Earle Combs vs Lou Gehrig: Career Stats Comparison
Earle Combs (1924–1935) and Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) — both broke in during the 1920s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Earle Combs finished with 1,866 hits and 58 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.
Earle Combs
Lou Gehrig
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Earle Combs 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 | Earle Combs | Lou Gehrig |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,455 | 2,164 |
| At-Bats | 5,746 | 8,001 |
| Runs | 1,186 | 1,888 |
| Hits | 1,866 | 2,721 |
| Doubles | 309 | 534 |
| Triples | 154 | 163 |
| Home Runs | 58 | 493 |
| RBI | 632 | 1,995 |
| Walks | 670 | 1,508 |
| Strikeouts | 278 | 790 |
| Stolen Bases | 96 | 102 |
| Batting Avg | .325 | .340 |
| On-Base % | .397 | .447 |
| Slugging % | .462 | .632 |
| OPS | .859 | 1.080 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Earle Combs 81,072 to 19,222 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 1,602 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).
Earle Combs — top 3 seasons by OPS
Lou Gehrig — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Lou Gehrig leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Earle Combs owns no headline categories. 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.