John McGraw vs Ron Santo: Career Stats Comparison

John McGraw (1891–1907) and Ron Santo (1960–1974) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. John McGraw finished with 1,309 hits and 13 home runs; Ron Santo finished with 2,254 hits and 342 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

John McGraw

Hitter · 1891–1907
Games
1,100
Hits
1,309
Home Runs
13
RBI
462
Avg
.334
OPS
.876
View John McGraw's full profile →

Ron Santo

Hitter · 1960–1974
Games
2,243
Hits
2,254
Home Runs
342
RBI
1,331
Avg
.277
OPS
.826
View Ron Santo's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for John McGraw and Ron Santo. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic John McGraw Ron Santo
Games 1,100 2,243
At-Bats 3,924 8,143
Runs 1,024 1,138
Hits 1,309 2,254
Doubles 121 365
Triples 70 67
Home Runs 13 342
RBI 462 1,331
Walks 836 1,108
Strikeouts 155 1,343
Stolen Bases 436 35
Batting Avg .334 .277
On-Base % .466 .362
Slugging % .410 .464
OPS .876 .826

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ron Santo outpaces John McGraw 33,743 to 22,730 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,250 vs 1,263 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

John McGraw
22,730
Career PIV · 1,263 per season (18 seasons)
Ron Santo
33,743
Career PIV · 2,250 per season (15 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

John McGraw — top 3 seasons by OPS

1899.994 OPS1 HR, 33 RBI, .391 avg
1900.921 OPS2 HR, 33 RBI, .344 avg
1895.908 OPS2 HR, 48 RBI, .369 avg

Ron Santo — top 3 seasons by OPS

1964.962 OPS30 HR, 114 RBI, .312 avg
1966.950 OPS30 HR, 94 RBI, .312 avg
1967.906 OPS31 HR, 98 RBI, .300 avg

Verdict

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

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