Buck Leonard vs Johnny Mize: Career Stats Comparison
Johnny Mize has the better career line of the two, leading 9 of the 14 scored categories on this page (1 further counting total is shown but not scored). Buck Leonard played ?–1948 as a hitter; Johnny Mize played 1936–1953 as a hitter.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
Buck Leonard (?–1948) and Johnny Mize (1936–1953) — their careers are worth a careful side-by-side. Buck Leonard finished with 790 hits and 100 home runs; Johnny Mize finished with 2,011 hits and 359 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Quick answer
- Who hit more home runs? Johnny Mize, with 359 to Buck Leonard's 100.
- Who had the higher OPS? Buck Leonard, with 1.034 to Johnny Mize's .959.
- Who had the higher batting average? Buck Leonard, with .343 to Johnny Mize's .312.
- Who had more hits? Johnny Mize, with 2,011 to Buck Leonard's 790.
- Who drove in more runs? Johnny Mize, with 1,337 to Buck Leonard's 578.
- Who has the higher career PIV? Johnny Mize, with 43,061 career PIV to Buck Leonard's 19,107.
- Who won more championships? Johnny Mize, with 5 World Series titles to Buck Leonard's 3.
Buck Leonard
Johnny Mize
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Buck Leonard and Johnny Mize. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. 14 of the 15 lines below are scored; the other one is a counting total on which fewer is not an achievement, so no one is awarded it. Counting stats reward longevity, and strikeouts are left unmarked because a longer career accumulates more of them. Rate stats are not era-adjusted, so read them against the run environment each player worked in, or use the PIV card below, which is adjusted.
| Statistic | Buck Leonard | Johnny Mize |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 641 | Leads: 1,884 |
| At-Bats | 2,300 | Leads: 6,443 |
| Runs | 567 | Leads: 1,118 |
| Hits | 790 | Leads: 2,011 |
| Doubles | 153 | Leads: 367 |
| Triples | 52 | Leads: 83 |
| Home Runs | 100 | Leads: 359 |
| RBI | 578 | Leads: 1,337 |
| Walks | 419 | Leads: 856 |
| Strikeouts not scored | 14 | 524 |
| Stolen Bases | Leads: 32 | 28 |
| Batting Avg | Leads: .343 | .312 |
| On-Base % | Leads: .449 | .397 |
| Slugging % | Leads: .586 | .562 |
| OPS | Leads: 1.034 | .959 |
PIV Comparison through 2025
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Johnny Mize outpaces Buck Leonard 43,061 to 19,107 — driven by both sides of the ledger: 2,691 PIV per season to 1,274, across 16 seasons to 15. PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
PIV is computed through the 2025 season. The career totals on this page include 2026 to date, so PIV does not yet reflect the 2026 season.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Buck Leonard
No seasons meet the qualifying workload, so there is no peak-season list to show.
Johnny Mize — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Johnny Mize leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Buck Leonard owns stolen bases, batting average, and OBP. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Johnny Mize. PIV agrees: Johnny Mize grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.
Related Matchups
How the Buck Leonard and Johnny Mize careers compare
The careers of Buck Leonard (?–1948) and Johnny Mize (1936–1953) overlapped from 1948 to 1948, so for those seasons they faced the same league conditions. The table compares 641 games of Buck Leonard with 1,884 of Johnny Mize across 15 and 16 PIV seasons; totals favor the longer career by default. At the plate, Buck Leonard walked more often than struck out (419 walks, 14 strikeouts), and Johnny Mize walked more often than struck out (856 walks, 524 strikeouts). Home runs make up a larger share of Johnny Mize's hits: 100 of 790 for Buck Leonard, 359 of 2,011 for Johnny Mize.
Buck Leonard vs Johnny Mize: Frequently Asked Questions
- Who was better, Buck Leonard or Johnny Mize?
- By the career statistics compared on this page, Johnny Mize leads Buck Leonard in 9 of the 14 scored categories.
- Did Buck Leonard or Johnny Mize hit more home runs?
- Johnny Mize, with 359 to Buck Leonard's 100.
- Who had the higher OPS?
- Buck Leonard, with 1.034 to Johnny Mize's .959.
- Who had the higher batting average?
- Buck Leonard, with .343 to Johnny Mize's .312.
- Who had more hits?
- Johnny Mize, with 2,011 to Buck Leonard's 790.