Pete Browning vs Hugh Duffy: Career Stats Comparison

Pete Browning (1882–1894) and Hugh Duffy (1888–1906) — both broke in during the 1880s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Pete Browning finished with 1,646 hits and 46 home runs; Hugh Duffy finished with 2,293 hits and 106 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Pete Browning

Hitter · 1882–1894
Games
1,183
Hits
1,646
Home Runs
46
RBI
659
Avg
.341
OPS
.869
View Pete Browning's full profile →

Hugh Duffy

Hitter · 1888–1906
Games
1,737
Hits
2,293
Home Runs
106
RBI
1,302
Avg
.326
OPS
.837
View Hugh Duffy's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Pete Browning and Hugh Duffy. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Pete Browning Hugh Duffy
Games 1,183 1,737
At-Bats 4,820 7,044
Runs 954 1,554
Hits 1,646 2,293
Doubles 295 325
Triples 85 119
Home Runs 46 106
RBI 659 1,302
Walks 466 664
Strikeouts 245 268
Stolen Bases 258 574
Batting Avg .341 .326
On-Base % .403 .386
Slugging % .467 .451
OPS .869 .837

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Pete Browning leads Hugh Duffy 28,876 to 25,018 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,805 vs 1,472 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Pete Browning
28,876
Career PIV · 1,805 per season (16 seasons)
Hugh Duffy
25,018
Career PIV · 1,472 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).

Pete Browning — top 3 seasons by OPS

18871.011 OPS4 HR, 118 RBI, .402 avg
1890.976 OPS5 HR, 93 RBI, .373 avg
1885.923 OPS9 HR, 73 RBI, .362 avg

Hugh Duffy — top 3 seasons by OPS

18941.196 OPS18 HR, 145 RBI, .440 avg
1895.909 OPS9 HR, 100 RBI, .353 avg
1897.885 OPS11 HR, 129 RBI, .340 avg

Verdict

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

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