Hack Wilson: 191 RBI

In 1930 Hack Wilson destroyed the major league RBI record by driving in 191 runs, which was previously held by Babe Ruth (168). Although Wilson hit 56 home runs, they only accounted for 101 (53%) of his runs batted in, meaning he drove in 90 more by other means.

Hack had a fantastic year. On top of the RBI, he also was the first player not named Ruth to hit over 50 home runs in a single season. Wilson was robbed out of an MVP because it was not awarded by the league that season. At the time (1922-1929), it was called the League Award. In 1930 it was discontinued and no award was presented. It surfaced again the following season and remains today as the Most Valuable Player Award. In 1930 Wilson had a season only accomplished by two other players. Only Wilson, Jimmie Foxx (1932), and Ruth (twice: 1921, 1927) batted at least .350, hit at least 50 home runs and drove in 150 or more runs in the same season.

All that said and done, it still took a “perfect storm” to accomplish the feat. As do all terrific run producers, Wilson hit great with runners on base (.366) and Hack enjoyed good health only missing one game, but he also had a dynamo batting in front of him.

Woody English hit second in the order for the Cubs. He had a .430 on-base percentage and reached base over 300 times in 1930. He also hit 36 doubles and 17 triples. Wilson drove him home 42 times that season.

Kiki Cuyler batted third and had a .428 on-base percentage. He also reached base over 300 times. Cuyler hit 50 doubles and 17 triples while leading the NL in stolen bases (37). Wilson drove him home 46 times. Both Cuyler and English used the sacrifice bunt to move runners into scoring position. Neither Cuyler nor English missed a game that season.

L-R: Wilson, Kiki Cuyler & Woody English

What all the above says is that Wilson came to bat with runners on base and, many times, in scoring position. Hack had 702 plate appearances. In his times at the plate, he had 524 runners on base. When not hitting safely, he still put the ball in play 293 times. He struck out 84 times or about as much as today’s leadoff hitters.

What all this proves is that the new style of baseball, striking out frequently and not advancing runners, will never allow another player to approach this RBI record.

Quickly I will compare the last two 50 home run hitters and their numbers:
                                                                                    Pete Alonzo hit 53 home runs and drove home 120 in 2019. His home runs accounted for 70% of his RBI (84). He had no one in particular in front of him with a great on-base percentage but still came to the plate with 407 runners aboard. Pete was juggled around in the batting order, hitting second, third and cleanup. The player who batted consistently before him, Michael Conforto, struck out 149 times and never had a sacrifice hit. Alonzo struck out 183 times.

Aaron Judge hit 52 home runs in 2017 and drove in 114. His home runs accounted for 75% of his RBI (85). He also did not have the runners on base or in scoring position enjoyed by Wilson but still managed to come to the plate with 427 runners on base. Judge struck out 208 times. He batted mostly second in the order and sometimes third. The player always in front of Judge, Brett Gardner, struck out 122 times and had five sacrifice hits. When Judge batted third, Chase Headley usually batted in the second spot. Headley struck out 132 times and sacrificed only once.

All this proves that in order to have a historic RBI season you need many base runners, players who will move runners into scoring position, good health (both yourself and the players in front of you), and a great batting average with runners on base. Add to this formula the ability to put the ball in play consistently (limiting strikeouts). Today’s game has evolved to moving away from all the skills needed to do so.

Who had the most impressive RBI season, Wilson (191), Gehrig (185), actually neither? But that is for another column soon.

✍️ Written by Skip Carpentier 

Bill "Three Bagger" Kuehne

Bill "Three Bagger" Kuehne holds the record, by a wide margin, for the lowest batting average (.232) and on-base percentage (.257) by a player with 100 or more career triples. Owner of many records, firsts, and some of the most bizarre stat lines of all-time, "Little Willie" Kuehne's statistical propensity for both grandeur and futility makes him something of a 19th-century Dave Kingman (minus the strikeouts). A .223 hitter over his first four seasons (1883-86), Kuehne—though not markedly fast afoot—managed to average 17 triples per year. (He's the only man to slug more triples than doubles in four straight seasons.) Kuehne amassed 993 hits over a 10-year career, 115 of which were triples; this means that one of every 8.6 hits (12%) went for three bases. Sam Crawford, the all-time triples leader, hit a three-bagger about 10% of the time.

Cited by SABR's David Nemec as holding the record for most triples by a player with fewer than 4,500 plate appearances, the 5-foot-8-inch, 185-pound third sacker—obviously his favorite base—once hit 19 three baggers without notching a single homer, a feat later replicated by Willie Keeler. Of those active between the years of 1871 and 1892, only ten batsmen, seven of which are Hall of Famers, hit more triples than Kuehne. Though praised by the local press for his ability to "knock the ball out of sight," Kuehne hit only 25 home runs as a big leaguer; even with all of those triples, his career slugging percentage (.337) is laughable. In the Western League, however, "Billy the Bat" hit 22 big flies in 1895; four of those came on May 12, making him the seventh professional to compile a four-homer game.

The third German-born player to appear in the majors, Kuehne spent most of his career in Pittsburgh (AA and NL), where he gained a reputation as a gifted third baseman. In April 1890, The Pittsburgh Dispatch gushed: "LIttle Willie [Kuehne], he of the light blue stockings from the land of the Kaiser and lager beer, was surrounded with a halo of glory. . . . Nothing that went Willie's way could escape his clutch, and he picked up hot grounders with the alacrity of a tramp when picking up a beef sandwich that is not his own." Kuehne, who once handled a record 13 errorless chances during a nine-inning contest, is credited with a career 3.28 range factor-per-game as a third sacker, the 33rd highest total in MLB history—and better than Pie Traynor, Brooks Robinson or Mike Schmidt. ~ BK2

Honus Wagner: 'Father Time has caught up with me'

As the 1952 season approached, it had been more than a half-century since the soon-to-be 78-year-old Honus Wagner first began his big league career with the Louisville Colonels as a young, multipositional star. (He also pitched, striking out six over eight shutout innings.) By the time of his 1917 retirement, Wagner—described by John McGraw as "the greatest player in baseball history"—held a slew of modern (post-1892) National League records: 3,420 hits, 643 doubles, 252 triples, 1,732 RBI, 1,739 runs scored, 723 stolen bases, and eight batting titles among them. Often referred to as "Mr. Shortstop" in the press, the burly, bow-legged—yet amazingly agile—"freak of nature" still ranks fourth at the position in career putouts and eleventh in range factor-per-game. As one unidentified scribe put it: "[Wagner] walks like a crab, plays like an octopus and hits like the devil."

Deeply in debt and eager to return to the game he loved, Wagner was hired on as a Pirates coach in 1933. The affable "Dutchman" soon became a beloved fixture during spring training, doling out baseball wisdom and grandfatherly advice to rookies and veterans alike. By the late-1940s, Wagner's health had begun to fail; he was no longer able to attend spring workouts—though he stubbornly remained on as a coach during the regular season. "I won't quit baseball until it quits me," declared Honus following a health scare in 1950. Hospitalized again in December 1951, he remained optimistic about returning, but by mid-February, Wagner—at the insistence of his doctor—announced his retirement. Pirates' GM Branch Rickey, who procured a pension for Wagner, declared his uniform (No.33) retired forever.

On February 15, 1952, a group of newspapermen and photographers descended upon Wagner's modest home in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. "Shucks, how about that," chuckled Honus, grinning ear-to-ear as he answered the door. "Guess old Father Time has caught up with me. Never knew anybody to retire so young." Wagner then collapsed into an easy-chair, a large wad of chewing tobacco visible in his jaw, as he prepared to be interviewed. Following a few questions about his health, the talk turned to his playing days.

Though he stole the show during Pittsburgh's victory over the Tigers in the 1909 World Series, Hans said that "the biggest thrill of my life" came in 1900, when he hit a double in his final at-bat to beat out Elmer Flick "by a mere percentage point" to win his first National League batting crown. (The records show that Wagner was mistaken: he hit .381, a full 14 points better than Flick's .367 mark, though it had remained a close race going into the final days of the season.)

As the reporters on hand looked over Wagner's impressive collection of trophies and mementos that nearly enveloped the small but well-kept parlor, Honus pointed out his favorite of the bunch—a large silver loving cup awarded to him in 1908 for pacing the majors with a .354 batting average. The trophy was presented by Vaudville star Honeyboy Evans. "See that cup," exclaimed Wagner. "Honeyboy bought the cup with the idea of giving it to his friend, Ty Cobb, but I beat Cobb out that year and got it!"

"Who was the toughest pitcher you ever faced?" asked an Associated Press reporter. Honus thought for a bit, before listing a who's who of legendary hurlers: Christy Mathewson, Cy Young, Pete Alexander, Rube Waddell. "Those pitchers were great," explained Wagner, "but I could always hit them. The guy who had me going was a bullpen pitcher for the Chicago Cubs—Jack Taylor. . . . [H]e was always the toughest for me to hit. It looked like I ought to knock his pitches seven miles, but for five years, I couldn't do anything with him. Finally, I got so disgusted I turned around and batted left-handed against him. It worked: I got a three-bagger, and my luck against Taylor changed."

Honus Wagner signs autographs, circa 1948. 

The same AP scribe then asked Wagner about Branch Rickey, who had awarded him a lifetime pass to games at Forbes Field in appreciation for his 37 years of service to the club. "Do you know what Mr. Rickey told me?" asked Honus. "He said I could sit anywhere in the ballpark. Upstairs, downstairs, center-field, right-field, any place. How about that?" Around this time, Wagner's devoted wife, Bessie, chimed in: "Guess he'll never be the same now. Baseball is all he ever knew." Sensing a bit of sadness in his wife's statement, Honus explained: "It still is great to be alive. . . . I still love baseball. It looks like the game gets bigger and better every year."

As the interview drew to a close, Wagner—eager to put his newly acquired season tickets to use—flashed a buoyant smile and exclaimed: "See you on opening day!"

– BK2

   ◾Sources: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov + https://www.newspapers.com