Box-Toppers top closing pitchers by time frame

Here are the top closing pitchers in Box-Toppers points (BTP) over the past season (2016), the past two seasons (2015-16), the past six seasons (2011-16) and “all-time”—the past 22 seasons (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). For the most recent seasons, the top five closing pitchers in each league are shown. For the “all-time” rankings, the top five overall closing pitchers (including retired players) are shown at left and the top five active closing pitchers in career Box-Toppers points are shown at right. Some players played more than one position, but even if their primary position was not closing pitcher, they are listed here.


American League National League
2016 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Colome, Alex 3189 pi cp tb al 9.0 Familia, Jeurys 3446 pi cp nym nl 8.0
2 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 8.0 Chapman, Aroldis 2826 pi cp chi nl 7.4
3 Miller, Andrew 2436 pi cp mr cle al 8.0 Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp lad nl 6.0
4 Allen, Cody 3265 pi cp mr cle al 7.0 Thornburg, Tyler 3195 pi cp mil nl 6.0
5 Diaz, Edwin 3690 pi cp sea al 7.0 Montgomery, Mike 3513 pi cp mr sp chi nl 5.0
American League National League
2015-16 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Colome, Alex 3189 pi cp tb al 14.0 Familia, Jeurys 3446 pi cp nym nl 16.0
2 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 14.0 Chapman, Aroldis 2826 pi cp chi nl 15.4
3 Britton, Zach 2835 pi cp bal al 13.7 Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp lad nl 10.0
4 Robertson, David 2774 pi cp chi al 13.0 Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 pi cp stl nl 10.0
5 Miller, Andrew 2436 pi cp mr cle al 12.0 Melancon, Mark 2792 pi cp dc nl 10.0
American League National League
2011-16 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 57.7 Chapman, Aroldis 2826 pi cp chi nl 45.4
2 Britton, Zach 2835 pi cp bal al 33.1 Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp lad nl 36.4
3 Uehara, Koji 2802 pi cp bos al 26.0 Corbin, Patrick 3027 pi sp cp ari nl 32.5
4 Robertson, David 2774 pi cp chi al 25.0 Rodney, Fernando 1803 pi cp fla nl 23.0
5 Cishek, Steve 2997 pi cp sea al 25.0 Melancon, Mark 2792 pi cp dc nl 23.0
All players (including retired) All active players
’95-’16 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 hoffman, trevor pi cp Retired 129.4 Rodriguez, Francisco 1707 pi cp det al 63.4
2 rivera, mariano pi cp Retired 126.4 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 58.7
3 Wagner, Billy pi cp Retired 108.7 Papelbon, Jonathan 2110 pi cp free agent 54.4
4 percival, troy pi cp Retired 80.7 Nathan, Joe 1186 pi cp sf nl 52.0
5 Myers, Brett 1638 pi cp Retired 72.2 Street, Huston 1979 pi cp ana al 51.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
Active players are shown on the team with whom they finished the 2016 season.

Trevor Hoffman leads closing pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, ahead of Mariano Rivera

Trevor Hoffman has the most Box-Toppers points of any closing pitcher since tracking began in 1995, more even than Mariano Rivera, considered by many to be the greatest closer of all time.

Hoffman has 129.4 career Box-Toppers points, edging out Rivera—with 126.4—by only 3.0 points.

But Hoffman would have even more Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1993 were tracked. Rough projections put his career total at about 135 Box-Toppers points, which would pad his lead over Rivera, who began his career in 1995, the same year Box-Toppers tracking began.

Meanwhile, Francisco Rodriguez of the Tigers has the most Box-Toppers points of any active closing pitcher, Alex Colome of the Rays led closing pitchers in points over the past season, Jeurys Familia of the Mets led closers over the past two seasons and Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox led closers over the past six seasons.

The chart above shows the top five closing pitchers over several time frames—over the past season (2016), the past two seasons (2015-16), the past six seasons (2011-16) and “all-time”—the past 22 seasons (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). For the most recent seasons, the top five closers in each league are shown. For the “all-time” rankings, the top five overall closers (including retired players) are shown at left and the top five active closers in career Box-Toppers points are shown at right.

Comparing Hoffman & Rivera

Here is a season-by-season breakdown of Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned by Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera over their careers. Also shown are the number of saves each player earned each season. Rivera was primarily a starter his first two seasons so has fewer saves in 1995 and 1996. Hoffman began his career in 1993, prior to Box-Toppers tracking. Had those seasons been tracked, rough projections put his career total at about 135 Box-Toppers points.


Trevor Hoffman Mariano Rivera
Year Team Saves BTP Team Saves BTP
1995 sd nl 31 9.0 nyy al 0 3.0
1996 sd nl 42 14.7 nyy al 5 8.4
1997 sd nl 37 14.0 nyy al 43 5.0
1998 sd nl 53 11.0 nyy al 36 4.0
1999 sd nl 40 7.0 nyy al 45 8.0
2000 sd nl 43 11.0 nyy al 36 4.0
2001 sd nl 43 12.0 nyy al 50 12.0
2002 sd nl 38 8.0 nyy al 28 4.0
2003 sd nl 0 0.0 nyy al 40 6.0
2004 sd nl 41 8.7 nyy al 53 5.0
2005 sd nl 43 7.0 nyy al 43 11.0
2006 sd nl 46 7.0 nyy al 34 4.0
2007 sd nl 42 3.0 nyy al 30 12.0
2008 sd nl 30 9.0 nyy al 39 14.0
2009 mil nl 37 7.0 nyy al 44 8.0
2010 mil nl 10 1.0 nyy al 33 7.0
2011 nyy al 44 6.0
2012 nyy al 5 0.0
2013 nyy al 44 5.0
Career 576* 129.4 652 126.4
* Total does not include all of Hoffman’s 601 career saves—he had 25 more saves in 1993 and 1994. (He had five saves in 1993 with the Marlins and Padres and 20 saves in 1994 with the Padres.) Hoffman’s 601 career saves is second all-time behind Rivera’s 652.

Hoffman, who played from 1993 to 2010 primarily for the Padres, but also for the Brewers and Marlins, ranks second in all-time saves with 601, behind Rivera’s 652. Rivera, who played from 1995 to 2013 with the Yankees, cemented his status as baseball’s greatest closer not just by holding the all-time saves record, but also for being a key member of a Yankees team that won five World Series championships, including being World Series Most Valuable Player in 1999.

Still, Hoffman has more Box-Toppers points than Rivera. Why? One reason is that Rivera played for better teams than Hoffman. His Yankees teammates included all-time Box-Toppers points leaders and Rivera had to compete against those players to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. Rivera’s teammate, Derek Jeter, considered to be the superior shortstop of the past quarter century, similarly ranks second among shortstops in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. For both Rivera and Jeter, there simply weren’t enough Box-Toppers points to go around and both players’ career point total were likely diminished.

Among players who were Rivera’s Yankees teammates from 1995 to 2013 and who rank higher than Rivera in career Box-Toppers points are:

  • Alex Rodriguez, who has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players.
  • CC Sabathia, 185.0 points, ranked fifth.
  • Roger Clemens, 164.8 points, ranked 12th.
  • Mike Mussina, 155.6 points, ranked 16th.
  • Andy Pettitte, 138.5 points, ranked 29th.
  • Jason Giambi, 133.4 points, ranked 30th.

Rivera, considered to be a lock to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer when he becomes eligible for voting in 2019, ranks 37th among all players in career Box-Toppers points. Hoffman, who narrowly missed being voted into the Hall of Fame in January in his second year of eligibility, ranks 32nd among all players in Box-Toppers points. Hoffman received 74 percent of baseball writers’ votes in Hall of Fame voting, five votes short of the needed 75 percent for induction.

In general, closing pitchers have fewer Box-Toppers points than starting pitchers. There are 22 starting pitchers who have more career Box-Toppers points than Hoffman. There are only three closing pitchers among the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (Hoffman, Rivera and Billy Wagner), while there are 56 starting pitchers. But starting pitchers pitch more innings and strike out more players, which can result in higher Box-Toppers game scores that are used to determine Player of the Game honors. Plus, starting pitchers appear in every game and closers, who are often only utilized in special situations (such as having a narrow lead late in the game) do not. Even when they are used, closers generally pitch only an inning, lowering their chances of a high Box-Toppers game score. And closers generally only earn Box-Toppers points when earning a save in a low-scoring game while striking out multiple batters.

Of the five players leading closers in Box-Toppers points since 1995, only Hoffman played before the advent of Box-Toppers. The other four, all retired, began their career in 1995 or later (Rivera, Wagner, Troy Percival and Brett Myers).

Francisco Rodriguez

Rodriguez of the Tigers leads all active closing pitchers in career Box-Toppers points with 63.4, which ranks seventh among all closers since 1995. Rodriguez holds the lead among active closers even though he is not among leading closers in recent seasons. He had just 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016 and has not had a season with more than 5.0 points since 2008, when he had 10.0 with the Angels.

Alex Colome

Colome of the Rays led closers in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 9.0. Colome also led American League closers in points over the past two seasons (14.0 over 2015-16).

Jeurys Familia

Familia of the Mets leads closers in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons (16.0 over 2015-16). He also led National League closers in points over the past season (8.0 in 2016).

Craig Kimbrel

Kimbrel of the Red Sox leads closers in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons (57.7 over 2011-16). Kimbrel also ranks second among AL closers over the past season (8.0 in 2016), second among AL closers over the past two seasons (14.0 over 2015-16) and second among active closers in career points (58.7). Kimbrel is the only player among the active top five closers in career points to also appear among the top five closers in any of the recent season charts.

Aroldis Chapman

Chapman, who ended 2016 with the Cubs, ranked first among NL closers over the past six seasons (45.4 Box-Toppers points over 2011-16). He also ranked second among NL closers over the past season (7.4 in 2016) and second among NL closers over the past two seasons (15.4 over 2015-16). Chapman has since signed with the Yankees in the AL for 2017.

Other notable closers:

  • Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers appears in three top five lists: He ranks third among NL closers over the past season (6.0 in 2016), third among NL closers over the past two seasons (10.0 over 2015-16) and second among NL closers over the past six seasons (36.4 over 2011-16).
  • Billy Wagner ranks third among closers in career Box-Toppers points with 108.7. Besides Hoffman and Rivera, he is the only other closer with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points and the only other closer to appear among Box-Toppers all-time top 100 players. In 2017 Hall of Fame voting, Wagner received only 10.2 percent of baseball writers’ votes in his second year of eligibility, far short of the 75 percent needed for induction. Wagner played from 1995 to 2010, primarily for the Astros, but also for the Mets, Phillies, Braves and Red Sox.
  • Jonathan Papelbon ranks third among active closers in career Box-Toppers points with 54.4 and is the only player listed who did not have a team affiliation at the close of 2016. Papelbon played for the Nationals in 2016 until requesting his release in August. He earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016. Papelbon, 36, is currently listed as a free agent.

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: 

Related Box-Toppers High by Position posts showing Box-Toppers points leaders by position over several time frames—past season (2016), past two seasons (2015-16), past six seasons (2011-16) and “all-time” (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began):

  • First base: Albert Pujols leads all-time, Miguel Cabrera leads past season and past six seasons.
  • Second base: Jeff Kent leads all-time, Jose Altuve leads past season.
  • Shortstop: Miguel Tejada leads all-time over Derek Jeter.
  • Third base: Alex Rodriguez leads all-time, Manny Machado and Adrian Beltre lead in recent seasons.
  • Catcher: Mike Piazza leads all-time, Brian McCann leads active catchers in career points.
  • Outfield: Manny Ramirez leads all-time, Carlos Beltran leads active outfielders in career points, Mike Trout leads in recent seasons.
  • Designated hitter: Albert Pujols leads all-time, Kendrys Morales and Edwin Encarnacion lead in recent seasons.
  • Pitcher: Randy Johnson leads all-time, CC Sabathia and Clayton Kershaw lead active pitchers in career points.
  • Closing pitcher: Trevor Hoffman leads all-time over all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera.