Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been mentioned on Box-Toppers.com more than any other player.
Most mentioned on Box-Toppers.com
Here are the most mentioned players and teams on the Box-Toppers.com website since its debut in 2013. Entities are ranked according to how many posts they have been tagged in as of March 7, 2017. For example, overall leader Clayton Kershaw has been tagged in 344 posts in the past four years. The 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs have been mentioned in more posts (108) than any other team.| Player | Tags | |
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | 344 |
| 2 | Max Scherzer | 231 |
| 3 | Miguel Cabrera | 153 |
| 4 | Felix Hernandez | 152 |
| 4 | Jake Arrieta | 152 |
| 6 | Corey Kluber | 133 |
| 7 | Adam Wainwright | 129 |
| 8 | David Price | 125 |
| 9 | Zack Greinke | 117 |
| 10 | Jon Lester | 116 |
| 11 | Chicago Cubs | 108 |
| 12 | St. Louis Cardinals | 106 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 |
| 14 | Mike Trout | 99 |
| 14 | Chris Sale | 99 |
| 16 | Madison Bumgarner | 96 |
| 17 | Kansas City Royals | 94 |
| 18 | Troy Tulowitzki | 93 |
| 19 | Boston Red Sox | 92 |
| 20 | Toronto Blue Jays | 89 |
| 21 | Cole Hamels | 84 |
| 22 | David Ortiz | 83 |
| 22 | Johnny Cueto | 83 |
| 24 | Jose Fernandez | 82 |
| 24 | Alex Rodriguez | 82 |
| 26 | Albert Pujols | 78 |
| 27 | Kris Bryant | 74 |
| 27 | San Francisco Giants | 74 |
| 29 | CC Sabathia | 72 |
| 30 | Adrian Beltre | 70 |
| 30 | Jacob deGrom | 70 |
| 32 | Manny Machado | 69 |
| 33 | Yoenis Cespedes | 68 |
| 34 | Carlos Gonzalez | 67 |
| 35 | John Lackey | 66 |
| 36 | Scott Kazmir | 64 |
| 37 | Texas Rangers | 63 |
| 38 | Josh Donaldson | 62 |
| 38 | Detroit Tigers | 62 |
| 40 | Dallas Keuchel | 61 |
| 41 | Jose Altuve | 59 |
| 42 | Washington Nationals | 58 |
| 43 | New York Mets | 56 |
| 44 | Gerrit Cole | 55 |
| 45 | Chris Davis | 54 |
| 45 | Jose Abreu | 54 |
| 47 | Oakland Athletics | 53 |
| 48 | Randy Johnson | 52 |
| 48 | Justin Verlander | 52 |
| 50 | Edwin Encarnacion | 51 |
| 51 | Jake Peavy | 50 |
| 51 | Paul Goldschmidt | 50 |
| 53 | Justin Masterson | 47 |
| 54 | Ryan Braun | 46 |
| 54 | Andrew McCutchen | 46 |
| 56 | Bryce Harper | 45 |
| 56 | Cleveland Indians | 45 |
| 58 | Stephen Strasburg | 44 |
| 58 | Matt Harvey | 44 |
| 60 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 43 |
| 61 | Baltimore Orioles | 42 |
| 62 | Jason Giambi | 41 |
| 62 | Prince Fielder | 41 |
| 62 | Tim Hudson | 41 |
| 65 | Masahiro Tanaka | 40 |
| 65 | Carlos Beltran | 40 |
| 65 | Los Angeles Angels | 40 |
| 68 | Bartolo Colon | 39 |
| 68 | Lance Lynn | 39 |
| 68 | Atlanta Braves | 39 |
| 71 | Shelby Miller | 38 |
| 71 | Matt Carpenter | 38 |
| 71 | Yu Darvish | 38 |
| 71 | Nolan Arenado | 38 |
| 75 | Francisco Liriano | 37 |
| 76 | Roger Clemens | 36 |
| 77 | Mariano Rivera | 35 |
| 78 | Tim Lincecum | 34 |
| 78 | Houston Astros | 34 |
Meanwhile, the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs have been mentioned more than any other team on the website.
Kershaw has been tagged in 344 different posts since the website’s inception four years ago at the start of the 2013 baseball season (during which there have been 1,000 to 1,200 total posts—but who’s counting?). That puts him well ahead of the second-place player on the list, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who has been tagged in 231 separate posts.
The Cubs rank 11th among all entities tagged in posts, with 108 tags, most of any team and only two posts ahead of their National League Central rival St. Louis Cardinals, which have been tagged in 106 separate posts.
Kershaw’s high ranking is not surprising given that he has been Box-Toppers’ most dominant player of the past half decade. Kershaw leads all players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012 with 124.1; second-place player Scherzer has 103.9 in that span. Since the start of 2013, when Box-Toppers.com began, Kershaw leads players with 103.3 points; second-place Scherzer has 86.9.
Thus, Kershaw is mentioned each time he earns Player of the Day honors (which he did seven times in 2016) or league Player of the Day honors (which he did twice in 2016). He is also mentioned each time he leads in Box-Toppers team rankings reports. Plus he was mentioned each time he falls from the top rankings or has the opportunity to challenge for the top ranking.
Plus he is mentioned in historical contexts, including for his rise up Box-Toppers overall career player rankings in recent years. Kershaw moved into the top 20 among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) in 2015. He now ranks sixth with 183.7 points, just 1.3 points behind the active career leader, CC Sabathia of the Yankees (185.0).
In addition, Kershaw receives another tag for appearing in this post about his being tagged so frequently for being such a prominent player.
Max Scherzer ranks second on the list, having been tagged in 231 posts since 2013, more than 100 fewer times than Kershaw. Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 25.7, just beating out Kershaw’s 24.4 points.
There is also a significant gap between second and third place on the list. Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers ranks third with 153 tags, 78 behind Scherzer, but only one ahead of two pitchers—Felix Hernandez of the Mariners and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (152). Cabrera has more Box-Toppers post mentions than any batter. Cabrera led American League league batters in 2013 with 16.9 Box-Toppers points. In addition, he ranks first among AL batters in points over 2012-16 (57.8) and was fourth among AL batters in 2016 (12.0).
Players who have led their league category in Box-Toppers points over the past four seasons also figure prominently in the rankings of Box-Toppers mentions. For example:
- Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, tied for fourth with 152 tags, led players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points.
- Corey Kluber of the Indians, ranked sixth with 133 post mentions, led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points twice—in 2014 with 25.8 and in 2016 with 21.2.
- Troy Tulowitzki, ranked 18th with 93 mentions (third-most among all batters) led NL batters in 2014 with 11.6 Box-Toppers points when he was with the Rockies. He now plays for the Blue Jays.
Retired or more veteran active players who reached the prime of the careers prior to 2013 rank lower on the list of Box-Toppers mentions, even though they rank high in Box-Toppers career point standings. For example:
- Pitcher Randy Johnson leads all players in career Box-Toppers points with 278.8 (earned from 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began to his retirement in 2009). But because Johnson retired in 2009, prior to Box-Toppers’ web debut in 2013, he ranks only 48th in Box-Toppers.com mentions with 52. That still ranks him ahead of many stars who have been active since 2013 mainly because Johnson is frequently mentioned for his dominant lead in career Box-Toppers points.
- Alex Rodriguez leads all batters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 187.0 (fourth overall), but he ranks tied for 24th in Box-Toppers.com mentions with 82. While Rodriguez had been active since 2013, He hasn’t excelled on the field the way he did earlier in his career. And many of his mentions since 2013 have dealt with his 2014 suspension for performance enhancing drugs and his eventual release from the Yankees in 2016.
- CC Sabathia ranks fifth in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 185.0, but ranks 29th in Box-Toppers.com mentions with 72. Sabathia’s best years were from 2005 to 2012 when he had at least 13.1 Box-Toppers points each season, including 26.7 in 2008 with the Brewers, leading all NL pitchers. Since 2013, Sabathia has had much lower numbers: 4.7 in 2013, 1.0 in 2014, 5.7 in 2015 and 6.0 in 2016 (all with the Yankees). His mentions over the past four seasons come mostly from the fact that he is ranked among Box-Toppers “all-time” top 10 players (since 1995).
- Albert Pujols ranks seventh in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 182.3, but ranks 26th in Box-Toppers.com mentions with 78. Like Sabathia, Pujols receives mentions more because of his success prior to 2013 (nine seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points from 2001 to 2011) that have bolstered his ranking as the top active batter in career Box-Toppers points.
Most mentioned teams on Box-Toppers.com
Here are the most mentioned teams on the Box-Toppers.com website since its debut in 2013. Teams are ranked according to how many posts they have been tagged in as of March 7, 2017. For example, the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs have been mentioned in more posts (108) than any other team. That puts them at 11th place among all entities tagged in Box-Toppers posts since 2013.| Team | Tags | |
| 1 | Chicago Cubs | 108 |
| 2 | St. Louis Cardinals | 106 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 |
| 4 | Kansas City Royals | 94 |
| 5 | Boston Red Sox | 92 |
| 6 | Toronto Blue Jays | 89 |
| 7 | San Francisco Giants | 74 |
| 8 | Texas Rangers | 63 |
| 9 | Detroit Tigers | 62 |
| 10 | Washington Nationals | 58 |
| 11 | New York Mets | 56 |
| 12 | Oakland Athletics | 53 |
| 13 | Cleveland Indians | 45 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 43 |
| 15 | Baltimore Orioles | 42 |
| 16 | Los Angeles Angels | 40 |
| 17 | Atlanta Braves | 39 |
| 18 | Houston Astros | 34 |
| 19 | Philadelphia Phillies | 33 |
Top teams tagged in posts are those which have been among the top-ranked and appeared in the postseason. The Cubs were mentioned at least weekly during the 2016 season as they ranked first in preseason rankings and ranked first in all but two weekly team rankings reports. Plus, they were mentioned in virtually every postseason report as they won the NL Division Series, NL Championship Series and World Series.
The St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers also appear among the top three because of their prominence since 2013. The Kansas City Royals rank fourth on the strength of playing in two straight World Series in 2014 and 2015 and are the most-mentioned American League team.
Here is look at recent World Series champions and their rank among the most-mentioned teams list:
- 2013—Red Sox, ranked fifth
- 2014—Giants, ranked seventh
- 2015—Royals, ranked fourth
- 2016—Cubs, ranked first
A player is tagged in a Box-Toppers post if they are mentioned in the text of the post, most often if they are Box-Toppers overall Player of the Day or earn top Player of the Day in their league or top Batter of the Day in their league. They are also tagged if they appear in the text of the post for a notable feat (such as making their Box-Toppers debut for earning Player of the Game honors for the first time in their career). They are not always tagged in a post simply for achieving Player of the Game honors or appearing among the players in a chart on the page.
So for example, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright would not have appeared among the players tagged in this post until he appeared just now in the text of the post, even though he appears on the chart on this page and ranks seventh among most-mentioned players on Box-Toppers.com with 129 tags.
A team is tagged in a post when they appear in the text in the context of the collective team. For example, the Dodgers don’t get tagged every time Kershaw is mentioned, but only when the post has to do with the entire team (for example, when mentioned because of team rankings or postseason appearances).
The number of tags (or mentions) is as of March 7, 2017. Players, teams, entities or ideas that are tagged appear at the bottom of each blog post.