SPECIAL REPORT
Most BTP single season
Randy Johnson is the all-time leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season—he scored 33.7 twice, in 2000 and 2002. In 20 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping, players have scored 25.0 or more points in a season only 19 times. They are listed below. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers reached the 25.0 point threshold in 2014 on Wednesday (he now has 25.8), the second time in his career he has had 25.0 or more points. And with a month to go in the season, he has a chance to break Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season.| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 6 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 7 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 8 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 9 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 10 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 11 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 11 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 13 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 14 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 16 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 16 | *Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 18 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 19 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has a chance to become the “all-time” leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season.
Kershaw, Wednesday’s Player of the Day, now has 25.8 Box-Toppers points this season and has an outside chance of catching the “all-time” single season leader, Randy Johnson, who scored 33.7 points in a season twice when he was pitching for the Diamondbacks—in 2000 and 2002.
Kershaw's 2014 starts
Here are Clayton Kershaw's starts for 2014. BTP/gm indicates how many Box-Toppers points he earned in each game (2.0 for overall Player of the Day, 1.7 for NL Player of the Day, 1.0 for top Player of the Game and 0.0 if he did not earn Player of the Game honors.| Start | BTP /gm |
Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 22, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 2 | May 6, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 3 | May 11, 2014 | 0.0 | ND |
| 4 | May 17, 2014 | 0.0 | L |
| 5 | May 23, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 6 | May 28, 2014 | 0.0 | L |
| 7 | Jun 2, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 8 | Jun 8, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 9 | Jun 13, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 10 | Jun 18, 2014 | 2.0 | W* |
| 11 | Jun 24, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 12 | Jun 29, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 13 | Jul 4, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 14 | Jul 10, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 15 | Jul 20, 2014 | 0.0 | ND |
| 16 | Jul 26, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 17 | Jul 31, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 18 | Aug 5, 2014 | 0.0 | ND |
| 19 | Aug 10, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 20 | Aug 16, 2014 | 0.0 | L |
| 21 | Aug 21, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 22 | Aug 27, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
BTP: Box-Toppers points
With a month to go in the season, Kershaw likely has four or five more starts remaining. He would need to earn 8.0 Box-Toppers points—equivalent to earning Player of the Day honors four times—to pass Johnson’s 33.7. While that seems unlikely, he did have a stretch of five starts this season (from his June 18 no-hitter through July 10) in which he scored 9.4 Box-Toppers points, earning Player of the Day three times (2.0 Box-Toppers points each) and NL Player of the Day twice (1.7 Box-Toppers points each).
Kershaw’s accomplishment this season is all the more remarkable because he missed six weeks on the disabled list from late March through early May. In his 22 starts this season, he has been Player of the Day seven times (earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each time), NL Player of the Day four times (earning 1.7 points each time) and Player of the Game five times (earning 1.0 each time). In only six of his 22 starts has he failed to earn at least Player of the Game honors.
Johnson has the most Box-Toppers points in a single season, however, record keeping began in 1995, so his “all-time” record covers only the past 20 seasons. Only 19 times in the past 20 seasons has a player earned more than 25.0 Box-Toppers points in a season. And this season is the second time Kershaw has achieved that. In 2011, Kershaw had his best season when he earned 26.1 Box-Toppers points.
While Kershaw’s current 25.8 Box-Toppers points is currently tied for 16th place in Box-Toppers highest points for a season, it is only one of five times in the past 10 seasons that a player has reached 25.0 points. The other four times:
• In 2008, CC Sabathia, pitching for the Indians and Brewers, had 26.7 Box-Toppers points.
• In 2011, Kershaw had 26.1.
• In 2006, Johan Santana of the Twins had 25.7 Box-Toppers points.
• In 2011, Cliff Lee of the Phillies had 25.4 Box-Toppers points.
All 14 other instances in which a player had 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points happened from 1995 to 2004. The top eight times happened from 1999 to 2002. Johnson earned four of those top eight top spots in four consecutive seasons, leading all players in Box-Toppers points in each of those seasons. All 19 players on the list are starting pitchers.