Larry Doby vs Mel Ott: Career Stats Comparison
Larry Doby (1947–1959) and Mel Ott (1926–1947) — they broke in during the 1940s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Larry Doby finished with 1,697 hits and 273 home runs; Mel Ott finished with 2,876 hits and 511 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Larry Doby
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Larry Doby and Mel Ott. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Larry Doby | Mel Ott |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,674 | 2,730 |
| At-Bats | 5,883 | 9,456 |
| Runs | 1,080 | 1,859 |
| Hits | 1,697 | 2,876 |
| Doubles | 277 | 488 |
| Triples | 72 | 72 |
| Home Runs | 273 | 511 |
| RBI | 1,093 | 1,860 |
| Walks | 945 | 1,708 |
| Strikeouts | 1,012 | 896 |
| Stolen Bases | 64 | 89 |
| Batting Avg | .288 | .304 |
| On-Base % | .389 | .414 |
| Slugging % | .499 | .533 |
| OPS | .888 | .947 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Mel Ott outpaces Larry Doby 64,873 to 28,857 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,949 vs 1,519 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).
Larry Doby — top 3 seasons by OPS
Mel Ott — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Mel Ott leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Larry Doby owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Mel Ott. PIV agrees: Mel Ott grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.