Hank Greenberg vs George Kelly: Career Stats Comparison
Hank Greenberg (1930–1947) and George Kelly (1915–1932) — they broke in during the 1930s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Hank Greenberg finished with 1,628 hits and 331 home runs; George Kelly finished with 1,778 hits and 148 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Hank Greenberg
George Kelly
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Hank Greenberg and George Kelly. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Hank Greenberg | George Kelly |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,394 | 1,622 |
| At-Bats | 5,193 | 5,993 |
| Runs | 1,051 | 819 |
| Hits | 1,628 | 1,778 |
| Doubles | 379 | 337 |
| Triples | 71 | 76 |
| Home Runs | 331 | 148 |
| RBI | 1,276 | 1,020 |
| Walks | 852 | 386 |
| Strikeouts | 844 | 694 |
| Stolen Bases | 58 | 65 |
| Batting Avg | .313 | .297 |
| On-Base % | .412 | .342 |
| Slugging % | .605 | .452 |
| OPS | 1.017 | .794 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Hank Greenberg outpaces George Kelly 43,523 to 9,050 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,348 vs 503 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).
Hank Greenberg — top 3 seasons by OPS
George Kelly — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Hank Greenberg leads in home runs, RBI, runs, and batting average, while George Kelly owns hits and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Hank Greenberg. PIV agrees: Hank Greenberg grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.