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The Los Angeles Dodgers are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2025 but with player injuries factored in, the New York Mets hold the overall edge.
The current 2025 roster of last year’s World Series champion Dodgers accumulated 118.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, most of any team. However, with several players injured and expected to miss time in 2025, their injury-adjusted Box-Toppers point total drops to 106.7, fifth among all teams.
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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2023 to 2024.
Strider led all players in 2023 with 21.1 Box-Toppers points but earned just 1.0 point in 2024, a 20.1-point decline, which is also the fifth-largest decline (in regular-length seasons) since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Read MoreRyan Mountcastle of the Orioles is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Mountcastle hit two doubles and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 17-5 win over the Yankees.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Carlos Rodon had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2022 to 2023.
Rodon had 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth among all players and third among National League pitchers. But moving to the Yankees in 2023, he earned only 1.0 Box-Toppers point. That 18.8-point decline was the biggest among all players.
Read MoreOnly four Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2023’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced this month. Three other Box-Toppers leaders were chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.
The All-MLB team players are not selected based on their affiliation with American League or National League. Rather, all players are chosen regardless of league as “First Team” or “Second Team” players.
Read MoreWhile Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2023, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Eduardo Rodriguez of the Tigers and Jason Heyward of the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, the consensus choices for Comeback Players of the Year—Cody Bellinger and Liam Hendriks—did not rank very highly among Box-Toppers most improved players in 2023.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2023 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to nine batters in each league are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
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Gerrit Cole of the Yankees wins the American League Cy Young Award and Blake Snell of the Padres wins the National League Cy Young Award. Box-Toppers choices for the awards were Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays in the AL and Spencer Strider of the Braves in the NL.
Neither winner of the 2023 Cy Young Awards—Gerrit Cole of the Yankees nor Blake Snell of the Padres—led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2023.
Cole, the American League winner, ranked fourth among AL pitchers with 17.0 Box-Toppers points, behind AL leader Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays (20.1). Snell, the National League winner, ranked sixth among NL pitchers with 14.7 Box-Toppers points, behind NL leader Spencer Strider of the Braves (21.1).
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ Cy Young Award selections for 2023 are: American League—Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays and National League—Spencer Strider of the Braves.
Neither pitcher was among the six finalists for the award announced this week, even though they ranked first (Strider) and second (Bassitt) in overall Box-Toppers season player rankings and were the only two players this season to reach 20.0 Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreA belated note: Mets pitcher David Peterson was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the uncompleted, rain-suspended Sept. 28 game between the Marlins and Mets.
Major League Baseball ruled in early October that the Mets were winners in the game, even though the Marlins led 2-1 when it was suspended in the top of the ninth inning.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler tops players in Tuesday’s four Wild Card playoff games:
Other Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s Wild Card series games: Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery,, Royce Lewis of the Twins and Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks.
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Source: MLB.com
The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series.
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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider is 2023 Box-Toppers Player of the Year, holding the season lead in Box-Toppers points since Sept. 13.
Meanwhile, Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays rises to lead American League pitchers and Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to lead National League batters in the season’s final player rankings report. While Shohei Ohtani of the Angels loses the lead among AL pitchers, he still retains the top spot among AL batters.
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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings this week.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels continues to lead both American League pitcher and batters in Box-Toppers points, despite being out for the remainder of the season. Plus, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves continues to lead NL batters.
Read MorePadres pitcher Blake Snell is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Sonny Gray is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Gallen pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine and allowing one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Cubs.
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Shohei Ohtani leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for the 12th straight week, though he hasn’t earned Box-Toppers points in nearly two weeks and hasn’t played since Sunday.
Meanwhile, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider continues to lead National League pitchers in Box-Toppers team rankings and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves continues to lead NL batters.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors: Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt rises to third place and Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo rises to fourth place.
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.