Paul Waner vs Ken Williams: Career Stats Comparison
Paul Waner (1926–1945) and Ken Williams (1915–1929) — they broke in during the 1920s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Paul Waner finished with 3,152 hits and 113 home runs; Ken Williams finished with 1,552 hits and 196 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Paul Waner
Ken Williams
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Paul Waner and Ken Williams. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Paul Waner | Ken Williams |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,549 | 1,397 |
| At-Bats | 9,459 | 4,862 |
| Runs | 1,627 | 860 |
| Hits | 3,152 | 1,552 |
| Doubles | 605 | 285 |
| Triples | 191 | 77 |
| Home Runs | 113 | 196 |
| RBI | 1,309 | 913 |
| Walks | 1,091 | 566 |
| Strikeouts | 376 | 287 |
| Stolen Bases | 104 | 154 |
| Batting Avg | .333 | .319 |
| On-Base % | .404 | .393 |
| Slugging % | .473 | .530 |
| OPS | .878 | .924 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Paul Waner outpaces Ken Williams 40,296 to 26,593 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,832 vs 1,900 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).
Paul Waner — top 3 seasons by OPS
Ken Williams — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Paul Waner leads in hits, RBI, runs, and batting average, while Ken Williams owns home runs, stolen bases, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Paul Waner. PIV agrees: Paul Waner grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.