The Cubs look to end a streak dating back to Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez in 2018

There are several feats the 2025 Chicago Cubs are trying to accomplish, which they have not done in several years, in addition to making the postseason, of course. One of them includes boasting a hitter with 100 or more RBI. It might not be top of mind for some, but the Cubs have not had a player drive in triple-digit runs since Javier Baez (111) and Anthony Rizzo (101) did in 2018. Seven years is a while.

Having a stretch this long is pretty much unheard of for many Cubs fans who have lived over the past three decades. Years of Sammy Sosa driving in 100+, followed by the likes of Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee, and even an older Alfonso Soriano on a tanking 2012 team drove in 108 runs. They did miss the mark in 2010-2011 and the 2013-2014 rebuild years, but it was not consecutive like this. Then came the World Series era with Kris Bryant, Rizzo and Baez reaching that mark at least once from 2015-2018.

Cubs have come close, but keep missing the mark in this department

Since then, there have been a few close calls with Rizzo (94) and Kyle Schwarber (92) in 2019 and Cody Bellinger (97) in 2023, but no dice. There are various reasons for this recent drought. From guys getting injured, to playing a 60-game COVID season in 2020, the core getting traded away in 2021, not enough RBI opportunities on subpar offenses and just lacking a star run producer. Regardless, it’s time to break that streak.

Right now the Cubs are in shape to have several 100+ RBI producers this year, assuming no catastrophic injuries. Two of the top RBI leaders in baseball include Pete Crow-Armstrong (51) and Seiya Suzuki (53), with other guys like Kyle Tucker (39) also in the mix. So far, those guys have gotten plenty of RBI opportunities this season and have been able to deliver more often than not.

Sure, the RBI is not the valued stat it once was. There is some subjectivity to it, especially for those who hit in certain spots in a lineup and the number of RBI opportunities one gets varies, but it should still count for something. On good or bad teams, the better-run producers in baseball throughout the years regularly reach those marks. Assuming they play 140+ games, guys hitting in the middle of the order will get opportunities to drive in plenty of runs. Situational hitting matters no matter what stats we have available.

Again, assuming terrible things do not happen, this 100 RBI-less streak should come to an end this year. Now, if only the 40+ home run-less streak could end too…