# Baseball Reference Scraper | MLB Stats and History (`parseforge/baseball-reference-scraper`) Actor Extract MLB player, team, and game data from Baseball Reference including box scores, season stats, advanced metrics, standings, and historical records dating back over a century. Built for sabermetrics, fantasy baseball, betting models, and deep sports research. - **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/baseball-reference-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community) - **Categories:** Sports, News, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $19.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true) ## โšพ Baseball Reference Stats Scraper > ๐Ÿš€ **Export MLB all-time single-season batting and pitching leaders in seconds.** No account required. Just pick a stat and run. > ๐Ÿ•’ **Last updated:** 2026-05-22 ยท **๐Ÿ“Š 11 fields** per record ยท **500+ records per stat** ยท **Coverage: MLB history 1871-present** The Baseball Reference Stats Scraper pulls all-time single-season leaders from [baseball-reference.com](https://www.baseball-reference.com) - the gold standard for MLB historical data. Choose from 17 key batting and pitching statistics, from home runs to ERA, and get a clean ranked dataset with player URLs, season year, age, plate appearances, and batting hand. All data is live, scraped in real-time from Baseball Reference's ranked leader tables. Each record links directly to the player's profile page for drill-down research. ### Coverage - **17 statistics**: HR, RBI, Batting Average, OPS, Slugging %, On-Base %, Hits, Runs, Stolen Bases, Walks, Strikeouts, Wins, ERA, Pitcher Strikeouts, WHIP, Saves, Innings Pitched - **MLB history**: All recorded seasons from 1871 to present - **500+ ranked records** per statistic - **11 data fields** per record including player URL and age ### Target Audience / Use Cases | Who Uses This | What For | |---|---| | Fantasy baseball players | Research historical player performance trends | | Sports analysts | Build statistical models on offensive/pitching records | | Journalists and bloggers | Fact-check records and all-time rankings | | Baseball historians | Track how records have evolved over eras | | Data scientists | ML training data for baseball performance models | | Developers | Populate apps with real MLB historical stats | ### ๐Ÿ“‹ What the Baseball Reference Stats Scraper does - Fetches all-time single-season ranked leaders for any of 17 MLB statistics - Returns rank, player name, player profile URL, season year, age, plate appearances, batting hand, and stat value - Supports both batting stats (HR, RBI, AVG, OPS, H, R, SB, BB, SO) and pitching stats (W, ERA, SO, WHIP, SV, IP) - Respects free/paid tier limits automatically - Delivers clean, typed records with no null fields > ๐Ÿ’ก **Why it matters:** Baseball Reference is the definitive source for MLB history. This actor gives you programmatic access to its ranked leader tables - hundreds of records per stat - for research, analysis, or app development, without any scraping setup. ### ๐ŸŽฌ Full Demo ๐Ÿšง Coming soon ### โš™๏ธ Input | Field | Type | Description | Default | |---|---|---|---| | `statType` | select | The statistic to retrieve leaders for | `HR` | | `maxItems` | integer | Maximum records to return | `10` | **Available stat types:** | Code | Label | Category | |---|---|---| | `HR` | Home Runs | Batting | | `RBI` | Runs Batted In | Batting | | `batting_avg` | Batting Average | Batting | | `onbase_plus_slugging` | OPS | Batting | | `slugging_perc` | Slugging Percentage | Batting | | `onbase_perc` | On-Base Percentage | Batting | | `H` | Hits | Batting | | `R` | Runs Scored | Batting | | `SB` | Stolen Bases | Batting | | `BB` | Walks | Batting | | `SO` | Strikeouts by Batter | Batting | | `W` | Wins | Pitching | | `ERA` | Earned Run Average | Pitching | | `SO_pitcher` | Pitcher Strikeouts | Pitching | | `WHIP` | WHIP | Pitching | | `SV` | Saves | Pitching | | `IP` | Innings Pitched | Pitching | **Example input - top 10 HR seasons:** ```json { "statType": "HR", "maxItems": 10 } ```` **Example input - top ERA seasons:** ```json { "statType": "ERA", "maxItems": 25 } ``` > โš ๏ธ **Good to Know:** Free plan users are automatically limited to 10 records per run. Upgrade to a paid plan to retrieve up to 1,000,000 records. [Create a free account w/ $5 credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) ### ๐Ÿ“Š Output | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | ๐Ÿ”ข `rank` | integer | All-time rank for this statistic | | ๐Ÿ‘ค `playerName` | string | Player full name | | ๐Ÿ”— `playerUrl` | string | URL to player page on baseball-reference.com | | ๐Ÿ“… `season` | integer | Season year when the record was set | | ๐ŸŽ‚ `age` | integer | Player age during that season | | ๐ŸŸ๏ธ `plateAppearances` | integer | Plate appearances in that season | | ๐Ÿ–๏ธ `bats` | string | Batting hand (L/R/S) | | ๐Ÿ“Š `value` | string | Stat value achieved | | ๐Ÿท๏ธ `statType` | string | Stat type code (e.g. HR, ERA) | | ๐Ÿ“ `statLabel` | string | Human-readable stat label | | ๐Ÿ•’ `scrapedAt` | string | ISO timestamp when record was scraped | | โŒ `error` | string | Error message if scraping failed | **Sample records:** ```json [ { "rank": 1, "playerName": "Barry Bonds", "playerUrl": "https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml", "season": 2001, "age": 36, "plateAppearances": 664, "bats": "L", "value": "73", "statType": "HR", "statLabel": "Home Runs", "scrapedAt": "2026-05-22T01:56:49.081Z", "error": null }, { "rank": 2, "playerName": "Mark McGwire", "playerUrl": "https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgwima01.shtml", "season": 1998, "age": 34, "plateAppearances": 681, "bats": "R", "value": "70", "statType": "HR", "statLabel": "Home Runs", "scrapedAt": "2026-05-22T01:56:49.081Z", "error": null } ] ``` ### โœจ Why choose this Actor | Feature | Benefit | |---|---| | ๐Ÿ† Real Baseball Reference data | The gold standard MLB historical source | | 17 stat types | Batting and pitching leaders in one actor | | 500+ records per stat | Full all-time leaderboard access | | Player profile URLs | Direct links for drill-down research | | Age and handedness | Rich contextual player data | | Stealth browser | Works reliably without blocks | | Instant results | No pagination needed - single-page tables | ### ๐Ÿ“ˆ How it compares to alternatives | Approach | Data freshness | Effort | Records | |---|---|---|---| | Baseball Reference Scraper (this) | Real-time | Zero setup | 500+ per stat | | Manual copy-paste | Static snapshot | High | Limited | | MLB Stats API | Live games | API setup | Seasonal | | Custom scraper | Real-time | Dev time | Variable | ### ๐Ÿš€ How to use 1. [Create a free Apify account](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) 2. Open the Baseball Reference Stats Scraper actor 3. Select a `statType` from the dropdown (e.g. `HR` for home runs) 4. Set `maxItems` to the number of ranked records you want 5. Click **Start** and wait ~15 seconds 6. Download your dataset as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML ### ๐Ÿ’ผ Business use cases #### Fantasy Baseball Research Analyze which players had the most productive seasons historically. Cross-reference peak seasons with player ages to identify performance windows. Build historical comps for current players. #### Sports Journalism and Content Verify record claims instantly. Generate fact-checked stat tables for articles. Find the answer to "Who had the most HR seasons in a career?" in seconds. #### Analytics and Machine Learning Build regression models using historical stat rankings. Train predictive models on seasonal performance data. Correlate batting hand with slugging percentage across eras. #### Baseball Apps and Tools Populate leaderboard displays in fan apps. Build era-comparison tools. Power trivia games with verified historical records. ### ๐Ÿ”Œ Automating Baseball Reference Scraper Connect the actor to thousands of apps via Make, Zapier, or the Apify API: - **Make (Integromat)**: Schedule weekly stat pulls and push to Google Sheets - **Zapier**: Trigger stat collection and email results to your team - **Slack**: Post updated leaderboards to your baseball channel - **Google Sheets**: Maintain a live MLB stats spreadsheet - **Airtable**: Build a searchable baseball history database - **REST API**: Integrate directly into your application via the Apify API ### ๐ŸŒŸ Beyond business use cases #### Research and Academia Sports economists studying the economics of player contracts vs. historical performance. Sociologists analyzing demographic trends in MLB leadership across decades. #### Creative Projects Writers building baseball fiction with accurate historical context. Game designers creating authentic baseball simulation mechanics. #### Non-profit and Community Youth baseball coaches using historical data to teach game fundamentals. Baseball Hall of Fame researchers validating historical records. #### Experimentation Test hypotheses about baseball eras - Deadball Era vs. Steroid Era stat distributions. Explore correlations between team stats and championship years. ### ๐Ÿค– Ask an AI assistant about this scraper You can ask an AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) questions like: - "What does the Baseball Reference Stats Scraper output for ERA leaders?" - "How do I get the top 50 stolen base seasons using the Apify actor?" - "Which stat type should I use to find the best pitching seasons?" ### โ“ Frequently Asked Questions **โ“ Is this scraper free to use?** Free Apify accounts can retrieve up to 10 records per run. [Create a free account](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to get started, and upgrade for unlimited records. **โ“ How many records are available per stat?** Each leaderboard contains 500+ ranked records covering the full history of MLB. **โ“ Does this include minor league stats?** No - Baseball Reference's leader tables cover MLB (major league) records only. **โ“ How current is the data?** Baseball Reference updates their leader tables regularly during the season. The scraper fetches live data each run. **โ“ Can I get stats for a specific player?** This actor focuses on leaderboard rankings. Use the `playerUrl` field in each record to link to individual player pages for full career stats. **โ“ What's the difference between SO and SO\_pitcher?** `SO` are strikeouts by batters (a batting stat). `SO_pitcher` are strikeouts recorded by pitchers (a pitching stat). **โ“ Why does ERA leaderboard show very low values?** ERA (Earned Run Average) is a pitching quality stat - lower is better. The leaderboard ranks the best (lowest) ERA seasons in MLB history. **โ“ Can I get team stats instead of individual player stats?** This actor scrapes individual player leader tables. Baseball Reference has separate team stats pages that may be covered in future actors. **โ“ How long does a run take?** Typically 10-20 seconds per run, including browser startup, page load, and parsing. **โ“ Is baseball-reference.com free to access?** Baseball Reference is publicly accessible without login for leader table data. This actor uses that public access. **โ“ Will this break if Baseball Reference changes their layout?** The actor targets stable table IDs in the Baseball Reference HTML. If the site structure changes, ParseForge will update the actor promptly. ### ๐Ÿ”Œ Integrate with any app Connect the Baseball Reference Stats Scraper to your workflow: **Productivity**: Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion, Coda **Communication**: Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Email **Automation**: Make (Integromat), Zapier, n8n, Pipedream **Development**: REST API, Webhooks, Python, JavaScript, R **Data**: BigQuery, Snowflake, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, S3 **Visualization**: Tableau, Power BI, Google Data Studio, Metabase ### ๐Ÿ”— Recommended Actors | Actor | Description | |---|---| | [Basketball Reference Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/basketball-reference-scraper) | NBA player stats from basketball-reference.com | | [OurAirports Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/ourairports-scraper) | Global airport database with 80,000+ airports | | [Lichess Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/lichess-scraper) | Chess game data and player stats from Lichess | > ๐Ÿ’ก **Pro Tip:** Browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for 100+ specialized data extractors across sports, finance, real estate, and more. *** **๐Ÿ†˜ Need Help?** [Open our contact form](https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA) > **โš ๏ธ Disclaimer:** This actor is an independent tool, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Baseball Reference. It accesses only publicly available information from baseball-reference.com for personal research, analysis, and legitimate business use. Please respect Baseball Reference's terms of service and rate limits. # Actor input Schema ## `statType` (type: `string`): The MLB statistic to retrieve all-time single-season leaders for ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000 ## Actor input object example ```json { "statType": "HR", "maxItems": 10 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "statType": "HR", "maxItems": 10 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("parseforge/baseball-reference-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`๐Ÿ’พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // ๐Ÿ“š Want to learn more ๐Ÿ“–? Go to โ†’ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "statType": "HR", "maxItems": 10, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("parseforge/baseball-reference-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("๐Ÿ’พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # ๐Ÿ“š Want to learn more ๐Ÿ“–? Go to โ†’ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "statType": "HR", "maxItems": 10 }' | apify call parseforge/baseball-reference-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/baseball-reference-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Baseball Reference Scraper | MLB Stats and History", "description": "Extract MLB player, team, and game data from Baseball Reference including box scores, season stats, advanced metrics, standings, and historical records dating back over a century. Built for sabermetrics, fantasy baseball, betting models, and deep sports research.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "NYDmOdcdzOvdPDIVb" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/parseforge~baseball-reference-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-parseforge-baseball-reference-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/parseforge~baseball-reference-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-parseforge-baseball-reference-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/parseforge~baseball-reference-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-parseforge-baseball-reference-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "statType": { "title": "Stat Type", "enum": [ "HR", "RBI", "batting_avg", "onbase_plus_slugging", "slugging_perc", "onbase_perc", "H", "R", "SB", "BB", "SO", "W", "ERA", "SO_pitcher", "WHIP", "SV", "IP" ], "type": "string", "description": "The MLB statistic to retrieve all-time single-season leaders for", "default": "HR" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000000, "type": "integer", "description": "Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000" } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```