All-time leaders (1995-2019)

The Box-Toppers career points top 10 list had no new members during the 2019 season but saw a massive reshuffling among players ranked fourth through 10th.

Meanwhile, there was one new player rising into the top 10 list among pitchers in “all-time” career Box-Toppers points in 2019 (Cole Hamels of the Cubs). Plus, the top 10 “all-time” points list for batters was largely dormant during 2019 and included just two active players—Albert Pujols of the Angels and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. However, Cabrera actually rose from sixth to fifth place, while earning just 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019.

Box-Toppers record keeping, tracking the top player in each and every regular season game played, began at the start of the 1995 season. After 25 seasons, there’s generally not a lot of change from season to season in the overall top 10 chart or the top 10 charts among pitchers and batters. But for the overall top 10, 2019 was different.

Five of the six active players changed positions on the top 10 list since the end of 2018. Among the top 10, only the top three players remain in the same spots with the bottom seven—including two retired players—changing positions.

Pitcher Randy Johnson, who retired in 2009, remains the all-time Box-Toppers points leader with 278.8 at the end of the 2019 season. He’s followed by pitcher Pedro Martinez, who also retired in 2009, ranked second with 244.8 points.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains the active leader in career Box-Toppers points with 227.5, third-most among all players. Kershaw rose to third place May 23, 2017, with 194.4 career points and has remained there since. He earned 12.7 Box-Toppers points during 2019, 14th among National League pitchers, and now trails second-ranked Pedro Martinez by 17.3 career points.

The shake-up in the career points list happened from spots fourth to 10th:

• 4. Astros pitcher Zack Greinke rose from seventh at the end of 2018 (189.2 career points) to fourth at the end of 2019 with 207.1 points, 20.4 points behind Kershaw. Greinke became the fifth player since tracking began to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points on June 29, 2019. Greinke rose to fourth place in rankings on Sept. 9, 2019, reaching 204.1 points, passing Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia. Greinke earned 17.9 Box-Toppers points in 2019 with the Diamondbacks and Astros, finishing seventh among all players, fifth among AL pitchers.

• 5. Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rose from 10th at the end of 2018 (178.1 career points) to fifth at the end of 2019 with 205.6 points, just 1.5 points behind Greinke. Verlander became the seventh player since tracking began to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points on Sept 1, 2019. He first rose to fifth place in “all-time” rankings on Sept. 7, 2019, reaching 202.9 points, passing Greinke, who then had 202.4. Greinke passed him, rising from sixth to fourth, on Sept. 9, 2019, reaching 204.1 points. Verlander rose back into fifth place on Sept. 17, 2019, with 204.6 points, passing Sabathia (203.4). Verlander earned 27.5 Box-Toppers points in 2019, second among all players and second among AL pitchers. 

• 6. Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia fell from fourth at the end of 2018 (200.4) to sixth at the end of 2019 (203.4), 2.2 points behind Verlander. Sabathia was passed by Greinke on Sept. 9, 2019 and by Verlander on Sept. 17, 2019. Sabathia earned 3.0 points in 2019, 73rd among AL pitchers. Though it was his second-lowest single-season total (he had 1.0 point in 2014), it marked the 19th straight season he earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in a season, tied for the longest such streak in Box-Toppers tracking history. Sabathia, 39, retired at the end of the 2019 season.

• 7. Albert Pujols of the Angels fell from sixth at the end of 2018 (190.8) to seventh at the end of 2019 (201.8), 1.6 points behind Sabathia. Pujols was passed by Greinke on April 20, 2019 (191.7-190.8), but rose back into sixth place on June 2, 2019, passing Curt Schilling (194.8-194.1). Pujols fell back to seventh on July 6, 2019, when he was passed by Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (196.2-194.8), but rose back into sixth place on July 15, 2019, passing Scherzer (196.8-196.2). Pujols fell back to seventh place on Aug. 4, 2019, when Verlander passed him (198.9-198.8) but again regained sixth place on Aug. 15, 2019, passing Verlander (199.8-198.9). Verlander reclaimed sixth place on Aug. 27, 2019, passing Pujols (199.9-199.8). On Aug. 31, 2019, Pujols again reclaimed sixth place over Verlander (200.8-199.9) and became the sixth player and first batter to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Pujols beat Verlander to the 200-point threshold by just one day—Verlander reached it Sept. 1, 2019, and in the process, passed Pujols again (201.9-200.8), putting Pujols in seventh place overall for the remainder of the season. Pujols earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019, third among AL batters and his best season since 2011 (12.5 with the Cardinals). In 2019, he earned Box-Toppers points for the 19th straight season, tied for the longest such streak in Box-Toppers tracking history.

• 8. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose from ninth at the end of 2018 (181.8 career points) to eighth at the end of 2019 with 197.2 points, just 4.6 points behind Pujols. Scherzer fell from ninth to 10th place on April 19, 2019, when he was passed by Verlander (182.8-181.8). Scherzer rose back to ninth place on June 14, 2019, passing Alex Rodriguez (188.2-187.0). On June 30, 2019, Scherzer rose to seventh place with 194.2 points, passing Schilling (194.1) and Verlander (192.9). Scherzer rose as high as sixth place overall during 2019 on July 6, passing Pujols (196.2-194.8). But Pujols rose past Scherzer pushing him into seventh place on July 15, 2019 (196.8-196.2). Verlander rose past Scherzer, pushing him into eight place on July 30, 2019 (196.9-196.2), where he remained for the rest of the season. Scherzer earned 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 15th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

• 9. Curt Schilling, who last earned Box-Toppers points in 2007, fell from fifth place at the end of 2018 to ninth at the end of 2019 with 194.1 career points. His four-spot fall was largest among Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players. He was passed by Greinke on April 30, 2019, moving to sixth place. He was passed by Pujols on June 2, 2019, moving to seventh place. He was passed by Scherzer on June 30, 2019, moving to eighth place. And finally, he was passed by Verlander on July 24, 2019, moving to ninth place.

• 10. Alex Rodriguez, who last earned Box-Toppers points in 2015, fell from eighth place at the end of 2018 to 10th at the end of 2019 with 187.0 career points, second among all batters since 1995. He was passed by Verlander on May 15, 2019, moving to ninth place. He was passed by Scherzer on June 14, 2019, moving to 10th place.

Top 10 pitchers

There was one new member of Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 10 list among pitchers in 2019—Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 10th place with 174.2 Box-Toppers points. He displaced Roy Halladay (who last earned Box-Toppers points in 2013) who had 170.7 points and fell from 10th place last year to 12th place this year among all pitchers since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began).

Hamels, 36, earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 24th among NL pitchers, rising from 14th place on the “all-time” pitching list at the end of 2018. During 2019, Hamels passed Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (172.6), Roger Clemens (164.8), Johan Santana (166.6) and Halladay. 

Hamels trails ninth-ranked Felix Hernandez (175.1) by 0.9 Box-Toppers points. Hernandez, 33, pitched for the Mariners in 2019 and earned just 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his third straight season with 3.0 or fewer points. Both Hamels and Hernandez switched teams in the offseason and both are slated to be Braves teammates in 2020.

Hamels ranks 12th among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, 12.8 points behind 10th-place player Alex Rodriguez. To end 2019, he ranked seventh among active pitchers in “all-time” career points. To open 2020, he will rank sixth with Sabathia’s retirement.

The highest-ranked active pitcher outside the top 10 is Lester (172.6), who ranks 11th since 1995. Lester earned 8.0 points in 2019 and is 1.6 points behind Hamels and 2.5 points behind Hernandez.

Top 10 batters

There are two active players in among the top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points since 1995—top-ranked Albert Pujols of the Angels and fifth-ranked Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers.

Pujols, 40, who has been ranked first in career points among all batters since Aug. 22, 2017, finished the season with 201.8 career Box-Toppers points, 14.8 points ahead of second-place player Alex Rodriguez.

Pujols earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019, third among AL batters and his best season since 2011 (12.5 with the Cardinals). He became the first batter to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points (since tracking began in 1995) and the sixth player overall.

Cabrera, 36, earned just 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019, but rose one spot in “all-time” rankings among batters, from sixth at the end of 2018 to fifth at the end of 2019 with 150.9 career Box-Toppers points. He passed Chipper Jones (149.0), who last earned points in 2012. Cabrera ranks 24th among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. Cabrera is now just 2.3 points behind fourth-ranked batter Barry Bonds (153.2). (It should be noted Bonds began his career before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and if his entire career from 1986 were tracked, he would have a projected 230 career points.)

There was very little movement among the overall top 10 “all-time” batters in 2019—Cabrera passed Jones and the two active players on the list earned a combined 14.0 points. But that was still more than during 2018, when all 10 top batters remained in their same spots and the two active players earned a total of just 4.0 combined points—Pujols earned 3.0 and Cabrera earned 1.0 in 2018.

The highest-ranked active batter outside the top 10 is Ryan Braun, 36, of the Brewers, who has 98.7 career points (2.0 earned in 2019). He ranks 30th among all batters in career points since 1995 and is 29.6 points behind 10th-place “all-time” batter Vladimir Guerrero (128.3).

Batters’ dramatic 2010s drop-off

One thing to note: In the 2010s decade, batters earned a drastically lower share of overall Box-Toppers points compared to pitchers.

Overall, in the decade of the 2000s, batters earned 51.71 percent of all Box-Toppers points awarded but that fell to 42.38 percent in the 2010s.

During the decade of the 2000s, there were 35 times in which a batter earned 15.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season. During the 2010s, there were only seven times. 

During the decade of the 2000s, batters finished among the overall top 10 players in a season 23 times and there was only one year in the decade (2005) in which no batters ranked among the overall top 10. However, in the 2010s, there was only one time when a batter finished among the season’s top 10 overall players. That was 2013, when Miguel Cabrera finished eighth overall with 16.9 points, the highest single-season point total for a batter during the decade.

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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 278.8 points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his Box-Toppers point total at 380.

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 380*

2. Roger Clemens 320*

3. Pedro Martinez 270*

4. John Smoltz 255*

5. Greg Maddux 250*

6. Curt Schilling 232*

7. Barry Bonds 230*

8. Clayton Kershaw 227.5

9. Zack Greinke 207.1

10. Justin Verlander 205.6

Only three players who started their careers in 1995 or later are on among this top 10 list and all are active—Kershaw (in eighth place), Greinke (in ninth) and Verlander (in 10th).

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 1995-2019

“All-time” top 10 overall plus top 10 pitchers and batters at end of 2018

More leaders:

• 2019

• 2018-2019

• 2014-2019