Mel Ott vs Cy Williams: Career Stats Comparison
Mel Ott (1926–1947) and Cy Williams (1912–1930) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Mel Ott finished with 2,876 hits and 511 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.
Cy Williams
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Mel Ott 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 | Mel Ott | Cy Williams |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,730 | 2,002 |
| At-Bats | 9,456 | 6,780 |
| Runs | 1,859 | 1,024 |
| Hits | 2,876 | 1,981 |
| Doubles | 488 | 306 |
| Triples | 72 | 74 |
| Home Runs | 511 | 251 |
| RBI | 1,860 | 1,005 |
| Walks | 1,708 | 690 |
| Strikeouts | 896 | 721 |
| Stolen Bases | 89 | 115 |
| Batting Avg | .304 | .292 |
| On-Base % | .414 | .365 |
| Slugging % | .533 | .470 |
| OPS | .947 | .835 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Mel Ott outpaces Cy Williams 64,873 to 24,595 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,949 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).
Mel Ott — top 3 seasons by OPS
Cy Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Mel Ott leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Cy Williams owns stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Mel Ott. PIV agrees: Mel Ott grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.