Don Drysdale vs Frank Howard: Career Stats Comparison
Don Drysdale (1956–1969) and Frank Howard (1958–1973) — both broke in during the 1950s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Don Drysdale finished with 218 hits and 29 home runs; Frank Howard finished with 1,774 hits and 382 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Frank Howard
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Don Drysdale and Frank Howard. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Don Drysdale | Frank Howard |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 547 | 1,895 |
| At-Bats | 1,169 | 6,488 |
| Runs | 96 | 864 |
| Hits | 218 | 1,774 |
| Doubles | 26 | 245 |
| Triples | 7 | 35 |
| Home Runs | 29 | 382 |
| RBI | 113 | 1,119 |
| Walks | 60 | 782 |
| Strikeouts | 370 | 1,460 |
| Stolen Bases | 0 | 8 |
| Batting Avg | .186 | .273 |
| On-Base % | .228 | .352 |
| Slugging % | .295 | .499 |
| OPS | .523 | .851 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Frank Howard outpaces Don Drysdale 30,024 to -4,371 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,766 vs -312 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).
Don Drysdale — top 0 seasons by OPS
Frank Howard — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Frank Howard leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Don Drysdale owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Frank Howard. PIV agrees: Frank Howard grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.