How did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points in 2016?
Stat leaders’ Box-Toppers points
Here are leaders in seven key statistical categories for the 2016 baseball season and how they fared in Box-Toppers points (BTP). Rank shows each player’s standing among all players in Box-Toppers points.| Batting average | ||||
| Leader | Team | Avg. | BTP | Rank |
| D.J. LeMahieu | Rockies | .348 | 8.0 | 85 |
| Home runs | ||||
| Leader | Team | HR | BTP | Rank |
| Mark Trumbo | Orioles | 47 | 8.2 | 77 |
| Runs batted in | ||||
| Leader | Team | RBI | BTP | Rank |
| Nolan Arenado | Rockies | 133 | 10.7 | 42 |
| Earned run average | ||||
| Leader | Team | ERA | BTP | Rank |
| Kyle Hendricks | Cubs | 2.13 | 13.4 | 17 |
| Wins | ||||
| Leader | Team | W | BTP | Rank |
| Rick Porcello | Red Sox | 22 | 8.0 | 91 |
| Strikeouts | ||||
| Leader | Team | K | BTP | Rank |
| Max Scherzer | Nationals | 284 | 25.7 | 1 |
| Wins above replacement | ||||
| Leader | Team | WAR | BTP | Rank |
| Mike Trout | Angels | 10.6 | 12.5 | 25 |
The leaders of seven key statistics were all among Box-Toppers’ overall top 100 players for 2016, but only one was among the overall top 10 and only four of the seven were among their league’s top 10 pitchers or batters for the season.
Box-Toppers’ overall top-ranked player Max Scherzer of the Nationals (25.7 Box-Toppers points) led all players in strikeouts (284). Scherzer ranked eighth in earned run average (ERA) (2.96) and tied for second in wins (20). He ranked outside the overall top 10 in wins above replacement (WAR) (6.2), but first among NL pitchers.
Box-Toppers’ top-ranked National League batter Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7 Box-Toppers points) led all players in runs batted in (RBI) (133). He ranked tied for fifth in home runs (41) and ranked outside the overall top 10 in WAR (6.5), but 10th among all batters and second among all NL players.
Box-Toppers’ overall top-ranked batter, Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 21st overall), ranked eighth in WAR (6.7), 31st in RBIs (96), tied for 14th in home runs (37) and 35th in batting average (.294).
Here is a look at the leaders in each statistical category:
Batting average
Five of the top 10 players in batting average for 2016 are among Box-Toppers’ top 100 players.
DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies led all players with a .348 batting average in 2016. He had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016, 85th among all players and 11th among NL batters.
Having a high batting average does not always translate into a high Box-Toppers point total. Players who lead in Box-Toppers points are more frequently players who hit for more power and come from teams that win a lot of games.
More details on batting average leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Home runs
Mark Trumbo of the Orioles led all players in home runs in 2016 and ranked among the top 15 American League batters in Box-Toppers points.
Trumbo hit 47 home runs in 2016 and earned 8.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking 14th among AL batters and 77th among all players. Trumbo is Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked AL player among the top 10 in home runs.
Players with the most home runs are often also the players with the most Box-Toppers points. But this season, only three of the overall top 10 in home runs were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points. (Last year, eight of 10 were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points.) Also, just seven of the 10 home run leaders for 2016 are among Box-Toppers’ overall top 100 players.
More details on home run leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Runs batted in
Only two of baseball’s top 10 leaders in runs batted in were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2016.
Last year, by contrast, seven of the top 10 RBI leaders were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers rankings.
Overall RBI leader Nolan Arenado of the Rockies(133) ranked first among National League batters in Box-Toppers points with 10.7, 42nd among all players. (Arenado also led all players in RBIs in 2015 with 130. He had 8.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 10th among NL batters and 65th among all players.)
More details on runs batted in leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Earned run average
Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs had the lowest earned run average of any pitcher in 2016 and ranked 17th in Box-Toppers player rankings.
The top 10 ERA leaders had some correlation with Box-Toppers points leaders. Five of the 10 ERA leaders were also among Box-Toppers’ 10 most highly ranked players. Nine of the 10 ERA leaders ranked among Box-Toppers’ top 30 players and all 10 rank among the top 50.
Hendricks led pitchers with an ERA of 2.13. He had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players and 10th among National League pitchers.
More details on earned run average leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Wins
Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello led all pitchers in wins in 2016 with 22. But he lagged far behind in Box-Toppers points, earning only 8.0, 91st among all players and 31st among AL pitchers.
And in fact, among the top 10 in wins for 2016 (actually top 17 since there was an eight-way tie for 10th place), only one other pitcher had fewer Box-Toppers points than Porcello. Most of the 17 wins leaders fared well in Box-Toppers rankings—six of them finished among the overall top 10 in Box-Toppers points, 11 of them finished among their league’s top 10 pitchers and 14 of the 17 earned at least 10.0 Box-Toppers points.
Porcello is Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked player to lead one of the seven statistical categories listed here. Despite his high win total, he had relatively few Box-Toppers points because he was frequently not the key player in determining the outcome of his team’s wins. After his 20th win in mid-September, Box-Toppers examined why Porcello had so few Box-Toppers points even though he led all players in wins. Simply put, in most of Porcello’s wins, other Red Sox players contributed more to the win than he did, beating him out for Player of the Game honors.
More details on wins leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Strikeouts
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, 2016’s leader in Box-Toppers points, also was the season’s leader in strikeouts.
Seven of the 10 leaders in strikeouts in 2016 were among the top 10 pitchers in their league in Box-Toppers points. Nine of the 10 strikeout leaders were among the overall top 100 players in Box-Toppers points.
Scherzer led all players with 25.7 Box-Toppers points and led all pitchers with 284 strikeouts.
More details on strikeout leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Wins above replacement
Eight of the 11 leaders in baseball’s Wins Above Replacement statistic for 2016 are among their league’s top 10 pitchers or batters in Box-Toppers points.
Oddly, the list of 11 players with the highest WAR includes no National League pitchers, who dominated in Box-Toppers points in 2016, occupying eight of the 10 top spots in season Box-Toppers rankings.
Mike Trout of the Angels led all players in WAR with 10.6. Trout had 12.5 Box-Toppers points in 2016, ranked second among American League batters and 25th among all players. Trout was also voted AL Most Valuable Player.
More details on wins above replacement leaders, including how the top 10 fared in Box-Toppers points.
Last season: How did baseball's statistical leaders for 2015 do in Box-Toppers points?