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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer holds the lead in three of Box-Toppers’ main leaderboards at the end of 2019, most of any player.
Scherzer leads all players in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons (2014-2019) and also leads National League pitchers in points over those same past six seasons, plus he leads NL pitchers over 2018-19. Scherzer has 134.3 Box-Toppers points over 2014-19 and 40.5 points over 2018-19.
Read MoreAnalyzing 25 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2014.
Scherzer has 134.3 Box-Toppers points over the period 2014-2019, 8.9 points ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 125.4 points over that span.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Verlander has earned 51.6 Box-Toppers points over 2018 and 2019. He ranked third in 2018 with 24.1 points and second in 2019 with 27.5.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Verlander earned 51.6 Box-Toppers points combined in 2018 and 2019 to lead all players in that span while Scherzer earned 134.3 points from 2014-2019, most in that span.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Gerrit Cole tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2019.
Cole had 32.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the fourth-highest single-season point total in the 25 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking, which began in 1995. It was 1.5 points short of the record, 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002.
Read MoreComparing Box-Toppers’ All-Decade All-Star teams from the 2000s and the 2010s, a couple of interesting things stand out:
Albert Pujols was the leading batter in Box-Toppers points in both decades.
Batters overall earned precipitously fewer Box-Toppers points in the 2010s compared to the 2000s.
Clayton Kershaw and Albert Pujols lead Box-Toppers All-Decade All-Star team for the 2010s.
Kershaw earned the most Box-Toppers points of any player from 2010-2019 (210.1) and Pujols earned the most of any batter over that span (79.9), which is 25th among all players. The All-Decade All-Star team is made up of players who led their position in Box-Toppers points over the span of 2010-2019.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2019 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
Read MoreNo Box-Toppers points leaders were among the winners in six major postseason awards for 2019.
In fact, looking at Box-Toppers’ ballot in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, none of the 10 candidates we chose for awards based on Box-Toppers points won an award.
Read MoreCody Bellinger of the Dodgers, who ranked third among National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019 with 11.2, was voted NL Most Valuable Player Thursday.
And Mike Trout of the Angels, who ranked ninth among American League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019 with 8.7, was voted AL Most Valuable Player.
Read MoreThe players who played the most key roles in helping their teams win the most games in 2019, for the most part, are not among the finalists for baseball’s postseason awards.
Gerrit Cole of the Astros, who led American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 32.2, is one of three finalists for the AL Cy Young Award. He is the only Box-Toppers point leader in any of the six categories to even be named as a finalist.
Read MoreTen of the 17 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards this week also were among the leaders at their positions in 2019 Box-Toppers point totals.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is casting a vote for the American League Cy Young Award to Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.
We are also casting our vote for AL Most Valuable Player to … Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2013-18 consist of the best players over the past six seasons, which includes 11 of the 27 players who are also on Box-Toppers 2017-18 All-Star teams.
Also, among the 27 players on the teams, there are five players who are on Box-Toppers 2018 All-Star teams and four who are on All-Star teams over all three time spans—for 2018, for 2017-18 and for 2013-18.
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Glenn Sparkman is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also, Albert Pujols of the Angels earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Tuesday—and the third time in four days, rising to second place among American League batters in season player rankings.
Read MoreTwenty-five pitchers and five batters lead their teams in Box-Toppers points at the 2019 All-Star break.
The five batters who have the most points on their club at the All-Star break are Brett Gardner of the Yankees, Mike Trout of the Angels, Josh Bell of the Pirates, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals and Nolan Arenado of the Rockies.
Read MoreYankees closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman is Box-Toppers 2019 All-Star Game Player of the Game.
Chapman struck out three in a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits, no walks and earning the save, in the American League’s 4-3 win Tuesday over the National League.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the eighth straight week. But barely.
Meanwhile, there are new batting leaders in each league as Brett Gardner of the Yankees rises to lead American League batters and Josh Bell of the Pirates rises to lead National League batters. Josh Hader of the Brewers continues his lead among NL pitchers.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Brett Gardner of the Yankees rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors, passing previous leader Mike Trout of the Angels.
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.