Top 25 Single-Season Boston Red Sox RBI Leaders

Last Updated on June 1, 2025 by Matt Musico

The list of single-season Boston Red Sox RBI leaders is full of 100 RBI performances. Entering the 2025 campaign, there have been 124 different occurrences of a Boston slugger eclipsing the century mark. But for today, we’ll just cover the top 25.

This article might come in handy if you’re getting ready for your next Immaculate Grid game, too. I’ll discuss the top five Red Sox RBI seasons in detail below before listing out the remainder of the top 25. Plus, there’s a little bonus at the end to potentially help your rarity score.

Related: A Complete Guide to Single-Season (& Single-Game) HR Performances

Single-Season Red Sox RBI Leaders: Top 5

Table of Contents

Jimmie Foxx, 1938: 175 RBI

When discussing the most devastating run producers in baseball history, Jimmie Foxx demands a prominent place in the conversation. “Double X” unleashed absolute terror on American League pitching in 1938, driving in a franchise-record 175 runs. This mark hasn’t been seriously challenged for nearly nine decades, and it’ll probably stay that way forever.

This incredible performance also included 50 homers, which was Boston’s single-season record until David Ortiz broke it in 2006.

What makes Foxx’s achievement even more remarkable is the consistency with which he accumulated these RBI. He slashed .349/.462/.704 on the year, and after collecting 15 RBI in 11 April games, he didn’t finish with fewer than 20 RBI in a month the rest of the regular season. He also loved hitting at Fenway Park — Foxx slugged 35 homers with 104 RBI in just 74 home games during what ended up being his third career MVP season.

Vern Stephens, 1949: 159 RBI

The 1949 Red Sox featured one of the most fascinating RBI races in MLB history, with teammates Vern Stephens and Ted Williams finishing deadlocked at 159 RBI.

Stephens holds the MLB record for RBI in a season by a shortstop thanks to this performance. It was accompanied by 39 home runs, making him the first player at the position to enjoy a 30-homer campaign.

Who knows where Stephens could’ve landed if he hadn’t slowed down in September? By the end of August, he was hitting .306/.399/.574 with 35 homers, 30 doubles, 140 RBI, and 93 runs scored. But over his final 115 trips to the plate, Stephens hit just .204/.357/.344 with four homers and 19 RBI.

Ted Williams, 1949: 159 RBI

Ted Williams set career highs in 1949 with 43 home runs, 159 RBI, and 150 runs scored, earning him his second and final MVP award. The left-handed slugger achieved this with his typically incredible approach at the plate, walking a league-leading 162 times while striking out just 48 times.

What makes these numbers even more incredible is how Williams paired them with his batting average. He slashed .343/.490/.650 in 730 plate appearances. Williams had already put together a huge season by the All-Star break. But he turned on the afterburners in the second half to secure that MVP award.

The Splendid Splinter hit .325/.476/.623 with 20 homers and 85 RBI in 372 first-half plate appearances. But in the second half, Williams slashed .361/.506/.679 with 23 homers and 74 RBI in just 358 trips to the plate.

David Ortiz, 2005: 148 RBI

David Ortiz’s legendary 2005 campaign represents the pinnacle of clutch hitting in the modern Red Sox era. Big Papi drove in 148 runs while establishing himself as arguably the most feared late-game hitter in baseball, with an almost supernatural ability to deliver in critical moments.

Ortiz’s 148 RBI in 2005 led the big leagues. His RBI distribution throughout games shows he relished the opportunity to come up big late in contests:

Innings 1–3: .950 OPS, 14 homers, 50 RBI in 271 PA
Innings 4–6: 1.015 OPS, 14 homers, 40 RBI in 230 PA
Innings 7–9: 1.015 OPS, 17 homers, 46 RBI in 207 PA

Big Papi’s performance in high-leverage situations is also worth noting. He posted a 1.312 OPS with 10 homers and 60 RBI in that scenario.

Ortiz and Manny Ramirez created a devastating middle-of-the-order duo for Boston that year. Ortiz (47 homers and 148 RBI) and Ramirez (45 homers and 144 RBI) combined for 92 home runs and 292 RBI in 2005 — no pair of teammates in baseball hit more homers or combined for more RBI that season.

Ted Williams, 1939: 145 RBI

If you want to know a good way to break into the league as a rookie, just look at Williams’ 1939 stat line. He slashed .327/.436/.609 with 31 homers, 44 doubles, 145 RBI (led the league), and 131 runs scored. He also walked 107 times and led the league with 344 total bases.

Oh, and he did all that as a 20-year-old! Holy smokes.

Williams found his footing after a “slow” start, too. I put “slow” in quotes because it only looks like a slow start when compared to the rest of his season.

Through the end of May, Williams was hitting .278/.333/.549 with eight homers, 10 doubles, and 36 RBI. From June 1 through the end of the regular season, his triple slash settled in at .343/.462/.627. That was accompanied by 23 homers, 34 doubles, and 108 RBI. Williams also threw in 10 triples, just for good measure.

Single-Season Red Sox RBI Leaders: The Rest

While the performances above represent the pinnacle of run production in Red Sox history, the franchise has produced several other remarkable RBI seasons that deserve recognition. Since I’m not going to list out the remainder of Boston’s 100-RBI campaigns, here are the rest of the players who make up the top 25:

Walt Dropo, 1950: 144 RBI
Vern Stephens, 1950: 144 RBI
Manny Ramirez, 2005: 144 RBI
Jimmie Foxx, 1936: 143 RBI
Mo Vaughn, 1996: 143 RBI
Jim Rice, 1978: 139 RBI
David Ortiz, 2004: 139 RBI
Ted Williams, 1942: 137 RBI
Vern Stephens, 1948: 137 RBI
David Ortiz, 2006: 137 RBI
Jim Rice, 1979: 130 RBI
Manny Ramirez, 2004: 130 RBI
J.D. Martinez, 2018: 130 RBI
Jimmie Foxx, 1937: 127
Ted Williams, 1948: 127
Jim Rice, 1983: 126
Mo Vaughn, 1995: 126
Manny Ramirez, 2001: 125

5 Red Sox Names to Help Your Immaculate Grid Rarity Score

We all know how fun it is to remember a player that fits in the Immaculate Grid that nobody else is thinking about. I scanned the list of Red Sox RBI leaders and found five that might help your rarity score the next time you need to fill in a spot for this category:

Babe Ruth (113 RBI in 1919)
Buck Freeman (100-plus RBI each season between 1901 and 1903)
Nick Esasky (108 RBI in 1989)
Pinky Higgins (106 RBI in 1937 and 1938)
Jason Bay (119 RBI in 2009)

The stats used for this article are courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise noted.

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