18 Sep 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Les McBurney
3B Bill Kuhn
141 G, 17 2B, 3 3B, 32 HR, 104 RBI, .284/.379/.508, .888 OPS, 1 SB, +3.7 WAR
It was a random comment made by a GM in a league-wide meeting that perked the ear of Boise's Ben Teague. "I haven't had a player with 100 RBI in many seasons..." That seems strange, thought Teague. Maybe it was just a personal hunch but even with Teague's well-documented pitching/defense focus he was certain he could count on 100 RBI from someone. It just became more a curiosity than anything else.
"I'm obviously not a walking archive of BBA history," says Teague, "But I was fairly certain teams would have a hitter reach 100 RBI even if the rest of the offense was not productive. It's a personal milestone for players sure, and one by which greatness or above-average-ness, is typically measured. But I wasn't thinking of every team having one player post 100 RBI for 10 seasons. It just seemed a given that every team in any season would have a player reach that threshold even in a very poor season."
So he was particularly interested in whether a 100-RBI player would emerge in 2062. Third baseman Bill Kuhn seemed the likeliest candidate having posted 111 in 2061, but he also posted 40 HR which is rather rare for the typical above-average players and makes for a sensational season. Not really something factored into Teague's thinking. Before the 2062 season began, we ran through the last 10 years of the Spuds franchise:
(*playoff season)
2052: 84-78, 3rd (JL Frontier), 23 GB, 850 R
3B Gary Allen
130 G, 162 H, 28 2B, 5 3B, 55 HR, 141 RBI, .304/.351/.685, 1.035 OPS, +6.2 WAR
1B Pepe Madrid
128 G, 176 H, 40 2B, 5 3B, 30 HR, 115 RBI, .353/.414/.635, 1.049 OPS, +5.2 WAR
2053: 66-96, 7th, 34 GB, 687 R
3B Gary Allen
140 G, 148 H, 25 2B, 4 3B, 16 HR, 83 RBI, .270/.302/.417, .719 OPS, -0.6 WAR
1B Pepe Madrid
133 G, 117 H, 30 2B, 3 HR, 13 HR, 70 RBI, .251/.327/.412, .739 OPS, +0.0 WAR
*2054: 85-77, 3rd, 11 GB, 792 R
1B Alfonso Rúbio
134 G, 119 H, 23 2B, 1 3B, 34 HR, 102 RBI, .251/.331/.519, .850 OPS, +1.2 WAR
*2055: 85-77, 3rd, 10 GB, 755 R
LF Grzegorz Kubrick
129 G, 124 H, 30 2B, 3 3B, 27 HR, 80 RBI, .306/.357/.595, .952 OPS, +2.9 WAR
3B Gary Allen
137 G, 147 H, 39 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 79 RBI, .291/.332/.470, .802 OPS, +2.0 WAR
*2056: 90-73, 3rd, 10.5 GB, 804 R
1B Alfonso Rúbio
131 G, 137 H, 30 2B, 3 3B, 33 HR, 98 RBI, .295/.350/.586, .936 OPS, +2.8 WAR
3B Gary Allen
152 G, 160 H, 40 2B, 5 3B, 26 HR, 93 RBI, .279/.325/.502, .827 OPS, +3.0 WAR
LF Bastião Fardos
107 G, 124 H, 30 2B, 3 3B, 24 HR, 83 RBI, .295/.325/.551, .876 OPS, +2.3 WAR
2057: 73-89, 6th, 19 GB, 739 R
DH Alfonso Rúbio
154 G, 132 H, 34 2B, 1 3B, 30 HR, 102 RBI, .240/.316/.470, .786 OPS, +0.1 WAR
2058: 82-80, 6th, 14 GB, 757 R
DH Sebastian 'Nino' Fradesso
148 G, 161 H, 23 2B, 1 3B, 34 HR, 103 RBI, 20 SB, .267/.331/.477, .808 OPS, +3.1 WAR
2059: 78-84, 5th, 17 GB, 720 R
LF Per-Johan Mikkelsson
159 G, 186 H, 46 2B, 0 3B, 18 HR, 103 RBI, 2 SB, .282/.310/.433, .744 OPS, +0.2 WAR
*2060: 89-73, 2nd, 11 GB, 802 R
DH Pedro Hozven
140 G, 147 H, 33 2B, 0 3B, 35 HR, 117 RBI, 2 SB, .309.379/.600, .979 OPS, +3.7 WAR
2061: 82-80, 4th, 19 GB, 768 R
3B Bill Kuhn
151 G, 166 H, 24 2B, 0 3B, 40 HR, 111 RBI, 1 SB, .301/.420/.562, .981 OPS, +5.6 WAR
2062 (in progress): 69-85, eliminated, 745 R
3B Bill Kuhn
141 G, 151 H, 17 2B, 3 3B, 32 HR, 104 RBI, .284/.379/.508, .888 OPS, +3.7 WAR
So in the last 11 seasons, counting 2062, the Spuds had 3 seasons without a player delivering 100 RBI. The 2053 season stands out as a season when Boise scored the least runs in the JL. The 2055 and 2056 squads were playoff teams and scored plenty of runs but didn't have anyone top 100 RBI. However, in both years the RBI were spread amongst multiple, good players. That doesn't validate Teague's point, which is obviously wrong, but gives some context for the question.
This season, Teague was particularly focused on having a player with 100 RBI. A player needs an average of about 17 RBI per month to reach the 100 plateau. Watching Kuhn has been interesting. In both April and May the 3B posted 16 RBI so he was kind of behind the 8 ball. But he exploded in June for 34 RBI, which was good because he dropped to 10 RBI in July and 12 in August. He has 16 RBI thus far in September. The Spuds are about an average team in runs scored, 745, but still needed a fluke season from their best slugger (though LF Tsutomu Yamauchi has totaled 80 RBI on 34 doubles and 20 HR.
So it shouldn't be counted on that a team will have a player with 100 RBI. Not only did no Boise player hit that mark in 3 of the last 10 seasons, it also should be noted that 4 of those Boise clubs were playoff teams (with the 2062 version having already been eliminated). Interestingly, two of those playoff teams were among the ones that lacked a player with 100 RBI but they had a healthy distribution of production.
