Lance Berkman vs Ellis Burks: Career Stats Comparison
Lance Berkman (1999–2013) and Ellis Burks (1987–2004) — they broke in during the 1990s and the 1980s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Lance Berkman finished with 1,905 hits and 366 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.
Lance Berkman
Ellis Burks
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Lance Berkman 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 | Lance Berkman | Ellis Burks |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,879 | 2,000 |
| At-Bats | 6,491 | 7,232 |
| Runs | 1,146 | 1,253 |
| Hits | 1,905 | 2,107 |
| Doubles | 422 | 402 |
| Triples | 30 | 63 |
| Home Runs | 366 | 352 |
| RBI | 1,234 | 1,206 |
| Walks | 1,201 | 793 |
| Strikeouts | 1,300 | 1,340 |
| Stolen Bases | 86 | 181 |
| Batting Avg | .293 | .291 |
| On-Base % | .406 | .363 |
| Slugging % | .537 | .510 |
| OPS | .943 | .874 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Lance Berkman outpaces Ellis Burks 38,575 to 25,806 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,411 vs 1,358 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).
Lance Berkman — top 3 seasons by OPS
Ellis Burks — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Lance Berkman leads in home runs, RBI, batting average, and OBP, while Ellis Burks owns hits, runs, and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Lance Berkman. PIV agrees: Lance Berkman grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.