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The New York Yankees, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked American League team and the top seed among AL teams in the postseason, are favored over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Championship Series.
The Yankees have the edge in overall Box-Toppers points and in starting and relief pitchers. However, the Guardians hold a surprising edge among the likely starting nine batters.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Tanner Houck is Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAnthony Rizzo of the Yankees is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Rizzo hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-4 win over the Blue Jays.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings and taking the 2023 Box-Toppers points lead among National League pitchers.
Luzardo struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Rockies. Luzardo did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Rockies tied the game after he exited.
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Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen rises to lead this week’s Box-Toppers player rankings report.
Gallen leads National League pitchers for the second straight week. Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole of the Yankees rises to lead American League pitchers, Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates maintains his lead among NL batters and Wander Franco of the Rays maintains his lead among AL batters.
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Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen rises to lead this week’s Box-Toppers player rankings report.
Rasmussen also leads American League pitchers. Meanwhile, Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks leads National League pitchers, Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates leads NL batters and Wander Franco of the Rays leads AL batters.
Read MorePirates pitcher Roansy Contreras is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Contreras struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and two walks, in the 4-3 win over the Reds.
Read MoreWill baseball’s 2023 rules changes finally place a check on pitchers’ decade-plus dominance over batters?
Or will the changes prove as ineffectual as the 2021 crackdown on pitchers using sticky, foreign substances on baseballs?
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Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals were voted 2022 Most Valuable Player award winners over Box-Toppers’ choices for the awards, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Pete Alonso of the Mets.
Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals were voted 2022 Most Valuable Players Thursday, over Box-Toppers’ choices for the awards—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Pete Alonso of the Mets.
Read MoreAaron Judge of the Yankees, winner of the American League 2022 Hank Aaron Award given to the league’s best offensive performer, also led AL batters in Box-Toppers points.
Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals, who won the award in the National League, ranked seventh among NL batters in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
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Box-Toppers’ choices for major postseason awards: American League Most Valuable Player—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, National League Most Valuable Player—Pete Alonso of the Mets, AL Cy Young Award—Justin Verlander of the Astros and NL Cy Young Award—Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins.
Aaron Judge of the Yankees is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked American League batter in 2022. But Shohei Ohtani of the Angels is Box-Toppers’ choice for AL Most Valuable Player.
Box-Toppers cast votes for postseason honors for Ohtani, Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara and Pete Alonso, among others, in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) balloting, completed at the end of the regular season, prior to the start of postseason play.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Gerrit Cole tops players in Tuesday’s four league division series playoff games:
Other Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s league division series games: Yordan Alvarez of the Astros, Nick Castellanos of the Phillies and Trea Turner of the Dodgers.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Cristian Javier is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Pete Alonso of the Mets extends his lead among National League batters and now has the most Box-Toppers points for any batter in a single season since 2017 and the eighth-most for any batter in a single season from 2010 forward.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Patrick Sandoval is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Carlos Rodon is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in season player rankings.
Rodon struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Pirates.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Patrick Sandoval is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors—Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon rises to fourth place, Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert rises to eighth and Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt rises to 10th.
Read MorePirates pitcher Wil Crowe is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Jose Ramirez of the Indians extended his lead among American League batters in 2021 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers rise to a commanding lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report on the strength of the players they acquired prior to Friday’s trade deadline.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox fall from first to second in team rankings but maintain their lead among American League teams.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2015.
Scherzer has 116.2 Box-Toppers points over the period 2015-2020, 14.6 points ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 101.6 points over that span.
Read MoreAlbert Pujols of the Angels has the most Box-Toppers points of any first baseman since tracking began in 1995.
Pujols also has the distinction of leading all American League first basemen in Box-Toppers points over the past season (2019), the past two seasons (2018-19) and the past six seasons (2014-19).
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.