A game-winning RBI (GWRBI) is a statistic that was used in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) from 1980 to 1988. Building upon the
run batted in
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 th ...
(RBI) statistic, the ''game-winning'' RBI was defined in MLB rules as "the RBI that gives a club the lead it never relinquishes."
[
For example: A batter on the winning team brought his team ahead 3–2 from a 2–2 tie at some point during the game and his team later led 5–2 as a result of the other batters. Then, the opposing team scored two more runs, making the final score 5–4. The batter on the winning team who batted in the third run would be credited with the game-winning RBI, even though the losing team scored four runs. That the statistic "did not adequately distinguish the achievement it was meant to reward" was one of the criticisms that led to the statistic being retired.]
Records
* Keith Hernandez
Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Cleveland Indians. Hernandez was a five-time Major League ...
had 129 game-winning RBI while these records were kept, more than any other player.
* Hernandez also had the most in a single season (24 in 1985). Mike Greenwell
Michael Lewis Greenwell (born July 18, 1963) is an American former left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire MLB career with the Boston Red Sox (1985–1996). He played seven games for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan (1997), b ...
had the most in the American League (23 in 1988).
* Wally Joyner
Wallace Keith Joyner (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for four major league teams during a 16-year career, most notably for the California Angels, for whom he was an All-Star. He was a member of ...
, Jose Canseco
José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his time with the Oakland Athletics, he established hims ...
, and Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...
each had 14 in their rookie years, the rookie record.
* Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager. Gibson spent most of his career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers, but also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansa ...
had the game-winning RBI in five consecutive games in 1986.
Source:
See also
* Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...
* Game-winning goal
In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is plac ...
(hockey, soccer)
References
Further reading
*
External links
Unofficial Homepage of the game-winning RBI
{{Baseball statistics
Batting statistics