Bobby Bonds vs Jim Rice: Career Stats Comparison

Bobby Bonds (1968–1981) and Jim Rice (1974–1989) — they broke in during the 1960s and the 1970s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Bobby Bonds finished with 1,886 hits and 332 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.

Bobby Bonds

Hitter · 1968–1981
Games
1,849
Hits
1,886
Home Runs
332
RBI
1,024
Avg
.268
OPS
.824
View Bobby Bonds's full profile →

Jim Rice

Hitter · 1974–1989
Games
2,089
Hits
2,452
Home Runs
382
RBI
1,451
Avg
.298
OPS
.854
View Jim Rice's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Bobby Bonds 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 Bobby Bonds Jim Rice
Games 1,849 2,089
At-Bats 7,043 8,225
Runs 1,258 1,249
Hits 1,886 2,452
Doubles 302 373
Triples 66 79
Home Runs 332 382
RBI 1,024 1,451
Walks 914 670
Strikeouts 1,757 1,423
Stolen Bases 461 58
Batting Avg .268 .298
On-Base % .353 .352
Slugging % .471 .502
OPS .824 .854

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Jim Rice leads Bobby Bonds 31,418 to 25,739 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,964 vs 1,716 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Bobby Bonds
25,739
Career PIV · 1,716 per season (15 seasons)
Jim Rice
31,418
Career PIV · 1,964 per season (16 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Bobby Bonds — top 3 seasons by OPS

1973.900 OPS39 HR, 96 RBI, .283 avg
1975.888 OPS32 HR, 85 RBI, .270 avg
1970.879 OPS26 HR, 78 RBI, .302 avg

Jim Rice — top 3 seasons by OPS

1979.977 OPS39 HR, 130 RBI, .325 avg
1978.970 OPS46 HR, 139 RBI, .315 avg
1977.969 OPS39 HR, 114 RBI, .320 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Jim Rice leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and batting average, while Bobby Bonds owns runs, stolen bases, and OBP. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Jim Rice. PIV agrees: Jim Rice grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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