Here are Box-Toppers 2012-17 All-Star teams. The player with the highest Box-Toppers point total (BTP) at each position in each league over the past six seasons was named an All-Star. Their overall rank among all players during 2012-17 is also shown. (May need to scroll right or left to see entire chart.)


	American League	Team	BTP	Rank	National League	Team	BTP	Rank
1B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	59.8	22	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	43.3	56
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	sea al	41.5	62	†Murphy, Daniel 2589	dc nl	36.0	93
SS	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	tor al	27.6	157	Drew, Stephen 2210	dc nl	17.5	316
3B	Beltre, Adrian 1141	tex al	47.9	40	*†Arenado, Nolan 3306	col nl	29.9	135
CA	McCann, Brian 2179	hou al	33.2	111	*†Posey, Buster 2745	sf nl	38.0	79
OF	†Trout, Mike 2949	ana al	52.5	34	*†McCutchen, Andrew 2637	pit nl	47.5	42
OF	†Upton, Justin 2411	ana al	40.4	67	*†Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	fla nl	44.9	51
OF	Jones, Adam 2347	bal al	38.0	81	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	44.2	53
DH	*†Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	cle al	55.2	27
SP	*†Sale, Chris 2806	bos al	106.5	3	*†Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	147.2	1
SP	*†Kluber, Corey 3200	cle al	87.4	7	*†Scherzer, Max 2588	dc nl	128.9	2
SP	Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	82.4	8	*Greinke, Zack 1871	ari nl	99.1	4
SP	Price, David 2593	bos al	79.1	9	*†Strasburg, Stephen 2736	dc nl	96.7	5
CP	†Kimbrel, Craig 2825	bos al	61.4	20	†Jansen, Kenley 2871	lad nl	38.7	76

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Player who is also on Box-Toppers’ 2017 year-end All-Star team
† Player who is also on Box-Toppers’ 2016-17 All-Star team

Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points over past 6 seasons; Nationals have most players among 2012-17 All-Stars

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2012-17 consist of the best players over the past six seasons, which includes 12 of the 27 players who are also on Box-Toppers 2016-17 All-Star teams.

Also, among the 27 players on the teams, there are 11 players who are on Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star teams and 10 who are on All-Star teams over all three time spans—for 2017, for 2016-17 and for 2012-17.

Leading the 2012-17 All-Stars is Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons with 147.2. Kershaw ranks second among all players over 2016-17 (47.5 points) and third among all players for 2017 (23.1).

The Washington Nationals have four players on the 2012-17 All-Star teams, most of any club:

National League second baseman—Daniel Murphy (36.0 Box-Toppers points)
NL shortstop—Stephen Drew (17.5 points)
NL starting pitcher—Max Scherzer (128.9)
NL starting pitcher—Stephen Strasburg (96.7)

The Boston Red Sox have three players on the 2012-17 All-Star teams, the most of any AL team. Six other teams each have two players on the teams—the Mariners, Angels, Indians, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Dodgers. Eight other teams each have one player on the teams.

The All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point total by position in each league over the 2012-17 time period. In addition to the batters—eight in the National League and nine (including the designated hitter) in the American League—are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.

This six-year view of All-Stars, as opposed to the single-season (2017) or two-season (2016-17) view, provides an indication of established players who have been able to maintain superiority over a sustained period.

Kershaw, who leads all players over 2012-17, has been ranked either first, second or third among all players in Box-Toppers points for each of the past six seasons.

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale leads AL players in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons with 106.5. Sale is also on Box-Toppers 2017 and 2016-17 All-Star teams. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2017 with 25.7 and ranks fourth among all players (and second among AL pitchers) in points over 2016-17 with 38.5.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons with 59.8, ranking 22nd among all players. Cabrera is one of 11 players among the 27 on the 2012-17 All-Star teams who were not among Box-Toppers’ All-Stars for either 2017 or 2016-17. That’s because Cabrera earned only 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, a career low. Despite the low total for 2017, Cabrera still ranks first in Box-Toppers points among AL first basemen over the past six seasons and ranks second among AL first basemen over the past two seasons with 14.0 over 2016-17, just 4.0 points behind Eric Hosmer of the Royals (18.0).

Leading NL batters among the 2012-17 All-Stars is Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who has 47.5 Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons, 42nd among all players. McCutchen also appears on Box-Toppers 2016-17 NL All-Star team as the second-ranked NL outfielder with 16.0 Box-Toppers points. He also appears on the Box-Toppers 2017 NL All-Star team as the third-ranked outfielder with 9.0 Box-Toppers points.

In the chart, players who are among the 2017 All-Stars are denoted with an asterisk (*). Players who are among the 2016-17 All-Stars are denoted with a dagger (†). There are 10 players with both an asterisk and a dagger, meaning they made all three All-Star teams. They are:

AL designated hitter—Edwin Encarnacion, Indians
AL pitcher—Chris Sale, Red Sox
AL pitcher—Corey Kluber, Indians
NL third basemen—Nolan Arenado, Rockies
NL catcher—Buster Posey, Giants
NL outfielder—Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
NL outfielder—Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins
NL pitcher—Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
NL pitcher—Max Scherzer, Nationals
NL pitcher—Stephen Strasburg, Nationals

Last season there were just four players who were on all three of Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams (for 2016, 2015-16 and 2011-16). Among those four, Kershaw and Scherzer are the only players to repeat that feat to be among all three All-Star teams again in 2017.

There are five players who made only the 2012-17 All-Stars and the 2016-17 All-Stars:

AL outfielder—Mike Trout, Angels
AL outfielder—Justin Upton, Angels
AL closing pitcher—Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox
NL second basemen—Daniel Murphy, Nationals
NL closing pitcher—Kenley Jansen, Dodgers

And there is one player who made both the 2017 All-Stars and the 2012-17 All-Stars: NL starting pitcher Zack Greinke of the Diamondbacks.

All eight starting pitchers on both the NL and AL Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2012-17 are among the top 10 players over that span. The four NL starting pitchers are among the overall top five. The highest ranked player for 2012-17 who is not among the All-Stars is Madison Bumgarner of the Giants, who ranks sixth among all players over the past six seasons with 88.0 Box-Toppers points.

There are four players among the 27 All-Stars for 2012-17 who rank outside the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons. They are:

AL catcher—Brian McCann, Astros, who with 33.2 Box-Toppers points over 2012-17, ranks 111th among all players over the past six seasons.
NL third basemen—Nolan Arenado, Rockies, 29.9 points, 135th.
AL shortstop—Troy Tulowitzki, Blue Jays, 27.6 points, 157th.
NL shortstop—Stephen Drew, Nationals, 17.5 points, 316th, the lowest-ranked among the 27 All-Stars for 2012-17.

Players are listed with the team with whom they finished the 2017 season.

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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Box-Toppers’ 2016-17 year-end All Star teams

Top 100 players for 2012-17

Top 10 players by category (AL, NL pitching and batting) for 2012-17