Arky Vaughan vs Willie Wells: Career Stats Comparison
Arky Vaughan (1932–1948) and Willie Wells (?–1949) — their careers are worth a careful side-by-side. Arky Vaughan finished with 2,103 hits and 96 home runs; Willie Wells finished with 1,319 hits and 145 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Arky Vaughan
Willie Wells
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Arky Vaughan and Willie Wells. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Arky Vaughan | Willie Wells |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,817 | 1,068 |
| At-Bats | 6,622 | 4,030 |
| Runs | 1,173 | 956 |
| Hits | 2,103 | 1,319 |
| Doubles | 356 | 267 |
| Triples | 128 | 70 |
| Home Runs | 96 | 145 |
| RBI | 926 | 875 |
| Walks | 937 | 497 |
| Strikeouts | 276 | 10 |
| Stolen Bases | 118 | 176 |
| Batting Avg | .318 | .327 |
| On-Base % | .406 | .407 |
| Slugging % | .453 | .536 |
| OPS | .859 | .943 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Arky Vaughan leads Willie Wells 28,350 to 21,549 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,025 vs 798 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).
Arky Vaughan — top 3 seasons by OPS
Willie Wells — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Willie Wells leads in home runs, stolen bases, batting average, and OBP, while Arky Vaughan owns hits, RBI, and runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Willie Wells. Note that PIV actually grades Arky Vaughan ahead, which means Willie Wells's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.