Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2016.
Box-Toppers points leaders for 2016-21
| OVERALL LEADERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 120.3 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 93.5 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 89.3 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 86.7 |
| 5 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 82.0 |
| 6 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 71.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 71.6 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 71.4 |
| 9 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | nyy al | 69.9 |
| 10 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | lad nl | 68.7 |
| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 93.5 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 82.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 71.6 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 71.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | nyy al | 69.9 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | tor al | 57.8 |
| 7 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 53.5 |
| 8 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | tor al | 49.9 |
| 9 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 49.2 |
| 10 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | chi al | 48.2 |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | bos al | 42.7 |
| 2 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 39.7 |
| 3 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | nyy al | 36.0 |
| 4 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | tb al | 35.7 |
| 5 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 35.5 |
| 6 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | dh | nyy al | 35.2 |
| 7 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b ph | min al | 30.7 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 30.2 |
| 9 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 29.7 |
| 10 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 29.7 |
| NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 120.3 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 89.3 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 86.7 |
| 4 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 71.7 |
| 5 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | lad nl | 68.7 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 66.0 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | nym nl | 66.0 |
| 8 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 62.0 |
| 9 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | sd nl | 61.3 |
| 10 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | atl nl | 59.0 |
| NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 43.9 |
| 2 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 40.7 |
| 3 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | cf rf | lad nl | 37.3 |
| 4 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 36.2 |
| 5 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 35.9 |
| 6 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b | sd nl | 34.3 |
| 7 | Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | cin nl | 34.0 |
| 8 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | atl nl | 33.2 |
| 9 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 32.7 |
| 10 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | phi nl | 32.5 |
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Scherzer has 120.3 Box-Toppers points over the period 2016-2021, 26.8 points ahead of second-ranked player Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who has 93.5 points over that span.
It is the fourth straight year Scherzer has led the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total:
After 2020, he had 116.2 points over 2015-20, to lead all players over that six-year period.
After 2019, he had 134.3 points over 2014-19, to lead all players over that six-year period.
After 2018, he had 137.0 points over 2013-2018, leading all players over that six-year period.
Scherzer led all players in the first season (2016) and last season (2021) of the six-year time span:
In 2016, he had 25.7 points, first among all players.
In 2017, he had 25.0 points, second overall and first among NL pitchers.
In 2018, he had 25.1 points, second overall and first among NL pitchers.
In 2019, he had 15.4 points, 15th overall and ninth among NL pitchers.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he had 4.0 points, 45th among all players and 18th among NL pitchers.
In 2021, he had 25.1 points, first among all players.
Scherzer was with the Nationals from 2016 through the end of July 2021, when he was traded to the Dodgers. He has since signed a free agent deal with the Mets, where he will play in 2022.
Scherzer ranks ahead of second-place NL pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who has 89.3 Box-Toppers points over 2016-2021.
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The players who make these top 10 charts over the period 2016-21 have demonstrated their long-term staying power. Weeded out are players who have single-season, flash-in-the-pan success and relative newcomers who haven’t yet proven their longevity. But it also rewards dominant players of the recent past whose success has waned lately.
AL pitchers
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole leads American League pitchers over the past six seasons with 93.5 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. He ranks second among all players over that span, behind Scherzer.
This is the second season Cole has led AL pitchers in the six-year rolling total. After 2020, he had 90.1 points over 2015-20.
Cole leads second-place AL pitcher Justin Verlander of the Astros, who has 82.0 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. Verlander still ranks second over the six-year period despite earning only 1.0 point in the past two seasons. He earned 1.0 point in 2020 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and sitting out the entire 2021 season. Verlander had four straight seasons from 2016-19 with 14.7 or more Box-Toppers points, including 2018 (24.1) and 2019 (27.5), in which he ranked second among AL pitchers both seasons.
Here is a look at how Cole ranked in each of the past six seasons:
2016—6.5 points with the Pirates, 136th overall, 44th among NL pitchers.
2017—7.0 points with the Pirates, 101st overall, 33rd among NL pitchers.
2018—18.0 points with the Astros, eighth overall, sixth among AL pitchers.
2019—32.2 points with the Astros, first overall, fourth-highest single-season point total since tracking began in 1995.
2020—7.4 points with the Yankees, 12th overall, fifth among AL pitchers.
2021–22.4 points with the Yankees, second overall, first among AL pitchers.
AL batters
J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox leads AL batters over the past six seasons with 42.7 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. He leads the second-place AL batter, Mike Trout of the Angels (39.7), by 3.0 points.
Last season, Martinez ranked sixth among AL batters over 2015-20 with 33.7 Box-Toppers points.
Martinez led AL batters in 2018 with 12.5 Box-Toppers points and ranked second in 2021 with 10.7 points, the only two times in the past six seasons he has been among the top 10 AL batters. Martinez earned 0.0 points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Trout had led AL batters over a six-year period for the previous two years (54.7 over 2014-19 and 50.7 over 2015-20). He fell to second after earning only 1.0 point in 2021, as he was out injured much of the season.
NL batters
Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals leads NL batters over the past six seasons with 43.9 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. It is the second straight year Arenado has led NL batters in the six-year rolling total—he had 43.4 points over 2015-20.
Arenado leads second-ranked NL batter Christian Yelich of the Brewers (40.7). Here is a look at Arenado’s past six seasons and his rank each season among NL batters:
2016—10.7, first.
2017—9.2, fifth.
2018—5.0, 31st.
2019—9.0, sixth.
2020—1.0, 80th.
2021–9.0, fourth.
Players are shown here with the teams they were on at the end of 2021. Only players active at the end of 2021 are listed.
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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