Dan Brouthers vs Lou Gehrig: Career Stats Comparison

Dan Brouthers (1879–1904) and Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) — they broke in during the 1870s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Dan Brouthers finished with 2,303 hits and 107 home runs; Lou Gehrig finished with 2,721 hits and 493 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Dan Brouthers

Hitter · 1879–1904
Games
1,676
Hits
2,303
Home Runs
107
RBI
1,301
Avg
.342
OPS
.943
View Dan Brouthers's full profile →

Lou Gehrig

Hitter · 1923–1939
Games
2,164
Hits
2,721
Home Runs
493
RBI
1,995
Avg
.340
OPS
1.080
View Lou Gehrig's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Dan Brouthers and Lou Gehrig. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Dan Brouthers Lou Gehrig
Games 1,676 2,164
At-Bats 6,726 8,001
Runs 1,529 1,888
Hits 2,303 2,721
Doubles 462 534
Triples 206 163
Home Runs 107 493
RBI 1,301 1,995
Walks 840 1,508
Strikeouts 238 790
Stolen Bases 257 102
Batting Avg .342 .340
On-Base % .423 .447
Slugging % .520 .632
OPS .943 1.080

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Dan Brouthers 81,072 to 52,914 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 2,646 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Dan Brouthers
52,914
Career PIV · 2,646 per season (20 seasons)
Lou Gehrig
81,072
Career PIV · 4,769 per season (17 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Dan Brouthers — top 3 seasons by OPS

18861.026 OPS11 HR, 72 RBI, .370 avg
1887.988 OPS12 HR, 101 RBI, .338 avg
1894.985 OPS9 HR, 128 RBI, .347 avg

Lou Gehrig — top 3 seasons by OPS

19271.240 OPS47 HR, 175 RBI, .373 avg
19301.194 OPS41 HR, 174 RBI, .379 avg
19361.174 OPS49 HR, 152 RBI, .354 avg

Verdict

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

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