Here are the top second basemen in Box-Toppers points (BTP) 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 second basemen in each league are shown. For the “all-time” rankings, the top five overall second basemen (including retired players) are shown at left and the top five active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points are shown at right. Some players played more than one position, but even if their primary position was not second base, they are listed here.

	American League				National League
’19	Player	Pos	Team	BTP	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Torres, Gleyber 3972	ss 2b	nyy al	12.0	Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	3b 2b	dc nl	9.0
2	Biggio, Cavan 4183	2b	tor al	6.2	Escobar, Eduardo 3135	3b 2b	ari nl	8.0
3	Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	min al	5.0	McMahon, Ryan 4004	2b 3b	col nl	8.0
4	Merrifield, Whit 3855	2b rf 1b	kc al	5.0	Marte, Ketel 3630	2b cf	ari nl	7.0
5	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	4.5	Albies, Ozzie 3953	2b	atl nl	6.5

	American League				National League
‘18-’19	Player	Pos	Team	BTP	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Torres, Gleyber 3972	ss 2b	nyy al	13.5	Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	3b 2b	dc nl	12.5
2	Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	10.0	Escobar, Eduardo 3135	3b 2b	ari nl	12.5
3	Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	min al	8.5	Marte, Ketel 3630	2b cf	ari nl	11.0
4	Profar, Jurickson 3665	2b ss 3b 1b	oak al	8.2	Muncy, Max 3969	1b 2b	lad nl	10.0
5	Goodrum, Niko 3932	ss 1b rf 3b 2b	det al	7.7	McMahon, Ryan 4004	2b 3b	col nl	9.7

	American League				National League
‘14-’19	Player	Pos	Team	BTP	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	31.5	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nym nl	31.0
2	Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	29.7	Kinsler, Ian 2144	2b	sd nl	27.5
3	LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b 3b 1b	nyy al	29.5	Escobar, Eduardo 3135	3b 2b	ari nl	26.9
4	Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	min al	24.0	Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	3b 2b	dc nl	23.0
5	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	14.0	Dozier, Brian 3219	2b	dc nl	22.7

	All players (including retired)				All active players
’95-’19	Player	Pos	Team	BTP	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	kent, jeff	2b	Retired	109.7	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nym nl	85.4
2	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nym nl	85.4	Kinsler, Ian 2144	2b	sd nl	71.6
3	Utley, Chase 1861	2b	Retired	78.6	Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b 3b 2b ph	Released	63.9
4	Kinsler, Ian 2144	2b	sd nl	71.6	Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	3b 2b	dc nl	58.2
5	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b 3b	free agent	67.6	Kendrick, Howie 2191	1b 2b	dc nl	40.0

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About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Active players are shown on the team with whom they finished the 2019 season.

Jeff Kent holds dominating lead in career Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995

Jeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.

Kent, who played from 1992 to 2008 primarily for the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Astros and Blue Jays, earned 109.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career—that’s 30.3 more points than the second-place second baseman since 1995, Robinson Cano of the Mariners (79.4).

And Kent’s large lead doesn’t even account for the fact that Box-Toppers did not track his first few seasons. If his entire career from 1992 were tracked, rough projections put his overall career Box-Toppers point total at 125.

Kent’s 109.7 career Box-Toppers points since 1995 ranks 60th among all players and 17th among all batters.

The chart above shows the top five second basemen over several time frames. For the past season (2019), past two seasons (2018-19) and past six seasons (2014-19) the top five second basemen in each league are shown. The top five overall second basemen since 1995 (including those who have retired) are shown at the bottom left in the chart. The top five active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points are shown at the bottom right.

Gleyber Torres of the Yankees leads all second basemen over the past season (12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2019) and over the past two seasons (13.5 points over 2018-19). In 2019, Torres primarily played shortstop with 77 games at that position, compared to 65 at second base and five at designated hitter. Of his 10 Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in 2019, seven of them were earned while playing shortstop and the other three were at second base. Torres also leads all shortstops in 2019 Box-Toppers points and ranks second among American League shortstops over 2018-19 (13.5), behind Xander Bogaerts of the Reds Sox (13.7).

Jose Altuve of the Astros leads all second basemen over the past six seasons (31.5 Box-Toppers points from 2014-19).

Robinson Cano of the Mets leads all active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points with 85.4. That is second among all second basemen since tracking began in 1995, behind Kent’s 109.7. Cano also leads National League second basemen over the past six seasons with 31.0 Box-Toppers points.

Asdrubal Cabrera of the Nationals leads all NL second basemen in 2019 Box-Toppers points (9.0) and leads all NL second basemen over 2018-19 (12.5). In addition, Cabrera ranks fourth among NL second basemen from 2014-19 (23.0) and fourth among active second basemen in career points (58.2). Cabrera was primarily a third basemen in 2019, playing 98 games there and 34 games at second base in a season split between the Rangers and Nationals. He earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors seven times in 2019, five times at third base and twice at second base.

Cabrera also has the distinction of being listed among the top five second basemen in four of the eight charts above—first in NL second basemen in both 2019 and 2018-19, fourth among NL second basemen in 2014-19 and fourth among second basemen in active career points.

There are three players who are listed in three of the top five second base charts—Jonathan Schoop of the Twins (third in AL for 2019 and 2018-19 and fourth in AL for 2014-19), Eduardo Escobar of the Diamondbacks (second in NL for 2019 and 2018-19 and third in NL for 2014-19) and Robinson Cano of the Mets (first in NL for 2014-19, second in “all-time” career points and first among active second basemen in career points).

Of the top five second basemen in career points since 1995, two of them are retired (Kent and third-place Chase Utley with 78.6 career points) and two of them played in 2019—Cano and Ian Kinsler of the Padres. Kinsler ranks fourth in career points with 71.6, which was second among active second basemen behind Cano. However, Kinsler retired at season’s end. Cano and Kinsler both earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points each in 2019.

The fifth-ranked second baseman in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 is Brandon Phillips, listed as a free agent, with 67.6 career points. Phillips played nine games in 2018 for the Red Sox, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Phillips, 38, played in an independent league and in Mexico in 2019.

Of the five active career leaders in Box-Toppers points among second basemen, four of them earned points in 2019:

Cano earned 2.0.
Kinsler—2.0.
Mark Reynolds, who was released by the Rockies during 2019, earned 0.0 points. (Reynolds, 36, earned 7.5 points in 2018 with the Nationals.)
Cabrera—9.0, which was seventh among NL batters.
Kendrick—4.5.

The next two active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points are:

Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox with 39.5. However, injuries have limited him and he last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in 2017. But at 36, he is still on the Red Sox roster.
Jose Altuve of the Astros with 37.5.

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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Box-Toppers top second basemen by time frame (after 2019 season)

Jeff Kent holds dominating lead in career Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995

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Jeff Kent holds dominating lead in career Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995

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Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.