38 Responses to “500 Career Games With AB < 5 Times RBI”

1. Brendan Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 1:11 pm

   6 active players (excluding Manny) on the list.

2. Johnny Twisto Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 1:16 pm

   Selkirk, DiMaggio, and Keller played in the same outfield.

3. Jaxx Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

   I was thinking Mike Greenwell for this list, but he isn't here.

4. Downpuppy Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 1:43 pm

   Only Ruth is under 4x. Greenberg & Gehrig are close.

   What surprises me a little is the hole between Campanella & Bonds if you sort on the "From" column. Almost everyone on it started from 1923-1939 or 1986-1997. The balance of the game shifts rather suddenly.

5. Richard Chester Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 2:42 pm

   The surprise is that Hank Aaron is not on the list.

   I copied the list onto an Excel spreadsheet. calculated the RBI /AB ratio and sorted. The top 5 are Ruth, Gehrig, Greenberg, Williams and Foxx.

6. Fireworks Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 2:47 pm

   @4 @5

   People that played through the 60s and 70s had little chance of being able to make a list such as this.

7. Lawrence Azrin Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 2:47 pm

   #1 on the list, George "Twinkletoes" Selkirk, couldn't catch a break - first he waits forever in the minors for Babe Ruth to move out of right field, then WWII ends his career at age 34.

   This is quite a list - aside from Selkirk, just about everybody else is either a HOFer, a near-HOFer, or a future HOFer/near-HOFer.

8. Michael G Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 2:58 pm

   I'm probably missing something obvious, but...what exactly is so special about having fewer at bats than 5 times the number of rbis? By multiplying the rbis, it seems like this doesnt do anything except inflate numbers for no apparent reason...

   If Im missing something obvious will somebody please point it out to me? thanks!

9. Lawrence Azrin Says:
   August 29th, 2011 at 3:27 pm

   @8/ Michael G - It's a list of great RBI guys, which despite the mainstream overrating of seasonal RBI totals, is also a list of great hitters.

   Of course, as #4 and #6 point out, the offensive levels of the era have to be well above-average for a hitter to make this list.

10. Tim Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 3:30 pm

    @8 - this makes it a list of players who averaged an RBI every 5 ABs or better. And looking at the list, this is obviously elite company (tough to keep that rate up for an entire career).

11. Timothy P. Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    Hack Wilson was a great hitter.

12. Hartvig Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 4:25 pm

    It's all because they have grit and determination and always come thru in the clutch!

    Or maybe a lot of guys on base ahead of them, I'm not sure which.

13. Drew Weaver Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 4:56 pm

    Pleanty of great hitters who are not on this list.....but, everyone on this list is a great hitter, including Selkirk. Only a few sub .270's in here....Thome, Howard, McGwire....just guessing, but I'll bet this list of sluggers averages about .300.

14. MLS Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    It would be interesting to see the top 27 players for RBI's related to PA versus AB.

15. Richard Chester Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 7:43 pm

    @14

    Here it is. I hope the columns remain aligned after I post it.

    Player RBI/AB RBI/PA
    1 Babe Ruth 0.263 0.208
    2 Lou Gehrig 0.249 0.207
    3 Hank Greenberg 0.246 0.209
    4 Ted Williams 0.239 0.188
    5 Jimmie Foxx 0.236 0.199
    6 Mark McGwire 0.229 0.185
    7 Ryan Howard 0.228 0.196
    8 Joe DiMaggio 0.225 0.200
    9 Hack Wilson 0.223 0.191
    10 Manny Ramirez 0.222 0.187
    11 Sam Thompson 0.218 0.200
    12 Juan Gonzalez 0.214 0.196
    13 Albert Belle 0.212 0.186
    14 Albert Pujols 0.211 0.179
    15 Al Simmons 0.209 0.192
    16 Frank Thomas 0.208 0.169
    17 Carlos Delgado 0.208 0.175
    18 Johnny Mize 0.208 0.181
    19 Cap Anson 0.207 0.186
    20 George Selkirk 0.206 0.173
    21 Alex Rodriguez 0.206 0.178
    22 David Ortiz 0.205 0.176
    23 Roy Campanella 0.204 0.178
    24 Jim Thome 0.203 0.166
    25 Barry Bonds 0.203 0.158
    26 Jason Giambi 0.202 0.164
    27 Charlie Keller 0.201 0.165

    It's really easy to do if you know ther basics of spreadsheets.

16. MLS Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    Thanks Mr Chest!

17. MLS Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    OOPS meant Mr. Chester!!! Dunno what's on my mind..hehe

18. Charles Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    1939 was the only season where Selkirk, DiMaggio and Keller all went 100 RBI's. That's a powerful offense with 904 RBI's.

19. Timothy P. Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    I'm able to find lots of years that players batting 3,4,or 5 for the entire season did not drive in 100 runs.

20. Richard Chester Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    @18
    Keller had 83 RBIs that year. It was his rookie year and batted .334 with an OPS+ of 143.

21. Charles Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    I meant to say they that 1938 was the only season that Selkirk, DiMaggio and Keller all went less than 5 AB's per RBI and so did Bill Dickey. Add Joe Gordon who had more than 100 RBI's. That's a powerful offense with 904 RBI's. But I had a less than sign and a greater than sign in my note that messed it up.

22. Charles Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    1939

23. Richard Chester Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 10:46 am

    @17
    Hey, MLS: I get the impression you are baitng me. I've already got two guys mad at me with my remarks and I am not about to do it again.

    Anyhow getting back to the under-appreciated Charlie Keller, his career OPS+ is 152, good enough for 28th place on the all-time list. He is ahead of such stalwarts as Lajoie, Wagner, Schmidt, McCovey, Heilmann, etc.

24. ART B Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 11:17 am

    I'd like to see a list of pitchers who won at least 20 games more than they lost in a season. All I could come up with were Ron Guidry (25-3) and Wild Bill Donovan (25-4). If Verlander wins five more games, he could finish at 25-5.

25. Zack Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 11:39 am

    Wouldn't it make more sense to use PA instead of AB since sacrifice flies and bases loaded walks don't count as at-bats?

26. Richard Chester Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    @24
    The Baseball Maniac's Almanac has a list which shows that since 1900 there have been 37 occasions of a pitcher with at least 20 more wins than losses in a given season. WhenI have the time I could post the list unless someone else beats me to it. The largest diference was 29 by Jack Chesbro, 41-12 in 1904, and Walter Johnson, 36-7 in 1913.

27. Richard Chester Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    @26

    Whoops,I left out Smokey Joe Wood with 34-5 in 1912.

    I noticed that Wild Bill Donovan is not on that list so there are at least 38 occasions. I guess it is possible that other names have inadvertently been omitted.

28. Lawrence Azrin Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 2:52 pm

    @23/ Richard Chester - In 1947 (age 30) Charlie Keller suffered a ruptured disc, which severely cut into his playing time (he never played more than 83 games again), and led to his retirement at age 35. Bill James had a nice snapshot of his career in the BJNHA. That, plus the year (1944) missed for WWII, make his counting stats look like about half that of a typical HOFer.

    His rate stats of .286/.410/.518 and the 152 OPS+, though, put him into HOF territory. His WAR of 43.4 is better than Travis Jackson, Phil Rizzuto, Red Schoendienst, Lou Brock, and about 15 other HOFers.

29. T Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    Selkirk was an interesting player. His 162 games stat line compares favorably with Brett, Yount, & Clemente. Lifetime .400 OBP! Why didn't this guy get more playing time after Ruth was done?

30. JDV Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    Only Hack Wilson and the trio of Yankee greats (Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio) averaged better than an RBI per 5 PA.

31. Lawrence Azrin Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    @30/ JDV -
    Maybe I'm reading Richard's list in #14 wrong, but wouldn't that quartet include Sam Thompson (.200 RBI/PA) instead of Hack Wilson (.191 RBI/PA)?

    Jimmie Foxx comes oh so close.

32. Richard Chester Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    @31
    Yes it would. For Wilson 1063/5556 = .191.

33. Lawrence Azrin Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    @29/ T - It looks like Selkirk got plenty of playing time for two years after Ruth left the Yankees, in 1935-36. Then in 1937, the Yankees brought up another outstanding right fielder, Tommy Henrich. It looks like they both were competing for the same spot the next two years of 1937-38.

    That's just an educated guess, I'm sure the answer is buried somewhere in a team history book on the pinstripes. Help, Yankees fans?

    @32/ Richard Chester - Thanks.
    Closely related - Gehrig, Thompson and Hank Greenberg had an all-time best .92 RBI/Game.

34. Richard Chester Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    @33

    In 1940 Henrich's BA improved to .307 and Selkirk's fell to .269. Henrich was 5 years younger so my guess is that Yankee management felt that Henrich had a brighter future.

35. Johnny Twisto Says:
    August 30th, 2011 at 11:46 pm

    Plus Keller came up in '39. With the caveat that I haven't researched such things at all, I think it would be difficult to find a team with a better four OF than DiMaggio, Keller, Henrich, and Selkirk in '39 and '40.

    In '41-2, Selkirk fell off and got a lot less playing time. Hard to say how much his reduced action affected his numbers, or vice versa.

36. Cap Says:
    September 1st, 2011 at 12:36 am

    Mr. Lombardi,

    I have to ask... did you make your cut off 500 games instead of 1000 to make a point about George Selkirk?

    Thanks

37. Richard Chester Says:
    September 1st, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    This is just a test to see if I can align the columns.

    Player______________ RBI/AB RBI/PA
    1 Babe Ruth__________0.263 0.208
    2 Lou Gehrig_________0.249 0.207
    3 Hank Greenberg____0.246 0.209
    4 Ted Williams_______0.239 0.188
    5 Jimmie Foxx________0.236 0.199
    6 Mark McGwire______0.229 0.185
    7 Ryan Howard ______0.228 0.196
    8 Joe DiMaggio______ 0.225 0.200
    9 Hack Wilson.............. 0.223 0.191
    10 Manny Ramirez....... 0.222 0.187

38. Richard Chester Says:
    September 1st, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    Another test.

    Player______________ RBI/AB____ RBI/PA
    1 Babe Ruth__________0.263 _____0.208
    2 Lou Gehrig_________0.249 ______0.207
    3 Hank Greenberg____0.246 ______0.209
    4 Ted Williams_______0.239 ______0.188
    5 Jimmie Foxx________0.236 _____0.199
    6 Mark McGwire______0.229 ______0.185
    7 Ryan Howard ______0.228 ______0.196
    8 Joe DiMaggio______ 0.225 ______0.200
    9 Hack Wilson.............. 0.223.............0.191
    10 Manny Ramirez....... 0.222.............0.187