Ron Cey vs Don Sutton: Career Stats Comparison
Ron Cey (1971–1987) and Don Sutton (1966–1988) — they broke in during the 1970s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Ron Cey finished with 1,868 hits and 316 home runs; Don Sutton finished with 195 hits and 0 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Ron Cey and Don Sutton. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Ron Cey | Don Sutton |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,073 | 785 |
| At-Bats | 7,162 | 1,354 |
| Runs | 977 | 64 |
| Hits | 1,868 | 195 |
| Doubles | 328 | 15 |
| Triples | 21 | 1 |
| Home Runs | 316 | 0 |
| RBI | 1,139 | 64 |
| Walks | 1,012 | 60 |
| Strikeouts | 1,235 | 365 |
| Stolen Bases | 24 | 1 |
| Batting Avg | .261 | .144 |
| On-Base % | .354 | .183 |
| Slugging % | .445 | .157 |
| OPS | .799 | .340 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ron Cey outpaces Don Sutton 19,506 to -10,318 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,147 vs -413 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).
Ron Cey — top 3 seasons by OPS
Don Sutton — top 0 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Ron Cey leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Don Sutton owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ron Cey. PIV agrees: Ron Cey grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.