Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2019, also led all pitchers in strikeouts during the season.
Strikeout leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 strikeout (K) leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are ranked by strikeouts. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | K | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerrit Cole | Astros | 326 | 32.2 | 1 |
| 2 | Justin Verlander | Astros | 300 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 3 | Shane Bieber | Indians | 259 | 18.1 | 6 |
| 4 | Jacob deGrom | Mets | 255 | 19.1 | 4 |
| 5 | Trevor Bauer | Reds | 253 | 14.1 | 20 |
| 6 | Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | 251 | 20.7 | 3 |
| 7 | Lance Lynn | Rangers | 246 | 15.0 | 16 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 243 | 15.4 | 15 |
| 9 | Charlie Morton | Rays | 240 | 18.8 | 5 |
| 10 | Matthew Boyd | Tigers | 238 | 5.0 | 167 |
| 10 | Patrick Corbin | Nationals | 238 | 16.4 | 12 |
In fact, each of the top six-ranked players in Box-Toppers points were among the top 11 strikeout leaders in 2019.
Cole led all pitchers with 326 strikeouts and also had the most Box-Toppers points in 2019 with 32.2, the fourth-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Here are the next top five players in Box-Toppers points and how they ranked in strikeouts in 1995:
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander ranked second in both Box-Toppers points (27.5) and strikeouts (300). Verlander, the American League Cy Young Award winner, ranked second among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, behind Cole.
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg ranked third in Box-Toppers points (20.7) and sixth in strikeouts (251). Strasburg led National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points and ranked third among NL pitchers in strikeouts.
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom ranked fourth in Box-Toppers points (19.1) and fourth in strikeouts (255). deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, led NL pitchers in strikeouts. He ranked second among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, behind Strasburg.
Rays pitcher Charlie Morton ranked fifth in Box-Toppers points (18.8) and ninth in strikeouts (240).
Indians pitcher Shane Bieber ranked sixth in Box-Toppers points (18.1) and third in strikeouts (259).
The pitcher with the most Box-Toppers points not among the top 11 strikeout leaders is seventh-ranked Zack Greinke of the Astros (17.9), who had 187 strikeouts, 28th-most.
Ten of the 11 strikeout leaders in 2019 were among the top 20 overall players in Box-Toppers points for the season. In addition to the top six previously mentioned, the next four are:
Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin, ranked 12th in Box-Toppers points (16.4) and tied for 10th in strikeouts (238).
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked 15th in Box-Toppers points (15.4) and eighth in strikeouts (243).
Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn, ranked 16th in Box-Toppers points (15.0) and seventh in strikeouts (246).
Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer, ranked 20th in Box-Toppers points (14.1) and fifth in strikeouts (253).
The only pitcher among the 11 strikeout leaders who is not among the top 20 in Box-Toppers points for 2019 is Matthew Boyd of the Tigers, who is something of a lone, startling outlier on the list. Boyd tied for 10th in strikeouts with 238, but only had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 167th among all players and 44th among AL pitchers. While Boyd struck out a lot of batters, the Tigers won only 11 times in his 32 appearances in 2019, limiting his opportunity to earn Player of the Game honors. He only won Player of the Game honors five times, all between April 3 and May 28. Boyd had seven games with 10 or more strikeouts, but the Tigers won only three of those and he only earned Player of the Game honors in one of those three games (on April 3, when he struck out 13).
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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