Earle Combs vs Paul Waner: Career Stats Comparison
Earle Combs (1924–1935) and Paul Waner (1926–1945) — 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; Paul Waner finished with 3,152 hits and 113 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Earle Combs
Paul Waner
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Earle Combs 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 | Earle Combs | Paul Waner |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,455 | 2,549 |
| At-Bats | 5,746 | 9,459 |
| Runs | 1,186 | 1,627 |
| Hits | 1,866 | 3,152 |
| Doubles | 309 | 605 |
| Triples | 154 | 191 |
| Home Runs | 58 | 113 |
| RBI | 632 | 1,309 |
| Walks | 670 | 1,091 |
| Strikeouts | 278 | 376 |
| Stolen Bases | 96 | 104 |
| Batting Avg | .325 | .333 |
| On-Base % | .397 | .404 |
| Slugging % | .462 | .473 |
| OPS | .859 | .878 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Paul Waner outpaces Earle Combs 40,296 to 19,222 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,832 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
Paul Waner — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Paul Waner 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 Paul Waner. PIV agrees: Paul Waner grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.