Here is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2021.
Detail leaders 2021
Here are Box-Toppers point leaders for 2021 broken down according to several factors, including by position and league. Included here are:▶︎ Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
▶︎ Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
▶︎ The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the “dippers” are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2019; the “risers” are players whose point total climbed the most from 2019.
▶︎ Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
| 2021 OVERALL | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 22.4 |
| 3 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 21.1 |
| 4 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | tor al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 17.4 |
| 8 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.1 |
| 9 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 10 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 2021 AL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 22.4 |
| 2 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | tor al | 17.7 |
| 3 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 16.1 |
| 4 | Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 15.7 |
| 5 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 6 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | bos al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 13.7 |
| 8 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 12.7 |
| 9 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 10 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 12.4 |
| 2021 AL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 13.0 |
| 2 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | bos al | 10.7 |
| 3 | Lowe, Brandon 4108 | 2b | tb al | 10.5 |
| 4 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 5 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 8.5 |
| 6 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 8.0 |
| 7 | Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | oak al | 8.0 |
| 8 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 7.5 |
| 9 | France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sea al | 7.5 |
| 10 | Walsh, Jared 4332 | 1b | ana al | 7.5 |
| 2021 NL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 21.1 |
| 3 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.1 |
| 4 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 18.1 |
| 5 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 17.4 |
| 6 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.1 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 8 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 9 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.1 |
| 10 | Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.5 |
| 2021 NL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | cin nl | 11.5 |
| 2 | Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 10.2 |
| 3 | Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 9.7 |
| 4 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 9.0 |
| 5 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 9.0 |
| 6 | Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 8.5 |
| 7 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | rf lf | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 8 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | cf | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 9 | O’Neill, Tyler 4074 | lf | stl nl | 8.0 |
| 10 | Winker, Jesse 3988 | lf | cin nl | 7.5 |
| 2021 AL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 8.0 |
| 2 | Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | oak al | 8.0 |
| 3 | France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sea al | 7.5 |
| 4 | Walsh, Jared 4332 | 1b | ana al | 7.5 |
| 5 | Sano, Miguel 3527 | 1b | min al | 5.5 |
| 2021 AL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Lowe, Brandon 4108 | 2b | tb al | 10.5 |
| 2 | Polanco, Jorge 3739 | 2b | min al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 6.5 |
| 4 | Semien, Marcus 3302 | 2b | tor al | 6.2 |
| 5 | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | 2b dh | oak al | 6.0 |
| 2021 AL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 8.5 |
| 2 | Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Bichette, Bo 4233 | ss | tor al | 7.0 |
| 4 | Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 6.5 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Enrique 3541 | cf 2b ss | bos al | 3.5 |
| 2021 AL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 13.0 |
| 2 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 7.5 |
| 3 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 3b | det al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Wendle, Joey 3756 | 3b ph | tb al | 4.7 |
| 2021 AL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Stassi, Max 4038 | ca | ana al | 4.5 |
| 2 | Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 4.5 |
| 3 | Maldonado, Martin 3082 | ca | hou al | 4.0 |
| 4 | Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca | chi al | 3.5 |
| 5 | Zunino, Mike 3390 | ca | tb al | 3.0 |
| 2021 AL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 2 | Haniger, Mitch 3772 | rf | sea al | 7.5 |
| 3 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | rf | hou al | 7.2 |
| 4 | Alvarez, Yordan 4209 | dh lf | hou al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | rf | bos al | 6.0 |
| 6 | Grichuk, Randal 3474 | dh cf rf | tor al | 5.5 |
| 7 | Gallo, Joey 3485 | rf lf | nyy al | 5.5 |
| 8 | Gurriel, Lourdes Jr. 4148 | lf | tor al | 5.2 |
| 9 | Merrifield, Whit 3855 | 2b rf | kc al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Garcia, Adolis 4387 | cf dh | tex al | 5.0 |
| 2021 AL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | bos al | 10.7 |
| 2 | Alvarez, Yordan 4209 | dh lf | hou al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | dh | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | 2b dh | oak al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | tb al | 5.7 |
| 2021 NL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 9.7 |
| 2 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 6.5 |
| 5 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 1b 2b | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 2021 NL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Albies, Ozzie 3953 | 2b | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 1b 2b | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Cronenworth, Jake 4380 | 2b | sd nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 3b 2b ph | col nl | 4.2 |
| 5 | India, Jonathan 4469 | 2b | cin nl | 3.7 |
| 2021 NL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 10.2 |
| 2 | Crawford, Brandon 2878 | ss | sf nl | 7.5 |
| 3 | Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 5 | Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 6.7 |
| 2021 NL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 8.5 |
| 3 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b | mil nl | 6.5 |
| 4 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b | sd nl | 5.9 |
| 5 | Urias, Luis 4218 | 3b | mil nl | 4.7 |
| 2021 NL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 7.2 |
| 2 | Posey, Buster 2745 | ca | sf nl | 6.5 |
| 3 | Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca | chi nl | 5.5 |
| 4 | Molina, Yadier 1967 | ca | stl nl | 4.5 |
| 5 | Vogt, Stephen 3503 | ca dh | atl nl | 3.2 |
| 2021 NL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | cin nl | 11.5 |
| 2 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | rf lf | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | cf | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 4 | O’Neill, Tyler 4074 | lf | stl nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Winker, Jesse 3988 | lf | cin nl | 7.5 |
| 6 | Soto, Juan 3994 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Pederson, Joc 3621 | lf rf | atl nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Soler, Jorge 3403 | rf dh | atl nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 5.5 |
| 10 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | phi nl | 5.5 |
| 2021 DIPPERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi mr sp | sd nl | -7.0 |
| 2 | Kepler, Max 3664 | rf | min al | -5.0 |
| 3 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | nym nl | -5.0 |
| 4 | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | ana al | -5.0 |
| 5 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | -4.7 |
| 6 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | atl nl | -4.5 |
| 7 | Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | oak al | -4.0 |
| 8 | Brault, Steven 3911 | pi sp | pit nl | -4.0 |
| 9 | LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | nyy al | -3.5 |
| 10 | Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | sd nl | -3.5 |
| 2021 RISERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | +21.1 |
| 2 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | +20.1 |
| 3 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | +18.1 |
| 4 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | tor al | +16.7 |
| 5 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | +16.1 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | +15.0 |
| 7 | Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | +14.5 |
| 8 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | +14.4 |
| 9 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | +14.4 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | +14.1 |
| 2021 AL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | chi al | 7.0 |
| 2 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | chi al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Iglesias, Raisel 3467 | pi cp | ana al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Kittredge, Andrew 4417 | pi mr cp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Green, Chad 3675 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 2021 AL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi sp mr | tb al | 9.7 |
| 2 | Fleming, Josh 4316 | pi sp mr | tb al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Suarez, Jose 4425 | pi mr sp | ana al | 6.4 |
| 4 | Kittredge, Andrew 4417 | pi mr cp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Kopech, Michael 4385 | pi sp mr | chi al | 5.7 |
| 2021 NL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi cp | phi nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Reyes, Alex 3706 | pi cp | stl nl | 6.7 |
| 3 | Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Smith, Will 3073 | pi cp | atl nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 2021 NL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp mr | phi nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Woodford, Jake 4293 | pi sp mr | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 3 | Gallegos, Giovanny 4104 | pi mr | stl nl | 4.0 |
| 4 | Sims, Lucas 3892 | pi mr | cin nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Heuer, Codi 4327 | pi cp mr | chi nl | 3.0 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
➜ Players are listed by the position they predominantly played when they earned Box-Toppers points (by earning Player of the Game honors).
➜ Players are listed with the team on which they finished the season. Some players played on two or more teams in a single season.
➜ DIPPERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point decline.
➜ RISERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point increase.
➜ Note: If players have the same Box-Toppers point total, ties are broken based on which player had more Box-Toppers points in the previous season (or the previous season before that—and so on, if those point totals are tied).
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications, including:
Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the "dippers" are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2020; the "risers" are players whose point total climbed the most from 2020.
Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
Highlights include:
Top overall player for 2021—Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers 2021 Player of the Year, leading all players with 25.1 Box-Toppers points for the season. He also led National League pitchers.
Scherzer began the season with the Nationals, earning 10.7 of his points before being traded at the end of July to the Dodgers. He earned 14.4 points in the final two months of the season. Only 14 other players earned that many points during the entire six-month season.
This was Scherzer’s second Box-Toppers Player of the Year honor. He also led all players with 25.7 points in 2016 with the Nationals. It is the fifth time he has led his league’s pitchers. He led American League pitchers in 2013 with the Tigers (18.1) and led NL pitchers in 2016 (25.7), 2017 (25.0) and 2018 (25.1) with the Nationals. Only one other player has led his league’s pitchers in more seasons since 1995 than Scherzer: Randy Johnson led his league’s pitchers six times.
Top AL pitcher for 2021—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole led AL pitchers in 2021 with 22.4 Box-Toppers points, second overall. It is the second time he has led AL pitchers. He also did it in 2019 with the Astros, when he earned 32.2 Box-Toppers points.
Top overall batters for 2021—Jose Ramirez of the Indians led AL batters with 13.0 Box-Toppers points. Nick Castellanos of the Reds led NL batters with 11.5 points.
Top batters by position—The chart shows the top AL and NL batters by position, including the top five first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen, catchers in both the AL and NL. The top five AL designated hitters are also shown. Also shown are the top 10 outfielders in each league.
Dippers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2020 to 2021. Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet had the biggest decline of 7.0 points. He earned 9.0 points in 2020 (ranked fifth overall and third among NL pitchers that season) and 2.0 points in 2021.
With the 2020 season shortened to 60 games by the coronavirus pandemic, Lamet’s 7.0-point decline was the lowest of any player to lead a season’s dippers since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Previously, the lowest point decline to lead dippers was 12.0 by Mel Rojas of the Mets, who had 14.0 points in 1996 with the Expos and 2.0 points in 1997 with the Mets. Fewer games in 2020 lessened the possibility of big declines in 2021, especially since the highest point total earned in 2020 was 11.4 by Indians pitcher Shane Bieber.
Risers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from 2020 to 2021. Box-Toppers Player of the Year Scherzer had the biggest increase of 21.1 points, earning 4.0 points in 2020 with the Nationals and earning 25.1 in 2021.
Despite playing in a season after a shortened 60-game season, Scherzer’s 21.1-point gain was not the largest point gain by a player from one season to the next. That record still belongs to Rays pitcher Blake Snell, who had a 22.2-point increase from 2017 (5.0 points) to 2018 (27.2). Scherzer’s 21.1-point gain is second-largest from one season to the next.
Relief pitchers—The chart shows the top five closing and relief pitchers in both the AL and NL for 2021. Liam Hendriks of the White Sox led AL closing pitchers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points. Ian Kennedy of the Phillies led NL closers with 6.7 points. Ryan Yarbrough of the Rays led AL middle relievers with 9.7 points (Yarbrough earned Player of the Game honors nine times in 2021, five as a starting pitcher and four as a middle reliever). Ranger Suarez of the Phillies led NL middle relievers with 9.0 points (Suarez earned Player of the Game honors seven times in 2021, twice as a middle reliever, once as a closer and four times as a starter). Some relievers had more than one role through the season and are ranked as both a closer and a middle reliever.
Box-Toppers has tracked each game played since the start of the 1995 season. A season-by-season look at Box-Toppers’ detail leaders for all 27 seasons—a sprawling, scrolling chart—can be found at this link. Like the chart here, it shows the top groups of players at different positions and by different categories or classifications, but this chart shows every season from 1995 to 2021. For example, who was the top AL first baseman in 1996? Who was the top NL closing pitcher in 1999? Whose Box-Toppers point total rose the most from 2004 to 2005? And who was the top NL second baseman in 2008? It’s all there.
(Answers, by the way are: Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox with 18.6 points, Billy Wagner of the Astros with 15.0 points, Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins, who rose 12.7 points from 2004 to 2005 and Chase Utley of the Phillies with 12.0 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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