Caleb Joseph of the Orioles set a major league record in for a non-pitcher by going to the plate 141 times this past season and knocking in zero runs.
It was the most plate appearances without an RBI for a non-pitcher since Gene Good had 135 PAs for the 1906 Boston Braves. (The all-time record was set by Oscar Jones, a pitcher for the 1904 Brooklyn Superbas, who had 0 RBI in 150 PAs.)
Joseph batted .174 (23-for-132), and you'd think he would have knock in a run with one of those 23 hits simply by accident at some point.
Joseph had 23 hits: 20 singles and three doubles. But two of those doubles came with the bases empty and the other one was with a man on first.
He went 2-for-27 with runners on second and/or third (.074), and managed only two singles.
As you might expect, Joseph hit better with the bases empty (15-for-75, .200) than with men on (8-for-57, .140).
He batted 12 times with men on first and second: 1-for-11 (single) with 1 sacrifice
He batted three times with men on first and third: 0-for-3 (including 1 GIDP)
He never batted with men on second and third.
He batted nine times with a man on second: 1-for-9 (single)
He batted twice with a man on third: 0-for-1 with 1 walk
He batted three times with the bases loaded: 0-for-3
Players With 120+ PA And 0 RBI (1901-2016)
PA H AB AVG Oscar Jones 1904 BRO 150 24-for-137 .175 (pitcher) Caleb Joseph 2016 BAL 141 23-for-132 .174 Gene Good 1906 BSN 135 18-for-119 .151 Bobby Messenger 1909 CHW 130 19-for-112 .170 Wilbur Wood 1971 CHW 124 5-for- 96 .052 (pitcher) Mickey Lolich 1972 DET 121 6-for- 89 .067 (pitcher)
Steve Staggs went 19-for-78 for the 1978 Athletics, with 2 doubles and 2 triples, but 0 RBI. (4th all-time among non-pitchers)
OK, he had a tough year; he's still got 125 more lifetime ribbies than anyone who posts here.
ReplyDeleteAnd he's tied for the MLB RBI lead in 2020, and that's a stat that should stand up for some time now.