John Smoltz vs Mike Stanton: Career Stats Comparison

John Smoltz (1988–2009) and Mike Stanton (1989–2007) — both came up during the 1980s, so the matchup is a direct one. John Smoltz compiled 213 wins and 3,084 strikeouts; Mike Stanton put up 68 wins and 895 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

John Smoltz

Pitcher · 1988–2009
Wins
213
Losses
155
Strikeouts
3,084
ERA
3.33
WHIP
1.18
IP
3,473
View John Smoltz's full profile →

Mike Stanton

Pitcher · 1989–2007
Wins
68
Losses
63
Strikeouts
895
ERA
3.92
WHIP
1.35
IP
1,114
View Mike Stanton's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic John Smoltz Mike Stanton
Wins 213 68
Losses 155 63
Games 723 1,178
Games Started 481 1
Complete Games 53 0
Shutouts 16 0
Saves 154 84
Strikeouts 3,084 895
Walks 1,010 420
Hits Allowed 3,074 1,086
Home Runs Allowed 288 93
Innings Pitched 3,473 1,114
ERA 3.33 3.92
WHIP 1.18 1.35
K/9 7.99 7.23
BB/9 2.62 3.39

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), John Smoltz outpaces Mike Stanton 91,907 to 17,521 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,178 vs 730 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

John Smoltz
91,907
Career Pitcher PIV · 4,178 per season (22 seasons)
Mike Stanton
17,521
Career Pitcher PIV · 730 per season (24 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

John Smoltz — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19922.85 ERA15-12, 215 K in 246 IP
19982.90 ERA17-3, 173 K in 167 IP
19892.94 ERA12-11, 168 K in 208 IP

Mike Stanton — top 0 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, John Smoltz leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Mike Stanton owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to John Smoltz. PIV agrees: John Smoltz grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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