Cap Anson vs Lou Gehrig: Career Stats Comparison
Cap Anson (1871–1897) and Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) — they broke in during the 1870s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Cap Anson finished with 3,435 hits and 97 home runs; Lou Gehrig finished with 2,721 hits and 493 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Lou Gehrig
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Cap Anson and Lou Gehrig. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Cap Anson | Lou Gehrig |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,524 | 2,164 |
| At-Bats | 10,281 | 8,001 |
| Runs | 1,999 | 1,888 |
| Hits | 3,435 | 2,721 |
| Doubles | 582 | 534 |
| Triples | 142 | 163 |
| Home Runs | 97 | 493 |
| RBI | 2,075 | 1,995 |
| Walks | 984 | 1,508 |
| Strikeouts | 330 | 790 |
| Stolen Bases | 277 | 102 |
| Batting Avg | .334 | .340 |
| On-Base % | .394 | .447 |
| Slugging % | .447 | .632 |
| OPS | .841 | 1.080 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Cap Anson 81,072 to 52,242 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 1,935 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
Lou Gehrig — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Lou Gehrig leads in home runs, batting average, OBP, and OPS, while Cap Anson owns hits, RBI, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Lou Gehrig. PIV agrees: Lou Gehrig grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.