only time he led the league in a major category. In both 1985 and 1990, he led the N.L. in losses.

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Paul Semendinger loves writing about baseball. He is a frequent contributor to Here's the Pitch. Stay tuned because very soon we should be hearing more about the first of Paul's three books on the Battle of Gettysburg.