How 2023 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings

Here are Silver Slugger Award winners for 2023, 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 Yandy Diaz Rays 7.0 3 Brandon Drury Angels 7.5 1
2B Marcus Semien Rangers 6.7 5 Jose Altuve Astros 7.5 2**
SS Corey Seager Rangers 6.2 4 Bobby Witt Jr. Royals 7.7 1
3B Rafael Devers Red Sox 7.5 1 Rafael Devers Red Sox 7.5 1
CA Adley Rutschman Orioles 5.0 2 Mitch Garver Rangers 6.5 1
OF Kyle Tucker Astros 12.5 1 Kyle Tucker Astros 12.5 1
OF Luis Robert Jr. White Sox 3.5 17 Aaron Judge Yankees 12.0 2
OF Julio Rodriguez Mariners 4.0 14 Chas McCormick Astros 7.5 3
DH Shohei Ohtani Angels 19.4 3 Shohei Ohtani Angels 19.4 1
UT Gunnar Henderson Orioles 7.5 8† Gunnar Henderson Orioles 7.5 8†
NL winners Team BTP Rank* NL leaders Team BTP Rank*
1B Matt Olson Braves 4.2 10 Pete Alonso Mets 12.0 1
2B Luis Arraez Marlins 7.5 3 Nolan Gorman Cardinals 10.0 1
SS Francisco Lindor Mets 4.0 6 Willy Adames Brewers 6.7 1
3B Austin Riley Braves 3.0 10 Alec Bohm Phillies 6.4 1
CA William Contreas Brewers 5.0 2 Francisco Alvarez Mets 5.5 1
OF Ronald Acuña Jr. Braves 10.7 1 Ronald Acuña Jr. Braves 10.7 1
OF Mookie Betts Dodgers 8.5 5 Christian Yelich Brewers 9.2 2
OF Juan Soto Padres 9.0 3 Juan Soto Padres 9.0 3
DH Bryce Harper Phillies 3.0 13 Marcell Ozuna Braves 7.5 1
UT Cody Bellinger Cubs 5.5 28† Freddie Freeman Dodgers 10.0 3†
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Rank*: Shows the players rank among all players in his league at that position. For example, Yandy Diaz. ranks third among AL first basemen in Box-Toppers points; Brandon Drury ranks first.
** Brandon Drury of the Angels led AL first baseman and AL second basemen in Box-Toppers points. Rather than awarding him at both positions, we picked the AL second baseman who ranked second—Jose Altuve of the Astros. (Though Drury and Altuve both had 7.5 points in 2023, Drury ranked higher because he had more 2022 points—4.5 vs. 4.0.)
† Utility players are ranked by batters in their league. For example, Gunnar Henderson’s 7.5 Box-Toppers points is eighth among AL batters.

Six 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.

The six Silver Slugger award winners who also would have been among Box-Toppers’ Silver Slugger recipients:

  • Rafael Devers of the Red Sox, who led American League third basemen with 7.5 Box-Toppers points.

  • Kyle Tucker of the Astros, who led AL outfielders with 12.5 points.

  • Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who led AL designated hitters with 19.4 points.

  • Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, named to the AL utility fielder spot on the Silver Slugger team, also was Box-Toppers’ highest ranking AL batter who did not lead at another position. His 7.5 Box-Toppers points was eighth among AL batters.

  • Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves, who led National League outfielders with 10.7 points.

  • Juan Soto of the Padres, whose 9.0 points was third among NL outfielders.

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

AL first base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Yandy Diaz of the Rays had 7.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked third among AL first basemen. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position was Brandon Drury of the Angels with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL batters.

AL second base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Marcus Semien of the Rangers finished fifth among players at the position with 6.7 Box-Toppers points. Drury led AL second basemen with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, but he occupies the AL first base spot among Box-Toppers’ Silver Sluggers winners. (Drury earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors seven times in 2023, including four games with time at first base and four with time at second base.) Since Drury already occupies a spot among Silver Sluggers, we choose Jose Altuve of the Astros, who was the second-highest ranked AL second baseman, also with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters. (Though Drury and Altuve both had 7.5 points in 2023, Drury ranked higher because he had more 2022 points—4.5 vs. 4.0.)

AL shortstop: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Corey Seager of the Rangers had 6.2 Box-Toppers points and ranked fourth among AL shortstops. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position was Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals with 7.7 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL batters.

AL third base: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award-winner Rafael Devers of the Red Sox also led AL third basemen with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, sixth among AL batters.

AL catcher: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Adley Rutschman of the Orioles earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points, second among AL catchers. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Mitch Garver of the Rangers, with 6.5 points, 19th among AL batters.

AL outfield: Box-Toppers grade: C

This grade includes one A and two Ds.

The A grade: Award-winner Kyle Tucker of the Astros also led AL outfielders with 12.5 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters. Tucker also had the most Box-Toppers points in 2023 solely as a batter. The only batter ahead of him, Shohei Ohtani (19.4 points), earned 9.7 of his points as a pitcher and 9.7 as a batter.

The two D grades: Award-winners Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners were not even among the top 10 AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points in 2023. Robert’s 3.5 points was 17th at the position and Rodriguez’s 4.0 points was 14th.

Box-Toppers chose two other AL outfielders who had far and away more Box-Toppers points in 2023:

  • Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who had 12.0 points, second among AL outfielders and third among AL batters.

  • Chas McCormick of the Astros, who had 7.5 points third among AL outfielders and ninth among AL batters.

AL designated hitter: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award-winner Shohei Ohtani of the Angels also led AL designated hitters with 19.4 Box-Toppers points, first among AL batters. It should be noted that Ohtani earned 9.7 of his points as a pitcher and 9.7 as a batter and is ranked both as a pitcher and a batter based on his combined point total. Still, we are basing this Silver Slugger award only on the points he earned as a batter and he still ranks ahead of the next-highest player in consideration at the position, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros with 6.5 Box-Toppers points.

AL utility player: Box-Toppers grade: A

Baseball added utility players to the Silver Slugger awards in 2022, to award player versatility.

We generally don’t offer a grade for this sort of leftover award, but in this case, our choice matched the award recipient.

Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles won the award. He played 150 games in 2023—84 games at third base, 83 games at shortstop and 11 as a designated hitter.(sometimes playing more than one position per game).

Box-Toppers method for choosing this leftover award is to give it to the player who has the most Box-Toppers points who did not rank first at another position. This time it also happened to be a true utility player. Henderson’s 7.5 Box-Toppers points was second among third basemen, second among shortstops and fourth among designated hitters. Henderson ranks eighth among all AL batters.

NL first base: Box-Toppers grade: C

Award-winner Matt Olson of the Braves ranked 10th among NL first basemen with 4.2 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Pete Alonso of the Mets with 12.0 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters.

True, Olson does outrank Alonso in nearly every key statistical category, including runs (127 vs. 92), hits (172 vs. 123), home runs (54 vs. 46), runs batted in (139 vs. 118), batting average (.283 vs. .217), slugging percentage (.604 vs. .504), on-base plus slugging (.993 vs. .821) and total bases (367 vs. 286). But Alonso has nearly three times as many Box-Toppers points in 2023 because he earned Player of the Game honors in nine Mets wins while Olson only won Player of the Game honors in three Braves wins. Alonso was far more often the key player leading his team to wins than Olson. A couple of things to consider—the Braves had more elite players than the Mets, including overall Box-Toppers points leader and pitcher Spencer Strider (21.1) and Ronald Acuna Jr., ranked second among AL batters with 10.7 points, who often won Player of the Game honors overshadowing Olson’s achievements. Alonso, meanwhile, was the rarer elite player on a disappointing, underperforming Mets team.

Based on the Box-Toppers points discrepancy for this award, we would give this a D grade. But considering Olson’s accomplishments amid a team of super-achieving players, we boost the grade to C.

NL second base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Luis Arraez of the Marlins ranks third among NL second basemen with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Nolan Gorman of the Cardinals with 10.0 points, fourth among NL batters.

NL shortstop: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Francisco Lindor of the Mets ranks sixth among NL shortstops with 4.0 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Willy Adames of the Brewers with 6.7 points, 16th among NL batters.

NL third base: Box-Toppers grade: C

Award-winner Austin Riley of the Braves ranked 10th at the position with 3.0 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Alec Bohm of the Phillies with 6.4 points, 19th among NL batters.

NL catcher: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner William Contreras of the Brewers ranked second at the position with 5.0 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Francisco Alvarez of the Mets with 5.5 points, 29th among NL batters.

NL outfield: Box-Toppers grade A-

This grade includes two As and one B.

The two A grades: Box-Toppers’ first- and third-ranked NL outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (10.7 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters) and Juan Soto of the Padres (9.0 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL batters) also won Silver Slugger awards.

The B: Award-winner Mookie Betts of the Dodgers ranked fifth among NL outfielders with 8.5 points. Box-Toppers’ second-ranked NL batter, Christian Yelich of the Brewers, had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters.

NL designated hitter: Box-Toppers grade: D

Award-winner Bryce Harper of the Phillies had 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 13th among NL designated hitters. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Marcell Ozuna of the Braves with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 12th among NL batters.

NL utility player: No Box-Toppers grade

Award-winner Cody Bellinger had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, 28th among NL batters. He won Player of the Game honors five times in 2023, four as a center fielder and twice as a first baseman (playing both positions in a game once). He played in 130 games in 2023—84 as a center fielder, 59 at first base and three as a designated hitter.

Box-Toppers gives no grade for the NL utility player award because Box-Toppers instead—violating the spirit of the utility player honor—gives an extra award to the NL batter who ranked highest in Box-Toppers points and did not receive a Silver Slugger—Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, whose 10.0 Box-Toppers points is second among NL first baseman and third among NL batters. (Freeman played all 161 of his games as a first baseman in 2023. He was also Box-Toppers’ choice for NL utility player Silver Slugger Award in 2022.)

Offensive teams of the Year

This year for the first time, Silver Slugger Awards were given to the best offensive team in each league. The winners were the Texas Rangers in the AL and the Atlanta Braves in the NL.

The Rangers ranked first in overall Box-Toppers team rankings for 2023 with its players accumulating 128.1 Box-Toppers points. However, only 42.4 of those points—33.3 percent—were accumulated by batters. That total ranks 10th among all teams, seventh among AL teams.

The AL team that had the highest combined Box-Toppers point total by batters was the Houston Astros with 55.4 of their 118.9 total points (46.6 percent).

The Atlanta Braves ranked second in overall Box-Toppers team rankings for 2023 with its players accumulating 125.4 Box-Toppers points. Braves batters combined for 51.6 Box-Toppers points in 2023, third-most among all teams and second among NL teams.

The NL team that had the highest combined Box-Toppers point total by batters was the Los Angeles Dodgers with 61.9. The Dodgers ranked third overall with a combined total of 123.8, second among NL teams. The Dodgers Box-Toppers points were split evenly between batters and pitchers, both with 61.9 each. There were only six other teams in which batters earned more than half the team’s Box-Toppers point total, none of which made the postseason—the Rockies (58.5 percent), the Cardinals (58.3 percent), the Angels (54.8 percent), the Royals (54.3 percent), the Mets (52.8 percent) and the Red Sox (51.0 percent).

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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