Earned Run Average : 1959 American League Top 25

Finding the American or National League leader in virtually every hitting & pitching statistic is easy-to-do. Finding the top 25 players during any given season is far more challenging. Baseball Almanac has taken away that difficult problem and is pleased to present the data you requested:

"Maybe I missed my routine and my game so much that I was trying to rationalize reasons for getting it back. I wanted those 162 games. I wanted all the suspense of the playoff and home run races. And I honestly didn't believe baseball would bend far enough to allow the possibility of games in November. I was wrong. And baseball was right." - Paul White in USA Today Baseball Weekly (September 14, 2001)
 

1959 Earned Run Average Leaders

Top 25 in the American League

Hoyt Wilhelm 2.19 (2.1903) Baltimore Orioles 1
Camilo Pascual 2.64 (2.6397) Washington Senators 2
Jim Perry 2.65 (2.6471) Cleveland Indians 3
Bob Shaw 2.69 (2.6922) Chicago White Sox 4
Art Ditmar 2.90 (2.8960) New York Yankees 5
Jerry Walker 2.92 (2.9176) Baltimore Orioles 6
Billy O'Dell 2.93 (2.9348) Baltimore Orioles 7
Whitey Ford 3.04 (3.0441) New York Yankees 8
Bud Daley 3.16 (3.1618) Kansas City Athletics 9
Early Wynn 3.17 (3.1682) Chicago White Sox 10
Milt Pappas 3.27 (3.2675) Baltimore Orioles 11
Don Mossi 3.36 (3.3553) Detroit Tigers 12
Frank Lary 3.55 (3.5516) Detroit Tigers 13
Billy Pierce 3.62 (3.6161) Chicago White Sox 14
Cal McLish 3.63 (3.6331) Cleveland Indians 15
Dick Donovan 3.66 (3.6568) Chicago White Sox 16
Ned Garver 3.71 (3.7103) Kansas City Athletics 17
Barry Latman 3.75 (3.7500) Chicago White Sox 18
Tom Brewer 3.76 (3.7616) Boston Red Sox 19
Hal Brown 3.79 (3.7866) Baltimore Orioles 20
Ralph Terry 3.89 (3.8868) Kansas City Athletics 21
New York Yankees  
Jim Bunning 3.89 (3.8932) Detroit Tigers 22
Frank Sullivan 3.95 (3.9512) Boston Red Sox 23
Gary Bell 4.04 (4.0385) Cleveland Indians 24
Mudcat Grant 4.14 (4.1371) Cleveland Indians 25



Jim Thome wore number twenty-five since he first came up with the Cleveland Indians making him the franchise record holder for that particular number (Mike Garcia is second).

Future Hall of Famer Sammy Sosa is best known for wearing number twenty-one; however, when the young slugger played for the Chicago White Sox (1989-1991) he only wore number twenty-five.

The first player from the Angels franchise (they were the California Angels at the time) to wear the number twenty-five was Bob Perry.