Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, left, who led American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, was named AL Cy Young Award winner. Chris Sale of the Braves, middle, who was voted National League Cy Young winner, finished fourth among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Zack Wheeler of the Phillies, right, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2024, finished second in NL Cy Young voting. Details.
Box-Toppers points leaders among 2024 free agents include Blake Snell, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Clayton Kershaw. Details.
Daily Scorecard
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Team rankings
Use arrows at right to navigate to most recent 30 posts tagged Team Rankings, including recent and past weekly team rankings reports .
Player rankings
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Awards
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About Box-Toppers
Who are the best players in baseball? How do you even measure such a thing?One way is to determine which players most help their teams win the most games. That’s what Box-Toppers does.
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.
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Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Monday, Sept. 30:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 21.4 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 21.1 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 21.1 |
| 4 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 20.7 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 19.1 |
| 6 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 17.4 |
| 7 | Blake Snell | pi sp | Giants | 15.7 |
| 8 | Bryce Miller | pi sp | Mariners | 15.7 |
| 9 | George Kirby | pi sp | Mariners | 15.4 |
| 10 | Framber Valdez | pi sp | Astros | 15.4 |
Past posts
Hover over highlighted dates in calendar to see what was posted that day.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 272.4 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Rangers | 253.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 247.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 12 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 13 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 14 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 172.4 |
| 15 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 18 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 165.0 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Retired | 160.9 |
Box-Toppers Players of the Year
Here are Box-Toppers Player of the Year winners in each season of Box-Toppers tracking since 1995. Player of the Year is the player with the season’s highest Box-Toppers point total:| Year | Player | Pos | Team | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Mariners | 23.7 |
| 1996 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Braves | 26.1 |
| 1997 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Blue Jays | 27.4 |
| 1998 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Astros† | 26.4 |
| 1999 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 31.5 |
| 2000 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 33.7 |
| 2001 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 29.4 |
| 2002 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 33.7 |
| 2003 | Jason Schmidt | pi sp | Giants | 24.7 |
| 2004 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Twins | 26.8 |
| 2005 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Twins | 24.1 |
| 2006 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Twins | 25.7 |
| 2007 | Jake Peavy | pi sp | Padres | 23.4 |
| 2008 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Brewers* | 26.7 |
| 2009 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 21.5 |
| 2010 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Red Sox | 23.4 |
| 2011 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 26.1 |
| 2012 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Tigers | 24.8 |
| 2013 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 21.7 |
| 2014 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 31.5 |
| 2015 | Jake Arrieta | pi sp | Cubs | 29.1 |
| 2016 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 25.7 |
| 2017 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Red Sox | 25.1 |
| 2018 | Blake Snell | pi sp | Rays | 27.2 |
| 2019 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Astros | 32.2 |
| 2020 | Shane Bieber | pi sp | Indians | 11.4§ |
| 2021 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Dodgers** | 25.1 |
| 2022 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 26.0 |
| 2023 | Spencer Strider | pi sp | Braves | 21.1 |
| 2024 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 21.4 |
* Played for the Indians before trade to the Brewers.
** Played for the Nationals before trade to the Dodgers.
§ Season shortened from 162 to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Box-Toppers tag cloud
Here are Box-Toppers most popular topics, arranged by how often names, teams and topics are tagged in blog posts. Scroll over each link to see how many blog posts in which it has been tagged. Click on the link for an archive of blog posts on that topic. To see the top 100 most popular Box-Toppers topics, click here.
- Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard
- Box-Toppers debut
- Clayton Kershaw
- Max Scherzer
- Justin Verlander
- Gerrit Cole
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Chris Sale
- Box-Toppers Player Rankings
- Shohei Ohtani
- Zack Greinke
- Houston Astros
- Postseason
- Streak with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in a season
- Jacob deGrom
- MLB
- New York Yankees
- Corey Kluber
- Miguel Cabrera
- Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings
Box-Toppers social media
Best seasons
Randy Johnson holds the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season with 33.7, which he achieved twice—in 2000 and 2002. Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total.| Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Diamondbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Diamondbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Gerrit Cole | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 32.2 |
| 5 | Randy Johnson | Diamondbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 5 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 7 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 8 | Randy Johnson | Diamondbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 9 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 10 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 11 | Curt Schilling | Diamondbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 12 | Justin Verlander | Astros | pi sp | 2019 | 27.5 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 14 | Blake Snell | Rays | pi sp | 2018 | 27.2 |
| 15 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 16 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 16 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 18 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 19 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 19 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 21 | Justin Verlander | Astros | pi sp | 2022 | 26.0 |
| 22 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 22 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 24 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 24 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 24 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2016 | 25.7 |
| 27 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| 28 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | pi sp | 2017 | 25.1 |
| 28 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2018 | 25.1 |
| 28 | Max Scherzer | Nationals/Dodgers | pi sp | 2021 | 25.1 |
| 31 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 2017 | 25.0 |
Best seasons for batters
Lance Berkman holds the record for most Box-Toppers points (BTP) in a single season by a batter with 20.8 in 2006. Here are all batters who have earned 16.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total.NOTE: All 36 instances of batters earning 16.0 or more points happened in 2013 or earlier. In fact, there has only been one such instance since 2009 (Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 in 2013).
◼︎ A look at how batters with high single-season Box-Toppers point totals fared in voting for Most Valuable Player awards
◼︎ A look at how and why batters’ share of Box-Toppers points plummeted in the decade of the 2010s
| Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lance Berkman | Astros | 1b | 2006 | 20.8 |
| 2 | Barry Bonds | Giants | lf | 2002 | 20.7 |
| 3 | Albert Belle | Indians | lf dh | 1996 | 20.4 |
| 4 | Manny Ramirez | Indians | rf dh | 1999 | 19.9 |
| 5 | Alex Rodriguez | Yankees | 3b | 2007 | 18.9 |
| 6 | Mo Vaughn | Red Sox | 1b | 1996 | 18.6 |
| 7 | Larry Walker | Rockies | rf | 1997 | 18.5 |
| 8 | Ellis Burks | Rockies | lf cf | 1996 | 18.4 |
| 9 | Barry Bonds | Giants | lf | 1996 | 18.2 |
| 10 | Frank Thomas | White Sox | dh 1b | 2000 | 17.9 |
| 11 | Carlos Delgado | Blue Jays | 1b | 2003 | 17.7 |
| 12 | Bernie Williams | Yankees | cf | 1999 | 17.2 |
| 12 | Magglio Ordonez | White Sox | rf | 2007 | 17.2 |
| 14 | Todd Helton | Rockies | 1b | 2001 | 17.0 |
| 14 | Jason Giambi | Yankees | 1b dh | 2002 | 17.0 |
| 14 | Alex Rodriguez | Mariners | ss | 2000 | 17.0 |
| 14 | Jason Giambi | Athletics | 1b | 2000 | 17.0 |
| 18 | Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 3b | 2013 | 16.9 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | Braves | 3b | 2001 | 16.7 |
| 19 | David Ortiz | Red Sox | dh | 2006 | 16.7 |
| 19 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | 1b | 2009 | 16.7 |
| 22 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | lf 1b | 2003 | 16.5 |
| 22 | Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 1b | 2009 | 16.5 |
| 24 | Albert Belle | White Sox | lf | 1998 | 16.4 |
| 24 | Adam Lind | Blue Jays | dh lf ph | 2009 | 16.4 |
| 26 | Juan Gonzalez | Rangers | dh rf | 1997 | 16.3 |
| 26 | Juan Gonzalez | Rangers | rf dh | 1998 | 16.3 |
| 28 | Jim Thome | Indians | 3b | 1996 | 16.2 |
| 28 | Manny Ramirez | Indians | rf | 1998 | 16.2 |
| 28 | Albert Belle | Orioles | rf | 1999 | 16.2 |
| 28 | Gary Sheffield | Yankees | rf | 2004 | 16.2 |
| 28 | Matt Holliday | Rockies | lf | 2007 | 16.2 |
| 33 | Jeff Bagwell | Astros | 1b | 1997 | 16.0 |
| 33 | Sammy Sosa | Cubs | rf | 2001 | 16.0 |
| 33 | Jim Thome | Indians | 1b | 2002 | 16.0 |
| 33 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | 1b | 2006 | 16.0 |
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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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