J. R. Richard vs Bob Watson: Career Stats Comparison
J. R. Richard (1971–1980) and Bob Watson (1966–1984) — they broke in during the 1970s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. J. R. Richard finished with 93 hits and 10 home runs; Bob Watson finished with 1,826 hits and 184 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Bob Watson
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for J. R. Richard and Bob Watson. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | J. R. Richard | Bob Watson |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 239 | 1,832 |
| At-Bats | 552 | 6,185 |
| Runs | 39 | 802 |
| Hits | 93 | 1,826 |
| Doubles | 10 | 307 |
| Triples | 3 | 41 |
| Home Runs | 10 | 184 |
| RBI | 50 | 989 |
| Walks | 4 | 653 |
| Strikeouts | 181 | 796 |
| Stolen Bases | 2 | 27 |
| Batting Avg | .168 | .295 |
| On-Base % | .176 | .364 |
| Slugging % | .252 | .447 |
| OPS | .428 | .811 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bob Watson outpaces J. R. Richard 19,589 to -2,836 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (933 vs -284 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).
J. R. Richard — top 0 seasons by OPS
Bob Watson — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Bob Watson leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while J. R. Richard owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Bob Watson. PIV agrees: Bob Watson grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.