Box-Toppers points leaders for 1995-2021

OVERALL LEADERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Johnson, Randy 15 pi sp Retired 282.5
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 248.6
3 Martinez, Pedro J. 18 pi sp Retired 244.8
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp lad nl 226.3
5 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp hou al 217.8
6 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp hou al 206.6
7 Pujols, Albert 1438 1b ph lad nl 204.8
8 Sabathia, CC 1492 pi sp Retired 203.4
9 Schilling, Curt 74 pi sp Retired 194.1
10 Rodriguez, Alex 3b Retired 187.0
PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Johnson, Randy 15 pi sp Retired 282.5
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 248.6
3 Martinez, Pedro J. 18 pi sp Retired 244.8
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp lad nl 226.3
5 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp hou al 217.8
6 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp hou al 206.6
7 Sabathia, CC 1492 pi sp Retired 203.4
8 Schilling, Curt 74 pi sp Retired 194.1
9 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp stl nl 179.3
10 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp Free agent 175.1
BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Pujols, Albert 1438 1b ph lad nl 204.8
2 Rodriguez, Alex 3b Retired 187.0
3 Ramirez, Manny 17 lf Retired 166.2
4 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 158.4
5 Bonds, Barry 95 lf Retired 152.2
6 Jones, Chipper 269 3b Retired 149.0
7 Thome, Jim 77 1b dh Retired 146.7
8 Ortiz, David dh Retired 145.9
9 giambi, jason 1b Retired 133.4
10 Guerrero, Vladimir rf Retired 128.3
BTP: Box-Toppers points
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All-time leaders (1995-2021)

During the 2021 season, Clayton Kershaw rose to second place and Max Scherzer rose to fourth place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points top 10 list.

Kershaw was ranked third overall and among all pitchers at the end of 2020 with 235.2 career Box-Toppers points. The Dodgers pitcher rose to second place on June 27, 2021, with 246.6 points, passing Pedro Martinez, who had continuously held the second-place spot for 22 years. Kershaw finished 2021 with 13.4 points for the season and 248.6 career points.

Scherzer was ranked eighth overall and seventh among all pitchers at the end of 2020 with 201.2 career Box-Toppers points. Here are key dates in Scherzer’s rise in 2021:

Scherzer began the season with the Nationals and was traded to the Dodgers at the end of July. He led all players in 2021 with 25.1 Box-Toppers points and finished the season with 226.3 career points.

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 27 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. While Kershaw and Scherzer both rose in top 10 lists, there were no new members this season in any of three key career points top 10 lists—overall, among pitchers and among batters.

Free agent pitcher Jon Lester, 37, ranked 11th overall with 179.3 career points, is most likely candidate to rise into the overall top 10, needing 7.7 points to pass 10th-place Alex Rodriguez (187.0).

Free agent pitcher Cole Hamels, 38, ranked 11th among pitchers with 174.2 career points, is most likely candidate to rise into the top 10 pitchers, needing 0.9 points to pass 10th-place Felix Hernandez.

No current batters are within range of entering the top 10 batters career points list in 2022. Vladimir Guerrero ranks 10th with 128.3 points. The highest-ranked active batter outside the top 10 is Robinson Cano of the Mets, 39, who has 85.4 career points, 42.9 behind Guerrero. Cano has earned 2.0 points since the start of 2019, earning no points in 2020 or in 2021, when he was suspended the entire season under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy.

Prior to 2010, batters consistently earned 50 percent or more of all Box-Toppers points awarded. Since then, batters share of points earned dropped precipitously to 40 percent or less, meaning current batters generally are not earning as many points as batters from 1995-2009.

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Pitcher Randy Johnson, who retired in 2009, remains the all-time Box-Toppers points leader with 282.5.

Kershaw, second overall behind Johnson, is the active leader in career points with 246.6, earning 13.4 in 2021. 

Albert Pujols of the Dodgers leads all batters (and all active batters) with 204.8 points. He earned 2.0 points in 2021, a season he began with the Angels before being released and signed by the Dodgers. Pujols is currently a free agent and at 41, is at an age when most in his position would retire. But he has not indicated he is ready to step away yet. If he does retire, the active batting leader would be Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 38, whose 158.4 career points ranks fourth among all batters since 1995. Pujols and Cabrera are the only two active batters in the top 10.

There are five active players in the overall top 10:

  • Kershaw in second with 248.6.

  • Scherzer in fourth with 226.3

  • Pitcher Zack Greinke of the Astros in fifth with 217.8. He earned 8.7 points in 2021, 69th among all players and 26th among AL pitchers.

  • Astros pitcher Justin Verlander in sixth with 206.6. He earned no points in 2021, sitting out as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.

  • Pujols in seventh with 204.8 points. While Pujols was also ranked seventh overall at the end of 2020, the 2.0 points he earned in 2021 enabled him to pass retired pitcher CC Sabathia (203.4) on the “all-time” list during the season.

There were five active pitchers signed to a team among the overall top 10 pitchers. In addition to Kershaw, Scherzer, Greinke and Verlander, Cardinals pitcher Jon Lester ranked ninth at the end of 2021 with 179.3 career points, earning 3.0 points with the Nationals and Cardinals during 2021.

Tenth-ranked pitcher Felix Hernandez, 35, with 175.1 career points, did not play in 2021—he was listed as a free agent. Hernandez has not earned Box-Toppers points since earning 1.0 in 2019, his final season with the Mariners.

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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. John Smoltz 255*

  5. Clayton Kershaw 248.6

  6. Greg Maddux 240*

  7. Curt Schilling 232*

  8. Barry Bonds 230*

  9. Max Scherzer 226.3

  10. Zack Greinke 217.8

During 2021, Clayton Kershaw rose one spot to fifth place on this list, going from 235.2 to 248.6. Max Scherzer rose onto the top 10 list to ninth place with 226.3 career points. Zack Grienke fell from ninth to 10th, going from 209.1 to 217.8 points. Justin Verlander, who had ranked 10th at the end of 2020, dropped off the list, earning no points in 2021, keeping his career total at 206.6

Kershaw, Scherzer and Greinke 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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Related

“All-time” top 10 overall plus top 10 pitchers and batters at end of 2020