Mel Ott vs Ted Williams: Career Stats Comparison
Mel Ott (1926–1947) and Ted Williams (1939–1960) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1930s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Mel Ott finished with 2,876 hits and 511 home runs; Ted Williams finished with 2,654 hits and 521 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Ted Williams
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Mel Ott and Ted Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Mel Ott | Ted Williams |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,730 | 2,292 |
| At-Bats | 9,456 | 7,706 |
| Runs | 1,859 | 1,798 |
| Hits | 2,876 | 2,654 |
| Doubles | 488 | 525 |
| Triples | 72 | 71 |
| Home Runs | 511 | 521 |
| RBI | 1,860 | 1,839 |
| Walks | 1,708 | 2,021 |
| Strikeouts | 896 | 709 |
| Stolen Bases | 89 | 24 |
| Batting Avg | .304 | .344 |
| On-Base % | .414 | .482 |
| Slugging % | .533 | .634 |
| OPS | .947 | 1.116 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Ted Williams outpaces Mel Ott 96,302 to 64,873 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,069 vs 2,949 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).
Mel Ott — top 3 seasons by OPS
Ted Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Ted Williams leads in home runs, batting average, OBP, and OPS, while Mel Ott owns hits, RBI, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Ted Williams. PIV agrees: Ted Williams grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.