You’re going to hate Box-Toppers’ choices for postseason player honors.
Box-Toppers postseason honors ballot
Here is a look at Box-Toppers’ ballot selections for the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) 2023 postseason awards. The ballot requires votes out to 10 places for Most Valuable Player in both leagues, five for Cy Young Awards in each league and three for each leagues' Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year and Reliever of the Year.Players are shown with their team and their Box-Toppers point (BTP) total for 2023.
Note: Previous versions of this ballot showed incorrect players or Box-Toppers point totals in the bottom five on the NL MVP ballot. This has been corrected and updated.
| AL Most Valuable Player | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 19.4 |
| 2 | Kyle Tucker | Astros | 12.5 |
| 3 | Aaron Judge | Yankees | 12.0 |
| 4 | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | 20.1 |
| 5 | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | 18.7 |
| 6 | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | 17.0 |
| 7 | Luis Castillo | Mariners | 16.1 |
| 8 | Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | 7.7 |
| 9 | Max Scherzer | Rangers | 15.4 |
| 10 | Brandon Drury | Angels | 7.5 |
| NL Most Valuable Player | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Pete Alonso | Mets | 12.0 |
| 2 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | Braves | 10.7 |
| 3 | Spencer Strider | Braves | 21.1 |
| 4 | Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 10.0 |
| 5 | Nolan Gorman | Cardinals | 10.0 |
| 6 | Christian Yelich | Brewers | 9.2 |
| 7 | Juan Soto | Padres | 9.0 |
| 8 | Jesus Luzardo | Marlins | 17.8 |
| 9 | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | 17.7 |
| 10 | Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | 16.7 |
| AL Cy Young | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | 20.1 |
| 2 | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | 18.7 |
| 3 | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | 17.0 |
| 4 | Luis Castillo | Mariners | 16.1 |
| 5 | Max Scherzer | Rangers | 15.4 |
| NL Cy Young | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Spencer Strider | Braves | 21.1 |
| 2 | Jesus Luzardo | Marlins | 17.8 |
| 3 | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | 17.7 |
| 4 | Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | 16.7 |
| 5 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 14.7 |
| AL Rookie of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Gunnar Henderson | Orioles | 7.5 |
| 2 | Bryce Miller | Mariners | 13.1 |
| 3 | Hunter Brown | Astros | 10.1 |
| NL Rookie of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | James Outman | Dodgers | 8.7 |
| 2 | Ezequiel Tovar | Rockies | 6.5 |
| 3 | Kodai Senga | Mets | 12.7 |
| AL Manager of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | Team BTP | |
| 1 | Bruce Bochy | Rangers | 128.1 |
| 2 | Kevin Cash | Rays | 123.6 |
| 3 | Brandon Hyde | Orioles | 119.5 |
| NL Manager of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | Team BTP | |
| 1 | Brian Snitker | Braves | 125.4 |
| 2 | Dave Roberts | Dodgers | 123.8 |
| 3 | Craig Counsell | Brewers | 115.8 |
| AL Reliever of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Felix Bautista | Orioles | 11.0 |
| 2 | Nick Pivetta | Red Sox | 9.0 |
| 3 | Michael King | Yankees | 9.0 |
| NL Reliever of the Year | |||
| Player | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Devin Williams | Brewers | 8.0 |
| 2 | David Bednar | Pirates | 7.0 |
| 3 | Alexis Diaz | Reds | 7.0 |
While MVP is traditionally a batter's award, it has been awarded to pitchers either when they have a dominant season, no batters particularly rise to the occasion—or both.
That’s the impression I get from listening to and reading baseball commentators who by August were already declaring players as not even de facto but actual “don’t-argue-with-me-because-I’m-right-and-there’s-clearly-no-dispute” award winners.
The final results will be known this week when the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) announces its major postseason awards.
(This is the fourth and final part of Box-Toppers’ four-day overview of postseason awards. On Thursday, Box-Toppers looked at Rookies of the Year, Friday featured Cy Young Awards and Saturday Most Valuable Player Awards. Today is a wrap-up of Box-Toppers selections plus a look at all awards finalists, plus a look at awards for Managers of the Year and Relievers of the Year.)
There seemed to be a rush this year to announce postseason awards well in advance of the end of the season, as though it were a political campaign of ideas rather than an actual game of results. Those commentators seemed to cloudy the water, pushing plausible candidates of the moment to the forefront but largely ignoring large chunks of the season in which their anointed player did not do well and others, less-well promoted, excelled.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels was ballyhooed all season as American League Most Valuable Player. By the All-Star break, with his home run hitting and stellar pitching, experts said there was no way he could lose AL MVP. I agreed Ohtani was the runaway leader, but there was still a lot of season to go. What if he gets injured?
Ohtani DID get injured. He was unable to pitch the final month of the season, underwent Tommy John surgery and will be unable to pitch for a year. Another injury kept him from batting for the final weeks of the season.
Ohtani held an overwhelming lead in Box-Toppers player rankings in July and August. But as Ohtani faltered late in the season, he lost his commanding Box-Toppers points lead and fell to third place overall with 19.4 Box-Toppers points.
Award finalists
Here are finalists for the Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards to be given this week, as named by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Players are listed by their Box-Toppers point (BTP) total for 2023 and their Box-Toppers rank in their award category.| Cy Young finalists | |||
| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Gerrit Cole | Yankees | 17.0 | 4 |
| Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | 18.7 | 3 |
| Sonny Gray | Twins | 10.4 | 20 |
| **Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | 20.1 | 1 |
| NL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | 16.7 | 4 |
| Blake Snell | Padres | 14.7 | 6 |
| Logan Webb | Giants | 12.4 | 11 |
| **Spencer Strider | Braves | 21.1 | 1 |
| Most Valuable Player Awards finalists | |||
| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 19.4 | ‑§ |
| Corey Seager | Rangers | 6.2 | 22 |
| Marcus Semien | Rangers | 6.7 | 15 |
| NL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | Braves | 10.7 | 2 |
| Mookie Betts | Dodgers | 8.5 | 8 |
| Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 10.0 | 3 |
| **Pete Alonso | Mets | 12.0 | 1 |
| Rookie of the Year finalists | |||
| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank† |
| Tanner Bibee | Guardians | 8.7 | 3 |
| Triston Casas | Red Sox | 5.5 | 10 |
| Gunnar Henderson | Orioles | 7.5 | 7 |
| NL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank† |
| Corbin Carroll | Diamondbacks | 3.0 | 24 |
| James Outman | Dodgers | 8.7 | 3 |
| Kodai Senga | Mets | 12.7 | 1 |
* Rank shows a player’s rank among potential players eligible for the award. For example, AL Cy Young finalists are ranked among AL pitchers, AL MVP finalists are ranked among AL batters.
** Player led the league category in Box-Toppers points but is not among the three finalists for the award.
† Rookie of the Year candidates are ranked among their league’s rookies in Box‑Toppers points. However, for awards in which batters and pitchers directly compete, such as Rookie of the Year, we adjust the batters’ total (doubling it) to make them more competitive.
§ Ohtani earned 9.7 of his 19.4 Box-Toppers points as a batter and 9.7 as a pitcher. His 19.4 points was third among all players, second among AL pitchers and first among AL batters. If Ohtani’s points were figured separately, his 9.7 batting points would rank third among AL batters and his 9.7 pitching points would rank 28th among AL pitchers. Among AL players, Ohtani ranked behind Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt (20.1). In figuring AL MVP, Box-Toppers arbitrarily doubles batters’ point totals when comparing them to pitchers. Doubling Ohtani’s 9.7 batting points gives him an adjusted total of 29.1, moving him ahead of Bassitt.
Having said this, Box-Toppers still has Ohtani as the AL MVP, but it seemed foolhardy to declare it fait accompli until the end of the season, especially when as the season progresses, things can and do change. But Ohtani is probably one of the few postseason player honor choices in which Box-Toppers and the baseball cognoscenti agree.
Ohtani was able to make up for his season-ending fallow period with his overwhelming dominance during much of the rest of the season. Other players who the experts are picking for awards—namely, Padres pitcher Blake Snell for National League Cy Young Award and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole for AL Cy Young Award—also had periods of brilliance during the season. But by Box-Toppers’ calculations, they were not able to make up for extended stretches in which they weren’t performing well. Other players, who more consistently were top players in their team wins, were better and had a more unwavering quality to their seasons. And those players were our choices for postseason honors.
Box-Toppers voted for the awards—in a contest separate from the BBWAA balloting being announced this week—as a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA). Here is a look at Box-Toppers choices for the awards, followed by the awards winners as voted by the IBWAA:
American League Most Valuable Player—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels.
National League Most Valuable Player—Pete Alonso of the Mets.
American League Cy Young Award—Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays.
National League Cy Young Award—Spencer Strider of the Braves.
American League Rookie of the Year—Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles.
National League Rookie of the Year—James Outman of the Dodgers.
American League Manager of the Year—Bruce Bochy of the Rangers.
National League Manager of the Year—Brian Snitker of the Braves.
American League Reliever of the Year—Felix Bautista of the Orioles.
National League Reliever of the Year—Devin Williams of the Brewers.
I’m guessing three of Box-Toppers choices for postseason awards will coincide with actual results—Ohtani for AL MVP, Henderson for top AL rookie and Bautista for top AL reliever—but the others may be different, may be radically different and may have some questioning which one of us was actually paying attention to baseball this season.
American League Most Valuable Player
Shohei Ohtani, Angels
Ohtani earned 19.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, which was third among all players, second among AL pitchers and first among AL batters.
Ohtani earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 16 times in 2023—eight as a designated hitter and eight as a starting pitcher. He has 9.7 Box-Toppers points as a batter and 9.7 as a starting pitcher. Box-Toppers adds all his points together and counts the overall total when ranking him as an AL pitcher and an AL batter. If separated, Ohtani’s 9.7 points as a pitcher would rank 28th among AL pitchers and his 9.7 points as a batter would rank third among AL batters.
When figuring postseason awards in categories in which batters and pitchers are eligible for the same honor, Box-Toppers arbitrarily doubles the Box-Toppers point totals for batters to make it more difficult for pitchers to win what are often considered “batter’s awards” such as the MVP. For Ohtani, we double his 9.7 points earned as a pitcher (19.4) and add it to the 9.7 he earned as a batter, giving him 29.1.
That puts Ohtani atop Box-Toppers AL MVP list, ahead of the top two AL batters in Box-Toppers points and the top two AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
Complete details—Box-Toppers’ MVP Awards: Ohtani reigns over AL; Alonso edges Acuña in NL
National League Most Valuable Player
Pete Alonso, Mets
Alonso earned 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, just ahead of award favorite, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (10.7 points).
Alonso won Player of the Game honors nine times in 2023 vs. Acuna’s eight. Though he was on a team that won 75 games vs. the Braves’ 104, he was the NL batter who most often was the key player to his team’s wins.
Alonso edges out Acuna as our choice for the award and also ranks ahead of Box-Toppers’ third-place player on the ballot—Braves pitcher Spencer Strider, who earned 21.1 Box-Toppers points. We arbitrarily double Alonso’s 12.0 points when comparing him to pitchers, giving him the adjusted total of 24.0, ahead of Strider.
Complete details—Box-Toppers’ MVP Awards: Ohtani reigns over AL; Alonso edges Acuña in NL
American League Cy Young Award
Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays
Bassitt led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2023 with 20.1, finishing the season second overall, behind Braves pitcher Spencer Strider (21.1).
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is the favorite to win AL Cy Young. He earned 17.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, seventh overall and fourth among AL pitchers.
Placing second on Box-Toppers’ AL Cy Young ballot between Bassitt and Cole is Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, who earned 18.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels was not among Box-Toppers’ top five AL Cy Young finalists, even though he ranked third among AL pitchers with 19.4 Box-Toppers points. That’s because for Cy Young consideration, we subtracted the points Ohtani earned while batting. Ohtani earned exactly half of his points as pitcher (9.7) and half as a batter (9.7). His 9.7 points as pitcher would rank 28th among AL pitchers.
Complete details—Box-Toppers’ Cy Young Awards: Bassitt over Cole in AL; Strider over Snell in NL
National League Cy Young Award
Spencer Strider, Braves
Strider led NL pitchers with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, finishing the season first overall.
Padres pitcher Blake Snell, the favorite to win the award, earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 12th among all players and sixth among NL pitchers, 6.4 points behind Strider.
Snell led NL pitchers in earned run average in 2023 (2.25) and was second in strikeouts (234) behind Strider (281).
But Snell won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors nine times in 2023 compared to 17 for Strider. In other words, Strider was the key player most helpful to 17 Braves wins, nearly twice as many times as Snell was the key player in a Padres win.
While Snell is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young, the Padres went only 17-15 in his 32 starts. In his first 11 starts, the Padres went 2-9. In six of those starts, he had a negative Box-Toppers game score. He did not win Player of the Game honors in any of those first 11 starts and did not win his first Player of the Game honor until June 5, failing to earn any Box-Toppers points for the first two months (fully one-third) of the season.
Snell earned 14.7 points in the final four months of the season, playing catchup, which is impressive, and puts him sixth among NL pitchers. While others see Snell as the runaway winner of the NL Cy Young, he doesn’t even appear on Box-Toppers ballot of the top five NL pitchers because he finished sixth in that category.
Complete details: Box-Toppers’ Cy Young Awards: Bassitt over Cole in AL; Strider over Snell in NL
Rookies of the Year
AL—Gunnar Henderson, Orioles
NL—James Outman, Dodgers
We vote Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles as AL Rookie of the Year and James Outman of the Dodgers as NL Rookie of the Year.
While Henderson is a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks is the overwhelming favorite for NL Rookie of the Year, even though he is not even among Box-Toppers’ top 10 NL rookies.
Henderson earned 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2023, most among AL rookie batters. While rookie Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller had more Box-Toppers points, 13.1, Henderson had more than half his total. Since this is an award in which batters and pitchers can be directly compared, we arbitrarily double the point total for batters, giving Henderson an adjusted total of 15.0, which edges out Miller’s 13.1.
Outman earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points to lead NL rookies. While rookie Mets pitcher Kodai Senga had more 2023 Box-Toppers points (12.7), Outman had more than half his total. Since this is an award in which batters and pitchers can be directly compared, we arbitrarily double the point total for batters, giving Outman an adjusted total of 17.4, which beats Senga’s 12.7.
Carroll, the likely NL Rookie of the Year winner, only had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, which does not even put him on the radar among Box-Toppers’ top NL rookies.
No doubt Carroll had an outstanding season and when comparing season statistics, he beats Outman in just about every conceivable category (check this comparison of their seasons in Baseball Reference’s Stathead player comparison).
But simply accumulating big statistics doesn’t necessarily produce results. It’s not necessarily the size that matters, as some claim in slightly unrelated matters, it’s what you’re able to do with it. To what end were these statistics accumulated? Did they help Carroll contribute to his team’s wins?
Only three times in 2023 did Carroll win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a Diamondbacks win. Outman, though trailing Carroll in overall statistics in 2023, did win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors seven times in 2023. In other words, he was the key player most helpful in earning Dodgers wins seven times, more than double Carroll’s total.
Complete details: Box-Toppers’ Rookies of the Year: Outman outmans Carroll in NL; Henderson is top in AL
Managers of the Year
AL—Bruce Bochy, Rangers
NL—Brian Snitker, Braves
Our criteria for this award is straightforward: Which teams had the most Box-Toppers points. The Rangers led all teams with 128.1 accumulated Box-Toppers points, so Bochy is first on Box-Toppers’ AL managers ballot. The Braves led NL teams with 125.4 Box-Toppers points, second overall, and so Snitker is first on Box-Toppers’ NL managers ballot.
The Rangers were the unlikely leader in Box-Toppers team rankings at the end of the season, finishing second in the AL West and tied for sixth among best team winning percentages. But the team ended up vindicating their “undeserved” top ranking by advancing through the playoffs and winning the World Series.
Relievers of the Year
AL—Felix Bautista, Orioles
NL—Devin Williams, Brewers
Bautista, who led all closers with 11.0 Box-Toppers points, is our choice for AL Reliever of the Year.
Williams, who led NL closers with 8.0 Box-Toppers points, is our choice for NL Reliever of the Year.
Bautista had 33 saves in 2023, third among AL pitchers. But he also won eight games. Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians, who led AL relievers with 44 saves, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL closers.
Bautista spent part of July and August on Box-Toppers’ overall top 10 list. The last time a relief pitcher finished a season among Box-Toppers overall top 10 was 2019, when Josh Hader of the Brewers finished eighth overall with 17.7 Box-Toppers points. Bautista finished the season 38th overall and 18th among all AL pitchers.
Bautista made his final appearance of the season Aug. 25, when his 11.0 points was still ninth among all AL pitchers. He was placed on the injured list with an ulnar collateral ligament injury which required Tommy John surgery, a procedure which often requires a year of recovery and rehab, making him likely unavailable to return in 2024.
Williams had 36 saves in 2023, fourth among NL closers. David Bednar of the Pirates, who led NL pitchers with 39 saves, had 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, second among NL closers.
Favorites for major postseason awards: AL MVP—Shohei Ohtani, Angels; NL MVP—Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves; AL Cy Young—Gerrit Cole, Yankees; NL Cy Young—Blake Snell, Padres; AL Rookie of the Year—Gunnar Henderson, Orioles; NL Rookie of the Year—Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks.
Internet writers’ postseason award results
Box-Toppers voted for major postseason awards as a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA). That group also cast ballots for all the major awards and announced its winners in the past week:
Most Valuable Player
AL—Shohei Ohtani, Angels
NL—Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
Cy Young Awards
AL—Gerrit Cole, Yankees
NL—Blake Snell, Padres
Rookie of the Year
AL—Gunnar Henderson, Orioles
NL—Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks
Manager of the Year
AL—Brandon Hyde, Orioles
NL—Brian Snitker, Braves
Relievers of the Year
AL—Felix Bautista, Orioles
NL—Devin Williams, Brewers
IBWAA members include more than 800 baseball writers and content creators. Voting for full-season awards takes place prior to the start of the postseason each year, with selections announced in November.
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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Related
Box-Toppers’ Rookies of the Year: Outman outmans Carroll in NL; Henderson is top in AL
Box-Toppers’ Cy Young Awards: Bassitt over Cole in AL; Strider over Snell in NL
Box-Toppers’ MVP Awards: Ohtani reigns over AL; Alonso edges Acuña in NL
Box-Toppers 2023 player rankings leaders
How Box-Toppers voted in 2022’s IBWAA postseason awards
2022 postseason awards wrap-up: How Box-Toppers’ leaders fared in awards season