Sam Crawford vs Mike Tiernan: Career Stats Comparison

Sam Crawford (1899–1917) and Mike Tiernan (1887–1899) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1880s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Sam Crawford finished with 2,961 hits and 97 home runs; Mike Tiernan finished with 1,838 hits and 106 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 →

Mike Tiernan

Hitter · 1887–1899
Games
1,478
Hits
1,838
Home Runs
106
RBI
853
Avg
.311
OPS
.855
View Mike Tiernan's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

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

Statistic Sam Crawford Mike Tiernan
Games 2,517 1,478
At-Bats 9,570 5,915
Runs 1,391 1,316
Hits 2,961 1,838
Doubles 458 257
Triples 309 162
Home Runs 97 106
RBI 1,519 853
Walks 760 748
Strikeouts 580 376
Stolen Bases 366 428
Batting Avg .309 .311
On-Base % .362 .392
Slugging % .452 .463
OPS .814 .855

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Sam Crawford outpaces Mike Tiernan 41,381 to 24,956 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,178 vs 1,920 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)
Mike Tiernan
24,956
Career PIV · 1,920 per season (13 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

Mike Tiernan — top 3 seasons by OPS

1896.968 OPS7 HR, 89 RBI, .369 avg
1895.955 OPS7 HR, 70 RBI, .347 avg
1889.944 OPS10 HR, 73 RBI, .335 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Mike Tiernan leads in home runs, stolen bases, batting average, and OBP, while Sam Crawford owns hits, RBI, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Mike Tiernan. Note that PIV actually grades Sam Crawford ahead, which means Mike Tiernan's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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