Bill Dickey vs Lou Gehrig: Career Stats Comparison

Bill Dickey (1928–1946) and Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) — both broke in during the 1920s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Bill Dickey finished with 1,969 hits and 202 home runs; Lou Gehrig finished with 2,721 hits and 493 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Bill Dickey

Hitter · 1928–1946
Games
1,789
Hits
1,969
Home Runs
202
RBI
1,209
Avg
.313
OPS
.868
View Bill Dickey's full profile →

Lou Gehrig

Hitter · 1923–1939
Games
2,164
Hits
2,721
Home Runs
493
RBI
1,995
Avg
.340
OPS
1.080
View Lou Gehrig's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Bill Dickey and Lou Gehrig. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Bill Dickey Lou Gehrig
Games 1,789 2,164
At-Bats 6,300 8,001
Runs 930 1,888
Hits 1,969 2,721
Doubles 343 534
Triples 72 163
Home Runs 202 493
RBI 1,209 1,995
Walks 678 1,508
Strikeouts 289 790
Stolen Bases 37 102
Batting Avg .313 .340
On-Base % .382 .447
Slugging % .486 .632
OPS .868 1.080

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Bill Dickey 81,072 to 23,944 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 1,408 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Bill Dickey
23,944
Career PIV · 1,408 per season (17 seasons)
Lou Gehrig
81,072
Career PIV · 4,769 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).

Bill Dickey — top 3 seasons by OPS

19361.045 OPS22 HR, 107 RBI, .362 avg
1937.987 OPS29 HR, 133 RBI, .332 avg
1938.981 OPS27 HR, 115 RBI, .313 avg

Lou Gehrig — top 3 seasons by OPS

19271.240 OPS47 HR, 175 RBI, .373 avg
19301.194 OPS41 HR, 174 RBI, .379 avg
19361.174 OPS49 HR, 152 RBI, .354 avg

Verdict

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

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