Babe Herman vs Cy Williams: Career Stats Comparison
Babe Herman (1926–1945) and Cy Williams (1912–1930) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Babe Herman finished with 1,818 hits and 181 home runs; Cy Williams finished with 1,981 hits and 251 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Babe Herman
Cy Williams
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Babe Herman and Cy Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Babe Herman | Cy Williams |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,552 | 2,002 |
| At-Bats | 5,603 | 6,780 |
| Runs | 882 | 1,024 |
| Hits | 1,818 | 1,981 |
| Doubles | 399 | 306 |
| Triples | 110 | 74 |
| Home Runs | 181 | 251 |
| RBI | 997 | 1,005 |
| Walks | 520 | 690 |
| Strikeouts | 553 | 721 |
| Stolen Bases | 94 | 115 |
| Batting Avg | .324 | .292 |
| On-Base % | .383 | .365 |
| Slugging % | .532 | .470 |
| OPS | .915 | .835 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Babe Herman edges Cy Williams 25,837 to 24,595 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,845 vs 1,294 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).
Babe Herman — top 3 seasons by OPS
Cy Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Cy Williams leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Babe Herman owns batting average, OBP, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Cy Williams. Note that PIV actually grades Babe Herman ahead, which means Cy Williams's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.