Richie Ashburn vs Ted Williams: Career Stats Comparison

Richie Ashburn (1948–1962) and Ted Williams (1939–1960) — they broke in during the 1940s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Richie Ashburn finished with 2,574 hits and 29 home runs; Ted Williams finished with 2,654 hits and 521 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Richie Ashburn

Hitter · 1948–1962
Games
2,189
Hits
2,574
Home Runs
29
RBI
586
Avg
.308
OPS
.778
View Richie Ashburn's full profile →

Ted Williams

Hitter · 1939–1960
Games
2,292
Hits
2,654
Home Runs
521
RBI
1,839
Avg
.344
OPS
1.116
View Ted Williams's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Richie Ashburn and Ted Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Richie Ashburn Ted Williams
Games 2,189 2,292
At-Bats 8,365 7,706
Runs 1,322 1,798
Hits 2,574 2,654
Doubles 317 525
Triples 109 71
Home Runs 29 521
RBI 586 1,839
Walks 1,198 2,021
Strikeouts 571 709
Stolen Bases 234 24
Batting Avg .308 .344
On-Base % .396 .482
Slugging % .382 .634
OPS .778 1.116

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ted Williams outpaces Richie Ashburn 96,302 to 18,707 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,069 vs 1,247 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Richie Ashburn
18,707
Career PIV · 1,247 per season (15 seasons)
Ted Williams
96,302
Career PIV · 5,069 per season (19 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Richie Ashburn — top 3 seasons by OPS

1955.897 OPS3 HR, 42 RBI, .338 avg
1958.881 OPS2 HR, 33 RBI, .350 avg
1951.819 OPS4 HR, 63 RBI, .344 avg

Ted Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS

19411.287 OPS37 HR, 120 RBI, .406 avg
19571.257 OPS38 HR, 87 RBI, .388 avg
19551.200 OPS28 HR, 83 RBI, .356 avg

Verdict

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

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