Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw still leads all players in Box-Toppers points. Meanwhile, there is a new leader this week among American League pitchers—Corey Kluber of the Indians.
Top players
Through Thursday, Sept. 18| OVERALL LEADERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 30.5 |
| 2 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 22.6 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 22.1 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 21.1 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.8 |
| 6 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 19.4 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.4 |
| 8 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 15.7 |
| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 21.1 |
| 3 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.8 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 17.1 |
| 6 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 15.7 |
| 7 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | oak al | 14.7 |
| 8 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 14.1 |
| 9 | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | pi sp | tor al | 14.0 |
| 10 | Shields, James 2157 | pi sp | kc al | 13.7 |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 15.5 |
| 2 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 12.5 |
| 3 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | oak al | 10.5 |
| 4 | Jones, Adam 2347 | cf | bal al | 10.5 |
| 5 | Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh lf | bal al | 8.5 |
| 6 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | 1b dh lf | tor al | 8.0 |
| 7 | Carter, Chris 2828 | dh | hou al | 8.0 |
| 8 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf | bos al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 8.0 |
| 10 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | dh 1b | ana al | 7.5 |
| NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 30.5 |
| 2 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 22.6 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 19.4 |
| 4 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 17.0 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.5 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.7 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
| 8 | Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 13.4 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 12.4 |
| 10 | Fister, Doug 2688 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | col nl | 11.6 |
| 2 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | cf | fla nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 7.7 |
| 4 | Posey, Buster 2745 | ca | sf nl | 7.5 |
| 5 | Holliday, Matt 1836 | lf | stl nl | 7.5 |
| 6 | Duda, Lucas 2818 | 1b | nym nl | 7.5 |
| 7 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | fla nl | 7.5 |
| 8 | Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 | 1b | lad nl | 7.2 |
| 9 | Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | atl nl | 7.2 |
| 10 | Howard, Ryan 2040 | 1b | phi nl | 7.2 |
Kershaw now has 30.5 Box-Toppers points to lead all players and still has a chance to break the single-season record of 33.7 Box-Toppers points, recorded twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002. With perhaps two starts remaining—including one Friday against the Cubs—Kershaw would need to earn at least National League Player of the Day for both games (worth 1.7 points each) to pass Johnson.
Kluber takes the lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers—he now has 22.1 and passes Max Scherzer of the Tigers (21.1), who had led the category since early July. Scherzer was Box-Toppers AL pitcher of the year in 2013 with 18.1 points. Kluber currently ranks third among all players in Box-Toppers points.
Jose Abreu of the White Sox still leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 15.5. He had been the only batter in the overall top 10 until this week, when he fell to 12th place.
Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies still leads National League batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.6. Tulowitzki will have played in just over half the season’s games (91) and is out for the season recovering from hip surgery. None of the top 10 NL batters scored Box-Toppers points this week.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.
Note: This is the next-to-last (and also penultimate) Box-Toppers player ranking report of the season. Rather than the regular Friday player ranking report next week, the final player ranking report will come after the season’s final games Sunday, Sept. 28, probably on Monday, Sept. 29. Or thereabouts.