Ken Griffey vs Jim Rice: Career Stats Comparison

Ken Griffey (1989–2010) and Jim Rice (1974–1989) — they broke in during the 1980s and the 1970s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Ken Griffey finished with 2,781 hits and 630 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.

Ken Griffey

Hitter · 1989–2010
Games
2,671
Hits
2,781
Home Runs
630
RBI
1,836
Avg
.284
OPS
.907
View Ken Griffey'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 Ken Griffey 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 Ken Griffey Jim Rice
Games 2,671 2,089
At-Bats 9,801 8,225
Runs 1,662 1,249
Hits 2,781 2,452
Doubles 524 373
Triples 38 79
Home Runs 630 382
RBI 1,836 1,451
Walks 1,312 670
Strikeouts 1,779 1,423
Stolen Bases 184 58
Batting Avg .284 .298
On-Base % .370 .352
Slugging % .538 .502
OPS .907 .854

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ken Griffey outpaces Jim Rice 43,975 to 31,418 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,912 vs 1,964 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Ken Griffey
43,975
Career PIV · 1,912 per season (23 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).

Ken Griffey — top 3 seasons by OPS

19941.076 OPS40 HR, 90 RBI, .323 avg
19971.028 OPS56 HR, 147 RBI, .304 avg
19931.025 OPS45 HR, 109 RBI, .309 avg

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, Ken Griffey leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Jim Rice owns batting average. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ken Griffey. PIV agrees: Ken Griffey grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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