150 RBIs in one season is a rare feat
A-Rod is the most recent player to achieve the mark
Aaron Judge of the Yankees drove in 144 runs in 2024 amidst an all-time great MLB batting season. But he fell short of 150 RBI’s. I am not certain as to why I have always been enamored of MLB players having 150 RBI’s in one season. 150 is a big round number, and when it comes to baseball it’s kind of an important number. 150 base hits by a batter in a season signals a good, if not great season (if fewer than 500 AB’s). Even 50 innings pitched (these days) is notable more because it’s the new 200 innings pitched. But you still want your starting pitchers to throw at least 150 innings. When it comes to 150 runs batted in, (RBIs), that’s the sign of an outstanding season for a batter!
It’s been 18 years since an MLB player totaled 150 RBIs in one season. Alex Rodriguez (156 in 2007) did that as a Yankee, and that’s where he played the bulk of his career. Statistically A-Rod was better in Seattle and Texas, (he had a slightly higher OPS+ as a non-Yankee), but only played three seasons for Texas after seven seasons in Seattle compared to his 12 as a Yankee. That there are 12 seasons with the Yankees for A-Rod kind of surprised me.
It's often said that RBI’s are a derivative statistic. There’s some truth in that statement. For a batter to knock in 150, there needs to be baserunners to drive across the plate. Poor hitting teams most likely will not have a teammate drive in 150 as there simply are not enough opportunities. Yet having 150 RBI’s in one season is an infrequent accomplishment in MLB history.
How many 150 RBI seasons have there been?
Of the 47 occasions when a player drove in 150 runs or more, only three of those have occurred since 2000, besides A-Rod Miguel Tejada had 150 with the 2004 Athletics, and Sammy Sosa had 160 for the 2001 Cubs. Ryan Howard of the 2006 Phillies just missed the mark, driving in 149 that season but he’s still in the top 50 RBI seasons all-time.
There were five 150+ RBI seasons in the 1990s – Andres Galarraga (150 in 1996), Albert Belle (152 in 1998), Juan Gonzalez (157 in 1998), Sammy Sosa (158 in 1998), and Manny Ramirez (165 in 1999). It’s interesting that none of these players were voted to the Hall-of-Fame for reasons that are well known (though maybe not Belle).
Only 24 players drove in 150 out of the 47 seasons, so there are a bunch of players who did it more than once:
Sam Thompson did it twice and drove in 149 in another season
Hack Wilson did it twice and holds the single season record of 191 RBIs in 1930
Joe DiMaggio did it twice
Sammy Sosa did it twice
Al Simmons did it three times
Hank Greenberg did it three times
Jimmie Foxx did it four times
Babe Ruth did it six times
Lou Gehrig did it an amazing seven times
Ted Williams only did it one season which says more about the Red Sox teams on which he played. Mark McGwire never drove in 150 nor did Barry Bonds.
You can access the list of 150+ RBI seasons here from Stathead.
Of the 24 total players having driven in 150 runs in a single season, all but seven are Hall-of-Famers.
The non HOFers: Hardy Richardson - a 19th century ballplayer, 1920’s star Ken Williams, the very underrated Vern Stephens in the 1940’s and 50’s, Cleveland’s 1930’s star Hal Trosky, two-time MVP Juan Gonzales, Miguel Tejada, and of course Sammy Sosa and A-Rod.
A 19th century star, HOFer “Big” Sam Thompson, is a player who twice drove in 150 runs and had 149 in another season. Thompson was relatively unfamiliar to me and finished with a career OPS+ of 147 (which is amazing), and I should have known more! Interestingly Thompson played four seasons for the Detroit Wolverines of the NL before moving to the Philadelphia Quakers/Phillies for 10 more seasons. He then retired for eight years un-retiring to play eight games for the Detroit Tigers in 1906. Thompson was 46 when he was coaxed out of retirement to play a homestand for the team and played outfield with HOFers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford. Yes, I went off a bit on Sam Thompson but sometimes going down rabbit holes can be fun!
Can anyone reach 150 RBI’s this season? Shohei Othani had a career best 130 RBI’s in 2024 as part of his third MVP campaign. His Dodger teammates might be too good and will probably ‘steal’ some RBI’s from Shohei. As for Aaron Judge, without Juan Soto in the lineup and with Giancarlo Stanton our with an injury, Judge has gotten off to a terrific start and after 10 games is on pace for 288 RBI’s having knocked in 18 runs. While we all know that pace won’t last, I could see Judge drawing 200 bases-on-balls this season hampering his chances for 150 RBI’s!
About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com. Mark can be reached on x and bluesky @almostcoop and almostcooperstown@gmail.com
I just noticed Albert Belle hit 148 RBIs in 1996 for the 99-62 Indians. But his 150 in 1998 is truly remarkable given the White Sox were 80-82.
Joe Sheehan pointed out in his newsletter this week that MLB is on the cusp of another “official“ Deadball era. League batting average is rivaling the late aughts (20th century version) and the late 1960s … Deadballs I and II. Latching this thought onto your point about guys having difficulty compiling big RBI numbers if they play on weak hitting teams … pretty much everyone is playing on a weak hitting team. Naturally there will be teams hitting above average, but then you need the good fortune of having one of those teams rostering a certified big bopper. Ha! Simple, but not easy. I think we’ll need to see league BA rise again before we see another. [Cue sinister chortles from MLB pitchers.]