Dwight Gooden vs Curt Schilling: Career Stats Comparison

Curt Schilling has the better career line of the two, leading 11 of the 12 statistical categories compared on this page. Dwight Gooden played 1984–2000 as a pitcher; Curt Schilling played 1988–2007 as a pitcher.

ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

Dwight Gooden (1984–2000) and Curt Schilling (1988–2007) — both came up during the 1980s, so the matchup is a direct one. Dwight Gooden compiled 194 wins and 2,293 strikeouts; Curt Schilling put up 216 wins and 3,116 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Quick answer

  • Who had the better ERA? Curt Schilling, with 3.46 to Dwight Gooden's 3.51.
  • Who won more games? Curt Schilling, with 216 to Dwight Gooden's 194.
  • Who recorded more strikeouts? Curt Schilling, with 3,116 to Dwight Gooden's 2,293.
  • Who had the better WHIP? Curt Schilling, with 1.14 to Dwight Gooden's 1.26.
  • Who pitched more innings? Curt Schilling, with 3,261 to Dwight Gooden's 2,800.
  • Who threw more shutouts? Dwight Gooden, with 24 to Curt Schilling's 20.
  • Who has the higher career Pitcher PIV? Curt Schilling, with 98,246 career Pitcher PIV to Dwight Gooden's 55,535.
Leads Curt Schilling 11 of 12 awarded categories
Pitcher PIV edge Curt Schilling +42,711
Read the verdict ↓

Dwight Gooden

Pitcher · 1984–2000
Wins
194
Losses
112
Strikeouts
2,293
ERA
3.51
WHIP
1.26
IP
2,800
View Dwight Gooden's full profile →

Curt Schilling

Pitcher · 1988–2007
Wins
216
Losses
146
Strikeouts
3,116
ERA
3.46
WHIP
1.14
IP
3,261
View Curt Schilling's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. Lower ERA, WHIP and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads. Totals where fewer is not an achievement -- losses, walks and hits allowed -- are left unmarked, because they track how long someone pitched rather than how well. Rate stats are not era-adjusted: compare them with the era in mind, or use the PIV card below, which is.

Dwight Gooden vs Curt Schilling: Career Stats Comparison — Career Stats Side-by-Side
Statistic Dwight Gooden Curt Schilling
Wins 194 Leads: 216
Losses 112 146
Games 430 Leads: 569
Games Started 410 Leads: 436
Complete Games 68 Leads: 83
Shutouts Leads: 24 20
Saves 3 Leads: 22
Strikeouts 2,293 Leads: 3,116
Walks 954 711
Hits Allowed 2,564 2,998
Home Runs Allowed 210 347
Innings Pitched 2,800 Leads: 3,261
ERA 3.51 Leads: 3.46
WHIP 1.26 Leads: 1.14
K/9 7.37 Leads: 8.60
BB/9 3.07 Leads: 1.96

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Curt Schilling outpaces Dwight Gooden 98,246 to 55,535 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,678 vs 3,085 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Dwight Gooden
55,535
Career Pitcher PIV · 3,085 per season (18 seasons)
Curt Schilling
98,246
Career Pitcher PIV · 4,678 per season (21 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Dwight Gooden — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19851.53 ERA24-4, 268 K in 276 IP
19842.60 ERA17-9, 276 K in 218 IP
19862.84 ERA17-6, 200 K in 250 IP

Curt Schilling — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19922.35 ERA14-11, 147 K in 226 IP
20032.95 ERA8-9, 194 K in 168 IP
19972.97 ERA17-11, 319 K in 254 IP

Verdict

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

Related Matchups

Dwight Gooden vs Curt Schilling: Frequently Asked Questions

Who was better, Dwight Gooden or Curt Schilling?
By the career statistics compared on this page, Curt Schilling leads Dwight Gooden in 11 of 12 categories.
Who had the better ERA?
Curt Schilling, with 3.46 to Dwight Gooden's 3.51.
Who won more games?
Curt Schilling, with 216 to Dwight Gooden's 194.
Who recorded more strikeouts?
Curt Schilling, with 3,116 to Dwight Gooden's 2,293.
Who had the better WHIP?
Curt Schilling, with 1.14 to Dwight Gooden's 1.26.

See These Players in Another Era