Paul Derringer vs Ernie Lombardi: Career Stats Comparison

Paul Derringer (1931–1945) and Ernie Lombardi (1931–1947) — both broke in during the 1930s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Paul Derringer finished with 220 hits and 2 home runs; Ernie Lombardi finished with 1,792 hits and 190 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Paul Derringer

Two-Way Player · 1931–1945
Games
579
Hits
220
Home Runs
2
RBI
102
Avg
.175
OPS
.394
View Paul Derringer's full profile →

Ernie Lombardi

Hitter · 1931–1947
Games
1,853
Hits
1,792
Home Runs
190
RBI
990
Avg
.306
OPS
.818
View Ernie Lombardi's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Paul Derringer and Ernie Lombardi. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Paul Derringer Ernie Lombardi
Games 579 1,853
At-Bats 1,260 5,855
Runs 70 601
Hits 220 1,792
Doubles 30 277
Triples 3 27
Home Runs 2 190
RBI 102 990
Walks 16 430
Strikeouts 219 262
Stolen Bases 0 8
Batting Avg .175 .306
On-Base % .186 .358
Slugging % .208 .460
OPS .394 .818

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ernie Lombardi outpaces Paul Derringer 15,583 to -9,119 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (917 vs -570 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Paul Derringer
-9,119
Career PIV · -570 per season (16 seasons)
Ernie Lombardi
15,583
Career PIV · 917 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).

Paul Derringer — top 0 seasons by OPS

Ernie Lombardi — top 3 seasons by OPS

1935.918 OPS12 HR, 64 RBI, .343 avg
1938.915 OPS19 HR, 95 RBI, .342 avg
1942.886 OPS11 HR, 46 RBI, .330 avg

Verdict

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

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