During the 2023 season, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander each rose one spot on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 list.
Box-Toppers points leaders for 1995-2023
| OVERALL LEADERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Johnson, Randy 15 | pi sp | retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 270.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 251.7 |
| 4 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 245.0 |
| 5 | Martinez, Pedro J. 18 | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | kc al | 224.5 |
| 7 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | Sabathia, CC 1492 | pi sp | retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Schilling, Curt 74 | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Rodriguez, Alex | 3b | retired | 187.0 |
| PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Johnson, Randy 15 | pi sp | retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 270.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 251.7 |
| 4 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 245.0 |
| 5 | Martinez, Pedro J. 18 | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | kc al | 224.5 |
| 7 | Sabathia, CC 1492 | pi sp | retired | 203.4 |
| 8 | Schilling, Curt 74 | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 9 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | retired | 179.3 |
| 10 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | retired | 175.1 |
| BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | retired | 207.8 |
| 2 | Rodriguez, Alex | 3b | retired | 187.0 |
| 3 | Ramirez, Manny 17 | lf | retired | 166.2 |
| 4 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | dh 1b | det al | 159.4 |
| 5 | Bonds, Barry 95 | lf | retired | 152.2 |
| 6 | Jones, Chipper 269 | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 7 | Thome, Jim 77 | 1b dh | retired | 146.7 |
| 8 | Ortiz, David | dh | retired | 145.9 |
| 9 | giambi, jason | 1b | retired | 133.4 |
| 10 | Guerrero, Vladimir | rf | retired | 128.3 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
They were the only player movements among Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 players overall, among the top 10 pitchers and among the top 10 batters. Pitcher Randy Johnson, who retired in 2009, still leads all players in career Box-Toppers points with 282.5 (tracking began in 1995).
In 2023, both Scherzer and Verlander passed retired pitcher Pedro Martinez, who ranked third at the end of 2022 with 244.8 career points. Martinez falls to fifth place after being passed by both players. Both Scherzer and Verlander began the season as Mets teammates but after the team faltered, both were traded to American League teams in Texas.
Scherzer, 39, who played for the Mets and Rangers in 2023, earned 15.4 Box-Toppers points during the season (10th overall and finishing sixth among AL pitchers), rising from fourth place at the end of 2023 (236.3 points) to third at the end of 2023 (251.7). Scherzer passed Martinez on June 24 when he earned 1.0 point as Player of the Game.
Verlander, 41, who played for the Mets and Astros in 2023, earned 12.4 Box-Toppers points during the season (24th overall and finishing 13th among AL pitchers), rising from fifth place at the end of 2023 (232.6 points) to fourth at the end of 2023 (245.0). Verlander passed Martinez on Sept. 30 when he earned 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Both Scherzer and Verlander also rose to third and fourth place spots on the “all-time” pitching career points list. It should be noted that Martinez began his career in 1992, prior to the start of Box-Toppers tracking. If his entire career were tracked, Martinez is projected to have 270 points.
Kershaw leads active players in career points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, 35, remains in second place on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list with 270.4, most among all active players. Kershaw earned 11.1 points in 2023, 14th among NL pitchers. Kershaw rose to the second-place spot on the list during the 2021 season.
Kershaw is within striking distance of passing Johnson for the “all-time” career points lead in 2024, just 12.1 points behind. Kershaw has reached that mark in two of the past four full seasons (2019—12.7 and 2021—13.4). But Kershaw underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and is expected to miss more than half the season, making it less likely for him to pass Johnson.
But Johnson began his career in 1988 and his 282.5 career points listed here are only from 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his career total at 385.
Cabrera was only active top 10 batter in 2023
Meanwhile, the “all-time” top 10 list among batters included only one active player in 2023—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers—who earned no Box-Toppers points during the season and retired at season’s end. The only change in the top 10 batters list from 2022 to 2023 was the retirement of Albert Pujols at the end of 2022. Pujols leads all batters with 207.8 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since 1995.
Pujols is 20.8 points ahead of second-place batter, Alex Rodriguez (187.0), who ranks 10th on the “all-time” career points list.
Cabrera led active batters in career Box-Toppers points (159.4). With his retirement after 2023, the active batting leader is now Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals with 87.0 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 45th among all batters since 1995. He is 41.3 points behind 10th-ranked batters on the career points list, Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). At age 36, Goldschmidt would have to average more than 10.0 points per season over four years to reach Guerrero, which seems unlikely as he’s only had two seasons with more than 10.0 points and his average in full seasons since 2018 is 7.9 points.
Active players in overall top 10
There are four active players in the overall top 10 list, three previously mentioned—Kershaw, Scherzer and Verlander—plus pitcher Zack Greinke, who played for the Royals in 2023, with 224.5 career Box-Toppers points, sixth overall and also sixth among pitchers. Greinke earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023. At 40, he says he wants to pitch in 2024, but is currently an unsigned free agent.
Cole is now highest-ranked active player outside top 10
After Cabrera’s retirement, the highest-ranked active player outside the overall top 10 is now Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who ranks 23rd with 155.3 career Box-Toppers points. Cole is 31.7 points behind 10th-place player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). It is possible, Cole, 33, could pass Rodriguez and join the overall top 10 and even do it as soon as 2024. In his best season, 2019 with the Astros, Cole earned 32.2 Box-Toppers points, the fourth-highest single-season total recorded since tracking began in 1995. Earning 32.2 points in 2024 would give Cole 187.5 total points. Cole earned 17.0 points in 2023, fourth among AL pitchers.
Cole also is the highest-ranked player outside the overall top 10 pitchers (his 155.3 points ranks 19th among pitchers since 1995), trailing 10th-ranked Felix Hernandez (175.1) by 19.8 points.
Braves pitcher Chris Sale, 34, who ranks 20th among pitchers since 1995 with 153.3 career Box-Toppers points, is 21.8 points behind 10th-ranked Hernandez. (Sale earned 8.7 points in 2023 with the Red Sox.)
A look at Box-Toppers top 10 with projected career totals
It should be noted that several players on the “all-time” top 10 lists began their careers before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and would likely have more actual points if their entire careers were tracked. As previously mentioned, Randy Johnson began his career in 1988. He has 282.5 points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his Box-Toppers point total at 385.
Here is Box-Toppers top 10 list with players’ projected career totals included. (Players with projected point totals are marked with an asterisk.) To make the list, a player needed to have at least 100 Box-Toppers points since 1995:
Randy Johnson 385*
Roger Clemens 320*
Clayton Kershaw 270.4
Pedro Martinez 270*
John Smoltz 255*
Max Scherzer 251.7
Justin Verlander 245.0
Greg Maddux 240*
Curt Schilling 232*
Barry Bonds 230*
During 2023, Kershaw rose one spot to third place on the list, going from 259.3 to 270.4, passing Pedro Martinez’s estimated total of 270. Scherzer rose one spot from seventh to sixth, going from 236.3 to 251.7, passing Greg Maddux (estimated total of 240). Verlander also rose one spot from eighth to seventh, going from 232.6 to 245.0, also passing Maddux.
Kershaw, Scherzer and Verlander are the only three players who started their careers in 1995 or later who are on this top 10 list and all are still active.
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
“All-time” top 10 overall plus top 10 pitchers and batters at end of 2022