Pete Alonso’s first season in Baltimore is closing with a piece of history within reach. The Orioles slugger has driven in 108 runs with fewer than seven days left on the schedule, putting him nine clear of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the American League lead.
American League RBI race
| Player | Club | RBIs | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Alonso | Orioles | 108 | — |
| Yordan Alvarez | Astros | 99 | 9 |
If Alonso holds the lead, he will become the first player to finish atop the RBI standings in each league. Runs batted in became an official Major League statistic in 1920, and while 41 players have claimed multiple RBI crowns, none has done so once in the National League and once in the American League.
Alonso already owns the National League distinction. He led the Mets, the NL and all of baseball with 131 RBIs in 2022. His move to the Orioles has given the Polar Bear a chance to put an unprecedented second-league crown beside that season.
A second chase in the power standings
| Category | Pete Alonso | League leader | Deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| American League home runs | 40 | Junior Caminero, 41 | 1 |
Alonso reached 40 homers on Monday, leaving him one swing behind Caminero in the AL home run race. He has been here before: as a Mets rookie in 2019, Alonso hit 53 home runs to lead both the National League and the majors.
Leading both leagues in homers would not be a first, though it remains a short list in the Modern Era. Shohei Ohtani led the American League in 2023 and the National League in 2024. Mark McGwire did it in the AL in 1987 and 1996, then in the NL in 1998 and 1999. Fred McGriff topped the AL in 1989 and the NL in 1992, while Sam Crawford led the NL in 1901 before taking the AL crown in 1908.
The RBI race is the rarer door. Alonso has less than a week to walk through it, with a nine-RBI cushion and a chance to make his Baltimore season one that stays in the record book.
