Harold Baines vs Ellis Burks: Career Stats Comparison
Harold Baines (1980–2001) and Ellis Burks (1987–2004) — both broke in during the 1980s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Harold Baines finished with 2,866 hits and 384 home runs; Ellis Burks finished with 2,107 hits and 352 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Harold Baines
Ellis Burks
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Harold Baines and Ellis Burks. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Harold Baines | Ellis Burks |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,830 | 2,000 |
| At-Bats | 9,908 | 7,232 |
| Runs | 1,299 | 1,253 |
| Hits | 2,866 | 2,107 |
| Doubles | 488 | 402 |
| Triples | 49 | 63 |
| Home Runs | 384 | 352 |
| RBI | 1,628 | 1,206 |
| Walks | 1,062 | 793 |
| Strikeouts | 1,441 | 1,340 |
| Stolen Bases | 34 | 181 |
| Batting Avg | .289 | .291 |
| On-Base % | .356 | .363 |
| Slugging % | .465 | .510 |
| OPS | .820 | .874 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ellis Burks edges Harold Baines 25,806 to 25,497 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,358 vs 944 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).
Harold Baines — top 3 seasons by OPS
Ellis Burks — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Ellis Burks leads in stolen bases, batting average, OBP, and OPS, while Harold Baines owns hits, home runs, and RBI. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ellis Burks. PIV agrees: Ellis Burks grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.