Jim Bottomley vs Buck Leonard: Career Stats Comparison

Jim Bottomley (1922–1937) and Buck Leonard (?–1948) — their careers are worth a careful side-by-side. Jim Bottomley finished with 2,313 hits and 219 home runs; Buck Leonard finished with 790 hits and 100 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Jim Bottomley

Hitter · 1922–1937
Games
1,991
Hits
2,313
Home Runs
219
RBI
1,422
Avg
.310
OPS
.869
View Jim Bottomley's full profile →

Buck Leonard

Hitter · ?–1948
Games
641
Hits
790
Home Runs
100
RBI
578
Avg
.343
OPS
1.034
View Buck Leonard's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Jim Bottomley and Buck Leonard. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Jim Bottomley Buck Leonard
Games 1,991 641
At-Bats 7,471 2,300
Runs 1,177 567
Hits 2,313 790
Doubles 465 153
Triples 151 52
Home Runs 219 100
RBI 1,422 578
Walks 664 419
Strikeouts 591 14
Stolen Bases 58 32
Batting Avg .310 .343
On-Base % .369 .449
Slugging % .500 .586
OPS .869 1.034

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Jim Bottomley leads Buck Leonard 25,340 to 19,107 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,584 vs 1,274 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Jim Bottomley
25,340
Career PIV · 1,584 per season (16 seasons)
Buck Leonard
19,107
Career PIV · 1,274 per season (15 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Jim Bottomley — top 3 seasons by OPS

19281.030 OPS31 HR, 136 RBI, .325 avg
1925.992 OPS21 HR, 128 RBI, .367 avg
1923.960 OPS8 HR, 94 RBI, .371 avg

Buck Leonard — top 0 seasons by OPS

Verdict

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

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