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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2024 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the San Diego Padres saw the biggest decline.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Carlos Rodon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Rodon struck out five over 5 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings, allowing one walk, in the 4-3 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreAnalyzing 29 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching and batting in both leagues.
In 2023, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, American League Most Valuable Player, was the only player who won a major postseason award and also led his Box-Toppers category (leading AL batters with 19.4). Also, Pete Alonso of the Mets became the ninth batter since 1995 to lead his league’s batters in Box-Toppers points more than once, leading NL batters for the second straight season.
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The Atlanta Braves are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2024, with a roster mostly intact from 2023 when they had baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are Box-Toppers’ top two American League teams, with the Mariners having one of the best offseason improvements of any team so far. And also, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have made big offseason splashes adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, their offseason ranking has actually fallen from third place last season to fourth place now.
Read MoreSix of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards in 2023 were also among the leaders at their positions in 2023 Box-Toppers point totals.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers, analyzing traditional box scores, tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreWhile Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2023, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Eduardo Rodriguez of the Tigers and Jason Heyward of the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, the consensus choices for Comeback Players of the Year—Cody Bellinger and Liam Hendriks—did not rank very highly among Box-Toppers most improved players in 2023.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2023 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to nine batters in each league are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
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Source: MLB.com
The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series.
Read MoreAaron Judge of the Yankees is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani of the Angels earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors twice Thursday—as overall Player of the Day in one game of a doubleheader and as American League Batter of the Day in the second game.
He is just the 12th player to win Player of the Game honors in both games of a twin bill since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and the first to do it as a pitcher in one game and as a batter in the other.
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Shohei Ohtani of the Angels leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the fifth straight week.
Ohtani also leads American League pitchers and batters. Also this week, Nolan Gorman of the Cardinals rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points and Spencer Strider of the Braves maintains his lead among NL pitchers for the second week.
Read MoreMets pitcher Justin Verlander is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Nolan Gorman of the Cardinals extends his lead among National League batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreOrioles pitcher Kyle Bradish is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt is the most deserving player not selected to the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Bassitt has 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, fourth among all players and third among American League pitchers.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Berrios struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 6-2, 11-inning win over the White Sox. Berrios did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons—tied for the third-longest active streak—after earning National League Player of the Day honors Tuesday.
Read MoreIn 2022, Justin Verlander led American League pitchers in season Box-Toppers points for the third time in his career, tied for the seventh-most times a player has led a season points category.
Also in 2022, the New York Mets and Miami Marlins each had their first Box-Toppers points category leader—Pete Alonso and Sandy Alcantara— leaving the Pittsburgh Pirates as the only team to never have a player lead a category since tracking began in 1995.
Read MoreRockies pitcher Chad Kuhl is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Padres pitcher Sean Manaea rises from seventh to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAnalyzing 27 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2016.
Scherzer has 120.3 Box-Toppers points over the period 2016-2021, 26.8 points ahead of second-ranked player Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who has 93.5 points over that span.
Read MoreBox-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.