Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomery is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreYankees' Luis Severino tops players for Wednesday, May 2, rises to retake season player rankings lead
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to retake the lead in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Mookie Betts of the Red Sox rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings—and is the only batter among the top 10—after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAn opening day introduction to Box-Toppers, starting 24th season tracking players
What’s the most important thing in baseball?
Winning the game, right?
But what baseball statistic provides the fan an indication of the player who most contributed to the win? Logically, you might answer “the win” statistic, but it only applies to pitchers. Plus, in some circumstances, the win is not awarded to the pitcher most responsible for earning the win, but simply the pitcher who was in the game when the team took the lead.
What is needed is a metric that will select the player—from among pitchers and batters—who most contributed to his team’s win. And that’s where Box-Toppers comes in.
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Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers’ most-mentioned player since 2013 & over past year; Dodgers are most-mentioned team
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been mentioned on Box-Toppers.com more than any other player.
His team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is also Box-Toppers’ most-mentioned team.
Read MoreKershaw remains strong over past half decade—who is rising & who is declining among baseball's top stars
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Box-Toppers’ dominant player over the period 2012-2017, remains Box-Toppers’ dominant player over the period 2013-2017.
The 2013-2017 Box-Toppers point total for all players comes from dropping the points they earned in the 2012 season from their 2012-2017 totals. Box-Toppers uses this longer-term total to gauge a players’ staying power over the recent past.
And at the beginning of a season, when the rolling six-year total drops the earliest year of that timeframe, a player’s change in position in the rankings can give a clue to whether that player is improving, holding steady or declining.
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Indians top Box-Toppers 2018 preseason team rankings; champion Astros fall to 8th
The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
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In 2017, while batters made gains, pitchers still had more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors
While batters made modest gains in 2017, earning more Box-Toppers points and Player of the Game honors than in 2016, pitchers were still dominant, earning the most Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors for the season.
Here's a look at some key statistics in a comprehensive look at all 2,430 Major League Baseball games played and tracked in 2017 by Box-Toppers.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position over several time frames (after 2017)
Here are Box-Toppers points leaders at each position over a variety of time frames.
For example, the all-time leader, Randy Johnson leads with 278.8 career Box-Toppers points (earned since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). Johnson also leads in Box-Toppers points among all pitchers since 1995. Chris Sale leads over past season, Max Scherzer leads over past two seasons and Clayton Kershaw leads over past six seasons and also leads all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreAlbert Pujols leads designated hitters in career Box-Toppers points
Albert Pujols of the Angels has the most Box-Toppers points of any designated hitter since tracking began in 1995.
Edwin Encarnacion leads DHs in Box-Toppers points over the past season, past two seasons and past six seasons.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top first basemen by time frame (after 2017 season)
Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers has the most Box-Toppers points of any first basemen since tracking began in 1995, passing previous leader Jim Thome.
Cabrera has 146.9 career Box-Toppers points and in 2017 passed former player and newly elected Hall of Famer Thome, who has 146.7 points. Other leaders at first base include Anthony Rizzo, Edwin Encarnacion and Paul Goldschmidt.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2012-17 All-Star teams
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2012-17 consist of the best players over the past six seasons, which includes 12 of the 27 players who are also on Box-Toppers 2016-17 All-Star teams.
Also, among the 27 players on the teams, there are 11 players who are on Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star teams and 10 who are on All-Star teams over all three time spans—for 2017, for 2016-17 and for 2012-17.Leading the 2012-17 All-Stars is Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons with 147.2.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2016-17 All-Star teams
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2016-17 consist of the best players at each position in each league over the past two seasons.
Among the 27 players included on the American and National League teams are 17 who are also on Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star teams. Leading the 2016-17 All-Stars is Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons with 50.7.
Read MoreCarlos Beltran ties Jason Giambi in 2017 for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points (19)
In 2017, Carlos Beltran tied Jason Giambi for the longest streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 19. With Beltran's retirement, CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols now have the longest active streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 17.
Read MoreAn overview look at how baseball's 2017 statistical leaders ranked in Box-Toppers points
How did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points in 2017?
The leaders of five of the seven key statistics were among Box-Toppers’ overall top 100 players for 2017. However, Jose Altuve of the Astros who led the other two statistical categories—batting average and wins above replacement (WAR)—ranked far outside the overall top 100 players. Altuve ranked 387th with just 2.5 Box-Toppers points, 90th among American League batters.
Read More4 of top 10 WAR leaders for 2017 rank outside Box-Toppers’ top 100 players—some way outside
Six of the 10 leaders in baseball’s Wins Above Replacement statistic for 2017 are among the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
However, four of the top 10 in WAR, including overall leader, Jose Altuve, rank well outside Box-Toppers’ top 100 players for 2017.
Read MoreHalf of top 10 RBI leaders are among their league's top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points
Half of the top 10 runs batted in leaders are among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Overall RBI leader Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins (132) ranked second among National League batters in Box-Toppers points with 14.2.
Read MoreHow did 2017 home run leaders fare in Box-Toppers points? 4 of top 10 finish in Box-Toppers' top 100
Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins led all players in home runs in 2017 and ranked second among all batters in Box-Toppers points for the season. Four of the top 10 home run leaders in 2017 are among the overall top 100 players.
Read MoreAn overview of Box-Toppers category leaders over several time frames
Four different players lead Box-Toppers’ four main leaderboards.
Three of the four were the top three-ranked players in Box-Toppers points in 2017 and the fourth is Box-Toppers’ all-time leader, Randy Johnson.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2017
An analysis of 23 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since start of 2012
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012.
Kershaw has 147.2 Box-Toppers points over the period 2012-2017, 18.3 points ahead of second-place player in that span, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (128.9). However, Kershaw’s lead in the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total is down from last year and is his narrowest lead since 2013.
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