Willie Mays vs Juan Soto: Career Stats Comparison

Willie Mays (1951–1973) and Juan Soto (2018–present) — they broke in during the 1950s and the 2010s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Willie Mays finished with 3,293 hits and 660 home runs; Juan Soto finished with 1,086 hits and 244 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 →

Juan Soto

Hitter · 2018–present
Games
1,096
Hits
1,086
Home Runs
244
RBI
697
Avg
.282
OPS
.948
View Juan Soto's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

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

Statistic Willie Mays Juan Soto
Games 3,005 1,096
At-Bats 10,924 3,857
Runs 2,068 775
Hits 3,293 1,086
Doubles 525 199
Triples 141 16
Home Runs 660 244
RBI 1,909 697
Walks 1,468 896
Strikeouts 1,526 833
Stolen Bases 339 95
Batting Avg .301 .282
On-Base % .384 .417
Slugging % .557 .531
OPS .940 .948

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Willie Mays outpaces Juan Soto 74,062 to 27,584 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,086 vs 3,065 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)
Juan Soto
27,584
Career PIV · 3,065 per season (9 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

Juan Soto — top 3 seasons by OPS

2021.999 OPS29 HR, 95 RBI, .313 avg
2024.989 OPS41 HR, 109 RBI, .288 avg
2019.949 OPS34 HR, 110 RBI, .282 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Willie Mays leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Juan Soto owns OBP and OPS. 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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