Cap Anson vs Ben Taylor: Career Stats Comparison
Cap Anson (1871–1897) and Ben Taylor (1912–1936) — they broke in during the 1870s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Cap Anson finished with 3,435 hits and 97 home runs; Ben Taylor finished with 1,112 hits and 33 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Cap Anson and Ben Taylor. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Cap Anson | Ben Taylor |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,524 | 923 |
| At-Bats | 10,281 | 3,391 |
| Runs | 1,999 | 544 |
| Hits | 3,435 | 1,112 |
| Doubles | 582 | 194 |
| Triples | 142 | 65 |
| Home Runs | 97 | 33 |
| RBI | 2,075 | 657 |
| Walks | 984 | 343 |
| Strikeouts | 330 | 7 |
| Stolen Bases | 277 | 102 |
| Batting Avg | .334 | .328 |
| On-Base % | .394 | .392 |
| Slugging % | .447 | .453 |
| OPS | .841 | .845 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Cap Anson outpaces Ben Taylor 52,242 to 11,667 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,935 vs 530 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
Ben Taylor — top 2 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Cap Anson leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Ben Taylor owns OPS. 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.