Lou Gehrig vs Rudy York: Career Stats Comparison
Lou Gehrig (1923–1939) and Rudy York (1934–1948) — 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; Rudy York finished with 1,621 hits and 277 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Lou Gehrig
Rudy York
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Lou Gehrig and Rudy York. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Lou Gehrig | Rudy York |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,164 | 1,603 |
| At-Bats | 8,001 | 5,891 |
| Runs | 1,888 | 876 |
| Hits | 2,721 | 1,621 |
| Doubles | 534 | 291 |
| Triples | 163 | 52 |
| Home Runs | 493 | 277 |
| RBI | 1,995 | 1,152 |
| Walks | 1,508 | 792 |
| Strikeouts | 790 | 867 |
| Stolen Bases | 102 | 38 |
| Batting Avg | .340 | .275 |
| On-Base % | .447 | .362 |
| Slugging % | .632 | .483 |
| OPS | 1.080 | .845 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lou Gehrig outpaces Rudy York 81,072 to 24,140 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,769 vs 1,724 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
Rudy York — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Lou Gehrig leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Rudy York 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.