Reggie Jackson vs Tommy John: Career Stats Comparison

Reggie Jackson (1967–1987) and Tommy John (1963–1989) — both broke in during the 1960s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Reggie Jackson finished with 2,584 hits and 563 home runs; Tommy John finished with 141 hits and 5 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Reggie Jackson

Hitter · 1967–1987
Games
2,820
Hits
2,584
Home Runs
563
RBI
1,702
Avg
.262
OPS
.846
View Reggie Jackson's full profile →

Tommy John

Two-Way Player · 1963–1989
Games
761
Hits
141
Home Runs
5
RBI
54
Avg
.157
OPS
.375
View Tommy John's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Reggie Jackson and Tommy John. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Reggie Jackson Tommy John
Games 2,820 761
At-Bats 9,864 900
Runs 1,551 43
Hits 2,584 141
Doubles 463 13
Triples 49 0
Home Runs 563 5
RBI 1,702 54
Walks 1,375 33
Strikeouts 2,597 211
Stolen Bases 228 0
Batting Avg .262 .157
On-Base % .356 .187
Slugging % .490 .188
OPS .846 .375

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Reggie Jackson outpaces Tommy John 41,801 to -6,077 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,991 vs -217 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Reggie Jackson
41,801
Career PIV · 1,991 per season (21 seasons)
Tommy John
-6,077
Career PIV · -217 per season (28 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Reggie Jackson — top 3 seasons by OPS

19691.018 OPS47 HR, 118 RBI, .275 avg
1980.995 OPS41 HR, 111 RBI, .300 avg
1979.926 OPS29 HR, 89 RBI, .297 avg

Tommy John — top 0 seasons by OPS

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Reggie Jackson leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Tommy John owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Reggie Jackson. PIV agrees: Reggie Jackson grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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