Luke Appling vs Pee Wee Reese: Career Stats Comparison

Luke Appling (1930–1950) and Pee Wee Reese (1940–1958) — they broke in during the 1930s and the 1940s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Luke Appling finished with 2,749 hits and 45 home runs; Pee Wee Reese finished with 2,170 hits and 126 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Luke Appling

Hitter · 1930–1950
Games
2,422
Hits
2,749
Home Runs
45
RBI
1,116
Avg
.310
OPS
.798
View Luke Appling's full profile →

Pee Wee Reese

Hitter · 1940–1958
Games
2,166
Hits
2,170
Home Runs
126
RBI
885
Avg
.269
OPS
.743
View Pee Wee Reese's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Luke Appling and Pee Wee Reese. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Luke Appling Pee Wee Reese
Games 2,422 2,166
At-Bats 8,856 8,058
Runs 1,319 1,338
Hits 2,749 2,170
Doubles 440 330
Triples 102 80
Home Runs 45 126
RBI 1,116 885
Walks 1,302 1,210
Strikeouts 528 890
Stolen Bases 179 232
Batting Avg .310 .269
On-Base % .399 .366
Slugging % .398 .377
OPS .798 .743

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Luke Appling outpaces Pee Wee Reese 25,114 to 10,057 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,256 vs 629 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Luke Appling
25,114
Career PIV · 1,256 per season (20 seasons)
Pee Wee Reese
10,057
Career PIV · 629 per season (16 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Luke Appling — top 3 seasons by OPS

1936.981 OPS6 HR, 128 RBI, .388 avg
1940.862 OPS0 HR, 79 RBI, .348 avg
1937.846 OPS4 HR, 77 RBI, .317 avg

Pee Wee Reese — top 3 seasons by OPS

1954.859 OPS10 HR, 69 RBI, .309 avg
1947.841 OPS12 HR, 73 RBI, .284 avg
1949.806 OPS16 HR, 73 RBI, .279 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Luke Appling leads in hits, RBI, batting average, and OBP, while Pee Wee Reese owns home runs, runs, and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Luke Appling. PIV agrees: Luke Appling grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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