Lou Gehrig vs Matt Olson: Career Stats Comparison
Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) and Matt Olson (2016–present) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 2010s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Lou Gehrig finished with 2,721 hits and 493 home runs; Matt Olson finished with 1,155 hits and 288 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Lou Gehrig
Matt Olson
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Lou Gehrig and Matt Olson. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Lou Gehrig | Matt Olson |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,164 | 1,223 |
| At-Bats | 8,001 | 4,496 |
| Runs | 1,888 | 712 |
| Hits | 2,721 | 1,155 |
| Doubles | 534 | 250 |
| Triples | 163 | 7 |
| Home Runs | 493 | 288 |
| RBI | 1,995 | 808 |
| Walks | 1,508 | 613 |
| Strikeouts | 790 | 1,238 |
| Stolen Bases | 102 | 9 |
| Batting Avg | .340 | .257 |
| On-Base % | .447 | .351 |
| Slugging % | .632 | .508 |
| OPS | 1.080 | .859 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Matt Olson 81,072 to 17,319 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 1,732 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
Matt Olson — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Lou Gehrig leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Matt Olson 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.