Ted Williams vs Willie Mays

4of 9 lines

5of 9 lines

Ted Williams and Willie Mays compared on their MLB careers: Ted Williams played 19 seasons, 1939 to 1960, Willie Mays 22 seasons, 1951 to 1973. Ted Williams has .344 batting average to Willie Mays's .302. Willie Mays won 1 title.

Who has the better career numbers?

Willie Mays leads in 5 of the 9 lines, Ted Williams in 4. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Ted Williams and Willie Mays career totals

2,292	GP	2,992
7,706	AB	10,881
1,798	R	2,062, better
2,654	H	3,283, better
521	HR	660, better
1,839	RBI	1,903, better
24	SB	338, better
0.3, better	AVG	0.3
0.5, better	OBP	0.4
0.6, better	SLG	0.6
1.1, better	OPS	0.9

How do they compare in the postseason?

Ted Williams and Willie Mays postseason

7	GP	25
25	AB	89
2	R	12, better
5	H	22, better
0	HR	1, better
1	RBI	10, better
0	SB	3, better
0.2	AVG	0.2, better
0.3, better	OBP	0.3
0.2	SLG	0.3, better
0.5	OPS	0.7, better

Where each stands all time

Ted Williams and Willie Mays all-time places

20th (521)	Home runs	6th (660), better
76th (2,654)	Hits	12th (3,283), better
14th (1,839)	RBI	10th (1,903), better
—	Stolen bases	122nd (338), better

Among the MLB players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Ted Williams and Willie Mays titles and awards

—	Championships	1, better
2, better	AL MVP	—
—	NL Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	NL MVP	2, better
—	AL Gold Glove	1, better
—	NL Gold Glove	12, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Ted Williams and Willie Mays season by season

1st	1939	.327, better	31, better	145, better	1951	.274	20	68
2nd	1940	.344, better	23, better	113, better	1952	.236	4	23
3rd	1941	.406, better	37	120, better	1954	.345	41, better	110
4th	1942	.356, better	36	137, better	1955	.319	51, better	127
5th	1946	.342, better	38, better	123, better	1956	.296	36	84
6th	1947	.343, better	32	114, better	1957	.333	35, better	97
7th	1948	.369, better	25	127, better	1958	.347	29, better	96
8th	1949	.343, better	43, better	159, better	1959	.313	34	104
9th	1950	.317	28	97	1960	.319, better	29, better	103, better
10th	1951	.318, better	30	126, better	1961	.308	40, better	123
11th	1952	.400, better	1	3	1962	.304	49, better	141, better
12th	1953	.407, better	13	34	1963	.314	38, better	103, better
13th	1954	.345, better	29	89	1964	.296	47, better	111, better
14th	1955	.356, better	28	83	1965	.317	52, better	112, better
15th	1956	.345, better	24	82	1966	.288	37, better	103, better
16th	1957	.388, better	38, better	87, better	1967	.263	22	70
17th	1958	.328, better	26, better	85, better	1968	.289	23	79
18th	1959	.254	10	43	1969	.283, better	13, better	58, better
19th	1960	.316, better	29, better	72	1970	.291	28	83, better
20th	—	—	—	—	1971	.271	18	61
21st	—	—	—	—	1972	.250	8	22
22nd	—	—	—	—	1973	.211	6	25

What the columns mean: AVG · HR · RBI