Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads two of Box-Toppers’ four main leaderboards and came within 2.1 Box-Toppers points of leading three of the four after the 2018 season.
Box-Toppers’ leaderboard overview
Here are Box-Toppers points category leaders over different time frames. Overall leaders and leaders for AL and NL pitchers and batters are shown for 2018, for 2017-18 (past two seasons), for 2013-18 (past six seasons) and for 1995-2018 (“all-time,” since the start of Box-Toppers tracking). Each top-ranked player is shown with their category timeframe-leading Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| OVERALL | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 2018 | Blake Snell | pi sp | Rays | 27.2 |
| 2017‑18 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 50.1 |
| 2013‑18 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 137.0 |
| 1995‑18 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 278.8 |
| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 2018 | Blake Snell | pi sp | Rays | 27.2 |
| 2017‑18 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Red Sox | 45.2 |
| 2013‑18 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Red Sox | 110.9 |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 2018 | J.D. Martinez | lf dh rf | Red Sox | 12.5 |
| 2017‑18 | Giancarlo Stanton | dh rf lf | Yankees | 20.7 |
| 2013‑18 | Edwin Encarnacion | dh | Indians | 55.2 |
| NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 2018 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 25.1 |
| 2017‑18 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 50.1 |
| 2013‑18 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 137.0 |
| NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 2018 | Christian Yelich | rf lf | Brewers | 11.5 |
| 2017‑18 | Anthony Rizzo | 1b | Cubs | 25.5 |
| 2013‑18 | Anthony Rizzo | 1b | Cubs | 47.5 |
| PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1995‑18 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 278.8 |
| BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1995‑18 | Albert Pujols | Angels | Angels | 190.8 |
NOTE: Players are listed with their playing status at the close of 2018. Only active players are included in the 2018, 2017-18 and 2013-18 lists. All players, including retired and released players, are included in the “all-time” list, 1995-2018. Since retired and released players have no current team or league affiliation, there are no separate AL and NL lists for 1995-2018 leaders—all players are grouped into a single batting or pitching list.
Scherzer has the most Box-Toppers points of any player over the past two seasons (50.1 over 2017 and 2018) and the most points of any player over the past six seasons (137.0 from 2013 to 2018). Scherzer finished second in overall points in 2018 with 25.1, just behind leader Rays pitcher Blake Snell (27.2).
Pitcher Randy Johnson, who retired in 2009, leads players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when player tracking began) with 278.8. Scherzer ranks 10th on this “all-time” list with 181.8 career Box-Toppers points.
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.
Other highlights from the leaderboards:
Snell, the overall leader in 2018, also leads American League pitchers in 2018. Chris Sale of the Red Sox leads AL pitchers over both the past two seasons (45.2 points in 2017 and 2018) and the past six seasons (110.9 points from 2013 to 2018). Sale finished fourth among AL pitchers in 2018 with 20.1 points. Snell, meanwhile, ranks sixth among AL pitchers over the past two seasons (32.2 points in 2017 and 2018) and 35th over the past six seasons (36.2 points from 2013 to 2018).
Scherzer leads National League pitchers over the past season (25.1 points in 2018), the past two seasons (50.1) and past six seasons (137.0).
J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox led AL batters over the past season (12.5 Box-Toppers points in 2018). Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees leads AL batters over the past two seasons (20.7 points in 2017 and 2018). Edwin Encarnacion, who finished 2018 with the Indians, leads AL batters over the past six seasons (55.2 points from 2013-2018). Martinez ranks third among AL batters over the past two seasons (18.0) and 15th over the past six seasons (31.2). Stanton ranked 11th among AL batters in 2018 (6.5) and fifth over the past six seasons (44.4). Encarnacion ranked 12th among AL batters in 2018 (6.5) and second over the past two seasons (18.6).
Christian Yelich of the Brewers led NL batters over the past season (11.5 Box-Toppers points in 2018). Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs leads NL batters over both the past two seasons (25.5 points in 2017 and 2018) and past six seasons (47.5 points from 2013 to 2018). Yelich ranks third among NL batters over the past two seasons (16.5) and 14th over the past six seasons (32.0). Rizzo ranked second among NL batters in 2018 (10.0).
Randy Johnson leads all players with 278.8 career Box-Toppers points. However, Johnson started his career before Box-Toppers tracking began. If his entire career from 1988 were tracked, rough projections put his career Box-Toppers point total at 380. The current active leader in career Box-Toppers points, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, has 214.8 points, third-most since 1995.
Albert Pujols of the Angels has the most Box-Toppers points of any batter since tracking began in 1995, 190.8, sixth among all players. In 2018, Pujols earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points, his lowest single-season total since he began earning points in 2001.
Box-Toppers maintains separate AL and NL categories for three of the main leaderboards—2018, 2017-18 and 2013-18. But the 1995-2018 “all-time” leaderboard includes players who are retired, released or not currently affiliated with a team, so all players are grouped into single pitching leader or batting leader lists with no separate league affiliations.
Detailed leaderboards
Box-Toppers leaderboards, showing the top 10 players in each category (overall and AL and NL pitchers and batters):