Billy Hamilton vs Willie Keeler: Career Stats Comparison
Billy Hamilton (1888–1901) and Willie Keeler (1892–1910) — they broke in during the 1880s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Billy Hamilton finished with 2,164 hits and 40 home runs; Willie Keeler finished with 2,932 hits and 33 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Billy Hamilton
Willie Keeler
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Billy Hamilton and Willie Keeler. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Billy Hamilton | Willie Keeler |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,594 | 2,123 |
| At-Bats | 6,283 | 8,591 |
| Runs | 1,697 | 1,719 |
| Hits | 2,164 | 2,932 |
| Doubles | 242 | 241 |
| Triples | 95 | 145 |
| Home Runs | 40 | 33 |
| RBI | 742 | 810 |
| Walks | 1,189 | 524 |
| Strikeouts | 362 | 136 |
| Stolen Bases | 914 | 495 |
| Batting Avg | .344 | .341 |
| On-Base % | .455 | .388 |
| Slugging % | .432 | .415 |
| OPS | .888 | .802 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Billy Hamilton leads Willie Keeler 38,004 to 29,044 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,715 vs 1,452 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).
Billy Hamilton — top 3 seasons by OPS
Willie Keeler — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Billy Hamilton leads in home runs, stolen bases, batting average, and OBP, while Willie Keeler owns hits, RBI, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Billy Hamilton. PIV agrees: Billy Hamilton grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.