Buck Ewing vs Tim Keefe: Career Stats Comparison
Buck Ewing (1880–1897) and Tim Keefe (1880–1893) — both broke in during the 1880s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Buck Ewing finished with 1,625 hits and 71 home runs; Tim Keefe finished with 390 hits and 12 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Buck Ewing and Tim Keefe. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Buck Ewing | Tim Keefe |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,315 | 618 |
| At-Bats | 5,363 | 2,083 |
| Runs | 1,129 | 248 |
| Hits | 1,625 | 390 |
| Doubles | 250 | 60 |
| Triples | 178 | 38 |
| Home Runs | 71 | 12 |
| RBI | 883 | 134 |
| Walks | 392 | 175 |
| Strikeouts | 294 | 411 |
| Stolen Bases | 354 | 13 |
| Batting Avg | .303 | .187 |
| On-Base % | .351 | .252 |
| Slugging % | .456 | .270 |
| OPS | .807 | .521 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Buck Ewing outpaces Tim Keefe 17,919 to -5,183 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (995 vs -346 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).
Buck Ewing — top 3 seasons by OPS
Tim Keefe — top 0 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Buck Ewing leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Tim Keefe owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Buck Ewing. PIV agrees: Buck Ewing grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.