Rickey Henderson vs Bernie Williams: Career Stats Comparison

Rickey Henderson (1979–2003) and Bernie Williams (1991–2006) — they broke in during the 1970s and the 1990s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Rickey Henderson finished with 3,055 hits and 297 home runs; Bernie Williams finished with 2,336 hits and 287 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Rickey Henderson

Hitter · 1979–2003
Games
3,081
Hits
3,055
Home Runs
297
RBI
1,115
Avg
.279
OPS
.820
View Rickey Henderson's full profile →

Bernie Williams

Hitter · 1991–2006
Games
2,076
Hits
2,336
Home Runs
287
RBI
1,257
Avg
.297
OPS
.858
View Bernie Williams's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Rickey Henderson and Bernie Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Rickey Henderson Bernie Williams
Games 3,081 2,076
At-Bats 10,961 7,869
Runs 2,295 1,366
Hits 3,055 2,336
Doubles 510 449
Triples 66 55
Home Runs 297 287
RBI 1,115 1,257
Walks 2,190 1,069
Strikeouts 1,694 1,212
Stolen Bases 1,406 147
Batting Avg .279 .297
On-Base % .401 .381
Slugging % .419 .477
OPS .820 .858

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Rickey Henderson outpaces Bernie Williams 37,642 to 24,401 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,298 vs 1,525 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Rickey Henderson
37,642
Career PIV · 1,298 per season (29 seasons)
Bernie Williams
24,401
Career PIV · 1,525 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).

Rickey Henderson — top 3 seasons by OPS

19931.023 OPS17 HR, 47 RBI, .327 avg
19901.016 OPS28 HR, 61 RBI, .325 avg
1985.934 OPS24 HR, 72 RBI, .314 avg

Bernie Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS

1998.997 OPS26 HR, 97 RBI, .339 avg
1999.971 OPS25 HR, 115 RBI, .342 avg
2000.957 OPS30 HR, 121 RBI, .307 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Rickey Henderson leads in hits, home runs, runs, and stolen bases, while Bernie Williams owns RBI, batting average, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Rickey Henderson. PIV agrees: Rickey Henderson grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

Related Matchups

See These Players in Another Era