Sam Crawford vs Harry Heilmann: Career Stats Comparison

Sam Crawford (1899–1917) and Harry Heilmann (1914–1932) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Sam Crawford finished with 2,961 hits and 97 home runs; Harry Heilmann finished with 2,660 hits and 183 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

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 →

Harry Heilmann

Hitter · 1914–1932
Games
2,148
Hits
2,660
Home Runs
183
RBI
1,539
Avg
.342
OPS
.930
View Harry Heilmann's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

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

Statistic Sam Crawford Harry Heilmann
Games 2,517 2,148
At-Bats 9,570 7,787
Runs 1,391 1,291
Hits 2,961 2,660
Doubles 458 542
Triples 309 151
Home Runs 97 183
RBI 1,519 1,539
Walks 760 856
Strikeouts 580 550
Stolen Bases 366 113
Batting Avg .309 .342
On-Base % .362 .410
Slugging % .452 .520
OPS .814 .930

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Harry Heilmann leads Sam Crawford 46,791 to 41,381 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,752 vs 2,178 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Sam Crawford
41,381
Career PIV · 2,178 per season (19 seasons)
Harry Heilmann
46,791
Career PIV · 2,752 per season (17 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

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

Harry Heilmann — top 3 seasons by OPS

19231.113 OPS18 HR, 115 RBI, .403 avg
19271.091 OPS14 HR, 120 RBI, .398 avg
19211.051 OPS19 HR, 139 RBI, .394 avg

Verdict

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

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