| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |||
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 25.1 | 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.0 | |
| 2 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 22.0 | 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 23.1 | |
| 3 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 21.8 | 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.5 | |
| 4 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 21.1 | 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 20.1 | |
| 5 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 | 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.0 | |
| 6 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 14.7 | 6 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 15.8 | |
| 7 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 13.7 | 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.7 | |
| 8 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 11.4 | 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.7 | |
| 9 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.0 | |
| 10 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 11.1 | 10 | Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 14.0 | |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |||
| 1 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | cle al | 12.1 | 1 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 15.5 | |
| 2 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 11.2 | 2 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 14.2 | |
| 3 | Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 11.0 | 3 | Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b | cin nl | 10.7 | |
| 4 | Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | cle al | 10.0 | 4 | Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 9.5 | |
| 5 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b 2b | cle al | 10.0 | 5 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 9.2 | |
| 6 | Healy, Ryon 3685 | dh 1b | oak al | 9.7 | 6 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | fla nl | 9.2 | |
| 7 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 9.5 | 7 | McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 9.0 | |
| 8 | Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 8.7 | 8 | Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 9.0 | |
| 9 | Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 8.5 | 9 | Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf | stl nl | 9.0 | |
| 10 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 8.0 | 10 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | 1b rf lf | lad nl | 8.7 |
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year, finishing the season with the most Box-Toppers points among all players.
Top 10 players
Here are final rankings of the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of Oct. 1:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 25.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.0 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 23.1 |
| 4 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.5 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 22.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 21.8 |
| 7 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 21.1 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 20.1 |
| 9 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 16.1 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.0 |
Sale earned 25.1 points in 2017, finishing just 0.1 point ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (25.0).
Sale led players in Box-Toppers points only 20 days during the season, including the final 12 days of the season.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who finished third with 23.1 points, led players for 147 days of the 182-day season, 80 percent of the time, including a 102-day stretch from May 17 to Aug. 27. Kershaw built a large early lead and at the season’s halfway point and was on track to shatter the single season Box-Toppers points record of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson twice, in 2000 and 2002. But Kershaw went on the disabled list for five weeks starting July 24 and only earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points after July 4.
2017 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/2 | Carlos Martinez | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4/3 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 4/9 | Noah Syndergaard | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 4/14 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 4/15 | Ervin Santana | min al | 4.7 |
| 4/19 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 5.0 |
| 5/2 | Chris Sale | bos al | 6.7 |
| 5/6 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 5/12 | Ervin Santana | min al | 7.7 |
| 5/13 | Chris Sale | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5/17 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 8/28 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 23.0 |
| 9/1 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 23.1 |
| 9/19 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 24.0 |
| 9/20 | Chris Sale | bos al | 25.1 |
Kershaw had finished first or second among all players in each of the past six seasons. He was Box-Toppers Player of the Year in 2011, 2013 and 2014 and finished second in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Kershaw’s third place finish marks his lowest finish since 2010, when he had 16.1 Box-Toppers points and finished 12th among all players.
Scherzer, who finished second, was Player of the Year in 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points. This season, he led Box-Toppers player rankings only once, for four days from Aug. 28 to 31.
Scherzer led all National League pitchers for the second straight season. Scherzer also led American League pitchers in 2013 with the Tigers, when he had 18.1 Box-Toppers points.
Sale also finished ahead of all AL pitchers, finishing ahead of last year’s AL pitching leader, Corey Kluber of the Indians. Kluber had 22.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, 3.1 behind Sale. Kluber led AL pitchers in both 2014 (25.8) and 2016 (21.2).
Here are the leaders in other key categories:
National League batters—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs had 15.5 Box-Toppers points, leading second-place NL batter Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins (14.2).
Rizzo has the second-highest Box-Toppers point total by a batter in the past six seasons, a period in which batters’ Box-Toppers point totals have been declining. In the past three seasons, NL batting leaders have set records for the lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead a category (AL or NL batting or pitching). The only batter with a higher single season Box-Toppers point total than Rizzo since 2012 is Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who had 16.9 in 2013.
Rizzo ranks 14th among all players.
Interestingly, Rizzo is not among those frequently mentioned for NL Most Valuable Player, even though by Box-Toppers measures, he did more than any batter to help his team win more games. Even more interesting, Rizzo ranked fourth in NL MVP voting in 2016, even though he had only 3.0 Box-Toppers points that year.
Lowest points to lead category
Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians set the record for lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead American League batters in 2017 with 12.1 points. That ranks as the fourth-lowest point total to lead a category in the 23 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking, beaten only by the NL batting leaders for the three previous seasons (2014-16). Here are the lowest-point totals to win a league category since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995:| Player | Team | BTP | Category | |
| 1 | Nolan Arenado | col nl | 10.7 | 2016 NL bat |
| 2 | Carlos Gonzalez | col nl | 11.5 | 2015 NL bat |
| 3 | Troy Tulowitzki | col nl | 11.6 | 2014 NL bat |
| 4 | Edwin Encarnacion | cle al | 12.1 | 2017 AL bat |
| 5 | Adrian Beltre | tex al | 12.5 | 2015 AL bat |
| 5 | Aubrey Huff | bal al | 12.5 | 2008 AL bat |
| 5 | Ryan Braun | mil nl | 12.5 | 2012 NL bat |
| 8 | Manny Machado | bal al | 12.7 | 2016 AL bat |
| 9 | Adrian Beltre | tex al | 13.0 | 2012 AL bat |
| 10 | Paul Goldschmidt | ari nl | 13.7 | 2013 NL bat |
| 10 | Bret Boone | sea al | 13.7 | 2001 AL bat |
American League batters—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians had 12.1 Box-Toppers points, leading second-place AL batter Aaron Judge of the Yankees (11.2). Encarnacion ranks 22nd among all players.
Encarnacion sets the dubious record of having the lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead AL batters since player tracking began in 1995. Previously, 12.5 points was the lowest total to lead AL batters and it was done twice, in 2015 by Adrian Beltre of the Rangers and in 2008 by Aubrey Huff of the Orioles. The lowest point total to lead a season category is 10.7 by Nolan Arenado of the Rockies in 2016, when he led NL batters. Encarnacion’s 12.1 points to lead AL batters in 2017 is the fourth-lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead a category since tracking began in 1995.
Jose Altuve of the Astros, frequently mentioned as a favorite for AL Most Valuable Player, had only 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, earning Player of the Game honors only twice all season. In 2016, he had 12.5 points and finished third among AL batters and also third in AL MVP voting.
During the season, 763 different players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. There were 409 players with more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points and 38 with 10.0 or more points. There were 169 players who made their Box-Toppers debut this season, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors. Ten players debuted since the last player rankings report on Sept. 21.
Here are comparison with those numbers from recent seasons:
- Players earning Player of the Game honors—2016 (730), 2015 (751), 2014 (722).
- Players earning more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points—2016 (395), 2015 (402), 2014 (399).
- Players earning 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—2016 (54), 2015 (47), 2014 (58).
- Players making their Box-Toppers debut—2016 (151), 2015 (172), 2014 (135).
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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