Dwight Gooden vs Blake Snell: Career Stats Comparison

Dwight Gooden has the better career line of the two, leading 9 of the 12 scored categories on this page (4 further counting totals are shown but not scored). Dwight Gooden played 1984–2000 as a pitcher; Blake Snell has played 2016–present 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 Blake Snell (2016–present) — breaking in during the 1980s and the 2010s respectively, so they pitched against very different hitting environments. Dwight Gooden finished with 194 wins and 2,293 strikeouts; Blake Snell has 85 wins and 1,495 strikeouts through October 12, 2026. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Quick answer

  • Who had the better ERA? Blake Snell, with 3.10 to Dwight Gooden's 3.51.
  • Who won more games? Dwight Gooden, with 194 to Blake Snell's 85.
  • Who recorded more strikeouts? Dwight Gooden, with 2,293 to Blake Snell's 1,495.
  • Who had the better WHIP? Blake Snell, with 1.22 to Dwight Gooden's 1.26.
  • Who pitched more innings? Dwight Gooden, with 2,800.2 to Blake Snell's 1,200.2.
  • Who threw more shutouts? Dwight Gooden, with 24 to Blake Snell's 1.
  • Who has the higher career Pitcher PIV? Dwight Gooden, with 55,535 career Pitcher PIV to Blake Snell's 27,494.
Leads Dwight Gooden 9 of 12 scored categories
Pitcher PIV edge Dwight Gooden +28,041
Read the verdict ↓

Dwight Gooden

Pitcher · 1984–2000
Wins
194
Losses
112
Strikeouts
2,293
ERA
3.51
WHIP
1.26
IP
2,800.2
View Dwight Gooden's full profile →

Blake Snell

Pitcher · 2016–present
Wins
85
Losses
63
Strikeouts
1,495
ERA
3.10
WHIP
1.22
IP
1,200.2
View Blake Snell'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. 12 of the 16 lines below are scored; the other 4 are counting totals on which fewer is not an achievement, so no one is awarded them. 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, and the 1980s and the 2010s were different run environments, so read them against their eras, or use the PIV card below, which is adjusted.

Blake Snell is still active — his totals below are current through October 12, 2026.

Dwight Gooden vs Blake Snell: Career Stats Comparison — Career Stats Side-by-Side
Statistic Dwight Gooden Blake Snell
Wins Leads: 194 85
Losses not scored 112 63
Games Leads: 430 231
Games Started Leads: 410 231
Complete Games Leads: 68 1
Shutouts Leads: 24 1
Saves Leads: 3 0
Strikeouts Leads: 2,293 1,495
Walks not scored 954 537
Hits Allowed not scored 2,564 922
Home Runs Allowed not scored 210 111
Innings Pitched Leads: 2,800.2 1,200.2
ERA 3.51 Leads: 3.10
WHIP 1.26 Leads: 1.22
K/9 7.37 Leads: 11.21
BB/9 Leads: 3.07 4.03

PIV Comparison through 2025

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Dwight Gooden outpaces Blake Snell 55,535 to 27,494 — driven by both sides of the ledger: 3,085 PIV per season to 2,749, across 18 seasons to 10. PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

PIV is computed through the 2025 season. The career totals on this page include 2026 to date, so PIV does not yet reflect the 2026 season.

Dwight Gooden
55,535
Career Pitcher PIV · 3,085 per season (18 seasons)
Blake Snell
27,494
Career Pitcher PIV · 2,749 per season (10 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

Blake Snell — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

20181.89 ERA21-5, 221 K in 180 IP
20232.25 ERA14-9, 234 K in 180 IP
20223.38 ERA8-10, 171 K in 128 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Dwight Gooden leads in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched, while Blake Snell owns ERA, WHIP, and K/9. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Dwight Gooden. PIV agrees: Dwight Gooden grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

Related Matchups

How the Dwight Gooden and Blake Snell careers compare

Dwight Gooden (1984–2000) was finished before Blake Snell (2016–present) arrived, so they never shared a league. Dwight Gooden has the far longer record, 430 games against 231 across 18 and 10 PIV seasons, which inflates every career total. The green cells for Blake Snell are ERA (3.10 to 3.51), WHIP (1.22 to 1.26), and strikeouts per nine (11.21 to 7.37). The per-nine rows read 7.37 strikeouts and 3.07 walks for Dwight Gooden, 11.21 and 4.03 for Blake Snell. Dwight Gooden was mainly a starter (410 starts in 430 games), and Blake Snell was mainly a starter (231 starts in 231 games). Blake Snell's numbers are live and update with each game, so the comparison is a snapshot.

Dwight Gooden vs Blake Snell: Frequently Asked Questions

Who was better, Dwight Gooden or Blake Snell?
By the career statistics compared on this page, Dwight Gooden leads Blake Snell in 9 of the 12 scored categories.
Who had the better ERA?
Blake Snell, with 3.10 to Dwight Gooden's 3.51.
Who won more games?
Dwight Gooden, with 194 to Blake Snell's 85.
Who recorded more strikeouts?
Dwight Gooden, with 2,293 to Blake Snell's 1,495.
Who had the better WHIP?
Blake Snell, with 1.22 to Dwight Gooden's 1.26.

See These Players in Another Era