Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points over past 6 seasons (2016-21)

Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2016.

Box-Toppers points leaders for 2016-21

OVERALL LEADERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp lad nl 120.3
2 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 93.5
3 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 89.3
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 86.7
5 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp hou al 82.0
6 Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 71.7
7 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 71.6
8 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp hou al 71.4
9 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp nyy al 69.9
10 Bauer, Trevor 3065 pi sp lad nl 68.7
AL PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 93.5
2 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp hou al 82.0
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 71.6
4 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp hou al 71.4
5 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp nyy al 69.9
6 Ray, Robbie 3502 pi sp tor al 57.8
7 Maeda, Kenta 3609 pi sp min al 53.5
8 Berrios, Jose 3791 pi sp tor al 49.9
9 Paxton, James 3280 pi sp sea al 49.2
10 Lynn, Lance 2992 pi sp chi al 48.2
AL BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Martinez, J.D. 2922 dh bos al 42.7
2 Trout, Mike 2949 cf ana al 39.7
3 Rizzo, Anthony 3063 1b nyy al 36.0
4 Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 dh tb al 35.7
5 Ramirez, Jose 3436 3b cle al 35.5
6 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 dh nyy al 35.2
7 Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b ph min al 30.7
8 Judge, Aaron 3767 rf nyy al 30.2
9 Bogaerts, Xander 3383 ss bos al 29.7
10 Seager, Kyle 3031 3b sea al 29.7
NL PITCHERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp lad nl 120.3
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 89.3
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 86.7
4 Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 71.7
5 Bauer, Trevor 3065 pi sp lad nl 68.7
6 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 66.0
7 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp nym nl 66.0
8 Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp sd nl 62.0
9 Snell, Blake 3688 pi sp sd nl 61.3
10 Morton, Charlie 2503 pi sp atl nl 59.0
NL BATTERS POS TEAM BTP
1 Arenado, Nolan 3306 3b stl nl 43.9
2 Yelich, Christian 3334 lf mil nl 40.7
3 Betts, Mookie 3404 cf rf lad nl 37.3
4 Freeman, Freddie 2887 1b atl nl 36.2
5 Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 1b stl nl 35.9
6 Machado, Manny 3087 3b sd nl 34.3
7 Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 rf cin nl 34.0
8 Ozuna, Marcell 3190 lf dh atl nl 33.2
9 Realmuto, J.T. 3491 ca phi nl 32.7
10 Harper, Bryce 3011 rf phi nl 32.5
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Scherzer has 120.3 Box-Toppers points over the period 2016-2021, 26.8 points ahead of second-ranked player Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who has 93.5 points over that span.

It is the fourth straight year Scherzer has led the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total:

Scherzer led all players in the first season (2016) and last season (2021) of the six-year time span:

  • In 2016, he had 25.7 points, first among all players.

  • In 2017, he had 25.0 points, second overall and first among NL pitchers.

  • In 2018, he had 25.1 points, second overall and first among NL pitchers.

  • In 2019, he had 15.4 points, 15th overall and ninth among NL pitchers.

  • In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he had 4.0 points, 45th among all players and 18th among NL pitchers.

  • In 2021, he had 25.1 points, first among all players.

Scherzer was with the Nationals from 2016 through the end of July 2021, when he was traded to the Dodgers. He has since signed a free agent deal with the Mets, where he will play in 2022.

Scherzer ranks ahead of second-place NL pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who has 89.3 Box-Toppers points over 2016-2021.

The players who make these top 10 charts over the period 2016-21 have demonstrated their long-term staying power. Weeded out are players who have single-season, flash-in-the-pan success and relative newcomers who haven’t yet proven their longevity. But it also rewards dominant players of the recent past whose success has waned lately.

AL pitchers

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole leads American League pitchers over the past six seasons with 93.5 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. He ranks second among all players over that span, behind Scherzer.

This is the second season Cole has led AL pitchers in the six-year rolling total. After 2020, he had 90.1 points over 2015-20.

Cole leads second-place AL pitcher Justin Verlander of the Astros, who has 82.0 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. Verlander still ranks second over the six-year period despite earning only 1.0 point in the past two seasons. He earned 1.0 point in 2020 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and sitting out the entire 2021 season. Verlander had four straight seasons from 2016-19 with 14.7 or more Box-Toppers points, including 2018 (24.1) and 2019 (27.5), in which he ranked second among AL pitchers both seasons.

Here is a look at how Cole ranked in each of the past six seasons:

  • 2016—6.5 points with the Pirates, 136th overall, 44th among NL pitchers.

  • 2017—7.0 points with the Pirates, 101st overall, 33rd among NL pitchers.

  • 2018—18.0 points with the Astros, eighth overall, sixth among AL pitchers.

  • 2019—32.2 points with the Astros, first overall, fourth-highest single-season point total since tracking began in 1995.

  • 2020—7.4 points with the Yankees, 12th overall, fifth among AL pitchers.

  • 2021–22.4 points with the Yankees, second overall, first among AL pitchers.

AL batters

J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox leads AL batters over the past six seasons with 42.7 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. He leads the second-place AL batter, Mike Trout of the Angels (39.7), by 3.0 points.

Last season, Martinez ranked sixth among AL batters over 2015-20 with 33.7 Box-Toppers points.

Martinez led AL batters in 2018 with 12.5 Box-Toppers points and ranked second in 2021 with 10.7 points, the only two times in the past six seasons he has been among the top 10 AL batters. Martinez earned 0.0 points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Trout had led AL batters over a six-year period for the previous two years (54.7 over 2014-19 and 50.7 over 2015-20). He fell to second after earning only 1.0 point in 2021, as he was out injured much of the season.

NL batters

Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals leads NL batters over the past six seasons with 43.9 Box-Toppers points over 2016-21. It is the second straight year Arenado has led NL batters in the six-year rolling total—he had 43.4 points over 2015-20.

Arenado leads second-ranked NL batter Christian Yelich of the Brewers (40.7). Here is a look at Arenado’s past six seasons and his rank each season among NL batters:

  • 2016—10.7, first.

  • 2017—9.2, fifth.

  • 2018—5.0, 31st.

  • 2019—9.0, sixth.

  • 2020—1.0, 80th.

  • 2021–9.0, fourth.

Players are shown here with the teams they were on at the end of 2021. Only players active at the end of 2021 are listed.

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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