Ken Forsch vs Bob Watson: Career Stats Comparison

Ken Forsch (1970–1986) and Bob Watson (1966–1984) — they broke in during the 1970s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Ken Forsch finished with 52 hits and 0 home runs; Bob Watson finished with 1,826 hits and 184 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Ken Forsch

Two-Way Player · 1970–1986
Games
521
Hits
52
Home Runs
0
RBI
17
Avg
.136
OPS
.322
View Ken Forsch's full profile →

Bob Watson

Hitter · 1966–1984
Games
1,832
Hits
1,826
Home Runs
184
RBI
989
Avg
.295
OPS
.811
View Bob Watson's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Ken Forsch and Bob Watson. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Ken Forsch Bob Watson
Games 521 1,832
At-Bats 383 6,185
Runs 16 802
Hits 52 1,826
Doubles 6 307
Triples 0 41
Home Runs 0 184
RBI 17 989
Walks 16 653
Strikeouts 163 796
Stolen Bases 1 27
Batting Avg .136 .295
On-Base % .170 .364
Slugging % .151 .447
OPS .322 .811

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bob Watson outpaces Ken Forsch 19,589 to -2,047 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (933 vs -128 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Ken Forsch
-2,047
Career PIV · -128 per season (16 seasons)
Bob Watson
19,589
Career PIV · 933 per season (21 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Ken Forsch — top 0 seasons by OPS

Bob Watson — top 3 seasons by OPS

1979.949 OPS13 HR, 53 RBI, .337 avg
1975.870 OPS18 HR, 85 RBI, .324 avg
1977.858 OPS22 HR, 110 RBI, .289 avg

Verdict

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

Related Matchups