Ty Cobb vs Paul Waner: Career Stats Comparison
Ty Cobb (1905–1928) and Paul Waner (1926–1945) — they broke in during the 1900s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Ty Cobb finished with 4,189 hits and 117 home runs; Paul Waner finished with 3,152 hits and 113 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Paul Waner
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Ty Cobb and Paul Waner. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Ty Cobb | Paul Waner |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 3,035 | 2,549 |
| At-Bats | 11,436 | 9,459 |
| Runs | 2,247 | 1,627 |
| Hits | 4,189 | 3,152 |
| Doubles | 724 | 605 |
| Triples | 295 | 191 |
| Home Runs | 117 | 113 |
| RBI | 1,944 | 1,309 |
| Walks | 1,249 | 1,091 |
| Strikeouts | 680 | 376 |
| Stolen Bases | 896 | 104 |
| Batting Avg | .366 | .333 |
| On-Base % | .433 | .404 |
| Slugging % | .512 | .473 |
| OPS | .945 | .878 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ty Cobb outpaces Paul Waner 87,488 to 40,296 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,645 vs 1,832 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).
Ty Cobb — top 3 seasons by OPS
Paul Waner — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Ty Cobb leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Paul Waner 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.