Cap Anson vs Frank Chance: Career Stats Comparison
Cap Anson (1871–1897) and Frank Chance (1898–1914) — they broke in during the 1870s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Cap Anson finished with 3,435 hits and 97 home runs; Frank Chance finished with 1,274 hits and 20 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Frank Chance
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Cap Anson and Frank Chance. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Cap Anson | Frank Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,524 | 1,288 |
| At-Bats | 10,281 | 4,299 |
| Runs | 1,999 | 798 |
| Hits | 3,435 | 1,274 |
| Doubles | 582 | 200 |
| Triples | 142 | 79 |
| Home Runs | 97 | 20 |
| RBI | 2,075 | 596 |
| Walks | 984 | 556 |
| Strikeouts | 330 | 320 |
| Stolen Bases | 277 | 403 |
| Batting Avg | .334 | .296 |
| On-Base % | .394 | .394 |
| Slugging % | .447 | .394 |
| OPS | .841 | .788 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Cap Anson outpaces Frank Chance 52,242 to 20,186 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,935 vs 1,187 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Cap Anson — top 3 seasons by OPS
Frank Chance — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Cap Anson leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Frank Chance owns stolen bases and OBP. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Cap Anson. PIV agrees: Cap Anson grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.