Jimmie Foxx vs Lefty Grove: Career Stats Comparison

Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove played different roles, so their careers are compared side by side rather than scored against each other. Jimmie Foxx played 1925–1945 as a hitter; Lefty Grove played 1925–1941 as a pitcher.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

Jimmie Foxx (1925–1945) and Lefty Grove (1925–1941) played opposite sides of the ball, so there is no honest category-by-category scoreboard for this matchup. Lefty Grove pitched, totalling 300 wins and 2,266 strikeouts; Jimmie Foxx hit, totalling 2,646 hits and 534 home runs. Each career is shown below in its own discipline, with PIV as the one measure that spans both roles.

Quick answer

  • Who has the higher career PIV? Lefty Grove, with 81,321 career PIV to Jimmie Foxx's 72,872.
  • Who won more championships? Both — each won 2 World Series titles.

Jimmie Foxx

Hitter · 1925–1945
Games
2,317
Hits
2,646
Home Runs
534
RBI
1,922
Avg
.325
OPS
1.038
View Jimmie Foxx's full profile →

Lefty Grove

Pitcher · 1925–1941
Wins
300
Losses
141
Strikeouts
2,266
ERA
3.06
WHIP
1.28
IP
3,940.2
View Lefty Grove's full profile →

Career Stats, Each in His Own Role

Lefty Grove is shown on pitching lines and Jimmie Foxx on batting lines. Nothing is marked as a category winner, because these two cards measure different jobs — reading them cell against cell would tell you nothing.

Jimmie Foxx — Hitter

Jimmie Foxx vs Lefty Grove: Career Stats Comparison — Jimmie Foxx — Hitter
Statistic Jimmie Foxx
Games 2,317
At-Bats 8,134
Runs 1,751
Hits 2,646
Doubles 458
Triples 125
Home Runs 534
RBI 1,922
Walks 1,452
Strikeouts 1,311
Stolen Bases 87
Batting Avg .325
On-Base % .428
Slugging % .609
OPS 1.038

Lefty Grove — Pitcher

Jimmie Foxx vs Lefty Grove: Career Stats Comparison — Lefty Grove — Pitcher
Statistic Lefty Grove
Wins 300
Losses 141
Games 616
Games Started 457
Complete Games 298
Shutouts 35
Saves 55
Strikeouts 2,266
Walks 1,187
Hits Allowed 3,849
Home Runs Allowed 162
Innings Pitched 3,940.2
ERA 3.06
WHIP 1.28
K/9 5.18
BB/9 2.71

PIV Comparison through 2025

Jimmie Foxx carries a career batting PIV of 72,872; Lefty Grove carries a career pitching PIV of 81,321. Lefty Grove is the higher of the two at 81,321 to 72,872. Both figures adjust each season to league baselines, but batting PIV and pitching PIV are calibrated separately — so read this as a directional comparison of career impact, not a settled verdict.

PIV is computed through the 2025 season. The career totals on this page include 2026 to date, so PIV does not yet reflect the 2026 season.

Jimmie Foxx
72,872
Career PIV · 3,470 per season (21 seasons)
Lefty Grove
81,321
Career Pitcher PIV · 4,784 per season (17 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked within his own role — ERA for the pitcher (120+ innings), OPS for the hitter (300+ at-bats).

Jimmie Foxx — top 3 seasons by OPS

19321.218 OPS58 HR, 169 RBI, .364 avg
19381.166 OPS50 HR, 175 RBI, .349 avg
19391.158 OPS35 HR, 105 RBI, .360 avg

Lefty Grove — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19312.06 ERA31-4, 175 K in 288 IP
19262.51 ERA13-13, 194 K in 258 IP
19302.54 ERA28-5, 209 K in 291 IP

Verdict

There is no head-to-head scoreboard for Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx: one pitched and one hit, and no counting stat means the same thing on both cards. On PIV — the one metric that scores both roles against league baselines — Lefty Grove grades higher, 81,321 to 72,872. Because the batting and pitching versions of PIV are calibrated separately, that gap is a directional signal about career impact rather than a ruling on who was the better ballplayer. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

Related Matchups

How the Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove careers compare

The careers of Jimmie Foxx (1925–1945) and Lefty Grove (1925–1941) overlapped from 1925 to 1941, so for those seasons they faced the same league conditions. Jimmie Foxx's batting card reads 2,646 hits, 534 home runs and a .325 average. Lefty Grove's pitching card shows 300 wins, a 3.06 ERA and 2,266 strikeouts. No single table can grade a pitcher against a hitter, so each career is shown in its own discipline, with PIV as the common scale. Their best seasons are measured differently, 1.218 OPS in 1932 for Jimmie Foxx and 2.06 ERA in 1931 for Lefty Grove.

Jimmie Foxx vs Lefty Grove: Frequently Asked Questions

Who has the higher career PIV?
Lefty Grove, with 81,321 career PIV to Jimmie Foxx's 72,872.
Who won more championships?
Both — each won 2 World Series titles.
How do Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove compare?
Jimmie Foxx played 1925–1945 and Lefty Grove played 1925–1941; this page sets their career totals side by side in every category both accumulated.

See These Players in Another Era