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Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2020 to 2021.
Lamet, who earned 9.0 Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (fifth among all players and third among National League pitchers), earned 2.0 points in 2021. After a stellar 2020 season, he battled injury early in 2021, struggled and went from a starter to a bullpen pitcher.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2021 preseason rankings. They also ended 2020 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team and World Series champions.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Chicago Cubs saw the biggest decline.
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The two pitchers with the most wins in 2020 were also among the top three in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Shane Bieber of the Indians and Yu Darvish of the Cubs both had eight wins in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, most among all pitchers. Bieber had 11.4 Box-Toppers points, most of all players and Darvish had 9.7 points, third-most and second among National League pitchers.
Read MoreA detailed look at Box-Toppers points leaders for 2020, including overall top 10 leaders and the top 10 in both the American League and National League. Also includes the top 10 overall batters, plus top 10 in both AL and NL, plus top batters by position in each league. Also includes top 10 biggest dippers and risers—players whose Box-Toppers point increased and decreased most from 2019.
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders won two of the six major postseason awards for 2020.
Both Cy Young Award winners also led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2020—AL winner Shane Bieber of the Indians led AL pitchers with 11.4 and NL winner Trevor Bauer of the Reds led NL pitchers with 10.0. Bieber and Bauer also were Box-Toppers top two ranked players in 2020, the only two who earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened season.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2020 seems incomplete. So for added context, Box-Toppers is also looking at the All-Star teams over the past two seasons, 2019-20.
Read MoreBox-Toppers has cast votes for postseason honors for Shane Bieber, Luke Voit and for Trevor Bauer—twice.
I have cast my vote in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) for Reds pitcher Bauer to be both National League Cy Young Award winner and NL Most Valuable Player.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings for the third week.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox rise to lead American League teams and the Toronto Blue Jays are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Frankie Montas is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers has now earned Box-Toppers points for 18 straight seasons—tied for the fifth-longest streak since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
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World Series Game 6 Wednesday features a pitching rematch of Game 2 won by the Cardinals.
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha faces Red Sox pitcher John Lackey, the same two who started Game 2 in Boston last Thursday won by the Cardinals 4-2. St. Louis closing pitcher Trevor Rosenthal was Box-Toppers Player of the Day in that game. Wacha, who pitched six innings, earned the win.
The Red Sox lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and could wrap up the World Series championship with a win Wednesday.
Wacha had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 361st overall. However, the rookie has earned Player of the Game honors for the Cardinals three times already this postseason (Game 4 of the National League Divisional Series vs. the Pirates, and Game 2 and Game 6 of the NL Championship Series vs. the Dodgers).
Lackey had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 148th overall. Lackey was Player of the Day in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series vs. the Tigers.
Related story: Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team
win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are
determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In
regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of
the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter
in each league and 1.0 for the top players in each of the other games.
Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for the second straight World Series game.
Rosenthal is Box-Toppers top player in Saturday's Game 3, pitching the final five outs to lead the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Red Sox. The Cardinals now lead the World Series two games to one.
Rosenthal struck out two and gave up one hit over 1 2/3 innings and earned the win when the Cardinals scored the walk-off winning run on an obstruction call when Allen Craig got tangled in Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks' feet as he was trying to score from third on an overthrow. Craig was tagged out at the plate, but was ruled safe at home because of the obstruction call.
Rosenthal had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 147th overall. He was also Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Game 2.
Coming Sunday: The World Series resumes Sunday in St. Louis. Here is the pitching match-up:
World Series Game 4, Cardinals lead Red Sox 2-1
Red Sox: Clay Buchholz, 11.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 41st overall.
Cardinals: Lance Lynn, 16.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th overall.
Box-Toppers tracks players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games.
Related story: Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.
Here are the top six Cardinals players in Saturday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Trevor Rosenthal, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.2, was Player of the Game (POG). He narrowly edged out starter Joe Kelly, who had a game score of 2.1, for top player. Highest-ranking batter was Matt Holliday (game score of 1.0), who went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs.
| 1026 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 2.2 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Rosenthal (W, 1-0) | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2.1 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Kelly | 5.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kevin Siegrist | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Matt Holliday LF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Allen Craig PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 0.0 | Cardinals | Yadier Molina C | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal is Thursday's Player of the Day, earning the save in Game 2 of the World Series.
Rosenthal pitched the ninth inning and struck out three in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox. The Cardinals tie the Red Sox at one game apiece in the best-of-seven World Series.
Rosenthal had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 147th overall. It is the first time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors.
The World Series moves to St. Louis for Game 3 Saturday.
In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.
Related story: Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.
Here are the top four Cardinals players in Thursday's World Series Game 2, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Trevor Rosenthal, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 4.0, was Player of the Game (POG). Middle reliever Carlos Martinez also had a game score of 4.0, but Rosenthal was named Player of the Game because he picked up the save.
| 1024 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 4.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Rosenthal (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Carlos Martinez (H, 1) | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 1.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| 0.0 | Cardinals | Pete Kozma PR, SS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The National League Championship Series beginning Friday features the top two NL teams in Box-Toppers Team Rankings and the top three players in overall Box-Toppers points.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers begins in St. Louis. The Dodgers just edged out the Cardinals as top NL team in Box-Toppers points for the season with 122.7 (second place overall, behind the Detroit Tigers). The Cardinals were in second in the NL (third overall) with 122.4.
The Cardinals had the best actual winning percentage in the NL (.599). The Dodgers were in fourth (.568), behind the Cardinals, Braves and Pirates.
The Cardinals prevailed over the Pirates in the National League Division Series. The Pirates had 115.6 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked seventh overall. The Dodgers beat the Braves in their NLDS. The Braves had 111.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th overall.
The NLCS between the Cardinals and Dodgers features the top three players in Box-Toppers Player Rankings for the season:
In addition, Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller are both in the top 10 in Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers. Lynn ranks seventh with 16.1 points and Miller ranks ninth with 15.4.
Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the four most likely starting pitchers, the team's top closer and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player's Box-Toppers points earned in 2013, along with their overall rank among players for the season.
If you simply add together the Box-Toppers points of these 14 key players from each team, the Cardinals have 103.7 points and the Dodgers 98.7.
If you compare them position-by-position, the Cardinals have more players with higher Box-Toppers points totals. The Cardinals have the edge in seven positions, the Dodgers in six and they tie in one position (both first basemen Matt Adams and Adrian Gonzalez have 5.0 Box-Toppers points).
In general, the Cardinals edge the Dodgers among batters, with more offensive players with higher Box-Toppers points—in fact, Hanley Ramirez is the only Dodger batter with a higher Box-Toppers point total (5.0) than his Cardinals shortstop counterpart Pete Kozma (2.5).
All three likely starting outfielders for the Dodgers have Box-Toppers point totals of 2.0 or less, meaning they were very rarely the key contributor to Dodgers wins. Carl Crawford was Player of the Game twice during the season earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig was NL Batter of the Day in his second career game June 4, earning 1.5 points, his only points of the season. And Skip Schumaker, though he appeared in 125 games, did not earn Player of the Game honors during the season, earning 0.0 Box-Toppers points.
To be fair, Dodgers pitchers were often the key contributor to the team's wins, with higher Box-Toppers game scores and earning Player of the Game honors. In fact, Dodgers pitchers have a slight edge over the Cardinals, with two of the three top overall players in Box-Toppers points (Kershaw and Greinke). The Dodgers' closer, Kenley Jansen has more Box-Toppers points than Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal (9.7 to 6.0).
So: The Dodgers have the overall higher Box-Toppers Team Ranking. The Cardinals have a better winning percentage. The Dodgers have a slight edge in pitching. The Cardinals have a seeming clear edge among batters. The Dodgers have the edge in the pitching match-up in Game 1. The Cardinals have home-field advantage. Baseball's best three players this season (by Box-Toppers measures) will be in action. It promises to be a great series.
Coming Friday: Here is the pitching match-up for Game 1 of the NL Championship Series:
Dodgers: Zack Greinke, 19.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked third overall (see the Top 10 Player ranking list on the home page)
Cardinals: Joe Kelly, 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 264th overall
In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.
Likely starting players for the Cardinals and Dodgers listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2013 regular season and their overall player rank among all players
| Cardinals | BTP | Rank | Dodgers | BTP | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Matt Adams | 5.0 | 198 | Adrian Gonzalez | 5.0 | 175 | |
| 2B | Matt Carpenter | 7.5 | 100 | Mark Ellis | 3.5 | 295 | |
| SS | Pete Kozma | 2.5 | 408 | Hanley Ramirez | 5.0 | 177 | |
| 3B | David Freese | 5.5 | 154 | Juan Uribe | 3.0 | 323 | |
| CA | Yadier Molina | 4.0 | 253 | A.J. Ellis | 2.5 | 387 | |
| CF | Jon Jay | 5.5 | 162 | Skip Schumaker | 0.0 | 920 | |
| LF | Matt Holliday | 6.5 | 121 | Carl Crawford | 2.0 | 450 | |
| RF | Carlos Beltran | 2.5 | 378 | Yasiel Puig | 1.5 | 542 | |
| SP | Adam Wainwright | 20.2 | 2 | Clayton Kershaw | 21.7 | 1 | |
| SP | Lance Lynn | 16.1 | 11 | Zack Greinke | 19.4 | 3 | |
| SP | Joe Kelly | 4.0 | 264 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | 9.7 | 61 | |
| SP | Michael Wacha | 3.0 | 361 | Ricky Nolasco | 9.7 | 60 | |
| CP | Trevor Rosenthal | 6.0 | 147 | Kenley Jansen | 9.7 | 59 | |
| PI | Shelby Miller | 15.4 | 17 | Chris Capuano | 6.0 | 134 |
Rangers pitcher Derek Holland is Monday's Player of the Day. Holland pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out nine, in the 12-0 win over the Astros.
Holland earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season, putting him in 36th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Brewers pitcher Marco Estrada is National League Player of the Day. Estrada pitched seven shutout innings, giving up only two hits, in the 5-0 win over the Braves.
Nick Hundley of the Padres is NL Batter of the Day. Hundley hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 4-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Jed Lowrie of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Lowrie hit a three-run homer in the 10-5 win over the Angels.
Notable: Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright had a chance to retake the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings in his start against the Nationals Monday, but did not score any Box-Toppers points. Though Wainwright earned the win in the 4-3 victory, he gave up seven hits and three runs over seven innings and his Box-Toppers game score was -1.0. Closing pitcher Trevor Rosenthal was the Cardinals Player of the Game with a Box-Toppers game score of 1.2.
Wainwright is still in third place in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the updated top 10 list on the home page) with 19.2 points. He trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 20.7. Wainwright has one last chance to catch or pass Kershaw in his scheduled start on the final day of the regular season Sunday against the Cubs. (Kershaw has his final regular season scheduled start Friday against the Rockies.)
Holland receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Estrada receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Hundley and Lowrie each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Monday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 923 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.0 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Derek Holland (W, 10-9) | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | Brewers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Marco Estrada (W, 7-4) | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | `Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Charlie Morton | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 7.2 | Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Nathan Eovaldi (W, 4-6) | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 4.2 | `Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yordano Ventura | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |||
| 3.1 | White Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jose Quintana (W, 9-6) | 7.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 3.0 | `Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Johnny Cueto | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||
| BAT | 2.0 | Padres | Nick Hundley C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Athletics | Jed Lowrie DH | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | James Loney PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.2 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Rosenthal (S, 1) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1.0 | Twins | Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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. 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.