Joe DiMaggio vs Paul Waner: Career Stats Comparison
Joe DiMaggio (1936–1951) and Paul Waner (1926–1945) — they broke in during the 1930s and the 1920s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Joe DiMaggio finished with 2,214 hits and 361 home runs; Paul Waner finished with 3,152 hits and 113 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Joe DiMaggio
Paul Waner
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Joe DiMaggio and Paul Waner. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Joe DiMaggio | Paul Waner |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,736 | 2,549 |
| At-Bats | 6,821 | 9,459 |
| Runs | 1,390 | 1,627 |
| Hits | 2,214 | 3,152 |
| Doubles | 389 | 605 |
| Triples | 131 | 191 |
| Home Runs | 361 | 113 |
| RBI | 1,537 | 1,309 |
| Walks | 790 | 1,091 |
| Strikeouts | 369 | 376 |
| Stolen Bases | 30 | 104 |
| Batting Avg | .325 | .333 |
| On-Base % | .398 | .404 |
| Slugging % | .579 | .473 |
| OPS | .977 | .878 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Joe DiMaggio leads Paul Waner 47,427 to 40,296 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,648 vs 1,832 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).
Joe DiMaggio — top 3 seasons by OPS
Paul Waner — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Paul Waner leads in hits, runs, stolen bases, and batting average, while Joe DiMaggio owns home runs, RBI, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Paul Waner. Note that PIV actually grades Joe DiMaggio ahead, which means Paul Waner's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.