Lou Gehrig vs Mule Suttles: Career Stats Comparison

Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) and Mule Suttles (?–1948) — their careers are worth a careful side-by-side. Lou Gehrig finished with 2,721 hits and 493 home runs; Mule Suttles finished with 1,168 hits and 188 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Lou Gehrig

Hitter · 1923–1939
Games
2,164
Hits
2,721
Home Runs
493
RBI
1,995
Avg
.340
OPS
1.080
View Lou Gehrig's full profile →

Mule Suttles

Hitter · ?–1948
Games
972
Hits
1,168
Home Runs
188
RBI
930
Avg
.339
OPS
1.025
View Mule Suttles's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Lou Gehrig and Mule Suttles. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Lou Gehrig Mule Suttles
Games 2,164 972
At-Bats 8,001 3,448
Runs 1,888 763
Hits 2,721 1,168
Doubles 534 229
Triples 163 81
Home Runs 493 188
RBI 1,995 930
Walks 1,508 389
Strikeouts 790 24
Stolen Bases 102 92
Batting Avg .340 .339
On-Base % .447 .409
Slugging % .632 .616
OPS 1.080 1.025

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Mule Suttles 81,072 to 23,097 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 924 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Lou Gehrig
81,072
Career PIV · 4,769 per season (17 seasons)
Mule Suttles
23,097
Career PIV · 924 per season (25 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

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

19271.240 OPS47 HR, 175 RBI, .373 avg
19301.194 OPS41 HR, 174 RBI, .379 avg
19361.174 OPS49 HR, 152 RBI, .354 avg

Mule Suttles — top 3 seasons by OPS

19261.349 OPS32 HR, 130 RBI, .425 avg
19281.110 OPS21 HR, 75 RBI, .359 avg
19291.047 OPS20 HR, 109 RBI, .351 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Lou Gehrig leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Mule Suttles 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.

Related Matchups

See These Players in Another Era