Al Kaline vs Ted Williams: Career Stats Comparison
Al Kaline (1953–1974) and Ted Williams (1939–1960) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Al Kaline finished with 3,007 hits and 399 home runs; Ted Williams finished with 2,654 hits and 521 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Al Kaline
Ted Williams
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Al Kaline and Ted Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Al Kaline | Ted Williams |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,834 | 2,292 |
| At-Bats | 10,116 | 7,706 |
| Runs | 1,622 | 1,798 |
| Hits | 3,007 | 2,654 |
| Doubles | 498 | 525 |
| Triples | 75 | 71 |
| Home Runs | 399 | 521 |
| RBI | 1,583 | 1,839 |
| Walks | 1,277 | 2,021 |
| Strikeouts | 1,020 | 709 |
| Stolen Bases | 137 | 24 |
| Batting Avg | .297 | .344 |
| On-Base % | .376 | .482 |
| Slugging % | .480 | .634 |
| OPS | .855 | 1.116 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ted Williams outpaces Al Kaline 96,302 to 45,087 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,069 vs 2,049 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).
Al Kaline — top 3 seasons by OPS
Ted Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Ted Williams leads in home runs, RBI, runs, and batting average, while Al Kaline owns hits and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ted Williams. PIV agrees: Ted Williams grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.