How 2016 Silver Slugger winners fared in Box-Toppers points and rankings

Here are Silver Slugger Award winners for 2016, given to the top hitter at each position in both leagues, and how each player fared in Box-Toppers points and rankings at their position. Also shown is the Box-Toppers points leader at each position in both leagues.

Silver Slugger winners Box-Toppers points leaders

AL winners Team BTP Rank* AL leaders Team BTP Rank*
1B Miguel Cabrera Tigers 12.0 1 Miguel Cabrera Tigers 12.0 1
2B Jose Altuve Astros 12.5 1 Jose Altuve Astros 12.5 1
SS Xander Bogaerts Red Sox 1.0 17 Manny Machado Orioles 12.7 1
3B Josh Donaldson Blue Jays 9.7 2 Josh Donaldson Blue Jays 9.7 2**
CA Salvador Perez Royals 4.0 6 Matt Wieters Orioles 11.0 1
OF Mike Trout Angels 12.5 1 Mike Trout Angels 12.5 1
OF Mark Trumbo Orioles 8.2 2 Mark Trumbo Orioles 8.2 2
OF Mookie Betts Red Sox 6.2 9 Nomar Mazara Rangers 7.0 3
DH David Ortiz Red Sox 8.0 5 Kendrys Morales Royals 8.5 1
NL winners Team BTP Rank* NL leaders Team BTP Rank*
1B Anthony Rizzo Cubs 3.0 16 Joey Votto Reds 10.5 1
2B Daniel Murphy Nationals 7.5 3 Matt Carpenter Cardinals 9.5 1
SS Corey Seager Dodgers 4.0 6 Trevor Story Rockies 6.5 1
3B Nolan Arenado Rockies 10.7 1 Nolan Arenado Rockies 10.7 1
CA Wilson Ramos Nationals 1.5 14 Yasmani Grandal Dodgers 7.2 1
OF Yoenis Cespedes Mets 8.0 4 Kris Bryant Cubs 10.5 1
OF Christian Yelich Marlins 5.5 14 Ryan Braun Brewers 10.5 2
OF Charlie Blackmon Rockies 4.0 22 Jay Bruce Mets 8.5 3
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Rank*: Shows the players rank among all players in his league at that position. For example, Anthony Rizzo ranks 16th among NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points; Joey Votto of the Reds ranks first.
** Manny Machado of the Orioles split time between SS and 3B in 2016 and ranks first at both positions. Since players only earn a Silver Slugger Award for one position, the next-highest rated player at the two positions is listed, Josh Donaldson, who ranks second at AL 3B.

Only 6 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points

If you were a top batter in your position this season as measured by Box-Toppers points, you most likely were not a Silver Slugger Award winner.

The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues. But using Box-Toppers points, only six of the 17 announced winners would have been the same.

The awards are voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers analyzes traditional box scores and tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.

There were six instances in which voters and Box-Toppers rankings agreed on choices:

  • Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers led American League first basemen with 12.0 Box-Toppers points.
  • Jose Altuve of the Astros led AL second basemen with 12.5 points.
  • Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays ranked second among AL third basemen with 9.7 points. (Manny Machado of the Orioles with 12.7 points was top player at both shortstop and third base. We’re assuming they’re not giving the Silver Slugger Award to one player for two different positions. Since Donaldson was the next highest-rated player at either of those positions, he gets the nod at third base, moving Machado to shortstop.)
  • Mike Trout of the Angels ranked first among AL outfielders with 12.5 points.
  • Mark Trumbo of the Orioles ranked second among AL outfielders with 8.2 points. (The top three outfielders are awarded, regardless of which specific position they play.)
  • Nolan Arenado of the Rockies ranked first among National League third basemen with 10.7 points. He is the only NL Silver Slugger winner to also lead his position in Box-Toppers points.

Here is a position-by-position look at the Silver Slugger winners compared to Box-Toppers leaders:

AL first base: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award winner Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers led with 12.0 Box-Toppers points.

AL second base: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award winner Jose Altuve of the Astros led with 12.5 points.

AL shortstop: Box-Toppers grade: F

Award winner Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox had just 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2016, 17th among AL shortstops and finished far behind position leader, Manny Machado of the Orioles, who led all AL batters with 12.7 points. (Bogaerts also won the 2015 Silver Slugger at second base, though he had just 1.5 Box-Toppers points, 12th among players at the position.)

Machado is listed by Box-Toppers at both third base and shortstop in 2016 because he won Player of the Game honors roughly evenly at both positions. He was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in 10 of the Orioles wins in 2016. In five of those games, he played third base exclusively. In four games, he played shortstop exclusively. And in one game, he played both third base and shortstop. And as previously mentioned, he is given Box-Toppers’ Silver Sluggers Award for shortstop because the next-highest rated player among AL shortstops and third basemen is Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays (9.7 points), beating out the next-highest rated shortstop, Elvis Andrus of the Rangers (9.2).

AL third base: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award winner Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays ranked second with 9.7 points.

AL catcher: Box-Toppers grade: C

Award winner Salvador Perez of the Royals ranked sixth among AL catchers with 4.0 points. Matt Wieters of the Orioles led players at that position with 11.0 points.

AL outfield: Box-Toppers grade: A-

Two of the three award-winning outfielders were the top two in Box-Toppers points and the third was less than a point behind the third-place outfielder in Box-Toppers points.

Award winners Mike Trout of the Angels (12.5 points) and Mark Trumbo of the Orioles (8.2 points) were the top two outfielders in Box-Toppers points. Award winner Mookie Betts of the Red Sox (6.2 points) ranked ninth among AL outfielders, but only 0.8 points behind Box-Toppers’ third-ranked outfielder, Nomar Mazara of the Rangers (7.0).

AL designated hitter: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award winner David Ortiz of the Red Sox had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among AL designated hitters, but only 0.5 points behind Box-Toppers leader at the position, Kendrys Morales of the Royals (8.5).

NL first base: Box-Toppers grade: D

Award winner Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs had 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 16th among AL first basemen. Box-Toppers leader at the position was Joey Votto of the Reds (10.5).

NL second base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award winner Daniel Murphy of the Nationals had 7.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among NL second basemen. Box-Toppers leader at the position is Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (9.5).

NL shortstop: Box-Toppers grade: C

Award winner Corey Seager of the Dodgers had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among NL shortstops. Box-Toppers leader at the position is fellow rookie Trevor Story of the Rockies (6.5).

NL third base: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award winner Nolan Arenado of the Rockies led NL third basemen in Box-Toppers points with 10.7. He also led all NL batters.

NL catcher: Box-Toppers grade: F

Award winner Wilson Ramos of the Nationals had 1.5 Box-Toppers points, 14th among NL catchers. Box-Toppers leader at the position is Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers (7.2).

NL outfield: Box-Toppers grade C-

None of Box-Toppers top three-ranked outfielders received Silver Slugger Awards, however, award winner Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets was close, ranking fourth in Box-Toppers points with 8.0. The other two award winners are much further down the list of NL outfielders: Christian Yelich of the Marlins had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking 14th and Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies had 4.0 points, ranking 22nd.

Box-Toppers top three NL outfielders are Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5), Ryan Braun of the Brewers (10.5) and Jay Bruce of the Mets (8.5). Bryant split his time between outfield and third base in 2016. In the seven times he earned Player of the Game honors in 2016, he played exclusively in the outfield four times, exclusively at third base twice and in both positions once.

NL pitcher: Box-Toppers grade: Incomplete

Award winner is Jake Arrieta of the Cubs. But there is simply too small a sample size to pick a credible winner among batting pitchers. Pitchers can earn Box-Toppers points for batting but it is relatively rare—only eight times in 2016 did a pitcher earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for batting. One player did it more than once: Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who was Player of the Game and NL Batter of the Day on May 2 and Player of the Game again on Sept. 5.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

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