What is RBI in Baseball?

A run batted in, commonly know as an RBI, in baseball is one of many statistics used to measure a batters performance. RBI's can be accomplished in a few different ways. The batter does not necessarily have to get a base hit. Hack Wilson has the record number of RBI's in a Major League season with 191 during the 1930 season. It is important to understand how to achieve an RBI while playing baseball.

• Base Hit- for each runner that scores on a base hit, the batter receives one RBI.


• Walk- a batter receives one RBI if they draw a walk with each base occupied by a runner.


• Hit by Pitch- a batter receives one RBI if they are hit by a pitch with each base occupied by a runner. This is obviously a lot more painful way of receiving an RBI.


• Sacrifice Fly- The batter receives one RBI for each runner that scores on a sacrifice fly. This means the runner was standing on their occupied base and started running when the ball was caught by the defensive player. If the player scores safely, the RBI is awarded to the batter. This mainly occurs when a runner is on third base.


• Sacrifice Bunt- The batter receives one RBI for each runner that scores on a sacrifice bunt. A bunt is simply the batter holding their bat in front of home plate and letting the ball hit the bat, there is no swing attempt. This results in the ball only moving a few feet. 


• A batter does not receive an RBI on a runner scoring because of a fielding error like an overthrow or dropped ball.


• Players who hit a high number of RBI's usually hit in the top half of the batting order.