2010-2015 leaders

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw holds a dominating lead among players in Box-Toppers points since 2010.

Kershaw has 141.9 Box-Toppers points over the period 2010-15, 36.1 points ahead of the second place player in that span, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (105.8 Box-Toppers points). How dominating is Kershaw’s lead? It is more than Kershaw has ever earned in a single season (31.5) and more than the single-season record for points (33.7 by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002).

The players who make these top 10 charts over the period 2010-15 have demonstrated their long-term staying power. Weeded out are players who have single-season, flash-in-the-pan success and relative newcomers who haven’t yet proven their longevity. But it also rewards dominant players of the recent past whose success has waned lately.

Kershaw built his lead by being among the league’s top two players in each of the past five seasons. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011, 2013 and 2014. He led all National League pitchers in 2012 and finished second among all players (and second among NL pitchers) in 2015. Here is a look at his past six seasons:

  • 2010—16.1 Box-Toppers points, 12th overall, eighth among NL pitchers
  • 2011—26.1 points, first overall.
  • 2012—20.8, second overall, first among NL pitchers
  • 2013—21.7, first overall
  • 2014—31.5, first overall
  • 2015—25.7, second overall, second among NL pitchers

Hernandez leads American League pitchers over the past six seasons and is the only other player over that span with more than 100 Box-Toppers points (105.8). While Hernandez leads AL pitchers over the past six seasons, he has never led AL pitchers in any single season. Here are his rankings among AL pitchers in recent seasons:

  • 2010—Second, 20.4 Box-Toppers points
  • 2011—15th, 11.7
  • 2012—Second, 18.7
  • 2013—Eighth, 14.8
  • 2014—Third 20.8
  • 2015—Third, 19.4

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers leads AL batters over the past six years with 60.8 Box-Toppers points. While Cabrera led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2013 (16.9) and finished second in 2014 (12.5), he had a down year in 2015 with 4.7 points, 40th among AL batters.

Ryan Braun of the Brewers leads NL batters over the past six years with 51.0 Box-Toppers points. While Braun led NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2012 (12.5), he’s had down years since with 3.5 in 2013, 4.5 in 2014 and 5.0 in 2015. He ranked 27th among NL batters in 2015.

The players who lead all four categories over the period 2010-15 were also the leaders over the period 2009-14.

Players are shown here with the teams they were on at the end of 2015. Also, only players active at the end of 2015 are listed.

More leaders:

Box-Toppers points leaders for 2010-15

OVERALL LEADERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 141.9
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 105.8
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 99.0
4 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 94.8
5 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 92.7
6 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 88.8
7 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp det al 83.4
8 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 82.0
9 Weaver, Jered 2178 pi sp ana al 81.7
10 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 81.6
AL PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 105.8
2 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 88.8
3 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp det al 83.4
4 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 82.0
5 Weaver, Jered 2178 pi sp ana al 81.7
6 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 73.0
7 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp kc al 71.0
8 Gallardo, Yovani 2333 pi sp tex al 68.3
9 Wilson, C.J. 2074 pi sp ana al 60.4
10 Dickey, R.A. 1734 pi sp tor al 58.2
AL BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 60.8
2 Pujols, Albert 1438 dh 1b ana al 52.4
3 Bautista, Jose 2169 rf tor al 49.9
4 Fielder, Prince 2029 dh tex al 47.7
5 Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 ss tor al 45.8
6 Beltre, Adrian 1141 3b tex al 42.1
7 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 dh tor al 42.1
8 Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 41.9
9 Cano, Robinson 2092 2b sea al 41.5
10 Ortiz, David dh bos al 41.4
NL PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 141.9
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 99.0
3 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 94.8
4 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 92.7
5 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 81.6
6 Gonzalez, Gio 2626 pi sp dc nl 75.8
7 Shields, James 2157 pi sp sd nl 71.3
8 Liriano, Francisco 2104 pi sp pit nl 71.1
9 Wainwright, Adam 2150 pi sp stl nl 70.8
10 Lincecum, Tim 2288 pi sp sf nl 68.6
NL BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Braun, Ryan J. 2300 rf mil nl 51.0
2 Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 rf col nl 50.2
3 McCutchen, Andrew 2637 cf pit nl 43.9
4 Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 1b lad nl 38.7
5 Holliday, Matt 1836 lf dh stl nl 38.2
6 Upton, Justin 2411 lf sd nl 37.9
7 Howard, Ryan 2040 1b phi nl 37.1
8 Bruce, Jay 2453 rf cin nl 35.9
9 Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 1b ari nl 35.4
10 Granderson, Curtis 2051 rf nym nl 34.9
BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?