Pujols ties A-Rod on all-time RBI list

August 20th, 2020

reached yet another incredible career milestone in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Giants, tying for the second-most RBIs in Major League history with 2,086, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Pujols reached the mark with an RBI single with two outs in the sixth on an 0-2 fastball from Giants reliever Andrew Suárez. According to Elias, the official statistician of Major League Baseball, the all-time leader in RBIs is Hank Aaron with 2,297, and he’s followed by Pujols and Rodriguez.

The RBI record book can be a bit confusing for a couple of reasons. For starters, RBIs did not become an official stat until 1920, which means that Elias does not consider Babe Ruth and Cap Anson to be members of the 2,000-RBI club, even though they are listed as having reached that milestone in some places that retroactively include all RBIs accrued prior to 1920. On those lists, Ruth is listed ahead of Pujols.

Additionally, due to the uncertain nature of record keeping in the early part of the 20th century, some discrepancies exist between the stats provided today by different historical data providers. For example, some sources list Ruth as having 2,214 RBIs, while others have him at 2,213.

Pujols, 40, is also one homer away from tying Willie Mays for fifth on the all-time home run list. Pujols, a three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star, is the only member of the 650-homer, 650-double club.