Don Drysdale vs Gil Hodges: Career Stats Comparison
Don Drysdale (1956–1969) and Gil Hodges (1943–1963) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1940s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Don Drysdale finished with 218 hits and 29 home runs; Gil Hodges finished with 1,921 hits and 370 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Gil Hodges
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Don Drysdale and Gil Hodges. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Don Drysdale | Gil Hodges |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 547 | 2,071 |
| At-Bats | 1,169 | 7,030 |
| Runs | 96 | 1,105 |
| Hits | 218 | 1,921 |
| Doubles | 26 | 295 |
| Triples | 7 | 48 |
| Home Runs | 29 | 370 |
| RBI | 113 | 1,274 |
| Walks | 60 | 943 |
| Strikeouts | 370 | 1,137 |
| Stolen Bases | 0 | 63 |
| Batting Avg | .186 | .273 |
| On-Base % | .228 | .359 |
| Slugging % | .295 | .487 |
| OPS | .523 | .846 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Gil Hodges outpaces Don Drysdale 24,928 to -4,371 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,385 vs -312 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).
Don Drysdale — top 0 seasons by OPS
Gil Hodges — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Gil Hodges leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Don Drysdale owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Gil Hodges. PIV agrees: Gil Hodges grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.