Here is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2020.
Detail leaders 2020
Here are Box-Toppers point leaders for 2020 broken down according to several factors, including by position and league. Included here are:▶︎ Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
▶︎ Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
▶︎ The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the “dippers” are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2019; the “risers” are players whose point total climbed the most from 2019.
▶︎ Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
| 2020 OVERALL | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 2 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.7 |
| 4 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 9.1 |
| 5 | Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 9.0 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 8.4 |
| 8 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 |
| 10 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 |
| 2020 AL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 2 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 9.1 |
| 3 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 8.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.4 |
| 6 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 7.0 |
| 7 | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 |
| 8 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 6.4 |
| 9 | Ryu, Hyun Jin 3139 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 6.0 |
| 2020 AL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Voit, Luke 4053 | 1b | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 2 | Jimenez, Eloy 4107 | lf | chi al | 5.5 |
| 3 | Kepler, Max 3664 | rf | min al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | lf | hou al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 4.5 |
| 6 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 4.5 |
| 7 | Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 4.5 |
| 8 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b ph | min al | 4.0 |
| 9 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 10 | Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 1b 3b | det al | 4.0 |
| 2020 NL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.7 |
| 3 | Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 |
| 7 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.7 |
| 8 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 |
| 9 | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 10 | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.0 |
| 2020 NL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | atl nl | 4.5 |
| 2 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 1b dh 3b 2b | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 3 | Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | sd nl | 4.5 |
| 4 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf dh rf ph | atl nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Ruf, Darin 3575 | lf dh | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 6 | Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 3.7 |
| 7 | Heyward, Jason 2695 | rf | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 8 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b ph | atl nl | 3.5 |
| 9 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 3.5 |
| 10 | Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | phi nl | 3.5 |
| 2020 AL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Voit, Luke 4053 | 1b | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 2 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 4.5 |
| 3 | Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 1b 3b | det al | 4.0 |
| 4 | Tellez, Rowdy 4078 | 1b dh | tor al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b lf | bos al | 3.0 |
| 2020 AL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b rf | tor al | 3.5 |
| 2 | LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | nyy al | 3.5 |
| 3 | Wendle, Joey 3756 | 3b 2b ph | tb al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | 2b 1b rf dh | min al | 2.5 |
| 5 | Solak, Nick 4227 | cf lf dh 2b | tex al | 2.5 |
| 2020 AL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 4.5 |
| 2 | Mondesi, Adalberto 3750 | ss | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Semien, Marcus 3302 | ss | oak al | 2.0 |
| 4 | Crawford, J.P. 3937 | ss | sea al | 2.0 |
| 5 | Goodrum, Niko 3932 | ss 2b 1b rf 3b | det al | 2.0 |
| 2020 AL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b ph | min al | 4.0 |
| 2 | Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 1b 3b | det al | 4.0 |
| 3 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b dh | cle al | 3.5 |
| 4 | Wendle, Joey 3756 | 3b 2b ph | tb al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 2.5 |
| 2020 AL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Jansen, Danny 4163 | ca | tor al | 2.5 |
| 2 | Vazquez, Christian 3380 | ca | bos al | 2.0 |
| 3 | McCann, James 3649 | ca | chi al | 1.7 |
| 4 | Sanchez, Gary 3701 | ca | nyy al | 1.5 |
| 5 | Murphy, Sean 4246 | ca | oak al | 1.5 |
| 2020 AL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Jimenez, Eloy 4107 | lf | chi al | 5.5 |
| 2 | Kepler, Max 3664 | rf | min al | 5.0 |
| 3 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | lf | hou al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 4.5 |
| 5 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b rf | tor al | 3.5 |
| 7 | Grichuk, Randal 3474 | cf | tor al | 3.0 |
| 8 | Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b lf | bos al | 3.0 |
| 9 | Piscotty, Stephen 3570 | rf | oak al | 2.7 |
| 10 | Marmolejos, Jose 4314 | 1b lf | sea al | 2.7 |
| 2020 AL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Reyes, Franmil 4036 | dh | cle al | 3.5 |
| 2 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b dh | cle al | 3.5 |
| 3 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | min al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Tellez, Rowdy 4078 | 1b dh | tor al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | 2b 1b rf dh | min al | 2.5 |
| 2020 NL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 1b dh 3b 2b | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 2 | Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 3.7 |
| 3 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b ph | atl nl | 3.5 |
| 4 | Vogelbach, Daniel 4070 | dh 1b | mil nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Moustakas, Mike 2967 | 1b 2b 3b | cin nl | 2.5 |
| 2020 NL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 1b dh 3b 2b | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 2 | Taylor, Chris 3684 | ss 2b lf | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 3 | Gosselin, Philip 3398 | dh 2b lf ph | phi nl | 2.7 |
| 4 | Moustakas, Mike 2967 | 1b 2b 3b | cin nl | 2.5 |
| 5 | Bote, David 4032 | 2b ph | chi nl | 2.5 |
| 2020 NL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | phi nl | 3.5 |
| 2 | Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss | fla nl | 3.5 |
| 3 | Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 3.5 |
| 4 | Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | dc nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 2020 NL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 1b dh 3b 2b | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 2 | Davis, J.D. 4146 | lf 3b dh | nym nl | 3.5 |
| 3 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Moustakas, Mike 2967 | 1b 2b 3b | cin nl | 2.5 |
| 5 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 2020 NL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 3.5 |
| 2 | Smith, Will (William Dills) 4175 | ca | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 3 | Molina, Yadier 1967 | ca | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca | atl nl | 1.5 |
| 2020 NL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | atl nl | 4.5 |
| 2 | Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | sd nl | 4.5 |
| 3 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf dh rf ph | atl nl | 4.0 |
| 4 | Ruf, Darin 3575 | lf dh | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Heyward, Jason 2695 | rf | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 6 | Davis, J.D. 4146 | lf 3b dh | nym nl | 3.5 |
| 7 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | lf | pit nl | 3.0 |
| 8 | Taylor, Chris 3684 | ss 2b lf | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 9 | Pollock, A.J. 3142 | lf dh cf | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 10 | Gosselin, Philip 3398 | dh 2b lf ph | phi nl | 2.7 |
| 2020 NL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | atl nl | 4.5 |
| 2 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 1b dh 3b 2b | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 3 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf dh rf ph | atl nl | 4.0 |
| 4 | Ruf, Darin 3575 | lf dh | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Davis, J.D. 4146 | lf 3b dh | nym nl | 3.5 |
| 2020 DIPPERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | -26.5 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | -24.8 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | -20.7 |
| 4 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | -17.7 |
| 5 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | -16.8 |
| 6 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | dc nl | -16.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | -15.9 |
| 8 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | sd nl | -15.4 |
| 9 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | nyy al | -14.1 |
| 10 | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp | chi al | -13.1 |
| 2020 RISERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.7 |
| 2 | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.3 |
| 4 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | lf | hou al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
| 6 | Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 1b 3b | det al | 4.0 |
| 7 | Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | sd nl | 4.0 |
| 8 | Ruf, Darin 3575 | lf dh | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 9 | Bard, Daniel 2657 | pi cp mr | col nl | 4.0 |
| 10 | Foster, Matt 4281 | pi mr | chi al | 4.0 |
| 2020 AL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | oak al | 4.0 |
| 2 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp mr | kc al | 3.0 |
| 3 | Pressly, Ryan 3186 | pi cp | hou al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Mayers, Mike 3983 | pi cp mr | ana al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Dolis, Rafael 3015 | pi cp | tor al | 3.0 |
| 2020 AL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp mr | hou al | 4.7 |
| 2 | Foster, Matt 4281 | pi mr | chi al | 4.0 |
| 3 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi mr sp | tb al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp mr | kc al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Mayers, Mike 3983 | pi cp mr | ana al | 3.0 |
| 2020 NL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | sd nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Bard, Daniel 2657 | pi cp mr | col nl | 4.0 |
| 3 | Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp cp mr | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 4 | Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp cp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Hudson, Dan 2776 | pi cp mr | dc nl | 2.0 |
| 2020 NL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bard, Daniel 2657 | pi cp mr | col nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp cp mr | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 3 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp mr | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp mr | sf nl | 2.7 |
| 5 | Alzolay, Adbert 4170 | pi sp mr | chi nl | 2.7 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
➜ Players are listed by the position they predominantly played when they earned Box-Toppers points (by earning Player of the Game honors).
➜ Players are listed with the team on which they finished the season. Some players played on two or more teams in a single season.
➜ DIPPERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point decline.
➜ RISERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point increase.
➜ Note: If players have the same Box-Toppers point total, ties are broken based on which player had more Box-Toppers points in the previous season (or the previous season before that—and so on, if those point totals are tied).
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications, including:
Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the "dippers" are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2019; the "risers" are players whose point total climbed the most from 2019.
Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
Highlights include:
Short season—The most predominant feature of the 2020 season was the fact it was shortened from 162 games to 60 games because of the coronavirus pandemic. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached America in March, Major League Baseball suspended spring training and the early part of the regular season which was due to start March 26. A reduced slate of games began July 23, amounting to only 37 percent of regular season games. It was baseball’s shortest regular season since 1878.
Top overall player for 2020—Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is Box-Toppers 2020 Player of the Year, leading all players with 11.4 Box-Toppers points for the season. He also led American League pitchers.
Top NL pitcher for 2020—Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer led National League pitchers in 2020 with 10.0 Box-Toppers points, second overall.
Top overall batters for 2020—Luke Voit of the Yankees led AL batters with 6.0 Box-Toppers points. Marcell Ozuna of the Braves led NL batters with 4.5 points.
Top batters by position—The chart shows the top AL and NL batters by position, including the top five first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen, catchers and designated hitters in both the AL and NL. (In 2020, due to the shortened season, the designated hitter became a full-time position in the NL. This is the first season Box-Toppers has tracked leading NL designated hitters. It is unclear if the designated hitter rule with continue in the NL in 2021 and beyond or whether there will be return to having NL pitchers bat.) Also shown are the top 10 outfielders in each league.
Dippers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2019 to 2020. Astros pitcher Justin Verlander had the biggest decline of 26.5 points. He earned 27.5 points in 2019 (ranked second overall that season) and 1.0 point in 2020, before being sidelined with an injury requiring Tommy John surgery. Verlander missed the remainder of the 2020 season and is likely to miss all of the 2021 season.
Risers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from 2019 to 2020. Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes had the biggest increase of 7.7 points, earning no points in 2019 and earning 7.7 in 2020. Burnes had earned 3.0 points in 2018.
Relief pitchers—The chart shows the top five closing and relief pitchers in both the AL and NL for 2019. Liam Hendriks of the Athletics led AL closing pitchers with 4.0 Box-Toppers points. Trevor Rosenthal of the Padres led NL closers with 4.0 points (Rosenthal also played for the Royals in 2020). Framber Valdez of the Astros led AL middle relievers with 4.7 points. Daniel Bard of the Rockies led NL middle relievers with 4.0 points. Some relievers had more than one role through the season and are ranked as both a closer and a middle reliever.
Box-Toppers has tracked each game played since the start of the 1995 season. A season-by-season look at Box-Toppers’ detail leaders for all 26 seasons—a sprawling, scrolling chart—can be found at this link. Like the chart here, it shows the top groups of players at different positions and by different categories or classifications, but this chart shows every season from 1995 to 2020. For example, who was the top AL first baseman in 1996? Who was the top NL closing pitcher in 1999? Whose Box-Toppers point total rose the most from 2004 to 2005? And who was the top NL second baseman in 2008? It’s all there.
(Answers, by the way are: Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox with 18.6 points, Billy Wagner of the Astros with 15.0 points, Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins, who rose 12.7 points from 2004 to 2005 and Chase Utley of the Phillies with 12.0 points.)
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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.