Bert Blyleven vs Dwight Gooden: Career Stats Comparison

Bert Blyleven (1970–1992) and Dwight Gooden (1984–2000) — breaking in during the 1970s and the 1980s respectively, so they pitched against very different hitting environments. Bert Blyleven compiled 287 wins and 3,701 strikeouts; Dwight Gooden put up 194 wins and 2,293 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Bert Blyleven

Pitcher · 1970–1992
Wins
287
Losses
250
Strikeouts
3,701
ERA
3.31
WHIP
1.20
IP
4,970
View Bert Blyleven's full profile →

Dwight Gooden

Pitcher · 1984–2000
Wins
194
Losses
112
Strikeouts
2,293
ERA
3.51
WHIP
1.26
IP
2,800
View Dwight Gooden's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic Bert Blyleven Dwight Gooden
Wins 287 194
Losses 250 112
Games 692 430
Games Started 685 410
Complete Games 242 68
Shutouts 60 24
Saves 0 3
Strikeouts 3,701 2,293
Walks 1,322 954
Hits Allowed 4,632 2,564
Home Runs Allowed 430 210
Innings Pitched 4,970 2,800
ERA 3.31 3.51
WHIP 1.20 1.26
K/9 6.70 7.37
BB/9 2.39 3.07

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bert Blyleven outpaces Dwight Gooden 74,910 to 55,535 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,121 vs 3,085 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Bert Blyleven
74,910
Career Pitcher PIV · 3,121 per season (24 seasons)
Dwight Gooden
55,535
Career Pitcher PIV · 3,085 per season (18 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Bert Blyleven — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19732.52 ERA20-17, 258 K in 325 IP
19742.66 ERA17-17, 249 K in 281 IP
19772.72 ERA14-12, 182 K in 234 IP

Dwight Gooden — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19851.53 ERA24-4, 268 K in 276 IP
19842.60 ERA17-9, 276 K in 218 IP
19862.84 ERA17-6, 200 K in 250 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Bert Blyleven leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Dwight Gooden owns K/9. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Bert Blyleven. PIV agrees: Bert Blyleven grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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