End of Season Batting Statistics
NATIONAL LEAGUEBatting Average Terry Pendleton, Atlanta, .319 Hal Morris, Cincinnati, .318 Tony Gwynn, San Diego, .317
Veteran third baseman Terry Pendleton was a double league champion - in batting average and hits. His performance was the sine qua non of the Atlanta's incredible turnaround, which saw Ted Turner's Braves finally reward a national audience of longsuffering, cable-watching fans with a last-to-first, one-season vault.
Runs Batted In Howard Johnson, NY Mets, 117 (tie) Will Clark, San Francisco, 116 (tie) Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh, 116 The once-powerful New York Mets shifted seriously into reverse, but the stock of Howard Johnson soared as he served up a double-dip - home-run and runs-batted-in crowns.
Hits Terry Pendleton, Atlanta, 187 Brett Butler, Los Angeles, 182 Chris Sabo, Cincinnati, 175
Home Runs Howard Johnson, NY Mets, 38 Matt Williams, San Francisco, 34 Ron Gant, Atlanta, 32
AMERICAN LEAGUE Batting Average Julio Franco, Texas, .341 Wade Boggs, Boston, .332 (tie) Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle, .327 (tie) Willie Randolph, Milwaukee, .327
In terms of batting prowess, Texas's Julio Franco was no lone Ranger. Ruben Sierra and Rafael Palmeiro were also among league batting leaders. The bad news for Ranger fans, who have never seen their team reach the playoffs in the franchise's 20-year existence, is that a good start produced nothing better than a distant third-place division finish.
Runs Batted In Cecil Fielder, Detroit, 133 Jose Canseco, Oakland, 122 Ruben Sierra, Texas, 116
Hits Paul Molitor, Milwaukee, 216 Cal Ripken, Baltimore, 210 Rafael Palmeiro, Texas, 203
Home Runs (tie) Cecil Fielder, Detroit, 44 (tie) Jose Canseco, Oakland, 44 Cal Ripken, Baltimore, 34
Detroit's Cecil Fielder proved that he was no one-season wonder by capturing his second straight RBI and home-run titles, sharing the latter honor with Jose Canseco this year. A part-time player with the Toronto Blue Jays for three seasons, Fielder shipped out to Japan in 1989 before catching on with the Tigers.
