George Kelly vs Bill Lange: Career Stats Comparison

George Kelly (1915–1932) and Bill Lange (1893–1899) — they broke in during the 1910s and the 1890s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. George Kelly finished with 1,778 hits and 148 home runs; Bill Lange finished with 1,056 hits and 39 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

George Kelly

Hitter · 1915–1932
Games
1,622
Hits
1,778
Home Runs
148
RBI
1,020
Avg
.297
OPS
.794
View George Kelly's full profile →

Bill Lange

Hitter · 1893–1899
Games
813
Hits
1,056
Home Runs
39
RBI
579
Avg
.330
OPS
.858
View Bill Lange's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for George Kelly and Bill Lange. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic George Kelly Bill Lange
Games 1,622 813
At-Bats 5,993 3,202
Runs 819 691
Hits 1,778 1,056
Doubles 337 134
Triples 76 80
Home Runs 148 39
RBI 1,020 579
Walks 386 350
Strikeouts 694 123
Stolen Bases 65 400
Batting Avg .297 .330
On-Base % .342 .400
Slugging % .452 .458
OPS .794 .858

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bill Lange leads George Kelly 10,530 to 9,050 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,504 vs 503 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

George Kelly
9,050
Career PIV · 503 per season (18 seasons)
Bill Lange
10,530
Career PIV · 1,504 per season (7 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

George Kelly — top 3 seasons by OPS

1924.902 OPS21 HR, 136 RBI, .324 avg
1921.884 OPS23 HR, 122 RBI, .308 avg
1922.860 OPS17 HR, 107 RBI, .328 avg

Bill Lange — top 3 seasons by OPS

18951.032 OPS10 HR, 98 RBI, .389 avg
1897.886 OPS5 HR, 83 RBI, .340 avg
1896.879 OPS4 HR, 92 RBI, .326 avg

Verdict

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

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