Roberto Clemente vs Rusty Staub: Career Stats Comparison
Roberto Clemente (1955–1972) and Rusty Staub (1963–1985) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Roberto Clemente finished with 3,000 hits and 240 home runs; Rusty Staub finished with 2,716 hits and 292 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Roberto Clemente
Rusty Staub
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Roberto Clemente and Rusty Staub. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Roberto Clemente | Rusty Staub |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,433 | 2,951 |
| At-Bats | 9,454 | 9,720 |
| Runs | 1,416 | 1,189 |
| Hits | 3,000 | 2,716 |
| Doubles | 440 | 499 |
| Triples | 166 | 47 |
| Home Runs | 240 | 292 |
| RBI | 1,305 | 1,466 |
| Walks | 621 | 1,255 |
| Strikeouts | 1,230 | 888 |
| Stolen Bases | 83 | 47 |
| Batting Avg | .317 | .279 |
| On-Base % | .359 | .362 |
| Slugging % | .475 | .431 |
| OPS | .834 | .793 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Roberto Clemente leads Rusty Staub 34,131 to 30,346 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,896 vs 1,264 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).
Roberto Clemente — top 3 seasons by OPS
Rusty Staub — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Roberto Clemente leads in hits, runs, stolen bases, and batting average, while Rusty Staub owns home runs, RBI, 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.