Frank Chance vs Lou Gehrig: Career Stats Comparison

Frank Chance (1898–1914) and Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Frank Chance finished with 1,274 hits and 20 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.

Frank Chance

Hitter · 1898–1914
Games
1,288
Hits
1,274
Home Runs
20
RBI
596
Avg
.296
OPS
.788
View Frank Chance'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 Frank Chance 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 Frank Chance Lou Gehrig
Games 1,288 2,164
At-Bats 4,299 8,001
Runs 798 1,888
Hits 1,274 2,721
Doubles 200 534
Triples 79 163
Home Runs 20 493
RBI 596 1,995
Walks 556 1,508
Strikeouts 320 790
Stolen Bases 403 102
Batting Avg .296 .340
On-Base % .394 .447
Slugging % .394 .632
OPS .788 1.080

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Frank Chance 81,072 to 20,186 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 1,187 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Frank Chance
20,186
Career PIV · 1,187 per season (17 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).

Frank Chance — top 3 seasons by OPS

1905.883 OPS2 HR, 70 RBI, .316 avg
1903.878 OPS2 HR, 81 RBI, .327 avg
1906.849 OPS3 HR, 71 RBI, .319 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 Frank Chance owns stolen bases. 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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