Gavvy Cravath vs Babe Ruth: Career Stats Comparison

Gavvy Cravath (1908–1920) and Babe Ruth (1914–1935) — they broke in during the 1900s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Gavvy Cravath finished with 1,134 hits and 119 home runs; Babe Ruth finished with 2,873 hits and 714 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 →

Babe Ruth

Hitter · 1914–1935
Games
2,503
Hits
2,873
Home Runs
714
RBI
2,217
Avg
.342
OPS
1.164
View Babe Ruth's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

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

Statistic Gavvy Cravath Babe Ruth
Games 1,220 2,503
At-Bats 3,951 8,398
Runs 575 2,174
Hits 1,134 2,873
Doubles 232 506
Triples 83 136
Home Runs 119 714
RBI 719 2,217
Walks 561 2,062
Strikeouts 578 1,330
Stolen Bases 89 123
Batting Avg .287 .342
On-Base % .380 .474
Slugging % .478 .690
OPS .858 1.164

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Babe Ruth outpaces Gavvy Cravath 111,979 to 23,467 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,090 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)
Babe Ruth
111,979
Career PIV · 5,090 per season (22 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

Babe Ruth — top 3 seasons by OPS

19201.382 OPS54 HR, 137 RBI, .376 avg
19211.359 OPS59 HR, 171 RBI, .378 avg
19231.309 OPS41 HR, 131 RBI, .393 avg

Verdict

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

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