Roberto Clemente vs Stan Musial: Career Stats Comparison

Roberto Clemente (1955–1972) and Stan Musial (1941–1963) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1940s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Roberto Clemente finished with 3,000 hits and 240 home runs; Stan Musial finished with 3,630 hits and 475 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Roberto Clemente

Hitter · 1955–1972
Games
2,433
Hits
3,000
Home Runs
240
RBI
1,305
Avg
.317
OPS
.834
View Roberto Clemente's full profile →

Stan Musial

Hitter · 1941–1963
Games
3,026
Hits
3,630
Home Runs
475
RBI
1,951
Avg
.331
OPS
.976
View Stan Musial's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Roberto Clemente and Stan Musial. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Roberto Clemente Stan Musial
Games 2,433 3,026
At-Bats 9,454 10,972
Runs 1,416 1,949
Hits 3,000 3,630
Doubles 440 725
Triples 166 177
Home Runs 240 475
RBI 1,305 1,951
Walks 621 1,599
Strikeouts 1,230 696
Stolen Bases 83 78
Batting Avg .317 .331
On-Base % .359 .417
Slugging % .475 .559
OPS .834 .976

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Stan Musial outpaces Roberto Clemente 83,624 to 34,131 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,801 vs 1,896 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Roberto Clemente
34,131
Career PIV · 1,896 per season (18 seasons)
Stan Musial
83,624
Career PIV · 3,801 per season (22 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Roberto Clemente — top 3 seasons by OPS

1970.963 OPS14 HR, 60 RBI, .352 avg
1969.955 OPS19 HR, 91 RBI, .345 avg
1967.954 OPS23 HR, 110 RBI, .357 avg

Stan Musial — top 3 seasons by OPS

19481.152 OPS39 HR, 131 RBI, .376 avg
19511.063 OPS32 HR, 108 RBI, .355 avg
19491.062 OPS36 HR, 123 RBI, .338 avg

Verdict

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

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