Dwight Gooden vs Keith Hernandez: Career Stats Comparison

Dwight Gooden (1984–2000) and Keith Hernandez (1974–1990) — they broke in during the 1980s and the 1970s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Dwight Gooden finished with 145 hits and 8 home runs; Keith Hernandez finished with 2,182 hits and 162 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Dwight Gooden

Two-Way Player · 1984–2000
Games
434
Hits
145
Home Runs
8
RBI
67
Avg
.196
OPS
.474
View Dwight Gooden's full profile →

Keith Hernandez

Hitter · 1974–1990
Games
2,088
Hits
2,182
Home Runs
162
RBI
1,071
Avg
.296
OPS
.821
View Keith Hernandez's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Dwight Gooden and Keith Hernandez. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Dwight Gooden Keith Hernandez
Games 434 2,088
At-Bats 741 7,370
Runs 60 1,124
Hits 145 2,182
Doubles 15 426
Triples 5 60
Home Runs 8 162
RBI 67 1,071
Walks 14 1,070
Strikeouts 135 1,012
Stolen Bases 1 98
Batting Avg .196 .296
On-Base % .212 .384
Slugging % .262 .436
OPS .474 .821

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Keith Hernandez outpaces Dwight Gooden 25,249 to -3,694 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,403 vs -205 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Dwight Gooden
-3,694
Career PIV · -205 per season (18 seasons)
Keith Hernandez
25,249
Career PIV · 1,403 per season (18 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Dwight Gooden — top 0 seasons by OPS

Keith Hernandez — top 3 seasons by OPS

1979.930 OPS11 HR, 105 RBI, .344 avg
1980.902 OPS16 HR, 99 RBI, .321 avg
1981.864 OPS8 HR, 48 RBI, .306 avg

Verdict

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

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