Fred Clarke vs Zack Wheat: Career Stats Comparison
Fred Clarke (1894–1915) and Zack Wheat (1909–1927) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1900s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Fred Clarke finished with 2,678 hits and 67 home runs; Zack Wheat finished with 2,884 hits and 132 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Fred Clarke
Zack Wheat
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Fred Clarke and Zack Wheat. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Fred Clarke | Zack Wheat |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,246 | 2,410 |
| At-Bats | 8,584 | 9,106 |
| Runs | 1,622 | 1,289 |
| Hits | 2,678 | 2,884 |
| Doubles | 361 | 476 |
| Triples | 220 | 172 |
| Home Runs | 67 | 132 |
| RBI | 1,015 | 1,248 |
| Walks | 875 | 650 |
| Strikeouts | 511 | 572 |
| Stolen Bases | 509 | 205 |
| Batting Avg | .312 | .317 |
| On-Base % | .386 | .367 |
| Slugging % | .429 | .450 |
| OPS | .814 | .817 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Fred Clarke leads Zack Wheat 34,764 to 30,370 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,655 vs 1,598 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
Zack Wheat — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Zack Wheat leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and batting average, while Fred Clarke owns runs, stolen bases, and OBP. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Zack Wheat. Note that PIV actually grades Fred Clarke ahead, which means Zack Wheat's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.