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75 RBI or 75 RBIs?

By Greglw3 in Greg Allen’s Blog

· 3,465 views

Was the long-standing way of referring to 75 RBIs correct or is the new style 75 RBI correct?

I think the first question that needs to be answered is what does RBI stand for? Runs Batted In or Run Batted in?

I maintain that RBI stands for Run Batted in, the singular. You would never say that a player has 1 RBIs or 1 Runs Batted In. But you would say the player had 1 RBI (Run Batted In).

That answers the question of what RBI stands for. Run Batted In. If that were not the case, and RBI stood for Runs Batted In, you could not use the singular. You wouldn’t say, Luis Arraez has 1 Runs Batted In after the season's first game. You would say Luis Arraez has 1 Run Batted In (RBI) after the first game.

With that established, it’s pretty simple. 1 dog, 2 dogs. 1 balloon, 2 balloons. 1 Bicycle, 2 bicycles. And 1 RBI, 2 RBIs, 1 RBI, 50 RBIs, 1 RBI,  75 RBIs.

 

  • 37 Comments

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    Cooperstown

    ashbury

    Old-Timey Member

    4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

    The singular and the plural are both RBI. It is Runs Batted In, not Run Batted Ins

    Concur.  The R stands for what it needs to stand for in the given situation.

    Just as CDC used to stand for Control Data Corporation or Centers for Disease Control, depending on the need of the sentence.

     

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    • GCL Twins

    bean5302

    Verified Member

    It's RBI(s) if you want to get technical. A single "run batted in" vs. multiple "runs batted in" with the word run being pluralized.

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    strumdatjag

    Verified Member

    A Strikeout is something noted as a K.   If a pitcher has 2 strikeouts, he has 2 Ks.    Nobody says he has 2 K.    Similarly, a run batted in is a thing known as an RBI and two runs batted in should be 2 RBIs.     
    While we’re at it, can we go back to injured players going on the DL (Disabled List)????

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    DJL44

    Verified Member

    1 hour ago, strumdatjag said:

    A Strikeout is something noted as a K.   If a pitcher has 2 strikeouts, he has 2 Ks.    Nobody says he has 2 K.    Similarly, a run batted in is a thing known as an RBI and two runs batted in should be 2 RBIs.     
    While we’re at it, can we go back to injured players going on the DL (Disabled List)????

    The box score always lists as RBI, just like it does for AB, K, BB, IP, etc. 

    twins box score july 24 - Google Search

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    gil4

    Verified Member

    Neither. I don't think anyone on the team is getting to 75. ?

     

    I am of the opinion that RBI has by common usage become the thing and not just the abbreviation for the thing. Therefore, I will continue to make the thing plural by adding an s, both when speaking and when writing. If it drives someone crazy, I consider that a feature, not a bug. 

     

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    • Cooperstown

    ashbury

    Old-Timey Member

    3 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

    RsBI.

    MsPH.

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    • GOAT

    Squirrel

    Community Leader

    42 minutes ago, ashbury said:

    MsPH.

    It’s RBI and MPH. Context tells us when the plural should be applied. Sheep, sheep. It’s never sheeps.

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    RpR

    Verified Member

    42 minutes ago, ashbury said:

    Except when it's two sheeps passing in the night.

    Is there such a word as sheeps?
     
     
    It is not correct to say “sheeps.” The plural of “sheep” is “sheep.” We say “sheep,” whether it is one sheep, two sheep, or a million sheep! It is one of the many irregular plural nouns in English and does not follow the regular rules for plurals.
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    • Cooperstown

    ashbury

    Old-Timey Member

    1 hour ago, RpR said:
    Is there such a word as sheeps?
     
     
    It is not correct to say “sheeps.” The plural of “sheep” is “sheep.” We say “sheep,” whether it is one sheep, two sheep, or a million sheep! It is one of the many irregular plural nouns in English and does not follow the regular rules for plurals.

    It is a joke.  "Like two ships passing in the night."  The way we classy people say "one night stand."  Thanks for the grammar refresher though - it had been quite a while since Squirrel reminded us.

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    Greglw3

    Verified Member

    On 7/24/2022 at 6:17 PM, DJL44 said:

    The singular and the plural are both RBI. It is Runs Batted In, not Run Batted Ins

    Makes no sense. Were not talking about Llama or Deer here.

    On 8/1/2022 at 11:13 AM, IndianaTwin said:

    The answer, obviously, is "yes." 

     

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    Greglw3

    Verified Member

    On 7/31/2022 at 3:03 PM, ashbury said:

    Except when it's two sheeps passing in the night.

     

    On 7/24/2022 at 6:17 PM, DJL44 said:

    The singular and the plural are both RBI. It is Runs Batted In, not Run Batted Ins

    On what authority. For 150 years it was 1 RBI, 100RBIs and now all of a sudden someone changed the style guiro to 100 RBI = 100 Run Batted In.

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    • Cooperstown

    ashbury

    Old-Timey Member

    It never occurred to me until now to check, but SABR produces a lot of baseball publications each year and they have a style guide online. 

    The guide is unambiguous that the plural form is RBIs. *

    The SABR Style Guide is conversational in spots, and any amateur who is interested in aspects of how serious copy editors think, may find it interesting reading in its own right.  RBIs happens to be used as an example of the different needs of different kind of writing, up near the top.

     

    * That frankly surprised me.  I thought I knew differently.  But what does anybody but me care about that?

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    Game7-91

    Verified Member

    Stanford Cardinal sounds ridiculous because it is. But there it is. Stanford!

    Plurals should be written/stated, not assumed.

    Or, we will strive for consistency: E.g.,

        Buck  of the Minnesota Twin has so far this season 47 rbi from 22 home run, producing 57 run on 66 hit and 302 at bat. ?

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    • Cooperstown

    ashbury

    Old-Timey Member

    16 minutes ago, Game7-91 said:

    Stanford Cardinal sounds ridiculous because it is. But there it is.

    Do you take umbrage at Harvard Crimson?  Cornell Big Red?  Dartmouth Big Green?

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    RpR

    Verified Member

    1 hour ago, Game7-91 said:

    Stanford Cardinal sounds ridiculous because it is. But there it is. Stanford!

    Plurals should be written/stated, not assumed.

    Or, we will strive for consistency: E.g.,

        Buck  of the Minnesota Twin has so far this season 47 rbi from 22 home run, producing 57 run on 66 hit and 302 at bat. ?

    Except for numero uno, the r in rbi stands for - runs - so your analogy sounds, well actually, like a whole lot youths nowadays who graduate from high school incapable of reading, writing or calcuating arithmetic above a 2nd grade level, if that.

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    Game7-91

    Verified Member

    2 hours ago, ashbury said:

    Do you take umbrage at Harvard Crimson?  Cornell Big Red?  Dartmouth Big Green?

    Good examples, but color(s) can be interchangeably singular or plural. (But not always....see Blues, St Louis...but that refers not to the color but to an understandable state of mind of those who must live in or around St Louis.)

    So no, using a color to name the team doesn't bother me, at least not a lot, (although I think team names should point out the resiliency or toughness or something like that of the team...colors are lacking in that regard. If we want some real chuckles take a look at some of the team names in MiLB. Just sad.)....like in the same way if there existed the Seattle Sheep or Montana Moose wouldn't bother me saying or writing it as such. The plural is just contextual.

    The fix to the great RBI debate is to put the noun at the end of the phrase, where it is more naturally pluralized and colloquial, so Batted In Run(s), which is consistent with other stat's, like Home Run(s), etc........ Maybe MLB should just decree that from now on, it will be Batted In Run(s), BIR. Manfred can do it. He's king of the world in baseball. Just issue a decree, so let it be written, so let it be done.

    But that would be boring, and probably much more controversial than say creating an equitable international draft or establishing salary floors/caps.

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    • Cooperstown

    ashbury

    Old-Timey Member

    11 minutes ago, Game7-91 said:

    Good examples, but color(s) can be interchangeably singular or plural. (But not always....see Blues, St Louis...but that refers not to the color but to an understandable state of mind of those who must live in or around St Louis.)

    So no, using a color to name the team doesn't bother me, at least not a lot,

    Stanford athletic teams are represented by a color, not by a mascot.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal#Nickname_and_mascot_history

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