Mark McGwire vs Mo Vaughn: Career Stats Comparison

Mark McGwire (1986–2001) and Mo Vaughn (1991–2003) — they broke in during the 1980s and the 1990s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Mark McGwire finished with 1,626 hits and 583 home runs; Mo Vaughn finished with 1,620 hits and 328 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Mark McGwire

Hitter · 1986–2001
Games
1,874
Hits
1,626
Home Runs
583
RBI
1,414
Avg
.263
OPS
.982
View Mark McGwire's full profile →

Mo Vaughn

Hitter · 1991–2003
Games
1,512
Hits
1,620
Home Runs
328
RBI
1,064
Avg
.293
OPS
.906
View Mo Vaughn's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Mark McGwire and Mo Vaughn. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Mark McGwire Mo Vaughn
Games 1,874 1,512
At-Bats 6,187 5,532
Runs 1,167 861
Hits 1,626 1,620
Doubles 252 270
Triples 6 10
Home Runs 583 328
RBI 1,414 1,064
Walks 1,317 725
Strikeouts 1,596 1,429
Stolen Bases 12 30
Batting Avg .263 .293
On-Base % .394 .383
Slugging % .588 .523
OPS .982 .906

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Mark McGwire outpaces Mo Vaughn 44,531 to 24,784 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,620 vs 2,065 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Mark McGwire
44,531
Career PIV · 2,620 per season (17 seasons)
Mo Vaughn
24,784
Career PIV · 2,065 per season (12 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Mark McGwire — top 3 seasons by OPS

19981.222 OPS70 HR, 147 RBI, .299 avg
19961.198 OPS52 HR, 113 RBI, .312 avg
19951.125 OPS39 HR, 90 RBI, .274 avg

Mo Vaughn — top 3 seasons by OPS

19961.003 OPS44 HR, 143 RBI, .326 avg
1998.993 OPS40 HR, 115 RBI, .337 avg
1994.984 OPS26 HR, 82 RBI, .310 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Mark McGwire leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Mo Vaughn owns stolen bases and batting average. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Mark McGwire. PIV agrees: Mark McGwire grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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