Manny Ramirez, hinting at baseball comeback at 41, ranks second among all batters in career Box-Toppers points

One in a series

Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the third of the series:

3. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez was Box-Toppers’ top American League batter in 1999 and ranks second in Box-Toppers points among all batters since 1995, trailing only Alex Rodriguez.

Manny Ramirez

Here are Manny Ramirez' Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
1993	cle al	*
1994	cle al	*
1995	cle al	11.0	AS, BTP-23, BTP-AL bat-7, MVP-12
1996	cle al	5.7
1997	cle al	7.7
1998	cle al	16.2	AS, BTP-10, BTP-AL bat-3, MVP-6
1999	cle al	19.9	AS, BTP-3, BTP-AL bat-1, MVP-3
2000	cle al	13.2	AS, BTP-19, BTP-AL bat-5, MVP-6
2001	bos al	7.0	AS, BTP-111, BTP-AL bat-22, MVP-9
2002	bos al	12.5	AS, BTP-25, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-9
2003	bos al	7.9	AS, BTP-92, BTP-AL bat-27, MVP-6
2004	bos al	11.2	AS, BTP-26, BTP-AL bat-5, MVP-3
2005	bos al	14.0	AS, BTP-15, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-4
2006	bos al	10.0	AS, BTP-51, BTP-AL bat-11, MVP-18
2007	bos al	7.5	AS
2008	bos al/lad nl	13.9	AS, BTP-18, BTP-NL bat-3, MVP-4
2009	lad nl	5.5
2010	lad nl/chi al	4.0
2011	tb al	0.0
Total		167.2	BTP-7, BTP-bat-2

* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Ramirez played 22 games in 1993 and 91 games in 1994.
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL bat Finish among all AL batters in BTP
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com

Ramirez, 41, is No. 3 on Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them look at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. (See previous posts about Alex Rodriguez and Roy Halladay.) Reports say Ramirez is interested in making a comeback in 2014, though he hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2011. 

He retired that year (after playing five games for the Tampa Bay Rays) rather than face a 100-game suspension for his second violation of baseball’s drug policy. He attempted comebacks in both 2012 and 2013, never making it to the big leagues. Most recently, in July 2013, he signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers but was released in August.

 Ramirez accumulated 167.2 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2010. (He also played 22 games in 1993 and 91 games in 1994, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) He ranks seventh among all players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list (since 1995) and second among all batters (Rodriguez, first among batters, has 179.3 points).

Ramirez never won a league Most Valuable Player Award, though he finished in the top 10 in voting nine times, finishing as high as third place twice in AL MVP voting (1999 with the Cleveland Indians and 2004 with the Boston Red Sox).

However, Ramirez led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 1999 with 19.9, his best season. Ramirez finished third in AL MVP voting that year. Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers was voted MVP—he had 14.2 Box-Toppers points that year, in sixth among AL batters. Ramirez was third in overall Box-Toppers points in 1999, behind only pitcher Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks (31.5 points) and pitcher Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox (31.4 points).

Ramirez was among the top 10 batters in his league in Box-Toppers points eight different times—seven times in the AL and once, in 2008 in the National League when he finished his season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was among the top 10 overall players in Box-Toppers points twice—in 1999, as previously mentioned, and in 1998, when he finished in 10th place overall with 16.2 points. He had nine seasons with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points.

Ramirez was suspended 50 games in 2009 for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. He was suspended a second time under the policy in 2011 and faced a 100-game suspension. He chose to retire instead. When he attempted a comeback in 2012, he was able to reach an agreement to reduce that suspension to 50 games.

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.

Coming next in the series: Johan Santana

Retiring Roy Halladay was No. 2 among active pitchers in Box-Toppers points

One in a series

Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the second of the series:

2. Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay won the Cy Young Award in both the American and National Leagues. He was Box-Toppers’ top NL pitcher in 2010 and among the top five pitchers in his league in Box-Toppers points in six different seasons.

Roy Halladay

Here are Roy Halladay's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
1998	tor al	2.0
1999	tor al	4.7
2000	tor al	0.0
2001	tor al	6.7
2002	tor al	12.7	AS, BTP-24, BTP-AL pi-6
2003	tor al	14.1	AS, BTP-15, BTP-AL pi-5, CYA-1
2004	tor al	6.7
2005	tor al	16.4	AS, BTP-8, BTP-AL pi-3
2006	tor al	8.7	AS, BTP-79, BTP-AL pi 25, CYA-3
2007	tor al	11.4	BTP-36, BTP-AL pi-14, CYA-5
2008	tor al	15.7	AS, BTP-7, BTP-AL pi-3, CYA-2
2009	tor al	16.4	AS, BTP-10, BTP-AL pi 5, CYA-5
2010	phi nl	23.4	AS, BTP-2, BTP-NL pi-1, CYA-1, MVP-6
2011	phi nl	24.1	AS, BTP-4, BTP-NL pi-3, CYA-2, MVP-9
2012	phi nl	6.7
2013	phi nl	1.0
Total		170.7	BTP-6, BTP-pi-5

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com

Halladay, 36, announced his retirement on Dec. 9, 2013, after injuries cut short his 2013 season. He is No. 2 on Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them look at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. (See previous post about No. 1 on the list: Alex Rodriguez.)

Over 16 seasons, Halladay racked up 170.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth on the “all-time” list (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He ranks fifth among all pitchers on the “all-time” list and was second among active pitchers until his retirement. (CC Sabathia passed Halladay on the “all-time” active pitcher’s list during the 2013 season and now has 172.3 Box-Toppers points.)

At his retirement, Halladay ceremonially signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, the team where he began his career in 1998. In 2003, he won the American League Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays. However, that year he finished fifth among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 14.1. (Pedro Martinez was the top AL pitcher in Box-Toppers points with 23.4; he finished third in Cy Young voting.)

Halladay moved to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010 and won the National League Cy Young Award that year. He also finished first among all NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 23.4—he was second among all players (finishing behind pitcher Jon Lester of the Red Sox, who also had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, but who held the advantage in a tie-breaker).

Halladay’s best year in Box-Toppers points was 2011, when he accumulated 24.1 points. However, he finished third among NL pitchers (Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers had 26.1) and fourth among all players.

Halladay was among the top 10 pitchers in his league in Box-Toppers points in six different seasons (2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011). He was among the overall top 10 players in Box-Toppers points five times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011). He scored more than 20.0 Box-Toppers points in a season twice, more than 15.0 five times and more than 10.0 eight times.

His numbers fell off in 2012 and in 2013, he scored only 1.0 Box-Toppers point on April 19 when he pitched a rain-shortened complete game and was Box-Toppers’ Player of the Game in an 8-2 win over the Cardinals.

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.

Coming next in the series: Manny Ramirez

Alex Rodriguez leads Box-Toppers' series on players who have (or may have) played their final game

First in a series

It is rare for a baseball player to have the luxury of a formal news conference to announce his retirement. It is rare if they even issue a press release.

Most players who are skillful and lucky enough to make it even to the big leagues toil in relative obscurity. Their career fades, they are released, they are designated for assignment, no other team signs them—and the fact that their career is over is an almost personal, private matter that an overwhelming majority of the time goes unregistered even on baseball’s copious and comprehensive transactions wires.

Alex Rodriguez

Here are Alex Rodriguez' Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Year	Team	BTP	Notes
1994	sea al	*
1995	sea al	0.0
1996	sea al	11.2	AS, BTP-32, BTP-AL bat-9, MVP-2
1997	sea al	6.2	AS
1998	sea al	5.0	AS, MVP-9
1999	sea al	13.7	BTP-18, BTP-AL bat-7, MVP-15
2000	sea al	17.0	AS, BTP-7, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-3
2001	tex al	12.5	AS, BTP-25, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-6
2002	tex al	15.2	AS, BTP-11, BTP-AL bat-4, MVP-2
2003	tex al	6.7	AS, BTP-121, BTP-AL bat-33, MVP-1
2004	nyy al	4.5	AS, MVP-14
2005	nyy al	11.9	AS, BTP-28, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-1
2006	nyy al	12.5	AS, BTP-27, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-13
2007	nyy al	18.9	AS, BTP-2, BTP-AL bat-1, MVP-1
2008	nyy al	11.2	AS, BTP-34, BTP-AL bat-3, MVP-8
2009	nyy al	6.9	MVP-10
2010	nyy al	13.7	AS, BTP-23, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-15
2011	nyy al	4.7	AS
2012	nyy al	4.5
2013	nyy al	3.0
Total		179.3	BTP-4, BTP-bat-1

* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Rodriguez played 17 games in 1994.
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL bat Finish among all AL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com

Many players active in 2013 will not play in 2014. Some notable players have been given the grand treatment of a formal retirement, with ceremonies, gifts, retrospectives and news conferences—namely Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Roy Halladay. But other players may not be back in 2014. Some players may be limited by injury (Johan Santana). Some who still want to play another year may be limited by age (Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez, both of whom did not play in 2013). And some may be limited by drug suspension (Alex Rodriguez and maybe Manny Ramirez, come to think of it).

Here is the first in a series of Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them look at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. Not every player in this series has announced his retirement. In fact, some are continuing to try to play—even if they haven’t been on active rosters for more than a year.

1. Alex Rodriguez

The New York Yankees third baseman has been suspended for the upcoming season under baseball’s drug policy. His legal challenge to the suspension has been given a poor chance of succeeding. The soonest he could come back to the game is 2015, when he will be 39.

So the question is: Even if and when he is cleared to return to baseball, will he? Will he be too old? Will any team be willing to let someone so thoroughly viewed as a pariah actually take the field? Will shame for his transgressions keep him away? (Yeah, that one seemed unlikely to me, too.)

Is it possible that we’ve seen the last of A-Rod in baseball?

If so, then baseball loses the player who most helped his team to more wins than any other active player, according to Box-Toppers statistics. Rodriguez is the active leader in Box-Toppers points with 179.3, ahead of Yankees teammate and starting pitcher CC Sabathia, with 172.3.

Since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, Rodriguez is also the leading batter in points, ahead of Manny Ramirez with 167.2. Rodriguez ranks fourth on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list among all players (from 1995 to 2013).

Rodriguez’ career began just before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—he played 17 games in 1994.

He is a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, in 2003 with the Texas Rangers and in 2005 and 2007 with the Yankees. However, only once did he lead the league in Box-Toppers points—in 2007, he led AL players with 18.9  and was ranked second overall to then-San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy with 23.4 points.

Also in 2007, he accumulated more Box-Toppers points than he did in any other season with 18.9. It was one of three seasons where he had more than 15.0 Box-Toppers points and one of 10 seasons where he had more than 10.0 points.

Rodriguez finished twice among all players in Box-Toppers’ top 10 list for the season. In 2000, he ranked seventh among all players with 17.0 and in 2007, as mentioned previously, he finished second.

He finished in the top 10 among all American League batters on the season-ending list 10 times, finishing as high as second three times (in 2000 with 17.0 Box-Toppers points, in 2001 with 12.5 and in 2010 with 13.7).

Interestingly, two of his three MVP seasons were far from his best in terms of Box-Toppers points:

• In 2003, Rodriguez was voted MVP though he scored only 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 121st among all players and 33rd among AL batters. (Carlos Delgado was Box-Toppers’ top AL batter with 17.7; he finished second in AL MVP voting.)

• In 2005, Rodriguez was voted MVP though he scored 11.9 Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players and sixth among AL batters. (David Ortiz was Box-Toppers’ top AL batter with 14.7; he finished second in AL MVP voting.)

The past three seasons have seen Rodriguez’ Box-Toppers numbers fall off, scoring fewer than 5.0 each year. In 2013, he scored 3.0 Box-Toppers points, however, he played only 44 games, limited by injury and playing all his games while appealing his 211-game drug suspension (later reduced to 162 games).

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.

Coming next in the series: Roy Halladay 

Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers' short- and long-term leader boards

Clayton Kershaw, who Wednesday agreed to the richest-ever contract for a pitcher, was not only the best player of 2013, he was the best player the past two seasons and has been the most reliable and consistent player for the past six seasons.

Kershaw, 25, and the Dodgers agreed on a seven-year, $215 million deal Wednesday. He will make the highest average annual salary in baseball history at $30.7 million.

The Dodgers pitcher sits atop three of Box-Toppers’ four leader boards at the end of the 2013 season:

• He led all players in the 2013 season with 21.7 Box-Toppers points.

• He led all players for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons with 42.5 Box-Toppers points.

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• He led all players over the period from 2008 to 2013 with 102.1 Box-Toppers points.

Clayton Kershaw

Here are Kershaw's career Box-Toppers statistics. He made his debut as a starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The middle column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) for each season. The next column shows his rank among all players for that season. The final column shows his rank among all NL pitchers for the season.

Kershaw has been top overall player in Box-Toppers points in 2011 and 2013 and was top NL pitcher in 2012.

Year	Pos	Team	BTP	Rank	NL pitcher rank
2008	pi sp	lad nl	4.0	276	73
2009	pi sp	lad nl	13.1	22	8
2010	pi sp	lad nl	16.1	12	8
2011	pi sp	lad nl	26.1	1	1
2012	pi sp	lad nl	20.8	2	1
2013	pi sp	lad nl	21.7	1	1
Career			102.1	54	34*
2008-13			102.1	1	1
2012-13			42.5	1	1

BTP: Box-Toppers points

* Kershaw ranked 34th among all pitchers on the "all-time" Box-Toppers points list, 1995-2013.

In fact, the only Box-Toppers leader board in which Kershaw fails to prevail is the “all-time” list, topped by retired pitcher Randy Johnson with 278.8 points. In this leader board, which tracks all games since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, Kershaw ranks 54th. Kershaw, who made his Major League debut in 2008, has 102.1 career Box-Toppers points, just behind Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and just ahead of Tim Wakefield (101.4).

During the 2013 season, Kershaw passed more than 40 players on the all-time list. At the end of 2012, he was in 98th place with 80.4 Box-Toppers points and rose to 54th after 2013. His strong 2013 season also helped him rise to the top of both the two-year and six-year leader boards.

At the end of the 2012 season, Kershaw was in second place in the two-season leader board. He had 46.9 Box-Toppers points over 2011-2012, behind leader Justin Verlander with 49.2 points. Verlander, the Tigers pitcher, fell to third place in the two-season leader board after 2013—he had 34.8 Box-Toppers points over 2012-2013. (See charts at the bottom of this post for comparisons of leader boards from the end of 2012 and the end of 2013.)

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Kershaw made a big jump in the six-season leader board from 2012 to 2013. At the end of 2012, Kershaw was in ninth place with 80.4 Box-Toppers points from 2007 to 2012. Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia topped the list with 102.0 points. Sabathia fell behind Kershaw to second place in the six-season list after 2013—he had 93.6 points from 2008-2013.

Some other observations from the newly posted updated leader board lists:

• Kershaw tops all National League pitchers in the six-year leader board (2008-2013) with 102.1 Box-Toppers points. He was in fourth place in the six-year leader board after 2012, with 80.4 Box-Toppers points over the 2007-2012 period, behind leader Roy Halladay with 97.7 points. Halladay fell to fifth among NL pitchers in the six-year leader board after last season, with 87.3 points.

• Sabathia remains the leader among American League pitchers in the six-year leader board (2008-2013), though his point total decreased. From 2007-2012, he had 102.0 Box-Toppers points and from 2008-2013, he had 93.6 points. While he still leads among AL pitchers, his lead narrowed over the second-place pitcher, Justin Verlander. Verlander had 93.5 Box-Toppers points from 2007-2012, trailing Sabathia by 8.5. But after 2013, Verlander was only 0.5 behind Sabathia in the six-year leader board from 2008-2013, with 93.1 Box-Toppers points.

• Albert Pujols maintained his lead among American League batters in the six-year leader board, though his point total decreased from last season. From 2007-2012, Pujols had 73.5 Box-Toppers points and from 2008-2013, he had 69.8. Like Sabathia, Pujols’ lead in this category also narrowed over the second-place AL batter, Miguel Cabrera. After 2012, Cabrera, with 67.8 Box-Toppers points, trailed Pujols by 5.7. But after 2013, Cabrera closed the gap to 0.1—he had 69.7 Box-Toppers points from 2008-2013.

• Ryan Braun still leads among National League batters in the six-year leader board and though his point total is down and he was inactive with injury and drug suspension most of 2013, his lead in the category has actually increased since last season. Braun had 64.7 Box-Toppers points from 2007-2012 and 63.0 points from 2008-2013. In second place in the category after 2012 was Ryan Howard with 60.5 points. Howard remains in second after 2013, but with 52.8. So Braun, despite earning only 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013, went from having a 4.2-point lead after 2012 to a 7.7-point lead after 2013.

• Max Scherzer of the Tigers supplants teammate Justin Verlander atop the leader board for AL pitchers for the past two seasons. Scherzer has 35.1 Box-Toppers points over 2012 and 2013, narrowly beating Verlander in second place with 34.8. Verlander led AL pitchers over the 2011-2012 period with 49.2 Box-Toppers points. Scherzer was in 10th place on that list with 24.4.

• Miguel Cabrera supplants Prince Fielder atop the leader board for AL batters for the past two seasons. Cabrera has 28.6 Box-Toppers points over 2012 and 2013, while Fielder is in 10th place on that list with 15.0. However, Fielder led the two-year AL batter list over 2011-2012 with 22.2 Box-Toppers points—Cabrera was in third place on that list with 19.2.

• Carlos Gonzalez supplants Ryan Braun atop the leader board for NL batters for the past two seasons. Gonzalez has 20.2 Box-Toppers points over 2012 and 2013, while Braun is in fifth place with 16.0. But Braun led the two-year NL batter list over 2011-2012 with 23.0 Box-Toppers points—Gonzalez was in eighth place with 16.2.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player of the day in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Single season leaders comparison, 2012 vs. 2013

Here is a comparison of single season leaders in Box-Toppers points for 2012 (left) and 2013 (right):

	2012 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		2013 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	24.8		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.8		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	20.2
3	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	20.4		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.4
4	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	nym nl	19.1		Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	19
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	18.7		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	18.1
6	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	17.7		Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
7	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.7		Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	17.1
8	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	17.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	17		Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	16.7
10	Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp mr cp	atl nl	17		Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
	TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	24.8		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	18.1
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	18.7		Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	17.1
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	17		Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
4	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	16.8		Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	16.1
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	15.7		Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	16.1
6	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	15.4		Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	16.1
7	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	15.4		Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	16
8	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	15.1		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.8
9	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	tb al	14.7		Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	cle al	14.5
10	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tb al	14.1		Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	oak al	13.1
	TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	13.5		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b lf dh rf	bal al	12		Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	12.9
3	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	11.7		Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
4	Hamilton, Josh 2332	cf lf	tex al	11.5		Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	12.5
5	Trout, Mike 2949	cf rf lf	ana al	11		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	12.4
6	Rios, Alex 1989	rf	chi al	9.9		Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh lf ph	cle al	9.5
7	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	9.7		Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	9.5
8	Mauer, Joe 1869	ca dh 1b	min al	9		Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	9
9	Granderson, Curtis 2051	cf	nyy al	8.7		Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	8.7
10	Trumbo, Mark 2851	lf 1b rf dh	ana al	8.7		Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	8.5
	TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.8		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	20.4		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	20.2
3	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	nym nl	19.1		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.4
4	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	17.7		Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	19
5	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.7		Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
6	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	17.7		Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	16.7
7	Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp mr cp	atl nl	17		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	16.1
8	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	15.4		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	15.7
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	atl nl	15		Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	15.4
10	Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	14.7		Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15
	TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	12.5		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	13.7
2	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	11.7		Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	11.5
3	Kemp, Matt 2151	cf	lad nl	10		Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	11.5
4	Freese, David 2710	3b	stl nl	9.7		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11
5	Uggla, Dan 2158	2b	atl nl	9.5		Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	9.4
6	Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	9.5		Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	9.2
7	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	9.5		Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	9
8	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	9.2		Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	nym nl	8.5
9	Hill, Aaron 2056	2b	ari nl	9		Alvarez, Pedro 2817	3b	pit nl	7.7
10	LaRoche, Adam 1910	1b	dc nl	9		Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	7.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

Two-season leaders comparison, 2012 vs. 2013

Here is a comparison of two-season leaders in Box-Toppers points. At left are the leaders in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2011 and 2012 seasons. At right are the points leaders in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons:

	2011-12 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		2012-13 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	49.2		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	42.5
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	46.9		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	35.1
3	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	38.2		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	34.8
4	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	tb al	34.8		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	33.8
5	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	33.4		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	33.5
6	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	32.9		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	33.4
7	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	32.8		Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	32.8
8	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	31.7		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	32.1
9	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	30.8		Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	31.8
10	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	30.4		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	30.4
	TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	49.2		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	35.1
2	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	38.2		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	34.8
3	Shields, Jamie (James) 2157	pi sp	tb al	34.8		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	33.5
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	30.4		Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	32.8
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tb al	29.2		Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	31.8
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ana al	29.2		Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	27.5
7	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	29.1		Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	25.8
8	Morrow, Brandon 2264	pi sp	tor al	25.7		Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	25.1
9	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	25.1		Shields, James 2157	pi sp	kc al	24.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	24.4		Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	24.1
	TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	22.2		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	28.6
2	Granderson, Curtis 2051	cf	nyy al	21.4		Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	24.7
3	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	19.2		Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	21.4
4	Hamilton, Josh 2332	cf lf	tex al	19		Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	18.7
5	Pujols, Albert 1438	1b	ana al	18.5		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	17.4
6	Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	ss	cle al	18.2		Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	17.1
7	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	18		Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	16.5
8	Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	17.2		Rios, Alex 1989	rf	tex al	15.9
9	Napoli, Mike 2161	ca	tex al	17.2		Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	15.2
10	Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b 3b	bal al	15.2		Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	15
	TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	46.9		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	42.5
2	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	33.4		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	33.8
3	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	32.9		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	33.4
4	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	32.8		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	32.1
5	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	31.7		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	30.4
6	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	30.8		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	29.4
7	Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	ari nl	29.1		Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	28.8
8	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	28.8		Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	28.4
9	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	nym nl	28.1		Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	28.4
10	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	27.1		Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp	atl nl	28
	TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	23		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	20.2
2	Uggla, Dan 2158	2b	atl nl	21		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	18.2
3	Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	19.5		Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	18.2
4	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	18.2		Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	17
5	Kemp, Matt 2151	cf	lad nl	17		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	16
6	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	col nl	16.5		Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	15.4
7	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	16.2		Freese, David 2710	3b	stl nl	15.2
8	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	16.2		Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	15
9	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	16		McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	14.5
10	Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	14.5		Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	13.2

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

Six-season leaders comparison, 2012 vs. 2013

Here is a comparison of six-season leaders in Box-Toppers points. At left are the leaders in Box-Toppers points over the period from 2007 to 2012. At right are the points leaders over the period from 2008 to 2013 seasons:

	2007-12 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		2008-13 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	102		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	102.1
2	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	97.7		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	93.6
3	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.5		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.1
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	90.3		Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	92.6
5	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	90.2		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	92.1
6	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	87		Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	91
7	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	83.9		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	90.8
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ana al	81.1		Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	89.9
9	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	80.4		Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	88.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	78		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	87.3
	TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	102		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	93.6
2	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.5		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.1
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	90.3		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	92.1
4	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	87		Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	91
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ana al	81.1		Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	88.7
6	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	78		Shields, James 2157	pi sp	kc al	64.6
7	Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	ana al	67		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	62.9
8	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	tb al	61.6		Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	61.5
9	Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	chi al	61.5		Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	cle al	57.7
10	Dempster, Ryan 1109	pi sp	tex al	53.8		Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	tex al	57.4
	TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Pujols, Albert 1438	1b	ana al	73.5		Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	69.8
2	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	67.8		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	69.7
3	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	59.9		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	52.9
4	Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	51.9		Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	51.9
5	Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	49.7		Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	44
6	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	49		Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	43.7
7	Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	ana al	47.4		Mauer, Joe 1869	ca	min al	43.2
8	Granderson, Curtis 2051	cf	nyy al	45.8		Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	det al	41.9
9	Mauer, Joe 1869	ca dh 1b	min al	45.1		Hamilton, Josh 2332	dh cf lf	ana al	41.7
10	Pena, Carlos 1550	1b ph	tb al	44.9		Lind, Adam 2238	1b	tor al	41.6
	TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	97.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	102.1
2	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	90.2		Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	92.6
3	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	83.9		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	90.8
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	80.4		Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	89.9
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	78		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	87.3
6	Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	68		Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	77.3
7	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	67.6		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	70.1
8	Rodriguez, Wandy 2117	pi sp	hou nl	65.6		Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	68
9	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	64.3		Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	66.7
10	Beckett, Josh 1544	pi sp	lad nl	58.7		Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	dc nl	65
	TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	64.7		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	63
2	Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	60.5		Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	52.8
3	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	52.9		Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	46.2
4	Uggla, Dan 2158	2b	atl nl	45.7		Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	43.2
5	Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	45.7		Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	42.5
6	Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	44.2		Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	42.2
7	Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	43.2		Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	cin nl	41.6
8	Kubel, Jason 2177	lf	ari nl	40.1		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	40.2
9	Ramirez, Aramis 1364	3b	mil nl	39.5		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	col nl	39.2
10	Ramirez, Hanley 2119	3b	lad nl	38.6		Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	38

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

"All-time" Box-Toppers leader comparison

Here is a comparison of the "all-time" Box-Toppers leaders from the end of 2012 (left) to the end of 2013 (right). There was not much movement by players in this leader board covering the 19 seasons since Box-Toppers record keeping began. Note: This leader board does not divide players by league since many players spent their careers in both the American and National Leagues.

	1995-12 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		1995-13 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8		Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8		Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8
3	schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1		schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1
4	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	176.3		Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	179.3
5	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	169.7		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	172.3
6	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	167.6		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	170.7
7	Ramirez, manny	lf dh	free agent	167.2		Ramirez, manny	lf dh		167.2
8	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6		Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6
9	clemens, roger	pi sp	indy	164.8		clemens, roger	pi sp		164.8
10	smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9		smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9
	TOP PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8		Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8		Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8
3	schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1		schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1
4	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	169.7		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	172.3
5	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	167.6		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	170.7
6	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6		Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6
7	clemens, roger	pi sp	indy	164.8		clemens, roger	pi sp		164.8
8	smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9		smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9
9	mussina, Mike	pi sp		155.6		mussina, Mike	pi sp		155.6
10	maddux, greg	pi sp		151.7		maddux, greg	pi sp		151.7
	TOP BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	176.3		Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	179.3
2	Ramirez, manny	lf dh	free agent	167.2		Ramirez, manny	lf dh		167.2
3	Pujols, Albert 1438	1b	ana al	155.8		Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	159.8
4	bonds, barry	lf		153.2		bonds, barry	lf		153.2
5	jones, chipper	3b	atl nl	149		jones, chipper	3b	retired	149
6	thome, jim	dh	bal al	146.7		thome, jim	dh	free agent	146.7
7	giambi, jason	dh 1b ph	col nl	129.9		giambi, jason	dh ph	cle al	133.4
8	Guerrero, Vladimir	dh		128.3		Guerrero, Vladimir	rf dh	retired	128.3
9	sheffield, gary	lf		124.1		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	126.4
10	Delgado, Carlos	1b		117.7		sheffield, gary	lf		124.1

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

How 2014's Hall of Fame class fared in career Box-Toppers points

Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were elected Wednesday to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

All three, in their first year of eligibility, received the necessary 75 percent threshhold from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to be elected into the hall and will be inducted in July.

All three of the inductees (and in fact, nearly all of the eligible hall candidates) have careers that began before Box-Toppers record keeping started in 1995. But still, the top three candidates rank high among all-time Box-Toppers rankings.

Maddux, whose career lasted from 1986 to 2008, has 151.7 Box-Toppers points since 1995, ranking 14th on the all-time list and 10th among all pitchers.

Glavine, who pitched from 1987 to 2008, has 110.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking 40th on the all-time list and 26th among pitchers.

Thomas, who played from 1990 to 2008, has 106.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking 48th all-time. He ranks ninth among all designated hitters—though he ranks fourth among all players who primarily played the position over the careers, behind Jim Thome, Jason Giambi and David Ortiz. Thomas, who also played first base, ranks fourth in all-time Box-Toppers points at that position, behind Albert Pujols, Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton.

Narrowly missing induction was Craig Biggio with 74.8 percent of the vote. Biggio, in his second year of eligibility, played from 1988 to 2007 and had 54.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking 233rd among all players since 1995, eighth among all second basemen.

Two players who lead their position in all-time Box-Toppers points also failed to be elected to the hall:

• Mike Piazza, in his second year of eligibility, received 62.2 percent of the vote. He played from 1992 to 2007 and recorded 95.7 Box-Toppers points, 67th among all players and first among all catchers.
• Jeff Kent, in his first year of eligibility, received only 15.2 percent of the vote. He played from 1992 to 2008 and earned 109.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players and first by far among all second basemen. In second place among all second basemen in all-time Box-Toppers points is Chase Utley with 67.1.

The player eligible for induction with the highest all-time Box-Toppers point total was Curt Schilling. Schilling is third in all-time Box-Toppers points with 194.1, behind only Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez, both of whom will be eligible for induction next year. Schilling is also third in all-time Box-Toppers points among pitchers, behind Johnson and Martinez. However, Schilling finished 12th among players eligible for the hall with only 29.2 percent of the vote.

Though Box-Toppers has kept track of the game’s top players for 19 seasons, a couple of players eligible for the hall had careers that mostly preceded that:

• Pitcher Jack Morris, in fact, never received a Box-Toppers point because his career ended in 1994, the season before Box-Toppers record keeping began. Morris finished sixth among eligible players with 61.5 percent of the vote in his 15th and final year of eligibility in the writers’ vote.
• Left fielder Tim Raines received 46.1 percent of the vote in his seventh year of eligibility. Most of his career was before Box-Toppers started (1979 to 2002) and he has 17.7 Box-Toppers points.

Other notable players, whose candidacies were all affected by the performance enhancing drug scandal, were again not elected to the hall:

• Roger Clemens received 35.4 percent of the vote in his second year of eligibility. His career began in 1984 and since 1995, he has 164.8 Box-Toppers points, ninth all-time and seventh among all pitchers. 
• Barry Bonds received 34.7 percent of the vote in his second year of eligibility. His career began in 1986 and since 1995, he has 153.2 Box-Toppers points, 13th all-time and second among all outfielders (behind only Manny Ramirez). 
• Mark McGwire received 11.0 percent of the vote in his eighth year of eligibility. His career began in 1986 and since 1995, he has 77.3 Box-Toppers points, 115th all-time and 15th among all first basemen.
• Sammy Sosa received 7.2 percent of the vote in his second year of eligibility. His career began in 1989 and since 1995, he has  113.2 Box-Toppers points, 38th all-time and fifth among all outfielders.
• Rafael Palmeiro received 4.4 percent of the vote in his fourth year of eligibility. His career began in 1986 and since 1995, he has 77.9 Box-Toppers points, 111th all-time and 13th among all first basemen. Palmeiro did not receive enough votes to remain eligible for next year’s writers’ hall of fame ballot.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player of the day in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

How Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers 

Here are the results of Baseball Hall of Fame voting, with players listed from highest to lowest vote totals. Most The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during their careers (since 1995), their overall rank in Box-Toppers points (BT rank) and their rank among players at their position. Thirty-six players were eligible for the hall and 30 received at least one vote. Included here are the top 10 and other selected players:

Rank	Name	Votes (Pct.)	Yrs on ballot	Pos	Yrs active	BTP	BT rank	BT pos rank
*1	Greg Maddux	555 (97.2%)	1	pi sp	86-08	151.7	14	10
*2	Tom Glavine	525 (91.9)	1	pi sp	87-08	110.6	40	26
*3	Frank Thomas	478 (83.7)	1	dh 1b	90-08	106.2	48	9
4	Craig Biggio	427 (74.8)	2	2b	88-07	54.2	233	8
5	Mike Piazza	355 (62.2)	2	ca	92-07	95.7	67	1
6	Jack Morris	351 (61.5)	15	pi sp	77-94	0	-	-
7	Jeff Bagwell	310 (54.3)	4	1b	91-05	100.4	57	5
8	Tim Raines	263 (46.1)	7	lf	79-02	17.7	900	199
9	Roger Clemens	202 (35.4)	2	pi sp	84-07	164.8	9	7
10	Barry Bonds	198 (34.7)	2	lf	86-07	153.2	13	2
12	Curt Schilling	167 (29.2)	2	pi sp	88-07	194.1	3	3
15	Mike Mussina	116 (20.3)	1	pi sp	91-08	155.6	12	9
16	Jeff Kent	87 (15.2)	1	2b	92-08	109.7	41	1

* Denotes the player received the necessary 75 percent of the vote to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Note: All players had careers that preceded Box-Toppers record keeping, especially Jack Morris and Tim Raines.

Source: Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Box-Toppers' batting leader Miguel Cabrera wins AL MVP; NL leader Goldschmidt finishes behind McCutchen for NL MVP

Box-Toppers' top-ranked batter Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

But the National League leading batter in Box-Toppers points, Paul Goldschmidt, finished in second place in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who finished 71st among NL players and 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.

Cabrera had 16.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, first among all batters, third among all AL players and eighth among all players. He was consistently the only batter in the overall player top 10 list during the season. He led all players in Box-Toppers points four different times during the season, most recently from June 28 to June 30.

Cabrera was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots, winning his second straight MVP award. However, in 2012, Cabrera ranked third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.7, behind Adrian Beltre (13.5) and Chris Davis (12.0). Cabrera ranked third in 2012 despite his Triple Crown season.

McCutchen, voted NL MVP, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots and was voted on all 30 ballots no lower than third place. However, as the 22nd-ranked NL batter in Box-Toppers points, he wouldn’t have even appeared on Box-Toppers’ 10-spot ballot.

Box-Toppers’ top NL batter Goldschmidt had 13.7 Box-Toppers points and received 15 of the writers’ second place votes, enough to secure the NL MVP runner-up spot.

So what went wrong here? Why do the writers so unanimously see McCutchen as the MVP and Box-Toppers so ... does not? (In fact, McCutchen is not even the highest-ranked batter in Box-Toppers points on his team—that honor goes to Pedro Alvarez, with 7.7 points.)

McCutchen’s batting average is .317. He hit 21 homers and 84 RBIs, scored 97 runs and stole 27 bases. Goldschmidt’s numbers were just as good, often better—.302 average, 36 homers, 125 RBIs. But McCutchen’s team made the postseason. Goldschmidt’s didn’t. Plus, words being used to describe McCutchen are “all-around player,” a “heart-and-soul” guy—intangibles. By their very nature, it’s hard to measure intangibles.

But Box-Toppers measures tangibles. The player who most helps his team win the most games earns the most Box-Toppers points. And to be fair, Box-Toppers doesn’t measure defensive play—for batters, it relies on what they produce at the plate. So it is possible that a lot of McCutchen’s valuableness gets missed that way.

Though in the previous two seasons, McCutchen has fared better in Box-Toppers points than he did in 2013. In 2011, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, in eighth place among NL batters. And in 2012, he had 8.5, finishing just out of the top 10 among NL batters.

So, by Box-Toppers standards, Goldschmidt very simply more often helped his team win more games than did McCutchen.

A couple of other players were voted by writers to higher spots than would be recommended by their Box-Toppers point total:

• Mike Trout of the Angels was voted in second place in AL MVP voting with five first place votes. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 144th place among all AL players and 62nd among all AL batters. (In 2012, he also finished second in AL MVP voting, but in 2012, he finished fifth among AL batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points.)
• Yadier Molina of the Cardinals was voted in third place in NL MVP voting with two first place votes. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 126th place among all NL players and 52nd among all NL batters. However, Molina is rightly given credit for his defensive skills as a catcher and his role in shaping a pitching staff with four or five Cy Young-worthy starters. Box-Toppers doesn’t measure that.

There were several players who had high Box-Toppers point totals who did not receive MVP votes. Three of the Box-Toppers top 10 AL batters received no votes and seven of the Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters were shut out:

• Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all AL players and second among all AL batters. However, Soriano played in the National League for the Cubs at the start of the season and switched to the American League in July.
• Billy Butler of the Royals had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 33rd among all AL players and eighth among AL batters.
• Prince Fielder of the Tigers had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 39th among all AL players and 10th among AL batters.
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all NL players and fourth among NL batters.
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals had 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all NL players and fifth among NL batters.
• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all NL players and sixth among NL batters.
• Will Venable of the Padres had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all NL players and seventh among NL batters.
• Daniel Murphy of the Mets had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 40th among all NL players and eighth among NL batters.
• Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all NL players and ninth among NL batters.
• Brandon Phillips of the Reds had 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 48th among all NL players and 10th among NL batters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Here are the final Box-Toppers Player Rankings for 2013, showing the top 10 overall players, plus the top 10 in AL and NL pitching and AL and NL batting. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers season point totals.

Box-Toppers rankings of MVP Award candidates 

Here are the results of Most Valuable Player Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among all players in their league.

MVP vote
AL
Player	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Miguel Cabrera	3b	Tigers	23	7									385	16.9	3
Mike Trout	cf lf	Angels	5	19	3	1	1		1				282	3.5	144
Chris Davis	1b	Orioles	1	4	11	12	1		1				232	12.7	14
Josh Donaldson	3b	Athletics	1		14	9	3	3					222	9.5	31
Robinson Cano	2b	Yankees			1	5	9	2	6	5	2		150	12.5	17
Evan Longoria	3b	Rays					4	6	6	4	5	3	103	5.5	82
Dustin Pedroia	2b	Red Sox				1	5	5	5	4	2	1	99	3.5	145
Adrian Beltre	3b	Rangers					2	8	7	3	4	2	99	8.4	41
Manny Machado	3b	Orioles					2	1	2	5	5	7	57	1.0	316
David Ortiz	dh	Red Sox				2	1	2	2	1	2	2	47	12.4	18
Jason Kipnis	2b	Indians					1	1		3	3	5	31	8.0	44
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers			1			2		1	1	2	25	18.1	1
Adam Jones	cf	Orioles					1			1			9	8.0	43
Edwin Encarnacion	1b dh	Blue Jays								1	2		7	8.7	38
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals								1			3	11.0	22
Carlos Santana	ca	Indians								1			3	1.0	287
Coco Crisp	cf	Athletics									1	1	3	4.0	129
Jacoby Ellsbury	cf	Red Sox									1	1	3	5.5	83
Torii Hunter	rf	Tigers									1		2	4.0	125
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners									1		2	16.1	7
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox										2	2	6.0	76
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers										1	1	16.0	8
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners										1	1	14.8	9
Salvador Perez	ca 1b	Royals										1	1	2.5	195
Shane Victorino	rf	Red Sox										1	1	4.5	112
Notable AL snubs
Alfonso Soriano	lf	Yankees											0	12.9	12
Billy Butler	dh	Royals											0	9.0	33
Prince Fielder	1b	Tigers											0	8.5	39
NL
Player, Club	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Andrew McCutchen	cf	Pirates	28	1	1								409	6.0	71
Paul Goldschmidt	1b	D-Backs		15	9	1	3	2					242	13.7	12
Yadier Molina	ca	Cardinals	2	8	4	6	6		1		2	1	219	4.0	126
Matt Carpenter	2b	Cardinals		6	5	4	3	9	1	1	1		194	7.5	49
Freddie Freeman	1b	Braves				5	7	8	8	1	1		154	11.5	19
Joey Votto	1b	Reds			2	8	7	3	4		1	2	149	4.5	109
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers			8	4		4	5	4	1		146	21.7	1
Hanley Ramirez	ss	Dodgers			1	1	2	1	2	3	3	3	58	5.0	87
Carlos Gomez	cf	Brewers					1		3	6	2	3	43	3.0	162
Jay Bruce	rf	Reds					1	1	3		2	3	30	4.5	112
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves				1		1		3	3		27	12.7	18
Shin Soo Choo	cf	Reds						1	1	1	4	3	23	7.0	55
Jayson Werth	rf	Nationals							1	2	2	6	20	6.5	66
Andrelton Simmons	ss	Braves								2	4		14	1.5	261
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers							1	2			10	1.5	259
Hunter Pence	rf	Giants								1	1	2	7	6.5	63
Troy Tulowitzki	ss	Rockies									2	1	5	4.0	124
Allen Craig	lf 1b	Cardinals								1		1	4	5.0	84
Adrian Gonzalez	1b	Dodgers								1		1	4	5.0	86
Buster Posey	ca	Giants								1			3	7.0	54
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals								1			3	20.2	2
Michael Cuddyer	rf	Rockies										3	3	11.5	20
Matt Holliday	lf	Cardinals									1		2	6.5	62
Russell Martin	ca	Pirates										1	1	2.0	212
Notable NL snubs
Carlos Gonzalez	lf	Rockies											0	11.0	22
Bryce Harper	lf	Nationals											0	9.4	34
Ryan Zimmerman	3b	Nationals											0	9.2	35
Will Venable	rf cf	Padres											0	9.0	36
Daniel Murphy	2b	Mets											0	8.5	40
Pedro Alvarez	3b	Pirates											0	7.7	45
Brandon Phillips	2b	Reds											0	7.5	48

* Rank among players (batters and pitchers) in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America

Box-Toppers pitching leaders Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer win Cy Young Awards

Box-Toppers highest-ranked pitchers in each league for the season were selected Wednesday as 2013‘s Cy Young Award winners.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was chosen as National League Cy Young Award winner. He led all players in Box-Toppers points for the season with 21.7.

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer was chosen as American League Cy Young Award winner. He led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 18.1. He ranked fifth among all players.

Voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America for the Cy Young Award for top pitcher coincided, generally, with Box-Toppers Player Rankings. There were some anomalies and snubs.

Five pitchers who ranked in the top 10 among pitchers in their league were completely left off all ballots. Among those who received no votes for Cy Young:

• Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks. He had 17.4 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all NL pitchers. Corbin briefly led all players in Box-Toppers rankings in July.
• Justin Masterson of the Indians. He had 16.4 Box-Toppers points and ranked third among all AL pitchers and 10th among all players. Masterson led all players in Box-Toppers points at five different times in the season, including being the overall leader for nearly a month from July 21 to Aug. 17. He led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points until Sept. 15, when he was finally passed by Scherzer. True, Masterson did not pitch much or pitch well down the stretch. His last Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor came on July 27. Still he was the player who most helped his team win 11 games—more than many pitchers who received votes—and should have been given some consideration among voters.
• Lance Lynn of the Cardinals. He had 16.1 Box-Toppers points and ranked seventh among all NL pitchers.
• Shelby Miller of the Cardinals. He had 15.4 Box-Toppers points and ranked ninth among all NL pitchers.
• Ubaldo Jimenez of the Indians. He had 14.5 Box-Toppers points and ranked ninth among all AL pitchers.

Closing pitchers were another anomaly. In Box-Toppers scoring, closing pitchers often rank lower in player rankings, as they are less likely than starters to be the player who most helps his team win the game—and thus earn Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points. So in the American League, Red Sox closer Koji Uehara ranked seventh among AL pitchers in voting but ranked 52nd in Box-Toppers points (with 6.0).

In the NL, Braves closer Craig Kimbrel finished fourth in voting and 17th in Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers (with 12.7).

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Box-Toppers rankings of Cy Young Award candidates 

Here are the results of Cy Young Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among pitchers in their league.

Cy Young vote
AL
Player	Pos	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers	28	1	1			203	18.1	1
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers		19	3	1	6	93	16.0	7
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners		6	12	6	1	73	16.1	6
Anibal Sanchez	pi sp	Tigers	1	1	3	9	8	46	17.1	2
Chris Sale	pi sp	White Sox	1		5	8	6	44	16.1	4
Bartolo Colon	pi sp	Athletics		2	3	1	6	25	13.1	10
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox		1	2			10	6.0	52
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners			1	1	1	6	14.8	8
Matt Moore	pi sp	Rays				2		4	16.1	5
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals				1	2	4	11.0	17
James Shields	pi sp	Royals				1		2	9.7	23
Notable AL snubs
Justin Masterson	pi sp	Indians						0	16.4	3
Ubaldo Jimenez	pi sp	Indians						0	14.5	9
NL
Player	Pos	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers	29	1				207	21.7	1
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals	1	15	4	1	5	86	20.2	2
Jose Fernandez	pi sp	Marlins		9	3	5	7	62	19.0	4
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves		4	1	8	4	39	12.7	17
Matt Harvey	pi sp	Mets		1	8	4	3	39	15.0	10
Cliff Lee	pi sp	Phillies			6	6	2	32	13.4	14
Jordan Zimmerman	pi sp	Nationals			6		3	21	14.7	11
Zack Greinke	pi sp	Dodgers			2	4	4	18	19.4	3
Madison Bumgarner	pi sp	Giants				1	1	3	15.7	8
Francisco Liriano	pi sp	Pirates				1	1	3	16.7	6
Notable NL snubs
Patrick Corbin	pi sp	Diamondbacks						0	17.4	5
Lance Lynn	pi sp	Cardinals						0	16.1	7
Shelby Miller	pi sp	Cardinals						0	15.4	9

* Rank among pitchers in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America

Box-Toppers top rookie Jose Fernandez wins NL newcomer award

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez led the way in voting and in Box-Toppers points on the way to earning National League Rookie of the Year Monday.

But the player voted American League Rookie of the Year ranked fourth among AL rookies in Box-Toppers points, behind a teammate. Wil Myers of the Rays, who served as designated hitter and right fielder, was voted top AL rookie, though his teammate, pitcher Chris Archer, had the most Box-Toppers points among AL rookie vote-getters.

Fernandez, who ranked fourth among all players, briefly led in Box-Toppers overall player rankings in September. He finished with 19.0 Box-Toppers points, in fourth place among all NL players and more than any other AL player.

Dodgers rightfielder Yasiel Puig finished second in voting, though he only earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points during the season.

The National League featured strong rookie pitchers among the top vote-getters. Shelby Miller of the Cardinals (third in voting) had the second-most Box-Toppers points among rookies with 15.4. Julio Teheran of the Braves (fifth in voting) had the third-most Box-Toppers points among rookies with 13.7. Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers (fourth in voting) had 9.7 Box-Toppers points.

Archer far outdistanced all other AL rookies in Box-Toppers points, though he was only voted in third place. Archer had 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Myers, who finished first, had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, tied for the most among AL batters in rookie voting.

Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (who earlier in the season played for the Red Sox) finished in second in voting, though he earned no Box-Toppers points. In fact, two rookie vote-getters, Iglesias and Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, have yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so neither have any Box-Toppers points.

One other notable rookie, Athletics pitcher Dan Straily finished fourth in AL rookie voting. He had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, the second-most among AL rookie vote-getters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Jose Fernandez

Here is how Fernandez scored his 19.0 Box-Toppers points this season:

April 13: Player of the Game, 1.0 Box-Toppers point

May 4: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

June 1: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

June 14: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

July 1: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

July 23: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

July 28: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 2: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 13: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 19: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

Aug. 24: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Sept. 6: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

Chris Archer

Here is how Archer scored his 11.7 Box-Toppers points:

June 7: Player of the Game, 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

July 9: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

July 14: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

July 27: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 18: American League Player of the Day, 1.7 BTP.

Aug. 28: Player of the Day, 1.0 BTP.

Sept. 13: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Sept. 18: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP

Wil Myers

Here is how Myers scored his 3.5 Box-Toppers points:

July 19: Player of the Game, 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Aug. 15: American League Batter of the Day, 1.5 BTP.

Sept. 4: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP

How top rookies fared in Box-Toppers points 

Here are the results of Rookie of the Year voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right column shows how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season. For more: MLB.com’s coverage of the vote.

Top rookies
AL
Player	Pos	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points	BTP
Wil Myers	dh rf	Rays	23	5	1	131	3.5
Jose Iglesias	ss	Tigers*	5	17	4	80	0
Chris Archer	pi sp	Rays	1	5	15	35	11.7
Dan Straily	pi sp	Athletics	1	2	4	15	7.7
J.B. Shuck	lf	Angels		1	1	4	3.0
Cody Allen	pi mr	Indians			2	2	1.0
Martin Perez	pi sp	Rangers			2	2	5.0
David Lough	rf	Royals			1	1	3.5
NL
Player		Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points	BTP
Jose Fernandez	pi sp	Marlins	26	4		142	19.0
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers	4	25		95	1.5
Shelby Miller	pi sp	Cardinals		1	9	12	15.4
Hyun-Jin Ryu	pi sp	Dodgers			10	10	9.7
Julio Teheran	pi sp	Braves			7	7	13.7
Jedd Gyorko	2b	Padres			2	2	2.0
Nolan Arenado	3b	Rockies			1	1	0.0
Evan Gattis	ca	Braves			1	1	1.0

* Jose Iglesias began the season playing for the Red Sox. 

Shane Victorino helps Red Sox win World Series, tops players in Game 6, Wednesday, Oct. 30

Shane Victorino helped the Red Sox wrap up a World Series title Wednesday, earning Player of the Day honors in the deciding Game 6. 

Victorino, with two hits, including a three-run double, led the Red Sox to a 6-1 win over the Cardinals in Game 6 and sealing a 4-2 game victory in the series.

Victorino went 2-for-3 in the game and drove in four runs. He had 4.5 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 224th overall.

Victorino was also Player of the Day in the deciding Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, in which the Red Sox beat the Tigers 5-2. 

Related story: Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21. 

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top players in each of the other games.

Thanks for following Box-Toppers this season. Stay tuned via RSS, Twitter or Facebook for offseason posts to follow postseason player awards, season wrap-ups and other odd bits of essential knowledge and/or trivia. 

Top 6 players in World Series Game 6 

Here are the top six Red Sox players in Wednesday's World Series Game 6, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Shane Victorino, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, is Box-Toppers Player of the Game (POG). 

1030	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
POG	3.0	Red Sox	Shane Victorino RF	3	0	2	4	1	0	0	0		0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Koji Uehara	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz DH	1	2	0	0	4	1	1	0		0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Brandon Workman	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.1	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Junichi Tazawa (H, 2)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Red Sox	Stephen Drew SS	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	0		0.0	0	0	0	0	0

World Series Game 6 preview: Cards' Wacha, Red Sox' Lackey duel in pitching rematch from Game 2

World Series Game 6 Wednesday features a pitching rematch of Game 2 won by the Cardinals.

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha faces Red Sox pitcher John Lackey, the same two who started Game 2 in Boston last Thursday won by the Cardinals 4-2. St. Louis closing pitcher Trevor Rosenthal was Box-Toppers Player of the Day in that game. Wacha, who pitched six innings, earned the win.

The Red Sox lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and could wrap up the World Series championship with a win Wednesday.

Wacha had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 361st overall. However, the rookie has earned Player of the Game honors for the Cardinals three times already this postseason (Game 4 of the National League Divisional Series vs. the Pirates, and Game 2 and Game 6 of the NL Championship Series vs. the Dodgers).

Lackey had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 148th overall. Lackey was Player of the Day in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series vs. the Tigers.

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21. 

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top players in each of the other games. 

Red Sox' Jon Lester, Game 1 hero, tops players again in World Series Game 5

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors Monday for the second time this World Series.

Lester struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings and held the Cardinals to one run and four hits in the 3-1 win in Game 5 of the Fall Classic. The Red Sox take a three-to-two-games lead in the best-of-seven series. 

Lester was also Player of the Day in World Series Game 1 as the Red Sox beat the Cardinals 8-1. He was also Player of the Game in the first game of the American League Division Series against the Rays. 

Lester had 12.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 34th overall and is the Red Sox 2013 regular season leader in Box-Toppers points.

Game 6 is Wednesday in Boston. 

Box-Toppers tracks players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top players in each of the other games.

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.

Top 3 players in World Series Game 5

Here are the top three Red Sox players in Monday's World Series Game 5, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.2, was Player of the Game (POG).

1028	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
POG	8.2	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Jon Lester (W, 2-0)	7	4	1	1	0	7
	3.1	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Koji Uehara (S, 2)	1	0	0	0	0	2
	0.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz 1B	4	0	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Jonny Gomes' 3-run homer lifts Red Sox to World Series Game 4 win, tops players for Sunday, Oct. 27

Jonny Gomes hit a three-run homer to lead the Red Sox to a Game 4 World Series win, earning Sunday's Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors. 

The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-2 to even the best-of-seven World Series at two games apiece. 

Gomes, starting in place of an injured Shane Victorino, had 5.5 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 156th overall.

Coming Monday: The World Series resumes Monday in St. Louis. Here is the pitching match-up:

World Series Game 5, Red Sox at Cardinals, series tied 2-2

Red Sox: Jon Lester, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 34th overall. 

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright, 20.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked second overall. 

This is a rematch of World Series Game 1, won by the Red Sox 8-1. Lester was Player of the Game.  Both players are their team's overall leader in Box-Toppers points.

Box-Toppers tracks players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top players in each of the other games.

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.

Top 6 players in World Series Game 4

Here are the top six Red Sox players in Sunday's World Series Game 4, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Jonny Gomes, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, was Player of the Game (POG). He  edged out middle relief pitcher Felix Doubront, who had a game score of 2.2, and who picked up the win.

1027	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
POG	3.0	Red Sox	Jonny Gomes LF	2	1	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.2	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Felix Doubront (W, 1-0)	2.2	1	1	1	0	3
	2.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz 1B	3	2	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	John Lackey (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.1	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Junichi Tazawa (H, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Koji Uehara (S, 1)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0

Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal tops players for 2nd straight World Series game

Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for the second straight World Series game. 

Rosenthal is Box-Toppers top player in Saturday's Game 3, pitching the final five outs to lead the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Red Sox. The Cardinals now lead the World Series two games to one.

Rosenthal struck out two and gave up one hit over 1 2/3 innings and earned the win when the Cardinals scored the walk-off winning run on an obstruction call when Allen Craig got tangled in Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks' feet as he was trying to score from third on an overthrow. Craig was tagged out at the plate, but was ruled safe at home because of the obstruction call.  

Rosenthal had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 147th overall. He was also Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Game 2. 

 Coming Sunday: The World Series resumes Sunday in St. Louis. Here is the pitching match-up:

World Series Game 4, Cardinals lead Red Sox 2-1

Red Sox: Clay Buchholz, 11.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 41st overall. 

Cardinals: Lance Lynn, 16.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th overall. 

Box-Toppers tracks players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games.

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.

Top 6 players in World Series Game 3

Here are the top six Cardinals players in Saturday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Trevor Rosenthal, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.2, was Player of the Game (POG). He narrowly edged out starter Joe Kelly, who had a game score of 2.1, for top player. Highest-ranking batter was Matt Holliday (game score of 1.0), who went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs.

1026	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
POG	2.2	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Trevor Rosenthal (W, 1-0)	1.2	1	0	0	0	2
	2.1	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Joe Kelly	5.1	2	2	2	3	6
	2.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Kevin Siegrist	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Cardinals	Matt Holliday LF	5	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Cardinals	Allen Craig PH	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Cardinals	Yadier Molina C	4	0	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

World Series Game 3 preview: Red Sox' Peavy vs. Cardinals' Kelly

Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy matches up against Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly in Game 3 of the World Series Saturday.  

Peavy had 8.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 84th overall. Kelly had 4.0 points, ranking 264th overall. 

The best-of-seven series is tied at one game apiece as it moves to St. Louis for Game 3.

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21. 

Box-Toppers tracks players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games.

Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal saves World Series Game 2, tops players for Thursday, Oct. 24

Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal is Thursday's Player of the Day, earning the save in Game 2 of the World Series.

Rosenthal pitched the ninth inning and struck out three in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox. The Cardinals tie the Red Sox at one game apiece in the best-of-seven World Series.

Rosenthal had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 147th overall.  It is the first time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors.

The World Series moves to St. Louis for Game 3 Saturday. 

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.

Top 4 players in World Series Game 2 

Here are the top four Cardinals players in Thursday's World Series Game 2, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Trevor Rosenthal, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 4.0, was Player of the Game (POG). Middle reliever Carlos Martinez also had a game score of 4.0, but Rosenthal was named Player of the Game because he picked up the save.

1024	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
POG	4.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Trevor Rosenthal (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Carlos Martinez (H, 1)	2.0	1	0	0	0	3
	1.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Michael Wacha (W, 1-0)	6.0	3	2	2	4	6
	0.0	Cardinals	Pete Kozma PR, SS	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Red Sox' Jon Lester shuts down Cardinals in World Series Game 1, tops players for Wednesday, Oct. 23

Jon Lester shut out the Cardinals for 7 2/3 innings and led the Red Sox to a Game 1 World Series win to earn Wednesday's Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.

Lester struck out eight, walked only one and allowed five hits in the 8-1 win. The Red Sox take a one-game-to-zero lead over the Cardinals in the best-of-seven series. 

Lester had 12.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 34th overall. He was also Player of the Game in the first game of the American League Division Series against the Rays.

 Coming Thursday: The World Series resumes Thursday in Boston. Here is the pitching match-up:

World Series Game 2, Red Sox lead Cardinals 1-0

Cardinals: Michael Wacha, 3.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 361st overall. However, the rookie has earned Player of the Game honors for the Cardinals three times already this postseason (twice in the National League Championship Series), more than any other player.

Red Sox: John Lackey, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 148th overall. Lackey was Player of the Day in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series vs. the Tigers.

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.

Top 6 players in World Series Game 1  

Here are the top six Red Sox players in Wednesday's World Series Game 1, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Jon Lester, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 9.2 was Player of the Game (POG). David Ortiz was the highest-scoring batter, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, amassing a Box-Toppers game score of 4.0.

1023	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
POG	9.2	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Jon Lester (W, 1-0)	7.2	5	0	0	1	8
	4.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz DH	3	2	2	3	0	0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.1	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Junichi Tazawa	0.1	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Red Sox	Dustin Pedroia 2B	4	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Red Sox	Daniel Nava PH, LF	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Red Sox	Mike Napoli 1B	4	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Box-Toppers recalls 2004's postseason, when Cards-Red Sox also met in World Series

With the Red Sox and the Cardinals matched up against each other for the fourth time in World Series history, let's take a Box-Toppers look back to the last time they faced off, in the 2004 Fall Classic. 

With nine years of separation, there aren't a lot of returning players from the previous Cards-Sox title bout—in fact, only two: 

• Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz.
• Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Ortiz had 10.7 Box-Toppers points during the 2004 regular season, his best at the time and was Player of the Game in two postseason contests—once in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees and once in Game 1 of the World Series against the Cardinals. This season, Ortiz had 12.4 Box-Toppers points and has already been Player of the Game in Game 2 of the ALCS vs. the Tigers.

Molina was in his first year with the Cardinals in 2004 and had only 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He was playing behind then-starting catcher (now Cardinals manager) Mike Matheny. This season, Molina has 4.0 Box-Toppers points. 

One other current Cardinal player did play a prominent role in 2004's postseason. Carlos Beltran, then of the Astros, was twice Player of the Game during the National League Division series, as the Astros defeated the Braves, three games to two. The Astros lost to the Cardinals in the NLCS, four games to three. 

The 2004 postseason was also notable because it was the first and only time a team with a 3-0 game deficit in a best-of-seven series came back to win it 4-3. That was the Red Sox, beating the Yankees in the ALCS, sparked by Ortiz' Game 4 performance. Ortiz hit a walk-off, 12th-inning, two-run home run to beat the Yankees 6-4. The Sox then trailed that series three games to one.

The 2004 postseason was also notable because it was the first time the Red Sox had won the World Series since 1918—a span of 86 years. The Red Sox went on to sweep the Cardinals in the Fall Classic. Then-Cards stars like Albert Pujols, who contributed to St. Louis wins in the first two rounds of the postseason, were shut out from even once earning Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors during the World Series. However, Ortiz was joined by three other arguably legendary Red Sox as Player of the Game in the other three World Series victories: 

• Game 1: Ortiz, who has 126.4 Box-Toppers points for his career, ranked 24th all-time (since 1995 when Box-Toppers record-keeping began).
• Game 2: Pitcher Curt Schilling, who had 21.0 Box-Toppers points in 2004 and has 194.1 since 1995, ranked third on the all-time (since 1995) list.  
• Game 3: Pitcher Pedro Martinez, who had 17.1 Box-Toppers points in 2004 and has 244.8 since 1995, ranked second on the all-time (since 1995) list, behind only Randy Johnson (278.8). 
• Game 4: Pitcher Derek Lowe, who had a career-low 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2004, but has 91.5 for his career, ranked 82nd on the all-time list. 

2004 League Division Series Box-Toppers results 

Here are Box-Toppers Players of the Games for each of the league division series games played in 2004. Games are listed by day. The Red Sox beat the Angels 3-0. The Yankees beat the Twins 3-1. The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 3-1. The Astros beat the Braves 3-2.

2004	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Oct 5
MLB	2.0	Red Sox	Manny Ramirez lf	5	2	2	3	0	1				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
NL	2.0	Cardinals	Larry Walker rf	4	2	2	2	0	2				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Twins		0	0	0	0	0	0			Johan Santana (W, 1-0)	7.0	9	0	0	1	5
Oct 6
MLB	5.0	Astros	Carlos Beltran cf	3	3	3	2	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
AL	3.1	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Keith Foulke (S, 1)	1.1	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Yankees	Alex Rodriguez 3b	6	2	4	3	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 7
MLB	4.0	`Braves		0	0	0	0	0	0			John Smoltz	3.0	0	0	0	2	3
BAT	3.0	Cardinals	Edgar Renteria ss	4	3	3	1	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 8
MLB	4.0	`Red Sox		0	0	0	0	0	0			Bronson Arroyo	6.0	3	2	2	2	7
BAT	1.0	Yankees	Derek Jeter ss	5	0	3	3	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 9
MLB	7.0	Dodgers		0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Lima (W, 1-0)	9.0	5	0	0	1	4
NL	3.0	Astros		0	0	0	0	0	0			Brad Lidge (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Yankees	Ruben Sierra dh	4	1	2	3	1	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 10
MLB	3.0	Cardinals	Albert Pujols 1b	4	1	2	4	1	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Braves	Adam LaRoche 1b	3	1	1	3	1	1				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 11
MLB	7.0	Astros	Carlos Beltran cf	5	3	4	5	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0

2004 League Championship Series Box-Toppers results 

Here are Box-Toppers Players of the Games for each of the league championship series games played in 2004. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-3. The Cardinals beat the Astros 4-3.

2004	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Oct 12
MLB	5.0	Yankees	Hideki Matsui lf	5	2	3	5	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 13
MLB	4.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lieber (W, 1-0)	7.0	3	1	1	1	3
NL	3.0	Cardinals	Albert Pujols 1b	3	2	2	2	2	1				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 14
MLB	3.0	Cardinals	Scott Rolen 3b	4	2	2	3	0	1				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 16
MLB	9.0	Yankees	Hideki Matsui lf	6	5	5	5	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
NL	5.0	Astros	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brad Lidge (S, 2)	2.0	1	0	0	1	5
Oct 17
MLB	4.0	Astros	Lance Berkman, RF	2	1	2	3	2	0
AL	2.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz, DH	5	1	2	4	1	1
Oct 18
MLB	9.0	`Astros										Brandon Backe	8.0	1	0	0	2	4
AL	5.0	Red Sox										Tim Wakefield (W,1-0)	3.0	1	0	0	1	4
Oct 19
MLB	5.0	Red Sox										Curt Schilling (W,2-1)	7.0	4	1	1	0	4
Oct 20
MLB	5.0	Red Sox	Johnny Damon cf	6	2	3	6	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
NL	4.0	Cardinals		0	0	0	0	0	0			Julian Tavarez (W, 2-1)	2.0	0	0	0	0	2
Oct 21
MLB	4.0	Cardinals		0	0	0	0	0	0			Jeff Suppan (W, 2-1)	6.0	3	2	1	2	6

2004 World Series Box-Toppers results 

Here are Box-Toppers Players of the Games for each of the World Series games played in 2004. The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-0.

2004	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Oct 23
MLB	4.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz, DH	3	1	2	4	2	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct 24
MLB	4.0	Red Sox		0	0	0	0	0	0			Curt Schilling (W, 1-0)	6.0	4	1	0	1	4
Oct 26
MLB	8.0	Red Sox		0	0	0	0	0	0			Pedro Martinez (W, 1-0)	7.0	3	0	0	2	6
Oct 27
MLB	7.0	Red Sox		0	0	0	0	0	0			Derek Lowe (W, 1-0)	7.0	3	0	0	1	4

In the first column of each chart, the designation MLB indicates Player of the Day, AL or NL indicates Player of the Day in the opposite league and BAT indicates the player was the top batter of the day in his league. Usually, top players of the game receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point, top batters in the league receive 1.5, top players in the league receive 1.7 and top overall players receive 2.0. However, postseason Box-Toppers points are not counted in regular season Box-Toppers totals.

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

Game 1 Preview: Cardinals, Red Sox bring out their aces to open World Series

Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday features the pitching aces of both the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Adam Wainwright starts for the Cardinals and Jon Lester starts for the Red Sox in the first of the best-of-seven series beginning in Boston. 

Both players are their team's overall leader in Box-Toppers points.  Wainwright has 20.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking second among all players. Lester has 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking 34th overall.

For more on the World Series, see Box-Toppers preview of the Cardinals-Red Sox match-up. 

Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Kershaw leads Box-Toppers 2013 All-Star teams, Nationals have most team members

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2013 regular season are led by overall top player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

The Washington Nationals have the most representatives of any team, with four players.

The All-Star teams are comprised of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the National League and nine (including the designated hitter) in the American League—are the top four starting pitchers in each league, the top player who was predominately a middle-reliever and the top closing pitcher.

Kershaw was Box-Toppers Player of the Season, the top overall player, with 21.7 Box-Toppers points. The top four overall players were starting pitchers from the NL. Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer is the top AL player with 18.1 points, ranked fifth overall. 

The top AL batter is Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 points, ranked eighth overall. The top NL batter is Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt with 13.7 points, ranked 22nd overall.

Four Nationals players made the list, more than any other team: 

• Shortstop Ian Desmond with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 163rd overall.
• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2 points, ranked 66th.
• Catcher Wilson Ramos, 7.5 points, ranked 101st.
• Outfielder Bryce Harper, the third-ranked outfielder, with 9.4 points, ranked 65th overall. 

Only two members of both leagues' All-Star teams are still active this season, playing in the World Series: 

• AL designated hitter David Ortiz of the Red Sox has 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 36th overall.
• NL starting pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals has 20.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked second overall. 

Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars.  

End-of-season 2013 Box-Toppers All-Star teams 

Here are the Box-Toppers All-Stars by position for both leagues. It includes players with the highest Box-Toppers points (BTP) by position in each league. Also included is the players' overall rank among all players.

	AL	Team	BTP	Rank		NL	Team	BTP	Rank
1B	Davis, Chris 2478	Orioles	12.7	32		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	D-Backs	13.7	22
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	Yankees	12.5	35		Murphy, Daniel 2589	Mets	8.5	79
SS	Lowrie, Jed 2437	Athletics	8.0	90		Desmond, Ian 2673	Nationals	5.5	163
3B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	Tigers	16.9	8		Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	Nationals	9.2	66
CA	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	Blue Jays	5.5	158		Ramos, Wilson 2904	Nationals	7.5	101
OF	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	Yankees	12.9	28		Cuddyer, Michael 1826	Rockies	11.5	40
OF	Raburn, Ryan 2340	Indians	9.5	62		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	Rockies	11.0	43
OF	Jones, Adam 2347	Orioles	8.0	86		Harper, Bryce 3011	Nationals	9.4	65
DH	Ortiz, David	Red Sox	12.4	36
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	Tigers	18.1	5		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	Dodgers	21.7	1
SP	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	Tigers	17.1	7		Wainwright, Adam 2150	Cardinals	20.2	2
SP	Masterson, Justin 2462	Indians	16.4	10		Greinke, Zack 1871	Dodgers	19.4	3
SP	Sale, Chris 2806	White Sox	16.1	12		Fernandez, Jose 3147	Marlins	19.0	4
MR	Chen, Bruce 1170	Royals	6.4	129		Collmenter, Josh 2863	D-Backs	8.0	89
CP	Holland, Greg 2906	Royals	11.0	37		Kimbrel, Craig 2825	Braves	12.7	31

BTP: Box-Toppers points

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cardinals-Red Sox World Series features two highly ranked, evenly matched teams

The 2013 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox features two highly ranked and evenly matched teams. 

The Cardinals are ranked third in Box-Toppers Power Rankings with 122.4 Box-Toppers points. The Red Sox are close behind in fourth, with 121.7. So only 0.7 points separate them, which is less than one Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor (worth 1.0 point). 

Both teams also tied with the best regular-season winning percentage in baseball (.599, both with 97 wins). Both teams knocked off teams just ahead of them in Box-Toppers Power Rankings in their respective league championship series, both in six games. The Cardinals beat the second-ranked Dodgers (122.7 Box-Toppers points) and the Red Sox beat the top-ranked Tigers (123.4).

The best-of-seven World Series begins Wednesday in Boston. 

Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams (we have taken the liberty of inserting Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig into the designated hitter spot), along with the four most likely starting pitchers, the team's top closer and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player's Box-Toppers points earned in 2013, along with their overall rank among players for the season.

If you simply add together the Box-Toppers points of these 15 key players from each team, the Cardinals have 109 points and the Red Sox 96.2.

If you compare them position-by-position, the Red Sox have more players with higher Box-Toppers points totals. The Red Sox have the edge in eight positions, the Cardinals in seven.

The Red Sox batters tend to have better Box-Toppers points totals than Cardinals batters. Comparing position-by-position, the Red Sox batters beat Cardinals batters in Box-Toppers points by 6-3.

However, the Cardinals tend to have superior pitching when it comes to Box-Toppers points totals, starting with their ace Adam Wainwright, who has 20.2 regular season Box-Toppers points and is ranked second among all players (Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers ranks first). Three Cardinals pitchers rank in the top 20 in Box-Toppers points for the season—Wainwright, Lance Lynn (16.1 points, ranked 11th) and Shelby Miller (15.4 points, ranked 17th). Interestingly, Miller was not in the rotation for the NLCS, bumped in favor of rookie Michael Wacha, who though he has only 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, has earned Player of the Game honors for the Cardinals three times already this postseason (twice in the NLCS), more than any other player. 

The Red Sox top player in Box-Toppers rankings is pitcher Jon Lester with 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 34th overall. Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has 12.4 Box-Toppers points and is ranked 36th overall, fifth among all AL batters.

The Cardinals were the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers weekly power rankings reports from May 9 to July 25, 11 straight times. They remained top NL team for four more weeks until they were passed by the Dodgers Sept. 5 and remained the second-ranked NL team for the remainder of the season.

The Red Sox were the top-ranked AL team in Box-Toppers points for seven weeks, from May 30 to July 14. They were top overall team in Power Rankings on Aug. 1, but fell back during August. In September through the end of the season, they were consistently the second-ranked AL team in Box-Toppers points, behind the Tigers. 

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.

World Series player comparisons 

Likely starting players for the Red Sox and Cardinals listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2013 regular season and their overall player rank among all players

	Red Sox	BTP	Rank		Cardinals	BTP	Rank
1B	Mike Napoli	5.0	170		Matt Adams	5.0	198
2B	Dustin Pedroia	3.5	286		Matt Carpenter	7.5	100
SS	Stephen Drew	6.0	143		Pete Kozma	2.5	408
3B	Xander Bogaerts	0.0	--*		David Freese	5.5	154
CA	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	4.5	228		Yadier Molina	4.0	253
CF	Jacob Ellsbury	5.5	161		Jon Jay	5.5	162
LF	Jonny Gomes	6.0	156		Matt Holliday	6.5	121
RF	Shane Victorino	4.5	224		Carlos Beltran	2.5	378
DH	David Ortiz	12.4	36		Allen Craig	5.0	173
SP	Jon Lester	12.7	34		Adam Wainwright	20.2	2
SP	Clay Buchholz	11.1	41		Lance Lynn	16.1	11
SP	Jake Peavy	8.0	84		Joe Kelly	4.0	264
SP	John Lackey	6.0	148		Michael Wacha	3.0	361
CP	Koji Uehara	6.0	149		Trevor Rosenthal	6.0	147
PI	Felix Doubront	5.0	179		Shelby Miller	15.4	17

* Xander Bogaerts, who made his Major League debut Aug. 20, has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so has no Box-Toppers points. Players do not appear in Box-Toppers player rankings until they have earned Player of the Game honors at least once in their career. Bogaerts is expected to start in place of Will Middlebrooks, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point and is ranked 573rd.