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Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Nola struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Rockies. Nola did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024 Tuesday.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Bobby Miller is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Oswaldo Cabrera of the Yankees earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.
Read MoreWelcome to Opening Day of the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
This marks the start of Box-Toppers’ 30th season tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score statistics.
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Box-Toppers picks the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2024 World Series, beating the predicted American League champion Houston Astros.
Box-Toppers projects the Dodgers will have the most wins among all teams—103—and will be one of three teams with 99 or more wins, along with the Astros and the Atlanta Braves.
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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 MoreNationals pitcher Jake Irvin is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Meanwhile, Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt, who led American League pitchers in 2023 with 20.1 Box-Toppers points, is Wednesday’s AL Player of the Day.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s spring training games.
Glasnow struck out eight over 5 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings, walking one, in the 6-4 win over the Giants.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Spencer Strider is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Strider, who led all players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2023, is the first player to earn Player of the Game honors for the third time this spring training season. He also recorded the highest Box-Toppers game score (+11.0) of any Player of the Game winner this spring.
Read MoreOrioles pitcher Albert Suarez is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s spring training games.
Suarez struck out seven over three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreForrest Wall of the Braves is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s spring training games.
Wall hit two three-run home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-9 win over the Rays.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Shohei Ohtani has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Ohtani has earned 44.1 Box-Toppers points over 2022 and 2023. He ranked second among all players in 2022 with 24.7 Box-Toppers points and third among all players in 2023 with 19.4 points.
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 MoreThe World Series champion Texas Rangers, leaders among all teams in Box-Toppers points in 2023, also led all teams in points earned by pitchers. The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, which finished third overall among all teams, had the most points won by batters in 2023.
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 MoreOnly four Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2023’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced this month. Three other Box-Toppers leaders were chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.
The All-MLB team players are not selected based on their affiliation with American League or National League. Rather, all players are chosen regardless of league as “First Team” or “Second Team” players.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani, who signed a record free-agent deal with the Dodgers, has consistently been among Box-Toppers' highest-ranking players over the past three seasons.
However, his second surgery to repair his pitching elbow's ulnar collateral ligament, raises concerns about his future effectiveness. A Box-Toppers look at Ohtani’s career and the mixed outcomes of pitchers with a second elbow surgery.
Read MoreOnly two of Box-Toppers category leaders also won Players Choice Awards for 2023 as voted by the players’ union: Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who was voted American League Outstanding Player and Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles was voted AL Outstanding Rookie.
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.