Home Run Baker vs Eddie Mathews: Career Stats Comparison

Home Run Baker (1908–1922) and Eddie Mathews (1952–1968) — they broke in during the 1900s and the 1950s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Home Run Baker finished with 1,838 hits and 96 home runs; Eddie Mathews finished with 2,315 hits and 512 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Home Run Baker

Hitter · 1908–1922
Games
1,575
Hits
1,838
Home Runs
96
RBI
987
Avg
.307
OPS
.805
View Home Run Baker's full profile →

Eddie Mathews

Hitter · 1952–1968
Games
2,391
Hits
2,315
Home Runs
512
RBI
1,453
Avg
.271
OPS
.885
View Eddie Mathews's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Home Run Baker and Eddie Mathews. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Home Run Baker Eddie Mathews
Games 1,575 2,391
At-Bats 5,984 8,537
Runs 887 1,509
Hits 1,838 2,315
Doubles 315 354
Triples 103 72
Home Runs 96 512
RBI 987 1,453
Walks 473 1,444
Strikeouts 344 1,487
Stolen Bases 235 68
Batting Avg .307 .271
On-Base % .363 .376
Slugging % .442 .509
OPS .805 .885

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Eddie Mathews outpaces Home Run Baker 45,555 to 22,634 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,531 vs 1,741 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Home Run Baker
22,634
Career PIV · 1,741 per season (13 seasons)
Eddie Mathews
45,555
Career PIV · 2,531 per season (18 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Home Run Baker — top 3 seasons by OPS

1912.945 OPS10 HR, 130 RBI, .347 avg
1913.906 OPS12 HR, 117 RBI, .337 avg
1911.887 OPS11 HR, 115 RBI, .334 avg

Eddie Mathews — top 3 seasons by OPS

19531.033 OPS47 HR, 135 RBI, .302 avg
19541.026 OPS40 HR, 103 RBI, .290 avg
19551.014 OPS41 HR, 101 RBI, .289 avg

Verdict

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

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