Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players of 2021.
Top 100 players of 2021
Here are Box-Toppers Top 100 players of 2021, ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP).| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 22.4 |
| 3 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 21.1 |
| 4 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | tor al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 17.4 |
| 8 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.1 |
| 9 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 10 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 11 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.1 |
| 12 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 16.1 |
| 13 | Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 15.7 |
| 14 | Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.5 |
| 15 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 16 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | bos al | 14.1 |
| 17 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 13.7 |
| 18 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.7 |
| 19 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.4 |
| 20 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 13.1 |
| 21 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 13.0 |
| 22 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.0 |
| 23 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 12.7 |
| 24 | DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | sf nl | 12.7 |
| 25 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | atl nl | 12.7 |
| 26 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 12.7 |
| 27 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 28 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 12.4 |
| 29 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 12.0 |
| 30 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 11.8 |
| 31 | Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp | cle al | 11.7 |
| 32 | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | cin nl | 11.7 |
| 33 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | chi al | 11.7 |
| 34 | Flexen, Chris 4368 | pi sp | sea al | 11.7 |
| 35 | Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | cin nl | 11.5 |
| 36 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 37 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | sd nl | 11.4 |
| 38 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 10.7 |
| 39 | Miley, Wade 3006 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.7 |
| 40 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | bos al | 10.7 |
| 41 | Manoah, Alek 4424 | pi sp | tor al | 10.7 |
| 42 | Lowe, Brandon 4108 | 2b | tb al | 10.5 |
| 43 | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | 10.4 |
| 44 | Fedde, Erick 4065 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 45 | Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 10.2 |
| 46 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 47 | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 10.0 |
| 48 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 49 | Garcia, Luis 4423 | pi sp | hou al | 10.0 |
| 50 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi sp mr | tb al | 9.7 |
| 51 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 9.7 |
| 52 | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | pi sp | nyy al | 9.7 |
| 53 | Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 9.7 |
| 54 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.4 |
| 55 | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | fla nl | 9.4 |
| 56 | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.4 |
| 57 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | tor al | 9.4 |
| 58 | Ryu, Hyun Jin 3139 | pi sp | tor al | 9.0 |
| 59 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.0 |
| 60 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 61 | Means, John 4115 | pi sp | bal al | 9.0 |
| 62 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 9.0 |
| 63 | Gomber, Austin 3985 | pi sp | col nl | 9.0 |
| 64 | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | fla nl | 9.0 |
| 65 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 9.0 |
| 66 | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp mr | phi nl | 9.0 |
| 67 | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 68 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 8.7 |
| 69 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 8.7 |
| 70 | Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi cp | phi nl | 8.7 |
| 71 | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 8.7 |
| 72 | Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 8.5 |
| 73 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 8.5 |
| 74 | Urquidy, Jose 4194 | pi sp | hou al | 8.4 |
| 75 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 8.0 |
| 76 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | rf lf | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 77 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | cf | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 78 | O’Neill, Tyler 4074 | lf | stl nl | 8.0 |
| 79 | Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | oak al | 8.0 |
| 80 | Houser, Adrian 4162 | pi sp | mil nl | 8.0 |
| 81 | Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 82 | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 |
| 83 | Mize, Casey 4377 | pi sp | det al | 7.7 |
| 84 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 7.5 |
| 85 | Winker, Jesse 3988 | lf | cin nl | 7.5 |
| 86 | France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sea al | 7.5 |
| 87 | Walsh, Jared 4332 | 1b | ana al | 7.5 |
| 88 | Crawford, Brandon 2878 | ss | sf nl | 7.5 |
| 89 | Haniger, Mitch 3772 | rf | sea al | 7.5 |
| 90 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.4 |
| 91 | Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | ana al | 7.4 |
| 92 | Kaprielian, James 4416 | pi sp | oak al | 7.4 |
| 93 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | rf | hou al | 7.2 |
| 94 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 7.2 |
| 95 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | tb al | 7.1 |
| 96 | Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | chi al | 7.0 |
| 97 | Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 7.0 |
| 98 | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 |
| 99 | Anderson, Ian 4312 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 100 | Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 7.0 |
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Scherzer had 25.1 Box-Toppers points during the regular season. It is his fourth season with 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Only two other players have as many or more seasons with 25.0 or more points:
Randy Johnson, who leads all players in career Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995 (282.5), had five seasons with 25.0 points.
Pedro Martinez who ranks third in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (244.8), had four seasons with 25.0 points.
Scherzer ranks fourth in career Box-Toppers points (226.3). Clayton Kershaw, who ranks second in career points (248.6) has three seasons with 25.0 or more points.
There have been 30 times a player has reached 25.0 points in a single season since 1995. All four of Scherzer’s 25.0-point seasons rank among the six lowest of those 30:
In 2016, he earned 25.7 points with the Nationals, the 25th-highest single-season point total.
In 2018, he earned 25.1 points with the Nationals, tied for the 27th-highest single-season point total.
In 2021, he earned 25.1 points with the Nationals and Dodgers, tied for the 27th-highest single-season point total.
In 2017, he earned 25.0 points with the Nationals, the 30th-highest single-season point total.
Scherzer earned his 25.1 Box-Toppers points by being Box-Toppers Player of the Game in 16 of his team’s wins, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point each time. He won nine Player of the Game honors with the Nationals before being traded to the Dodgers at the end of July, where he won seven more.
In addition, Scherzer earned bonus points:
Three times for being National League Player of the Day—once with the Nationals and twice with the Dodgers (0.7 extra points each time, for a total of 2.1 more Box-Toppers points).
Seven times for being overall Player of the Day—twice with the Nationals and five times with the Dodgers (1.0 extra point each time, for a total of 7.0 more Box-Toppers points).
Scherzer earned the win in 15 games. He failed to earn Player of the Game honors in only two of the games in which he earned the win. However, he did earn Player of the Game honors in three other games that his team won in which another pitcher picked up the win and he earned a no-decision. He picked up Player of the Game honors in a no-decision once with the Nationals (April 16) and twice with the Dodgers (Aug. 10 and Sept. 1).
At July’s All-Star break, Scherzer ranked seventh among National League pitchers with 9.7 Box-Toppers points. He surged after his trade to the Dodgers, winning Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in eight of his first nine starts from Aug. 4 to Sept. 18, gaining 14.4 points over that span. He moved into first place overall Sept. 12 with 23.1 points, passing Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who finished the season second place overall with 22.4 points.
Gerrit Cole led AL players, ranked 2nd overall
Cole, who led all American League players, led all players during three different intervals in 2021, leading for a total of 51 days, second-most. Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow led all players the most days in 2021 (58, during three different intervals). But Glasnow was passed by Cole June 16 and did not pitch after that in 2021, undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery. Despite leading Box-Toppers season player rankings the longest, Glasnow finished 23rd on Box-Toppers list of top 100 players for 2021 with 12.7 points.
Cole earned his 22.4 Box-Toppers points by winning Player of the Game honors 15 times, including AL Player of the Day honors twice and overall Player of the Day honors seven times.
Despite their commanding leads among their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points, neither Scherzer nor Cole won their league Cy Young Awards.
Scherzer finished third among NL pitchers in Cy Young voting behind winner Corbin Burnes of the Brewers (18.1 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL pitchers and fifth overall) and runner-up Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (21.1 Box-Toppers points, second among NL pitchers and third overall).
Cole finished second among AL pitchers in Cy Young voting, behind Robbie Ray of the Blue Jays (17.7 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers and sixth overall).
It took 7.0 Box-Toppers points for a player to make the top 100 list—Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson took the 100th spot with 7.0 points. He earned them by being Player of the Game in five of the Braves’ wins, including being National League Batter of the Day twice (earning an extra 0.5 bonus points each time) and overall Player of the Day once on July 31 (earning an extra 1.0 bonus point), giving him 7.0 total points.
Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his teams win. 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.
Notable players among the top 100
Here are some other highlights from the top 100 list:
1., 4. and 10. Three Dodgers pitchers are among the top 10 overall players, which helped propel the team to an overwhelming first-place regular season finish in Box-Toppers team rankings. Scherzer finished first with 25.1 Box-Toppers points, Julio Urias was fourth with 19.1 and Walker Buehler was 10th with 16.7. (It should be noted Scherzer pitched for the Nationals until the end of July when he was traded to the Dodgers. Still the bulk of his points—14.4 of 25.1—were earned during the final two months of the season with the Dodgers.) The Dodgers led Box-Toppers team rankings with team members accumulating 146.7 Box-Toppers points, ahead of the second-place Chicago White Sox (124.9).
5. Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes, voted NL Cy Young Award winner, had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL pitchers, behind Scherzer (25.1), Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (21.1) and Urias (19.1).
6. Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray, voted AL Cy Young Award winner, had 17.7 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers, behind Cole’s 22.4.
12. Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, voted AL Most Valuable Player, had 16.1 Box-Toppers points, third among all AL players, behind Cole (22.4) and Ray (17.7). While Ohtani played the vast majority of his games in 2021 as a batter, he did not qualify to rank among batters in Box-Toppers tracking because he won the overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors as a pitcher. He earned Player of the Game honors 12 times in 2021, nine as a starting pitcher and three as a designated hitter.
21. Jose Ramirez of the Indians led all batters (and all AL batters) with 13.0 Box-Toppers points.
35. Nick Castellanos of the Reds led NL batters with 11.5 Box-Toppers points.
41. Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah had the most Box-Toppers points among rookies with 10.7, 15th among AL pitchers.
54. Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, who led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (10.0 with the Reds) had 9.4 points in 2021, 28th among NL pitchers. Bauer did this despite missing the entire second half of the season after being placed on administrative leave while he was under investigation for sexual assault.
64. Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers had the most Box-Toppers points among NL rookies with 9.0, 33rd among NL pitchers.
70. Ian Kennedy of the Phillies led all closing pitchers with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all NL pitchers.
Other notable players not among the top 100:
111. Indians pitcher Shane Bieber had 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 38th among AL pitchers. Bieber led all players in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with 11.4 Box-Toppers points.
165. Bryce Harper of the Phillies had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, 28th among NL batters. Harper was voted NL Most Valuable Player for 2021.
238. Randy Arozarena of the Rays had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, 51st among AL batters. Arozarena was voted 2021 AL Rookie of the Year.
265. Jonathan India of the Reds had 3.7 Box-Toppers points, 48th among NL batters. India was voted 2021 NL Rookie of the Year.
Top 100 breakdown by position and team
Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers, especially in the short term, so most of the top 100 players are pitchers (74). That’s more than were in the top 100 in the previous two seasons—2020 (62) and 2019 (71), but fewer than in 2018 (82).
Here is a breakdown of this year’s top 100 players by their primary position:
72—Starting pitcher
8—Outfield (5 RF, 2 LF, 1 CF)
7—First base
4—Third base
4—Shortstop
2—Closing pitcher
1—Designated hitter
1—Second base
1—Catcher
0—Middle relief pitcher
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The World Series champion Atlanta Braves have the most players among the top 100—seven:
25. Charlie Morton, starting pitcher, 12.7 points.
30. Max Fried, starting pitcher, 11.8 points.
72. Austin Riley, third baseman, 8.5 points.
76. Adam Duvall, outfielder, 8.0 points.
81. Drew Smyly, starting pitcher, 7.7 points.
99. Ian Anderson, starting pitcher, 7.0 points.
100. Dansby Swanson, shortstop, 7.0 points.
The Braves finished fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings with players on its roster at the end of the season accumulating 122.4 Box-Toppers points in 2021. They finished behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (146.7), Chicago White Sox (124.9), San Francisco Giants (124.6) and Milwaukee Brewers (122.8).
Four teams each have six players among the top 100—the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. Four teams each have five players among the top 100—Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics.
Four teams had no representatives among the top 100—the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. The Cubs top player was pitcher Zach Davies (6.0 points, 135th overall). The Royals top player was pitcher Mike Minor (6.4 points, 128th overall). The Twins top player was Michael Pineda (7.0 points, 101st overall). And the Rangers top player was pitcher Jordan Lyles (7.0 points, 106th overall).
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This season, 779 different players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. There were 395 players who had more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points and 49 with 10.0 or more points. There were 207 players who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2021, earning Player of the Game honors for the first time.
Here are comparisons with those numbers from recent seasons (the 2020 season was shortened from 162 to 60 games because of the pandemic):
Players earning Player of the Game honors—2020 (497), 2019 (767), 2018 (744), 2017 (763), 2016 (730), 2015 (751), 2014 (722).
Players earning more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points—2020 (129), 2019 (400), 2018 (400), 2017 (409), 2016 (395), 2015 (402), 2014 (399).
Players earning 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—2020 (2), 2019 (44), 2018 (52), 2017 (38), 2016 (54), 2015 (47), 2014 (58).
Players making their Box-Toppers debut—2020 (96), 2019 (184), 2018 (175), 2017 (169), 2016 (151), 2015 (172), 2014 (135).
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Related
Top 100 players in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014.