How did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points in 2019?
Stat leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here are leaders in seven key statistical categories for the 2019 baseball season and how they fared in Box-Toppers points (BTP). Rank shows each player’s standing among all players in Box-Toppers points.| Batting average | ||||
| Leader | Team | Avg. | BTP | Rank |
| Tim Anderson | White Sox | .335 | 5.0 | 175 |
| Home runs | ||||
| Leader | Team | HR | BTP | Rank |
| Pete Alonso | Mets | 53 | 7.0 | 119 |
| Runs batted in | ||||
| Leader | Team | RBI | BTP | Rank |
| Anthony Rendon | Nationals | 126 | 5.0 | 169 |
| Earned run average | ||||
| Leader | Team | ERA | BTP | Rank |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | Dodgers | 2.32 | 17.4 | 10 |
| Wins | ||||
| Leader | Team | W | BTP | Rank |
| Justin Verlander | Astros | 21 | 27.5 | 2 |
| Strikeouts | ||||
| Leader | Team | K | BTP | Rank |
| Gerrit Cole | Astros | 326 | 32.2 | 1 |
| Wins above replacement | ||||
| Leader | Team | WAR | BTP | Rank |
| Cody Bellinger | Dodgers | 9.1 | 11.2 | 35 |
The leaders in three specific pitching categories—earned run average, wins and strikeouts—were among the overall top 10 players in Box-Toppers points. However, the leaders in three specific batting categories—batting average, home runs and runs batted in—did not fare well in Box-Toppers points. All three ranked outside the top 100 overall players in Box-Toppers points and also ranked outside the top 10 players among their league’s batters.
However, the leader in the wins above replacement (WAR) statistic, a category that includes both batters and pitchers, was a batter—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers—who ranked 35th overall in Box-Toppers points (11.2), third among National League batters.
How Box-Toppers’ top-ranked players fared in statistical categories
Box-Toppers’ overall top-ranked player Gerrit Cole of the Astros (32.2 Box-Toppers points) led all players in strikeouts (326). Cole ranked third overall in earned run average (2.50) and second in wins (20). He had a wins above replacement (WAR) rating of 6.6, outside the overall top 10 (which ranged from 9.1 to 7.2). (Cole is with the Yankees for 2020.)
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, who ranked second in Box-Toppers points 27.5, also second among AL pitchers, led all players in wins (21). He also ranked fourth in earned run average (2.58), second in strikeouts (300) and ninth in wins above replacement (7.3).
Batting average leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 batting average leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are listed from highest batting average. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | Avg. | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Anderson | White Sox | .335 | 5.0 | 175 |
| 2 | Christian Yelich | Brewers | .329 | 11.7 | 31 |
| 3 | Ketel Marte | Diamondbacks | .329 | 7.0 | 111 |
| 4 | DJ LeMahieu | Yankees | .327 | 3.5 | 284 |
| 5 | Anthony Rendon | Nationals | .319 | 5.0 | 169 |
| 6 | Jeff McNeil | Mets | .318 | 3.0 | 343 |
| 7 | Yoan Moncada | White Sox | .315 | 4.0 | 247 |
| 8 | Nolan Arenado | Rockies | .315 | 9.0 | 62 |
| 9 | Charlie Blackmon | Rockies | .314 | 5.0 | 183 |
| 10 | Bryan Reynolds | Pirates | .314 | 3.0 | 361 |
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg ranked third in Box-Toppers points (20.7), first among National League pitchers. He ranked tied for fourth in wins (18), sixth in strikeouts (251) and 15th in earned run average (3.32). Strasburg’s WAR of 6.2 ranked outside the overall top 10.
Nelson Cruz of the Twins led all batters and all AL batters in Box-Toppers points (12.5), which was 26th among all players. Cruz ranked among the top 10 in home runs (tied for seventh with 41), but ranked outside the top 10 in batting average, runs batted in and WAR. He ranked 12th in batting average (.311), 16th in RBIs (108) and had a WAR of 4.4.
Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals led NL batters in Box-Toppers points (12.0), which was 29th among all players. Ozuna ranked outside the top 10 in the statistical categories included here: He ranked 121st in batting average (.241), tied for 45th in RBIs (89) and tied for 59th in home runs (29). He had a WAR of 1.9. (Ozuna is with the Braves for 2020.)
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How statistical leaders fared in Box-Toppers points
Here is a look at the leaders in each statistical category:
Home run leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 home run leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are listed by most home runs. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | HR | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Alonso | Mets | 53 | 7.0 | 119 |
| 2 | Eugenio Suarez | Reds | 49 | 6.0 | 140 |
| 3 | Jorge Soler | Royals | 48 | 10.2 | 44 |
| 4 | Cody Bellinger | Dodgers | 47 | 11.2 | 35 |
| 5 | Mike Trout | Angels | 45 | 8.7 | 68 |
| 6 | Christian Yelich | Brewers | 44 | 11.7 | 31 |
| 7 | Alex Bregman | Astros | 41 | 10.0 | 48 |
| 7 | Nelson Cruz | Twins | 41 | 12.5 | 26 |
| 7 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | Braves | 41 | 3.7 | 264 |
| 7 | Nolan Arenado | Rockies | 41 | 9.0 | 62 |
Batting average
Just two of the top 10 players with the highest batting averages in 2019 were among the overall top 100 players in Box-Toppers points for the season:
Christian Yelich of the Brewers ranked second in batting average among all players (.329) and earned 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 31st among all players and second among National League batters.
Nolan Arenado of the Rockies ranked eighth in batting average among all players (.315) and earned 9.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 62nd among all players and sixth among NL batters.
The remaining eight players in the top 10 list for batting average in 2019 ranked from 111th overall to 361st in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Tim Anderson of the White Sox led batters in batting average (.335) but had just 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 175th among all players and 36th among AL batters. He ranked tied for 141st in home runs (14) and tied for 168th in runs batted in (56). Anderson’s WAR (3.7) ranked outside the overall top 10.
More details on batting average leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Home runs
Runs batted in leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 runs batted in (RBI) leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are ranked by RBIs. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | RBI | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Rendon | Nationals | 126 | 5.0 | 169 |
| 2 | Jose Abreu | White Sox | 123 | 7.5 | 98 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | Braves | 121 | 10.2 | 43 |
| 4 | Pete Alonso | Mets | 120 | 7.0 | 119 |
| 5 | Eduardo Escobar | Diamondbacks | 118 | 8.0 | 84 |
| 5 | Nolan Arenado | Rockies | 118 | 9.0 | 62 |
| 7 | Jorge Soler | Royals | 117 | 10.2 | 44 |
| 7 | Xander Bogaerts | Red Sox | 117 | 8.2 | 78 |
| 9 | Josh Bell | Pirates | 116 | 9.7 | 56 |
| 10 | Cody Bellinger | Dodgers | 115 | 11.2 | 35 |
| 10 | Rafael Devers | Red Sox | 115 | 9.5 | 57 |
Pete Alonso of the Mets led all players in home runs in 2019 but was one of three top 10 home run hitters to rank outside the top 100 in season Box-Toppers points.
Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz of the Twins, who led all batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019 with 12.5, ranked tied for seventh in home runs with 41. Two of Box-Toppers’ top three-ranked National League batters—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Christian Yelich of the Brewers—were also among the top 10 home run hitters in 2019.
Alonso led all players with 53 home runs. But he had just 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 119th among all players and 17th among NL batters. Normally, the top home run hitter is among the top batters in Box-Toppers points and has been at least among the overall top 100 players in four of the past five seasons. Home runs generally help a player earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors more frequently and rack up more Box-Toppers points. But for the second year in a row, it wasn’t the case. (In 2018, Khris Davis of the Athletics led in home runs with 48, but ranked 222nd in Box-Toppers points with 4.5.)
ERA leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 earned run average leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are listed from lowest ERA. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | ERA | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | Dodgers | 2.32 | 17.4 | 10 |
| 2 | Jacob deGrom | Mets | 2.43 | 19.1 | 4 |
| 3 | Gerrit Cole | Astros | 2.50 | 32.2 | 1 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | Astros | 2.58 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 5 | Mike Soroka | Braves | 2.68 | 11.4 | 34 |
| 6 | Jack Flaherty | Cardinals | 2.75 | 16.5 | 11 |
| 7 | Sonny Gray | Reds | 2.88 | 14.4 | 17 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 2.93 | 15.4 | 15 |
| 9 | Zack Greinke | Astros | 2.93 | 17.9 | 7 |
| 10 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 3.03 | 12.7 | 25 |
Alonso also ranked fourth among batters in runs batted in (120) and 83rd in batting average (.260). Alonso’s WAR (5.2) ranked outside the overall top 10.
More details on home run leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Runs batted in
Seven of the 11 top runs batted in leaders were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019.
However, overall RBI leader Anthony Rendon of the Nationals ranked outside the top 10 National League batters in Box-Toppers points. Rendon, who led with 126 RBIs, had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 32nd among NL batters and 169th among all players. Rendon, in fact, had the lowest Box-Toppers point total among all 11 RBI leaders, even though he had the most RBIs.
Wins leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 wins leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are listed by most wins. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | W | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Verlander | Astros | 21 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 2 | Gerrit Cole | Astros | 20 | 32.2 | 1 |
| 3 | Eduardo Rodriguez | Red Sox | 19 | 11.4 | 32 |
| 4 | Domingo German | Yankees | 18 | 10.7 | 39 |
| 4 | Zack Greinke | Astros | 18 | 17.9 | 7 |
| 4 | Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | 18 | 20.7 | 3 |
| 7 | Max Fried | Braves | 17 | 10.0 | 50 |
| 8 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 16 | 12.7 | 25 |
| 8 | Dakota Hudson | Cardinals | 16 | 7.7 | 95 |
| 8 | Charlie Morton | Rays | 16 | 18.8 | 5 |
| 8 | Marco Gonzales | Mariners | 16 | 9.4 | 58 |
| 8 | Lance Lynn | Rangers | 16 | 15.0 | 16 |
Likewise, Jose Abreu of the White Sox, who led American League players in RBIs with 123 (second among all players) also ranked outside the top 10 AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 7.5—he ranked 15th among AL batters and 98th among all players.
Rendon also ranked fifth in batting average (.319) and tied for 29th in home runs (34). Rendon’s WAR (6.4) ranked outside the overall top 10.
More details on runs batted in leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Earned run average
Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers had the lowest earned run average of any pitcher in 2019 and ranked 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings.
The overall Box-Toppers points leader, Gerrit Cole of the Astros (32.2), ranked third in ERA (2.50).
Five of the top 10 ERA leaders finished in the top 10 in Box-Toppers points in 2019.
Ryu had the lowest ERA (2.32) and ranked 10th overall in Box-Toppers points (17.4). (Ryu is with the Blue Jays for 2020.)
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 |
Ryu finished outside the top 10 in other categories. He was tied for 18th in wins (14) and ranked 40th in strikeouts (163). He had a 4.8 wins above replacement rating, outside the overall top 10.
More details on earned run average leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Wins
Justin Verlander of the Astros, who led all pitchers in wins 2019 with 21, ranked second among all players in Box-Toppers points with 27.5.
Verlander’s teammate, Gerrit Cole, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2019 with 32.2, ranked second in wins with 20.
Of the 12 pitchers with 16 or more wins in 2019, five of them ranked among the top 10 in Box-Toppers points and 10 of them ranked among the top 50 in Box-Toppers points.
More details on wins leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Strikeouts
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2019, also led all pitchers in strikeouts during the season.
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.
More details on strikeout leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
WAR leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here is how 2019 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) leaders fared in Box-Toppers points. Players are ranked by WAR. Also shown are their 2019 Box-Toppers points (BTP) and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players.| Player | Team | WAR | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cody Bellinger | Dodgers | 9.1 | 11.2 | 35 |
| 2 | Alex Bregman | Astros | 9.1 | 10.0 | 48 |
| 3 | Marcus Semien | Athletics | 8.9 | 8.7 | 74 |
| 4 | Matt Chapman | Athletics | 8.3 | 9.0 | 63 |
| 5 | Mike Trout | Angels | 8.2 | 8.7 | 68 |
| 6 | Jacob deGrom | Mets | 8.2 | 19.1 | 4 |
| 7 | Mike Minor | Rangers | 7.7 | 13.7 | 21 |
| 8 | Lance Lynn | Rangers | 7.5 | 15.0 | 16 |
| 9 | Justin Verlander | Astros | 7.3 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 10 | Ketel Marte | Diamondbacks | 7.2 | 7.0 | 111 |
Wins above replacement
Those who figure Wins Above Replacement and those who figure Box-Toppers points (me) often don’t seem to be looking at the same game.
But we are. We are looking at the exact same Major League Baseball game. In recent years, Box-Toppers has seen pitchers come to so overwhelmingly dominate the game that they’ve pushed batters’ relative achievements into the background. But WAR seems to persist in the notion that it is batters who are primarily the stars of the game, contributing more to help their teams win than pitchers.
Pitchers dominate Box-Toppers’ top 100 in player season rankings—71 of the top 100 players in 2019 were pitchers, only 29 were batters. The highest ranked batter was Nelson Cruz of the Twins with 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 26th among all players. That means Box-Toppers’ top 25 ranked players were pitchers. That means Box-Toppers sees pitchers primarily and overwhelmingly as the players who most help their teams win the most games.
But in WAR, batters hold six of the 10 top spots. And the leading player for 2019 is a batter, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers, who led with a WAR of 9.1. Bellinger ranked 35th among players in Box-Toppers points with 11.2, which was third among National League batters.
Only two players in the top 10 in WAR also ranked among the top 10 in Box-Toppers points for 2019. Both are pitchers. However, nine of the WAR top 10 rank among the top 75 players in Box-Toppers points for 2019. Plus, five of the six batters among the WAR top 10 rank among the top 10 list in Box-Toppers points in either the AL or NL.
Bellinger also ranked fourth in home runs (47), tied for 10th in runs batted in (115) and 15th in batting average (.305).
More details on wins above replacement leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
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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