Edgar Martinez vs David Ortiz: Career Stats Comparison
Edgar Martinez (1987–2004) and David Ortiz (1997–2016) — they broke in during the 1980s and the 1990s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Edgar Martinez finished with 2,247 hits and 309 home runs; David Ortiz finished with 2,472 hits and 541 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Edgar Martinez
David Ortiz
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Edgar Martinez | David Ortiz |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,055 | 2,408 |
| At-Bats | 7,213 | 8,640 |
| Runs | 1,219 | 1,419 |
| Hits | 2,247 | 2,472 |
| Doubles | 514 | 632 |
| Triples | 15 | 19 |
| Home Runs | 309 | 541 |
| RBI | 1,261 | 1,768 |
| Walks | 1,283 | 1,319 |
| Strikeouts | 1,202 | 1,750 |
| Stolen Bases | 49 | 17 |
| Batting Avg | .312 | .286 |
| On-Base % | .418 | .380 |
| Slugging % | .515 | .552 |
| OPS | .933 | .931 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), David Ortiz leads Edgar Martinez 46,358 to 41,586 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,318 vs 2,310 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).
Edgar Martinez — top 3 seasons by OPS
David Ortiz — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, David Ortiz leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Edgar Martinez owns stolen bases, batting average, and OBP. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to David Ortiz. PIV agrees: David Ortiz grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.