David Justice vs John Smoltz: Career Stats Comparison
David Justice (1989–2002) and John Smoltz (1988–2009) — both broke in during the 1980s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. David Justice finished with 1,571 hits and 305 home runs; John Smoltz finished with 151 hits and 5 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
David Justice
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for David Justice and John Smoltz. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | David Justice | John Smoltz |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,610 | 735 |
| At-Bats | 5,625 | 948 |
| Runs | 929 | 77 |
| Hits | 1,571 | 151 |
| Doubles | 280 | 26 |
| Triples | 24 | 2 |
| Home Runs | 305 | 5 |
| RBI | 1,017 | 61 |
| Walks | 903 | 79 |
| Strikeouts | 999 | 365 |
| Stolen Bases | 53 | 3 |
| Batting Avg | .279 | .159 |
| On-Base % | .378 | .226 |
| Slugging % | .500 | .207 |
| OPS | .878 | .433 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), David Justice outpaces John Smoltz 21,452 to -5,555 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,430 vs -252 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
David Justice — top 3 seasons by OPS
John Smoltz — top 0 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, David Justice leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while John Smoltz owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to David Justice. PIV agrees: David Justice grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.