Smoky Burgess vs Roberto Clemente: Career Stats Comparison
Smoky Burgess (1949–1967) and Roberto Clemente (1955–1972) — they broke in during the 1940s and the 1950s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Smoky Burgess finished with 1,318 hits and 126 home runs; Roberto Clemente finished with 3,000 hits and 240 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Smoky Burgess
Roberto Clemente
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Smoky Burgess and Roberto Clemente. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Smoky Burgess | Roberto Clemente |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,691 | 2,433 |
| At-Bats | 4,471 | 9,454 |
| Runs | 485 | 1,416 |
| Hits | 1,318 | 3,000 |
| Doubles | 230 | 440 |
| Triples | 33 | 166 |
| Home Runs | 126 | 240 |
| RBI | 673 | 1,305 |
| Walks | 477 | 621 |
| Strikeouts | 270 | 1,230 |
| Stolen Bases | 13 | 83 |
| Batting Avg | .295 | .317 |
| On-Base % | .362 | .359 |
| Slugging % | .446 | .475 |
| OPS | .807 | .834 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Roberto Clemente outpaces Smoky Burgess 34,131 to 11,198 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,896 vs 560 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).
Smoky Burgess — top 3 seasons by OPS
Roberto Clemente — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Roberto Clemente leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Smoky Burgess owns OBP. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Roberto Clemente. PIV agrees: Roberto Clemente grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.