Buck Ewing vs Mike Tiernan: Career Stats Comparison

Buck Ewing (1880–1897) and Mike Tiernan (1887–1899) — 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; Mike Tiernan finished with 1,838 hits and 106 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 →

Mike Tiernan

Hitter · 1887–1899
Games
1,478
Hits
1,838
Home Runs
106
RBI
853
Avg
.311
OPS
.855
View Mike Tiernan's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Buck Ewing and Mike Tiernan. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Buck Ewing Mike Tiernan
Games 1,315 1,478
At-Bats 5,363 5,915
Runs 1,129 1,316
Hits 1,625 1,838
Doubles 250 257
Triples 178 162
Home Runs 71 106
RBI 883 853
Walks 392 748
Strikeouts 294 376
Stolen Bases 354 428
Batting Avg .303 .311
On-Base % .351 .392
Slugging % .456 .463
OPS .807 .855

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Mike Tiernan outpaces Buck Ewing 24,956 to 17,919 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,920 vs 995 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)
Mike Tiernan
24,956
Career PIV · 1,920 per season (13 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

Mike Tiernan — top 3 seasons by OPS

1896.968 OPS7 HR, 89 RBI, .369 avg
1895.955 OPS7 HR, 70 RBI, .347 avg
1889.944 OPS10 HR, 73 RBI, .335 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Mike Tiernan leads in hits, home runs, runs, and stolen bases, while Buck Ewing owns RBI. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Mike Tiernan. PIV agrees: Mike Tiernan grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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