| American League | National League | ||||||||
| ’19 | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 10.0 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 9.0 | |
| 2 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 9.5 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 9.0 | |
| 3 | Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 9.0 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | ari nl | 8.0 | |
| 4 | Urshela, Gio 4135 | 3b | nyy al | 7.5 | McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 2b 3b | col nl | 8.0 | |
| 5 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 6.2 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 7.5 | |
| American League | National League | ||||||||
| ’18‑19 | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b ss | hou al | 16.2 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 14.0 | |
| 2 | Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 13.5 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 13.5 | |
| 3 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 12.0 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 12.5 | |
| 4 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 10.2 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | ari nl | 12.5 | |
| 5 | Davidson, Matt 3292 | 3b dh 1b | tex al | 8.7 | Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 11.5 | |
| American League | National League | ||||||||
| ’14‑19 | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 34.7 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 45.6 | |
| 2 | LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b 3b 1b | nyy al | 29.5 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 43.9 | |
| 3 | Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 25.5 | Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b | chi nl | 31.5 | |
| 4 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 22.5 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 31.0 | |
| 5 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b ss | hou al | 21.2 | Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 30.5 | |
| All players (including retired) | All active players | ||||||||
| ’95‑19 | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Rodriguez, Alex | 3b | Retired | 187.0 | Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b 3b 2b ph | Released | 63.9 | |
| 2 | jones, chipper | 3b | Retired | 149.0 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 58.2 | |
| 3 | Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | Retired | 116.8 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 55.1 | |
| 4 | Ramirez, Aramis 1364 | 3b | Retired | 105.8 | Longoria, Evan 2423 | 3b | sf nl | 54.0 | |
| 5 | Rolen, Scott | 3b | Retired | 97.6 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 43.9 | |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Active players are shown on the team with whom they finished the 2019 season.
Alex Rodriguez leads third basemen in Box-Toppers points since 1995; Alex Bregman leads third basemen recently
Alex Rodriguez has the most Box-Toppers points of any third baseman since tracking began in 1995.
Rodriguez, who played from 1994 to 2016 for the Yankees, Mariners and Rangers, earned 187.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 10th among all players since 1995 and second among all batters. Rodriguez is 38.0 Box-Toppers points ahead of Chipper Jones, who ranks second among third basemen on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list with 149.0.
The chart above shows the top five third basemen over several time frames—over the past season (2019), the past two seasons (2018-19), the past six seasons (2014-19) and “all-time”—the past 25 seasons (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). For the most recent seasons, the top five third basemen in each league are shown. For the “all-time” rankings, the top five overall third basemen (including retired players) are shown at left and the top five active third basemen in career Box-Toppers points are shown at right.
Rodriguez is listed as a third basemen, even though he also played shortstop and designated hitter at times during his career. However, third base was his primary position throughout most of his career. He earned Box-Toppers points primarily as a third baseman in 10 seasons, primarily at shortstop in eight seasons and primarily as a designated hitter in one.
At the end of 2019, Mark Reynolds led all active third basemen in career Box-Toppers points with 63.9, 11th among all third basemen since 1995. However, Reynolds played just 78 games for the Rockies in 2019 before being released July 26 and earned no points during the season. In addition, Reynolds, 36, announced his retirement during the offseason.
Going into the 2020 season, Asdrubal Cabrera of the Nationals leads active third basemen in career Box-Toppers points with 58.2, 14th among all third basemen since 1995. Cabrera was also second among National League third basemen in 2019 (9.0) and third among NL third basemen over the past two seasons (12.5 over 2018-19).
Alex Bregman of the Astros led all third basemen in 2019 with 10.0 Box-Toppers points. He also led third basemen over the past two seasons with 16.2 points over 2018-19. In addition, Bregman ranks fifth among American League third basemen over the past six seasons (21.2 from 2014-19).
Josh Donaldson of the Braves leads all third basemen in Box-Toppers points over the past six seasons with 45.6 from 2014-19. Donaldson finished 2019 with the Braves, so is ranked here among NL third basemen, but is with the AL Twins for 2020. In addition, Donaldson ranked fifth among NL third basemen in 2019 (7.5 points) and third among all active third basemen in career points (55.1).
Nolan Arenado of the Rockies appears on the most lists of top five third basemen shown here, appearing in four. He led NL third basemen in 2019 (9.0), led NL third basemen over 2018-19 (14.0), ranked second among NL third basemen from 2014-19 (43.9) and ranked fifth among all active third basemen in career points (43.9).
There are four players who each appear on three of the top five third basemen lists above—three mentioned previously (Bregman, Cabrera and Donaldson), plus Kyle Seager of the Mariners, who ranked fifth among AL third basemen in 2019 (6.2), fourth among AL third basemen over 2018-19 (10.2) and first among AL third basemen from 2014-19 (34.7).
None of the five overall leaders in career Box-Toppers points among third basemen are currently active and all—Rodriguez, Jones, Adrian Beltre, Aramis Ramirez and Scott Rolen—played the bulk of their careers in the decade from 2000-2009, when batters earned a considerably larger share of all Box-Toppers points awarded. From 2000 to 2009, batters earned 51.7 percent of all Box-Toppers points awarded. But from 2010 to 2019, batters earned only 42.4 percent of all points. Pitchers earned between 56 and 60 percent of all points awarded each season during the 2010s.
Active batters who played primarily in the 2010s, as a result, have far fewer career Box-Toppers points. However, among the top active third basemen in career points, four of them earned points in 2019 and three of them finished among the top five NL third basemen in points for the season:
Cabrera ranked second in career points among third basemen at the end of 2019 (58.2) and second among NL third basemen in 2019 (9.0).
Donaldson ranked third in career points among third basemen at the end of 2019 (55.1) and fifth among NL third basemen in 2019 (7.5).
Arenado ranked fifth in career points among third basemen at the end of 2019 (43.9) and first among NL third basemen in 2019 (9.0).
Also, Evan Longoria of the Giants, who ranked fourth in career points among third basemen at the end of 2019 (54.0), earned 3.5 points in 2019.
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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Related:
Top 100 players “all-time” (since 1995), past six seasons (2014-2019), past two seasons (2017-19) and past season (2019).
Top 10 overall players, plus top 10 batters and pitchers “all-time” (since 1995).
Top 10 overall players, plus top 10 batters and pitchers by league past six seasons (2014-2019), past two seasons (2018-19) and past season (2019).
Box-Toppers top third basemen by time frame (after 2017): Alex Rodriguez leads third basemen in Box-Toppers points since 1995; Adrian Beltre leads all active third basemen