All-time leaders (1995-2020)

After massive reshuffling during the 2019 season, Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points top 10 list remained unchanged during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

There were also few changes among the top 10 pitchers and top 10 batters in career Box-Toppers points. Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to ninth place among all pitchers in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, with 176.3. Lester had ranked 11th among pitchers at the end of 2019 with 172.6.

The only change among top 10 batters during 2020 was Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rising from fifth at the end of 2019 with 150.9 career points to fourth at the end of 2020 with 153.4 points.

Box-Toppers record keeping, tracking the top player in each and every regular season game played, began at the start of the 1995 season. After 26 seasons, there’s generally not a lot of change from season to season in the overall top 10 chart or the top 10 charts among pitchers and batters. That was especially true in the 2020 season in which only 60 games, rather than 162, were played because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, in 2019, five of the then-six active players in the top 10 list changed positions compared to 2018 and only the top three players on the list maintained their position during the 2019 season. The 2020 season, by contrast, saw no shifts in positions among the overall top 10.

Pitcher Randy Johnson, who retired in 2009, remains the all-time Box-Toppers points leader with 282.5. Interestingly, he gained 3.7 points compared to his 278.8 point total at the end of 2019. That’s because Box-Toppers began an audit of results from the 1995 season, the year tracking began, to ensure Box-Toppers Player of the Game rules were being applied consistently over time. The 3.7 points Johnson “gained” in 2020 is tied for the third-most among the top 10 in overall “all-time” career points.

Johnson is followed on the list by pitcher  Pedro Martinez, who also retired in 2009, ranked second with 244.8 points.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains the active leader in career Box-Toppers points with 235.2, third-most among all players. Kershaw rose to third place May 23, 2017, with 194.4 career points and has remained there since. He earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points during 2020, ninth among all players and most among the “all-time” overall top 10 players. He now trails second-ranked Martinez by 9.6 points.

While four other active players on the top 10 list earned Box-Toppers points in 2020, there were no changes in positions compared to 2019:

• 4. Astros pitcher Zack Greinke earned 2.0 points during the season, giving him 209.1, maintaining his fourth-place spot.

• 5. Astros pitcher Justin Verlander earned 1.0 point during 2020, giving him 206.6, maintaining his fifth-place spot.

• 7. Albert Pujols of the Angels earned 1.0 point in 2020, giving him 201.8, maintaining his seventh-place spot.

• 8. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer earned 4.0 points in 2020, giving him 201.2. While he became the eighth player with 200 or more career points since 1995 during the season, he maintained his eighth-place spot.

In addition to Johnson and Martinez, the top 10 list includes three other retired players:

• 6. Pitcher CC Sabathia, in his first year of retirement, with 203.4 points.

• 9. Pitcher Curt Schilling with 194.1 points.

• 10. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez with 187.0.

Top 10 pitchers

There was one new member of Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 10 list among pitchers in 2020—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose from 11th to ninth place with 176.3 career Box-Toppers points, earning 3.7 points in 2020.

Lester ranks 11th among all players in career points since 1995, 10.7 points behind 10th-place Alex Rodriguez.

Lester displaced Braves pitcher Cole Hamels, who rose into the career points top 10 pitchers list in 2019 with 174.2 points. Hamels, who earned no points in 2020, falls to 11th place.

Lester also passed Braves pitcher Felix Hernandez on the “all-time” top 10 pitchers list. Hernandez has 175.1 career points, earning no points in 2020 after opting out because of COVID-19. He falls from ninth to 10th among pitchers in career points since 1995.

The top 10 pitchers list includes six active players and four who have retired.

Top 10 batters

In 2020, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rose from fifth to fourth place in career Box-Toppers points among all batters since 1995.

That was the only movement among the top 10 batters’ career points list in 2020, which only includes two active players—Cabrera and Pujols—who only earned a combined 3.5 points during the season.

Cabrera, who earned 2.5 points in 2020, now has 153.4 career points. He passed Barry Bonds, who has 152.2 points since 1995. He falls to fifth place. (It should be noted that Bonds would have an estimated 230 career Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1986 were tracked.)

Pujols leads the list with 201.8 career points, earning just 1.0 point in 2020. However, that was enough to extend his streak of earning Box-Toppers points to 20 consecutive seasons, which in 2020 broke the record of 19 seasons held by himself and three other players.

Two retired players among the “all-time” top 10 batters actually lost points in 2020 during Box-Toppers’ audit of 1995 results. Both Bonds and Manny Ramirez had 1.0 point deducted from their career totals after determining they were each incorrectly awarded Player of the Game honors in 1995. Ramirez now has 166.2 career points and Bonds now has 152.2. It did not affect either players’ position among batters on the “all-time” career points list, but it did drop them one spot each on the “all-time” overall players list. Ramirez fell to 16th overall, behind retired pitcher Johan Santana (166.6) and Bonds fell to 24th behind retired pitcher Greg Maddux (152.7).

With Bonds and Ramirez each losing 1.0 point each and active players gaining only a combined 3.5 points in 2020, there was a net gain of just 1.5 points among batters on the “all-time” career points top 10 list in 2020. That compares to 14.0 points in 2019, but just 4.0 in 2018.

The highest-ranked active batter outside the top 10 is Ryan Braun, 37, of the Brewers, who has 98.7 career points (none earned in 2020). He ranks 30th among all batters in career points since 1995 and is 29.6 points behind 10th-place “all-time” batter Vladimir Guerrero (128.3).

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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. For example, 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:

1. Randy Johnson 385*

2. Roger Clemens 320*

3. Pedro Martinez 270*

4. John Smoltz 255*

5. Greg Maddux 240*

6. Clayton Kershaw 235.2

7. Curt Schilling 232*

8. Barry Bonds 230*

9. Zack Greinke 209.1

10. Justin Verlander 206.6

During 2020, Clayton Kershaw rose two spots to sixth place on this list. With 7.7 Box-Toppers points earned in 2020, Kershaw went from 227.5 actual career points to 235.2, passing the estimated career point totals of Curt Schilling (232) and Barry Bonds (230).

Only three players who started their careers in 1995 or later are on among this top 10 list and all are active—Kershaw (in sixth place), Greinke (in ninth) and Verlander (in 10th).

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 for 1995-2020

More leaders:

• 2020

• 2019-2020

• 2015-2020