Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers’ most-mentioned player since 2013 & over past year; Dodgers are most-mentioned team

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been mentioned on Box-Toppers.com more than any other player.

Most mentioned players on Box-Toppers.com

Here are the most mentioned players on the Box-Toppers.com website since its debut March 25, 2013. Players are ranked according to how many posts they have been tagged in as of March 20, 2018. For example, overall leader Clayton Kershaw has been tagged in 517 posts in the past five years. Also shown is the number of posts players have been tagged in since March 7, 2017. Kershaw also leads all players in the past year, mentioned in 173 different posts.

 

		Mentions or tags
	Player	Since ’13*	Past year**
1	Clayton Kershaw	517	173
2	Max Scherzer	375	144
3	Chris Sale	214	115
4	Corey Kluber	197	64
5	Miguel Cabrera	193	40
6	Jake Arrieta	167	15
7	Felix Hernandez	166	14
8	Zack Greinke	163	46
9	Jon Lester	150	34
10	Adam Wainwright	143	14
11	David Price	137	12
12	Edwin Encarnacion	112	61
13	Madison Bumgarner	111	15
14	Alex Rodriguez	109	27
15	Mike Trout	108	9
16	Albert Pujols	106	28
16	CC Sabathia	106	34
18	Cole Hamels	103	19
18	David Ortiz	103	20
20	Troy Tulowitzki	99	6
21	Johnny Cueto	97	14
22	Justin Verlander	93	41
23	Jacob deGrom	91	21
24	Stephen Strasburg	89	45
25	Jose Altuve	87	28
25	Carlos Carrasco	87	N/A†
27	Jose Fernandez	86	4
28	Dallas Keuchel	85	24
29	Kris Bryant	83	9
30	Adrian Beltre	82	12
31	Manny Machado	76	7
31	John Lackey	76	10
33	Randy Johnson	75	23
34	Carlos Gonzalez	74	7
34	Bryce Harper	74	29
34	Ervin Santana	74	N/A†
37	Yoenis Cespedes	72	4
37	Scott Kazmir	72	8
39	Anthony Rizzo	66	N/A†
40	Josh Donaldson	65	3
41	Nolan Arenado	64	26
42	Carlos Beltran	63	23
43	Paul Goldschmidt	62	12
43	Aaron Judge	62	62††
45	Masahiro Tanaka	61	21
45	Yu Darvish	61	23
47	Andrew McCutchen	60	14
48	Jake Peavy	59	9
48	Bartolo Colon	59	20
50	Jose Abreu	58	4
51	Gerrit Cole	57	2
51	Giancarlo Stanton	57	N/A†
53	Chris Davis	55	1
54	Ryan Braun	49	3
54	Jason Giambi	49	8
56	Roger Clemens	48	12
56	Mariano Rivera	48	13
56	Jay Bruce	48	N/A†
59	Justin Masterson	47	0
59	Tim Hudson	47	6
	* Total number of mentions since March 25, 2013, (when Box-Toppers.com went online) through March 20, 2018.
	** Total number of mentions from March 7, 2017 through March 20, 2018.
	† If a player had fewer than 34 total tags as of 3/7/17, their actual total as of that date is not available, so an accurate total of tags from 3/7/17-3/20/18 cannot be calculated.
	†† While Box-Toppers cannot accurately determine the number of tags players with fewer than 34 tags had as of 3/7/17, we do know that Aaron Judge did not make his first appearance on Box-Toppers.com until 4/13/17.
	Mentions or tags are the number of Box-Toppers.com blog posts in which a player is mentioned or tagged in the text of the post. Players are tagged once per post. Players appearing in charts in posts aren’t always tagged.

His team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is also Box-Toppers’ most-mentioned team.

Both Kershaw and the Dodgers lead in mentions over both the past five years (since Box-Toppers.com made its debut March 25, 2013) and over the past year (since March 7, 2017, when Box-Toppers last posted its most-mentioned players and teams).

Kershaw has been tagged in 517 different posts since the website’s debut five years ago at the start of the 2013 baseball season. That puts him well ahead of the second-place player on the list, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who has been tagged in 375 separate posts.

In addition, Kershaw was mentioned more than any other player in the past year. From March 7, 2017 until March 20, 2018, Kershaw was mentioned in 173 posts, ahead of second-place Scherzer, with 144.

On top of this, Kershaw’s team, the Dodgers, has been mentioned in 179 posts in the past five years, most of any team, ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs (151). The Dodgers also lead among teams in the past year, being mentioned 77 times, ahead of the second-place Houston Astros (64). The Astros beat the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series.

While Kershaw is the most dominant player in terms of Box-Toppers points since the start of the 2013 season (his 126.4 points ranks ahead of second-place Scherzer’s 111.9), the fact that he’s mentioned in 517 of Box-Toppers’ posts in the past five years is a little staggering. Since Box-Toppers began in 2013, we have posted 1,590 articles, averaging more than 300 posts per year. That means Kershaw has been tagged (or mentioned) in 32.5 percent of every Box-Toppers post—nearly one of every three.

This past year, Kershaw was mentioned in 173 posts. There were an estimated 320 posts in the past year. That means Kershaw was mentioned in an even larger percentage of the past year’s post—54.1, more than half. In fact, Kershaw was mentioned in more posts in the past year than pitcher Jake Arrieta has been mentioned in over the past five years—and Arrieta ranks sixth among the most-mentioned since 2013 with 167 total post tags.

Kershaw is mentioned each time he earns Player of the Day honors (which he did 15 times in 2017, including earning NL Player of the Day honors three times and overall Player of the Day honors six times). He is also mentioned each time he leads in Box-Toppers team rankings reports. Plus he is 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 third with 206.8 career Box-Toppers points. He also became the active career leader in Box-Toppers points during the 2017 season, passing previous leader, CC Sabathia of the Yankees.

In addition, Kershaw receives another tag for appearing in this post about his being tagged so frequently for being such a prominent player. That means he’s now been mentioned or tagged in  518 of 1,591 total posts, increasing his percentage to 32.6.

Kershaw’s mentions were also boosted in 2017 because he got off to a hot start. He had 20.1 Box-Toppers points by July 4 and was on pace to shatter the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season (33.7). While he injured his back and struggled down the stretch, earning only 3.0 Box-Toppers points after July 4 and only 1.0 point in September, he was still in contention to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors until the next-to-last day of the regular season. Also, Kershaw’s Dodgers made the World Series and he made six postseason appearances.

Kershaw ended the season ranked third in Box-Toppers points with 23.1, behind Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (25.1) and Scherzer (25.0).

Sale, despite leading players in Box-Toppers points in 2017, ranked third in the past year in mentions, behind Kershaw and Scherzer, with 115. Sale also ranks third since 2013 with 214 mentions, more than doubling his total in just the past year.

Sale jumps from 12th place in mentions among players before the start of the 2017 season (99) to third place prior to the 2018 season (214).

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers remains the only batter among the top 10 in mentions since the start of 2013 with 193, in fifth place. Prior to the start of the 2017 season, Cabrera ranked third with 153 mentions. Cabrera was mentioned in 40 posts over the past year, tied for 11th-most among players. It’s a little unusual he had so many mentions since he had his worst season in his 15-year career, earning only 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Still, he was mentioned frequently as players passed his career Box-Toppers point total and because he still led all batters in Box-Toppers points over the previous half decade.

Players with fewer mentions in the past year

Most mentioned players in past year

Here are the most mentioned players on the Box-Toppers.com website in the past year. Players are ranked by the number of posts they have been tagged in since March 7, 2017. For example, leader Clayton Kershaw has been tagged in 173 posts in the past year. Conservative estimates were made for several players whose tag total was 34 or fewer as of March 7, 2017.

 

	Player	Team	Tags past year**
1	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	173
2	Max Scherzer	Nationals	144
3	Chris Sale	Red Sox	115
4	Corey Kluber	Indians	64
5	Aaron Judge	Yankees	62††
6	Edwin Encarnacion	Indians	61
7	Carlos Carrasco	Indians	53†
8	Zack Greinke	Diamondbacks	46
9	Stephen Strasburg	Nationals	45
10	Justin Verlander	Astros	41
11	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	40
11	Ervin Santana	Twins	40†
13	Jon Lester	Cubs	34
13	CC Sabathia	Yankees	34
15	Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	32†
	** Total number of mentions from March 7, 2017 through March 20, 2018.
	† Estimated totals. These players had 34 or fewer tags as of 3/7/17, so their definitive number of tags in the past year is not known. But even if they had 34 tags as of 3/7/17, they’d still be among players with the most tags in the past year. This estimate is based on their current overall total number of tags and assumes they had 34 tags as of 3/7/17.
	†† While Box-Toppers cannot accurately determine the number of tags players with fewer than 34 tags had as of 3/7/17, we do know that Aaron Judge did not make his first appearance on Box-Toppers.com until 4/13/17. So all of his 62 career Box-Toppers mentions have happened in the past year.

While Kershaw was mentioned in 173 posts in the past year, two players among the top 10 in mentions since 2013 only had 14 mentions in the past year, fewest among the top 10 players.

Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez and Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright both had relatively down seasons in 2017. Hernandez had the lowest Box-Toppers point total of his 13-year career with just 2.7. Hernandez has 166 mentions since 2013, seventh-most and has 171.4 career Box-Toppers point total ranks ninth among all players since 1995. Wainwright had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, but in 2013 had 20.2 points and in 2014 had 18.7. That helped him earn the bulk of his 143 mentions since 2013. His 117.5 career Box-Toppers points ranks 42nd since 1995.

Other notable players who are among the top 60 in Box-Toppers mentions since 2013 had single digit appearances in the past year. They can be viewed at the Most mentioned players on Box-Toppers.com chart on this page. Among them:

• Mike Trout of the Angels, who only had nine mentions in the past year, bringing him to 108 since 2013, ranked 15th. Trout had just 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017.
• Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays, who only had six mentions in the past year, bringing him to 99 since 2013, ranked 20th. Tulowitzki had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017 and played in just 66 games.
• Jose Fernandez, who had four mentions in the past year, bringing him to 86 since 2013, ranked 27th. Fernandez was killed in a boating accident near the end of the 2016 season.

Retired and veteran active players

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 33rd in Box-Toppers mentions with 75. 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.

Johnson is the highest-ranked player in the mentioned list who retired prior to Box-Toppers’ web debut in 2013. Alex Rodriguez has the most mentions of any retired player—he last played in 2016. Rodriguez has 109 mentions, 14th overall, including 27 in the past year.

Albert Pujols of the Angels leads all batters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 187.8 (sixth overall), but ranks tied for 16th among all players in mentions with 106, which is fifth among all batters. While Pujols is still active, he earned the bulk of his Box-Toppers points prior to 2013, when Box-Toppers debuted on the web. Since 2013, he has 32.0 Box-Toppers points, which ranks 20th among all batters.

How Box-Toppers 2017 leaders fared in mentions

As previously mentioned, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2017 (25.1) and ranked third among all players in Box-Toppers mentions in the past year (115).

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points (25.0) and ranked second among all players (and second among NL pitchers) in Box-Toppers mentions in the past year (144). Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (third with 23.1 Box-Toppers points) ranked first with 173 mentions.

Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs led all batters with 15.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017. Rizzo had at least 32 Box-Toppers mentions during the past year, which would rank 15th among players since March 2017. (Since Rizzo had fewer than 34 mentions prior to the start of the 2017 season, his actual total at the time was not recorded, so an accurate total since March 2017 cannot be calculated. Still, if you assume he had as many as 34 mentions, he still would rank among the top 15 in mentions in the past year.)

Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians led AL batters with 12.1 Box-Toppers points in 2017. Encarnacion had 61 mentions in the past year, sixth among all players and second among AL batters, behind Aaron Judge of the Yankees and his 62 mentions.

Judge, like Rizzo, had fewer than 34 mentions prior to the start of the 2017 season. However, since Box-Toppers can determine that Judge did not make his first appearance on Box-Toppers.com until April 13, 2017, we do know that all of his mentions have happened in the past year. 

Dodgers pass Cubs to lead teams in mentions

Most mentioned teams on Box-Toppers.com

Here are the most mentioned teams on the Box-Toppers.com website since its debut March 25, 2013. Teams are ranked according to how many posts they have been tagged in as of March 20, 2018. For example, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been tagged in 179 different posts in the past five years. Also shown is the number of posts teams have been tagged in since March 7, 2017. The Dodgers also lead all teams in the past year, mentioned in 77 different posts.

 

		Mentions or tags
	Team	Since ’13*	Past year**
1	Los Angeles Dodgers	179	77
2	Chicago Cubs	151	43
3	St. Louis Cardinals	124	18
4	Boston Red Sox	123	31
5	Washington Nationals	120	62
6	Kansas City Royals	112	18
7	Toronto Blue Jays	107	18
8	Cleveland Indians	104	59
9	Houston Astros	98	64
10	San Francisco Giants	93	19
11	Detroit Tigers	83	21
12	Texas Rangers	79	16
13	New York Yankees	75	N/A†
14	New York Mets	71	15
15	Oakland Athletics	67	14
16	Atlanta Braves	54	15
17	Philadelphia Phillies	53	20
17	Los Angeles Angels	53	13
17	Baltimore Orioles	53	11
20	Pittsburgh Pirates	49	6
21	Miami Marlins	48	N/A†
22	Arizona Diamondbacks	47	N/A†
23	Chicago White Sox	44	N/A†
23	Colorado Rockies	44	N/A†
25	Minnesota Twins	39	N/A†
25	Tampa Bay Rays	39	N/A†
27	Milwaukee Brewers	36	N/A†
28	Cincinnati Reds	35	N/A†
29	Seattle Mariners	33	N/A†
30	San Diego Padres	30	N/A†
	* Total number of mentions since March 25, 2013, (when Box-Toppers.com went online) through March 20, 2018.
	** Total number of mentions from March 7, 2017 through March 20, 2018.
	† If a team had fewer than 33 total tags as of 3/7/17, their actual total as of that date is not available, so an accurate total of tags from 3/7/17-3/20/18 cannot be calculated.

Top teams tagged in posts are those which have been among the top-ranked and appeared in the postseason. 

The NL champion Dodgers lead the overall list (with 179 appearances since 2013) and the list for the past year (with 77 since March 2017).

Prior to the start of the 2017 season, the Chicago Cubs had the most mentions among teams since 2013 with 108. This happened just months after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series, their first in 108 years. The Cubs now slip to second with 151 mentions, including 43 in the past year, fifth among all teams.

The World Series champion Houston Astros had the second-most mentions on Box-Toppers in the past year with 64. The Astros now rank ninth among all teams in mentions since 2013 with 98.

Here is look at recent World Series champions and their rank among the most-mentioned teams list:

• 2013—Red Sox, ranked fourth
• 2014—Giants, ranked 10th
• 2015—Royals, ranked sixth
• 2016—Cubs, ranked second

How Box-Toppers tagging works

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.

Most mentioned teams in past year

Here are the most mentioned teams on the Box-Toppers.com website in the past year. Teams are ranked by the number of posts they have been tagged in from March 7, 2017 through March 20, 2018. For example, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been tagged in 77 different posts in the past year.

 

	Team	Tags in past year**
1	Los Angeles Dodgers	77
2	Houston Astros	64
3	Washington Nationals	62
4	Cleveland Indians	59
5	Chicago Cubs	43
	** Total number of mentions from March 7, 2017 through March 20, 2018.

So for example, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber 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 charts on this page and ranks fourth among most-mentioned players on Box-Toppers.com since 2013 with 197 tags and fourth among players in the past year with 64 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 20, 2018. The date used to calculate number of tags (or mentions) in the past year is from March 7, 2017 to March 20, 2018. Players, teams, entities or ideas that are tagged appear at the bottom of each blog post.

Numbers of tags or mentions are not exact for a variety of reasons. For one thing, it took a while for a tagging protocol to evolve and be developed. For another, the tagging system is not perfect—players who should be tagged are sometimes left off, players are sometimes tagged incorrectly. And for another thing, there are vagaries in the software used to publish the blog in which tag numbers are different depending on when and how they are viewed. They are usually generally consistent and despite the slight variance, seem to accurately reflect players’ and teams’ appearances on Box-Toppers.com.

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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Also—For a rough running total of the most mentioned players, teams and topics on Box-Toppers.com, visit the Box-Toppers tag cloud page, showing a list of the top 100 most-mentioned topics on Box-Toppers.