Fred Clarke vs Billy Hamilton: Career Stats Comparison
Fred Clarke (1894–1915) and Billy Hamilton (1888–1901) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1880s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Fred Clarke finished with 2,678 hits and 67 home runs; Billy Hamilton finished with 2,164 hits and 40 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Fred Clarke
Billy Hamilton
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Fred Clarke and Billy Hamilton. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Fred Clarke | Billy Hamilton |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,246 | 1,594 |
| At-Bats | 8,584 | 6,283 |
| Runs | 1,622 | 1,697 |
| Hits | 2,678 | 2,164 |
| Doubles | 361 | 242 |
| Triples | 220 | 95 |
| Home Runs | 67 | 40 |
| RBI | 1,015 | 742 |
| Walks | 875 | 1,189 |
| Strikeouts | 511 | 362 |
| Stolen Bases | 509 | 914 |
| Batting Avg | .312 | .344 |
| On-Base % | .386 | .455 |
| Slugging % | .429 | .432 |
| OPS | .814 | .888 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Billy Hamilton leads Fred Clarke 38,004 to 34,764 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,715 vs 1,655 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).
Fred Clarke — top 3 seasons by OPS
Billy Hamilton — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Billy Hamilton leads in runs, stolen bases, batting average, and OBP, while Fred Clarke owns hits, home runs, and RBI. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Billy Hamilton. PIV agrees: Billy Hamilton grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.