Gavvy Cravath vs Sam Crawford: Career Stats Comparison

Gavvy Cravath (1908–1920) and Sam Crawford (1899–1917) — they broke in during the 1900s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Gavvy Cravath finished with 1,134 hits and 119 home runs; Sam Crawford finished with 2,961 hits and 97 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Gavvy Cravath

Hitter · 1908–1920
Games
1,220
Hits
1,134
Home Runs
119
RBI
719
Avg
.287
OPS
.858
View Gavvy Cravath's full profile →

Sam Crawford

Hitter · 1899–1917
Games
2,517
Hits
2,961
Home Runs
97
RBI
1,519
Avg
.309
OPS
.814
View Sam Crawford's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Gavvy Cravath and Sam Crawford. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Gavvy Cravath Sam Crawford
Games 1,220 2,517
At-Bats 3,951 9,570
Runs 575 1,391
Hits 1,134 2,961
Doubles 232 458
Triples 83 309
Home Runs 119 97
RBI 719 1,519
Walks 561 760
Strikeouts 578 580
Stolen Bases 89 366
Batting Avg .287 .309
On-Base % .380 .362
Slugging % .478 .452
OPS .858 .814

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Sam Crawford outpaces Gavvy Cravath 41,381 to 23,467 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,178 vs 1,956 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Gavvy Cravath
23,467
Career PIV · 1,956 per season (12 seasons)
Sam Crawford
41,381
Career PIV · 2,178 per season (19 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Gavvy Cravath — top 3 seasons by OPS

1913.974 OPS19 HR, 128 RBI, .341 avg
1915.902 OPS24 HR, 115 RBI, .285 avg
1914.901 OPS19 HR, 100 RBI, .299 avg

Sam Crawford — top 3 seasons by OPS

1911.964 OPS7 HR, 115 RBI, .378 avg
1901.903 OPS16 HR, 104 RBI, .330 avg
1914.871 OPS8 HR, 104 RBI, .314 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Sam Crawford leads in hits, RBI, runs, and stolen bases, while Gavvy Cravath owns home runs, OBP, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Sam Crawford. PIV agrees: Sam Crawford grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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