Babe Ruth vs Turkey Stearnes: Career Stats Comparison
Babe Ruth (1914–1935) and Turkey Stearnes (?–1940) — their careers are worth a careful side-by-side. Babe Ruth finished with 2,873 hits and 714 home runs; Turkey Stearnes finished with 1,372 hits and 195 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Babe Ruth
Turkey Stearnes
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Babe Ruth and Turkey Stearnes. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Babe Ruth | Turkey Stearnes |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,503 | 1,034 |
| At-Bats | 8,398 | 3,959 |
| Runs | 2,174 | 961 |
| Hits | 2,873 | 1,372 |
| Doubles | 506 | 243 |
| Triples | 136 | 122 |
| Home Runs | 714 | 195 |
| RBI | 2,217 | 1,038 |
| Walks | 2,062 | 429 |
| Strikeouts | 1,330 | 11 |
| Stolen Bases | 123 | 141 |
| Batting Avg | .342 | .347 |
| On-Base % | .474 | .416 |
| Slugging % | .690 | .617 |
| OPS | 1.164 | 1.033 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Babe Ruth outpaces Turkey Stearnes 111,979 to 28,010 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,090 vs 1,273 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).
Babe Ruth — top 3 seasons by OPS
Turkey Stearnes — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Babe Ruth leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Turkey Stearnes owns stolen bases and batting average. 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.