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. 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.
St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, shown here in 2008, passed Babe Ruth's 2,214 official RBI in October 2022. Pujols finished his Major League Baseball career with 2,218 RBI and second place on the all-time list.
Hank Greenberg, Hall of Famer and 2-time MVP
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to drive runners home or to advance runners along the bases for others to drive home, but the techniques and strategies they use to do so vary. Hitting uses a motion that is virtually unique to baseball and its fellow bat-and-ball sports, one that is rarely used in other sports. Hitting is unique because it involves rotating in the horizontal plane of movement, unlike most sports movements which occur in the vertical plane.
Marcus Thames of the Detroit Tigers batting in 2007
Barry Bonds in the on deck circle with various warm up devices.