Brewers' Kyle Lohse (8IP 0R 8K) tops players for Friday, May 15

Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse is Friday’s Player of the Day.

Also Friday, two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors, including last year’s Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 15.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
4	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	5.1
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	5.0
6	Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	5.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
8	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
9	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lohse pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals drove in five runs, while going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs, in the 12-1 win over the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants hit a three-run home run and a double, going 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBIs, in the 10-2 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday since a batter (Lorenzo Cain of the Royals) was the overall AL Player of the Day.

Notable—Two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday;

• Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw now has 135.6 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 22nd among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

Kershaw (6.2IP 3R 10K W in the 6-4 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season. Last year, Kershaw led all players with 31.5 Box-Toppers points, the fourth-highest single-season total since 1995. Still, Kershaw is not far off his 2014 pace—at this time last year, Kershaw had only 3.0 Box-Toppers points, only 1.0 more than he has this season.

Kershaw trails Bartolo Colon (136.4) for 21st place among all players since 1995. His career 135.6 Box-Toppers points puts him at 16th among all pitchers since 1995 and third among all active pitchers currently in the NL (behind Colon and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson—153.0).

• Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 118.4 career Box-Toppers points and moves up to 36th place among all players since 1995, passing Justin Verlander (118.2) and Carlos Delgado (117.7) on that list.

Weaver (7.1IP 3H R W in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Weaver’s 118.4 career Box-Toppers points puts him at 24th place among all pitchers since 1995 and fourth among active pitchers currently in the AL—behind CC Sabathia (173.3), Johan Santana (166.6) and Felix Hernandez (152.0).

Debut—Todd Cunningham of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Cunningham (2B 3-4 2R BI in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut July 30, 2013, and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,468th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lohse earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cain earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Belt earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/15	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	Brewers	Kyle Lohse (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	1	8
AL	6.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF	4	2	3	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Giants	Brandon Belt 1B	5	3	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Nationals	Jordan Zimmermann (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	0	0	1	6
	4.1	Angels	Jered Weaver (W, 2-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	3	1	1	1	3
	4.0	Indians	Michael Brantley CF, LF	3	2	3	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.2	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	4	3	3	3	10
	3.0	Tigers	Yoenis Cespedes LF	5	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Cubs	Kris Bryant 3B	4	2	1	4	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Phillies	Freddy Galvis SS	2	2	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Braves	Todd Cunningham LF	4	2	3	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Jose Altuve 2B	4	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	White Sox	Adam LaRoche DH	3	1	1	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Mariners	J.A. Happ	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	3
	1.0	Twins	Brian Dozier 2B	3	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Bumgarner tops players for Monday, May 4; Mariners' Hernandez extends player rankings lead

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Monday’s Player of the Day, while Mariners’ pitcher Felix Hernandez extends his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Bumgarner pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Padres. Bumgarner rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 4.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	7.7
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
4	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.7
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	4.7
8	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	4.4
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 3-2 win over the Angels. Hernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, extending his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Hernandez also becomes the 16th player to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points since record keeping began in 1995. He has 151.0 career Box-Toppers points, just behind Greg Maddux (151.7). Hernandez ranks 16th among all players since 1995, 12th among all pitchers and third among all active pitchers currently in the AL—behind CC Sabathia (173.3) and Johan Santana (166.6).

Hernandez had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 6.0, the same as Rangers pitcher Ross Detwiler, who was Player of the Game in the 2-1 win over the Astros. But Hernandez won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day because he earned the win in his game while Detwiler picked up a no-decision.

National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Cardinals hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 with two runs in the 10-9 win over the Cubs.

American League Batter of the Day—Jordan Schafer of the Twins  doubled and went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs in the 8-7 win over the Athletics.

Debut—Brewers pitcher Michael Blazek made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Blazek (2IP 0R 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut June 22, 2013, and was playing in his 28th career game. He is the 3,457th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds and Schafer each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/4	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.1	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	2	0	0	1	6
AL	6.0	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W, 5-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	1	8
	6.0	`Rangers	Ross Detwiler	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	2	7
BAT	5.0	Cardinals	Mark Reynolds 1B	3	2	2	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Twins	Jordan Schafer CF	3	2	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rays	Jake Odorizzi (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	1	1	0	6
	3.0	Nationals	Yunel Escobar 3B	5	1	5	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Michael Blazek (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	2	3
	2.0	Phillies	Jeff Francoeur RF	5	1	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Blue Jays	Brett Cecil (S, 2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Pujols rises from 10th to 7th on Box-Toppers 'all-time' career points list

SPECIAL REPORT

Albert Pujols of the Angels rose from 10th to seventh place on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list this past week.

Pujols, who was American League batter of the day twice in the past week, picked up 3.0 Box-Toppers points, increasing his career Box-Toppers points total from 164.3 to 167.3. In the process, he passed three players on the all-time top list:

Top 10 players 'all-time'

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 'all-time' players (record keeping began in 1995). The list includes four players who are currently active in the Majors. One, Manny Ramirez, who plays and coaches in the Minor Leagues. Another player, Alex Rodriguez, is serving a drug suspension in 2014. The list also includes five retired players.

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp		278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp		244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp		194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	3b dh	susp	179.3
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	Yankees	173.3
6	Roy Halladay	pi sp		170.7
7	Albert Pujols	dh 1b	Angels	167.3
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	Cubs	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	Orioles	166.6
10	Roger Clemens	pi sp		164.8

susp-Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees has been suspended for the 2014 season.
BTP: Box-Toppers points

• Retired pitcher Roger Clemens (164.8 Box-Toppers points, now in 10th place).

• Pitcher Johan Santana, currently on the disabled list with the Orioles (166.6 Box-Toppers points, now ranked ninth).

• Left fielder/designated hitter Manny Ramirez, currently a minor league player/coach for the Cubs (167.2 Box-Toppers points, now at number eight).

Pujols also moved from third to second among all batters, passing Ramirez. He now trails only overall batting leader, Alex Rodriguez (179.3 Box-Toppers points), currently suspended from baseball under the performance enhancing drug policy.

The only currently active, non-suspended player ahead of Pujols on Box-Toppers career top 10 list is Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, who is in fifth place with 173.3 Box-Toppers points.

Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

Clayton Kershaw has chance to pass Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season

SPECIAL REPORT

Most BTP single season

Randy Johnson is the all-time leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season—he scored 33.7 twice, in 2000 and 2002. In 20 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping, players have scored 25.0 or more points in a season only 19 times. They are listed below. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers reached the 25.0 point threshold in 2014 on Wednesday (he now has 25.8), the second time in his career he has had 25.0 or more points. And with a month to go in the season, he has a chance to break Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
5	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
6	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
7	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
8	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
9	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4
10	Johan Santana	Twins	pi sp	2004	26.8
11	Pedro Martinez	Expos	pi sp	1997	26.7
11	CC Sabathia	Indians/Brewers	pi sp	2008	26.7
13	Randy Johnson	Mariners/Astros	pi sp	1998	26.4
14	John Smoltz	Braves	pi sp	1996	26.1
14	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2011	26.1
16	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1998	25.8
16	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	25.8
18	Johan Santana	Twins	pi sp	2006	25.7
19	Cliff Lee	Phillies	pi sp	2011	25.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has a chance to become the “all-time” leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season.

Kershaw, Wednesday’s Player of the Day, now has 25.8 Box-Toppers points this season and has an outside chance of catching the “all-time” single season leader, Randy Johnson, who scored 33.7 points in a season twice when he was pitching for the Diamondbacks—in 2000 and 2002.

Kershaw's 2014 starts

Here are Clayton Kershaw's starts for 2014. BTP/gm indicates how many Box-Toppers points he earned in each game (2.0 for overall Player of the Day, 1.7 for NL Player of the Day, 1.0 for top Player of the Game and 0.0 if he did not earn Player of the Game honors.

	Start	BTP /gm	Result
1	Mar 22, 2014	2.0	W
2	May 6, 2014	1.0	W
3	May 11, 2014	0.0	ND
4	May 17, 2014	0.0	L
5	May 23, 2014	2.0	W
6	May 28, 2014	0.0	L
7	Jun 2, 2014	1.7	W
8	Jun 8, 2014	1.0	W
9	Jun 13, 2014	1.0	W
10	Jun 18, 2014	2.0	W*
11	Jun 24, 2014	2.0	W
12	Jun 29, 2014	1.7	W
13	Jul 4, 2014	1.7	W
14	Jul 10, 2014	2.0	W
15	Jul 20, 2014	0.0	ND
16	Jul 26, 2014	2.0	W
17	Jul 31, 2014	1.0	W
18	Aug 5, 2014	0.0	ND
19	Aug 10, 2014	1.0	W
20	Aug 16, 2014	0.0	L
21	Aug 21, 2014	1.7	W
22	Aug 27, 2014	2.0	W

* No-hitter
BTP: Box-Toppers points

With a month to go in the season, Kershaw likely has four or five more starts remaining. He would need to earn 8.0 Box-Toppers points—equivalent to earning Player of the Day honors four times—to pass Johnson’s 33.7. While that seems unlikely, he did have a stretch of five starts this season (from his June 18 no-hitter through July 10) in which he scored 9.4 Box-Toppers points, earning Player of the Day three times (2.0 Box-Toppers points each) and NL Player of the Day twice (1.7 Box-Toppers points each).

Kershaw’s accomplishment this season is all the more remarkable because he missed six weeks on the disabled list from late March through early May. In his 22 starts this season, he has been Player of the Day seven times (earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each time), NL Player of the Day four times (earning 1.7 points each time) and Player of the Game five times (earning 1.0 each time). In only six of his 22 starts has he failed to earn at least Player of the Game honors.

Johnson has the most Box-Toppers points in a single season, however, record keeping began in 1995, so his “all-time” record covers only the past 20 seasons. Only 19 times in the past 20 seasons has a player earned more than 25.0 Box-Toppers points in a season. And this season is the second time Kershaw has achieved that. In 2011, Kershaw had his best season when he earned 26.1 Box-Toppers points.

While Kershaw’s current 25.8 Box-Toppers points is currently tied for 16th place in Box-Toppers highest points for a season, it is only one of five times in the past 10 seasons that a player has reached 25.0 points. The other four times:

• In 2008, CC Sabathia, pitching for the Indians and Brewers, had 26.7 Box-Toppers points.

• In 2011, Kershaw had 26.1.

• In 2006, Johan Santana of the Twins had 25.7 Box-Toppers points.

• In 2011, Cliff Lee of the Phillies had 25.4 Box-Toppers points.

All 14 other instances in which a player had 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points happened from 1995 to 2004. The top eight times happened from 1999 to 2002. Johnson earned four of those top eight top spots in four consecutive seasons, leading all players in Box-Toppers points in each of those seasons. All 19 players on the list are starting pitchers.

Giants' Tim Hudson rises onto Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 10 pitchers list

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson has moved into Box-Toppers ‘all-time’ top 10 pitchers list, passing Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux.

Top 10 pitchers 'all-time'

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 'all-time' pitchers (record keeping began in 1995). The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players have accumulated since 1995.

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Johnson, Randy	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Schilling, Curt	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	173.3
5	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	retired	170.7
6	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	bal al	166.6
7	Clemens, Roger	pi sp	retired	164.8
8	Smoltz, John	pi sp	retired	160.9
9	Mussina, Mike	pi sp	retired	155.6
10	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	sf nl	152.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Hudson, who earned Player of the Game honors July 5, now has 152.0 career Box-Toppers points (including 7.7 this season) and passes Maddux, who had 151.7.

However, Box-Toppers record keeping did not begin until 1995 and so some of Maddux’s most productive years—1986 to 1994, in which he won 15 or more games per season seven times—are not recorded. Meanwhile, Hudson’s entire career, beginning in 1999, has been recorded.

Hudson has scored at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in each of his 16 seasons. He has scored 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season six times. His best season was in 2001 with the Oakland Athletics, when he earned 18.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks 14th among all players in ‘all-time’ Box-Toppers points, just behind Barry Bonds (153.2).

Hudson turned 39 Monday.

The top 10 ‘all-time’ pitchers list does not change that often. The last time there was any change in the standings was June 2013, when Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia passed Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay to move into fourth place overall. Sabathia has since scored only 1.0 additional Box-Toppers point and now has 173.3 for his career.

The last time there was any change in membership in the ‘all-time’ top 10 pitcher list was September 2010, when Sabathia rose onto the list with 137.5 Box-Toppers points, passing then-Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez, with 135.6.

While there are three active pitchers on the top 10 list—Sabathia, Johan Santana of the Orioles and Hudson—Hudson is the only pitcher who is both active and not on the disabled list. Sabathia and Santana are both likely out for the season.

Randy Johnson leads the list with 278.8 Box-Toppers points and is the overall ‘all-time’ Box-Toppers leader (again, since 1995, when record keeping began).

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.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Astros' McHugh, Giants' Hudson top players for Tuesday, May 27; Tigers' Cabrera leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points

Astros pitcher Collin McHugh is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. McHugh pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 3-0 win over the Royals.

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson is National League Player of the Day. Hudson pitched seven scoreless innings in the 4-0 win over the Cubs.

Hudson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season and 149.0 for his career (1999-present). He moves into 15th place on the all-time list (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995), passing Chipper Jones (149.0) and Javier Vazquez (148.3) and just behind Greg Maddux (151.7).

Hudson is in fifth place among active players, behind CC Sabathia (179.3), Manny Ramirez (167.2), Johan Santana (166.6) and Albert Pujols (161.3).

Matt Holliday of the Cardinals is NL Batter of the Day. Holliday homered and went 3-for-3 in the 6-0 win over the Yankees. Holliday beat out teammate and pitcher Lance Lynn, who pitched a complete game shutout, for Player of the Game. Both Holliday and Lynn had Box-Toppers game scores of +3.0, but in case of game score ties, batters beat pitchers, giving Holliday the edge.

Adam Lind of the Blue Jays is American League Batter of the Day. Lind homered, went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs in the 9-6 win over the Rays.

Notables: Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Greinke (7.2IP 3R 11K W in the 6-3 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 7.4 for the season. He is in fourth place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. (See the updated top 10 list on the home page.)

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to first place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points. Cabrera (HR 2-4 2R 2RBI in the 6-5 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 5.5 for the season. He passes previous AL batting leader Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox—both Ramirez and Cabrera have 5.5 Box-Toppers points but Cabrera has the edge because he has more combined points over 2013-14 (22.4 vs. 6.5). Cabrera now ranks 19th among all players in Box-Toppers points. Cabrera led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2013 with 16.9.

McHugh receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hudson receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Holliday and Lind each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

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

527	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Astros	Collin McHugh (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	0	9
NL	6.0	Giants	Tim Hudson (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	0	0	0	5
	6.0	`White Sox	Chris Sale	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	1	4
	4.2	Dodgers	Zack Greinke (W, 8-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	8	3	3	0	11
BAT	3.0	Cardinals	Matt Holliday LF	3	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Red Sox	Koji Uehara (S, 11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Blue Jays	Adam Lind 1B	5	2	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Padres	Tommy Medica 1B	4	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 1B	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Angels	C.J. Cron DH	4	2	2	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mets	Ruben Tejada SS	2	2	2	0	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Twins	Oswaldo Arcia RF	4	2	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Brewers	Mark Reynolds 3B, 1B	4	2	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Rockies	Wilin Rosario C	4	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Lance Berkman retires; he led NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2006

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 13th of the series:

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.

Lance Berkman

Here are Lance Berkman'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
1999	hou nl	2.0
2000	hou nl	5.0	RoY-6
2001	hou nl	6.5	AS, BTP-134, BTP-NL bat-38, MVP-5
2002	hou nl	8.5	AS, BTP-80, BTP-NL bat-18, MVP-3
2003	hou nl	7.5
2004	hou nl	11.2	AS, BTP-27, BTP-NL bat-5, MVP-7
2005	hou nl	7.0	MVP-14
2006	hou nl	20.8	AS, BTP-2, BTP-NL bat-1, MVP-3
2007	hou nl	4.5
2008	hou nl	12.9	AS, BTP-20, BTP-NL bat-5, MVP-5
2009	hou nl	6.5
2010	hou nl/nyy al	4.5
2011	stl nl	10.2	AS, BTP-48, BTP-NL bat-7, MVP-7
2012	stl nl	0.0
2013	tex al	1.0
Total		108.1	BTP-46, BTP-bat-16

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL 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

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.

Some career highlights:

• In 2001, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points, 38th among NL batters and 134th among all players. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting.

• In 2002, he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 18th among NL batters and 80th among all players. He finished third in NL MVP voting.

• In 2004, he had 11.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters and 27th among all players. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting. (Barry Bonds of the Giants was voted NL MVP. He had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals led NL batters with 15.9 Box-Toppers points.)

• In 2006, he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, his most in a single season. He finished first among NL batters and second among all players (behind only Johan Santana of the Twins with 25.7 points). However, Berkman finished third in NL MVP voting. Ryan Howard of the Phillies, who won the award, had 14.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters.

• In 2008, he had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters and 20th among all players. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, who won the award, had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, most among NL batters.

• In 2011, he had 10.2 Box-Toppers points with the Cardinals, seventh among NL batters and 48th among all players. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting. Ryan Braun of the Brewers, who won the award, had 10.5 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL batters. (Prince Fielder of the Brewers led NL batters in 2011 with 15.7 points.)

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

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: Ryan Dempster

Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Todd Helton, Barry Zito, Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter retires; he led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2005

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 12th of the series:

12. Chris Carpenter

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

Chris Carpenter

Here are Chris Carpenter'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
1997	tor al	1.0
1998	tor al	5.7
1999	tor al	5.0
2000	tor al	2.0
2001	tor al	10.0	BTP-67, BTP-AL pi-21
2002	tor al	1.0
2003	stl nl	0.0
2004	stl nl	10.7	BTP-41, BTP-NL pi-17
2005	stl nl	21.0	AS, BTP-2, BTP-NL pi-1, CYA-1, MVP-8
2006	stl nl	15.4	AS, BTP-9, BTP-NL pi-4, CYA-3, MVP-19
2007	stl nl	0.0
2008	stl nl	1.0
2009	stl nl	15.7	BTP-14, BTP-NL pi-4, CYA-2, MVP-14
2010	stl nl	16.1	AS, BTP-10, BTP-NL pi-6
2011	stl nl	8.7
2012	stl nl	0.0
2013	stl nl	0.0
Total		113.3	BTP-37, BTP-pi-24

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

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

Carpenter, 38, was also among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points four times in his 17-year career and three times among the top three in NL Cy Young voting.

Carpenter recorded 113.3 career Box-Toppers points, 24th among all pitchers and 37th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He battled injury several times during his career but consistently battled back to pitch effectively and rank among the league’s top players in Box-Toppers points.

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.

He began his career in 1997 with the Blue Jays and moved to the Cardinals in 2004. Injuries prevented him from playing in 2003 and 2013, his final season. He played in only three games in 2012. And he earned his final Box-Toppers points Sept. 28, 2011, when he was Player of the Day.

Some career highlights:

• In 2001 with the Blue Jays, he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 21st among American League pitchers and 67th among all players.

• In 2004 with the Cardinals, he had 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 17th among NL pitchers and 41st among all players. He had only 1.0 Box-Toppers point during the previous two seasons—2002 and 2003.

• In 2005, he had 21.0 Box-Toppers points, a career high, the most among NL pitchers and second among all players (behind only Johan Santana of the Twins, with 24.1.) Carpenter won the NL Cy Young Award over Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins (Willis had 18.7 Box-Toppers points, third among NL pitchers).

• In 2006, he had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL pitchers and ninth among all players. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting. (Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young. Webb had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL pitchers. John Smoltz of the Braves led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 19.1.)

• In 2009, he had 15.7 Box-Toppers points after scoring only 1.0 point the previous two seasons—2007 and 2008. Carpenter ranked fourth among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points and 14th among all players. He finished second in NL Cy Young voting. (Tim Lincecum of the Giants won the NL Cy Young and led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 19.7.)

• In 2010, he had 16.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers and 10th among all players. Though it was his second-best season in Box-Toppers points, he received no NL Cy Young votes. Roy Halladay won the NL Cy Young and led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 23.4.

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.

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: Lance Berkman

Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Todd Helton, Barry Zito

Retired saves king Mariano Rivera ranks as 2nd-best all-time closer in Box-Toppers points

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 seventh of the series:

7. Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera, considered the greatest closing pitcher of all time, is only the second-best closer in career Box-Toppers points.

Mariano Rivera

Here are Mariano Rivera'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	3.0
1996	nyy al	8.4	BTP-77, BTP-AL pi-11, CYA-3, MVP-12
1997	nyy al	5.0	AS, MVP-25
1998	nyy al	4.0
1999	nyy al	8.0	AS, BTP-82, BTP-AL pi-13, CYA-3, MVP-14
2000	nyy al	4.0	AS
2001	nyy al	12.0	AS, BTP-30, BTP-AL pi-8, MVP-11
2002	nyy al	4.0	AS
2003	nyy al	6.0	MVP-27
2004	nyy al	5.0	AS, BTP-189, BTP-AL pi-37, CYA-3, MVP-9
2005	nyy al	11.0	AS, BTP-37, BTP-AL pi-9, CYA-2, MVP-9
2006	nyy al	4.0	AS, MVP-26
2007	nyy al	12.0	BTP-27, BTP-AL pi-11
2008	nyy al	14.0	AS, BTP-17, BTP-AL pi-8, CYA-5
2009	nyy al	8.0	AS, BTP-84, BTP-AL pi-18, MVP-14
2010	nyy al	7.0	AS
2011	nyy al	6.0	AS, CYA-8
2012	nyy al	0.0
2013	nyy al	5.0	AS
Total		126.4	BTP-25, BTP-pi-16

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

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

Rivera retired amid great fanfare at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 43. He recorded more saves than any other pitcher with 652. He helped the New York Yankees, the team with which he spent his entire 19-season career, win five World Series championships, earning World Series Most Valuable Player once (in 1999) and American League Championship Series MVP once (in 2003).

And yet, despite all this, Rivera trails one other closing pitcher in all-time Box-Toppers points. Rivera recorded 126.4 Box-Toppers points, ranking 25th among all players and 16th among all pitchers. But ahead of him, with 129.4 Box-Toppers points, ranking 21st among all players and 14th among all pitchers is Trevor Hoffman.

Hoffman, who pitched primarily for the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1993 to 2010, has 601 career saves—he was passed by Rivera in 2011. And even though Rivera was only 3.0 Box-Toppers points from tying him, Hoffman would likely have a higher point total since his career began before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995—Hoffman picked up 25 of his career saves in 1993 and 1994.

More about the comparison of Rivera and Hoffman ahead, but first a look back at the career of Rivera, who finished among the top 10 in AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points for a season three times during his career. Here are some career highlights:

• In 1996, he had 8.4 Box-Toppers points and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting. (Pat Hentgen of the Blue Jays won the award—he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points that season, fifth among AL pitchers.)

• In 1999, he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points and finished third in AL Cy Young voting. (Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox won the award—he had 31.4 Box-Toppers points, the most of any AL pitcher.)

• In 2001, he had 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth among AL pitchers. (He received no Cy Young votes.)

• In 2004, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points and finished third in AL Cy Young voting. (Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins won the award—he had 26.8 Box-Toppers points, the most of any player that season.)

• In 2005, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking ninth among AL pitchers and finishing second in Cy Young voting, his highest finish ever. (Bartolo Colon of the Angels won the award—he had 9.4 Box-Toppers points that year, ranking 13th among AL pitchers.)

• In 2007, he had 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 11th among AL pitchers. (He received no Cy Young votes.)

• In 2008, he had a career-high-for-a-season 14.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth among AL pitchers and finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. (Cliff Lee of the Indians won the award —he had 15.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among AL pitchers.)

• In 2011, he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points and finished eighth in Cy Young voting. (Justin Verlander of the Tigers won the award—he had 24.4 Box-Toppers points, first among AL pitchers.)

Rivera had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He had 17 straight seasons in which he earned at least one Box-Toppers point. That streak was cut short in 2012, when he was injured for the season in May and earned no Box-Toppers points that year. He came back from that injury in 2013 to earn 5.0 Box-Toppers points in his final season.

Rivera vs. Hoffman

Trevor Hoffman

Here are Trevor Hoffman'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
1993	fla nl/sd nl	*
1994	sd nl	*
1995	sd nl	9.0	BTP-42, BTP-NL pi-8
1996	sd nl	14.7	BTP-12, BTP-NL pi-5, CYA-5, MVP-22
1997	sd nl	14.0	BTP-17, BTP-Nl pi-7
1998	sd nl	11.0	AS, BTP-31, BTP-NL pi-12, CYA-2, MVP-7
1999	sd nl	7.0	AS, BTP-111, BTP-NL pi-27, CYA-6, MVP-28
2000	sd nl	11.0	AS, BTP-30, BTP-NL pi-8
2001	sd nl	12.0	BTP-29, BTP-NL pi-13
2002	sd nl	8.0	AS, BTP-88, BTP-NL pi-30
2003	sd nl	0.0
2004	sd nl	8.7	BTP-65, BTP-NL pi-22
2005	sd nl	7.0	MVP-17
2006	sd nl	7.0	AS, BTP-115, BTP-NL pi-33, CYA-2, MVP-10
2007	sd nl	3.0	AS
2008	sd nl	9.0	BTP-69, BTP-NL pi-27
2009	mil nl	7.0	AS
2010	mil nl	1.0
Total		129.4	BTP-21, BTP-pi-14

* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Hoffman appeared in 67 games in 1993 and 47 games in 1994, recording 25 of his 601 career saves.

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

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

So why does Rivera have fewer Box-Toppers points than Hoffman?

First: Box-Toppers measures which player most contributes to a team’s win. While Rivera was with the Yankees, there was a cavalcade of stars who made contributions who regularly edged out Rivera to earn Player of the Game honors (and thus, Box-Toppers points)—Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi … the names roll off the tongue and are among all-time career leaders in Box-Toppers points. But Hoffman did not have as many stars around him (his San Diego teammate Jake Peavy is the only one that comes to mind at present) and so the competition among team members to earn Box-Toppers points was less, allowing Hoffman to, perhaps, put up bigger numbers.

In addition, it’s simply harder for a closer to accumulate a lot of Box-Toppers points. When they pitch only one inning, it is hard for them to amass a large enough Box-Toppers game score in comparison with their teammates. For a closer to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, they almost have to dominate their inning, striking out the side and allowing no hits, while their teammates either completely fail or make only minor contributions to the win. The closer may only win Player of the Game honors because the starting pitcher got shelled and no batter had a decent hitting line.

Box-Toppers doesn’t give credence to the so-called “clutch” or late-inning situation in which most closers find themselves. In the view of the Box-Toppers statistic, the first inning is as important as the ninth and the first game is as important as the 162nd. So, a closer who pitches one inning and faces just three batters may do it well and may give his team an emotional boost, but it is hard for him to compete statistically with the pitcher who goes seven innings or the batter who makes four plate appearances and gets three hits.

Given all those obstacles, it is really remarkable that Rivera and Hoffman could accumulate so many points over their careers—for comparison here are the next highest-ranked closers on the all-time Box-Toppers points list:

• Billy Wagner (1996-2010), 108.7, ranked 44th overall.

• Troy Percival (1995-2009), 80.7, ranked 102nd overall.

• Rob Nen (1993-2004), 66.0, ranked 157th overall.

Given his status as “saves king” and his reputation for postseason dominance, it may be true to say Rivera is the greatest closer of all time. But it can also be fair to say that Hoffman is actually the closer who contributed most often to his teams’ wins.

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: Roy Oswalt

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

Johan Santana, Box-Toppers' dominant player in mid-2000s, attempting comeback after injury

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 fourth of the series:

4. Johan Santana

Johan Santana was Box-Toppers’ dominant player in the mid-2000s as he led all players in Box-Toppers points three consecutive years and all American League pitchers for four straight years.

Santana, 34, missed the entire 2013 season after re-injuring his shoulder and undergoing surgery. He missed the 2011 season with a similar injury and there are questions whether he will be able to continue pitching. He is currently an unsigned free agent.

Johan Santana

Here are Johan Santana'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 Cy Young and Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
2000	min al	0.0
2001	min al	1.7
2002	min al	10.0
2003	min al	10.7	CYA-7
2004	min al	26.8	BTP-1, CYA-1, MVP-6
2005	min al	24.1	AS, BTP-1, CYA-3
2006	min al	25.7	AS, BTP-1, CYA-1, MVP-7
2007	min al	18.1	AS, CYA-5, BTP-4, BTP-AL pi-1
2008	nym nl	15.4	BTP-9, BTP-NL pi-5, CYA-3, MVP-14
2009	nym nl	11.4
2010	nym nl	12.0
2011	nym nl	0.0
2012	nym nl	10.7
2013	nym nl	0.0
Total		166.6	BTP-8, BTP-pi-6

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

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

Santana has 166.6 Box-Toppers points, putting him in eighth place among players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” rankings (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995) and sixth among all pitchers. At the end of 2013, he ranked third among all active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (172.3) and Roy Halladay (170.7), who announced his retirement in December.

Santana’s Box-Toppers numbers suggest he should have won four straight American League Cy Young Awards while pitching for the Minnesota Twins from 2004 through 2007, however, he only won two. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and led all AL pitchers in points in 2007:

• In 2004, his best season, he earned 26.8 Box-Toppers points, more than any other player that year, won the Cy Young Award and also finished sixth in AL Most Valuable Player voting. (Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels was voted MVP. He had 14.4 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all AL players.)

• In 2005, Santana had 24.1 Box-Toppers points, more than any other player that season. However, he finished third in AL Cy Young voting. (Bartolo Colon of the Angels won the Cy Young—he had 9.4 Box-Toppers points that year, ranking 13th among AL pitchers.)

• In 2006, Santana had 25.7 Box-Toppers points, again more than any other player that year, winning the AL Cy Young Award and finishing seventh in AL MVP voting. (Twins teammate Justin Morneau was voted MVP—he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all AL batters.)

• In 2007, Santana had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, the most of any AL pitcher and the fourth most of any player. However, he finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting, with only one vote. (CC Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians won the award—he had 13.1 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL pitchers.)

Santana moved to the New York Mets in 2008 and while he finished fifth among National League pitchers and ninth among all players in Box-Toppers points with 15.4, he has never again equalled the success he had over the previous four years with the Twins.

However, when he has been healthy and active, he has surpassed 10.0 Box-Toppers points each season—he has 10 such seasons in his 14-year career. He surpassed 15.0 points in five seasons and scored more than 20.0 points in three seasons. 

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: Jim Thome

Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez, hinting at baseball comeback at 41, ranks second among all batters in career Box-Toppers points

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 third of the series:

3. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez was Box-Toppers’ top American League batter in 1999 and ranks second in Box-Toppers points among all batters since 1995, trailing only Alex Rodriguez.

Manny Ramirez

Here are Manny Ramirez' 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 Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
1993	cle al	*
1994	cle al	*
1995	cle al	11.0	AS, BTP-23, BTP-AL bat-7, MVP-12
1996	cle al	5.7
1997	cle al	7.7
1998	cle al	16.2	AS, BTP-10, BTP-AL bat-3, MVP-6
1999	cle al	19.9	AS, BTP-3, BTP-AL bat-1, MVP-3
2000	cle al	13.2	AS, BTP-19, BTP-AL bat-5, MVP-6
2001	bos al	7.0	AS, BTP-111, BTP-AL bat-22, MVP-9
2002	bos al	12.5	AS, BTP-25, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-9
2003	bos al	7.9	AS, BTP-92, BTP-AL bat-27, MVP-6
2004	bos al	11.2	AS, BTP-26, BTP-AL bat-5, MVP-3
2005	bos al	14.0	AS, BTP-15, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-4
2006	bos al	10.0	AS, BTP-51, BTP-AL bat-11, MVP-18
2007	bos al	7.5	AS
2008	bos al/lad nl	13.9	AS, BTP-18, BTP-NL bat-3, MVP-4
2009	lad nl	5.5
2010	lad nl/chi al	4.0
2011	tb al	0.0
Total		167.2	BTP-7, BTP-bat-2

* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Ramirez played 22 games in 1993 and 91 games in 1994.
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL bat Finish among all AL batters in BTP
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

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

Ramirez, 41, is No. 3 on Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them look at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. (See previous posts about Alex Rodriguez and Roy Halladay.) Reports say Ramirez is interested in making a comeback in 2014, though he hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2011. 

He retired that year (after playing five games for the Tampa Bay Rays) rather than face a 100-game suspension for his second violation of baseball’s drug policy. He attempted comebacks in both 2012 and 2013, never making it to the big leagues. Most recently, in July 2013, he signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers but was released in August.

 Ramirez accumulated 167.2 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2010. (He also played 22 games in 1993 and 91 games in 1994, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) He ranks seventh among all players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list (since 1995) and second among all batters (Rodriguez, first among batters, has 179.3 points).

Ramirez never won a league Most Valuable Player Award, though he finished in the top 10 in voting nine times, finishing as high as third place twice in AL MVP voting (1999 with the Cleveland Indians and 2004 with the Boston Red Sox).

However, Ramirez led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 1999 with 19.9, his best season. Ramirez finished third in AL MVP voting that year. Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers was voted MVP—he had 14.2 Box-Toppers points that year, in sixth among AL batters. Ramirez was third in overall Box-Toppers points in 1999, behind only pitcher Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks (31.5 points) and pitcher Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox (31.4 points).

Ramirez was among the top 10 batters in his league in Box-Toppers points eight different times—seven times in the AL and once, in 2008 in the National League when he finished his season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was among the top 10 overall players in Box-Toppers points twice—in 1999, as previously mentioned, and in 1998, when he finished in 10th place overall with 16.2 points. He had nine seasons with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points.

Ramirez was suspended 50 games in 2009 for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. He was suspended a second time under the policy in 2011 and faced a 100-game suspension. He chose to retire instead. When he attempted a comeback in 2012, he was able to reach an agreement to reduce that suspension to 50 games.

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: Johan Santana

Alex Rodriguez leads Box-Toppers' series on players who have (or may have) played their final game

First in a series

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.

Alex Rodriguez

Here are Alex Rodriguez' 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 Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
1994	sea al	*
1995	sea al	0.0
1996	sea al	11.2	AS, BTP-32, BTP-AL bat-9, MVP-2
1997	sea al	6.2	AS
1998	sea al	5.0	AS, MVP-9
1999	sea al	13.7	BTP-18, BTP-AL bat-7, MVP-15
2000	sea al	17.0	AS, BTP-7, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-3
2001	tex al	12.5	AS, BTP-25, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-6
2002	tex al	15.2	AS, BTP-11, BTP-AL bat-4, MVP-2
2003	tex al	6.7	AS, BTP-121, BTP-AL bat-33, MVP-1
2004	nyy al	4.5	AS, MVP-14
2005	nyy al	11.9	AS, BTP-28, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-1
2006	nyy al	12.5	AS, BTP-27, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-13
2007	nyy al	18.9	AS, BTP-2, BTP-AL bat-1, MVP-1
2008	nyy al	11.2	AS, BTP-34, BTP-AL bat-3, MVP-8
2009	nyy al	6.9	MVP-10
2010	nyy al	13.7	AS, BTP-23, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-15
2011	nyy al	4.7	AS
2012	nyy al	4.5
2013	nyy al	3.0
Total		179.3	BTP-4, BTP-bat-1

* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Rodriguez played 17 games in 1994.
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

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

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).

Here is the first in a series of Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them look 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. 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 has been suspended for the upcoming season under baseball’s drug policy. His legal challenge to the suspension has been given a poor chance of succeeding. The soonest he could come back to the game is 2015, when he will be 39.

So the question is: Even if and when he is cleared to return to baseball, will he? Will he be too old? Will any team be willing to let someone so thoroughly viewed as a pariah actually take the field? Will shame for his transgressions keep him away? (Yeah, that one seemed unlikely to me, too.)

Is it possible that we’ve seen the last of A-Rod in baseball?

If so, then baseball loses the player who most 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).

Rodriguez’ career began just before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—he played 17 games in 1994.

He is a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, in 2003 with the Texas Rangers and in 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  and was ranked second overall to then-San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy with 23.4 points.

Also in 2007, he accumulated more Box-Toppers points than he did in any other season with 18.9. It was one of three seasons where he had more than 15.0 Box-Toppers points and one of 10 seasons where he had more than 10.0 points.

Rodriguez finished twice among all players in Box-Toppers’ top 10 list for the season. In 2000, he ranked seventh among all players with 17.0 and in 2007, as mentioned previously, he finished second.

He finished in the top 10 among all American League batters on the season-ending list 10 times, finishing as high as second three times (in 2000 with 17.0 Box-Toppers points, in 2001 with 12.5 and in 2010 with 13.7).

Interestingly, two of his three MVP seasons were far from his best in terms of Box-Toppers points:

• In 2003, Rodriguez was voted MVP though he scored only 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 121st among all players and 33rd among AL batters. (Carlos Delgado was Box-Toppers’ top AL batter with 17.7; he finished second in AL MVP voting.)

• In 2005, Rodriguez was voted MVP though he scored 11.9 Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players and sixth among AL batters. (David Ortiz was Box-Toppers’ top AL batter with 14.7; he finished second in AL MVP voting.)

The past three seasons have seen Rodriguez’ Box-Toppers numbers fall off, scoring fewer than 5.0 each year. In 2013, he scored 3.0 Box-Toppers points, however, he played only 44 games, limited by injury and playing all his games while appealing his 211-game drug suspension (later reduced to 162 games).

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: Roy Halladay 

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