Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2014.
Box-Toppers points leaders for 2014-19
| OVERALL LEADERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 134.3 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 125.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 105.8 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 104.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 97.9 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 96.7 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 95.7 |
| 8 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 91.4 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 89.7 |
| 10 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 88.4 |
| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 105.8 |
| 2 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 104.1 |
| 3 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 97.9 |
| 4 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 91.4 |
| 5 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 89.7 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 88.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 77.4 |
| 8 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 69.3 |
| 9 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 62.6 |
| 10 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 55.0 |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 54.7 |
| 2 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | nyy al | 48.0 |
| 3 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | ana al | 42.0 |
| 4 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | lf dh | nyy al | 40.4 |
| 5 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh rf | bos al | 38.7 |
| 6 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | min al | 37.5 |
| 7 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 36.8 |
| 8 | Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | ana al | 36.4 |
| 9 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | dh | det al | 35.2 |
| 10 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 34.7 |
| NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 134.3 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 125.4 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 96.7 |
| 4 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 95.7 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 79.9 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | phi nl | 75.9 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | chi nl | 75.8 |
| 8 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 71.3 |
| 9 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 64.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | atl nl | 60.6 |
| NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 49.0 |
| 2 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 45.6 |
| 3 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 43.9 |
| 4 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf | mil nl | 43.7 |
| 5 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 40.1 |
| 6 | McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | lf | phi nl | 40.0 |
| 7 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 39.7 |
| 8 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 38.9 |
| 9 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | phi nl | 34.5 |
| 10 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss | sd nl | 33.9 |
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About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Scherzer has 134.3 Box-Toppers points over the period 2014-2019, 8.9 points ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 125.4 points over that span.
It is the second straight year Scherzer has led the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total. Last year, he had 137.0 points over 2013-2018, leading all players over that six-year period.
Neither Scherzer nor Kershaw had particularly great 2019 seasons. Scherzer ranked 15th overall with 15.0 points and Kershaw ranked 25th overall with 12.7. But Scherzer had five straight seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points from 2014-2018, leading all players in 2016 (25.7 points) and ranking among the overall top six players each of those five seasons. Kershaw earned 20 or more points in four of the six seasons (2014-17), including leading all players in 2014 (31.5 points).
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The players who make these top 10 charts over the period 2014-19 have demonstrated their long-term staying power. Weeded out are players who have single-season, flash-in-the-pan success and relative newcomers who haven’t yet proven their longevity. But it also rewards dominant players of the recent past whose success has waned lately.
The leaders on the five top 10 lists shown here are largely the same as the leaders last year over the six-year period from 2013-18. The only new leader this year is Mike Trout of the Angels, who leads American League batters over 2014-19
Trout has 54.7 Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons, ahead of second-place AL batter Edwin Encarnacion of the Yankees (48.0). (Encarnacion is with the White Sox for 2020.) Last year, Encarnacion led AL batters over the six-year period from 2013 to 2018 with 55.2 Box-Toppers points and Trout was in second with 49.5.
Despite Trout’s first-place ranking among AL batters over the past six seasons, he never led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in any of those seasons. He’s ranked among the top 10 AL batters in Box-Toppers points in five of the past six seasons and ranked second twice:
2014—8.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters.
2015—12.0 points, ranked second.
2016—12.5 points, ranked second.
2017—5.0, 45th.
2018—8.0, fifth.
2019—8.7, ninth.
AL pitchers
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale continues to lead American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons with 105.8 from 2014-19. He holds a 1.7-point lead over second-place AL pitcher Corey Kluber of the Indians (104.1). (Kluber is with the Rangers for 2020.)
In 2018, the top two positions were the same—Sale had 110.9 points over 2013 to 2018, holding a 1.8-point lead over Kluber (109.1).
Sale’s lead over Kluber incrementally declined in the six-season rolling total since last year despite the fact that Kluber earned no points in 2019, as he was out much of the season with injuries.
Sale’s six-year rolling total is down 5.1 points since last year. His 2013 season, in which he earned 16.1 points (fourth among AL pitchers) is dropped from his 2014-2019 total, replaced with the 11.0 points he earned in 2019 (15th among AL pitchers). Kluber’s six-year rolling total, by comparison, is down 5.0 points since last year. His 2013 season, in which he earned 5.0 points is dropped from his 2014-2019 total, replaced with the 0.0 points he earned in 2019.
While neither Sale nor Kluber was among the top 10 AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2019, they rank highly among AL pitchers over the past six seasons because both were among the top 10 AL pitchers from 2014-2018:
In 2014, Kluber led AL pitchers with 25.8 points and Sale ranked fifth with 17.4.
In 2015, Sale ranked fourth among AL pitchers.with 18.8 points and Kluber ranked 10th with 13.4
In 2016, Kluber led AL pitchers with 21.2 points and Sale ranked sixth with 13.4.
In 2017, Sale led AL pitchers with 25.1 points and Kluber ranked second with 22.0.
In 2018, Kluber ranked third among AL pitchers with 21.7 points and Sale ranked fourth with 20.1.
NL batters
Anthony Rizzo continues to lead National League batters in the six-season rolling total with 49.0 Box-Toppers points from 2014-2019. Last year, he led NL batters over 2013-2018 with 47.5 points.
Rizzo holds a 3.4-point lead over second-place NL batter Josh Donaldson of the Braves, who had 45.6 points over 2014-19. In 2018, Donaldson, then with the Indians, ranked fourth among AL batters over 2013-18 with 47.6 points. Donaldson is switching back to the AL, playing with the Twins in 2020.
In 2018, Paul Goldschmidt, then with the Diamondbacks, ranked second among NL batters in the previous six seasons from 2013-18 with 46.3 Box-Toppers points. In 2019, Goldschmidt, now with the Cardinals, falls to fifth over the period 2014-19 (40.1).
2019 leaders
All four category leaders (AL & NL pitchers and batters) for 2019 ranked among the top 10 lists over the previous six seasons:
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole, who led all players and all AL pitchers in 2019 with 32.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked 10th among all players over 2014-19 and sixth among AL pitchers over that span with 88.4 Box-Toppers points.
Nelson Cruz of the Twins, who led AL batters in 2019 with 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among AL batters over 2014-19 with 37.5 points.
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who led NL pitchers in 2019 with 20.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among NL pitchers over 2014-19 with 95.7 points.
Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals, who led NL batters in 2019 with 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among NL batters over 2014-19 with 39.7 points. Ozuna is playing with the Braves for 2020.
Falling out of the top 10
Three players who were among the overall top 10 players for the period 2013-18 are not among the top 10 for 2014-19:
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester ranked sixth over 2013-18 with 84.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranked 11th over 2014-19 with 79.9 points, a decline of 4.9 points. Dropped from Lester’s 2018 six-season rolling total was the 12.7 he earned in 2013 with the Red Sox, replaced with the 8.0 points he earned in 2019.
Red Sox pitcher David Price ranked ninth over 2013-18 with 79.4 Box-Toppers points. He ranked 12th over 2014-19 with 77.4 points, a decline of 2.0 points. Dropped from Price’s 2018 six-season rolling total was the 7.7 he earned in 2013 with the Rays, replaced with the 5.7 points he earned in 2019. Price is playing with the Dodgers in 2020.
Phillies pitcher Jake Arrieta ranked 10th over 2013-18 with 78.9 Box-Toppers points. He ranked 13th over 2014-19 with 75.9 points, a decline of 3.0 points. Dropped from Arrieta’s 2018 six-season rolling total was the 5.0 he earned in 2013 with the Cubs, replaced with the 2.0 points he earned in 2019.
Rising into the top 10
Three players rose into the six-season rolling total overall top 10 in 2019:
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to sixth place with 96.7 Box-Toppers points over 2014-19. He ranked 11th over 2013-18 with 77.6 points, an increase of 19.1 points. Dropped from deGrom’s 2018 six-season rolling total was the 0.0 points he earned in 2013 prior to making his Box-Toppers debut, replaced with the 19.1 points he earned in 2019.
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rose to eighth place with 91.4 Box-Toppers points over 2014-19. He ranked 14th over 2013-18 with 73.9 points, an increase of 17.5 points. Dropped from Verlander’s 2018 six-season rolling total was the 10.0 points he earned in 2013 with the Tigers, replaced with the 27.5 points he earned in 2019.
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to 10th place with 88.4 Box-Toppers points over 2014-19. He ranked 18th over 2013-18 with 60.9 points, an increase of 27.5 points. Dropped from Cole’s 2018 six-season rolling total was the 4.7 points he earned in 2013 with the Pirates, replaced with the 32.2 points he earned in 2019.
Players are shown here with the teams they were on at the end of 2019. Only players active at the end of 2019 are listed.
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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