Babe Ruth's success steered baseball into a time dominated by power hitters. As Ruth aged, he passed the torch to hitters like Hank Greenberg.
Greenberg didn't quite slug like Ruth, but he was a highly productive hitter in his prime for the Detroit Tigers. He had six 30-homer seasons and seven 100-RBI seasons. He drove in at least 150 runs three times, including XXX in 1937.
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In 1938, Greenberg chased Ruth's then-record 60 home run season, but finished with 58. His next-highest home run total was 44 in 1946, his first full season back after returning from military service during World War II.
Greenberg returned from the war in 1945 in time to play half a season for the Tigers. He helped lead the team to a World Series title. Greenberg had seven RBI in seven games in that World Series. He finished his career with 22 RBI in 23 World Series games. Lou Gehrig is the only player to play in at least 20 World Series games to average more RBI per game than Greenberg (SPREADSHEET).
Greenberg fell short of both the AL home run and RBI records, but he does share one mark. His 11 multi-homer games in 1938 are tied with Sammy Sosa for the most in a season in MLB history (ELIAS page 21). He is also the Tigers' all-time leader in slugging percentage (.616).
