Buck Ewing vs Ernie Lombardi: Career Stats Comparison

Buck Ewing (1880–1897) and Ernie Lombardi (1931–1947) — they broke in during the 1880s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Buck Ewing finished with 1,625 hits and 71 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.

Buck Ewing

Hitter · 1880–1897
Games
1,315
Hits
1,625
Home Runs
71
RBI
883
Avg
.303
OPS
.807
View Buck Ewing'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 Buck Ewing 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 Buck Ewing Ernie Lombardi
Games 1,315 1,853
At-Bats 5,363 5,855
Runs 1,129 601
Hits 1,625 1,792
Doubles 250 277
Triples 178 27
Home Runs 71 190
RBI 883 990
Walks 392 430
Strikeouts 294 262
Stolen Bases 354 8
Batting Avg .303 .306
On-Base % .351 .358
Slugging % .456 .460
OPS .807 .818

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Buck Ewing leads Ernie Lombardi 17,919 to 15,583 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (995 vs 917 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Buck Ewing
17,919
Career PIV · 995 per season (18 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).

Buck Ewing — top 3 seasons by OPS

1890.951 OPS8 HR, 72 RBI, .338 avg
1893.890 OPS6 HR, 122 RBI, .344 avg
1887.867 OPS6 HR, 44 RBI, .305 avg

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 batting average, while Buck Ewing owns runs and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ernie Lombardi. Note that PIV actually grades Buck Ewing ahead, which means Ernie Lombardi's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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