Babe Herman vs Joe Medwick: Career Stats Comparison

Babe Herman (1926–1945) and Joe Medwick (1932–1948) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Babe Herman finished with 1,818 hits and 181 home runs; Joe Medwick finished with 2,471 hits and 205 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Babe Herman

Hitter · 1926–1945
Games
1,552
Hits
1,818
Home Runs
181
RBI
997
Avg
.324
OPS
.915
View Babe Herman's full profile →

Joe Medwick

Hitter · 1932–1948
Games
1,984
Hits
2,471
Home Runs
205
RBI
1,383
Avg
.324
OPS
.867
View Joe Medwick's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Babe Herman and Joe Medwick. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Babe Herman Joe Medwick
Games 1,552 1,984
At-Bats 5,603 7,635
Runs 882 1,198
Hits 1,818 2,471
Doubles 399 540
Triples 110 113
Home Runs 181 205
RBI 997 1,383
Walks 520 437
Strikeouts 553 551
Stolen Bases 94 42
Batting Avg .324 .324
On-Base % .383 .362
Slugging % .532 .505
OPS .915 .867

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Joe Medwick leads Babe Herman 28,897 to 25,837 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,445 vs 1,845 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Babe Herman
25,837
Career PIV · 1,845 per season (14 seasons)
Joe Medwick
28,897
Career PIV · 1,445 per season (20 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Babe Herman — top 3 seasons by OPS

19301.132 OPS35 HR, 130 RBI, .393 avg
19291.047 OPS21 HR, 113 RBI, .381 avg
1932.930 OPS16 HR, 87 RBI, .326 avg

Joe Medwick — top 3 seasons by OPS

19371.056 OPS31 HR, 154 RBI, .374 avg
1936.964 OPS18 HR, 138 RBI, .351 avg
1935.962 OPS23 HR, 126 RBI, .353 avg

Verdict

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

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