Frank Howard vs Ken Singleton: Career Stats Comparison

Frank Howard (1958–1973) and Ken Singleton (1970–1984) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1970s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Frank Howard finished with 1,774 hits and 382 home runs; Ken Singleton finished with 2,029 hits and 246 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Frank Howard

Hitter · 1958–1973
Games
1,895
Hits
1,774
Home Runs
382
RBI
1,119
Avg
.273
OPS
.851
View Frank Howard's full profile →

Ken Singleton

Hitter · 1970–1984
Games
2,082
Hits
2,029
Home Runs
246
RBI
1,065
Avg
.282
OPS
.824
View Ken Singleton's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Frank Howard and Ken Singleton. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Frank Howard Ken Singleton
Games 1,895 2,082
At-Bats 6,488 7,189
Runs 864 985
Hits 1,774 2,029
Doubles 245 317
Triples 35 25
Home Runs 382 246
RBI 1,119 1,065
Walks 782 1,263
Strikeouts 1,460 1,246
Stolen Bases 8 21
Batting Avg .273 .282
On-Base % .352 .388
Slugging % .499 .436
OPS .851 .824

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Frank Howard edges Ken Singleton 30,024 to 29,530 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,766 vs 1,969 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Frank Howard
30,024
Career PIV · 1,766 per season (17 seasons)
Ken Singleton
29,530
Career PIV · 1,969 per season (15 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Frank Howard — top 3 seasons by OPS

1969.976 OPS48 HR, 111 RBI, .296 avg
1970.962 OPS44 HR, 126 RBI, .283 avg
1962.906 OPS31 HR, 119 RBI, .296 avg

Ken Singleton — top 3 seasons by OPS

1977.945 OPS24 HR, 99 RBI, .328 avg
1979.938 OPS35 HR, 111 RBI, .295 avg
1973.904 OPS23 HR, 103 RBI, .302 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Ken Singleton leads in hits, runs, stolen bases, and batting average, while Frank Howard owns home runs, RBI, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ken Singleton. Note that PIV actually grades Frank Howard ahead, which means Ken Singleton's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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