Analyzing 24 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues
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A look at Box-Toppers' ‘all-time' top 10 lists—top overall players, top pitchers, top batters—since tracking began in 1995
With Max Scherzer’s rise into Box-Toppers career points top 10 list during 2018, there are now six active players in the top 10, the most since 2008, when there were eight.
Box-Toppers player tracking began in 1995 and the overall top 10 players in career points was composed entirely of active players until 2008. The number of active players on the list slipped to as low as two as recently as 2014, but grew to six on June 5, when Nationals pitcher Scherzer joined the list, rising to 10th place with 172.1 Box-Toppers points, displacing retired pitcher Roy Halladay. Scherzer finished the season with 181.8 points, ranked ninth.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time' after the 2018 season
Randy Johnson leads all players in career Box-Toppers points and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The most likely rival to Johnson’s throne at the moment is Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has 214.8 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995 and most among active players.
Read MoreBox-Toppers votes eight players to Hall of Fame in internet writers’ ballot
Box-Toppers is voting for eight players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Read MoreIndians' Corey Kluber tops players for Monday, Sept. 24, rises to 4th in player rankings
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Kluber struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreAthletics’ Trevor Cahill tops players for Saturday, Aug. 18; Mets’ deGrom tops NL players
Athletics pitcher Trevor Cahill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cahill struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 7-1 win over the Astros.
Read MoreTwins’ Kyle Gibson tops players for Thursday, July 12; Pujols earns Box-Toppers points in 18th straight season
Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Albert Pujols of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 18 consecutive seasons, tied with Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia for the longest active season streak; it is tied for the third-longest streak since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
In addition Thursday, Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked players for 2018 started Thursday but neither earned Player of the Game honors in their teams’ wins. Neither top-ranked Luis Severino of the Yankees nor second-ranked Max Scherzer of the Nationals were top players in their games.
Read MoreBox-Toppers career points top 10 has most active players on list in 10 years, with Scherzer’s rise
With Max Scherzer’s rise into Box-Toppers career points top 10 list this month, there are now six active players in the top 10, the most since 2008, when there were eight.
Scherzer, the Nationals pitcher, became the 10th-ranked player on Box-Toppers “all-time” list on June 5 with 172.1 career points, passing Roy Halladay (170.7). Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Read MorePirates' Nick Kingham tops players for Sunday, April 29; Sabathia rises to 4th in Box-Toppers ‘all-time’ rankings
Pirates pitcher Nick Kingham is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in his Major League debut.
Also Sunday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia passes Curt Schilling, rising to fourth place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors.
In addition, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Read MoreBlue Jays’ J.A. Happ tops players for Tuesday, April 24; Yankees’ Sabathia earns Box-Toppers points for 18th straight season
Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia earned Box-Toppers points in his 18th straight season after earning Player of the Game honors, setting the record for longest such streak among pitchers (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) and taking sole possession of the longest active streak.
Box-Toppers top pitchers by time frame (after 2017)
Randy Johnson has the most Box-Toppers points of any pitcher since tracking began in 1995.
Meanwhile, Chris Sale of the Red Sox led all pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2017, Max Scherzer of the Nationals led all pitchers in points over the past two seasons and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers led all pitchers in points over the past six seasons. Kershaw also leads all active pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreHow 2018 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
Four players—Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday. Key players overlooked: Curt Schilling, Jeff Kent, Johan Santana and the PED-clouded five of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa.
Read MoreBox-Toppers All-time All-Star teams, 1995-2017
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads the list of Box-Toppers Active Career All-Stars and is one of three active players to be included on Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team.
The Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team consists of the best players by position since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and includes 12 players who have retired and three who are still active—Kershaw, along with Albert Pujols of the Angels and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers.
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 MoreA look at Box-Toppers' ‘all-time' top 10 lists—top overall players, top pitchers, top batters—since tracking began in 1995
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to third place in Box-Toppers’ overall “all-time” list in 2017, becoming the active leader in career points. Also in 2017, Albert Pujols became the “all-time” leader in career Box-Toppers points among batters and Zack Greinke rose into the overall top 10 in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.
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Kershaw breaks record for most consecutive seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points
In 2017, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw broke the record for most consecutive seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw earned 23.1 points in 2017, his seventh straight season with at least 20 points. Previously, pitcher Randy Johnson held the record, earning 20 points or more for six straight seasons, from 1997 to 2002. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time' after the 2017 season
Randy Johnson leads Box-Toppers "all-time" career top 100 list, since record-keeping began in 1995. Clayton Kershaw, ranked third overall, leads all active players. And Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year Chris Sale makes the biggest jump up the top 100 chart.
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Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Saturday, Sept. 30, Red Sox' Sale secures Box-Toppers Player of the Year
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the 38th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also Saturday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale secured Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year honors after the only two players who had the chance to pass him both failed to earn Player of the Game honors—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
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In 2017, Clayton Kershaw has become new leader among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to 3rd on the ‘all-time’ top 100 list
During the 2017 season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has taken the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to third place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players list.
Kershaw has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw leads all players with 22.1 points in 2017.
Read MoreCubs' Jose Quintana tops players for Sunday, July 16, rises to 9th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Quintana, making his debut for the Cubs after being traded from the White Sox during the All-Star break, struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Orioles.
Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising to ninth place among all players, sixth place among National League pitchers. Quintana is the 10th player this season to reach 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Mike Fiers struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two hits, four hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-4 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Two players with 100.0 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
- Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (6IP 2H 0R 5BB 3K W in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 191.0 career points, fifth-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fourth-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Sabathia has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 13th among AL pitchers.
- Red Sox pitcher David Price (8IP 7H 0R 0BB 8K W in the 3-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.9 career points, rising to 55th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jeff Kent (109.7) and Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (109.7). Price has 3.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 46th among AL pitchers.
Debut—Nick Williams of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Williams (HR 2-4 R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,852nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fiers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphyearns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 7/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | CHC 8, BAL 0 | Jose Quintana, W (5-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 5, MIN 3 | Mike Fiers (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | BOS 3, NYY 0 | David Price (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 3, MIA 2 | Rich Hill (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | WSH 14, CIN 4 | Daniel Murphy (2B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ATL 7, ARI 1 | Jaime Garcia (W, 3-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | SEA 7, CHW 6 (F/10) | Edwin Diaz (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | SD 7, SF 1 | Trevor Cahill (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | `LAA 4, TB 3 | Parker Bridwell | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 5, MIL 2 | Nick Williams (RF) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 13, NYM 4 | Gerardo Parra (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 7, CLE 3 | Sean Manaea (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2.2 | `KC 4, TEX 3 | Ian Kennedy | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 3, BOS 0 | CC Sabathia (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, STL 3 | Wade LeBlanc (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | `DET 6, TOR 5 (F/11) | Bruce Rondon | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 | 20.4 | 45.2 | 45.2 | -0.4 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 | 22.1 | 26.1 | 45.8 | -6.7 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.4 | 9.4 | 24.1 | 46.6 | 3.4 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 6.0 | 13.5 | 34.5 | 38.5 | -1.5 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 12.0 | 38.5 | 191.0 | 0.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | -1.3 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 15.0 | 46.1 | 71.5 | -5.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 5.0 | 7.5 | 19.5 | 26.0 | 2.5 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 9.4 | 30.5 | 30.5 | -0.6 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -3.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 16.1 | 78.1 | 109.9 | -8.7 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi cp mr sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 10.0 | 28.1 | 45.8 | -6.0 |
| Bridwell, Parker 3844 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Rondon, Bruce 3245 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Williams, Nick 3852 | rf | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |