All-time leaders (1995-2022)

During the 2022 season, Justin Verlander rose from sixth to fifth place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 list.

It was the only player movement among Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 players overall, among the top 10 pitchers and among the top 10 batters. Retired pitcher Randy Johnson still leads all players in career Box-Toppers points with 282.5 (tracking began in 1995).

Verlander led all players with 26.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022. He began the season with 206.6 career points, sixth-most since player tracking began. On June 29, Verlander was Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning 2.0 points and rose to fifth place with 219.6 career points, passing Royals pitcher Zack Greinke (218.8). Verlander finished the season with 232.6 points, just 3.7 points behind fourth-place player, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (236.3). Scherzer and Verlander, who were once teammates on the Detroit Tigers, will rejoin as teammates in 2023 after Verlander signed a free agent deal with the Mets.

In addition to rising to fifth on Box-Toppers overall career points list, Verlander also rose to fifth among all pitchers on the “all-time” list in 2022.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains in second place on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list with 259.3, most among all active players. Kershaw earned 10.7 points in 2022, 21st among NL pitchers. Kershaw rose to the second-place spot on the list during the 2021 season.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals leads all batters (and all active batters) with 207.8 points, seventh among all players. He earned 3.0 points in 2022 and at age 42, retired at the end of the season. He finished 20.8 points ahead of second-place batter, Alex Rodriguez (187.0), who ranks 10th on the “all-time” career points list.

With Pujols’s retirement, the active leader among batters in Box-Toppers points is Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who ranks fourth since 1995 with 159.4 points. Cabrera, who earned 1.0 point in 2022, has said he will retire after the 2023 season. Cabrera will turn 40 during the season. Cabrera will be the only active batter among the top 10 batters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.

Pujols’s retirement also means there will be one fewer active player on the overall top 10 career points list in 2023. The four remaining are Kershaw (second with 259.3 points), Scherzer (fourth with 236.3 points), Verlander (fifth with 232.6 points) and pitcher Zack Greinke (sixth with 222.5 points). Greinke, 39, pitched for the Royals in 2022, earning 4.7 points, and is currently a free agent.

The highest-ranking active player outside the overall top 10 is Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, whose 159.4 career points is 19th among all players and fourth among all batters since 1995. However, Cabrera is 27.6 points behind 10th place Alex Rodriguez (187.0) and is unlikely to crack the top 10 in 2023, what he has said will be his final season. In his best season, 2013, he earned 16.9 points. He earned just 1.0 point in 2022 and has averaged 2.4 points for the past six seasons.

The next highest-ranking active player outside the top 10 is Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, 41, whose 152.3 points is 24th among all players and 20th among all pitchers since 1995. But Wainwright needs 34.7 points to crack the overall top 10 and 22.8 points to rise to 10th place on the all-time pitchers list. Since 2023 will also likely be his final season, it seems unlikely for him to reach those marks. In his best season, 2013, he earned 20.2 points. He earned 10.0 points in 2022 and has averaged 6.7 points in the past six seasons.

There are five currently active players who have the best chance to rise into the overall top 10, but all are at least two seasons away from doing it. All five are pitchers who are currently age 34 or younger who each have more than 130 career Box-Toppers points:

• Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, 33, whose 144.6 career Box-Toppers points is 30th overall, 22nd among pitchers and seventh among players slated to be active in 2023. Sale has had two seasons with more than 20 Box-Toppers, points, including 2017 when he led all players with 25.1 points, but has been unable to play much recently due to injury and has earned just 2.0 points over the past three seasons.

• Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner, 33, whose 139.1 Box-Toppers points is 32nd overall, 24th among pitchers and eighth among players slated to be active in 2023. Bumgarner’s best season was 2014 with the Giants, when he had 22.6 points, third overall and second among NL pitchers. He had 3.7 points in 2022 with the Diamondbacks and has averaged 5.6 points over the past six seasons.

• Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, 32, whose 138.3 Box-Toppers points is 34th overall, 26th among pitchers and ninth among players slated to be active in 2023. Cole’s best season was 2018 with the Astros when he had 32.2 points, first overall and the fourth-largest single-season total of any player. He had 15.4 points in 2023, eighth among AL pitchers, and has averaged 17.1 points over the past six seasons. At that rate, Cole could rise into the overall top 10, passing Alex Rodriguez’s 187.0 points, within three seasons.

• Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, 34, whose 133.8 Box-Toppers points is 36th overall, 28th among pitchers and 11th among players slated be active in 2023. Strasburg’s best season was 2017 when he had 22.5 points, fourth overall and third among NL pitchers. He had no points in 2022 and has just 1.0 total point in the previous three seasons as he was out with a variety of injuries. Over the past six seasons, he has averaged 8.5 points per season.

• Pitcher Jacob deGrom, 34, whose 131.5 Box-Toppers points is 38th overall, 29th among pitchers and 12th among players slated to be active in 2023. deGrom’s best season was 2015 with the Mets when he had 22.4 points, third overall and third among NL pitchers. In 2022, he had 9.4 points with the Mets, 28th among NL pitchers. He’s averaged 14.4 points per season over the past six seasons. At that rate, he could pass the current 10th-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0) within four seasons. deGrom has signed with the Rangers for 2023.

Free agent pitcher Cole Hamels, 39, has 174.2 career Box-Toppers points, 13th overall and 11th among all pitchers. He is just 0.9 points behind 10th-ranked pitcher Felix Hernandez (175.1) and 12.8 points behind 10th-ranked overall player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Hamels has not earned Box-Toppers points since 2019 when he was with the Cubs but is hoping to make a comeback in 2023. Hernandez, 36, is also listed as a free agent, but has not pitched in the Majors since 2019.

The next four active batters in career points after Cabrera are:

• Nelson Cruz, 42, with 88.4 Box-Toppers points. He earned 5.5 points in 2022 with the Nationals, 24th among NL batters. He is currently listed as a free agent for 2023. At 39.9 points behind 10th-ranked batter Vladimir Guerrero (128.3), he is unlikely to rise into the top 10.

• Robinson Cano, 40, with 85.4 Box-Toppers points. He earned no points in 2022 playing for the Mets, Padres and Braves and has earned no points since 2019. He is currently listed as a free agent for 2023.

• Joey Votto of the Reds, 39, with 83.4 Box-Toppers points. He earned 2.0 points in 2022 and has averaged 3.2 points per season in the past six seasons.

• Mike Trout of the Angels, 31, with 81.2 Box-Toppers points. He earned 5.0 points in 2022, 31st among AL batters and has averaged 5.4 points per season over the past six seasons. At that rate, it would take Trout nearly nine seasons to pass 10th-place “all-time” batter Guerrero’s 128.3 points. However, Trout does have three seasons with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points (2012—11.0, 2015—12.0 and 2016—12.5). Plus, rules changes in 2023 to eliminate fielding shifts may return Trout and other batters to earning a more equitable share of Player of the Game honors, helping to boost Trout’s total to equal or surpass Guerrero sooner. Prior to 2009, batters earned about 50 percent or more of all Player of the Game honors, but after 2010, their share of Player of the Game honors dropped precipitously, falling to 40 percent and under. In 2022, batters won 38.11 percent of all Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, an all-time low since player tracking began in 1995. Only four batters exceeded 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, also a record low and a major drop from before 2009, when at least 16 batters per season (and as many as 28 per season) earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

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It should be noted that several players on the “all-time” top 10 lists began their careers before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and would likely have more actual points if their entire careers were tracked. For example, Randy Johnson began his career in 1988. He has 282.5 points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his Box-Toppers point total at 385.

Here is Box-Toppers top 10 list with players’ projected career totals included. (Players with projected point totals are marked with an asterisk.) To make the list, a player needed to have at least 100 Box-Toppers points since 1995:

1. Randy Johnson 385*

2. Roger Clemens 320*

3. Pedro Martinez 270*

4. Clayton Kershaw 259.3

5. John Smoltz 255*

6. Greg Maddux 240*

7. Max Scherzer 236.3

8. Justin Verlander 232.6

9. Curt Schilling 232*

10. Barry Bonds 230*

During 2022, Kershaw rose one spot to fourth place on this list, going from 248.6 to 259.3, passing John Smoltz’s estimated total of 255. Scherzer rose two spots from ninth to seventh, going from 226.3 to 236.3, passing Barry Bonds (estimated total of 230) and Curt Schilling (estimated total of 232). Verlander jumped into this top 10 list in 2022, rising to eighth place with 232.6 points, moving past Schilling, Bonds and Greinke, who fell from 10th to 11th with 222.5 points.

Kershaw, Scherzer and Verlander are the only three players who started their careers in 1995 or later who are on this top 10 list and all are still active.

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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“All-time” top 10 overall plus top 10 pitchers and batters at end of 2021