Roberto Clemente vs Ken Singleton: Career Stats Comparison

Roberto Clemente (1955–1972) and Ken Singleton (1970–1984) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1970s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Roberto Clemente finished with 3,000 hits and 240 home runs; Ken Singleton finished with 2,029 hits and 246 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 →

Ken Singleton

Hitter · 1970–1984
Games
2,082
Hits
2,029
Home Runs
246
RBI
1,065
Avg
.282
OPS
.824
View Ken Singleton's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

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

Statistic Roberto Clemente Ken Singleton
Games 2,433 2,082
At-Bats 9,454 7,189
Runs 1,416 985
Hits 3,000 2,029
Doubles 440 317
Triples 166 25
Home Runs 240 246
RBI 1,305 1,065
Walks 621 1,263
Strikeouts 1,230 1,246
Stolen Bases 83 21
Batting Avg .317 .282
On-Base % .359 .388
Slugging % .475 .436
OPS .834 .824

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Roberto Clemente leads Ken Singleton 34,131 to 29,530 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,896 vs 1,969 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)
Ken Singleton
29,530
Career PIV · 1,969 per season (15 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

Ken Singleton — top 3 seasons by OPS

1977.945 OPS24 HR, 99 RBI, .328 avg
1979.938 OPS35 HR, 111 RBI, .295 avg
1973.904 OPS23 HR, 103 RBI, .302 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Roberto Clemente leads in hits, RBI, runs, and stolen bases, while Ken Singleton owns home runs and 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.

Related Matchups