Harold Baines vs Willie Stargell: Career Stats Comparison

Harold Baines (1980–2001) and Willie Stargell (1962–1982) — they broke in during the 1980s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Harold Baines finished with 2,866 hits and 384 home runs; Willie Stargell finished with 2,232 hits and 475 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Harold Baines

Hitter · 1980–2001
Games
2,830
Hits
2,866
Home Runs
384
RBI
1,628
Avg
.289
OPS
.820
View Harold Baines's full profile →

Willie Stargell

Hitter · 1962–1982
Games
2,360
Hits
2,232
Home Runs
475
RBI
1,540
Avg
.282
OPS
.889
View Willie Stargell's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Harold Baines and Willie Stargell. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Harold Baines Willie Stargell
Games 2,830 2,360
At-Bats 9,908 7,927
Runs 1,299 1,194
Hits 2,866 2,232
Doubles 488 423
Triples 49 55
Home Runs 384 475
RBI 1,628 1,540
Walks 1,062 937
Strikeouts 1,441 1,936
Stolen Bases 34 17
Batting Avg .289 .282
On-Base % .356 .360
Slugging % .465 .529
OPS .820 .889

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Willie Stargell outpaces Harold Baines 42,804 to 25,497 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,038 vs 944 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Harold Baines
25,497
Career PIV · 944 per season (27 seasons)
Willie Stargell
42,804
Career PIV · 2,038 per season (21 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

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

1999.977 OPS24 HR, 81 RBI, .322 avg
1995.943 OPS24 HR, 63 RBI, .299 avg
1989.928 OPS13 HR, 56 RBI, .321 avg

Willie Stargell — top 3 seasons by OPS

19731.038 OPS44 HR, 119 RBI, .299 avg
19711.026 OPS48 HR, 125 RBI, .295 avg
1966.962 OPS33 HR, 102 RBI, .315 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Harold Baines leads in hits, RBI, runs, and stolen bases, while Willie Stargell owns home runs, OBP, 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 Willie Stargell ahead, which means Harold Baines's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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