Silver King vs Jim Whitney: Career Stats Comparison

Silver King (1886–1897) and Jim Whitney (1881–1890) — both came up during the 1880s, so the matchup is a direct one. Silver King compiled 203 wins and 1,222 strikeouts; Jim Whitney put up 191 wins and 1,571 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Silver King

Pitcher · 1886–1897
Wins
203
Losses
152
Strikeouts
1,222
ERA
3.18
WHIP
1.28
IP
3,180
View Silver King's full profile →

Jim Whitney

Pitcher · 1881–1890
Wins
191
Losses
204
Strikeouts
1,571
ERA
2.97
WHIP
1.15
IP
3,496
View Jim Whitney's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic Silver King Jim Whitney
Wins 203 191
Losses 152 204
Games 397 413
Games Started 370 396
Complete Games 328 377
Shutouts 19 26
Saves 6 2
Strikeouts 1,222 1,571
Walks 967 411
Hits Allowed 3,098 3,598
Home Runs Allowed 69 79
Innings Pitched 3,180 3,496
ERA 3.18 2.97
WHIP 1.28 1.15
K/9 3.46 4.04
BB/9 2.74 1.06

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Jim Whitney outpaces Silver King 42,671 to 25,621 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,267 vs 2,329 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Silver King
25,621
Career Pitcher PIV · 2,329 per season (11 seasons)
Jim Whitney
42,671
Career Pitcher PIV · 4,267 per season (10 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Silver King — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

18881.63 ERA45-20, 258 K in 584 IP
18902.69 ERA30-22, 185 K in 461 IP
18913.11 ERA14-29, 160 K in 384 IP

Jim Whitney — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

18842.09 ERA23-14, 270 K in 336 IP
18832.24 ERA37-21, 345 K in 514 IP
18812.48 ERA31-33, 162 K in 552 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Jim Whitney leads in strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, and K/9, while Silver King owns wins. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Jim Whitney. PIV agrees: Jim Whitney grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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