Blog
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the 13th straight week.
Meanwhile, all category leaders remain the same as last week: Verlander leads American League pitchers, Josh Hader of the Brewers leads National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers leads NL batters and Nelson Cruz of the Twins leads AL batters.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Shane Bieber is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander regains the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after falling to second place two days ago. In addition, three other players in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday—Rays pitcher Charlie Morton (third place), Brewers pitcher Josh Hader (fourth place) and Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin (10th place).
Read MorePhillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings—increasing his lead among National League pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors. Exactly halfway through the season, Hader already has the fifth-most Box-Toppers points (14.7) by any closing pitcher in a full single season, since closer tracking began in 1998.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Aaron Civale is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in his Major League debut.
Also Saturday, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader maintains his second-place rank in Box-Toppers season player rankings, increasing his lead among National League pitchers, after earning NL Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Trevor Bauer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings—increasing his lead among National League pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, becoming the sixth player in 2019 to reach 10 Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Julio Teheran is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Brewers closing pitcher Josh Hader rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAnalyzing 24 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues
Read MoreAn analysis of 23 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreAn analysis of 22 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreIf Kershaw comes back, he could break single-season Box-Toppers points record of 33.7. If he doesn't come back, his 20 points could still lead NL pitchers.
Read MoreAnalyzing 21 years of Box-Toppers season point leaders in pitching and batting in both leagues.
Read MoreBox-Toppers leading pitchers win postseason awards four times as often as Box-Toppers leading batters. Randy Johnson has led his league category in Box-Toppers points more than any other player (six). And the Cardinals and Red Sox have had more players win season Box-Toppers points titles than any other team.
Read More
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 eighth of the series:
| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | hou nl | 17.1 | BTP-7, BTP-NL pi-4, CYA-5, MVP-22, RoY-2 |
| 2002 | hou nl | 10.8 | BTP-42, BTP-NL pi-15, CYA-4, MVP-23 |
| 2003 | hou nl | 6.0 | |
| 2004 | hou nl | 13.7 | BTP-16, BTP-NL pi-8, CYA-3, MVP-23 |
| 2005 | hou nl | 16.1 | AS, BTP-9, BTP-NL pi-6, CYA-4, MVP-23 |
| 2006 | hou nl | 12.4 | AS, BTP-28, BTP-NL pi-10, CYA-4 |
| 2007 | hou nl | 6.7 | AS |
| 2008 | hou nl | 11.0 | BTP-42, BTP-NL pi-17 |
| 2009 | hou nl | 7.7 | |
| 2010 | hou nl/phi nl | 17.0 | BTP-6, BTP-NL pi-3, CYA-6 |
| 2011 | phi nl | 5.7 | |
| 2012 | tex al | 3.0 | |
| 2013 | col nl | 0.0 | |
| Total | 127.2 | BTP-23, BTP-pi-15 |
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
RoY Finish in Rookie of the Year voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Roy Oswalt, who in five different seasons finished among the top 10 National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points and Cy Young Award voting, retired this month after 13 years.
Oswalt, 36, was always one of baseball’s best starting pitchers, but was never “the” very best pitcher, finishing as high as third place in both Cy Young voting and Box-Toppers points among his league’s pitchers. He struggled with injuries from 2011 forward and in 2013, he earned no Box-Toppers points when he pitched nine games for the Colorado Rockies and went 0-6 with an ERA of 8.63.
Oswalt earned 127.2 Box-Toppers points over his career from 2001 to 2013, ranking 23rd among all players and 15th among all pitchers. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) Oswalt spent his career primarily with the Houston Astros from 2001-2010.
Some career highlights:
• In 2001, Oswalt had 17.1 Box-Toppers points, a career season-high in his rookie year. He finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting, seventh among all players in Box-Toppers points and fourth among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. (Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young that year and also led all players in Box-Toppers points with 29.4.)
• In 2002, he had 10.8 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all NL pitchers and 42nd among all players. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. (Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young and also led all players in Box-Toppers points with 33.7.)
• In 2004, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all NL pitchers and 16th among all players. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting. (Astros teammate Roger Clemens won the NL Cy Young that year. Clemens had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, third-most among NL pitchers. Eric Gagne of the Dodgers led NL pitchers in 2004 with 19.7 points.)
• In 2005, Oswalt had 16.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers and ninth among all players. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. (Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals won the NL Cy Young and had the most Box-Toppers points of any NL pitcher, 21.0.)
• In 2006, Oswalt had 12.4 Box-Toppers points, 10th among NL pitchers and 28th among all players. He finished fourth 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 2008, Oswalt had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 17th among NL pitchers and 42nd among all players. He received no Cy Young Award votes that season.
• In 2010, he had 17.0 Box-Toppers points, beginning the season with the Astros and ending with the Phillies. He ranked third among NL pitchers and sixth among all players. He finished sixth in Cy Young voting. (Phillies teammate Roy Halladay, who also retired after 2013, won the award. Halladay also ranked first among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 23.4.)
Oswalt had seven seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and three seasons with 15.0 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.
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera
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.