Who is better, Valenzuela or Whitaker?
Lou Whitaker leads with a GOAT score of 87.3 against 87.2 for Fernando Valenzuela — a gap of 0.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Lou Whitaker above Fernando Valenzuela: 87.3 vs 87.2. Lou Whitaker leads on Longevity, Statistics. Fernando Valenzuela leads on Peak, Dominance, Honours.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →Whitaker wins: Longevity, Statistics
Valenzuela wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Whitaker leads in 2 of 5 weighted categories.
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇲🇽 Valenzuela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 47 | 116 |
| 🇺🇸 Whitaker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 73 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | ValenzuelaRetired | WhitakerRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Cy Young awards | 1 | — |
| Rookie of the Year awards | 1 | — |
| World Series titles | 2 | 1 |
| All-Star selections | 6 | 5 |
| Career strikeouts | 2,074 | — |
| Gold Gloves | — | 3 |
| Career hits | — | 2,369 |
| Career home runs | — | 244 |
| Dominance w25% | 82 | 80 |
| Peak w20% | 96 | 90 |
| Longevity w20% | 84 | 92 |
| Honours w20% | 86 | 84 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 94 |
Lou Whitaker leads with a GOAT score of 87.3 against 87.2 for Fernando Valenzuela — a gap of 0.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
Valenzuela scores higher on peak, dominance, honours. Whitaker leads on statistics, longevity.
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Valenzuela: 87.2, Whitaker: 87.3.
Make your case for Valenzuela vs Whitaker. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.