A look back at how Box-Toppers watched players did in 2014

BOX-TOPPERS EXTRA

Andrew McCutchen may be selected as National League’s Most Valuable Player, but only ranks 18th among NL batters in Box-Toppers points. Mike Trout may be voted American League MVP but ranks seventh among AL batters in Box-Toppers points.

Box-Toppers watched players

Here are Box-Toppers' eight watched players at the close of the 2014 season. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players accumulated this season, followed by their overall rank among all players for 2014. Honors shows the four players who led Box-Toppers major player categories—AL and NL batting and pitching.

Player	Team	BTP	Rank	Honors
Derek Jeter	Yankees	0.0	996
Yasiel Puig	Dodgers	1.0	593
Andrew McCutchen	Pirates	6.5	137
Mike Trout	Angels	8.5	78
Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	11.6	39	1st NL batter
Jose Abreu	White Sox	15.5	14	1st AL batter
Corey Kluber	Indians	25.8	2	1st AL pitcher
Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	31.5	1	1st NL pitcher

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Meanwhile, unexpected players—Jose Abreu and Troy Tulowitzki—who may have no chance at even being considered for postseason honors, are among Box-Toppers points leaders.

Why?

Why do some unexpected players excel in Box-Toppers points? And why do some star players seem to lag behind with fewer Box-Toppers points?

This season, Box-Toppers set to demonstrate why by focusing on a limited number of players and their daily performances. These watched players—featured in Box-Toppers Facebook posts and specially hashtagged Box-Toppers Twitter posts—showed when a player was deserving of earning Box-Toppers points or showed how other players in their game beat them out for points.

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. 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.

At the end of the season, Box-Toppers was watching eight players—four of them lead key Box-Toppers categories (NL and AL pitching and batting) and four others are players who often do not score well in Box-Toppers points but who are frequently highly touted, considered for postseason honors and are considered to be stars.

Here is a look at the eight players (including the Twitter hashtag (#) used in daily “watched” posts):

Derek Jeter, Yankees #jeterwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 0.0

Jeter, 40, is surely a future Hall-of-Famer, but in 145 games, he did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of the Yankees wins in his retirement season.

Box-Toppers watched him this season because he announced his retirement prior to the season and we thought it would be interesting to see how he fared in his last year. But Box-Toppers also watched him because he tended not to score as highly in Box-Toppers as his reputation as a star would indicate. 

In his career, he scored 76.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 127th among all players. To give some perspective, he trails DH Travis Hafner (in 123rd place with 76.9 points), who is not exactly on the glidepath to Cooperstown that Jeter is.

But to be fair, Jeter ranks second among all shortstops all-time, trailing Miguel Tejada (102.3 Box-Toppers points). The shortstop position is generally not called upon for the offensive numbers required to win Player of the Game honors and earn Box-Toppers points.

Jeter’s Box-Toppers points total have also likely been impacted over the years because of the caliber of the talent on his own team—players like Roger Clemens, CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi, who have been his teammates, have more career Box-Toppers points than Jeter and likely beat him out on occasion for Player of the Game honors.

For example, Jeter did not even earn Player of the Game honors in his final game at Yankee Stadium Sept. 25. While Jeter drove in the winning run on a dramatic, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth (and was 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs), he was beat out for Player of the Game by pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who struck out nine over eight innings in the win over the Orioles.

Also, Jeter’s star power does not come from putting together performances that frequently make him Player of the Game. It often comes from anecdotal (but real) flashes of brilliance that make the highlight reel, that do contribute to the win, that wows the fans to the point of deserved admiration, but do not translate well to the scorecard, the box score—or to Box-Toppers points.

More on Derek Jeter in this February post in Box-Toppers Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series on retiring or soon-to-be retiring players.

Yasiel Puig, Dodgers #puigwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 1.0

145th among NL batters

593rd among all players

Box-Toppers watched Puig this year because of the buzz he created. True, he led the NL in on-base percentage and had the NL’s eighth-best batting average—but he only once was Dodger’s top player in a win, on May 12. He has only earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors twice in his career and has only 2.5 career Box-Toppers points in two seasons.

Is Puig overrated and not living up to the hype, at least in terms of helping the Dodgers win games? Or is Puig perhaps overshadowed by other players on his team who contributed more to Dodgers wins, especially pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, who were among the overall Box-Toppers points leaders?

Andrew McCutchen, Pirates #cutchwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 6.5

18th among NL batters

137th among all players

A leader in new-fangled baseball statistics, such as Wins Above Replacement and on-base plus slugging, the 2013 NL MVP is touted by many to repeat the feat in 2014.

But in 2013, he finished 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points with 6.0. This year, he is slightly improved, with 6.5 points—18th among NL batters. According to Box-Toppers, he is not the NL batter who most helped his team win the most games. In fact, he is not even the top Pirates batter, an honor that goes to Neil Walker (7.0 Box-Toppers points).

Mike Trout, Angels #troutwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 8.5

7th among AL batters

78th among all players

Another sabermetrician favorite and leader in wins above replacement, Trout actually had a decent season Box-Toppers-wise—just not among the top five of AL batters.

Trout was watched this season because he has been touted as an MVP candidate for two seasons, finishing behind Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers both times. With Cabrera ostensibly out of the limelight since he is not having another Triple Crown season, the door has been opened for Trout to finally claim MVP this year. However, it should be noted that Cabrera has 12.5 Box-Toppers points this season, in second among AL batters and ahead of Trout.

But ahead of both Trout and Cabrera in Box-Toppers points is rookie Jose Abreu of the White Sox with 15.5 points.

In 2013, Trout had only 3.5 Box-Toppers points and yet finished second in AL MVP voting. This year is his second-best ever (he had 11.0 points in 2012) and he is the leading batter among Angels players in Box-Toppers points, third-best among all Angels players.

Jose Abreu, White Sox #abreuwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 15.5

1st among AL batters

14th among all players

Rookie Jose Abreu has been a Box-Toppers watched player since he assumed the lead among AL batters in June. He hit 36 home runs and led the AL in slugging percentage (.581) and handily won Box-Toppers AL Batter of the Year honors—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers finished second with 12.5 Box-Toppers points.

Abreu should win AL Rookie of the Year honors. But despite his performance, it is unclear whether he is even being taken seriously as a candidate for AL MVP.

Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies #tulowatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 11.6

1st among NL batters

39th among all players

Tulowitzki played only 91 games this season—he last played July 19 and was out with injury and hip surgery after that. No one in their right mind would consider that anyone who missed nearly half the season should be considered as NL MVP.

And yet, according to Box-Toppers, no other NL batter playing an entire season even came close the the 11.6 Box-Toppers points Tulowitzki earned in his short time. Second-place Buster Posey of the Giants had 8.5.

Early in the season, Tulowitzki was the rare batter among Box-Toppers top 10 overall players. But even as he fell down to 39th among all players, he never fell from first among NL batters in Box-Toppers points.

It could be argued that NL batters were so lackluster and so overshadowed by NL pitchers in 2014 that no batter should win MVP and the honor should go instead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. More on him in a second.

Corey Kluber, Indians #kluberwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 25.8

1st among AL pitchers

2nd among all players

Kluber came on late to take the AL pitching lead from Max Scherzer of the Tigers (22.1 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers).

Kluber became one of only 11 players in Box-Toppers’ 20 years of record keeping to reach 25 Box-Toppers points in a season.

Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers #clawwatch

2014 Box-Toppers point total: 31.5

1st among NL pitchers

1st among all players

Kershaw’s season was dominant. Despite missing six weeks with injury at the start of the season, Kershaw racked up the fourth-best single-season Box-Toppers point total in 20 years.

It was a year so dominant in a year in an overall down year for NL batters, Kershaw is being touted for the NL MVP.

Jason Giambi's 19-season Box-Toppers scoring streak ends—no points in 2014

BOX-TOPPERS EXTRA

Jason Giambi of the Indians had been the only player to earn at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in each season since record keeping began in 1995.

However, in 2014, Giambi failed to earn Player of the Game honors even once and so earned no Box-Toppers points for the season. That means his streak of 19 straight seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point, which lasted from 1995 to 2013, has come to an end.

Giambi, 43, was hampered by injury this season and played in only 26 games, making 70 plate appearances. 

Giambi has 133.4 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks eighth among all batters since record keeping began in 1995. During his 19-season streak, Giambi has had as many as 17.0 Box-Toppers points (he did it twice—in 2000 with the Athletics and in 2002 with the Yankees) and as few as 1.0 (in 2012 with the Rockies). In 2013, he had 3.5 with the Indians.

Giambi broke into the Majors in 1995, the same year as Box-Toppers record keeping began. He started as primarily a first baseman and late in his career has been primarily a designated hitter.

Giambi hasn’t decided whether to retire at the end of this season. He is a free agent.

With Giambi’s streak of 19 seasons at an end, the longest current streak of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point is 17, held by Paul Konerko of the White Sox. Konerko has scored at least 1.0 point in each season from 1998 to 2014—he scored 1.0 point each in 2013 and 2014.

However, Konerko’s 17-year streak is now at an end because he played his last game Sunday and retired.

That means the longest streak is now 16 seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point held by three veteran players:

• Pitcher Tim Hudson of the Giants.

• Outfielder Carlos Beltran of the Yankees.

• Outfielder Torii Hunter of the Tigers.

All three players have at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in each season from 1999 to 2014.

Derek Jeter of the Yankees had a streak of 17 seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point from 1996 to 2012. However, he scored no Box-Toppers points in either 2013 or 2014.

Three other players had 18-year streaks with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point come to an end after the 2012 season: Jim Thome, Chipper Jones and Johnny Damon. Alex Rodriguez had an 18-year streak with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point come to an end after the 2013 season.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Nationals' Gonzalez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 25; Yankees' Kuroda is AL's top player in Jeter's dramatic Bronx finale

Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, Thursday’s Player of the Day, becomes the 57th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Gonzalez pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 12, in the 3-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 18th among National League pitchers. 

In 2013, 54 players earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is American League Player of the Day. Kuroda struck out nine over eight innings in the 6-5 win over the Orioles. After Kuroda left the game, the Orioles tied it at 5-5, so he was not eligible for the win, picking up the no decision. 

Kuroda earned Player of the Game honors over teammate, the retiring Derek Jeter, who drove in the winning run on a dramatic, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in his final game at Yankee Stadium. However, Jeter had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Yankees Thursday of +1 (he went 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs) while Kuroda’s score was +10.

Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Vazquez homered and doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Rays.

Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. Sandoval went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 9-8 win over the Padres.

Notable: Marlins pitcher Steve Cishek ranks 21st among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cishek (1IP 0R 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.

Gonzalez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kuroda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Vazquez and Morrison each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

NOTE: The usual weekly Friday reports of Box-Toppers team and player rankings will wait this week until the season's final games are completed Sunday. Look for Box-Toppers final team rankings and player rankings reports for the season on Monday—or thereabouts.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

925	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	Nationals	Gio Gonzalez (W, 10-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	2	12
	12.0	Pirates	Edinson Volquez (W, 13-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	10
AL	10.0	`Yankees	Hiroki Kuroda	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	0	9
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Christian Vazquez C	4	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Logan Morrison LF, 1B	4	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	3	0	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mets	Curtis Granderson RF	4	1	3	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Tigers	Joe Nathan (S, 34)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 39)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Reds	Aroldis Chapman (S, 35)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	`Rangers	Colby Lewis	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	5	7

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

A look at how Box-Toppers might pick the 2014 All-Stars

If Box-Toppers points rather than fan voting were used to determine Major League All-Star teams, you’d have very different teams, very pissed-off fans and one very stunned baseball blogger.

For example, if Box-Toppers points were used to determine All-Stars, there would be no Yasiel Puig, no Mike Trout, no Jose Bautista and no Derek Jeter in the game. And you would have players in the line-up, such as Daniel Murphy, Freddie Freeman and Erick Aybar, among others.

The All-Star Game is July 15. Online fan voting ends July 3, less than a week away.

Box-Toppers may have a different perspective on All-Stars because it tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Players only earn points if they are deemed to be Player of the Game, based on a simple box score formula.

So players such as Puig, Trout and Bautista, while they often put up impressive numbers, have not regularly been top player in games their teams have won recently. So while their fan All-Star vote may be high, their Box-Toppers point totals lately have been lower.

Another example of Box-Toppers not matching baseball’s conventional thinking is Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates. Last year, baseball writers voted him National League Most Valuable Player. But in Box-Toppers, he ranked 22nd among NL batters. However, this year, McCutchen has earned Player of the Game four times and picked up 5.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks fifth among NL batters and second among NL outfielders. 

Box-Toppers looks at the All-Star team in two different ways. First, it considers players on their performance during the 2014 season. But since this season is still a small data sample, it looks at last season, too, and considers players on their performance since the start of 2013.

For example, if you look at Box-Toppers points for just this season, Chris Colabello of the Twins is the second-ranked outfielder based on his early season performance. But Colabello slumped and has been in the minors for more than a month—which does not speak well for his All-Star credentials.

But looking at player’s performance since 2013 can be misleading, too. For example, Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees leads AL outfielders since the start of 2013 with 13.9 Box-Toppers points. But 12.9 of those were earned in 2013. Despite his strong 2013, he probably would not be considered an All-Star in 2014.

But then there’s a player like Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks. He actually is leading currently in NL voting for first basemen. And in fact, in 2013, he led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points, with 13.7. But this year, while his numbers are generally good, he is playing for a bad team and has earned only 1.5 Box-Toppers points. Despite his great 2013 in Box-Toppers, he is overshadowed in the NL at first base by Freddie Freeman of the Braves. Freeman leads all NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points for both 2014 and 2013-14.

But enough prelude. Here is a look a the All-Star teams. First, it’s the Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league for 2014. Then, it’s Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league for 2013-14. And finally, a look at current All-Star vote leaders, showing their current Box-Toppers point total and their rank in Box-Toppers by position and league.

2014

Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points. He is on the AL All-Star ballot as first baseman and not as a designated hitter, but since he has played DH this season, we will break the “rules” and put him at DH and put Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, last year’s Box-Toppers AL batting leader, at first.

In the American League, only four of the nine starters are even among the top vote-getters at their positions. 

The National League is a little better—six of the eight Box-Toppers leaders for starting positions are among the All-Star voting leaders.

And though fan voters don’t get to pick pitchers, included here for both leagues are Box-Toppers leaders for starting pitchers (the top four starters) along with the top middle reliever and top closing pitcher.

Box-Toppers pick for All-Star starters based on 2014 stats? Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees for the AL and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals for the NL.

All-Stars based on 2014 Box-Toppers points

Here are Box-Toppers points leaders by position for each league. Also shown is players' current ranking in All-Star fan voting by their position. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the league leaders in fan voting by their position. Also shown are pitching leaders. Fans don't get to vote on pitchers so their vote rank is marked with an asterisk (*).

Pos	AL players	Team	BTP	Vote rank
1B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	7.5	1
2B	Rodriguez, Sean 2729	tb al	5.0	-
SS	Aybar, Erick 2416	ana al	6.0	-
3B	Donaldson, Josh 3144	oak al	6.5	1
CA	Perez, Salvador 2972	kc al	3.7	-
OF	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	oak al	5.5	4
OF	Colabello, Chris 3235	min al	5.2	-
OF	Hunter, Torii 1190	det al	4.5	10
DH	Abreu, Jose 3308	chi al	8.5	-
SP	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	nyy al	12.7	*
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	11.4	*
SP	Kazmir, Scott 1947	oak al	9.7	*
SP	Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	8.8	*
MR	Duffy, Danny 2915	kc al	6.0	*
CP	Uehara, Koji 2802	bos al	6.0	*
Pos	NL players	Team	BTP	Vote rank
1B	Freeman, Freddie 2887	atl nl	6.2	3
2B	Murphy, Daniel 2589	nym nl	4.5	-
SS	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	col nl	10.6	1
3B	Ramirez, Aramis 1364	mil nl	3.5	1
CA	Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	mil nl	3.7	2
OF	Morse, Michael 2020	sf nl	5.5	-
OF	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	pit nl	5.0	2
OF	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	fla nl	4.7	4
SP	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	13.0	*
SP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	12.7	*
SP	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	sf nl	12.5	*
SP	Cueto, Johnny 2400	cin nl	11.7	*
MR	Collmenter, Josh 2863	ari nl	4.0	*
CP	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	atl nl	5.0	*

BTP: Box-Toppers points
Vote rank: Where the player ranks by position in All-Star fan voting. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the leaders. An asterisk (*) indicates they are a pitcher and not eligible for fan voting.

What are those numbers after players' names? 

2013-14

These are Box-Toppers points leaders by position since the start of 2013. 

In the American League, the Box-Toppers leaders agree a little better with voters—seven of the nine Box-Toppers leaders are among the leaders in fan voting and three (Cabrera, Robinson Cano of the Mariners and Josh Donaldson of the Athletics) are vote leaders for their positions.

In the National League, five of the Box-Toppers position leaders are also among the vote leaders. However, Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies is the only player who leads his position in both Box-Toppers points and fan voting.

And though fan voters don’t get to pick pitchers, included here for both leagues are Box-Toppers leaders for starting pitchers (the top four starters) along with the top middle reliever and top closing pitcher.

Box-Toppers pick for starters based on 2013-14 stats? Max Scherzer of the Tigers for the AL and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers for the NL.

All-Stars based on 2013-14 Box-Toppers points

Here are Box-Toppers points leaders by position for each league. Also shown is players' current ranking in All-Star fan voting by their position. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the league leaders in fan voting by their position. Also shown are pitching leaders. Fans don't get to vote on pitchers so their vote rank is marked with an asterisk (*).

Pos	AL players	Team	BTP	Vote rank
1B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	24.4	1
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	sea al	15.5	1
SS	Aybar, Erick 2416	ana al	11.0	-
3B	Donaldson, Josh 3144	oak al	16.0	1
CA	McCann, Brian 2179	nyy al	9.5	3
OF	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	nyy al	13.9	-
OF	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	oak al	12.5	4
OF	Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	tex al	11.0	14
DH	Ortiz, David	bos al	16.4	2
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	29.5	*
SP	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	24.4	*
SP	Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	24.1	*
SP	Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	23.6	*
MR	Smyly, Drew 3009	det al	10.7	*
CP	Holland, Greg 2906	kc al	14.0	*
Pos	NL players	Team	BTP	Vote rank
1B	Freeman, Freddie 2887	atl nl	17.7	3
2B	Murphy, Daniel 2589	nym nl	13.0	-
SS	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	col nl	14.6	1
3B	Alvarez, Pedro 2817	pit nl	10.2	-
CA	Posey, Buster 2745	sf nl	10.0	3
OF	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	12.5	-
OF	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	col nl	11.5	14
OF	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	pit nl	11.0	2
SP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	34.4	*
SP	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	33.2	*
SP	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	sf nl	28.2	*
SP	Greinke, Zack 1871	lad nl	26.8	*
MR	Collmenter, Josh 2863	ari nl	12.0	*
CP	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	atl nl	17.7	*

BTP: Box-Toppers points
Vote rank: Where the player ranks by position in All-Star fan voting. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the leaders. An asterisk (*) indicates they are a pitcher and not eligible for fan voting.

What are those numbers after players' names? 

Voting leaders

A case can be made for any of these players to be on the All-Star team.

Numbers? Performance? Yes, players like Yadier Molina, Yasiel Puig and Mike Trout have that. Though they may not register very highly on Box-Toppers, it’s hard to argue that they’re not All-Star worthy.

And a case can even be made for a player like Derek Jeter of the Yankees—is he an All-Star? Well, technically, there ARE probably better and more deserving AL shortstops based on any metric you put forth for this season and last season. But then, this is Derek Jeter. The Captain. His final season. Even Yankee haters may be forced to put the numbers aside for a moment and vote with their heart on this one.

Here are the leaders as of June 22 and 23 in All-Star voting by position. Also included in the chart are each of the leaders’ Box-Toppers points total for 2014 and their current rank among their position in their league. 

Only three players who lead for their position in All-Star voting also lead their position in Box-Toppers points:

• AL 3B Josh Donaldson of the Athletics.

• NL SS Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies.

• NL 3B Aramis Ramirez of the Pirates.

All-Stars voting leaders & their Box-Toppers rankings

Here are All-Star fan voting leaders as of June 22 and 23. For comparison, their Box-Toppers points totals for 2014 are included along with their rank at their position by league. (For example, Miguel Cabrera has 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, second-most among AL first basemen.

Pos	AL players	Team	BTP	BTP rank
1B	Miguel Cabrera	det al	7.5	2
2B	Robinson Cano	sea al	3.0	4
SS	Derek Jeter	nyy al	0.0	22
3B	Josh Donaldson	oak al	6.5	1
CA	Matt Wieters	bal al	1.5	7
OF	Jose Bautista	tor al	2.5	15
OF	Mike Trout	ana al	2.0	23
OF	Melky Cabrera	tor al	3.0	10
DH	Nelson Cruz	bal al	3.0	10
Pos	NL players	Team	BTP	BTP rank
1B	Paul Goldschmidt	ari nl	1.5	13
2B	Chase Utley	phi nl	2.0	10
SS	Troy Tulowitzki	col nl	10.6	1
3B	Aramis Ramirez	mil nl	3.5	1
CA	Yadier Molina	stl nl	0.0	20
OF	Yasiel Puig	lad nl	1.0	44
OF	Andrew McCutchen	pit nl	5.0	2
OF	Carlos Gomez	mil nl	2.5	14

BTP: Box-Toppers points
BTP rank: Where the player ranks by position in their league in Box-Toppers points.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Welcome to Box-Toppers for the 2014 Major League Baseball season

Welcome to a new season of baseball tracked by 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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Think of it this way: A Box-Toppers point is similar to a win for a pitcher, except that all players—pitchers and batters—are eligible. The “win” has always seemed like a weird stat, anyway. Why is only the pitcher responsible for the win? Why can’t a batter who did more to earn the win also be eligible to earn it? And it also seems weird that sometimes the pitcher who did the worst could actually “earn” the win, simply because he left the game with his team leading.

That said, pitchers generally score higher than batters in Box-Toppers points. In 2013, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw led all players with 21.7 Box-Toppers points. Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer led American League players with 18.1. Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers led all batters with 16.9 and Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks led all National League batters with 13.7.

Taking a closer look at Kershaw’s 21.7 Box-Toppers point total: 

• He earned Player of the Game honors in 16 of the Dodgers’ victories (giving him 16.0 Box-Toppers points).

• He was overall Player of the Day five times (giving him 5.0 Box-Toppers bonus points).

• He was NL Player of the Day once (giving him 0.7 Box-Toppers bonus points).

Kershaw earned a win in 15 of the games in which he was Player of the Game (he had 16 total wins in 2013). On June 15, he was the game’s top player though he earned a no decision.

Box-Toppers and baseball writers agreed on three of the four players chosen for major postseason awards in 2013: Kershaw won the NL Cy Young Award, Scherzer won the AL Cy Young Award and Cabrera won AL Most Valuable Player Award. But baseball writers picked Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates over Goldschmidt for NL MVP (Goldschmidt finished second in MVP voting).

McCutchen did not fare as well in Box-Toppers points. He had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 22nd among NL batters. Teammate Pedro Alvarez had more Box-Toppers points than McCutchen with 7.7.

To be fair, McCutchen had better Box-Toppers seasons in both 2011 and 2012 (he was among the top 10 NL batters in 2011). In addition, Box-Toppers scope is limited. It does not look at a player’s defense. It also does not look at clubhouse leadership or the immeasurable intangibles which are extensively definitively quantified and calculated. 

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This is the second season of Box-Toppers.com as a website, sharing this method of following baseball’s top players with an ostensibly larger audience. But I’ve been following baseball with this system since 1995, which means two things:

• 2014 is Box-Toppers’ 20th season.

• I have been keeping track of games longer than Derek Jeter has been in the Major Leagues.

Jason Giambi is the only player who has received Box-Toppers points in each of the previous 19 seasons. As a member of the Cleveland Indians, he has a chance to be the first to earn points in each of 20 seasons in April (he is currently on the 15-day disabled list). Giambi, 43, has 133.4 Box-Toppers points (since 1995), seventh among all batters since Box-Toppers record keeping began.

What to expect from Box-Toppers in 2014:

• Each day, Box-Toppers will have a report on the day’s games (usually posted the morning after games), showing each game’s Player of the Game and top overall Players of the Day. (Here is an example of a post from the games of Sept. 11, 2013.)

• Weekly posts showing rankings of Box-Toppers points leaders and team standings (usually posted on Fridays). (Example posts from 2013 shown in links.)

• Links to Box-Toppers posts and other comments can be found through Twitter, Facebook or RSS. Occasionally, there will be a notable Box-Toppers statistic posted on Twitter and Facebook as #statofday. One thing I will also try this year is to follow one player and post his Box-Toppers status to Twitter and Facebook through the season. I’m going to choose Derek Jeter of the Yankees in his final season (#jeterwatch).

Some recent Box-Toppers posts have included:

• Predictions for the 2014 season, based on past Box-Toppers statistics. (Spoiler alert: Box-Toppers picks the Dodgers over the Tigers in the World Series).

• The Box-Toppers 2014 pre-season All-Star team.

• The Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series, featuring players whose careers are done (or may be done), including the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. 

• A look at who has led in Box-Toppers points over the previous two seasons (2012 and 2013) and over the previous six seasons (2008 to 2013). (Spoiler alert: It was Clayton Kershaw in both cases, who also led all players in 2013.)

• A closer look at how Box-Toppers leaders fared in MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year voting in 2013.

•

And as we start another season, I rededicate this effort in the memory of my brother, Andy, who was the true baseball fan in the family. Andy died at 40 in 2010. He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2005. (More on Andy in last year’s inaugural Welcome-to-Box-Toppers post.)

Play ball.

Fourteen players whose careers are done (or may be done) — plus eight honorable mention retirees

Series summary and conclusion

Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series has looked at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is a summary of the 14 players featured with links to more detailed posts on each. Also included are eight honorable mention players who have announced their retirements:

It is rare for a baseball player to have the luxury of a formal news conference to announce his retirement. It is rare if they even issue a press release.

Most players who are skillful and lucky enough to make it even to the big leagues toil in relative obscurity. Their career fades, they are released, they are designated for assignment, no other team signs them—and the fact that their career is over is an almost personal, private matter that an overwhelming majority of the time goes unregistered even on baseball’s copious and comprehensive transactions wires.

Many players active in 2013 will not play in 2014. Some notable players have been given the grand treatment of a formal retirement, with ceremonies, gifts, retrospectives and news conferences—namely Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Roy Halladay. But other players may not be back in 2014. Some players may be limited by injury (Johan Santana). Some who still want to play another year may be limited by age (Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez, both of whom did not play in 2013). And some may be limited by drug suspension (Alex Rodriguez and maybe Manny Ramirez, come to think of it).

This summary features the 14 players featured in the Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series in recent weeks. It includes players whose careers are done or may be done. Not every player in this series has announced his retirement. In fact, some are continuing to try to play—even if they haven’t been on active rosters for more than a year.

1. Alex Rodriguez

The New York Yankees third baseman is suspended for the 2014 season under baseball’s drug policy. The earliest he could come back to the game is 2015, when he will be 39. But will he come back? Will he be too old? Will any team give him the chance given the baggage he brings?

If it is the end for A-Rod, baseball loses the player who has helped his team to more wins than any other active player, according to Box-Toppers statistics. Rodriguez is the active leader in Box-Toppers points with 179.3, ahead of Yankees teammate and starting pitcher CC Sabathia, with 172.3. Since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, Rodriguez is also the leading batter in points, ahead of Manny Ramirez with 167.2. Rodriguez ranks fourth on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list among all players (from 1995 to 2013).

He is a three-time American League Most Valuable Player (2003 with the Rangers and 2005 and 2007 with the Yankees). However, only once did he lead the league in Box-Toppers points—in 2007, he led AL players with 18.9.

More on Alex Rodriguez

2. Roy Halladay

Halladay, 36, announced his retirement in December after injuries cut short his 2013 season. He won the Cy Young in both the American and National Leagues. He was Box-Toppers’ top NL pitcher in 2010 and among the top five pitchers in his league in Box-Toppers points in six different seasons.

He had 170.7 career Box-Toppers  points, fifth among all pitchers and sixth among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He was the second-ranked active pitcher in Box-Toppers points until his retirement (CC Sabathia, with 172.3 is No. 1).

He won the AL Cy Young in 2003 with the Blue Jays and NL Cy Young in 2010 with the Phillies. In 2010, he also had the most Box-Toppers points of any NL player with 23.4.

More on Roy Halladay

3. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez, 41, has not played in the Major Leagues since 2011 but he’s attempted comebacks in 2012 and 2013 and reports say he is not ruling out another try in 2014.

He is the second-ranked batter in career Box-Toppers points with 167.2, behind only Alex Rodriguez with 179.3 (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Ramirez is ranked seventh among all players since 1995.

Ramirez had the most Box-Toppers points of any AL batter in 1999 (19.9 with the Indians). He’s been among the top 10 batters in his league in Box-Toppers season points eight times.

Ramirez’ glory years were with the Indians from 1993 to 2000, the Red Sox from 2001 to 2008 and the Dodgers from 2008 to 2010. In 2010 and 2011, he also played with the White Sox and Rays and late in his career was twice suspended under baseball’s drug policy.

More on Manny Ramirez

4. Johan Santana

Johan Santana, Box-Toppers’ most dominant player of the mid-2000s, is attempting a comeback after a second shoulder injury that wiped out his 2011 and 2013 seasons.

Santana, 34, recently signed with the Orioles, though reports for the past year have questioned whether he will be able to continue pitching.

While with the Twins, Santana led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and led all American League pitchers in 2007. He won two Cy Young Awards during this period (2004 and 2006).

He has 166.6 career Box-Toppers points, sixth among pitchers and eighth among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He is ranked second among currently active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia with 172.3 Box-Toppers points.

Santana’s biggest year was in 2004 (26.8 Box-Toppers points). He was with the Twins from 2000-2007 and with the Mets from 2008 to 2013, where he has largely missed two of the last three seasons.

More on Johan Santana

5. Jim Thome

Jim Thome, 43, last played in the Major Leagues in 2012 for the Orioles and in 2014, the Indians will erect a statue in his honor. But in December, he said he would not rule out a comeback. He is currently unsigned.

Thome has 146.7 Box-Toppers points, sixth among all batters and 17th among all players. He was among the season’s overall top 10 players in Box-Toppers points twice and among his league’s top 10 batters in five different seasons. (His career began in 1991, so his first four seasons are unrecorded by Box-Toppers, which didn’t begin record keeping until 1995).

Thome never led his league’s batters in Box-Toppers points, but finished as high as second among American League batters in 2002 with the Indians. He had 16.0 Box-Toppers points, just behind Jason Giambi of the Yankees with 17.0.

More on Jim Thome

6. Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter will retire at the end of the 2014 season at the age of 40, ending a 20-year career, all with the Yankees.

He has 76.4 career Box-Toppers points, second among all shortstops, behind only Miguel Tejada with 102.3 (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Jeter’s 76.4 Box-Toppers points ranks 60th among batters and 121st among all players on the career list.

Jeter is a five-time World Series champion, 2000 World Series Most Valuable Player, 1996 Rookie of the Year, a member of the 3,000-hit club (3,316 at the start of 2014) and Yankees team captain since 2003.

Jeter had one season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—he had exactly 10.0 in 1998, ninth among American League batters that year.

More on Derek Jeter

7. Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera retired at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 43 and ranks second among closing pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.

The all-time saves king has 126.4 career Box-Toppers points, just behind closing pitcher Trevor Hoffman with 129.4. Rivera, who spent his entire 19-season career with the Yankees, ranks 25th among all players and 16th among all pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Rivera, with a reputation for postseason dominance, helped the Yankees to five World Series championships and earned World Series Most Valuable Player in 1999 and American League Championship Series MVP in 2003.

Rivera finished in the top 10 in Box-Toppers points among American League pitchers three times, he had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and scored at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 17 straight seasons. His best year was 2008 when he had 14.0 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL pitchers that year.

More on Mariano Rivera

8. Roy Oswalt

Roy Oswalt, 36, has retired after finishing five times among the top 10 National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

He had 127.2 career Box-Toppers points, 23rd among all players and 15th among pitchers (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He played for the Astros from 2001 to 2010 and moved to the Phillies in 2010. He struggled with injuries from 2011 forward, spending 2012 with the Rangers and 2013 with the Rockies.

His best year was his rookie season, 2001, when he had 17.1 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL pitchers and seventh among all players.

He had seven seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and three seasons with 15.0 or more.

More on Roy Oswalt

9. Andy Pettitte

Andy Pettitte, 41, who retired at the end of the 2013 season, was among his league’s top 10 pitchers in Box-Toppers points five different seasons.

He had 138.4 career Box-Toppers points, 19th among all players and 13th among all pitchers (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Pettitte pitched for the Yankees from 1995 to 2003 before moving to the Astros from 2004 to 2006. He rejoined the Yankees from 2007 to 2010 and was retired for the 2011 season before returning to the Yankees for 2012 and 2013.

His best season was 2005 when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points with the Astros, eighth among National League pitchers and 21st among all players. He had three seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and 16 straight seasons with at least 1.0 point.

More on Andy Pettitte

10. Todd Helton

Todd Helton, who retired at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 40, led National League batters in Box-Toppers points in two seasons and was among the league’s top three batters four seasons in a row.

Despite the impressive numbers, Helton never won an NL Most Valuable Player Award.

Helton, who played his entire 17-year career with the Rockies, had 116.4 career Box-Toppers points, the third-most among first basemen on Box-Toppers “all-time” list (record keeping began in 1995). He ranks 12th among all batters and 33rd among all players.

Helton’s most impressive period of his career was a four-season stretch from 1999 to 2002, when he was among the top three NL batters in Box-Toppers points and was the top batter two straight years, 2000 and 2001.

In 2000, he led NL batters with 15.2 Box-Toppers points and in 2001, he again led NL batters with 17.0 points (his best season).

More on Todd Helton

11. Barry Zito

Barry Zito, 35, is taking a year off from pitching but says he is not retired.

Zito won the 2002 American League Cy Young Award and was the No. 2 AL pitcher in Box-Toppers points in both 2001 and 2002.

He has 117.4 career Box-Toppers points from 2000 to 2013, ranking 21st among all pitchers and 31st among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He pitched for the Athletics from 2000 to 2006 and for the Giants from 2007 to 2013, where he was on the 2010 and 2012 World Series-winning teams.

In 2001, he had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers. In 2002, he had 20.1 points (his best season), and again ranked second among AL pitchers (though he won the Cy Young).

Zito had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, two seasons with 15.0 or more and one season with more than 20.0. He has scored at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in each of the 14 seasons he’s played.

More on Barry Zito

12. Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter, 38, who retired at the end of the 2013 season, led National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2005, the same year he won the NL Cy Young Award.

Carpenter had 113.3 career Box-Toppers points, 24th among all pitchers and 37th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He began his career in 1997 with the Blue Jays, moving to the Cardinals in 2004. He was NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2009 with the Cardinals and a two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011.

Carpenter was among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points four times.

His best year was 2005, when he had 21.0 Box-Toppers points, first among NL pitchers and second among all players. He won the NL Cy Young Award that year. Carpenter had six seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, three seasons with 15.0 or more and one season with 20.0 or more.

More on Chris Carpenter

13. Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman led all National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2006 and finished among the top five NL batters three times, but never won the NL Most Valuable Player Award.

Berkman, who retired in January and is now 38, has 108.1 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 16th among batters and 46th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Berkman played most of his career with the Astros (1999-2010). He moved to the Yankees to end the 2010 season. He played 2011 and 2012 with the Cardinals (where in 2011, he won a World Series title and NL Comeback Player of the Year). He finished his career in 2013 with the Rangers.

His best season was 2006 with the Astros, when he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters and second among all players. (He finished third in NL Most Valuable Player voting.)

Berkman had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and one season with more than 20.0.

More on Lance Berkman

14. Ryan Dempster

Ryan Dempster, 36, says he will not pitch in 2014 but did not announce his formal retirement.

He has 95.2 career Box-Toppers points, 42nd among pitchers and 70th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He began his career in 1998 with the Marlins, moved to the Reds in midseason 2002, played for the Cubs from 2004 to 2012 and finished 2012 with the Rangers before playing for the Red Sox in 2013. He won a World Series title in 2013 with the Red Sox.

His career best season was 2008 with the Cubs, when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among National League pitchers and 22nd among all players. Dempster had two seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

More on Ryan Dempster

Honorable mention

Derek Lowe

Derek Lowe, 40, retired during the 2013 season.

Lowe, who spent most of his career as a starting pitcher, had 91.5 Box-Toppers points over 16 seasons, scoring at least 1.0 point in each season he was active. He ranks 82nd among players and 47th among pitchers (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).

He pitched for the Red Sox (1998-2004), the Dodgers (2005-2008), the Braves (2009-2011), the Indians (2012), the Yankees (2012) and the Rangers (2013). His best season was 2002, when he had 14.4 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox, ranking fourth among AL pitchers.

Mark Prior

Mark Prior had not made a Major League appearance since 2006, yet he made several efforts in subsequent years to come back. However, in December, he made it official and retired at the age of 33.

Prior played for the Cubs from 2002 to 2006. In 2003, he had 20.1 Box-Toppers points, second among National League pitchers. He had 44.2 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 315th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He scored his last Box-Toppers point on Aug. 19, 2005.

Prior helped lead the Cubs to the NL Championship Series in 2003 (which they lost to the Marlins). Injuries hampered his career from 2004 on, though he attempted a comeback as recently as 2013 with the Reds—he was released in June 2013.

Ted Lilly

Ted Lilly, 38, retired at the end of the 2013 season after a 14-year career as a starting pitcher.

He had 93.3 career Box-Toppers points, 76th among all players and 44th among all pitchers (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).

His best season was 2010, when he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points. He recorded 6.7 points with the Cubs before being traded in midseason to the Dodgers, where he recorded 7.0 more points. He ranked 12th among National League pitchers and 22nd among all players that season.

Lilly had two seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He recorded his last point May 18, 2012, with the Dodgers.

Michael Young

Michael Young, 37, retired prior to the 2014 season after a 14-year career mainly with the Rangers, primarily at shortstop and third base.

He had 73.1 career Box-Toppers points, 67th among batters and 132nd among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He ranks fourth among shortstops on Box-Toppers “all-time” list (since 1995), behind Miguel Tejada, Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra.

His best season was 2006 with the Rangers when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points. He was American League batting champion in 2005.

Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Huff, 37, who led American League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2008, announced his retirement in January after a 13-year career.

Huff had 61.6 Box-Toppers points for his career, 91st among batters and 184th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). 

But his best season was 2008 with the Orioles when he led AL batters with 12.5 Box-Toppers points. (He finished just ahead of Torii Hunter of the Angels with 12.4.) Huff finished 16th in AL Most Valuable Player Award voting, which was won by Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox. Pedroia had 3.7 Box-Toppers points, 76th among AL batters.

Huff finished seventh in AL MVP voting in 2010, when he had 7.5 Box-Toppers points. He split that year between the Orioles and the Tigers.

Huff played primarily for the Rays, but also had stints with the Orioles, Giants (where he won two World Series titles in 2010 and 2012), Astros and Tigers. He played a variety of positions also, including third base, designated hitter, first base and outfield.

Huff did not play in 2013. He scored his final Box-Toppers point on July 23, 2011 with the Giants.

Mark DeRosa

Mark DeRosa, 39, retired in November after a 16-year career.

DeRosa, who played primarily third base and second base, had 47.1 career Box-Toppers points, 288th among all players since 1995. He played from 1998 to 2013 primarily for the Braves (1998-2004), but also had stints with the Cubs, Rangers, Blue Jays and Giants.

His best season was 2006 with the Rangers when he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points. He had 6.5 points in 2013, his final season, with the Blue Jays.

Carl Pavano

Carl Pavano, 38, the starting pitcher who helped the Marlins to the 2003 World Series title, announced his retirement in February.

Pavano had 55.8 career Box-Toppers points, 221st among all players since 1995.

His best year was the 2003 championship season when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th among National League pitchers. In 2004, he had his second-best season with 10.7 Box-Toppers points, also with the Marlins, 13th among NL pitchers. He also finished sixth in Cy Young Award voting that year.

Pavano played 14 seasons from 1998-2012 primarily with the Twins, but also had stints with the Marlins, Expos, Yankees and Indians. He did not play in 2013. His final game was June 1, 2012. He scored his last Box-Toppers point on Sept. 28, 2011.

Rick Ankiel

Rick Ankiel, 34, retired this month after an 11-year career begun as a starting pitcher and improbably resurrecting himself in mid-career as an outfielder.

Ankiel had 32.6 career Box-Toppers points, 490th among all players since 1995. But he goes down in history as the first player since Babe Ruth to win 10 games and hit 50 home runs.

He was a starting pitcher from 1999 to 2004. His best season was 2000 with the Cardinals when he had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, sixth among National League pitchers. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. However, in the 2000 postseason, Ankiel began to pitch wildly and ineffectively. After being sent down to the minors and after injuries, he took a chance of switching positions to the outfield and gradually worked his way back to the Majors.

He did not play in 2002 with injury and in 2005 and 2006, did not play in the Majors as he developed in his new position.

He debuted as an outfielder for the Cardinals in 2007 and had his best season at the plate that year with 6.5 Box-Toppers points.

During his career, he recorded 14.4 Box-Toppers points as a pitcher and 18.2 as a batter.

He played primarily for the Cardinals, but also had stints with the Nationals, Braves, Royals, Astros and Mets. He played his last game with the Mets on June 8, 2013. He scored his last Box-Toppers point July 4, 2012, with the Nationals.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Derek Jeter, retiring at season's end, is Box-Toppers' 2nd-ranked all-time shortstop

One in a series

Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the sixth of the series:

6. Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter said this week he will retire at the end of the 2014 season, ending a 20-year career at the age of 40.

Jeter, who has 76.4 career Box-Toppers points, ranks second among all shortstops (Box-Toppers record keeping began when he made his Major League debut in 1995), 60th among all batters and 121st among all players. He finished among the top 10 American League batters only once (1998) and finished as high as second place in AL Most Valuable Player award voting once (2006). 

Derek Jeter

Here are Derek Jeter's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in key postseason awards voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
1995	nyy al	0.0
1996	nyy al	4.5	RoY-1
1997	nyy al	2.0	MVP-24
1998	nyy al	10.0	AS, BTP-51, BTP-AL bat-9, MVP-3
1999	nyy al	2.0	AS, BTP-409, MVP-3
2000	nyy al	2.5	AS, BTP-400, MVP-6
2001	nyy al	5.0	AS, BTP-200, MVP-10
2002	nyy al	5.0	AS
2003	nyy al	2.5	MVP-21
2004	nyy al	8.7	AS, BTP-68, BTP-AL bat-16, MVP-3
2005	nyy al	4.0	BTP-238, MVP-10
2006	nyy al	6.7	AS, BTP-135, MVP-2
2007	nyy al	7.0	AS, BTP-112, BTP-AL bat-29, MVP-11
2008	nyy al	3.0	AS
2009	nyy al	1.0	AS, BTP-571, MVP-3
2010	nyy al	5.0	AS
2011	nyy al	4.5	AS
2012	nyy al	3.0	AS, BTP-319, MVP-7
2013	nyy al	0.0
Total		76.4	BTP-121, BTP-bat-60

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL bat Finish among all AL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
RoY Rookie of the Year

Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com

Jeter, of course, has spent his entire career with the New York Yankees—so far. (This season has yet to play out, so there’s always the chance Jeter will be dealt to the Astros—or the Red Sox … OK, probably not.)

Miguel Tejada is the only shortstop with more career Box-Toppers points than Jeter. Tejada, currently a free agent who has played primarily for the Athletics and the Orioles, has 102.3 points. Jeter is just ahead of the third-place shortstop on the “all-time” list—Nomar Garciaparra has 74.9 Box-Toppers points.

Jeter’s Box-Toppers point totals seem a little low given his longevity, his profile and his accomplishments—five-time World Series champion, 2000 World Series MVP, 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, membership in the 3,000-hit club (he has 3,316 at present) and Yankees team captain since 2003. Plus, his seasonal point totals are lower than expected given his general Jeterian-ness—he has only one season with 10.0 Box-Toppers points.

Why doesn’t he have more Box-Toppers points? A couple of reasons: Box-Toppers tends to favor players with fat batting lines—lots of hits, runs and runs batted in. No doubt, Jeter has a lot of hits, but because he has hit early in the line-up and because he doesn't necessarily hit for power, he does not rack up RBIs as quickly as some. (For example, Jeter has 1,261 career RBIs over 19 seasons. Just behind him on the all-time RBI list is Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who has nearly as many RBIs as Jeter in just over half the time—1,260 RBIs over 11 seasons.)

Plus, Box-Toppers awards only one player for each game—the one who most contributes to his team’s win. Jeter has had a lot of competition for Player of the Game in a Yankees’ lineup stocked with All-Stars. He played on a team that had a lot of power hitters—Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams, for example. Those players were more likely to drive in runs, which drove the Box-Toppers formula to give them Player of the Game honors more often and thus, earn more Box-Toppers points. 

He also competed for points against some of the all-time great pitchers on his team—Roger Clemens, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. With so much talent around him, competition for Box-Toppers points (though they probably had no idea they were competing for Box-Toppers points!) was fierce.

Shortstops also generally don't receive as many Box-Toppers points because they are hired mainly for their fielding—which Box-Toppers ignores—and not for their bat. That all supposedly changed in the 1980s when Cal Ripken Jr. of the Orioles brought power hitting to the shortstop position (Box-Toppers tracking didn't begin until the end of Ripken's career, but he did record 26.9 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2001.) In the 1990s, three phenom players ran with Ripken's shortstops-that-can-really-hit model—Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, then of the Red Sox and Alex Rodriguez, then of the Mariners.

Garciaparra, as previously mentioned, accumulated 74.9 Box-Toppers points from 1996 to 2009 (though late in his career, he played first and third base). Rodriguez played shortstop for his first eight seasons with the Mariners and the Rangers, racking up 87.5 Box-Toppers points over that time, which is more than the 76.4 Jeter has over 19 seasons. Rodriguez switched to third base in deference to Jeter when he signed with the Yankees in 2004 and has accumulated 91.8 more Box-Toppers points over those 10 seasons, giving him 179.3 for his career. But the most successful shortstop of the Box-Toppers era (since 1995) is none of those three, but Miguel Tejada, with 102.3 points (a few of the points earned while playing third base and designated hitter).

On Box-Toppers all-time batting ranks, Jeter ranks 60th, just behind these five players—John Olerud (77.8), Shawn Green (77.6), Edgar Martinez (77.5), Mark McGwire (77.3) and Travis Hafner (76.9). He is just ahead of these five players—Pat Burrell (76.0), Jermaine Dye (76.0), Vernon Wells (75.8), Luis Gonzalez (75.3) and Garciaparra (74.9).

Jeter scored at least one Box-Toppers point in 17 straight seasons, from 1996 until 2012. He did not score any points in his injury-shortened 2013 season, ending the streak. Some other career highlights for Jeter:

• In 1998, he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points, the most he had in any season. He finished ninth among all AL batters and 51st among all players in Box-Toppers points, both rankings were his highest for a season. He finished third in AL MVP voting. (The winner, Juan Gonzalez of the Rangers, had 16.3 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters to Albert Belle of the White Sox with 16.4.)

• In 1999, he had only 2.0 Box-Toppers points, but finished third in AL MVP voting.

• In 2004, he had 8.7 Box-Toppers points and was again third in AL MVP voting. (Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels was voted MVP. He had 14.4 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all AL players.)

• In 2006, he had 6.7 Box-Toppers points and was second in AL MVP voting, his highest finish. (Justin Morneau of the Twins was voted MVP—he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all AL batters.)

• In 2007, he had 7.0 Box-Toppers points and was 11th in AL MVP voting.

• In 2009, he had only 1.0 Box-Toppers point and was ranked 571st among all players in Box-Toppers season rankings. Yet, he still finished third in AL MVP voting.

Jeter’s Box-Toppers numbers often don’t correlate well with baseball writers voting for MVP, especially in years like 2009, when Jeter had but 1.0 Box-Toppers point, yet finished third in MVP voting. Again, Jeter’s point totals may have been kept low because he has not been a power hitter and has competed with an all-star Yankee line-up for points. But Jeter’s play was often spectacular, flipping impossible relays, diving into stands for a foul ball, hitting dramatic World Series-game winning homers. It’s hard to ignore that, but unless it shows up in a box score batting line during a regular season game, Box-Toppers does, indeed, ignore it. Plus, Jeter had the squishy intangibles working in his favor—he was a clubhouse leader, a heckuva guy writers liked and fans admired. Box-Toppers really doesn’t pay attention to that either. It also doesn’t hurt that Jeter is playing in New York and able to attract a lot of attention. But Box-Toppers doesn’t award bonus points for performing well in the media hub of the world.

Box-Toppers is another metric through which players can be compared. Jeter has done well in Box-Toppers points, not so much as a dominant player season-by-season, but more for his long-term legacy and for what he has accomplished over a two-decade career.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Coming next in the series: Mariano Rivera

Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome

A look at Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 100 players

In the midst of the long All-Star break, here is a look at the top 100 players since Box-Toppers record-keeping began in 1995: 

Randy Johnson has always been Box-Toppers' most dominant player. 

Until he retired in 2009, he was consistently earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors by being the player who most helped his team to wins by pitching a lot of innings and striking out a lot of batters. 

And even in retirement, Johnson with 278.8 Box-Toppers points, continues to dominate the "all-time" Box-Toppers list, with only one distant challenger, starting pitcher Pedro Martinez (also retired) with 244.8 points.

All other players are at least 84.7 Box-Toppers points behind Johnson (pitcher Curt Schilling, in third place, has 194.1 points). Earning 84.7 points for any single player would be a major career achievement, worthy of landing them on the "all-time" top 100 Box-Toppers list. (We put "all-time" in quotes, since we're not covering all of baseball history, but only the time since 1995 when Box-Toppers stats have been tracked.)

In the top 100 "all-time" chart, you'll see that 95 of the top 100 players have 84.7 or more career Box-Toppers points. If the player ranked in 19th place all time, Andy Pettitte, doubled his already impressive career Box-Toppers points total of 137.5, he still would not have enough points to catch Johnson. 

So what we're saying here is this: Randy Johnson—good. Very good. 

Alex Rodriguez is the batter with the highest Box-Toppers total on the "all-time" list with 176.3 points, fourth place overall. He is also the current leader among active players.

Rodriguez's Yankees teammate, C.C. Sabathia recently took over as the leader among active pitchers—he has 172.3 points (fifth place overall) and this season passed Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay with 170.7 points. Sabathia is also not far behind Rodriguez and could take the outright lead among all active players on the "all-time" list this season.

There are five active players in the "all-time" top 10 list, but not all of them can be considered extremely active. Rodriguez has been out all season and is preparing to come back from injury (and is under a cloud of suspicion that may get him suspended under baseball's performance enhancing drug policy). Halladay is out, perhaps for the season, rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Manny Ramirez (167.2 points, seventh place) is attempting a comeback and is in the minor leagues with the Texas Rangers. And Johan Santana (166.6 points, eighth place) is out for the season with injury and may be unable to return to pitch. 

Albert Pujols is two or three Player of the Game honors away from joining the top 10. He is in 11th place with 158.3 points, behind John Smoltz with 160.9 points. However, Pujols has only 2.5 Box-Toppers points this season at the All-Star break—if he doubles his season total, he won't reach Smoltz. 

There are 48 active players on the top 100 list (that number includes players such as Ramirez, who are in the minor leagues, or Halladay, on the disabled list). All other players are either listed as "free agents," (who either hope to come back to baseball or haven't said they are retired) are playing outside the Major Leagues (in Japan or an independent league) or have retired. Recent retirees (such as Derek Lowe, who told a reporter Thursday he is retired) are listed as "retired" in their team status in the top 100 list. Players with a blank team status retired in 2012 or earlier.

There are 16 players in the top 100 "all-time" list who are also in the top 100 list for 2013. They are all listed in the chart at the bottom of this post. They include:

• Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Tigers: 37th in all-time list with 112.2 points, 3rd in 2013 list with 13.4 points.
• Clayton Kershaw, PI, Dodgers, 73rd in all-time list with 93.1 points, 5th in 2013 list with 12.7. 
• Sabathia, PI, Yankees, 5th in the all-time list with 172.3 points, 94th in 2013 list with 4.7.

Pitchers narrowly outnumber batters in the "all-time" top 100 list. There are 53 pitchers vs. 47 batters on the list. However, in the top 100 list for 2013, pitchers far outnumbered batters—74 to 26. Why? It could be because pitchers burst onto the scene and tend to be very productive for a shorter period of time, while batters, while scoring relatively less in the short term, keep that level of production over a longer time and tend to catch up to pitchers' higher point totals. That's just a theory. But here is the breakdown of players on the "all-time" list by their primary position: 

• Starting pitchers: 49
• Outfielders: 17
• Designated hitters: 12
• Third basemen: 9
• First basemen: 7
• Closing pitchers: 4
• Second basemen: 1 (Jeff Kent)
• Catchers: 1 (Mike Piazza)
• Shortstops: 0

Keep in mind that these are only statistics since 1995. For many players who debuted before then (such as Johnson, Martinez, Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux), their career Box-Toppers totals would likely be far higher if the years before 1995 were accounted for. On the other hand, for a player like Chipper Jones (ranked 15th), Box-Toppers covers virtually his entire career—he only played in eight games before 1995, so Box-Toppers covers 2,491 games of his 2,499-game career. 

If you note how the names are listed in the chart—some all lowercase, some properly capitalized, some with numbers after them—you might cringe at the inconsistencies if you were a copy editor. But there is an unintentional method to this madness. In early days of keeping the Box-Toppers database from 1995 to 1997, names were inputted quickly, often with no capitalization—Box-Toppers' e.e. cummings phase, if you will. In about 1997, names were pretty consistently properly capitalized. And in 1998, numbers were added at the ends of names to denote their order of first appearance in the Box-Toppers database (the first time they earned Player of the Game).

So today, when you see player names like "rivera, mariano," (now ranked 26th) you'll know that Rivera first appeared early in Box-Toppers history (in his case, the first year, 1995). "Ortiz, David," (properly capitalized) made his Box-Toppers debut in 1997 (now ranked 27th). And "Helton, Todd 1060," was one of the first players with the debut order number appended, when he first appeared in 1998 (now ranked 32nd).

While many notable players from the past 20 years appear on the top 100 list, others did not earn enough Box-Toppers points to make the cut. A couple of notables: 

• Mark McGwire had 77.3 points, in 112th place.
• Derek Jeter has 76.4 points, in 118th place. 

Box-Toppers points reward players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars or for postseason awards. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work? 

Top 100 players since 1995

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	BTP (All-time)	BTP 2013
1	Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8
3	schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1
4	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	176.3
5	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	172.3	4.7
6	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	170.7	1.0
7	Ramirez, manny	lf dh	tex al	167.2
8	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6
9	clemens, roger	pi sp		164.8
10	smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9
11	Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	158.3	2.5
12	mussina, Mike	pi sp		155.6
13	bonds, barry	lf		153.2
14	maddux, greg	pi sp		151.7
15	jones, chipper	3b	retired	149.0
16	Vazquez, Javier 1146	pi sp		148.3
17	thome, jim	dh	free agent	146.7
18	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	atl nl	143.3	5.7
19	pettitte, andy	pi sp	nyy al	137.5	3.0
20	giambi, jason	dh	cle al	131.4	1.5
21	hoffman, trevor	pi cp		129.4
22	Guerrero, Vladimir	dh	indy league	128.3
23	Oswalt, Roy 1469	pi sp	col nl	127.2
24	Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	chi al	124.1	6.0
25	sheffield, gary	lf		124.1
26	rivera, mariano	pi cp	nyy al	122.4	1.0
27	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	122.2	8.2
28	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	118.1	10.4
29	Delgado, Carlos	1b		117.7
30	Zito, Barry 1415	pi sp	sf nl	117.4	3.0
31	Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	oak al	116.3	6.7
32	Helton, Todd 1060	1b	col nl	114.9
33	Carpenter, Chris	pi sp	stl nl	113.3
34	sosa, sammy	rf		113.2
35	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	113.1	9.4
36	brown, kevin j.	pi sp		112.8
37	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	112.2	13.4
38	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	112.2	8.0
39	glavine, tom	pi sp		110.6
40	kent, jeff	2b		109.7
41	Wagner, Billy	pi cp		108.7
42	Millwood, Kevin	pi sp	retired	108.3
43	Berkman, Lance 1261	dh rf	tex al	108.1	1.0
44	Beckett, Josh 1544	pi sp	lad nl	107.2
45	Burnett, A.J. 1300	pi sp	pit nl	107.1	3.7
46	thomas, frank	dh		106.2
47	moyer, jamie	pi sp		104.0
48	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	103.0	4.0
49	Tejada, Miguel	3b ss	kc al	102.3
50	griffey, ken jr.	cf		102.2
51	wakefield, tim	pi sp		101.4
52	schmidt, jason	pi sp		101.2
53	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	100.5	10.7
54	bagwell, jeff	1b		100.4
55	walker, larry	rf		100.1
56	Konerko, Paul 1107	dh 1b	chi al	99.7	1.0
57	Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	det al	99.4	1.0
58	edmonds, jim	cf rf ph		98.8
59	Buehrle, Mark 1407	pi sp	tor al	98.3	3.7
60	Rolen, Scott	3b	free agent	97.6
61	Jones, Andruw	dh lf ph	japan	96.5
62	Wolf, Randy 1235	pi sp	free agent	96.4
63	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	95.9	5.7
64	piazza, mike	ca		95.7
65	Abreu, Bobby	dh	free agent	95.5
66	nomo, hideo	pi sp		95.5
67	Ordonez, Magglio	rf		94.5
68	Dempster, Ryan 1109	pi sp	bos al	94.2	3.0
69	williams, bernie	rf		93.8
70	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	93.7	5.7
71	Beltran, Carlos 1194	rf	stl nl	93.4	1.5
72	Lilly, Ted 1452	pi sp	lad nl	93.3
73	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	93.1	12.7
74	giles, brian	rf		92.5
75	Wood, Kerry	pi sp cp		92.4
76	Ramirez, Aramis 1364	3b	mil nl	92.3
77	Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	92.0	4.0
78	Glaus, Troy 1132	3b		91.6
79	Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	dc nl	91.5	1.7
80	Lowe, Derek	pi sp	retired	91.5	1.0
81	Dunn, Adam 1512	dh 1b	chi al	90.8	4.2
82	Ibanez, Raul 1137	lf dh	sea al	89.7	2.0
83	Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	87.8	1.5
84	alou, moises	lf		87.5
85	belle, albert	rf		87.5
86	wells, david	pi sp		87.5
87	castilla, vinny	3b		86.9
88	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	86.6	5.7
89	anderson, garret	dh lf		86.5
90	leiter, al	pi sp		86.2
91	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	85.7	5.7
92	Lee, Carlos 1246	lf	retired	85.5
93	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	bos al	85.4	4.0
94	Zambrano, Carlos 1676	pi sp	phi nl	85.2
95	radke, brad	pi sp		85.0
96	Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	84.0	3.5
97	Martinez, Tino	1b		81.4
98	Lee, Derrek	1b	free agent	81.3
99	percival, troy	pi cp		80.7
100	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	80.3	4.0

BTP (All-time): Box-Toppers points accumulated since 1995, when this stat-keeping method began. 

BTP 2013: Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season. 

Note: The team column shows a player's current team status. Active players are listed on either their current MLB team or where they are currently playing (i.e. Japan or an independent league). Other players are listed as "free agent" or "retired." Players who have retired in 2012 or before are listed with no team affiliation. 

Overlapping players

Players on both the Top 100 list since 1995 and Top 100 of 2013

PLAYER	POS	TEAM	BTP (All-time)	RANK (All-time)	BTP (2013)	RANK (2013)
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	112.2	37	13.4	3
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	93.1	73	12.7	5
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	100.5	53	10.7	12
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	118.1	28	10.4	13
Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	113.1	35	9.4	22
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	122.2	27	8.2	25
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	112.2	38	8.0	26
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	oak al	116.3	31	6.7	40
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	chi al	124.1	24	6.0	53
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	93.7	70	5.7	64
Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	86.6	88	5.7	65
Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	95.9	63	5.7	66
Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	atl nl	143.3	18	5.7	68
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	85.7	91	5.7	70
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	172.3	5	4.7	94

BTP: Box-Toppers points