Did you know...?

For our second installment of "Did you know...?" we'll be discussing Runs Batted In, or RBIs, one of the greatest signs of consistent and timely hitting. RBIs are important because they tell us whether a guy can hit when it really counts, like when a runner is in scoring position. Now there are more complicated stats nowadays that explain how proficient a guy is on a 3-1 count when facing lefties who throw predominantly curve balls when the wind is coming in at 10 mph, but I don't care about that crap. Frankly, far too many stats are compiled lately due to the rise of statisticians in baseball. I blame the rise of ESPN and other sports media outlets. While statistics are wonderful and help chronicle how good someone is, there is a limit to their use.
That now being said, do you know who holds the record for RBIs in a single season? There have been some fantastic RBI hitters in the past, but the all-time leader will most likely surprise you. It's not Hank Aaron, or Lou Gehrig. It's Hack Wilson, a centerfielder for the Chicago Cubs, who drove in an absolutely outstanding 191 runners in 1930. 191! That is nearly double what today is considered a great RBI season. Just to add how fantastic of a year that was for Hack Wilson, he also batted .356 and had an OBP of .454.
Wilson never came close to matching his own record, but did have some stellar performances in other years. The previous year in 1929, he hit a then career best 159, and hit over 100 RBIs four more times. Wilson didn't earn an MVP for his efforts in 1930 oddly enough, because Major League Baseball didn't make an official pick for Most Valuable Player every year until 1931. And strangely before that, once a person was voted MVP, they could never be picked again. This explains why the likes of Ruth and Cobb only ever won once.
And while we are in that era, I'd like to mention that the great Lou Gehrig had some mighty fine RBI seasons of his own. Out of the 25 best single-season RBI performances to date, The Iron Horse owns five of them. That's insane. Had his career not be cut short by illness, he almost certainly would've been the reigning RBI king. That honor goes to Mr. Aaron though, who has 2297 career RBIs. The only current player that even has a chance of catching that total is Alex Rodriguez who in 16 MLB seasons has 1706 RBIs. He would need six more seasons of 100 RBI production to pass Hammerin' Hank.
One other noteworthy performance to include is Manny Ramirez's 1999 campaign where he batted 165 runs in. That was the first time since World War II that a player had hit over 160 RBIs. I think it's pretty safe to say that Hack Wilson's record of 191 RBIs in a single season will most assuredly never be eclipsed.