Roberto Clemente vs Carl Yastrzemski: Career Stats Comparison
Roberto Clemente (1955–1972) and Carl Yastrzemski (1961–1983) — 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; Carl Yastrzemski finished with 3,419 hits and 452 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Roberto Clemente
Carl Yastrzemski
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Roberto Clemente and Carl Yastrzemski. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Roberto Clemente | Carl Yastrzemski |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,433 | 3,308 |
| At-Bats | 9,454 | 11,988 |
| Runs | 1,416 | 1,816 |
| Hits | 3,000 | 3,419 |
| Doubles | 440 | 646 |
| Triples | 166 | 59 |
| Home Runs | 240 | 452 |
| RBI | 1,305 | 1,844 |
| Walks | 621 | 1,845 |
| Strikeouts | 1,230 | 1,393 |
| Stolen Bases | 83 | 168 |
| Batting Avg | .317 | .285 |
| On-Base % | .359 | .379 |
| Slugging % | .475 | .462 |
| OPS | .834 | .841 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Carl Yastrzemski outpaces Roberto Clemente 54,310 to 34,131 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,361 vs 1,896 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
Carl Yastrzemski — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Carl Yastrzemski leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Roberto Clemente owns batting average. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Carl Yastrzemski. PIV agrees: Carl Yastrzemski grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.