Willie Mays vs Pete Rose: Career Stats Comparison
Willie Mays (1951–1973) and Pete Rose (1963–1986) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Willie Mays finished with 3,293 hits and 660 home runs; Pete Rose finished with 4,256 hits and 160 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Willie Mays
Pete Rose
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Willie Mays and Pete Rose. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Willie Mays | Pete Rose |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 3,005 | 3,562 |
| At-Bats | 10,924 | 14,053 |
| Runs | 2,068 | 2,165 |
| Hits | 3,293 | 4,256 |
| Doubles | 525 | 746 |
| Triples | 141 | 135 |
| Home Runs | 660 | 160 |
| RBI | 1,909 | 1,314 |
| Walks | 1,468 | 1,566 |
| Strikeouts | 1,526 | 1,143 |
| Stolen Bases | 339 | 198 |
| Batting Avg | .301 | .303 |
| On-Base % | .384 | .375 |
| Slugging % | .557 | .409 |
| OPS | .940 | .784 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Willie Mays outpaces Pete Rose 74,062 to 40,772 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,086 vs 1,631 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).
Willie Mays — top 3 seasons by OPS
Pete Rose — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Willie Mays leads in home runs, RBI, stolen bases, and OBP, while Pete Rose owns hits, runs, and batting average. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Willie Mays. PIV agrees: Willie Mays grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.