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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads two of Box-Toppers’ four main leaderboards and came within 2.1 Box-Toppers points of leading three of the four after the 2018 season.
Scherzer has the most Box-Toppers points of any player over the past two seasons (50.1 over 2017 and 2018) and the most points of any player over the past six seasons (137.0 from 2013 to 2018). Scherzer finished second in overall points in 2018 with 25.1, just behind leader Rays pitcher Blake Snell (27.2).
Read MoreAnalyzing 24 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2013.
Scherzer has 137.0 Box-Toppers points over the period 2013-2018, just 2.6 points ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 134.4 points over that span.
In fact, Scherzer unseats Kershaw from atop the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total, a spot Kershaw has held at the end of each season since 2013, five straight seasons.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Scherzer has earned 50.1 Box-Toppers points over 2017 and 2018. He ranked second among all players in both seasons.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over both the past two seasons and past six seasons.
Scherzer has the most Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons (50.1 over 2017 and 2018) and the most points over the past six seasons (137.0 from 2013 to 2018).
Read MoreBlake Snell tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2018.
The Rays pitcher had 27.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the 12th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
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Rays pitcher Blake Snell is Box-Toppers 2018 Player of the Year.
Snell, with 27.2 Box-Toppers points in 2018, finishes first in Box-Toppers season player rankings, ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (25.1).
Meanwhile, Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to first place among National League batters in Box-Toppers points this week, as the regular season comes to a close.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, the final day of the regular season.
Also Sunday, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco maintains his seventh-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Plus, J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox extended his lead in 2018 Box-Toppers points among American League batters after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreNo batters are deserving of the Most Valuable Player Award this year.
Collectively, batters are faring worse, with their statistics trending downward in recent years. This year has been an even lower point.
Box-Toppers is voting pitcher Max Scherzer as NL MVP and Blake Snell as AL MVP.
Read MoreRays pitcher Blake Snell took the lead this week in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer.
Meanwhile, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points this week.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintains top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings this week.
However, Rays pitcher Blake Snell, in second overall, has closed in to within 1.0 point of Scherzer. Snell leads American League players in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Rodriguez struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.
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One reason that league-leading batters have had low Box-Toppers point totals in recent seasons is that batters’ overall share of Box-Toppers points earned is declining. Prior to 2010, batters earned about half or more of all Box-Toppers points awarded. Since 2010, batters’ share of points has been below 50 percent each season—and as low as 39.14 percent. (More detailed data used for this graph can be found in the chart at the bottom of his page.)
It seems increasingly likely that Box-Toppers’ league-leading batters will set dubious records in 2018.
Both the American League and National League leaders among batters in Box-Toppers points currently have point totals that would be the lowest to lead their league’s batters for a season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Read MoreThe Cleveland Indians had the most players—seven–among the top 100 in Box-Toppers’ 2018 player rankings at the All-Star break.
Five teams were tied for the second-most players with six players each among the top 100—the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is the most deserving player not selected to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Paxton has 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, fifth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreEddie Rosario and Evan Gattis are among the players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting underway, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreMitch Haniger, James Paxton and Aaron Nola are among the players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting underway, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreMike Trout, Kyle Schwarber and Craig Kimbrel are among the players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting underway, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreWith Major League All-Star voting beginning, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Actually, because the first third of the season is a relatively small sample size, we’ll also look at top players since the start of the 2017 season.
Read MoreBox-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.