2012 leaders
Pitcher Justin Verlander of the Tigers had the most Box-Toppers points in 2012 with 24.8.
Pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers had the most Box-Toppers points of any National League player, with 20.8.
Adrian Beltre of the Rangers had the most Box-Toppers points among American League batters in 2012 with 13.5.
Ryan Braun of the Brewers had the most points among National League batters during 2012 with 12.5.
Though Verlander topped all Box-Toppers measures, he finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Rays pitcher David Price, who finished 10th among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers with 14.1 points.
Though Kershaw topped all NL pitchers in Box-Toppers, he finished second in NL Cy Young voting to Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, who finished fourth among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers with 19.1 points. Kershaw, interestingly, only passed Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals in Box-Toppers points during the final week of the 2012 season. Strasburg had been sitting out since Sept. 8 to limit his innings pitched while rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery. Also, interestingly, though Strasburg led in Box-Toppers points near the end of the season, he received a grand total of zero Cy Young votes.
Though Beltre topped all AL batters in Box-Toppers points, he finished third for AL most valuable player. Voters were unable to resist picking Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who won baseball's triple crown for the first time in 45 years. However, Cabrera had 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2012, third among AL batters. Beltre also finished behind Mike Trout of the Angels in MVP voting. Trout, also hard for voters to resist, was a rookie who exploded onto the scene, hitting home runs, stealing bases and robbing home runs in the outfield. Trout finished fifth among AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the 2012 season, with 11. Chris Davis of the Orioles finished second among AL batters in Box-Toppers points for 2012, with 12. He finished behind Beltre but ahead of MVP favorites Cabrera and Trout. Davis received nary a vote—zero—for AL MVP.
Though Braun topped all NL batters in Box-Toppers points, he finished second for NL most valuable player. Buster Posey of the Giants was named NL MVP. He had 5.5 Box-Toppers points and did not finish among the top 10 NL batters.
This list includes only MLB players active at the close of the 2012 season and includes them with the team they were with and the league they were in at the end of the season.
What are those numbers after players' names?
More leaders:
2012 LEADERS | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
OVERALL LEADERS | POS | TEAM | PTS | |
1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 24.8 |
2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.8 |
3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.4 |
4 | Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.1 |
5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 18.7 |
6 | Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.7 |
7 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.7 |
8 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 17.7 |
9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 17 |
10 | Medlen, Kris 2596 | pi sp mr cp | atl nl | 17 |
AL PITCHERS | ||||
1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 24.8 |
2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 18.7 |
3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 17 |
4 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 15.7 |
6 | Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 15.4 |
7 | Kuroda, Hiroki 2401 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.4 |
8 | Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.1 |
9 | Shields, Jamie (James) 2157 | pi sp | tb al | 14.7 |
10 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tb al | 14.1 |
AL BATTERS | ||||
1 | Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 13.5 |
2 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b lf dh rf | bal al | 12 |
3 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 3b | det al | 11.7 |
4 | Hamilton, Josh 2332 | cf lf | tex al | 11.5 |
5 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf rf lf | ana al | 11 |
6 | Rios, Alex 1989 | rf | chi al | 9.9 |
7 | Butler, Billy 2330 | dh | kc al | 9.7 |
8 | Mauer, Joe 1869 | ca dh 1b | min al | 9 |
9 | Granderson, Curtis 2051 | cf | nyy al | 8.7 |
10 | Trumbo, Mark 2851 | lf 1b rf dh | ana al | 8.7 |
NL PITCHERS | ||||
1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.8 |
2 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.4 |
3 | Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.1 |
4 | Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.7 |
5 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.7 |
6 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 17.7 |
7 | Medlen, Kris 2596 | pi sp mr cp | atl nl | 17 |
8 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | cin nl | 15.4 |
9 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | atl nl | 15 |
10 | Cain, Matt 2081 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.7 |
NL BATTERS | ||||
1 | Braun, Ryan J. 2300 | lf | mil nl | 12.5 |
2 | Holliday, Matt 1836 | lf | stl nl | 11.7 |
3 | Kemp, Matt 2151 | cf | lad nl | 10 |
4 | Freese, David 2710 | 3b | stl nl | 9.7 |
5 | Uggla, Dan 2158 | 2b | atl nl | 9.5 |
6 | Wright, David 1911 | 3b | nym nl | 9.5 |
7 | Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 9.5 |
8 | Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | lf | col nl | 9.2 |
9 | Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | ari nl | 9 |
10 | LaRoche, Adam 1910 | 1b | dc nl | 9 |