Box-Toppers’ big dippers—players whose 2021 point total declined most from 2020: Dinelson Lamet leads list

Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2020 to 2021.

Big dippers

Here are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2020 to 2021. Players are listed in order of their Box-Toppers point decline. Their Box-Toppers points (BTP) for 2021, if any, are also shown.

Player Pos Team Dip BTP
1 Lamet, Dinelson 3808 pi mr sp sd nl -7.0 2.0
2 Kepler, Max 3664 rf min al -5.0
3 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp nym nl -5.0
4 Bundy, Dylan 3655 pi sp ana al -5.0 2.0
5 Bieber, Shane 4005 pi sp cle al -4.7 6.7
6 Ozuna, Marcell 3190 lf dh atl nl -4.5
7 Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 pi cp oak al -4.0
8 Brault, Steven 3911 pi sp pit nl -4.0
9 LeMahieu, DJ 3091 2b nyy al -3.5
10 Grisham, Trent 4246 cf sd nl -3.5 1.0
11 Trout, Mike 2949 cf ana al -3.5 1.0
12 Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 3b 1b dh 2b cin nl -3.5 1.0
13 Lakins, Travis 4280 pi mr cp bal al -3.0
13 Sanchez, Sixto 4335 pi sp fla nl -3.0
13 Dolis, Rafael 3015 pi cp tor al -3.0
16 Chavis, Michael 4127 1b lf pit nl -3.0
17 Lugo, Seth 3729 pi sp cp nym nl -3.0
18 Foster, Matt 4281 pi cp mr chi al -3.0 1.0
19 Bard, Daniel 2657 pi cp mr col nl -3.0 1.0
20 Mills, Alec 4052 pi sp chi nl -3.0 1.0
21 Keller, Brad 4008 pi sp kc al -3.0 3.0
22 Voit, Luke 4053 1b nyy al -3.0 3.0
23 Marmolejos, Jose 4314 1b lf sea al -2.7
24 Cahill, Trevor 2658 pi sp mr pit nl -2.7
25 Piscotty, Stephen 3570 rf oak al -2.7
Dip: Decline in Box-Toppers point total from 2020 to 2021.
BTP: Box-Toppers points
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Lamet, who earned 9.0 Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (fifth among all players and third among National League pitchers), earned 2.0 points in 2021. After a stellar 2020 season, he battled injury early in 2021, struggled and went from a starter to a bullpen pitcher.

Lamet’s 7.0-point decline was ahead of 5.0-point declines by Max Kepler of the Twins, Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco and Angels pitcher Dylan Bundy. Kepler and Carrasco earned no Box-Toppers points in 2021 after both earned 5.0 points in 2020. Bundy earned 2.0 points in 2021 after earning 7.0 points in 2020 (seventh among AL pitchers). 

Kepler ranked third among American League batters in 2020 but failed to win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors once in 121 games played in 2021. Carrasco had 5.0 points with the Indians in 12 starts in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but failed to win Player of the Game honors and struggled in 12 starts with the Mets in 2021. Bundy earned his 7.0 points in 2020 in just 11 starts, but earned only 2.0 points in 2021 despite having more than twice as many starts (23).

Due to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Lamet’s 7.0-point decline is the lowest among Box-Toppers big dippers from one season to the next since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Previously, the record was held by pitcher Mel Rojas, who had a 12.0-point decline from 1996 (14.0 with the Expos) to 1997 (2.0 with the Cubs and Mets). (See the top 10 big dippers each season from 1996 to 2021 on the Detail Leaders page, scroll about three-quarters down the page.)

The largest dip in points from one season to the next is 28.7 by pitcher Randy Johnson, who earned a single-season record 33.7 in 2002 with the Diamondbacks and earned just 5.0 in 2003.

Biggest dipping batters

Kepler’s 5.0-point decline was the biggest among batters from 2020 to 2021. Marcell Ozuna of the Braves had the second-biggest decline among batters (4.5 points, sixth among all dippers). Ozuna led NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the previous two seasons (12.0 in 2019 and 4.5 in 2020) before earning 0.0 points in 2020. Ozuna played only through May 25, appearing in just 48 games in 2021 and was placed on administrative leave under baseball’s domestic violence policy. He has since been suspended retroactively 20 games.

Here are the next-biggest declines by batters from 2020 to 2021:

  • DJ Lemahieu of the Yankees dipped 3.5 points from 3.5 in 2020 to 0.0 in 2021.

  • Trent Grisham of the Padres dipped 3.5 points from 4.5 in 2020 to 1.0 in 2021.

  • Mike Trout of the Angels dipped 3.5 points from 4.5 in 2020 to 1.0 in 2021. Trout played just 36 games in 2021 after playing 53 of the 60 games in 2020. He suffered a right calf strain May 17, which turned into a season-ending injury. Trout ranked second among AL batters over the period 2016-21 with 39.7 Box-Toppers points, trailing only J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (42.7).

  • Asdrubal Cabrera of the Reds dipped 3.5 points from 4.5 in 2020 to 1.0 in 2021.

2020 category leaders among 2021 big dippers

In addition to Ozuna, who led NL batters in 2020, two other category leaders from 2020 are also among the top 25 big dippers in 2021:

  • Indians pitcher Shane Bieber, who led all players and all AL pitchers in 2020 with 11.4 Box-Toppers points, had the fifth-biggest dip among all players, declining 4.7 points to 6.7 in 2021. Bieber was limited to 16 starts in 2021 and was out from mid-June to late-September with a shoulder strain. Of all 25 of the players whose point total declined most from 2020 to 2021, Bieber earned the most points (6.7) in 2021.

  • Luke Voit of the Yankees, who led AL batters in 2020 with 6.0 Box-Toppers points, had the 22nd-biggest dip among all players, declining 3.0 points to 3.0 in 2021. Voit played in just 68 games in 2021, battling injury.

The other 2020 category leader, NL pitching leader Trevor Bauer of the Reds was not among the top 25 big dippers despite playing only half the season in 2021. Bauer earned 10.0 points with the Reds in 2020 to lead NL pitchers. He earned nearly as many, 9.4, in 2021 with the Dodgers, despite being placed on administrative leave July 2 through the end of the season for investigation into sexual assault.

Eleven of the 25 players on the big dippers list earned Box-Toppers points in 2021, most notably Bieber, who earned the 6.7 points, most among the top 25 dippers.

2020 top improvers among 2021 big dippers

Seven of the 25 players on the big dippers list were also among the top 25 improvers in points from 2019 to 2020, including:

  • Dinelson Lamet, Padres, who ranked third with a 5.3-point rise from 3.7 in 2019 to 9.0 in 2020. He led 2021 big dippers with a 7.0-point decline.

  • Trevor Rosenthal, Athletics, who ranked seventh with a 4.0-point rise from 0.0 in 2019 to 4.0 in 2020. He ranked seventh among 2021 big dippers with a 4.0-point decline.

  • Daniel Bard, Rockies, who ranked ninth with a 4.0-point rise from 0.0 in 2019 to 4.0 in 2020. He ranked 19th among 2021 big dippers with a 3.0-point decline.

  • Matt Foster, White Sox, who ranked tied for 10th with a 4.0-point rise from 0.0 in 2019 to 4.0 in 2020. He ranked 18th among 2021 big dippers with a 3.0-point decline.

  • Rafael Dolis, Blue Jays, who ranked 21st with a 3.0-point rise from 0.0 in 2019 to 3.0 in 2020. He ranked 13th among 2021 big dippers with a 3.0-point decline.

  • Travis Lakins, Orioles, who ranked tied for 22nd with a 3.0-point rise from 0.0 in 2019 to 3.0 in 2020. He ranked tied for 13th among 2021 big dippers with a 3.0-point decline.

  • Sixto Sanchez, Marlins, who ranked tied for 22nd with a 3.0-point rise from 0.0 in 2019 to 3.0 in 2020. He ranked tied for 13th among 2021 big dippers with a 3.0-point decline.

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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