Dennis Eckersley vs Jim Rice: Career Stats Comparison

Dennis Eckersley (1975–1998) and Jim Rice (1974–1989) — both broke in during the 1970s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Dennis Eckersley finished with 24 hits and 3 home runs; Jim Rice finished with 2,452 hits and 382 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Dennis Eckersley

Two-Way Player · 1975–1998
Games
1,073
Hits
24
Home Runs
3
RBI
12
Avg
.133
OPS
.372
View Dennis Eckersley's full profile →

Jim Rice

Hitter · 1974–1989
Games
2,089
Hits
2,452
Home Runs
382
RBI
1,451
Avg
.298
OPS
.854
View Jim Rice's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Dennis Eckersley and Jim Rice. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Dennis Eckersley Jim Rice
Games 1,073 2,089
At-Bats 181 8,225
Runs 9 1,249
Hits 24 2,452
Doubles 3 373
Triples 0 79
Home Runs 3 382
RBI 12 1,451
Walks 9 670
Strikeouts 84 1,423
Stolen Bases 0 58
Batting Avg .133 .298
On-Base % .173 .352
Slugging % .199 .502
OPS .372 .854

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Jim Rice outpaces Dennis Eckersley 31,418 to -1,377 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,964 vs -55 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Dennis Eckersley
-1,377
Career PIV · -55 per season (25 seasons)
Jim Rice
31,418
Career PIV · 1,964 per season (16 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Dennis Eckersley — top 0 seasons by OPS

Jim Rice — top 3 seasons by OPS

1979.977 OPS39 HR, 130 RBI, .325 avg
1978.970 OPS46 HR, 139 RBI, .315 avg
1977.969 OPS39 HR, 114 RBI, .320 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Jim Rice leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Dennis Eckersley owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Jim Rice. PIV agrees: Jim Rice grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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