My RBI are crossed

Is it "an RBI" or "a RBI?"

An old sports editor here, when I was an intern, had us differentiate between RBI (singular) and RBIs. The current SE, thank god, demanded it be RBI in all cases.

Current SE's reasoning is that it's run batted in or runs batted in, not runs batted ins. Fine. But then wouldn't it be "a run batted in," even if "an RBI" sounds correct?

Effing English, I swear.

 

It's "an RBI." Screw what it looks like. As long as it's said "are-bee-eye," it'll be "an RBI."

 

Couldn't agree more.

How do we feel about "an 0-for-12 slump?"

 

One RBI.
Two RBIs.

One WMD.
Multiple WMDs.

A POW.
The POWs.

An ICBM.
A shipment of ICBMs.

I will not be moved.

I'm always up for one of these! ;D

(and yes, I know this was a different question, but still ...)

 

RBI is singular.

Multiple runs batted in is... RBIs.

"F" ESPN.

 

"Johnny Dangerously ended a 0-for-12 slump with two doubles."

It's "a 0-for-12" because it's read as zero-for-12, not O-for-12.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I read 0-for-12 as oh and 3-0 as zero. Not sure why.

 

Ah, heck, I dunno. We had this discussion in our shop a few nights ago.

 

People always say "They will be Oh-for-the season" or "He had an Oh-for tonight."

Nobody says "He had a zero-for."

That's what persuades me to say an 0-for-12 slump (although I never had one of those!). I'd argue people tend to read it the way they'd say it, and Oh-for is a huge part of the sports vernacular now.

 

You mean ofer?

I get what you're saying, JD, and before now, I had always written it as "a 0-for-12 slump." Now, according to my partner in crime Central-KY-Kid, we say it "an 0-for-12 slump."

 

I've always said "an oh-for-12" slump," and always written "an 0-for-12" slump. It never occurred to me that anyone could see "0-for-12" and not read it as "oh."

I wonder if this is a regional difference?

 

I read those as Oh-For-Twelve and Three-Nil, but that's just me being a soccer guy.