Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by Matt Musico
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been around for a long time. While the top of the single-season home run leaderboard hasn’t changed a bunch over the years, it doesn’t mean there haven’t been tons of powerful campaigns along the way. That’s evidenced by the single-season Dodgers RBI leaders.
There have been a total of 89 seasons where a Dodgers player has accumulated at least 100 RBI. We’ll first talk about the top five in detail before listing out the remainder of the top 28.
Single-Season Dodgers RBI Leaders: Top 5
Tommy Davis: 153 RBI in 1962
Between 1959 and 1961, Tommy Davis produced 26 home runs and 102 RBI in 883 plate appearances. After stepping up to the plate 711 times in 1962, he surpassed both of those numbers (27 homers, 153 RBI). He was selected to both All-Star Games that year and finished third in NL MVP Award voting. Davis did win the batting title with a .346 average while also leading the league in RBI and total hits (230).
His consistency on a monthly basis during 1962 in the RBI department was admirable. He never finished a single month with fewer than 22 RBI. In fact, he enjoyed one month of 30-plus rib-eye steaks and collected exactly 25 on three different occasions.
Roy Campanella: 142 RBI in 1953
The 1953 season was the second time Roy Campanella won an MVP Award. However, it was the first and only time he slugged more than 40 homers in a season while also leading baseball in RBI. The Dodgers’ backstop added a .312/.395/.611 triple slash to these numbers, producing a cool 1.006 OPS while playing the most physically demanding position on the diamond.
Campy reached these heights thanks to a very fast start at the dish for Brooklyn. Through the end of May, he had accumulated 174 plate appearances. That resulted in a .322/.420/.725 triple slash to go along with 17 home runs and 54 RBI.
Duke Snider: 136 RBI in 1955
Duke Snider‘s 1955 performance was towards the tail end of a prolonged power peak. He enjoyed six campaigns of 100-plus RBI, and he accomplished them all during a seven-year stretch between 1950 and 1956. Those 136 RBI were a single-season career-high mark and the third straight year he finished with at least 120.
The right-handed slugger was solid in all situations during this particular season, but he was an animal with runners in scoring position. With the bases empty, Snider slashed .278/.403/.571, which was good for a .974 OPS. Those numbers went up to .338/.473/.676 and 1.149, respectively, with runners on second and/or third.
Jack Fournier: 130 RBI in 1925
Jack Fournier played for five teams during his 15-year MLB career. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the fourth squad he suited up for, with his first campaign coming in 1923 as a 30-year-old. Fournier had never finished with more than 86 RBI leading up to that season. So, naturally, he rattled off three straight 100-RBI performances to begin his Dodgers tenure.
He added 22 homers to his ledger, which was the third straight time he surpassed 20 dingers in a single year. Fournier slashed .350/.446/.569 in 649 plate appearances for Brooklyn in 1925. There was really no huge difference between playing at Ebbetts Field and playing on the road, either.
While Fournier racked up 14 doubles at home (compared to seven on the road), most other stats were quite similar. That includes triples (eight at home, eight on the road), homers (nine vs. 13), RBI (64 vs. 65), and OPS (1.019 vs. 1.011).
Babe Herman: 130 RBI in 1930
Snider and Gil Hodges also produced 130 RBI in a season for the Dodgers. But, since they get plenty of love on the Dodgers’ single-season home run leaderboard, I decided Babe Herman should get a little extra attention. Herman finished within the top 16 of MVP Award voting four times during his 13-year career. None of those occasions happened in 1930 when he produced career-high marks in hits (241), doubles (48), homers (35), and RBI (130).
Herman also slashed .393/.455/.678 across 699 plate appearances during this campaign. As one can imagine, he did the majority of his damage in games Brooklyn won. It doesn’t make his numbers any less eye-popping, though. The left-handed hitter slashed .452/.521/.781 with 24 homers and 106 RBI in Dodgers victories.
Single-Season Dodgers RBI Leaders: The Rest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSXtXtcYBRE&pp=ygUZbWF0dCBrZW1wIDIwMTEgaGlnaGxpZ2h0cw%3D%3D
As mentioned above, there have been 89 instances of a Dodgers player racking up at least 100 RBI in a single season. Here’s the rest of the top 28.
- Gil Hodges, 1954: 130 RBI
- Duke Snider, 1954: 130
- Oyster Burns, 1890: 128
- Glenn Wright, 1930: 126
- Duke Snider, 1953: 126
- Matt Kemp, 2011: 126
- Shawn Green, 2001: 125
- Dan Brouthers, 1892: 124
- Dixie Walker, 1945: 124
- Jackie Robinson, 1949: 124
- Mike Piazza, 1997: 124
- Hack Wilson, 1932: 123
- Gil Hodges, 1953: 122
- Adrian Beltre, 2004: 121
- Dolph Camilli, 1941: 120
- Frank Howard, 1962: 119
- Jack Fournier, 1924: 116
- Dixie Walker, 1946: 116
- Adrian Gonzalez, 2014: 116
- Gil Hodges, 1949: 115
- Steve Garvey, 1977: 115
- Cody Bellinger, 2019: 115
- Shawn Green, 2002: 114
Want to see some homers in person this season? Of course you do. Grab MLB tickets from our friends at Vivid Seats. And before you get to the stadium, make sure you’re decked out in the right gear. Get your favorite team’s official merch from the MLB Shop or a ‘Big Dinger Energy’ shirt from our apparel store.
