Sam Crawford vs Cy Williams: Career Stats Comparison
Sam Crawford (1899–1917) and Cy Williams (1912–1930) — 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; Cy Williams finished with 1,981 hits and 251 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Sam Crawford
Cy Williams
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Sam Crawford and Cy Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Sam Crawford | Cy Williams |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,517 | 2,002 |
| At-Bats | 9,570 | 6,780 |
| Runs | 1,391 | 1,024 |
| Hits | 2,961 | 1,981 |
| Doubles | 458 | 306 |
| Triples | 309 | 74 |
| Home Runs | 97 | 251 |
| RBI | 1,519 | 1,005 |
| Walks | 760 | 690 |
| Strikeouts | 580 | 721 |
| Stolen Bases | 366 | 115 |
| Batting Avg | .309 | .292 |
| On-Base % | .362 | .365 |
| Slugging % | .452 | .470 |
| OPS | .814 | .835 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Sam Crawford outpaces Cy Williams 41,381 to 24,595 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,178 vs 1,294 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
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
Cy Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Sam Crawford leads in hits, RBI, runs, and stolen bases, while Cy Williams 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.