| Rookie of the Year | ||||||||||
| AL winner | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | AL BTP leader | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Michael Fulmer | Tigers | pi sp | 12.7 | 23 | Michael Fulmer | Tigers | pi sp | 12.7 | 23 | |
| NL winner | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | NL BTP leader | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Corey Seager | Dodgers | ss | 4.0 | 266 | Steven Matz | Mets | pi sp | 12.1 | 32 | |
| Cy Young Award | ||||||||||
| AL winner | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | AL BTP leader | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Rick Porcello | Red Sox | pi sp | 8.0 | 91 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 21.2 | 5 | |
| NL winner | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | NL BTP leader | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 25.7 | 1 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | pi sp | 25.7 | 1 | |
| Most Valuable Player Award | ||||||||||
| AL winner | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | AL BTP leader | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Mike Trout | Angels | cf | 12.5 | 25 | Manny Machado | Orioles | 3b ss | 12.7 | 21 | |
| NL winner | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | NL BTP leader | Team | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Kris Bryant | Cubs | lf 3b | 10.5 | 46 | Nolan Arenado | Rockies | 3b | 10.7 | 42 | |
Box-Toppers points leaders took home two of the six major postseason awards in 2016 as voted by baseball writers.
American League Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer, pitcher for the Tigers, led AL rookies in Box-Toppers points. And National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, pitcher for the Nationals, led all NL pitchers—and all players in Box-Toppers points.
But the other four major awards for top rookie, Cy Young for best pitcher and overall Most Valuable Player, went to players who did not lead their category in Box-Toppers points. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters chose different players for those awards.
Scherzer led all players with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, also leading NL pitchers, and won the NL Cy Young Award. Fulmer led all AL rookies with 12.7 Box-Toppers points and also won AL Rookie of the Year.
The winners of the Most Valuable Player Awards in both leagues were ranked second in Box-Toppers points among their league’s batters and both narrowly trailed the leader by only 0.2 Box-Toppers points:
AL winner Mike Trout of the Angels had 12.5 Box-Toppers points (ranked 25th among all players) and trailed Box-Toppers’ AL batting leader Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 21st overall). Machado finished fifth in AL MVP voting.
NL winner Kris Bryant of the Cubs had 10.5 Box-Toppers points (ranked 46th among all players) and trailed Box-Toppers’ NL batting leader Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 42nd overall). Arenado finished fifth in NL MVP voting.
However, the other two award winners were not even close to Box-Toppers points leader for that category:
NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager, shortstop for the Dodgers, had just 4.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked 266th among all players. Box-Toppers points leader among NL players with rookie status for 2016 is Mets pitcher Steven Matz, who had 12.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 32nd among all players. Matz finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda was the top NL player who made his Box-Toppers debut in 2016, earning his first Player of the Game honor during the season. Maeda had 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players. Maeda finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello of the Red Sox had just 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 91st among all players and only 31st among AL pitchers for 2016. Porcello, though he led the Majors in wins with 22, was often not the player making the key contributions to a Red Sox win as his teammates frequently earned Player of the Game honors. That left him with a lot of wins, but few Box-Toppers points. Indians pitcher Corey Kluber led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 21.2, fifth among all players. He finished third in AL Cy Young voting.
In 2015, Box-Toppers and baseball writers also coincided on two of the major six awards, in 2014 on five of six and in 2013 on four of six.
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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