The Oakland Athletics, baseball’s best team at the All-Star break, has seven players on Box-Toppers Top 100 players list, the most of any team.
The list is led by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has earned 18.1 Box-Toppers points this season and Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer with 16.1. Kershaw led all players in 2013 with 21.7 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer led all American League players in 2013 with 18.1.
Top 100 list 2014
Here is Box-Toppers Top 100, listing players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals at the All-Star break.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 16.1 |
| 3 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.5 |
| 5 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 12.8 |
| 7 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 12.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 12.7 |
| 9 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 12.7 |
| 10 | Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | col nl | 11.6 |
| 11 | Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 11.4 |
| 12 | Lincecum, Tim 2288 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.4 |
| 13 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tb al | 10.4 |
| 14 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.4 |
| 15 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.1 |
| 16 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.0 |
| 17 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 9.5 |
| 18 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 9.4 |
| 19 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 20 | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | pi sp | tor al | 9.0 |
| 21 | Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 22 | Alvarez, Henderson 2951 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 |
| 23 | Simon, Alfredo 2718 | pi sp | cin nl | 8.7 |
| 24 | Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | oak al | 8.7 |
| 25 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 8.7 |
| 26 | Lohse, Kyle 1487 | pi sp | mil nl | 8.4 |
| 27 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.4 |
| 28 | Hughes, Phil 2272 | pi sp | min al | 8.4 |
| 29 | Young, Chris 1933 | pi sp | sea al | 8.4 |
| 30 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 31 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | bos al | 8.0 |
| 32 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | 1b dh lf | tor al | 8.0 |
| 33 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 7.7 |
| 34 | Hudson, Tim 1231 | pi sp | sf nl | 7.7 |
| 35 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | bos al | 7.7 |
| 36 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 |
| 37 | Chavez, Jesse 2780 | pi sp | oak al | 7.7 |
| 38 | Beckett, Josh 1544 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 |
| 39 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 7.5 |
| 40 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.0 |
| 41 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.0 |
| 42 | Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 |
| 43 | Zimmermann, Jordan 2612 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 44 | Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 45 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 46 | Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | bos al | 7.0 |
| 47 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 7.0 |
| 48 | Shields, James 2157 | pi sp | kc al | 6.7 |
| 49 | Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.7 |
| 50 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | oak al | 6.5 |
| 51 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf | oak al | 6.5 |
| 52 | McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 6.5 |
| 53 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 6.4 |
| 54 | McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
| 55 | Colabello, Chris 3235 | 1b dh rf | min al | 6.2 |
| 56 | Gallardo, Yovani 2333 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.0 |
| 57 | Collmenter, Josh 2863 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.0 |
| 58 | Aybar, Erick 2416 | ss | ana al | 6.0 |
| 59 | Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp mr | kc al | 6.0 |
| 60 | Doolittle, Sean 3052 | pi cp | oak al | 6.0 |
| 61 | Elias, Roenis 3309 | pi sp | sea al | 6.0 |
| 62 | Buehrle, Mark 1407 | pi sp | tor al | 5.7 |
| 63 | Wilson, C.J. 2074 | pi sp | ana al | 5.7 |
| 64 | Fister, Doug 2688 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.7 |
| 65 | Ross, Tyson 2840 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.7 |
| 66 | Vogelsong, Ryan 1820 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.7 |
| 67 | Hahn, Jesse 3354 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.7 |
| 68 | Hunter, Torii 1190 | rf | det al | 5.5 |
| 69 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 5.5 |
| 70 | Ramirez, Alexei 2537 | ss | chi al | 5.5 |
| 71 | Morse, Michael 2020 | lf | sf nl | 5.5 |
| 72 | Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | atl nl | 5.2 |
| 73 | Masterson, Justin 2462 | pi sp | cle al | 5.0 |
| 74 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 75 | Bailey, Homer 2324 | pi sp | cin nl | 5.0 |
| 76 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 77 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 78 | Burnett, A.J. 1300 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 79 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 80 | Cashner, Andrew 2807 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.0 |
| 81 | Wood, Travis 2777 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 82 | Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | cin nl | 5.0 |
| 83 | Leake, Mike 2709 | pi sp | cin nl | 5.0 |
| 84 | Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | det al | 5.0 |
| 85 | Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp mr | det al | 5.0 |
| 86 | Cishek, Steve 2997 | pi cp | fla nl | 5.0 |
| 87 | Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | tex al | 5.0 |
| 88 | Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 89 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 90 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 91 | Suzuki, Kurt 2344 | ca | min al | 5.0 |
| 92 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 5.0 |
| 93 | Koehler, Tom 3159 | pi sp | fla nl | 5.0 |
| 94 | Dozier, Brian 3219 | 2b | min al | 5.0 |
| 95 | Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 96 | Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi sp cp | cle al | 5.0 |
| 97 | Rodriguez, Sean 2729 | lf 1b 2b dh ph | tb al | 5.0 |
| 98 | Duda, Lucas 2818 | 1b | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 99 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 100 | Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | tb al | 4.7 |
Pitcher Scott Kazmir leads the seven Athletics on the top 100 list, he has 13.1 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall (second among AL pitchers). The other Athletics players are:
• Jason Hammel, starting pitcher, in 24th place with 8.7. (Hammel earned all 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs, prior to being traded to the Athletics.)
• Jesse Chavez, starting pitcher, in 37th place with 7.7.
• Sonny Gray, starting pitcher, in 47th place with 7.0.
• Josh Donaldson, third base, in 50th place with 6.5.
• Yoenis Cespedes, left field, in 51st place with 6.5.
• Sean Doolittle, closing pitcher, in 60th place with 6.0.
Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most of any team. The Los Angeles Dodgers, in second place, have 69.7.
While the addition of Hammel gives the Athletics seven players in the top 100, they would still have the most players on the list without him, with six. No other team has more than five players on the list. There are five teams with five players each—the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Washington Nationals, the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners.
All but one team is represented on the top 100 list. The only team without a member is the Baltimore Orioles. That team’s leader in Box-Toppers points, Nelson Cruz, designated hitter and left fielder, has 4.5 points, in 109th place. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies both have one player on the top 100 list.
Pitchers dominate the top 100 list, with 80 members—73 of them starting pitchers. Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters, especially in the short-term. Star pitchers tend to rack up points in quick batches while batters tend to pick up points steadily over long periods of time. For example, the Box-Toppers “all-time” top 100 list has 45 batters and 55 pitchers (the “all-time” list tracks players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began).
Here is a breakdown of the top 100 list by position:
• Starting pitchers 73
• Closing pitchers 7
• First base 7
• Outfield 6 (4 LF, 1 CF, 1 RF)
• Shortstop 3
• Third base 2
• Second base 1
• Catcher 1
Here are some notable players’ statuses in the top 100.
• Last year’s Cy Young Award winners are ranked No. 1 and 2. Kershaw, the reigning National League winner, is in first place with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer, the reigning AL winner, is in second place with 16.1.
• Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies leads all NL batters and is in 10th place overall, with 11.6 Box-Toppers points.
• Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads all AL batters and is in 17th place overall, with 9.5 Box-Toppers points.
• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2013’s AL Most Valuable Player is in 39th place overall with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL batters.
• Pitcher Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, 2013’s NL Rookie of the Year is in 40th place overall with 7.0 Box-Toppers points. However, Fernandez is injured and now out for the rest of the season.
• Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, 2013’s NL MVP, is in 52nd place overall with 6.5 Box-Toppers points (already more than the 6.0 he earned last season, when he ranked 22nd among NL batters). McCutchen currently ranks third among NL batters.
• Pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who started the All-Star Game for the NL, is ranked third overall with 14.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among NL pitchers.
• Pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, who started the All-Star Game for the AL, is ranked sixth overall with 12.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
• Wil Myers of the Rays, 2013’s AL Rookie of the Year has 1.0 Box-Toppers point and is not on this year’s top 100. (He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.)
• Pitcher Chris Archer of the Rays, who led AL Rookies in Box-Toppers points in 2013, is in 53rd place with 6.4 Box-Toppers points. (Last season, he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.)
So far this season, 578 players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so have at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Eighty new players have earned Player of the Game honors for the first time this season, making their Box-Toppers debut.
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.