40-414: A run batted in or runs batted in ( RBI ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the batter bats a base hit which allows a teammate on a higher base to reach home and so score a run, then the batter gets credited with an RBI. Before
80-588: A minor league known as the Western League , which existed from 1885 to 1899 with teams in mostly Great Lakes states, the league changed its name to the American League for the 1900 season and the next year developed into a second major league as a competitor to the older National League . This was prompted by the NL dropping four teams following the 1899 season after having absorbed its previous rival,
120-433: A baseball game has natural breaks to it, and player activity is characteristically distinguishable individually, the sport lends itself to easy record-keeping and thus both compiling and compiling statistics . Baseball "stats" have been recorded since the game's earliest beginnings as a distinct sport in the middle of the nineteenth century, and as such are extensively available through the historical records of leagues such as
160-400: A contract. Some sabermetric statistics have entered the mainstream baseball world that measure a batter's overall performance including on-base plus slugging , commonly referred to as OPS. OPS adds the hitter's on-base percentage (number of times reached base by any means divided by total plate appearances) to their slugging percentage ( total bases divided by at-bats). Some argue that
200-447: A few core statistics have been traditionally referenced – batting average , RBI , and home runs . To this day, a player who leads the league in all of these three statistics earns the " Triple Crown ". For pitchers, wins , ERA , and strikeouts are the most often-cited statistics, and a pitcher leading his league in these statistics may also be referred to as a "triple crown" winner. General managers and baseball scouts have long used
240-401: A pitcher's performance regardless of the strength of the defensive players behind them. All of the above statistics may be used in certain game situations. For example, a certain hitter's ability to hit left-handed pitchers might incline a manager to increase their opportunities to face left-handed pitchers. Other hitters may have a history of success against a given pitcher (or vice versa), and
280-432: A player's performance and contributions to his team from year to year, frequently against a statistical performance average. Comprehensive, historical baseball statistics were difficult for the average fan to access until 1951, when researcher Hy Turkin published The Complete Encyclopedia of Baseball . In 1969, Macmillan Publishing printed its first Baseball Encyclopedia , using a computer to compile statistics for
320-567: A postseason playoff series for the pennant and the right to play in the World Series. Until the late 1970s, league umpires working behind home plate wore large, balloon-style chest protectors worn outside the shirt or coat, while their colleagues in the National League wore chest protectors inside the shirt or coat. In 1977, new umpires (including Steve Palermo ) had to wear the inside chest protector, although those on staff wearing
360-451: A single league, divided into two parts, also called leagues. This change in legal status had no effect on play, scheduling, and so forth. There were eight charter teams in 1901, the league's first year as a major league, and the next year the original Milwaukee Brewers (not to be confused with the current Milwaukee Brewers ) moved to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns , and the year after
400-830: A third round to the playoffs in the form of the American League Division Series , with the best second-place team advancing to the playoffs as a wild-card team, in addition to the three divisional champions. In 1998, the newly franchised Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the league, and the Arizona Diamondbacks joined the National League: i.e., each league added a fifteenth team. An odd number of teams per league meant that at least one team in each league would have to be idle on any given day, or alternatively, that odd team out would have had to play an interleague game against its counterpart in
440-742: Is at the intersection of North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Kilbourn Avenue where the hotel once stood. In March 1904, Johnson moved the league's headquarters from Chicago to New York. Babe Ruth , noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees . From 1973 to 2022 The American League had one notable difference versus
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#1732772984450480-627: Is usually "RBIs", in accordance with the usual practice for pluralizing initialisms in English; however, some sources use "RBI" as the plural, on the basis that it can stand for "runs batted in". The 2018 edition of the Official Baseball Rules of Major League Baseball (MLB), Rule 9.04 Runs Batted In , reads: A run batted in is a statistic credited to a batter whose action at bat causes one or more runs to score, as set forth in this Rule 9.04. (a) The official scorer shall credit
520-544: The 1920 Major League Baseball season , runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic . Nevertheless, the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan , according to the Society for American Baseball Research . Common nicknames for an RBI include "ribby" (or "ribbie"), "rib", and "ribeye". The plural of "RBI" is a matter of "(very) minor controversy" for baseball fans: it
560-555: The American Association , which disbanded in 1891 after ten seasons. In its early history of the late 1880s, the minor Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson pushed the league to rise to major league status, after the name change to the American League was decided in a league meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , at the former Republican Hotel. A historical marker
600-649: The American League ( AL ), is the younger of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada . It developed from the Western League , a minor league based in the Great Lakes states , which eventually aspired to major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after
640-546: The Hall of Fame . However, critics, particularly within the field of sabermetrics , argue that RBIs measure the quality of the lineup more than it does the player himself. This is because an RBI can only be credited to a player if one or more batters preceding him in the batting order have reached base (the exception to this being a home run , in which the batter is credited with driving himself in, not just those already on base). This implies that better offensive teams —and therefore,
680-590: The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players and the Negro leagues , although the consistency, standards, and calculations are often incomplete or questionable. Since the National League (NL) was founded in 1876, statistics in the most elite levels of professional baseball have been kept at some level, with efforts to standardize the stats and their compilation improving during
720-689: The New York Highlanders replaced the disbanded original Baltimore Orioles. Those eight franchises constituted the league for 52 seasons until the Browns moved to Baltimore and took up the Orioles name. The eight original teams and their counterparts in the "Classic Eight" were: Following the 1999 season, the American and National Leagues were merged with Major League Baseball, and the leagues ceased to exist as business entities. The position of
760-420: The 120 World Series played since 1903. The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series and 41 American League titles, the most in major league history. The Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics have won the second most AL titles with 15, followed by the Boston Red Sox with 14. For decades, Major League baseball clubs only played teams from their own league during the regular season and playoffs, with only
800-409: The 2022 season, when the universal DH rule was implemented. In 2023, American League teams played 46 regular season interleague games against all 15 National League teams, 23 at home and 23 on the road. In 2000, the American League ended its status as a legally independent entity when the American and National Leagues were both merged into the legal entity Major League Baseball (MLB). This left MLB as
840-1065: The NL Central. At the same time, the Detroit Tigers were moved from the AL East to the AL Central, making room for the Devil Rays in the East. Even after expansion, the American League then continued with 14 teams. This situation changed again in 2013 when the Houston Astros moved from the National League Central division to the American League West. The Astros had been in the NL for 51 years since beginning as an expansion team in 1962. Since their move, both leagues now consist of 15 teams. For
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#1732772984450880-837: The OPS formula is flawed and that more weight should be shifted towards OBP (on-base percentage). The statistic wOBA (weighted on-base average) attempts to correct for this. OPS is also useful when determining a pitcher's level of success. "Opponent on-base plus slugging" (OOPS) is becoming a popular tool to evaluate a pitcher's actual performance. When analyzing a pitcher's statistics, some useful categories include K/9IP (strikeouts per nine innings), K/BB (strikeouts per walk), HR/9 (home runs per nine innings), WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), and OOPS (opponent on-base plus slugging). However, since 2001, more emphasis has been placed on defense-independent pitching statistics , including defense-independent ERA (dERA), in an attempt to evaluate
920-535: The advent of many of these methods, players can conditionally be compared across different time eras and run scoring environments. The practice of keeping records of player achievements was started in the 19th century by English-American sportswriter Henry Chadwick . Based on his experience with the sport of cricket , Chadwick devised the predecessors to modern-day statistics including batting average , runs scored, and runs allowed . Traditionally, statistics such as batting average (the number of hits divided by
960-425: The batter with a run batted in for every run that scores (b) The official scorer shall not credit a run batted in (c) The official scorer's judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. Ordinarily, if the runner keeps going, the official scorer should credit a run batted in; if the runner stops and takes off again when
1000-546: The difference in play between the two major leagues has diminished considerably. Though both leagues agreed to be jointly governed by a commissioner in 1920, they remained separate business entities with their own presidents and management. This was the case until after the 1999 season, when the American League legally merged with the National League under the auspices of Major League Baseball, which now operates much like other North American professional sports leagues, albeit with two "leagues" instead of "conferences". Originally
1040-494: The early 20th century. Such efforts have evolved in tandem with advances in available technology ever since. The NL was joined by the American League (AL) in 1903; together the two constitute contemporary Major League Baseball . New advances in both statistical analysis and technology made possible by the " PC revolution " of the 1980s and 1990s have driven teams and fans to evaluate players by an ever-increasing set of new statistics, which hold them to ever-evolving standards. With
1080-399: The first 96 years, American League teams faced their National League counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings. As part of the agreement instituting interleague play, the designated-hitter rule was used only in games where the American League team is the home team, until
1120-400: The first time. Known as "Big Mac", the encyclopedia became the standard baseball reference until 1988, when Total Baseball was released by Warner Books using more sophisticated technology. The publication of Total Baseball led to the discovery of several "phantom ballplayers", such as Lou Proctor , who did not belong in official record books and were removed. Throughout modern baseball,
1160-527: The formation of the National League (the "Senior Circuit"). Since 1903, the American League champion has played in the World Series against the National League champion with only two exceptions: 1904, when the NL champion New York Giants refused to play their AL counterpart, and 1994, when a players' strike resulted in the cancellation of the Series. Through 2024, American League teams have won 68 of
1200-410: The introduction of the designated hitter rule in 1973, which encouraged AL managers to largely abandon "smallball" tactics. However, with the advent of free agency in the 1970s allowing for more player movement between leagues, the introduction of regular season interleague play in 1997, umpires working games across MLB beginning in 1999, and the NL's adoption of the designated hitter rule in 2022,
1240-436: The major statistics, among other factors and opinions, to understand player value. Managers, catchers and pitchers use the statistics of batters of opposing teams to develop pitching strategies and set defensive positioning on the field. Managers and batters study opposing pitcher performance and motions in attempting to improve hitting. Scouts use stats when they are looking at a player who they may end up drafting or signing to
Run batted in - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-549: The manager may use this information to create a favorable match-up. This is often referred to as "playing the percentages". The advent of the Statcast system as caused a change in tracking statistics in the modern game. The following listings include abbreviations and/or acronyms for both historic baseball statistics and those based on modern mathematical formulas known popularly as "metrics". The explanations below are for quick reference and do not fully or completely define
1320-475: The number of at bats) and earned run average (the average number of runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings, less errors and other events out of the pitcher's control) have dominated attention in the statistical world of baseball. However, the recent advent of sabermetrics has created statistics drawing from a greater breadth of player performance measures and playing field variables. Sabermetrics and comparative statistics attempt to provide an improved measure of
1360-402: The other league. The initial plan was to have three five-team divisions per league with inter-league play year-round—possibly as many as 30 interleague games per team each year. For various reasons, it soon seemed more practical to have an even number of teams in both leagues. The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to change leagues to become the National League's 16th team, moving from the AL Central to
1400-504: The outside protector could continue to do so. Most umpires made the switch to the inside protector, led by Don Denkinger in 1975 and Jim Evans the next year, although several did not, including Bill Haller , Russ Goetz , George Maloney , Bill Kunkel and Jerry Neudecker , who became the last full-time MLB umpire to use the outside protector in 1985. In 1994, the league, along with the National League, reorganized again, this time into three divisions (East, West, and Central ) and added
1440-488: The rival National League , as it had the designated hitter rule. Under the rule, a team may use a batter in its lineup who is not in the field defensively, replacing the pitcher in the batting order, compared to the old rule that made it mandatory for the pitcher to bat. In the last two decades, the season schedule has allowed occasional interleague play. In 1969, the AL (and NL) were divided into East and West divisions, with
1480-458: The runner notices the misplay, the official scorer should credit the run as scored on a fielder's choice. From 1980 to 1988, the game-winning RBI was an additional statistic used in MLB. The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that compose the triple crown . In addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to
1520-662: The statistic; for the strict definition, see the linked article for each statistic. It is difficult to determine quantitatively what is considered to be a "good" value in a certain statistical category, and qualitative assessments may lead to arguments. Using full-season statistics available at the Official Site of Major League Baseball for the 2004 through 2015 seasons, the following tables show top ranges in various statistics, in alphabetical order. For each statistic, two values are given: American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs , known simply as
1560-403: The teams in which the most players get on base— tend to produce hitters with higher RBI totals than equivalent hitters on lesser-hitting teams. Totals are current through 2023 (regular season). Active player is in bold . Baseball statistics Baseball statistics include a variety of metrics used to evaluate player and team performance in the sport of baseball . Because the flow of
1600-408: The two pennant winners meeting in the World Series. The AL and NL also employed and trained their own umpires , who only worked regular season games in their own league. These differences resulted in the leagues developing slightly different strategies and styles of play. The American League was usually regarded as the less "traditional" league during the 20th century, a reputation most exemplified by
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