Harold Baines vs Jim Rice: Career Stats Comparison
Harold Baines (1980–2001) and Jim Rice (1974–1989) — they broke in during the 1980s and the 1970s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Harold Baines finished with 2,866 hits and 384 home runs; Jim Rice finished with 2,452 hits and 382 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Harold Baines
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Harold Baines and Jim Rice. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Harold Baines | Jim Rice |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,830 | 2,089 |
| At-Bats | 9,908 | 8,225 |
| Runs | 1,299 | 1,249 |
| Hits | 2,866 | 2,452 |
| Doubles | 488 | 373 |
| Triples | 49 | 79 |
| Home Runs | 384 | 382 |
| RBI | 1,628 | 1,451 |
| Walks | 1,062 | 670 |
| Strikeouts | 1,441 | 1,423 |
| Stolen Bases | 34 | 58 |
| Batting Avg | .289 | .298 |
| On-Base % | .356 | .352 |
| Slugging % | .465 | .502 |
| OPS | .820 | .854 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Jim Rice leads Harold Baines 31,418 to 25,497 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,964 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
Jim Rice — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Harold Baines leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Jim Rice owns stolen bases, batting average, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Harold Baines. Note that PIV actually grades Jim Rice ahead, which means Harold Baines's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.