White Sox closing pitcher Liam Hendriks led American League relievers in Box-Toppers points and also was named AL’s 2021 Reliever of the Year.
Reliever of the Year
Here are the three relief pitchers in each league with the most Box-Toppers points (BTP) in 2021. Liam Hendriks of the White Sox led American League relievers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points and was also named AL Reliever of the Year (shaded in red and italicized). Ian Kennedy of the Phillies led NL relievers with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, but did not win NL Reliever of the Year. That went to Josh Hader of the Brewers (shaded in red and italicized), whose 4.0 Box-Toppers points ranked sixth among NL relievers.| AL Reliever of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Liam Hendriks | White Sox | 7.0 |
| 2 | Craig Kimbrel | White Sox | 6.7 |
| 3 | Jose Suarez | Angels | 6.4 |
| NL Reliever of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ian Kennedy | Phillies | 8.7 |
| 2 | Alex Reyes | Cardinals | 6.7 |
| 3 | Kenley Jansen | Dodgers | 6.0 |
| 6 | Josh Hader | Brewers | 4.0 |
But the National League winner, Brewers reliever Josh Hader, ranked sixth among NL closers in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
The awards, chosen by a panel of seven former closing pitchers, were announced Wednesday.
Hendriks led AL closers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ahead of second-place Craig Kimbrel, also of the White Sox with 6.7 points. It should be noted that Kimbrel earned all of his 2021 Box-Toppers points during the first half of the season when he was with the National League Cubs and did not earn any additional points after his midseason trade to the White Sox. But since he ended his season with the White Sox, his points are ranked among AL players.
Phillies closing pitcher Ian Kennedy led NL closers with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ahead of second-place Alex Reyes of the Cardinals (6.7). Hader ranked sixth among NL closers with 4.0 Box-Toppers points, behind Kennedy (8.7), Reyes (6.7), Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers (6.0), Will Smith of the Braves (6.0) and Edwin Diaz of the Mets (5.7).
In 2020, Hendriks was also Box-Toppers’ top AL reliever and won the AL Reliever of the Year Award when he was with the Athletics. Hendriks led AL relievers with 4.0 points in the pandemic-shortened season. In 2019, Hendriks, then with the Athletics, ranked third among AL closers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, behind leader Brad Hand of the Indians (8.0).
While Hader did not rank among the top three NL closers in Box-Toppers points in 2021, he led NL closers in both 2018 and 2019. In 2018, he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points and in 2019, he had 17.7 Box-Toppers points, which was eighth among all players and third among all NL pitchers, trailing only two starters—Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals (20.7 points) and Jacob deGrom of the Mets (19.1).
In 2019, Hader had more than twice as many Box-Toppers points as any other relief pitcher in baseball. It is the third-highest single-season total for a closing pitcher since Box-Toppers started separately tracking relievers in 1998. The only other player who earned more points in a season as a closer is Eric Gagne of the Dodgers, who did it twice (19.7 points in 2004 and 19.0 points in 2003).
This is Hader’s third NL Reliever of the Year Award. He won the two previous times he led NL closers in Box-Toppers points, 2018 and 2019.
Hendriks led the AL in saves with 38 and had a 2.54 earned run average. Hader earned 34 saves, fourth among NL pitchers, had a 1.23 earned run average and did not allow a run after July 28.
The Internet Baseball Writers of America (IBWAA), of which Box-Toppers is a voting member, also voted Hendriks and Hader as Relievers of the Year. (Complete list of IBWAA award winners.)
There are several pitchers who served as starting pitchers who also spent significant time making relief appearances.
Most notable among these is Ryan Yarbrough of the Rays, who earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 19th among all AL pitchers. In his nine Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in 2021, he earned four as a reliever and five as a starter.
Other notable dual-role starter-relievers in 2021 are Ranger Suarez of the Phillies (9.0 Box-Toppers points, 34th among NL pitchers), Josh Fleming of the Rays (6.7 Box-Toppers points, 39th among AL pitchers) and Michael Kopech of the White Sox (5.7 Box-Toppers points, 54th among AL pitchers).
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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