| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |||
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 26.0 | 1 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 21.1 | |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 24.7 | 2 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 20.8 | |
| 3 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 20.4 | 3 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 19.8 | |
| 4 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 16.4 | 4 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.4 | |
| 5 | Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 16.0 | 5 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 18.7 | |
| 6 | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | 15.7 | 6 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 17.4 | |
| 7 | Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 15.7 | 7 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.8 | |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.4 | 8 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 16.0 | |
| 9 | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.4 | 9 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 16.0 | |
| 10 | Ryan, Joe 4539 | pi sp | min al | 14.7 | 10 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 15.4 | |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |||
| 1 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf cf | nyy al | 13.2 | 1 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 14.9 | |
| 2 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 11.7 | 2 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | lad nl | 11.7 | |
| 3 | Alvarez, Yordan 4209 | dh | hou al | 8.7 | 3 | Canha, Mark 3454 | lf | nym nl | 8.7 | |
| 4 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 8.7 | 4 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 8.5 | |
| 5 | Springer, George 3337 | cf rf | tor al | 8.0 | 5 | Tellez, Rowdy 4078 | 1b | mil nl | 8.2 | |
| 6 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | sea al | 8.0 | 6 | Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 8.0 | |
| 7 | Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca ph | sea al | 7.5 | 7 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 7.5 | |
| 8 | Rodriguez, Julio 4590 | cf | sea al | 7.5 | 8 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 3b | lad nl | 7.2 | |
| 9 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 7.0 | 9 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 7.0 | |
| 10 | France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sea al | 7.0 | 10 | Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 7.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is 2022 Box-Toppers Player of the Year, regaining the season Box-Toppers points lead on the next-to-last day of the season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2022. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Wednesday, Oct. 5. FINAL STANDINGS.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 26.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 24.7 |
| 3 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 21.1 |
| 4 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 20.8 |
| 5 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 20.4 |
| 6 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 19.8 |
| 7 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.4 |
| 8 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 18.7 |
| 9 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 17.4 |
| 10 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.8 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Verlander took the lead with 26.0 Box-Toppers points after earning 2.0 points as Player of the Day Tuesday, passing Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani (24.7).
Ohtani had taken the lead from Verlander in last week’s player rankings report after Verlander had led for eight straight weeks.
Verlander wins Player of the Year honors 10 years after he did it the first time in 2012, when he led all players with 24.8 Box-Toppers points when he was with the Tigers. Verlander is the fifth player to win multiple Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors since tracking began in 1995, joining Randy Johnson (who has six), Johan Santana (three), Clayton Kershaw (three) and Max Scherzer (two). The 10-year gap between wins is the largest, beating the five-year gap between Scherzer’s wins in 2016 and 2021. There was a seven-year gap between Randy Johnson’s first and last Player of the Year honor (1995 and 2002), but he won four in the intervening years.
Verlander’s 26.0 points ranks 21st among all players for highest single-season point total since 1995. This is Verlander’s second season with 25.0 or more points. In 2019, he had 27.5 points with the Astros, second overall that year, behind then-teammate Gerrit Cole (32.2).
Box-Toppers Players of the Year
Here are Box-Toppers Player of the Year winners in each season of Box-Toppers tracking since 1995. Player of the Year is the player with the season’s highest Box-Toppers point total:| Year | Player | Pos | Team | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Mariners | 23.7 |
| 1996 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Braves | 26.1 |
| 1997 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Blue Jays | 27.4 |
| 1998 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Astros† | 26.4 |
| 1999 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 31.5 |
| 2000 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 33.7 |
| 2001 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 29.4 |
| 2002 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Dbacks | 33.7 |
| 2003 | Jason Schmidt | pi sp | Giants | 24.7 |
| 2004 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Twins | 26.8 |
| 2005 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Twins | 24.1 |
| 2006 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Twins | 25.7 |
| 2007 | Jake Peavy | pi sp | Padres | 23.4 |
| 2008 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Brewers* | 26.7 |
| 2009 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 21.5 |
| 2010 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Red Sox | 23.4 |
| 2011 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 26.1 |
| 2012 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Tigers | 24.8 |
| 2013 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 21.7 |
| 2014 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 31.5 |
| 2015 | Jake Arrieta | pi sp | Cubs | 29.1 |
| 2016 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Nationals | 25.7 |
| 2017 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Red Sox | 25.1 |
| 2018 | Blake Snell | pi sp | Rays | 27.2 |
| 2019 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Astros | 32.2 |
| 2020 | Shane Bieber | pi sp | Indians | 11.4§ |
| 2021 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Dodgers** | 25.1 |
| 2022 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 26.0 |
* Played for the Indians before trade to the Brewers.
** Played for the Nationals before trade to the Dodgers.
§ Season shortened from 162 to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This is the third time Verlander has led AL pitchers. He did it in 2012 when he led all players with 24.8 points. He also did it in 2011 with the Tigers, when he had 24.4 points, third among all players.
While Verlander regains the overall lead and the lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, the other category leaders remain the same:
Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins holds off late challenges to narrowly win Box-Toppers NL Player of the Year honors.
Pete Alonso of the Mets wins NL Batter of the Year honors.
Aaron Judge of the Yankees wins AL Batter of the Year honors.
It is the first time each of those three players has led their category in season Box-Toppers player rankings.
Here is a closer look at the player rankings leaders:
National League pitchers—Alcantara maintains the lead for the third week with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, picking up no points in the past week. In the final week of the season, several NL pitchers were within range of passing Alcantara and no one came closer than Brandon Woodruff of the Brewers, who finished second (20.8), just 0.3 points behind.
Alcantara ranks third among all players.
National League batters—Pete Alonso of the Mets leads for the 17th week with 14.9 Box-Toppers points, picking up no points in the past week, ahead of second-place Mookie Betts of the Dodgers (11.7).
Alonso led all players briefly during the season and spent chunks of the season ranked among the top 10 players. He was in contention to be the first batter to be ranked among the top 10 player since Miguel Cabrera of Tigers finished eighth overall with 16.9 points in 2013. But he finished the season outside the top 10, in 20th place overall, down from 15th place last week.
American League batters—Aaron Judge of the Yankees leads for the third week with 13.2 Box-Toppers points, picking up no points in the past week, despite setting the new single-season AL home run record at 62 during the final week of the season. He ranks ahead of second-place AL batter Jose Ramirez of the Guardians (11.7) and ranks 28th among all players.
2022 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/7 | Framber Valdez | hou al | 2.0 |
| 4/8 | Sean Manaea | sd nl | 2.0 |
| 4/12 | Tylor Megill | nym nl | 3.7 |
| 4/19 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 4.0 |
| 4/20 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 5.0 |
| 4/29 | Tylor Megill | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 5/5 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 7.0 |
| 6/2 | Nestor Cortes | nyy al | 8.4 |
| 6/3 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 8.7 |
| 6/4 | Pete Alonso | nym nl | 9.2 |
| 6/9 | Shane McClanahan | tb al | 10.7 |
| 6/16 | Joe Musgrove | sd nl | 11.4 |
| 6/22 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 13.0 |
| 8/4 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 19.0 |
| 9/29 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 24.7 |
| 10/4 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 26.0 |
While Shohei Ohtani of the Angels finished with more Box-Toppers points in 2022 (24.7), he did not qualify to rank among batters because he earned the overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors as a pitcher in 2022. Ohtani earned just four of his 17 Player of the Game honors as a designated hitter. To rank at a position, a player must have more than 25 percent of their Player of the Game honors at that position—Ohtani has 23.5 percent of his honors as a batter.
Box-Toppers almanac
Players who earned Box-Toppers points in 2022—790 (there were 772 a week ago).
Players with more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points—400 (there were 387 a week ago).
Players with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—54 (there were 51 a week ago). In 2021, 49 players had 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Players who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2022 (earning their first career Player of the Game honor)—192 (there were 184 a week ago).
Games completed in 2022—2,430 an average of 162.0 per team.
Percentage of scheduled season completed—100.0.
In the 93 games completed from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, pitchers won Player of the Game honors 67 times (72.0 percent) compared to 26 times for batters (28.0 percent). Batters’ overall percentage of Player of the Game honors earned for the season decreased from 38.38 last week to 37.98 this week (923 out of 2,430 games). There were 2,891.8 total Box-Toppers points awarded to all Player of the Game winners in 2022 (including bonus points for the day’s top players). Pitchers won 61.89 percent of that total (1,789.8), while batters have won 38.11 percent (1,102.0). That is the new record-low for share of a season Box-Toppers points won by batters, breaking the previous record of 39.14 percent in 2014. Last year, in 2021, batters won just 39.15 percent of all Box-Toppers points awarded, previously the second-lowest in any season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
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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