By Tom Jozwik

   "The last shall be first" is a Biblical prediction which has some basis for truth in major league baseball. Beginning in 1877, players on last place teams have been on numerous occasions league leaders in various hitting and pitching categories.

   Hitting categories considered as a basis for this article are: Batting average, slugging average, home runs, runs batted in and total bases. Pitching categories taken into account are:  Earned run average, games won, complete games, and strikeouts. Players tying for league leadership, rather than leading outright, have not been included. Those who played some games with a second club in the season they led the league are also excluded.

   Hurlers on cellar-dwelling clubs, and this includes those in a division alignment since 1969, have fared slightly better than non-pitchers as league leaders. There have been 28 pace-setting pitching performances, as opposed to 26 top batting feats. The department most commonly excelled in has been complete games, with 13 pitchers and 15 performances represented. John B. Taylor of St. Louis led in 1898 even though his club finished last in a 12-club league.

   Hitters have most frequently (10 times) led in the home run category. Both Frank Howard of the Washington Senators and Cy Williams of the Philadelphia Phillies captured a pair of home run titles, whereas the Cincinnati Reds' Charles "Red" Lucas and the Atlanta Braves' Phil Niekro each paced the senior circuit in complete games two years running. Niekro could make it three in a row in 1979.

   Only one pitcher on a last place team-Steve Canton of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1972- has ever topped a major league in games won.

   Just four doormat team members have managed to pitch their way to ERA leadership, all in relatively recent baseball history. Bob Friend turned the trick for the 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates. Dick Donovan for the 1961 Senators, Carlton for the 1972 Phillies and Craig Swan for the 1978 New York Mets. Nine hurlers have emerged from the basement as strikeout kings.

   Last place teams have contributed just two batting champions. Larry Doyle won the title with the New York Giants in 1915, and Richie Ashburn was the batting leader as a member of the 1958 Phillies. (Ironically, the lowly Phils tied pennant-winning Milwaukee for National League team batting average honors that season, with a .266 mark.)

   Three players on last place teams have been league leaders in runs batted in, five have led in slugging percentages, six have set the pace in total bases.

   Monumental slugging displays by different members of the Senators occurred 11 seasons apart. In 1957, Roy "Squirrel" Sievers won two-thirds of a triple crown, capturing American League home run and RBI honors; for good measure, Sievers led the AL in total bases that year. In 1968, Frank Howard paced the junior loop in homers, total bases and slugging average; "Hondo" is the only last place team performer who has attained league leadership in as many as four of the hitting categories under consideration.

   In addition to leading his league in wins and earned run average, Steve Canton hurled the most complete games and fanned the most batters in the NL in 1972. It was a remarkable performance for any hurler. Only one other last-place pitcher-Phil Niekro-has led his league in more than one of the five pitching departments in a single season. Niekro topped the NL in strikeouts and complete games in 1977.

   Following are chronological lists of the hitting and pitching leaders from last place clubs.

Hitters

Pitchers