Most of the players that we regard as the best hitters in Major League Baseball history also rank among the all-time leaders in runs batted in (RBI). Here's what you need to know about RBI.
Runs Batted In (RBI)
Since officially becoming a Major League Baseball statistic in 1920, runs batted in (RBI) has been one of the most oft-cited stats when discussing a hitter’s season or career.
Sure, RBI’s popularity pales in comparison to that of home runs. It’s a big one, though, often pointed to as evidence of how ‘clutch’ a hitter was during a given time period.
Whether you’re new to baseball and just looking for a little more information on this acronym, or you’re a seasoned veteran of watching America’s national pastime and just need an occasional reminder of what constitutes an RBI, we’ve got you covered.
What is RBI in Baseball?
“Runs batted in” is simply a tally of the runs that score as a result of a batter’s trip(s) to the plate.
Not every run scored results in an RBI, which we’ll get into shortly. Most of them do, though. And for more than a century, RBI has been one of the hallmarks of MLB’s top sluggers.
While both runs and home runs frequently are talked about at both the individual and team-wide level, RBI is almost always discussed as a single-player statistic.
For instance, you might know that Alex Rodriguez had 14 seasons with at least 100 RBI. However, good luck finding anyone who has any clue how many total RBI the Yankees, Mariners or Rangers had in any of those seasons, as that has never been a captivating data point.
Ways to Earn an RBI in Baseball
The batter is credited with an RBI for the vast majority of runs scored. We’re talking 10 consecutive seasons in which the year-end, league-wide tally of RBI is at least 95.1% — though, not more than 95.9% — of total runs scored.
The most common source of RBI is a clean hit that results in runs scored, regardless of whether it’s a single, double, triple or home run. Every run that crosses the plate on a hit (unless there’s an error involved) is credited as an RBI, including the batter on a home run. Thus, a solo home run counts as one RBI, and a grand slam — a home run with the bases loaded — counts as four.
If the bases are loaded and the batter draws a walk or gets hit by a pitch, that causes a run to score, and the batter’s RBI tally increases.
It’s worth noting in the pitch clock era that even when a timer violation by a pitcher results in an automatic ball four, if the bases are loaded and a run scores, it counts as an RBI. This happened in June 2024 when the Colorado Rockies defeated the Washington Nationals on a walk-off pitch clock violation. Ryan McMahon was credited with the game-winning RBI.
Even on plays where an out is recorded, a productive plate appearance can result in an RBI. For example:
- Sacrifice Fly: A fly out with less than two outs that is deep enough to allow a runner to tag up and score. For probably more than 99% of sac flies, the runner scores from third. But every once in a while, a runner will score from second base on a deep fly out. That still counts as an RBI, as long as there are no errors on the play. (The Yankees’ Oswaldo Cabrera scored from second on a sac fly in August 2024, and Alex Verdugo was credited with an RBI.)
- Sacrifice Bunt (A.K.A. Suicide Squeeze): A bunt with a runner on third. Sometimes it results in a clean hit, but if the batter is thrown out at first and the runner scores, that counts as an RBI.
- Fielder’s Choice or Ground Out: This is where (with less than two outs in the inning) one out is recorded on a ground ball — either retiring the batter at first base or getting an out at second base or third base — while a run crosses the plate. It does not count as a hit for the batter, but it does count as an RBI.
Runs That Don’t Produce RBI
Since most run-scoring situations do result in RBI, which runs don’t?
- Perhaps the most logical non-RBI runs are those where the batter doesn’t actually do anything. If a runner on third steals home, if a runner scores on a wild pitch/passed ball or if a runner is awarded home because of a balk, that does not count as an RBI.
- If a batter grounds into a double play and a run scores, the batter is not credited with an RBI. That can only occur with zero outs and multiple runners on base, but it does come up on a fairly regular basis. The rationale here is that the batter simply did not do his job by creating two outs, and he shouldn’t be awarded anything for the run that scored.
If a batter flies into a double play while a run scores, however, it does count as an RBI, as that is effectively a baserunning error. This happened in August 2024 in a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers, when Yandy Diaz flew out to left field with the bases loaded and no outs. All three runners attempted to advance, but Alex Jackson was thrown out at second base while the run scored, and Diaz got the RBI for the sac fly.
- The most common non-RBI runs are those that result from errors.
There is nuance here. It’s not a blanket “if a run scores on a play in which an error is committed, it doesn’t count as an RBI.” It really boils down to whether the run scored because of the error.
For instance, if, with a runner on third and less than two outs, a batter hits a grounder that the second baseman misplays, allowing the batter to reach base while the run scores, that would still be an RBI because it should have been an RBI groundout.
Or, if there are runners on second and third and the batter hits a clean single into the outfield but the outfielder commits either a fielding or throwing error that allows an extra run to score, the batter gets one RBI for the runner who scored from third, but he would not get a second RBI for the run that scores from second.
Those aren’t the only scenarios where an RBI can still be credited on a play with an error, but those are two relatively common examples.
Why is RBI Important in Baseball?
While RBI is an oft-referenced and long-documented statistic in baseball, many would argue that it is actually one of the worst stats one could use to gauge a hitter’s value added, due to how circumstantial it is.
A player could have an MVP-caliber season and not even surpass 80 RBI, because they primarily serve as the leadoff hitter and/or play on a team that otherwise doesn’t have many players who reliably get on base. That was the case with Mookie Betts in 2018, Joey Votto in 2015 and Mike Trout in 2012.
Alternatively, a player might rack up over 140 RBI while not even sniffing top 10 on the OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) leaderboard for that season, simply by constantly being put in RBI situations. Such was the case for Ryan Howard in 2008 and Preston Wilson in 2003.
Case in point: 56% of Wilson’s plate appearances in 2003 came with runners on base, and 36% of his plate appearances came with runners in scoring position. For Betts in 2018, it was 33.4% and 18.4%, respectively.
Basically, RBI is to hitting as wins is to pitching. You can be elite in your craft and not come anywhere close to leading the league in that department, or you could run away with first place in that Triple Crown category while otherwise having a B+ type of season. So much of it depends on your supporting cast.
As with wins, though, the annual RBI leaderboard generally does a good job of highlighting the players who both stayed mostly healthy and excelled at coming through in the clutch.
And while there are now much better statistics out there for assessing a player’s overall production at the plate, RBI was a go-to figure in the pre-sabermetrics days.
The 2024 season was a recently rare double dip where each league’s MVP — Shohei Ohtani in the National League; Aaron Judge in the American League — was also the league’s RBI leader. It was the first time that was the case since 1998, though, with a grand total of eight RBI leaders named league MVP from 1999-2003. (That’s a “conversion rate” of 16%.)
From 1924 (the first year with an MVP award in each league) through 1998, however, the league MVP at least tied for the league lead in RBI on 57 of 150 occasions. (That’s a “conversion rate” of 38%.) In each of 1927, 1941, 1953, 1958, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1987 and 1998, both league MVPs were awarded to the RBI champ.
Average RBI in Baseball
At an MLB-wide level, the average number of RBI per team per game tends to land in the range of 4.0-4.5.
An elite offense might eclipse 5.5 RBI per game over the course of a full season, while the most anemic offense in a given year might struggle to even reach 3.5.
To reiterate a previous point, though, no one really talks about RBI at a team-wide or league-wide level. As far as individual players are concerned, there isn’t an “average” RBI, given the circumstantial nature of it; however, 100 RBI is still the generally accepted threshold for a high-quality year of driving in runs for an individual player.
At the peak of the steroid era from 1996-2001, it wasn’t uncommon to have 50 or more players eclipse 100 RBI in a given year. Nowadays, the total almost always falls in the range of a dozen to two dozen players with 100 RBI per season.
And as far as the average leader goes, dating back to 1921, the RBI leader from each league has accumulated at least 105 RBI in every season aside from the truncated 2020 and 1981 campaigns. Take out those two years, and the average league leader ends up in the 130-134 range.
The Best RBI Totals in Baseball History
Career RBI Leaderboard:
- Hank Aaron, 2,297
- Albert Pujols, 2,218
- Babe Ruth, 2,214*
- Alex Rodriguez, 2,086
- Cap Anson, 2,075*
- Barry Bonds, 1,996
- Lou Gehrig, 1,995
- Stan Musial, 1,951
- Ty Cobb, 1,944*
- Jimmie Foxx, 1,922
*Played part or all of his career prior to RBI becoming an official statistic in 1920. RBI were attributed retroactively to these players, with some disagreements on the totals. (FanGraphs credits Babe Ruth with 2,217 while Baseball Reference puts him at 2,214. We used Baseball Reference here.)
Single-Season RBI Leaders (All-Time):
1. Hack Wilson, 191 in 1930
2. Lou Gehrig, 185 in 1931
3. Hank Greenberg, 184 in 1937
4. Jimmie Foxx, 175 in 1938
5. Lou Gehrig, 173 in 1927
5. Lou Gehrig, 173 in 1930
7. Chuck Klein, 170 in 1930
8. Jimmie Foxx, 169 in 1932
9. Hank Greenberg, 168 in 1935
9. Babe Ruth, 168 in 1921
Single-Season RBI Leaders (Since 1969, start of the divisional era):
1. Manny Ramirez, 165 in 1999
2. Sammy Sosa, 160 in 2001
3. Sammy Sosa, 158 in 1998
4. Juan Gonzalez, 157 in 1998
5. Alex Rodriguez, 156 in 2007
6. Albert Belle, 152 in 1998
7. Andres Galarraga, 150 in 1996
7. Miguel Tejada, 150 in 2004
9. George Foster, 149 in 1977
10. Ryan Howard, 149 in 2006
Single-Game RBI Records
12 - Jim Bottomley, St. Louis Cardinals (9/16/1924); Mark Whiten, St. Louis Cardinals (9/7/1993)
11 - Wilbert Robinson, Baltimore Orioles (6/10/1892^); Tony Lazzeri, New York Yankees (5/24/1936); Phil Weintraub, New York Giants (4/30/1944)
10 - Done 12 times, most recently by Shohei Ohtani on 9/19/2024
^Unofficial count from pre-1920
Other Stats to Consider Alongside RBI
If you’re looking for a way to grade a player’s offensive output with something that’s a little (or a lot) more complex and more comprehensive than RBI, two excellent options are Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) on FanGraphs and On-Base Plus Slugging Plus (OPS+) on Baseball Reference.
With both stats, a player’s overall value added on offense is (oversimplifying things here) graded on a curve to quantify how much better (or worse) than the league-average his offense was for that season (or multiple seasons).
While RBI can tell you how many runs a player has already driven in, wRC+ and OPS+ give you a more holistic sense of how good a batter has been – and how productive he should be moving forward.
That latter part is crucial when it comes to fantasy baseball roster construction. Because while wRC and OPS won’t show up as scoring categories in either season-long or Daily Fantasy Sports leagues, RBI most certainly does. And those RBI-adjacent stats can help you fill your team with winning hitters.
It’s also critical to consider RBI opportunities, though. A good wRC+ can only do so much to help the RBI count for a leadoff hitter on one of the lowest scoring offenses, while a mediocre OPS+ might be more than enough to make a player a fantasy gold mine if he happens to be the cleanup hitter for an elite offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the plural of RBI?
This is a subject of much debate. Both RBI and RBIs are considered acceptable as the pluralized abbreviation of multiple runs batted in.
In a stat line, you always see it without the ‘s,’ as is the case with multiple home runs or stolen bases. On the day in 2024 when Ohtani created the 50 home run/50 stolen base club, his line was 3 HR, 10 RBI and 2 SB — not 3 HRs, 10 RBIs and 2 SBs.
Can a player get an RBI on a walk?
Yes. A walk with the bases loaded does count as an RBI.
It’s perhaps the least intuitive version of an RBI, since it’s not exactly batted in. Walks don’t even count as at-bats, and the whole plate appearance can be done without even taking the bat off your shoulder. Heck, if someone gets the Barry Bonds treatment (intentional walk with the bases loaded), he never even has to look at a pitch to earn an RBI. But it counts all the same.
What is the longest RBI streak in MLB history?
Joe DiMaggio has the well-known all-time record for consecutive games with a hit, but even during that iconic 56-game run in 1941, he never had a streak of more than seven straight games with at least one RBI.
In setting the single-season record with 191 RBI in 1930, Hack Wilson had an impressive stretch of 11 consecutive games with an RBI.
The all-time record, however, belongs to Ray Grimes, who reeled off 17 straight games with an RBI in the summer of 1922.
Perhaps the craziest part is that Grimes suffered an injury in the middle of that streak, leaving the 11th game in the first inning after an RBI single and not playing again until 10 days later. He tacked on six more games with an RBI upon his return, though.
Clearing the Bases
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