Babe Ruth vs Al Simmons: Career Stats Comparison

Babe Ruth (1914–1935) and Al Simmons (1924–1944) — they broke in during the 1910s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Babe Ruth finished with 2,873 hits and 714 home runs; Al Simmons finished with 2,927 hits and 307 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Babe Ruth

Hitter · 1914–1935
Games
2,503
Hits
2,873
Home Runs
714
RBI
2,217
Avg
.342
OPS
1.164
View Babe Ruth's full profile →

Al Simmons

Hitter · 1924–1944
Games
2,215
Hits
2,927
Home Runs
307
RBI
1,827
Avg
.334
OPS
.915
View Al Simmons's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Babe Ruth and Al Simmons. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Babe Ruth Al Simmons
Games 2,503 2,215
At-Bats 8,398 8,759
Runs 2,174 1,507
Hits 2,873 2,927
Doubles 506 539
Triples 136 149
Home Runs 714 307
RBI 2,217 1,827
Walks 2,062 615
Strikeouts 1,330 737
Stolen Bases 123 88
Batting Avg .342 .334
On-Base % .474 .380
Slugging % .690 .535
OPS 1.164 .915

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Babe Ruth outpaces Al Simmons 111,979 to 40,529 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,090 vs 1,930 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Babe Ruth
111,979
Career PIV · 5,090 per season (22 seasons)
Al Simmons
40,529
Career PIV · 1,930 per season (21 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Babe Ruth — top 3 seasons by OPS

19201.382 OPS54 HR, 137 RBI, .376 avg
19211.359 OPS59 HR, 171 RBI, .378 avg
19231.309 OPS41 HR, 131 RBI, .393 avg

Al Simmons — top 3 seasons by OPS

19301.130 OPS36 HR, 165 RBI, .381 avg
19311.085 OPS22 HR, 128 RBI, .390 avg
19271.081 OPS15 HR, 108 RBI, .392 avg

Verdict

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

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