Ty Cobb vs Elmer Flick: Career Stats Comparison

Ty Cobb (1905–1928) and Elmer Flick (1898–1910) — they broke in during the 1900s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Ty Cobb finished with 4,189 hits and 117 home runs; Elmer Flick finished with 1,752 hits and 48 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Ty Cobb

Hitter · 1905–1928
Games
3,035
Hits
4,189
Home Runs
117
RBI
1,944
Avg
.366
OPS
.945
View Ty Cobb's full profile →

Elmer Flick

Hitter · 1898–1910
Games
1,483
Hits
1,752
Home Runs
48
RBI
756
Avg
.313
OPS
.834
View Elmer Flick's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Ty Cobb and Elmer Flick. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Ty Cobb Elmer Flick
Games 3,035 1,483
At-Bats 11,436 5,597
Runs 2,247 950
Hits 4,189 1,752
Doubles 724 268
Triples 295 164
Home Runs 117 48
RBI 1,944 756
Walks 1,249 597
Strikeouts 680 567
Stolen Bases 896 330
Batting Avg .366 .313
On-Base % .433 .389
Slugging % .512 .445
OPS .945 .834

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ty Cobb outpaces Elmer Flick 87,488 to 29,192 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,645 vs 2,085 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Ty Cobb
87,488
Career PIV · 3,645 per season (24 seasons)
Elmer Flick
29,192
Career PIV · 2,085 per season (14 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Ty Cobb — top 3 seasons by OPS

19111.088 OPS8 HR, 127 RBI, .420 avg
19251.066 OPS12 HR, 102 RBI, .378 avg
19211.048 OPS12 HR, 101 RBI, .389 avg

Elmer Flick — top 3 seasons by OPS

1900.986 OPS11 HR, 110 RBI, .367 avg
1901.899 OPS8 HR, 88 RBI, .333 avg
1898.878 OPS8 HR, 81 RBI, .302 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Ty Cobb leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Elmer Flick owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ty Cobb. PIV agrees: Ty Cobb grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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