Mike Piazza vs Ted Simmons: Career Stats Comparison
Mike Piazza (1992–2007) and Ted Simmons (1968–1988) — they broke in during the 1990s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Mike Piazza finished with 2,127 hits and 427 home runs; Ted Simmons finished with 2,472 hits and 248 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Mike Piazza
Ted Simmons
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Mike Piazza and Ted Simmons. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Mike Piazza | Ted Simmons |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,912 | 2,456 |
| At-Bats | 6,911 | 8,680 |
| Runs | 1,048 | 1,074 |
| Hits | 2,127 | 2,472 |
| Doubles | 344 | 483 |
| Triples | 8 | 47 |
| Home Runs | 427 | 248 |
| RBI | 1,335 | 1,389 |
| Walks | 759 | 855 |
| Strikeouts | 1,113 | 694 |
| Stolen Bases | 17 | 21 |
| Batting Avg | .308 | .285 |
| On-Base % | .377 | .348 |
| Slugging % | .545 | .437 |
| OPS | .922 | .785 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Mike Piazza outpaces Ted Simmons 30,988 to 20,131 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,722 vs 959 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).
Mike Piazza — top 3 seasons by OPS
Ted Simmons — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Mike Piazza leads in home runs, batting average, OBP, and OPS, while Ted Simmons owns hits, RBI, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Mike Piazza. PIV agrees: Mike Piazza grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.