Ed Delahanty vs Elmer Flick: Career Stats Comparison

Ed Delahanty has the better career line of the two, leading 14 of the 14 statistical categories compared on this page. Ed Delahanty played 1888–1903 as a hitter; Elmer Flick played 1898–1910 as a hitter.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

Ed Delahanty (1888–1903) and Elmer Flick (1898–1910) — they broke in during the 1880s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Ed Delahanty finished with 2,597 hits and 101 home runs; Elmer Flick finished with 1,752 hits and 48 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Quick answer

  • Who hit more home runs? Ed Delahanty, with 101 to Elmer Flick's 48.
  • Who had the higher OPS? Ed Delahanty, with .917 to Elmer Flick's .834.
  • Who had the higher batting average? Ed Delahanty, with .346 to Elmer Flick's .313.
  • Who had more hits? Ed Delahanty, with 2,597 to Elmer Flick's 1,752.
  • Who drove in more runs? Ed Delahanty, with 1,466 to Elmer Flick's 756.
  • Who has the higher career PIV? Ed Delahanty, with 44,188 career PIV to Elmer Flick's 29,192.
Leads Ed Delahanty 14 of 14 awarded categories
PIV edge Ed Delahanty +14,996
Read the verdict ↓

Ed Delahanty

Hitter · 1888–1903
Games
1,837
Hits
2,597
Home Runs
101
RBI
1,466
Avg
.346
OPS
.917
View Ed Delahanty's full profile →

Elmer Flick

Hitter · 1898–1910
Games
1,483
Hits
1,752
Home Runs
48
RBI
756
Avg
.313
OPS
.834
View Elmer Flick's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Ed Delahanty and Elmer Flick. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity, and strikeouts are left unmarked because a longer career accumulates more of them. Rate stats are not era-adjusted -- a .305 in 1965 and a .298 in 2001 came out of very different run environments -- so read them against their eras, or use the PIV card below, which is adjusted.

Ed Delahanty vs Elmer Flick: Career Stats Comparison — Career Stats Side-by-Side
Statistic Ed Delahanty Elmer Flick
Games Leads: 1,837 1,483
At-Bats Leads: 7,510 5,597
Runs Leads: 1,600 950
Hits Leads: 2,597 1,752
Doubles Leads: 522 268
Triples Leads: 186 164
Home Runs Leads: 101 48
RBI Leads: 1,466 756
Walks Leads: 742 597
Strikeouts 439 567
Stolen Bases Leads: 456 330
Batting Avg Leads: .346 .313
On-Base % Leads: .411 .389
Slugging % Leads: .505 .445
OPS Leads: .917 .834

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ed Delahanty outpaces Elmer Flick 44,188 to 29,192 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,762 vs 2,085 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Ed Delahanty
44,188
Career PIV · 2,762 per season (16 seasons)
Elmer Flick
29,192
Career PIV · 2,085 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).

Ed Delahanty — top 3 seasons by OPS

18951.117 OPS11 HR, 106 RBI, .404 avg
18961.103 OPS13 HR, 126 RBI, .397 avg
18941.062 OPS4 HR, 133 RBI, .405 avg

Elmer Flick — top 3 seasons by OPS

1900.986 OPS11 HR, 110 RBI, .367 avg
1901.899 OPS8 HR, 88 RBI, .333 avg
1898.878 OPS8 HR, 81 RBI, .302 avg

Verdict

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

Related Matchups

Ed Delahanty vs Elmer Flick: Frequently Asked Questions

Who was better, Ed Delahanty or Elmer Flick?
By the career statistics compared on this page, Ed Delahanty leads Elmer Flick in 14 of 14 categories.
Did Ed Delahanty or Elmer Flick hit more home runs?
Ed Delahanty, with 101 to Elmer Flick's 48.
Who had the higher OPS?
Ed Delahanty, with .917 to Elmer Flick's .834.
Who had the higher batting average?
Ed Delahanty, with .346 to Elmer Flick's .313.
Who had more hits?
Ed Delahanty, with 2,597 to Elmer Flick's 1,752.