Charlie Gehringer vs Harry Heilmann: Career Stats Comparison

Charlie Gehringer (1924–1942) and Harry Heilmann (1914–1932) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Charlie Gehringer finished with 2,839 hits and 184 home runs; Harry Heilmann finished with 2,660 hits and 183 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Charlie Gehringer

Hitter · 1924–1942
Games
2,323
Hits
2,839
Home Runs
184
RBI
1,427
Avg
.320
OPS
.884
View Charlie Gehringer's full profile →

Harry Heilmann

Hitter · 1914–1932
Games
2,148
Hits
2,660
Home Runs
183
RBI
1,539
Avg
.342
OPS
.930
View Harry Heilmann's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Charlie Gehringer and Harry Heilmann. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Charlie Gehringer Harry Heilmann
Games 2,323 2,148
At-Bats 8,860 7,787
Runs 1,774 1,291
Hits 2,839 2,660
Doubles 574 542
Triples 146 151
Home Runs 184 183
RBI 1,427 1,539
Walks 1,186 856
Strikeouts 372 550
Stolen Bases 181 113
Batting Avg .320 .342
On-Base % .404 .410
Slugging % .480 .520
OPS .884 .930

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Harry Heilmann leads Charlie Gehringer 46,791 to 39,288 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,752 vs 2,068 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Charlie Gehringer
39,288
Career PIV · 2,068 per season (19 seasons)
Harry Heilmann
46,791
Career PIV · 2,752 per season (17 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Charlie Gehringer — top 3 seasons by OPS

1936.987 OPS15 HR, 116 RBI, .354 avg
1937.978 OPS14 HR, 96 RBI, .371 avg
1939.967 OPS16 HR, 86 RBI, .325 avg

Harry Heilmann — top 3 seasons by OPS

19231.113 OPS18 HR, 115 RBI, .403 avg
19271.091 OPS14 HR, 120 RBI, .398 avg
19211.051 OPS19 HR, 139 RBI, .394 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Harry Heilmann leads in RBI, batting average, OBP, and OPS, while Charlie Gehringer owns hits, home runs, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Harry Heilmann. PIV agrees: Harry Heilmann grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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