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Here’s an overview of Box-Toppers point leaders for 2024. The chart shows:
• Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 pitchers and batters in the American and National leagues.
• Top batters by position—top 10 for outfielders and top five for other positions.
• The top 10 players with the biggest declines ("dippers") and increases ("risers") in points from 2023.
• Top relief pitchers, featuring the top five closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers in both leagues.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2025 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Felix Hernandez, Torii Hunter, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
Notably, Box-Toppers is not voting for Ichiro Suzuki, who is on the Hall ballot for the first time for 2025. While Suzuki is expected to be a shoo-in for the Hall and to possibly be only the second player inducted on a unanimous vote, I devoted a previous post to why Box-Toppers doesn’t view him as a Hall of Famer. In addition, this post which will show how unfavorably he compares in Box-Toppers rankings to even this year’s Hall candidates, may even make a more stark case why I don’t see Suzuki as a Hall of Famer.
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Three players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday, all of whom Box-Toppers supported for induction.
Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton all received the necessary 75 percent support of voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
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Box-Toppers is voting for six players for 2024 Hall of Fame induction on the internet writers’ ballot—Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Billy Wagner.
Box-Toppers is voting for six players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2024 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players, listed alphabetically by last name: Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreHere is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2022.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications.
Read MoreHere is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2021.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications,
Read MoreA detailed look at Box-Toppers points leaders for 2020, including overall top 10 leaders and the top 10 in both the American League and National League. Also includes the top 10 overall batters, plus top 10 in both AL and NL, plus top batters by position in each league. Also includes top 10 biggest dippers and risers—players whose Box-Toppers point increased and decreased most from 2019.
Read MoreJeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.
Kent, who played from 1992 to 2008 primarily for the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Astros and Blue Jays, earned 109.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career—that’s 30.3 more points than the second-place second baseman since 1995, Robinson Cano of the Mariners (79.4).
Read MoreHere is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2019.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.
Read MoreHere is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2018.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Lance McCullers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
McCullers struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 11-0 win over the Athletics.
McCullers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings, sixth among American League pitchers.
With McCullers’ rise, Astros pitchers now make up four of the top 10 spots in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Read MoreJeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.
Robinson Cano of the Mariners leads active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points. Other leaders at the position include Scooter Gennett, Jose Ramirez, Daniel Murphy and Rougned Odor.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 6 Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros 3-1 to even the best-of-seven series at 3-3, forcing the deciding Game 7 Wednesday.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, bolstering his lead among American League pitchers in season player rankings.
Sale struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Mariners.
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Mookie Betts of the Red Sox is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Betts homered twice and doubled in the 7-3 win over the Phillies. Betts also went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 6 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
| 10 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.5 |
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jerry Blevins pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out three, allowing no hits and no walks and earning the win in the 9-4 win over the Cubs.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Phillips of the Braves hit two doubles and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-2 win over the Nationals.
Phillips has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor for 2017. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2002 with the Indians, but began his current 12-season streak in 2006 with the Reds. He has 65.6 career Box-Toppers points, fifth among all second basemen since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He ranks third in career points among active second basemen, behind Robinson Cano of the Mariners (78.4) and Chase Utley of the Dodgers (75.1).
Phillips’ best season was 2012 with the Reds when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. He had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016 with the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Mookie Betts.
Notable—Trey Mancini of the Orioles has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Mancini (2B 3-4 3R BI in the 10-6 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.2 for the season and ranks 30th among all players in 2017 season player rankings, fifth among AL batters.
Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 105.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Liriano (7IP 5H 3R 2ER 2BB 9K ND in the 7-6 win over the Rays) rises to 65th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He passes Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 64th-ranked player Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7).
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Betts earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Blevins earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Phillips earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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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| 6/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | BOS 7, PHI 3 | Mookie Betts, RF | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | HOU 13, TEX 2 | Francis Martes (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| NL | 4.1 | NYM 9, CHC 4 | Jerry Blevins (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | ATL 13, WSH 2 | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | ARI 2, DET 1 | Fernando Rodney (S,18) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `TOR 7, TB 6 | Francisco Liriano | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 3.1 | LAA 7, NYY 5 | Blake Parker (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 5, PIT 1 | Raimel Tapia, RF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 7, SF 2 | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 10, CHW 6 | Trey Mancini, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 7, STL 6 | Eric Thames, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 11, OAK 6 | Dee Gordon, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 6, CLE 4 | Enrique Hernandez, PH-2B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SD 4, CIN 2 | Brandon Maurer (S,12) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.2 | `SEA 6, MIN 4 | James Pazos (H,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Mancini, Trey 3766 | lf 1b ph | bal al | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Thames, Eric 2909 | 1b lf | mil nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 3.5 | 10.0 | 24.2 | 24.2 | -3.0 |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 3.5 | 9.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -2.7 |
| Rodney, Fernando 1803 | pi cp | ari nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 26.0 | 38.0 | -2.0 |
| Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 59.7 | 105.2 | -6.0 |
| Pazos, James 3786 | pi mr | sea al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Blevins, Jerry 2788 | pi mr | nym nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 1.7 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | atl nl | 1.5 | 3.5 | 25.2 | 65.6 | -0.5 |
| Maurer, Brandon 3157 | pi cp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Hernandez, Enrique 3541 | 2b ph | lad nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Gordon, Dee 2990 | 2b | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.0 |
| Martes, Francis 3822 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Parker, Blake 3823 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Tapia, Raimel 3824 | rf | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Jeff Kent holds dominating lead among second basemen in Box-Toppers points since 1995. Jose Altuve led second basemen in 2016.
Read MoreBox-Toppers All-Time All-Star team (since 1995) consists of two active players (Sabathia and Pujols) and 12 retired players.
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Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.7 |
| 8 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf dh ph | nym nl | 4.5 |
| 9 | Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.5 |
| 10 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 4.5 |
Garcia pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 10-inning, 1-0 win over the Yankees. Gausman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 0-0.
American League Batter of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and doubled twice, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Rangers. This was the second straight day Encarnacion earned Player of the Game honors. He has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 17-7 win over the Giants.
Rankings—Robinson Cano of the Mariners rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Cano (2B 3-5 4BI in the 6-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.5 for the season. He ranks second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (5.0).
Streak—Brandon Phillips of the Reds has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Phillips (HR 2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 9-5 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but his 11-season streak began in 2006 with the Indians and Reds. He has 63.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Dodgers (72.1). His best season was 2012 with the Reds, when he had 9.5 points, seventh among NL batters. He had 2.7 points in 2015 with the Reds.
Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Encarnacion and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 9.0 | `Orioles | Kevin Gausman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 8.1 | Marlins | Adam Conley (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Padres | Colin Rea (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rockies | Gerardo Parra, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Red Sox | Robbie Ross | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley, LF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Reds | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.5 | 11.0 | 40.0 | 71.9 | -2.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 12.4 | 30.1 | 38.8 | -6.4 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | tor al | 2.5 | 12.9 | 41.1 | 61.6 | -7.9 |
| Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 1.7 | 7.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 | -4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 1.5 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 | -5.0 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -8.7 |
| Brantley, Michael 2785 | lf | cle al | 1.0 | 5.2 | 19.9 | 21.4 | -3.2 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 29.2 | 63.1 | -1.7 |
| Rea, Colin 3582 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Ross, Robbie 2999 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 1.0 |
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.