2015-2016  leaders

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.

Kershaw has earned 50.1 Box-Toppers points over 2015 and 2016. He ranked second in Box-Toppers points both years, finishing with 25.7 in 2015 (behind overall leader Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta’s 29.1) and with 24.4 in 2016 (behind overall leader Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer’s 25.7).

Scherzer, 2016’s leader, ranks second among all players over the past two seasons with 46.7. Arrieta, 2015’s leader, ranks third on the list with 44.8.

Kershaw has now led all players in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons for the past four seasons:

• At the end of 2013, he had 42.5 points over 2012 and 2013, ahead of Scherzer’s 35.1.
• At the end of 2014, he had 53.2 points over 2013 and 2014, ahead of Scherzer’s 40.2.
• And at the end of 2015, he had 57.2 points over 2014 and 2015, ahead of Arrieta’s 43.8.

Kershaw’s current lead of 3.4 points over the past two seasons is his narrowest since he took the lead in this category in 2013. At the end of 2015, Kershaw held a commanding 13.4-point lead.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber ranks first among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points over 2015 and 2016 with 34.6. Kluber led AL pitchers in points in 2016 with 21.2. In 2015, he had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL pitchers.

Mike Trout of the Angels leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons with 24.5. Trout ranked second among AL batters in 2016 with 12.5 and second in 2015 with 12.0. This is the second straight year Trout has led AL batters over two seasons—Trout had 20.5 points over 2014 and 2015.

Nolan Arenado of the Rockies leads National League batters in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons with 19.2. Arenado led NL batters in 2016 with 10.7. In 2015, he had 8.5 points, 10th among NL batters.

Notable players and their finish in the list:

• Scherzer, winner of the NL Cy Young Award in 2016, finishes second among all players and among NL pitchers with 46.7 Box-Toppers points.
• Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello, the 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner, has 12.0 Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons, 49th among AL pitchers. (Why Porcello ranks so low.)
• Trout, winner of the 2016 AL Most Valuable Player Award, finishes first among AL batters with 24.5.
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs, the 2016 NL Most Valuable Player Award winner, finishes second among all NL batters with 19.0 Box-Toppers points. Bryant ranked second among NL batters in 2016 with 10.5. He ranked 12th among NL batters in 2015 with 8.5.

One other note: Jose Fernandez, the Marlins pitcher who was killed in a boating accident Sept. 25, would have ranked 10th among NL pitchers over 2015-16. Fernandez had 27.1 Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons, the same total as Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who is ranked 10th in the chart. However, Fernandez would rank ahead because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2016 than Syndergaard—22.4 vs. 16.7.

But when Fernandez died, Box-Toppers treated it like any player who was released or retired. Fernandez no longer had a team affiliation and so also no longer had affiliation to a league, removing him from all NL rankings. (Still, Fernandez kept his rankings that gave no regard to league, such as finishing third among all players in 2016 Box-Toppers points and first among Box-Toppers’ most improved players for 2016.) So when Fernandez died, Syndergaard took the 10th place spot among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points over 2015-16.

Interestingly, Fernandez only rose into this list of top 10 NL pitchers over the past two seasons only days before his death. On Sept. 20, Fernandez earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors, earning 2.0 points, giving him 27.1 points over 2015-16, displacing Syndergaard from the top 10 list. It was the first time this season Fernandez rose onto this top 10 list.

Fernandez had 22.4 points in 2016, third among all players and 4.7 points in 2015, as he battled back from injury. His 27.1 points over 2015-16 ranks 17th among all players.

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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Related: Top 100 players for 2015-16

More leaders:

• 2016
• 2011-16
• All-time leaders, 1995-2016