Lou Gehrig vs Hank Greenberg: Career Stats Comparison
Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) and Hank Greenberg (1930–1947) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Lou Gehrig finished with 2,721 hits and 493 home runs; Hank Greenberg finished with 1,628 hits and 331 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Lou Gehrig
Hank Greenberg
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Lou Gehrig and Hank Greenberg. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Lou Gehrig | Hank Greenberg |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,164 | 1,394 |
| At-Bats | 8,001 | 5,193 |
| Runs | 1,888 | 1,051 |
| Hits | 2,721 | 1,628 |
| Doubles | 534 | 379 |
| Triples | 163 | 71 |
| Home Runs | 493 | 331 |
| RBI | 1,995 | 1,276 |
| Walks | 1,508 | 852 |
| Strikeouts | 790 | 844 |
| Stolen Bases | 102 | 58 |
| Batting Avg | .340 | .313 |
| On-Base % | .447 | .412 |
| Slugging % | .632 | .605 |
| OPS | 1.080 | 1.017 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Hank Greenberg 81,072 to 43,523 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 3,348 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).
Lou Gehrig — top 3 seasons by OPS
Hank Greenberg — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Lou Gehrig leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Hank Greenberg owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Lou Gehrig. PIV agrees: Lou Gehrig grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.