Orlando Cepeda vs Hank Greenberg: Career Stats Comparison

Orlando Cepeda (1958–1974) and Hank Greenberg (1930–1947) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Orlando Cepeda finished with 2,351 hits and 379 home runs; Hank Greenberg finished with 1,628 hits and 331 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Orlando Cepeda

Hitter · 1958–1974
Games
2,124
Hits
2,351
Home Runs
379
RBI
1,365
Avg
.297
OPS
.849
View Orlando Cepeda's full profile →

Hank Greenberg

Hitter · 1930–1947
Games
1,394
Hits
1,628
Home Runs
331
RBI
1,276
Avg
.313
OPS
1.017
View Hank Greenberg's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Orlando Cepeda and Hank Greenberg. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Orlando Cepeda Hank Greenberg
Games 2,124 1,394
At-Bats 7,927 5,193
Runs 1,131 1,051
Hits 2,351 1,628
Doubles 417 379
Triples 27 71
Home Runs 379 331
RBI 1,365 1,276
Walks 588 852
Strikeouts 1,169 844
Stolen Bases 142 58
Batting Avg .297 .313
On-Base % .350 .412
Slugging % .499 .605
OPS .849 1.017

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Hank Greenberg leads Orlando Cepeda 43,523 to 32,785 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,348 vs 1,726 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Orlando Cepeda
32,785
Career PIV · 1,726 per season (19 seasons)
Hank Greenberg
43,523
Career PIV · 3,348 per season (13 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Orlando Cepeda — top 3 seasons by OPS

1961.970 OPS46 HR, 142 RBI, .311 avg
1963.929 OPS34 HR, 97 RBI, .316 avg
1967.923 OPS25 HR, 111 RBI, .325 avg

Hank Greenberg — top 3 seasons by OPS

19381.122 OPS58 HR, 146 RBI, .315 avg
19371.105 OPS40 HR, 183 RBI, .337 avg
19401.103 OPS41 HR, 150 RBI, .340 avg

Verdict

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

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