Comeback Player winners Mancini, Posey rank far outside Box-Toppers’ top 25 most improved players

Trey Mancini of the Orioles and Buster Posey of the Giants were named Comeback Players of the Year for 2021 Monday.

Most improved players

Here are the players who had the biggest gains in Box-Toppers points (BTP) from 2020 to 2021, ranked by their rise in points this season. Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer had the biggest gain of 21.1 points, earning 4.0 points in 2020 and 25.1 in 2021. Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah had the biggest gain among rookie players, earning 10.7 Box-Toppers points in his first season. That 10.7-point gain is the 20th-biggest among all players. This list includes the 25 players with the biggest point gains, plus the AL and NL Comeback Player Award winners, Buster Posey and Trey Mancini, who ranked 77th and 297th among all players in point gains.

Player Pos Team BTP Rise
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp lad nl 25.1 +21.1
2 Wheeler, Zack 3204 pi sp phi nl 21.1 +20.1
3 Urias, Julio 3652 pi sp lad nl 19.1 +18.1
4 Ray, Robbie 3502 pi sp tor al 17.7 +16.7
5 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp ana al 16.1 +16.1
6 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 22.4 +15.0
7 Webb, Logan 4258 pi sp sf nl 15.5 +14.5
8 Marquez, German 3788 pi sp col nl 17.4 +14.4
9 Cease, Dylan 4231 pi sp chi al 14.4 +14.4
10 Musgrove, Joe 3705 pi sp sd nl 16.1 +14.1
11 Manaea, Sean 3637 pi sp oak al 15.7 +13.7
12 Wood, Alex 3246 pi sp sf nl 13.0 +13.0
13 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp sf nl 13.7 +12.7
14 Rodon, Carlos 3494 pi sp chi al 11.7 +11.7
15 Flexen, Chris 4368 pi sp sea al 11.7 +11.7
16 Buehler, Walker 3943 pi sp lad nl 16.7 +11.0
17 Morton, Charlie 2503 pi sp atl nl 12.7 +10.7
18 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 12.7 +10.7
19 Martinez, J.D. 2922 dh bos al 10.7 +10.7
20 †Manoah, Alek 4424 pi sp tor al 10.7 +10.7
21 Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 rf cin nl 11.5 +10.5
22 Burnes, Corbin 4029 pi sp mil nl 18.1 +10.4
23 Woodruff, Brandon 3868 pi sp mil nl 17.1 +10.1
24 Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 pi sp bos al 14.1 +10.1
25 DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 pi sp sf nl 12.7 +10.0
77 Posey, Buster 2745 ca sf nl 6.5 +6.5
297 Mancini, Trey 3766 dh rf 1b bal al 2.5 +2.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
BTP—Box-Toppers points
† Rookie status in 2021

Both ranked far outside Box-Toppers’ 25 most-improved players list for 2021 and neither were among Box-Toppers’ top candidate in either league for the player who had the biggest bounce back to a successful season this year.

The awards, voted on by MLB.com beat reporters from all 30 clubs, reflected an earlier vote by the players’ union, who also voted Mancini and Posey as Comeback Players of the Year in the Players’ Choice Awards.

Judging among players who suffered a setback or missed significant playing time to return to success, Box-Toppers chooses White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon as AL Comeback Player and Giants pitcher Alex Wood as NL Comeback Player.

Box-Toppers most improved player from 2020 to 2021 is Box-Toppers overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer, who had the biggest point gain (+21.1) from last season (4.0) to this season (25.1). However, this season’s statistics are skewed by the fact that the 2020 season was so short because of the pandemic. Because only 60 games were played in 2020, compared to 162 in 2021, most players had improved seasons in 2021 and so the most improved list largely reflects the overall Box-Toppers season player rankings list. Six of the overall top 10 are among the top 10 most improved players. And all 10 of the most improved players are among the overall top 15 in Box-Toppers points for 2021.

AL Comeback Player

Trey Mancini of the Orioles won the award with his compelling story of returning to Major League Baseball after missing the 2020 season to be treated for colon cancer. In 2021, Mancini played in 147 games and was invited to participate in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby in July.

But Mancini earned only 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2021 after earning none in 2020. His 2.5-point gain from 2020 to 2021 ranks a lowly 163rd among “most improved” AL players and 297th among all players.

White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon is Box-Toppers candidate for AL Comeback Player of the Year. He earned 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2021 (12th among AL pitchers) after earning no points in 2020, pitching in only four games in the pandemic-shortened season. His 11.7-point gain from 2020 to 2021 ranks sixth among all AL players and most among players who suffered a setback or missed significant playing time to return to the Major Leagues. His point gain from 2020 to 2021 ranks 14th among all players.

There are five AL players who had bigger point gains from 2020 to 2021, but none can necessarily be considered “comeback” players since they all played in 2020 and either had down seasons that year or remarkably good seasons in 2021:

  • 1. Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray gained 16.7 points from 1.0 in 2020 to 17.7 in 2021. Ray pitched in 12 games in the pandemic-shortened season.

  • 2. Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani gained 16.1 points from 0.0 in 2020 to 16.1 in 2021. Ohtani played in 44 of the Angels 60 games in 2020, mainly as a designated hitter.

  • 3. Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole gained 15.0 points from 7.4 in 2020 to 22.4 in 2021.

  • 4. White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease gained 14.4 points from 0.0 in 2020 to 14.4 in 2021. Cease started 12 games in 2020.

  • 5. Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea gained 13.7 points from 2.0 in 2020 to 15.7 in 2021.

Rodon had two consecutive relatively down seasons. In 2019, he earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in a full season, pitching only seven games. He had no points in 2020 in four games. He came back in 2021 to have his highest single-season Box-Toppers point total of his career (11.7) after his previous high of 8.1 in 2015.

NL Comeback Player

Buster Posey of the Giants won the award after coming back in 2021 after opting out of playing during the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Posey’s teammate, pitcher Alex Wood, is Box-Toppers choice for NL Comeback Player.

Posey earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 20th among NL batters and second among NL catchers, behind J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies (7.2). But his 6.5-point gain (from 0.0 in 2020 to 6.5 in 2021) ranks only 41st among all NL players in 2021, 10th among all NL batters and 77th among all players.

But Wood earned 13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021 (14th among NL pitchers) after earning none in either 2019 or 2020. Wood achieved a significant return to prominence after earning 15.7 Box-Toppers points in 2017 with the Dodgers, eighth among NL pitchers. His 13.0-point gain from 2020 to 2021 ranks seventh among all NL players and 12th among all players. There are six NL players who made bigger Box-Toppers point gains from 2020 to 2021, but none can really be considered “comeback” players:

  • 1. Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer gained 21.1 Box-Toppers points from 4.0 in 2020 to 25.1 in 2021.

  • 2. Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler gained 20.1 points from 1.0 in 2020 to 21.1 in 2021.

  • 3. Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias gained 18.1 points from 1.0 in 2020 to 19.1 in 2021.

  • 4. Giants pitcher Logan Webb gained 14.5 points from 1.0 in 2020 to 15.5 in 2021.

  • 5. Rockies pitcher German Marquez gained 14.4 points from 3.0 in 2020 to 17.4 in 2021.

  • 6. Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove gained 14.1 points from 2.0 in 2020 to 16.1 in 2021.

Rookies

Only one rookie player is among Box-Toppers’ 25 most improved players for 2021—Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah, who ranked 20th with a 10.7-point gain from 0.0 in 2020 to 10.7 in 2021.

The top 25 most improved list usually includes a substantial number of rookies (there were eight in 2020). But because the 2020 season was so short and many players had few points in 2020, they had comparatively large point gains characteristic of rookie players in 2021.

Batters

There are only two batters among the top 25 most improved players in Box-Toppers points—J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox and Nick Castellanos of the Reds.

Martinez had a 10.7-point gain from 0.0 in 2020 to 10.7 in 2021, most among all batters and 19th among all players. (Martinez played in 54 games in 2020 but earned no Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.)

Castellanos had a 10.5-point gain from 1.0 in 2020 to 11.5 in 2021, most among NL batters and 21st among all players.

Batters usually occupy more than two spots on Box-Toppers most improved list. In 2020, there were seven batters among the top 25 most improved.

Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who played most of the season as a batter, ranked higher on the most improved players list (fifth place overall with a 16.1-point gain) than either Martinez or Castellanos. But because Ohtani earned the overwhelming majority of his Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors as a starting pitcher (75 percent vs. 25 percent won as a designated hitter), he did not qualify to be ranked among batters and is treated, for Box-Toppers purposes for the 2021 season, as a pitcher. 

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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