List of Major League Baseball single-game runs batted in leaders

A man, wearing a baseball cap with a "T" in the center and a white baseball uniform with the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball logo on the left breast, leans forward smiling.
A man, wearing a baseball cap with the Detroit Tigers' Old English "D" logo in the center and a white baseball uniform with obscured lettering, faces forward.
A man in white pants, a dark blue baseball cap, and a dark blue baseball jersey with "5" on the back leans on a baseball bat in his left hand.
Tony Lazzeri (left), Rudy York (center) and Nomar Garciaparra (right) are the only players to amass 10 runs batted in and hit two grand slams in the same game.

In baseball, a run batted in (RBI) is awarded to a batter for each runner who scores as a result of the batter's action, including a hit, fielder's choice, sacrifice fly, sacrifice bunt, catcher's interference, or a walk or hit by pitch with the bases loaded.[1] A batter is also awarded an RBI for scoring himself upon hitting a home run.[1] Sixteen players have batted in at least 10 runs in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Mark Reynolds of the Washington Nationals on July 6, 2018.[2] No player has accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever recorded more than 12 RBIs in a game. Wilbert Robinson was the first player to record at least 10 RBIs in a single game,[3][4] driving in 11 runs for the Baltimore Orioles against the St. Louis Browns on June 10, 1892.[5]

As of 2018, every team that has had a player achieve the milestone has won the game in which it occurred. These games have resulted in other single-game MLB records being set due to the prodigious offensive performance. Robinson, for example, also amassed seven hits in that same game, setting a new major league record that has since been tied by only one other player.[6] Mark Whiten hit four home runs to complement his 12 RBIs for the St. Louis Cardinals on September 7, 1993, tying the single-game records in both categories.[7][8] By attaining both milestones, he became one of only two players to hit four home runs and drive in 10 or more runs in the same game,[3] with Scooter Gennett being the other.[2][9] Tony Lazzeri, Rudy York, and Nomar Garciaparra hit two grand slams during their 10 RBI game,[10][11][12] equaling the record for most grand slams in one game.[13] Norm Zauchin has the fewest career RBIs among players who have 10 RBIs in one game with 159, while Alex Rodriguez, with 2,086, drove in more runs than any other player in this group and hit the third most in major league history.[14]

Of the eight players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have batted in 10 runs in a game, four have been elected and one was elected on the first ballot. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months.[15] These requirements leave three players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons and two—Phil Weintraub and Zauchin—who did not play in 10 seasons.[16][17]

  1. ^ a b "Official Rules: 10.00 – The Official Scorer". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Sheldon, Mark (June 7, 2017). "Electric Scooter! Slam 1st of 4 historic HRs". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Simpson, Jake (May 10, 2010). "6 Ways to Achieve Baseball Immortality". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  4. ^ Hernandez, Dylan (August 22, 2007). "Driving home his points". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Blevins, Dave (December 23, 2011). The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer. Scarecrow Press. p. 823. ISBN 9781461673705. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. ^ Semchuck, Alex. "Wilbert Robinson". The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "Baseball; Whiten's 4 Homers, 12 Runs Batted In Tie Exclusive Records". The New York Times. September 8, 1993. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  8. ^ "RBIs: Jim Bottomley/Mark Whiten, 12 – Best Single-Game Performances in Baseball History". Sports Illustrated. CNN. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  9. ^ "10 RBIs in a game". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  10. ^ Glueckstein, Fred. "Tony Lazzeri". The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  11. ^ "Rudy York hits two grand slams as Red Sox wallop the Browns". Tampa Bay Times. St. Petersburg. Associated Press. July 27, 1981. p. 3C. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  12. ^ Edes, Gordon (May 11, 1999). "Nomar Garciaparra's two grand slams lead Red Sox". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  13. ^ "Two grand slams in a game – Rare Feats". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  14. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Batted In". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  15. ^ "Rules for Election". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference weintraubref was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference zauchinref was invoked but never defined (see the help page).