Here is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2019.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications, including:
Detail leaders 2019
Here are Box-Toppers point leaders for 2019 broken down according to several factors, including by position and league. Included here are:▶︎ Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
▶︎ Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
▶︎ The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the “dippers” are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2018; the “risers” are players whose point total climbed the most from 2018.
▶︎ Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
| 2019 OVERALL | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 32.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 27.5 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 18.8 |
| 6 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 17.9 |
| 8 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 9 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 17.4 |
| 10 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.4 |
| 2019 AL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 32.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 27.5 |
| 3 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 18.8 |
| 4 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 17.9 |
| 6 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 17.4 |
| 7 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 15.0 |
| 8 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
| 9 | Minor, Mike 2894 | pi sp | tex al | 13.7 |
| 10 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 13.7 |
| 2019 AL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh | min al | 12.5 |
| 2 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 3 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | ana al | 11.0 |
| 4 | Soler, Jorge 3403 | dh | kc al | 10.2 |
| 5 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b ss | hou al | 10.0 |
| 6 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 9.5 |
| 7 | Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 9.0 |
| 8 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 8.7 |
| 9 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 8.7 |
| 10 | Semien, Marcus 3302 | ss | oak al | 8.7 |
| 2019 NL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.1 |
| 3 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 4 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.4 |
| 5 | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 16.5 |
| 6 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.4 |
| 7 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
| 8 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.8 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 14.4 |
| 2019 NL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 12.0 |
| 2 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf | mil nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 11.2 |
| 4 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 10.2 |
| 5 | Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 9.7 |
| 6 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 9.0 |
| 7 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 8 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | rf | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 9 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | phi nl | 8.0 |
| 10 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 2019 AL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | ana al | 11.0 |
| 2 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 7.5 |
| 3 | Santana, Danny 3350 | cf 1b | tex al | 6.5 |
| 4 | Voit, Luke 4053 | 1b | nyy al | 5.5 |
| 5 | Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | min al | 5.0 |
| 2019 AL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 2 | Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b | tor al | 6.2 |
| 3 | Schoop, Jonathan 3307 | 2b | min al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Merrifield, Whit 3855 | 2b rf 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Kipnis, Jason 2933 | 2b | cle al | 4.5 |
| 2019 AL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 2 | Semien, Marcus 3302 | ss | oak al | 8.7 |
| 3 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 8.2 |
| 4 | Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Mondesi, Adalberto 3750 | ss | kc al | 4.5 |
| 2019 AL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 10.0 |
| 2 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 9.5 |
| 3 | Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 9.0 |
| 4 | Urshela, Gio 4135 | 3b | nyy al | 7.5 |
| 5 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 6.2 |
| 2019 AL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Garver, Mitch 3950 | ca | min al | 7.5 |
| 2 | McCann, James 3649 | ca | chi al | 6.5 |
| 3 | d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca | tb al | 6.2 |
| 4 | Phegley, Josh 3269 | ca | oak al | 5.5 |
| 5 | Sanchez, Gary 3701 | ca | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 2019 AL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 8.7 |
| 3 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh rf | bos al | 8.5 |
| 4 | Gardner, Brett 2486 | cf | nyy al | 8.5 |
| 5 | Jimenez, Eloy 4107 | lf | chi al | 7.5 |
| 6 | Smith, Dwight Jr. 4112 | lf | bal al | 7.2 |
| 7 | Kepler, Max 3664 | cf rf | min al | 6.7 |
| 8 | Santana, Danny 3350 | cf 1b | tex al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Gallo, Joey 3485 | lf cf | tex al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Kiermaier, Kevin 3373 | cf | tb al | 6.0 |
| 2019 AL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh | min al | 12.5 |
| 2 | Soler, Jorge 3403 | dh | kc al | 10.2 |
| 3 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh rf | bos al | 8.5 |
| 4 | Vogelbach, Daniel 4070 | dh | sea al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh | ana al | 6.5 |
| 2019 NL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 10.2 |
| 2 | Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 9.7 |
| 3 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 7.5 |
| 4 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 5 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 5.5 |
| 2019 NL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 2b 3b | col nl | 8.0 |
| 4 | Marte, Ketel 3630 | 2b cf | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 5 | Albies, Ozzie 3953 | 2b | atl nl | 6.5 |
| 2019 NL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Ahmed, Nick 3520 | ss | ari nl | 6.2 |
| 3 | Newman, Kevin 4234 | ss | pit nl | 6.2 |
| 4 | DeJong, Paul 3827 | ss | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Arcia, Orlando 3717 | ss | mil nl | 4.7 |
| 2019 NL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 4 | McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 2b 3b | col nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 7.5 |
| 2019 NL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Posey, Buster 2745 | ca | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 3 | Suzuki, Kurt 2344 | ca | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 4 | Alfaro, Jorge 3920 | ca | fla nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | McCann, Brian 2179 | ca | atl nl | 3.5 |
| 2019 NL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 12.0 |
| 2 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf | mil nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 11.2 |
| 4 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | rf | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | phi nl | 8.0 |
| 6 | Marte, Ketel 3630 | 2b cf | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Dahl, David 3714 | rf cf lf | col nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf rf | stl nl | 6.0 |
| 10 | Pederson, Joc 3621 | lf | lad nl | 5.5 |
| 2019 DIPPERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | -21.7 |
| 2 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | -17.2 |
| 3 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | -15.7 |
| 4 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp | bos al | -13.7 |
| 5 | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | -12.4 |
| 6 | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | -11.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | -11.4 |
| 8 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | -11.4 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | -10.7 |
| 10 | Godley, Zack 3538 | pi mr sp | free agent | -9.7 |
| 2019 RISERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.8 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 14.2 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 12.0 |
| 5 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 11.7 |
| 6 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 11.2 |
| 7 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | nyy al | 10.5 |
| 8 | Bailey, Homer 2324 | pi sp | oak al | 10.4 |
| 9 | Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh | min al | 10.0 |
| 10 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 9.7 |
| 2019 AL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hand, Brad 2907 | pi cp | cle al | 8.0 |
| 2 | Rogers, Taylor 3648 | pi cp | min al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | oak al | 7.0 |
| 4 | Treinen, Blake 3495 | pi cp | oak al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Pena, Felix 4002 | pi sp mr cp | ana al | 5.0 |
| 2019 AL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi sp mr | tb al | 12.4 |
| 2 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp mr | oak al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Pena, Felix 4002 | pi sp mr cp | ana al | 5.0 |
| 4 | McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp mr | hou al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Buttrey, Ty 4124 | pi mr | ana al | 5.0 |
| 2019 NL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 2 | Vazquez, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 8.7 |
| 3 | Jackson, Luke 4139 | pi cp | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 4 | Yates, Kirby 3628 | pi cp | sd nl | 7.0 |
| 5 | Iglesias, Raisel 3467 | pi cp | cin nl | 7.0 |
| 2019 NL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi mr | mil nl | 8.0 |
| 2 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp mr cp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Parker, Blake 3823 | pi cp mr | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Hudson, Dan 2776 | pi mr | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Melancon, Mark 2792 | pi cp mr | atl nl | 5.0 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
➜ Players are listed by the position they predominantly played when they earned Box-Toppers points (by earning Player of the Game honors).
➜ Players are listed with the team on which they finished the season. Some players played on two or more teams in a single season.
➜ DIPPERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point decline.
➜ RISERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point increase.
➜ Note: If players have the same Box-Toppers point total, ties are broken based on which player had more Box-Toppers points in the previous season (or the previous season before that—and so on, if those point totals are tied).
Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the "dippers" are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2018; the "risers" are players whose point total climbed the most from 2018.
Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
Highlights include:
Top overall player for 2019—Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole is Box-Toppers 2019 Player of the Year, leading all players with 32.2 Box-Toppers points for the season, the fourth-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He also led American League pitchers. Cole is with the Yankees for 2020.
Top NL pitcher for 2019—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg led National League pitchers in 2019 with 20.7 Box-Toppers points, third overall.
Top overall batters for 2019—Nelson Cruz of the Twins led AL batters with 12.5 Box-Toppers points. Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals led NL batters with 12.0 points. (Ozuna is with the Braves for 2020.)
Top batters by position—The chart shows the top AL and NL batters by position, including the top five first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen and catchers in both the AL and NL. Also shown are the top 10 outfielders in each league, plus the top five AL designated hitters.
Dippers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2018 to 2019. Indians pitcher Corey Kluber had the biggest decline of 21.7 points. He earned 21.7 points in 2018 and no points in 2018. Due to injuries, he only made seven starts in 2019 and did not win Player of the Game honors in any of them, thus, earning no Box-Toppers points. More details on Box-Toppers’ top 25 big dippers—the players whose 2019 point total declined most from 2018.
Risers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from 2018 to 2019. Rookie Padres pitcher Chris Paddack had the biggest increase of 15.8 points, earning 15.8 in his first year in the big leagues. Cole had the biggest rise among non-rookie players of 14.2 points. In 2018, he earned 18.0 points, eighth among all players. In 2019, he earned 32.2 points to lead all players. More details on Box-Toppers’ top 25 most improved—the players whose 2019 point total increased most from 2018.
Relief pitchers—The chart shows the top five closing and relief pitchers in both the AL and NL for 2019. Josh Hader of the Brewers led NL closing pitchers with 17.7 Box-Toppers points, which is the third-highest single-season point total for a relief pitcher since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. (Eric Gagne of the Dodgers has the two highest point totals for a relief pitcher—he had 19.7 in 2004 and 19.0 in 2003.) Brad Hand of the Indians led AL closing pitchers with 8.0 points. Ryan Yarbrough of the Rays led AL middle relief pitchers with 12.4 points and Freddy Peralta of the Brewers led NL middle relief pitchers with 8.0 points. Some relievers had more than one role through the season and are ranked as both a closer and a middle reliever. Yarbrough was primarily a starter, but earned three of his 10 Player of the Game honors during the season as a middle reliever.
Box-Toppers has tracked each game played since the start of the 1995 season. A season-by-season look at Box-Toppers’ detail leaders for all 25 seasons—a sprawling, scrolling chart—can be found at this link. Like the chart here, it shows the top groups of players at different positions and by different categories or classifications, but this chart shows every season from 1995 to 2019. For example, who was the top AL first baseman in 1996? Who was the top NL closing pitcher in 1999? Whose Box-Toppers point total rose the most from 2004 to 2005? And who was the top NL second baseman in 2008? It’s all there.
(Answers, by the way are: Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox with 18.6 points, Billy Wagner of the Astros with 15.0 points, Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins, who rose 12.7 points from 2004 to 2005 and Chase Utley of the Phillies with 12.0 points.)
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.
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