Who are the last five Braves to hit 100+ RBI in a season?
Those select few lucky enough to call themselves Braves fans are bearing witness to one of the most impressive offensive performances our humble little baseball club has ever seen. The almost urgent rate at which the Braves are hitting the baseball continues to catch the eyes of fans all over the country.
1. Ozzie Albies, 2021: 106
The year of the World Series Championship proved to be a productive one for Ozzie, missing only six games throughout the season and, for a good bit of the season, seemed to carry the Braves on his back en route to the trade deadline deals that paved the remainder of the road to greatness.
In a season of heartfelt memories, nonstop drama, and a plethora of premier second base talent, Ozzie Albies put on a 156-game clinic, consistently coming through for the Braves and slugging his way to a 30/20 season with a .310/.488/.799 slash line and a career-best 307 total bases.
The year ended in fireworks, champagne, parades, speeches, and a Silver Slugger award and MVP votes for Albies, who served as a metaphorical support beam for the team, especially following the heavy absence of his old minor-league roommate, Ronald Acuña Jr.
Atlanta's premier second baseman continually proves his worth as one of the best middle infielders in the game, consistently bringing a fire with his bat and a style of playing that you honestly can't teach. As previously stated, he's sitting at 90 with about a month left of regular season play, so it should be properly assumed that 2023 will be his second season seeing him reach the 100 RBI mark.
2: Austin Riley, 2021: 107
Joining his battery mate and glovesmith on the 100 RBI mark for 2021, the juggernaut out of Desoto Central High School proved not only a valuable part of the World Champion 2021 Braves but also a valuable asset within Major League Baseball itself. Following a breakout debut stretch followed by a period where every pitcher seemed to have figured him out, Riley changed his approach at the plate and turned into a dangerous threat at the plate, and I'm confident any pitcher would tell you the same.
Following the change to his approach at the plate, Riley settled into the potential everybody saw from him, reaching the 30 HR mark in the same campaign that 100 RBI fell. He slashed an impressive .303/.591/.898 slash line, with a 135 OPS+ and a Silver Slugger award. Riley also finished 7th in MVP voting that year with a 6.3 WAR and 1.5 dWAR.
The 2021 campaign seemed to energize Riley, adding a layer of confidence that lit a fire on his bat that proved impervious to any extinguishing method. Add a newfound penchant for elite defense and a clubhouse personality you simply can't replicate, and you've got yourself a top-tier third baseman able to measure up to the rest, often leaving everyone else in the dust.
With 77 RBI on the current campaign, it may be a harder road to travel if Riley wishes to see himself reach that tier for the second time in his short five-year career.
3. Ronald Acuña Jr, 2019: 101
In one of the most exciting careers to watch that we've seen in quite some time (excluding everybody named Shohei), Ronald Acuña Jr. is bringing a new, energetic wave to a game that so desperately needed a resurgence of capable youth talent.
Every single day, just when you think you've seen the best of the best that you can possibly witness, Acuña shatters expectations, doing something that deems worthy of a flurry of highlight reels and wide, national recognition and praise from fans of the other 29 teams.
Following his well-deserved Rookie of the Year campaign, seeing him slashing .366/,552/.917 with 26 HR, 64 RBI, and 16 SB, Acuña answered back immediately in his sophomore campaign, putting up a career-best 101 RBI with 41 HR, 3 SB shy of a 40/40 season at 37, slashing a line of .365/.518/.883, earning his first All-Star nod, finishing fifth in MVP voting, and taking home his first Silver Slugger award.
The level of dominance being displayed by Acuña this season hasn't been seen with this level of gravity in several years, and somehow, he only seems to be getting more dominant. As the limit of what we thought was possible on a baseball diamond keeps getting pushed and pushed, it begs one simple question: Just how loaded will his stat line look at season's end?
With 74 RBI currently on the season, it may take a little bit of work should he want to reach the 100 RBI mark; but if Acuña has taught us anything this season, it's that it may be high time to throw all expectations to the side and just enjoy the show this kid keeps putting on, night after night.
4. Freddie Freeman, 2013 and 2019: 109, 121
I'm not going to lie, typing that name out gave me a lump in my throat; I suppose some wounds take more time to heal.
Anyway, the former face of the franchise proved not only one of the most powerful and potent Braves in the lineup, but also one of the most consistent, especially when compared to his fellow first baseman competition; or, more accurately, the glaring lack thereof (excluding people named Olson, for obvious reasons).
Rather than looking at each individual season, it feels more fitting to look at his impact in a Braves uniform as a whole. Manning the right corner of the infield for 11 years, Freeman amassed a career .295/.509/.893 with 1,704 hits, 271 HR, 941 RBI, and 2,934 total bases with a 193 wRC+ and wOBA of .379, to boot.
MVP honors in 2020 seemingly shifted him from potential best in the game to bonafide elite, finding himself in serious MVP discussion every season following; and this year is no different.
Sitting just behind Acuña in MVP talks, Freddie keeps reminding everyone who watches exactly who the best first baseman in the game is; the real debate seems to be who the second best is, as Freeman all but has that category locked up.
While all signs point to Acuña as the likely winner for this year's contest, a close eye should be kept on the former franchise hero who, seemingly, just cannot stop hitting the baseball.
5. Justin Upton, 2014: 102
Looking back on a brief, short-windowed successful run between 2012-2015, the offensive highlight reels more often than not featured a dominant, powerful Justin Upton.
Arriving in a late January trade in 2013 that reunited him with his brother Melvin, formerly B.J., Justin immediately proved productive, making an almost immediate impact for the Braves that seemed to last until the end of his short tenure. Following his first campaign in Atlanta, which saw him slug 27 HR with a .818 OPS and a 124 OPS+, Upton repeated success while vastly improving on his already successful intro season.
Through 154 games in his second season with Atlanta, Upton's bat seemingly caught even more fire, seeing him slash an impressive .270/.,491/.883 with 29 HR, an OPS+ of 133, and 278 total bases on the way to MVP votes and a Silver Slugger award, the second of his then-young career.
Nowadays, Upton remains a free agent, most recently appearing in Major League games with the Seattle Mariners in 2022. While the consistent hot-bat days of his career are seemingly over, the impact he had on the Braves during a turning point in the franchise should not be forgotten.