Max Carey vs Sam Crawford: Career Stats Comparison
Max Carey (1910–1929) and Sam Crawford (1899–1917) — they broke in during the 1910s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Max Carey finished with 2,665 hits and 70 home runs; Sam Crawford finished with 2,961 hits and 97 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Sam Crawford
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Max Carey and Sam Crawford. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Max Carey | Sam Crawford |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,476 | 2,517 |
| At-Bats | 9,363 | 9,570 |
| Runs | 1,545 | 1,391 |
| Hits | 2,665 | 2,961 |
| Doubles | 419 | 458 |
| Triples | 159 | 309 |
| Home Runs | 70 | 97 |
| RBI | 800 | 1,519 |
| Walks | 1,040 | 760 |
| Strikeouts | 695 | 580 |
| Stolen Bases | 738 | 366 |
| Batting Avg | .285 | .309 |
| On-Base % | .361 | .362 |
| Slugging % | .386 | .452 |
| OPS | .747 | .814 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Sam Crawford outpaces Max Carey 41,381 to 14,867 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,178 vs 708 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Max Carey — top 3 seasons by OPS
Sam Crawford — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Sam Crawford leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and batting average, while Max Carey owns runs and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Sam Crawford. PIV agrees: Sam Crawford grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.