Uncover the Untold Records: Who Truly Dominates MLB’s RBI Leaderboards?

Here’s something that’s always fascinated me — RBIs, much like pitcher wins, have this strange dual life in baseball lore. On one hand, advanced stats geeks will tell you they’re far from the best measure of a player’s true value. On the other, when you peek at the all-time lists, you’ll find a whole roster of baseball legends who made their mark driving in runs. So here we are, putting aside the sabermetric snobbery for just a minute, to celebrate those moments — and careers — where players hauled in RBIs like there was no tomorrow. From jaw-dropping single-game explosions to season-long feats and towering career totals, this is a deep dive into the players who’ve had the clutch gene in spades. Who topped the charts? How do those historic achievements stack up today? Let’s find out and revel in some good old-fashioned run production.

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The career leaders in RBIs is a shortlist of the best players of all time.

Hammerin’ Hank Aaron is known for his home runs, but he also led the league in RBIs four different times for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. He had more than 100 RBIs 11 times, eventually surpassing Babe Ruth atop this list. His lowest RBI total in a single season between 1955-71 was 89.

And at the top is one of the most consistently elite players ever.

Salvador Perez led the league with 121 RBIs in 2021. A player would have to average that number for 19 years to topple Aaron’s career total. Good luck with that.

But you know what can be fun? Watching one player drive in a whole bunch of teammates. And RBIs are much like pitcher wins in that, while they are not the best way to judge players, a whole lot of very good players show up at the top of the career lists.

Most RBIs in a Career

1. 2,297 – Hank Aaron (1954-76)

The stat has been under fire by the advanced analytics community for quite some time. After judging hitters by how many runs they drive in throughout much of baseball history, the consensus has finally seemed to shift. Most agree that RBIs are not of the utmost importance in determining the game’s elite.

Wilson not only set the record for RBIs in 1930, but led the league in home runs, walks and strikeouts as well. His timing wasn’t the best, however, as MLB elected not to have an official National League MVP that year due to financial restraints.

As you might expect, neither game was close. Bottomley drove in his 12 RBIs in a 17-3 win over the Brooklyn Robins and Whiten knocked in his 12 in a 15-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Bottomley hit two of his 14 home runs on the season while going 6 for 6, while all four of Whiten’s hits were home runs.

RBIs are much like pitcher wins in that, while they are not the best way to judge performance, a whole lot of very good players show up at the top of the career lists. We’re breaking down the players who have the most RBIs in a game, season and career in MLB history.

2. 2,218 – Albert Pujols (2001-22)

3. 2,215 – Babe Ruth (1914-35)

4. 2,086 – Alex Rodriguez (1994-2016)

5. 1,996 – Barry Bonds (1986-2007)

Most RBIs in a Season

1. 191 – Hack Wilson, Chicago Cubs (1930)

The post The Most RBIs in a Game, Season and Career in MLB History appeared first on Opta Analyst.

The most recent being Mark Reynolds in 2018. Reynolds had just 40 RBIs the whole season in 2018, so he had 25% of his RBIs for the year in one of his 86 games.

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2. 184 – Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees (1931)

3. 183 – Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers (1937)

4. 175 – Jimmie Foxx, Boston Red Sox (1938)

5. 173 – Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees (1927, 1930)

Most RBIs in a Game

1. 12 – Jim Bottomley, St. Louis Cardinals (Sept. 16, 1924) and Mark Whiten, St. Louis Cardinals (Sept. 7, 1993)

The poor RBI.

At the top of the list is Hack Wilson, a hitter who would’ve fit in well in the three true outcome world of today’s MLB.

3. 11 – Tony Lazzeri, New York Yankees (May 24, 1936) and Phil Weintraub, New York Giants (April 30, 1944)

5. 10 – Fifteen Players Tied

A pair of St. Louis Cardinals top this list, as Jim Bottomley and Mark Whiten are the only two players to drive in 12 runs in one game in MLB history.

The 1920s and ‘30s were a boon for sluggers in the middle of lineups, as the top 11 single-season RBI totals are from those two decades. The most RBIs by anyone in a season since 1940 was 165 for Manny Ramirez in 1999, which is tied for the 13th most in a single season.
So, let’s turn off our anti-RBI brains for one day, and salute those who have driven in the most teammates in given periods of time.