Nap Lajoie vs Bid McPhee: Career Stats Comparison

Nap Lajoie (1896–1916) and Bid McPhee (1882–1899) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1880s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Nap Lajoie finished with 3,243 hits and 82 home runs; Bid McPhee finished with 2,258 hits and 53 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Nap Lajoie

Hitter · 1896–1916
Games
2,480
Hits
3,243
Home Runs
82
RBI
1,599
Avg
.338
OPS
.846
View Nap Lajoie's full profile →

Bid McPhee

Hitter · 1882–1899
Games
2,138
Hits
2,258
Home Runs
53
RBI
1,072
Avg
.272
OPS
.728
View Bid McPhee's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Nap Lajoie and Bid McPhee. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Nap Lajoie Bid McPhee
Games 2,480 2,138
At-Bats 9,590 8,304
Runs 1,504 1,684
Hits 3,243 2,258
Doubles 657 303
Triples 163 189
Home Runs 82 53
RBI 1,599 1,072
Walks 516 982
Strikeouts 347 377
Stolen Bases 380 568
Batting Avg .338 .272
On-Base % .380 .355
Slugging % .466 .373
OPS .846 .728

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Nap Lajoie outpaces Bid McPhee 47,526 to 12,342 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,160 vs 686 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Nap Lajoie
47,526
Career PIV · 2,160 per season (22 seasons)
Bid McPhee
12,342
Career PIV · 686 per season (18 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Nap Lajoie — top 3 seasons by OPS

19011.106 OPS14 HR, 125 RBI, .426 avg
1902.990 OPS7 HR, 64 RBI, .379 avg
1899.974 OPS6 HR, 70 RBI, .378 avg

Bid McPhee — top 3 seasons by OPS

1894.855 OPS5 HR, 93 RBI, .313 avg
1895.826 OPS1 HR, 75 RBI, .299 avg
1893.779 OPS3 HR, 68 RBI, .281 avg

Verdict

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

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