Who are the last 5 San Diego Padres players with 100 RBI in a single season?

The 2023 San Diego Padres were a team that should've been among the league leaders in runs scored after being an above-average offense last season and getting full seasons out of Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Juan Soto, but the offense and team in general just hasn't clicked at all.

The Friars find themselves with an unlikely path to the postseason, and it's mainly due to the ineptitude of the offense for much of the year. This star-studded team is unlikely to have anyone reach the 100+ RBI plateau, unless at least one of Soto, Tatis, or Manny Machado has a really strong finish.

When looking at Padres history, it's pretty rare for a Friar to reach that number. They've had a ton of talent, especially recently, but even a guy like Tatis Jr. hasn't hit 100 RBI in a season yet. He has hit 97 though. Let's look at the last five who have hit that number.

1) Last 5 Padres players with 100 RBI: Manny Machado, 2022 (102), 2021, (106)

Manny Machado signed his mega-deal to join the Padres entering the 2019 season. He had a good year in 2019, but only drove in 85 runs. The following year, of course, was shortened to 60 games, so nobody came close to 100 RBI. The next two seasons, however, saw Machado reach that big number.

He did it first in 2021, driving in 106 runs to lead that team. Machado had a fairly underwhelming season offensively compared to what fans had become accustomed to as his .836 OPS was a bit lower than Padres fans expected, but he hit 28 home runs and 31 doubles while driving in 106 runs. That mark was just one RBI shy of his career-high which he set in 2018 when he split time with the Orioles and Dodgers.

Machado hit .344 with runners in scoring position that year which really helped him out. He had a 1.094 OPS in some situations, putting him as one of the most clutch hitters in the game that season.

Machado backed it up with another impressive run-producing year in 2022. Once again he led the team in RBI with 102, slashing .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs in the process. Machado was unbelievable from start to finish, and finished as the MVP runner-up. He wasn't quite as dominant with RISP that season, but he still hit .319 in those spots with a .998 OPS.

This season, Machado got off to a horrid start which put himself and his team in an early hole. He's played well for a couple months now and has 74 RBI on the year. He'll have a shot at 100+ RBI for a third straight year, but will have to finish strong.

3) Last 5 Padres players with 100 RBI: Chase Headley 2012 (115)

For the first three full seasons of Chase Headley's MLB career, he was nothing more than an average or slightly above average hitter. His 105 OPS+ from 2009-2011 wasn't bad at all, but didn't suggest he'd randomly have the year he had in 2012.

He slashed .286/.376/.498 with 31 home runs and 115 RBI. Yes, 115. He combined to drive in 102 in the 274 games he played in the two seasons prior, but randomly drove in 115 in what was a career year of 2012.

Headley finished fifth in the NL MVP balloting and took home his first and only Silver Slugger award. Headley had an .875 OPS overall that season but raised that number to .908 with runners in scoring position. He wound up leading the National League in runs batted in for the 2012 season while ranking third in the majors.

Unfortunately, Headley would only drive in 50 in 141 games played in 2013 and was never close to the same player he was in that breakout year, but we'll always have 2012 to remember. It wasn't a good year for the Padres team, but Headley's year was one for fans to remember in terms of just an individual player having a ton of success.

4) Last 5 Padres players with 100 RBI: Adrian Gonzalez, 2010 (101), 2008 (119), 2007 (100)

The last time the Padres were any good for multiple seasons in a row came in the mid/late 2000s. San Diego had winning seasons in three of their five seasons from 2006-2010, and Adrian Gonzalez was a huge reason why.

The Padres acquired Gonzalez in a deal with the Rangers following the 2005 season. Gonzalez hadn't done much in Texas, but was given the chance to play every day for San Diego. It's safe to say he ran with it.

His second season with the Padres was his first in which he drove in 100 runs, knocking in 100 in the 2007 season. He hit 30 home runs, had an .849 OPS, and finished 20th in the NL MVP balloting. He had established himself as not only a future star, but a present star. He helped the Padres win 89 games, although that wasn't enough to qualify for the postseason.

Gonzalez had his best run-producing year the following campaign when he knocked in a whopping 119 runs. He slashed .279/.361/.510 with 36 home runs and the 119 runs batted in. He was third in the National League with that gaudy number.

Two years later, Gonzalez did it again, knocking in 101 runs for the 2010 squad. He had a .904 OPS, hit 31 more home runs, and finished fourth in the NL MVP balloting.

Those were the three years Gonzalez drove in 100+, but it also should be noted that he drove in 99 during the 2009 season. He hit 40 homers that year too. He's the most consistent run-producer on this list, and was one of the better first basemen in the game during his Padres tenure.

5) Last 5 Padres players with 100 RBI: Phil Nevin, 2000 (107), 2001 (126), 2004 (105)

This list goes so far back, you have to look at the current manager of the Los Angeles Angels to find the fifth-most recent player to drive in 100 or more runs in a single season. Phil Nevin did so three times, most recently in 2004.

Nevin spent his first four years playing no more than 93 games in a season and playing for three different franchises. The Padres got their hands on him in the 1999 season, and immediately steered his career in the right direction. Nevin didn't drive in 100 runs that first year, but he did so his second season with the club.

In the 2000 season, Nevin had a great year. He had a .916 OPS and hit 31 home runs while driving in 107 runs. For reference, he had 94 RBI in four years and 253 games before joining the Padres. Nevin drove in 107 in 143 games in 2000.

The 2000 season was a great one, but Nevin's 2001 was one to really remember. The third baseman slashed .306/.388/.488 with 41 home runs and 126 RBI. Yes, he drove in 126 runs in a single season. He didn't even play in every game either, as he missed 12 in total. Nevin finished just four RBI shy of Ken Caminiti's franchise record set in 1996, and Nevin still is in second in the franchise's single-season RBI leaderboard.

Nevin struggled in each of the next two seasons to play enough games to give him a shot at 100, but his next healthy season came in 2004. Of course, Nevin was back on the board with another 100 RBI season. He drove in 105 in that season thanks in large part to his 26 home runs.