Roger Bresnahan vs Rick Ferrell: Career Stats Comparison

Roger Bresnahan (1897–1915) and Rick Ferrell (1929–1947) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Roger Bresnahan finished with 1,252 hits and 26 home runs; Rick Ferrell finished with 1,692 hits and 28 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Roger Bresnahan

Hitter · 1897–1915
Games
1,446
Hits
1,252
Home Runs
26
RBI
530
Avg
.279
OPS
.764
View Roger Bresnahan's full profile →

Rick Ferrell

Hitter · 1929–1947
Games
1,884
Hits
1,692
Home Runs
28
RBI
734
Avg
.281
OPS
.741
View Rick Ferrell's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Roger Bresnahan and Rick Ferrell. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Roger Bresnahan Rick Ferrell
Games 1,446 1,884
At-Bats 4,481 6,028
Runs 682 687
Hits 1,252 1,692
Doubles 218 324
Triples 71 45
Home Runs 26 28
RBI 530 734
Walks 714 931
Strikeouts 403 277
Stolen Bases 212 29
Batting Avg .279 .281
On-Base % .386 .378
Slugging % .377 .363
OPS .764 .741

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Roger Bresnahan outpaces Rick Ferrell 18,191 to 6,474 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,011 vs 308 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Roger Bresnahan
18,191
Career PIV · 1,011 per season (18 seasons)
Rick Ferrell
6,474
Career PIV · 308 per season (21 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Roger Bresnahan — top 3 seasons by OPS

1903.936 OPS4 HR, 55 RBI, .350 avg
1904.791 OPS5 HR, 33 RBI, .284 avg
1905.785 OPS0 HR, 46 RBI, .302 avg

Rick Ferrell — top 3 seasons by OPS

1936.867 OPS8 HR, 55 RBI, .312 avg
1932.826 OPS2 HR, 65 RBI, .315 avg
1931.821 OPS3 HR, 57 RBI, .306 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Rick Ferrell leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Roger Bresnahan owns stolen bases, OBP, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Rick Ferrell. Note that PIV actually grades Roger Bresnahan ahead, which means Rick Ferrell's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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