Willie Mays vs Enos Slaughter: Career Stats Comparison

Willie Mays (1951–1973) and Enos Slaughter (1938–1959) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Willie Mays finished with 3,293 hits and 660 home runs; Enos Slaughter finished with 2,383 hits and 169 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Willie Mays

Hitter · 1951–1973
Games
3,005
Hits
3,293
Home Runs
660
RBI
1,909
Avg
.301
OPS
.940
View Willie Mays's full profile →

Enos Slaughter

Hitter · 1938–1959
Games
2,380
Hits
2,383
Home Runs
169
RBI
1,304
Avg
.300
OPS
.834
View Enos Slaughter's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Willie Mays and Enos Slaughter. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Willie Mays Enos Slaughter
Games 3,005 2,380
At-Bats 10,924 7,946
Runs 2,068 1,247
Hits 3,293 2,383
Doubles 525 413
Triples 141 148
Home Runs 660 169
RBI 1,909 1,304
Walks 1,468 1,018
Strikeouts 1,526 538
Stolen Bases 339 71
Batting Avg .301 .300
On-Base % .384 .382
Slugging % .557 .453
OPS .940 .834

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Willie Mays outpaces Enos Slaughter 74,062 to 27,340 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,086 vs 1,243 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Willie Mays
74,062
Career PIV · 3,086 per season (24 seasons)
Enos Slaughter
27,340
Career PIV · 1,243 per season (22 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

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

19541.078 OPS41 HR, 110 RBI, .345 avg
19551.059 OPS51 HR, 127 RBI, .319 avg
19651.043 OPS52 HR, 112 RBI, .317 avg

Enos Slaughter — top 3 seasons by OPS

1949.929 OPS13 HR, 96 RBI, .336 avg
1942.906 OPS13 HR, 98 RBI, .318 avg
1941.886 OPS13 HR, 76 RBI, .311 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Willie Mays leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Enos Slaughter owns no headline categories. 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.

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