The top four pitchers who led each league in strikeouts were among the top 10 overall players in Box-Toppers points in 2014.
As seen in the chart below, David Price led all pitchers in strikeouts with 271. He pitched for both the Rays and the Tigers in 2014. He had 19.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all players.
Johnny Cueto of the Reds and Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals led the National League in strikeouts—each had 242. Cueto had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players and Strasburg had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 10th.
The overall leader in Box-Toppers points, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, struck out 239 batters in 2014, ranked third among NL pitchers. He had 31.5 Box-Toppers points.
The overall American League leader in Box-Toppers points, Corey Kluber of the Indians, struck out 269 batters, ranked second among AL pitchers. He had 25.8 Box-Toppers points.
Other players from Box-Toppers’ top 10 players who were among the top four in each league in strikeouts:
• Max Scherzer of the Tigers, ranked third among AL pitchers in strikeouts with 252. He had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among all players.
• Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, ranked fourth among AL pitchers in strikeouts with 248. He had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players.
• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants, ranked fourth among NL pitchers in strikeouts with 219. He had 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players.
Nine of the 10 AL strikeout leaders were among Box-Toppers’ top 30 ranked players. But only five of the 10 NL strikeout leaders were among Box-Toppers’ top 30 players.
Box-Toppers’ highest ranking player who is not among the 20 strikeout leaders listed below: Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who had 18.7 Box-Toppers points and ranked eighth among all players. Wainwright had 179 strikeouts, tied for 15th among NL pitchers.
Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his team’s wins. Specifically, 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.
How strikeout leaders fared in Box-Toppers points
Here are strikeout leaders for the American League (left) and the National League (right) with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2014 season and their rank in Box-Toppers points among all players (BTP rank).
| Rank | AL leaders | Team | Pos | K | BTP | BTP rank |
NL leaders | Team | Pos | K | BTP | BTP rank |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Price | Rays/Tigers | pi sp | 271 | 19.1 | 7 | Johnny Cueto | Reds | pi sp | 242 | 22.4 | 4 | |
| 2 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 269 | 25.8 | 2 | *Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | pi sp | 242 | 16.7 | 10 | |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | Tigers | pi sp | 252 | 22.1 | 5 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 239 | 31.5 | 1 | |
| 4 | Felix Hernandez | Mariners | pi sp | 248 | 20.8 | 6 | Madison Bumgarner | Giants | pi sp | 219 | 22.6 | 3 | |
| 5 | Jon Lester | Red Sox/A’s | pi sp | 220 | 16.4 | 12 | Zack Greinke | Dodgers | pi sp | 207 | 16.5 | 11 | |
| 6 | Chris Sale | White Sox | pi sp | 208 | 17.4 | 7 | *Ian Kennedy | Padres | pi sp | 207 | 9.7 | 61 | |
| 7 | Phil Hughes | Twins | pi sp | 186 | 14.1 | 20 | Cole Hamels | Phillies | pi sp | 198 | 12.4 | 31 | |
| 8 | Drew Hutchison | Blue Jays | pi sp | 184 | 14.0 | 21 | Tyson Ross | Padres | pi sp | 195 | 9.7 | 60 | |
| 9 | Sonny Gray | Athletics | pi sp | 183 | 10.0 | 57 | A.J. Burnett | Phillies | pi sp | 190 | 8.0 | 82 | |
| 10 | Yu Darvish | Rangers | pi sp | 182 | 12.4 | 29 | Zack Wheeler | Mets | pi sp | 187 | 7.7 | 93 |
* Indicates the player was tied in strikeouts with a player listed above them in rankings. In cases of ties, players are listed in order of their Box-Toppers point total for the season.
More on how 2014 stat leaders fared in Box-Toppers points:
Batting average leaders
In 2014, batting average leaders had low Box-Toppers point totals. Why? They came from losing teams, did not hit for power and were not often integral in their team’s (few) wins.
ERA leaders
Clayton Kershaw had a dominating lead among pitchers in earned run average and a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points. The top three pitchers in ERA in both leagues are among Box-Toppers’ top 10 overall players.
Home run leaders
Most home run leaders in 2014 also ranked high among batters in Box-Toppers points.
Wins leaders
Wins leaders—Clayton Kershaw and Corey Kluber—also led their leagues in Box-Toppers points. Also, pitchers like Kershaw and Kluber had more Box-Toppers points than wins, indicating their wins were more sincere and deserved than players whose wins outnumbered their Box-Toppers point total.
RBI leaders
In general, more RBIs translate into more Box-Toppers points. But in specific cases, some players among RBI leaders—such as NL leader Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers—were not among Box-Toppers points leaders.
Strikeout leaders
The top four pitchers who led each league in strikeouts were among the Box-Toppers’ top 10 players for 2014.