Photo: Tuh22823, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Major League Baseball, in its long history and from A-to-Z (Henry Aaron to Richie Zisk), has had 2,029 player-seasons of 100 or more RBI (Baseball-Reference.com). In 2023, we saw a 100-RBI season like never before. Phillies’ LF Kyle Schwarber became the first MLB player ever to drive in 100 or more runs in a season when his batting average was below.200. (As a sidenote: Three of the five lowest averages in 100+ RBI season occurred in 2023.)
It was Schwarber’s first 100-RBI season in a nine-season MLB career (2015-23 … Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox, Phillies). During the season, he went .197-47-104, with 108 runs scored – reaching career highs in home runs, RBI and runs (and leading the NL with a career-high 215 strikeouts).
Over his career, the two-time All Star has put up a .227-246-548 stat line.
Another Schwarber Oddity
Kyle Schwarber has a share of the record for most home runs in a season without reaching 100 RBI. In 2022, Schwarber went .218-46-94 for the Phillies, joining Alfonso Soriano who went .277-46-95 for the Nationals in 2006.
Overall, there have been 31 MLB seasons of forty or more homers and fewer than 100 MBI. Just five players have two such seasons:
- Henry Aaron – 1969 Braves (.300-44-97) & 1973 Braves (.301-40-96).
- Adam Dunn – 2006 Reds (.234-40-92) & 2012 White Sox (.204-41-96).
- Joey Gallo – 2017 Rangers (.209-41-80) & 2018 Rangers (.206-40-92).
- Mickey Mantle – 1958 Yankees (.304-42-97) & 1960 Yankees (.275-40-94).
- Mike Trout, 2015 Angels (.299-41-90) & 2022 Angels (.283-40-80).
Well, as always, with Baseball Roundtable “one thing led to another,” and I began a search for more 100-RBI seasons rarities and oddities. (No baseball, too much time on my hands.)
First Up, Another 2023 Rarity – Fewest Base Hits in a 100-RBI Season – 102
In 2023, Dodgers’ third baseman Max Muncy put up a .212-36-105 season – collecting just 102 base hits (the fewest ever in an MLB 100-RBI campaign). It was Muncy’s first-ever 100-RBI season (in eight MLB seasons). To date, Muncy’s career stat line is .227-180-489.
A few other tidbits:
- Barry Bonds, Bryce Harper, Christian Yelich, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Mantle, Shohei Ohtani, Nelson Cruz and Henry Aaron are the only MLB players to combine a 40-homer/sub-100 RBI season with a .300 or better batting average.
- Joey Gallo is the only player with two consecutive 40-homer/sub-100 RBI seasons.
- The only 40-homer/sub-90 RBI seasons belong to Joey Gallo (.209-40-80 for the 2017 Rangers) and Mike Trout (.283-40-80 for the 2022 Angels).
- In 11 of the seasons of 40 or more homers and fewer than 100 RBI, the player led the league in long balls, in seven the player led in strikeouts.
The Highest Batting Average in a Sub-100 RBI Season (some qualifiers) … .424
The highest batting average (using a minimum of 400 plate appearances) in sub-100 RBI season is .424 by Willie Keeler, 1897 Baltimore Orioles (.4237) and Rogers Hornsby 1924 Cardinals (.42350). Keeler had 74 RBI in 129 games, Hornsby had 94 RBI in 143 contests. Note: I used 450 at bats because of the discrepancy in season lengths. For example, if you used players qualifying for the batting title, the highest average without 100 RBI would be Levi Meyerle of the 1871 National Association Philadelphia Athletics. However, the Athletics played just 28 games that season. Meyerle had a .492 average and 40 RBI in 26 games, 132 plate appearances.
Rookies Hitting Cookies
Ted William holds the all-time MLB rookie-season RBI record with 145 in 1939. Photo: wild mercury 
There have been 44 players who have driven in 100 or more runs in a “rookie” season, with 22 of those in their debut season. (Rookie status can roll over to another season based on days on the roster, number of at bats or number of innings pitched.) Twelve of those rookies have won the Rookie of the Year award. (Twenty players have recorded 100 or more RBI in their rookie season since the ROY Award was established.)
As the chart below shows, their 100-RBI rookie season was the only career 100-RBI season for 11 of the 44 players who recorded 100 or more RBI in a rookie campaign.
Going Out On Top … Or Not
On November 18, 2015, Red Sox DH David Ortiz (on his fortieth birthday) announced that the 2016 MLB season would be his last as a player. The following year, he went out on top – with a .315-38-127, becoming one of just five players to record 100 or more RBI in their final MLB campaign. Here is the list:
The not so much on top? Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch had their careers cut short due to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Injuries also played a role in adding two players to this list: Albert Belle (osteoarthritis – hip) and David Orr (Stro9ke).
Fewest Games Played in a 100-RBI Season – 69
JOSH GIBSON Photo: Harrison Studio, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In 1943, Josh Gibson went .466-20-109 in 69 games for the Negro National League II Homestead Grays. That season, the Hall of Famer led the league in runs (93), hits (116), doubles (22), home runs (20), RBI (109) walks (52) and total bases (216).
Something Old Something New
The oldest player to record a 100-RBI season was 42-year-old Cap Anson of the 1894 Chicago Cubs.
Six players recorded season of of 100 or more RBI in their age-20 season: Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Mel Ott, Alex Rodriguez, Juan Soto and Ted Williams. Moving on to months and days, the youngest of those was Ott, who went .328-42-151 for the 1929 Giants. It was, by the way, Ott’s fourth MLB season. Ott played 209 MLB games before his twentieth birthday – going .318-19-100 over three seasons.
The Saga of Jack Reed … One RBI/106 Games … One Memorable Home Run
In 1963, 30-year-old Jack Reed was in his third MLB season as a reserve outfielder/defensive replacement for the New York Yankees. He replaced Mickey Mantle in the field often enough that he was known in some circles as “Mickey Mantle’s Caddie.” In 1963, he played in 106 games, had just 82 plate appearances (73 at bats) and hit .205-0-1 … recording the fewest RBI ever for a player who appeared in 100 or more games.
However, Reed’s brightest moment in the major leagues came at the plate, not in the garden. On June 24, 1962, Reed hit the only home run of his MLB career (1961-63). It was a two-run shot off Tigers’ reliever Phil Regan in the top of the 22nd inning – the game winner in the longest game in Yankee history. Reed had replaced Joe Pepitone (who had earlier replaced Mickey Mantle) in RF in the thirteenth inning. Reed’s career stats line (222 games) was .233-1-6. Often used as a pinch runner, he scored 39 runs and stole seven bases. In that 1962 season, Reed went .302-1-4 in 88 games (48 plate appearances.)
Most hits in a Sub-100 RBI Season – 262
Photo by Matt McGee
In 2004, Mariners’ RF Ichiro Suzuki rapped out an MLB single-season record 262 base hits – but collected just 60 RBI, He hit .373 for the season and 225 of his 262 hits were singles. Suzuki, who had ten MLB seasons of 200 or more hits and 3,089 hits in 19 MLB seasons, never drove in more than 69 runs in a season.
In MLB history, there have been 539 player-seasons of 200 or more hits, with 54 percent (292) of those seasons seeing the player record fewer than 100 RBI.
In a combined 100 seasons, the players on the above list had 43 seasons of 200 or more hits and just one 100-RBI campaign. (In 1999, Derek Jeter had 219 hits and 102 RBI).
Lloyd Waner of the 1927 Pirates recorded the fewest RBI in an MLB season of 200 or more hits. That season, he hit .355, with 223 hits, but recorded only 27 RBI.
Most Strikeouts in a 100-RBI Season – 223
Just five players have recorded 200 or more whiffs in a 100-RBI season:
- Mark Reynolds, 2009 Diamondbacks – .260-30-102, with 223 strikeouts (which is the MLB single-season record for batter’s strikeouts).
- Kyle Schwarber, 2023 Phillies – .197-47-104, with 215 whiffs.
- Giancarlo Stanton, 2018 Yankees – .266-38-100, with 211 strikeouts.
- Chris Davis, 2015 Orioles – .262-47-117, with 208 strikeouts.
- Aaron Judge, 2017 Yankees – .284-52-114, with 208 whiffs.
Fewest Strikeouts in a 100-RBI Season – Three
In 1894, The Giants’ Jack Doyle drove in 103 runs in 103 games. He hit .368-3-103 and fanned just three times in 471 plate appearances.
Post-1900: The 1902 Athletics’ Lave Cross hit .342-0-108 and whiffed just four times in 597 plate appearances.
Get ‘Em On – I’ll Bring ‘Em Home
Among players with at least 100 RBI in a season, Al Simmons (1930 Athletics) had the highest batting average with runners in scoring position at .436 (85-for-195). When he came to the plate without runners in scoring position, he hit .351. His overall stat line .381-36-165.
Fewest Home Runs in a 100-RBI Season – Zero
Hughie Jennings (.401-0-121 for the 1896 Baltimore Orioles) and Lave Cross (.342-0-108 for the 1902 Athletics) are the only MLB players to record a 100-RBI season with zero round trippers.
Most Players with 100 or More RBI on a Team in the Same Season – Five
1936 Yankees: C Bill Dickey (107); 1B Lou Gehrig (152); 2B Tony Lazzeri (109); RF George Selkirk (107); CF Joe DiMaggio (125)
1894 Orioles (NL): 1B Dan Brouthers (128); 2B Henry Reitz (105); SS Hughie Jennings (109); CF Steve Brodie (113); LF Joe Kelly (111).
1894 Boston (NL); 1B Tommy Tucker (100); 2B Bobby Lowe (115); OF Jimmy Bannon (114); OF Hugh Duffy (145); OF Tommy McCarthy (126).
The Most 100-RBI Seasons
Primary Resource: Baseball-Reference.com
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