Miguel Cabrera vs Carlos Santana: Career Stats Comparison

Miguel Cabrera (2003–present) and Carlos Santana (2010–present) — they broke in during the 2000s and the 2010s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Miguel Cabrera finished with 3,174 hits and 511 home runs; Carlos Santana finished with 1,880 hits and 335 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Miguel Cabrera

Hitter · 2003–present
Games
2,797
Hits
3,174
Home Runs
511
RBI
1,881
Avg
.306
OPS
.901
View Miguel Cabrera's full profile →

Carlos Santana

Hitter · 2010–present
Games
2,204
Hits
1,880
Home Runs
335
RBI
1,136
Avg
.241
OPS
.777
View Carlos Santana's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Santana. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Miguel Cabrera Carlos Santana
Games 2,797 2,204
At-Bats 10,356 7,815
Runs 1,551 1,107
Hits 3,174 1,880
Doubles 627 404
Triples 17 17
Home Runs 511 335
RBI 1,881 1,136
Walks 1,258 1,330
Strikeouts 2,105 1,540
Stolen Bases 40 65
Batting Avg .306 .241
On-Base % .382 .352
Slugging % .518 .425
OPS .901 .777

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Miguel Cabrera outpaces Carlos Santana 49,680 to 15,027 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,366 vs 791 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Miguel Cabrera
49,680
Career PIV · 2,366 per season (21 seasons)
Carlos Santana
15,027
Career PIV · 791 per season (19 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Miguel Cabrera — top 3 seasons by OPS

20131.078 OPS44 HR, 137 RBI, .348 avg
20101.042 OPS38 HR, 126 RBI, .328 avg
20111.033 OPS30 HR, 105 RBI, .344 avg

Carlos Santana — top 3 seasons by OPS

2019.911 OPS34 HR, 93 RBI, .281 avg
2016.865 OPS34 HR, 87 RBI, .259 avg
2013.832 OPS20 HR, 74 RBI, .268 avg

Verdict

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

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