A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a

statistic A statistic (singular) or sample statistic is any quantity computed from values in a sample which is considered for a statistical purpose. Statistical purposes include estimating a population parameter, describing a sample, or evaluating a hy ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

that credits a

batter Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistic ...

is made on the play). For example, if the batter bats a base hit which allows a teammate on a higher base to reach

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

and so score a run, then the batter gets credited with an RBI. Before the

1920 Major League Baseball season The 1920 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 14 to October 12, 1920. The Brooklyn Robins and Cleveland Indians were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Indians then defeate ...

, runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic. Nevertheless, the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer

Ernie Lanigan Ernest John Lanigan (January 4, 1873 in Chicago, Illinois – February 6, 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American sportswriter and historian on the subject of baseball. He was considered the premier baseball statistician and histori ...

, according to the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New Y ...

. Common nicknames for an RBI include "ribby" (or "ribbie"), "rib", and "ribeye". The plural of "RBI" is a matter of "(very) minor controversy" for baseball fans:; it is usually "RBIs", in accordance with the usual practice for pluralizing

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

s in English; however, some sources use "RBI" as the plural, on the basis that it can stand for "runs batted in".;

Major League Baseball rules

The 2018 edition of the Official Baseball Rules of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB), Rule 9.04 Runs Batted In, reads: From 1980 to 1988, the game-winning RBI was an additional statistic used in MLB.

Criticism

The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that compose the triple crown. In addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame. However, critics, particularly within the field of

sabermetrics Sabermetrics, or originally SABRmetrics, is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific que ...

, argue that RBIs measure the quality of the lineup more than it does the player himself. This is because an RBI can only be credited to a player if one or more batters preceding him in the batting order have reached base (the exception to this being a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

, in which the batter is credited with driving himself in, not just those already on base). This implies that better offensive teams —and therefore, the teams in which the most players get on base— tend to produce hitters with higher RBI totals than equivalent hitters on lesser-hitting teams.

RBI leaders in Major League Baseball

Career

Totals are current as of October 4, 2022 (regular season). Active player is in bold. # Hank Aaron – 2,297 # Albert Pujols - 2,218 #

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

– 2,214 # Alex Rodríguez – 2,086 # Cap Anson - 2,075 # Barry Bonds – 1,996 # Lou Gehrig – 1,995 # Stan Musial – 1,951 #

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the la ...

– 1,944 # Jimmie Foxx – 1,922 # Eddie Murray – 1,917 #

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

- 1,903

Season

# Hack Wilson (1930) – 191 # Lou Gehrig (1931) – 185 #

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

(1937) – 183 # Jimmie Foxx (1938) – 175 # Lou Gehrig (1927, 1930) – 173

Game

* 12 RBIs ** Jim Bottomley (September 16, 1924) ** Mark Whiten (September 7, 1993) * 11 RBIs ** Wilbert Robinson (June 10, 1892) ** Tony Lazzeri (May 24, 1936) ** Phil Weintraub (April 30, 1944) * 10 RBIs ** By 11 MLB players, most recently Mark Reynolds on July 7, 2018

Inning

# Fernando Tatís (April 23, 1999) – 8 # Ed Cartwright (September 23, 1890) – 7 #

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

(October 4, 2009) – 7

Postseason (single season)

# David Freese (2011) – 21 # Scott Spiezio (2002) – 19 # Sandy Alomar Jr. (1997) – 19 # David Ortiz (2004) – 19

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Run Batted In Baseball statistics Baseball terminology