Albert Pujols is on track to have fifth-worst 100 RBI season ever

1993 Ruben Sierra, Oakland Athletics (101 RBI, .233/.288/.390, -2.6 WAR)

Coming off back-to-back All-Star years, Ruben Sierra had a brutal 1993 season with the A’s. He didn’t hit much at all, with a 79 wRC+ (21 percent below league average). He was also the worst outfielder in baseball, according to Total Zone.

Despite his impotent bat, he had most of his plate appearances out of the third spot in the lineup. He was able to drive in 101 runs because he had Rickey Henderson and his .471 OBP hitting in the leadoff spot for 83 games and Brent Gates (.387 OBP) in the second slot for 70 games. Sierra took advantage of the base runners by hitting .243/.338/.462 with runners in scoring position. Without runners in scoring position, he hit .218/.255/.343.

1999 Dante Bichette, Colorado Rockies (133 RBI, .298/.354/.541, -2.1 WAR)

To understand how a hitter can hit .298/.354/.541 and drive in 133 runs and still finish two wins worse than replacement-level, you have to remember what Coors Field was like in 1999. For starters, the 1999 season was one of the highest-scoring seasons ever. Teams averaged more than five runs per game. Also, the park factor for Coors Field was 122. Dante Bichette’s home park gave him a big advantage in compiling good numbers. After adjustments for league and ballpark are factored in, Bichette was a league average hitter.

His defense is another story. He had one of the worst fielding seasons of all-time. He played mostly in left field, where he made 13 errors and had a .952 fielding percentage. By Total Zone, Bichette had -34 runs saved. The chart for Total Zone considers -15 to be “awful” and Bichette was more than twice as bad as “awful.” You can come up with your own word for whatever is twice as bad as awful. The favorable hitting environment and brutal defense helped Bichette have the second-worst 100 RBI season of all-time.