Box-Toppers' top first basemen by time frame

Here are the top first basemen in Box-Toppers points (BTP) over the past season (2016), the past two seasons (2015-16), the past six seasons (2011-16) and “all-time”—the past 22 seasons (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). For the most recent seasons, the top five first basemen in each league are shown. For the “all-time” rankings, the top five overall first basemen (including retired players) are shown at left and the top five active first basemen in career Box-Toppers points are shown at right. Some players played more than one position, but even if their primary position was not first base, they are listed here.


American League
National League
2016 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 12.0 Votto, Joey 2366 1b cin nl 10.5
2 Hosmer, Eric 2886 1b kc al 8.5 Myers, Wil 3228 1b sd nl 9.7
3 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 dh 1b tor al 8.0 Carpenter, Matt 2987 3b 1b 2b stl nl 9.5
4 Pujols, Albert 1438 dh 1b ana al 8.0 Carter, Chris 2828 1b mil nl 9.5
5 Lee, Dae-Ho 3627 1b sea al 7.7 Freeman, Freddie 2887 1b atl nl 7.5
American League National League
2015-16 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 18.5 Votto, Joey 2366 1b cin nl 15.5
2 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 dh 1b tor al 18.4 Carpenter, Matt 2987 3b 1b 2b stl nl 15.0
3 Hosmer, Eric 2886 1b kc al 17.5 Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 1b ari nl 14.7
4 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 16.7 Myers, Wil 3228 1b sd nl 12.7
5 Pujols, Albert 1438 dh 1b ana al 15.0 Rizzo, Anthony 3063 1b chi nl 11.5
American League National League
2011-16 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 65.3 Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 1b ari nl 39.9
2 Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 49.4 Freeman, Freddie 2887 1b atl nl 38.7
3 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 dh 1b tor al 46.6 Holliday, Matt 1836 1b lf dh stl nl 37.7
4 Pujols, Albert 1438 dh 1b ana al 45.0 Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 1b lad nl 36.4
5 Napoli, Mike 2161 1b cle al 38.7 Howard, Ryan 2040 1b phi nl 32.4
All players (including retired) All active players
’95-’16 Player Pos Team BTP Player Pos Team BTP
1 Pujols, Albert 1438 dh 1b ana al 182.3 Pujols, Albert 1438 dh 1b ana al 182.3
2 thome, jim 1b dh Retired 146.7 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 144.9
3 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 144.9 Teixeira, Mark 1738 1b nyy al 101.3
4 giambi, jason 1b Retired 133.4 Howard, Ryan 2040 1b phi nl 98.7
5 Delgado, Carlos 1b Retired 117.7 Holliday, Matt 1836 lf 1b dh stl nl 97.8
What are those numbers after players' names?
Active players are shown on the team with whom they finished the 2016 season.

Albert Pujols leads all first basemen in career Box-Toppers points since 1995

Albert Pujols of the Angels has the most Box-Toppers points of any first baseman since tracking began in 1995.

Pujols has 182.3 career Box-Toppers points, ahead of second-place “all-time” first baseman, the retired Jim Thome (146.7). Pujols also leads among active first basemen in career points, ahead of second-place Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9).

The chart above shows the top five first basemen over several time frames. For the past season (2016), past two seasons (2015-16) and past six seasons (2011-16) the top five first basemen in each league are shown. The top five overall first basemen since 1995 (including those who have retired) are shown at the bottom left in the chart. The top five active first basemen in career Box-Toppers points are shown at the bottom right.

Pujols, with 182.3 career points, ranks seventh among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, second among all batters (behind Alex Rodriguez with 187.0). Pujols also appears among the top five American League first basemen for the past season (ranked fourth with 8.0 Box-Toppers points), the past two seasons (ranked fifth with 15.0 points) and past six seasons (ranked fourth with 45.0 points).

Pujols was primarily a designated hitter during 2016. But of the seven times he earned Player of the Game honors during the past season, he played first base in two of the games, enough to qualify him for the first base rankings. Over his career, Pujols has primarily played first base—in 10 of the 16 seasons he's earned Box-Toppers points, first base was his primary position.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers led all first basemen in Box-Toppers points over the past season with 12.0. Cabrera also leads all first basemen in points over the past six seasons (from 2011-2016) with 65.3 points. Cabrera also ranks fourth among AL first basemen over the past two seasons (2015-2016) with 16.7 points. His 144.9 career Box-Toppers points puts him in third place among all first basemen since 1995 and second among all active first basemen.

Chris Davis leads all AL first basemen over the past two seasons with 18.5 Box-Toppers points. Davis also ranks second among AL first basemen over the past six seasons with 49.4 points.

Joey Votto of the Reds leads all National League first basemen over the past season (10.5 Box-Toppers points) and past two seasons (15.5 points). Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks leads all NL first basemen over the past six seasons with 39.9 points, a total that would rank him fifth among AL first basemen over 2011-2016.

Three of the five active career leaders in Box-Toppers points among first basemen will change their status in the offseason. Third-ranked Mark Teixeria of the Yankees (101.3 Box-Toppers points) has retired, fourth-ranked Ryan Howard (98.7 points) was released by the Phillies and is reportedly looking to sign elsewhere and fifth-ranked Matt Holliday of the Cardinals (97.8 points) has signed with the Yankees for 2017.

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 Box-Toppers High by Position posts showing Box-Toppers points leaders by position over several time frames—past season (2016), past two seasons (2015-16), past six seasons (2011-16) and “all-time” (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began):

  • First base: Albert Pujols leads all-time, Miguel Cabrera leads past season and past six seasons.
  • Second base: Jeff Kent leads all-time, Jose Altuve leads past season.
  • Shortstop: Miguel Tejada leads all-time over Derek Jeter.
  • Third base: Alex Rodriguez leads all-time, Manny Machado and Adrian Beltre lead in recent seasons.
  • Catcher: Mike Piazza leads all-time, Brian McCann leads active catchers in career points.
  • Outfield: Manny Ramirez leads all-time, Carlos Beltran leads active outfielders in career points, Mike Trout leads in recent seasons.
  • Designated hitter: Albert Pujols leads all-time, Kendrys Morales and Edwin Encarnacion lead in recent seasons.
  • Pitcher: Randy Johnson leads all-time, CC Sabathia and Clayton Kershaw lead active pitchers in career points.
  • Closing pitcher: Trevor Hoffman leads all-time over all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera.