Gavvy Cravath vs Ken Williams: Career Stats Comparison

Gavvy Cravath (1908–1920) and Ken Williams (1915–1929) — 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; Ken Williams finished with 1,552 hits and 196 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 →

Ken Williams

Hitter · 1915–1929
Games
1,397
Hits
1,552
Home Runs
196
RBI
913
Avg
.319
OPS
.924
View Ken Williams's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

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

Statistic Gavvy Cravath Ken Williams
Games 1,220 1,397
At-Bats 3,951 4,862
Runs 575 860
Hits 1,134 1,552
Doubles 232 285
Triples 83 77
Home Runs 119 196
RBI 719 913
Walks 561 566
Strikeouts 578 287
Stolen Bases 89 154
Batting Avg .287 .319
On-Base % .380 .393
Slugging % .478 .530
OPS .858 .924

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ken Williams leads Gavvy Cravath 26,593 to 23,467 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,900 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)
Ken Williams
26,593
Career PIV · 1,900 per season (14 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

Ken Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS

19231.062 OPS29 HR, 91 RBI, .357 avg
19221.040 OPS39 HR, 155 RBI, .332 avg
19251.003 OPS25 HR, 105 RBI, .331 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Ken Williams 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 Ken Williams. PIV agrees: Ken Williams grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

Related Matchups