Hank Aaron vs Stan Musial: Career Stats Comparison
Hank Aaron (1954–1976) and Stan Musial (1941–1963) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1940s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Hank Aaron finished with 3,771 hits and 755 home runs; Stan Musial finished with 3,630 hits and 475 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Hank Aaron
Stan Musial
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Hank Aaron | Stan Musial |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 3,298 | 3,026 |
| At-Bats | 12,364 | 10,972 |
| Runs | 2,174 | 1,949 |
| Hits | 3,771 | 3,630 |
| Doubles | 624 | 725 |
| Triples | 98 | 177 |
| Home Runs | 755 | 475 |
| RBI | 2,297 | 1,951 |
| Walks | 1,402 | 1,599 |
| Strikeouts | 1,383 | 696 |
| Stolen Bases | 240 | 78 |
| Batting Avg | .305 | .331 |
| On-Base % | .374 | .417 |
| Slugging % | .555 | .559 |
| OPS | .928 | .976 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Stan Musial edges Hank Aaron 83,624 to 78,640 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,801 vs 3,419 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).
Hank Aaron — top 3 seasons by OPS
Stan Musial — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Hank Aaron leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Stan Musial owns batting average, OBP, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Hank Aaron. Note that PIV actually grades Stan Musial ahead, which means Hank Aaron's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.