If Box-Toppers points measured Silver Sluggers, most winners would be different

Only four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.

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Mike Trout is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in 2014 All-Star Game

Mike Trout of the Angels is Box-Toppers’ All-Star Player of the Game.

Trout, who also won the All-Star MVP Award Tuesday, tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring a run and drove in two more, as the American League defeated the National League 5-3 in the annual All-Star Game.

Trout had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.0, tied for the highest with five other pitchers from the winning AL team, but Trout won Player of the Game on a tie-breaker—in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters beat pitchers.

Trout has earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season—including earning Player of the Game honors in his most recent game Sunday. He ranks 16th among AL batters in Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL outfielders.

Trout’s 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season is already better than the 3.5 he earned in 2013. His best season was 2012, when he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking fifth among AL batters. In his four seasons, he has 20.5 Box-Toppers points.

Trout currently ranks third among all players in Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com. While he ranks higher than any Angels player in the WAR stat, in Box-Toppers, he ranks fourth among Angels players, behind these players:

• Pitcher Garrett Richards, 12.7

• Shortstop Erick Aybar, 6.0

• Pitcher C.J. Wilson, 5.7

• Designated hitter/first baseman Albert Pujols, 4.5

Just as All-Star Game statistics don’t count in a player’s regular season statistics, no Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, who pitched one inning in the fifth, was the second-ranked AL player, also with a Box-Toppers game score of 2.0. He finished ahead of other pitchers tied with 2.0 on a tiebreaker because he picked up the win. Scherzer currently leads AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 16.1. He ranks second among all players.

Craig Kimbrel of the Braves, usually a closing pitcher, had the highest Box-Toppers game score on the losing NL team of 4.0. Kimbrel pitched the seventh inning, allowed no hits or runs and struck out three. So though he had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any player Tuesday, he did not qualify as Player of the Game because he was on the losing side.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Tuesday, click here.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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 game scores of AL All-Star players

Here are all the players who played for the winning American League team in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Mike Trout had the highest game score and is Box-Toppers All-Star Player of the Game (POG) 

715 Score Team BATTERS AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 2.0 AL Mike Trout LF 3 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 AL Max Scherzer (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.0 AL Glen Perkins (S, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 AL Felix Hernandez - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.0 AL Yu Darvish (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 AL Greg Holland (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.2 AL Sean Doolittle (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 0 2
1.1 AL Koji Uehara (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 AL Miguel Cabrera 1B 3 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 AL Derek Jeter SS 2 1 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 AL Jose Altuve 2B 0 0 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.2 AL Scott Kazmir (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 0 1
0.1 AL Fernando Rodney (H, 1) - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 1 1
0.0 AL Alexei Ramirez SS 2 1 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 AL Derek Norris C 2 1 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
0.0 AL Erick Aybar SS - - - - - - - - - - - -
0.0 AL Adrian Beltre 3B 0 0 0 0 1 0 - - - - - -
0.0 AL Kurt Suzuki C - - - - - - - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Brandon Moss RF 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Ian Kinsler PH, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Jose Abreu 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Michael Brantley CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Salvador Perez C 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 AL Chris Sale (BS, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 1 1 1 0 1
-2.0 AL Robinson Cano 2B 2 0 0 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Jose Bautista RF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Yoenis Cespedes LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Nelson Cruz DH 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Kyle Seager PH, DH 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Adam Jones CF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 AL Josh Donaldson 3B 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-6.0 AL Jon Lester (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 3 2 2 0 0

A look at how Box-Toppers might pick the 2014 All-Stars

If Box-Toppers points rather than fan voting were used to determine Major League All-Star teams, you’d have very different teams, very pissed-off fans and one very stunned baseball blogger.

For example, if Box-Toppers points were used to determine All-Stars, there would be no Yasiel Puig, no Mike Trout, no Jose Bautista and no Derek Jeter in the game. And you would have players in the line-up, such as Daniel Murphy, Freddie Freeman and Erick Aybar, among others.

The All-Star Game is July 15. Online fan voting ends July 3, less than a week away.

Box-Toppers may have a different perspective on All-Stars because it tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Players only earn points if they are deemed to be Player of the Game, based on a simple box score formula.

So players such as Puig, Trout and Bautista, while they often put up impressive numbers, have not regularly been top player in games their teams have won recently. So while their fan All-Star vote may be high, their Box-Toppers point totals lately have been lower.

Another example of Box-Toppers not matching baseball’s conventional thinking is Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates. Last year, baseball writers voted him National League Most Valuable Player. But in Box-Toppers, he ranked 22nd among NL batters. However, this year, McCutchen has earned Player of the Game four times and picked up 5.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks fifth among NL batters and second among NL outfielders. 

Box-Toppers looks at the All-Star team in two different ways. First, it considers players on their performance during the 2014 season. But since this season is still a small data sample, it looks at last season, too, and considers players on their performance since the start of 2013.

For example, if you look at Box-Toppers points for just this season, Chris Colabello of the Twins is the second-ranked outfielder based on his early season performance. But Colabello slumped and has been in the minors for more than a month—which does not speak well for his All-Star credentials.

But looking at player’s performance since 2013 can be misleading, too. For example, Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees leads AL outfielders since the start of 2013 with 13.9 Box-Toppers points. But 12.9 of those were earned in 2013. Despite his strong 2013, he probably would not be considered an All-Star in 2014.

But then there’s a player like Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks. He actually is leading currently in NL voting for first basemen. And in fact, in 2013, he led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points, with 13.7. But this year, while his numbers are generally good, he is playing for a bad team and has earned only 1.5 Box-Toppers points. Despite his great 2013 in Box-Toppers, he is overshadowed in the NL at first base by Freddie Freeman of the Braves. Freeman leads all NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points for both 2014 and 2013-14.

But enough prelude. Here is a look a the All-Star teams. First, it’s the Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league for 2014. Then, it’s Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league for 2013-14. And finally, a look at current All-Star vote leaders, showing their current Box-Toppers point total and their rank in Box-Toppers by position and league.

2014

Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points. He is on the AL All-Star ballot as first baseman and not as a designated hitter, but since he has played DH this season, we will break the “rules” and put him at DH and put Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, last year’s Box-Toppers AL batting leader, at first.

In the American League, only four of the nine starters are even among the top vote-getters at their positions. 

The National League is a little better—six of the eight Box-Toppers leaders for starting positions are among the All-Star voting leaders.

And though fan voters don’t get to pick pitchers, included here for both leagues are Box-Toppers leaders for starting pitchers (the top four starters) along with the top middle reliever and top closing pitcher.

Box-Toppers pick for All-Star starters based on 2014 stats? Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees for the AL and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals for the NL.

All-Stars based on 2014 Box-Toppers points

Here are Box-Toppers points leaders by position for each league. Also shown is players' current ranking in All-Star fan voting by their position. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the league leaders in fan voting by their position. Also shown are pitching leaders. Fans don't get to vote on pitchers so their vote rank is marked with an asterisk (*).

Pos AL players Team BTP Vote rank
1B Cabrera, Miguel 1776 det al 7.5 1
2B Rodriguez, Sean 2729 tb al 5.0 -
SS Aybar, Erick 2416 ana al 6.0 -
3B Donaldson, Josh 3144 oak al 6.5 1
CA Perez, Salvador 2972 kc al 3.7 -
OF Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 oak al 5.5 4
OF Colabello, Chris 3235 min al 5.2 -
OF Hunter, Torii 1190 det al 4.5 10
DH Abreu, Jose 3308 chi al 8.5 -
SP Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 nyy al 12.7 *
SP Scherzer, Max 2588 det al 11.4 *
SP Kazmir, Scott 1947 oak al 9.7 *
SP Hernandez, Felix 2064 sea al 8.8 *
MR Duffy, Danny 2915 kc al 6.0 *
CP Uehara, Koji 2802 bos al 6.0 *
Pos NL players Team BTP Vote rank
1B Freeman, Freddie 2887 atl nl 6.2 3
2B Murphy, Daniel 2589 nym nl 4.5 -
SS Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 col nl 10.6 1
3B Ramirez, Aramis 1364 mil nl 3.5 1
CA Lucroy, Jonathan 2744 mil nl 3.7 2
OF Morse, Michael 2020 sf nl 5.5 -
OF McCutchen, Andrew 2637 pit nl 5.0 2
OF Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 fla nl 4.7 4
SP Wainwright, Adam 2150 stl nl 13.0 *
SP Kershaw, Clayton 2494 lad nl 12.7 *
SP Bumgarner, Madison 2753 sf nl 12.5 *
SP Cueto, Johnny 2400 cin nl 11.7 *
MR Collmenter, Josh 2863 ari nl 4.0 *
CP Kimbrel, Craig 2825 atl nl 5.0 *
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Vote rank: Where the player ranks by position in All-Star fan voting. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the leaders. An asterisk (*) indicates they are a pitcher and not eligible for fan voting.

What are those numbers after players' names? 

2013-14

These are Box-Toppers points leaders by position since the start of 2013. 

In the American League, the Box-Toppers leaders agree a little better with voters—seven of the nine Box-Toppers leaders are among the leaders in fan voting and three (Cabrera, Robinson Cano of the Mariners and Josh Donaldson of the Athletics) are vote leaders for their positions.

In the National League, five of the Box-Toppers position leaders are also among the vote leaders. However, Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies is the only player who leads his position in both Box-Toppers points and fan voting.

And though fan voters don’t get to pick pitchers, included here for both leagues are Box-Toppers leaders for starting pitchers (the top four starters) along with the top middle reliever and top closing pitcher.

Box-Toppers pick for starters based on 2013-14 stats? Max Scherzer of the Tigers for the AL and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers for the NL.

All-Stars based on 2013-14 Box-Toppers points

Here are Box-Toppers points leaders by position for each league. Also shown is players' current ranking in All-Star fan voting by their position. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the league leaders in fan voting by their position. Also shown are pitching leaders. Fans don't get to vote on pitchers so their vote rank is marked with an asterisk (*).

Pos AL players Team BTP Vote rank
1B Cabrera, Miguel 1776 det al 24.4 1
2B Cano, Robinson 2092 sea al 15.5 1
SS Aybar, Erick 2416 ana al 11.0 -
3B Donaldson, Josh 3144 oak al 16.0 1
CA McCann, Brian 2179 nyy al 9.5 3
OF Soriano, Alfonso 1445 nyy al 13.9 -
OF Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 oak al 12.5 4
OF Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 tex al 11.0 14
DH Ortiz, David bos al 16.4 2
SP Scherzer, Max 2588 det al 29.5 *
SP Darvish, Yu 3003 tex al 24.4 *
SP Sale, Chris 2806 chi al 24.1 *
SP Hernandez, Felix 2064 sea al 23.6 *
MR Smyly, Drew 3009 det al 10.7 *
CP Holland, Greg 2906 kc al 14.0 *
Pos NL players Team BTP Vote rank
1B Freeman, Freddie 2887 atl nl 17.7 3
2B Murphy, Daniel 2589 nym nl 13.0 -
SS Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 col nl 14.6 1
3B Alvarez, Pedro 2817 pit nl 10.2 -
CA Posey, Buster 2745 sf nl 10.0 3
OF Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 col nl 12.5 -
OF Cuddyer, Michael 1826 col nl 11.5 14
OF McCutchen, Andrew 2637 pit nl 11.0 2
SP Kershaw, Clayton 2494 lad nl 34.4 *
SP Wainwright, Adam 2150 stl nl 33.2 *
SP Bumgarner, Madison 2753 sf nl 28.2 *
SP Greinke, Zack 1871 lad nl 26.8 *
MR Collmenter, Josh 2863 ari nl 12.0 *
CP Kimbrel, Craig 2825 atl nl 17.7 *
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Vote rank: Where the player ranks by position in All-Star fan voting. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the leaders. An asterisk (*) indicates they are a pitcher and not eligible for fan voting.

What are those numbers after players' names? 

Voting leaders

A case can be made for any of these players to be on the All-Star team.

Numbers? Performance? Yes, players like Yadier Molina, Yasiel Puig and Mike Trout have that. Though they may not register very highly on Box-Toppers, it’s hard to argue that they’re not All-Star worthy.

And a case can even be made for a player like Derek Jeter of the Yankees—is he an All-Star? Well, technically, there ARE probably better and more deserving AL shortstops based on any metric you put forth for this season and last season. But then, this is Derek Jeter. The Captain. His final season. Even Yankee haters may be forced to put the numbers aside for a moment and vote with their heart on this one.

Here are the leaders as of June 22 and 23 in All-Star voting by position. Also included in the chart are each of the leaders’ Box-Toppers points total for 2014 and their current rank among their position in their league. 

Only three players who lead for their position in All-Star voting also lead their position in Box-Toppers points:

• AL 3B Josh Donaldson of the Athletics.

• NL SS Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies.

• NL 3B Aramis Ramirez of the Pirates.

All-Stars voting leaders & their Box-Toppers rankings

Here are All-Star fan voting leaders as of June 22 and 23. For comparison, their Box-Toppers points totals for 2014 are included along with their rank at their position by league. (For example, Miguel Cabrera has 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, second-most among AL first basemen.

Pos AL players Team BTP BTP rank
1B Miguel Cabrera det al 7.5 2
2B Robinson Cano sea al 3.0 4
SS Derek Jeter nyy al 0.0 22
3B Josh Donaldson oak al 6.5 1
CA Matt Wieters bal al 1.5 7
OF Jose Bautista tor al 2.5 15
OF Mike Trout ana al 2.0 23
OF Melky Cabrera tor al 3.0 10
DH Nelson Cruz bal al 3.0 10
Pos NL players Team BTP BTP rank
1B Paul Goldschmidt ari nl 1.5 13
2B Chase Utley phi nl 2.0 10
SS Troy Tulowitzki col nl 10.6 1
3B Aramis Ramirez mil nl 3.5 1
CA Yadier Molina stl nl 0.0 20
OF Yasiel Puig lad nl 1.0 44
OF Andrew McCutchen pit nl 5.0 2
OF Carlos Gomez mil nl 2.5 14
BTP: Box-Toppers points
BTP rank: Where the player ranks by position in their league in Box-Toppers points.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

D-backs' Josh Collmenter (CG 3H 0R) tops players for Thursday, May 29

Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Collmenter pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, facing the minimum 27 batters, in the 4-0 win over the Reds.

Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is American League Player of the Day. Peacock struck out eight over six innings in the 3-1 win over the Orioles. Peacock did not earn the win because he left with the game tied, 1-1.

Erick Aybar of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Aybar hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5 in the 7-5 win over the Mariners.

Michael Morse of the Giants is National League Batter of the Day. Morse homered and hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the 6-5 win over the Giants. Morse earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season. He is in 24th among all players in Box-Toppers rankings and third place among NL batters.

Notable: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rose to 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings—and maintained his spot as top AL batter—after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cabrera (1-3 2RBI in the 5-4 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season.

Collmenter receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Peacock receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Aybar and Morse each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

529ScoreTeamPlayerABRHBIBBKIPHRERBBK
MLB11.0DbacksJosh Collmenter (W, 4-2)------9.030005
9.1MetsZack Wheeler (W, 2-5)------6.141109
AL6.0`AstrosBrad Peacock------6.061108
4.0RoyalsWade Davis (W, 4-1)------2.000002
BAT2.0AngelsErick Aybar SS513300------
BAT2.0GiantsMichael Morse 1B412301------
2.0RangersLeonys Martin CF332010------
1.0Red SoxBrock Holt 3B413111------
1.0PiratesClint Barmes SS423000------
1.0TigersMiguel Cabrera 1B311210------

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

 

Nationals' Stephen Strasburg (7IP 0R 11K) tops players for Friday, April 25, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Friday’s Player of the Day. Strasburg pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 11 in the 11-1 win over the Padres.

Strasburg rises to fourth place among players in Box-Toppers points this season. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)

Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura is American League Player of the Day. Ventura pitched eight shutout innings and struck out eight in the 5-0 win over the Orioles.

Erick Aybar of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Aybar homered, doubled, went 4-for-5, scored four runs and drove in three in the 13-1 win over the Yankees.

Freddie Freeman of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Freeman went 3-for-4 and scored twice in the 5-4 win over the Reds.

Freeman rises to sixth place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.) Freeman moves past Ryan Braun of the Brewers (4.5 Box-Toppers points) to take the lead in points this season among NL batters.

Strasburg receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Ventura receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Aybard and Freeman each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

425ScoreTeamPlayerABRHBIBBKIPHRERBBK
MLB9.0NationalsStephen Strasburg (W, 2-2)------7.0700211
AL7.0RoyalsYordano Ventura (W, 2-1)------8.070028
7.0DbacksJosh Collmenter (W, 1-2)------6.040005
7.0`MetsZack Wheeler------6.0411310
BAT6.0AngelsErick Aybar SS544300------
6.0White SoxJose Abreu 1B523601------
5.0Red SoxJake Peavy (W, 1-0)------7.051127
5.0BrewersMatt Garza (W, 1-2)------7.042217
4.0GiantsTim Hudson (W, 3-1)------7.041125
4.0CardinalsTrevor Rosenthal (S, 7)------1.000003
2.0TigersTorii Hunter RF523200------
2.0AthleticsDerek Norris PH, C212100------
BAT1.0BravesFreddie Freeman 1B423001------
1.0MarinersRobinson Cano 2B412200------
1.0RockiesBrandon Barnes PH, RF111000------

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.