As Major League Baseball heads into the final stretch of the regular season, attention is focused not only on playoff positioning but also on several statistical races that remain unsettled.
In the National League, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers are locked in a close contest for the home run title. Schwarber currently leads with 45 home runs, just ahead of Ohtani’s 44. Their performances have seen frequent changes at the top spot. “It feels like these two sluggers trade home runs every day now, and, well, they basically do. On Tuesday, Schwarber launched his 44th home run to briefly take the NL lead — until, a few hours later, Ohtani drew even with a rocket that left the bat at 115.9 mph. Not to be out done, Schwarber hit No. 45 the very next day. If that’s any indication, this race seems poised to go down to the wire between two MVP contenders.”
The American League ERA race features Nathan Eovaldi (Texas Rangers) leading with a 1.73 ERA over 22 starts despite time spent on the injured list. Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers), Hunter Brown (Houston Astros), and Garrett Crochet (Boston Red Sox) follow behind.
Crochet and Skubal are also competing for most strikeouts in the AL; Crochet has recorded 207 while Skubal stands at 200.
The NL batting average competition remains crowded with Freddie Freeman (Dodgers) and Trea Turner (Phillies) both hitting .301 as of Sunday. Sal Frelick (Milwaukee Brewers), Will Smith (Dodgers), Xavier Edwards (Miami Marlins), and Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks) are all within reach as well. “This is easily the most crowded race on the list, with at least six players vying for the NL batting title — and the leader seems to change daily,” according to recent observations.
On pitching in the NL, Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates) leads with a 2.16 ERA but has seen his margin shrink after recent outings by Andrew Abbott (Cincinnati Reds). Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies) and Matthew Boyd (Chicago Cubs) are also in contention.
Bobby Witt Jr., Bo Bichette, and Jarren Duran are separated by only a handful of doubles in their pursuit of leading that category in the AL.
Cal Raleigh holds a seven-home-run lead over Aaron Judge for most homers in the AL this season after winning this year’s Home Run Derby.
In RBIs for the NL, Schwarber leads Pete Alonso by six after posting strong numbers since midseason: “This feels like Schwarber’s race to lose. He has a whopping 40 RBIs since the All-Star break… Alonso is still within striking distance.”
Robert Suarez of San Diego Padres holds four more saves than Trevor Megill of Milwaukee Brewers as they vie for top closer honors in their league.
Finally, José Caballero leads AL base stealers with 40 stolen bases this season for New York Yankees while Chandler Simpson and José Ramírez trail closely behind.
These individual races add another layer of intrigue as teams prepare for potential postseason play.
