Peers vs. points: 5 Box-Toppers leaders win 2025 Players Choice Awards

Players Choice Awards vs. Box-Toppers leaders

Here are winners of baseball’s 2025 Players Choice Awards compared with this season’s Box-Toppers points leaders. Award winners are shown along with their 2025 Box-Toppers point (BTP) total and their Box-Toppers ranking among the subset of players against which they are being compared. Also shown are the Box-Toppers leaders in each category.

Award	Winner	Team	BTP	Rank*	BTP leader	Team	BTP	Rank*
Player of the Year	Cal Raleigh	Mariners	6.0	139	Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	12.0	24§
AL Outstanding Player	Cal Raleigh	Mariners	6.0	24	George Springer	Blue Jays	9.7	1
NL Outstanding Player	Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	12.0	1	Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	12.0	1
AL Outstanding Pitcher	Tarik Skubal	Tigers	22.1	1	Tarik Skubal	Tigers	22.1	1
NL Outstanding Pitcher	Paul Skenes	Pirates	21.1	1	Paul Skenes	Pirates	21.1	1
AL Outstanding Rookie	Nick Kurtz	Athletics	4.5	12†	Jacob Lopez	Athletics	11.4	1†
NL Outstanding Rookie	Drake Baldwin	Braves	6.5	3†	Drake Baldwin	Braves	6.5	3†
AL Comeback Player	Jacob deGrom	Rangers	11.0	3**	Jacob deGrom	Rangers	11.0	3**
NL Comeback Player	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Braves	4.5	36**	Jesús Luzardo	Phillies	17.4	1**

BTP: Box‑Toppers points
* Rank is shown based on the overall group the player is compared against. For example, Cal Raleigh ranks 139th among all players, but ranks 24th among all AL batters.
§ While Schwarber ranks 24th among all players, he has the highest adjusted Box-Toppers point total among all players. In cases in which pitchers and batters compete for the same award, Box-Toppers doubles the point totals of batters. When doubled, Schwarber’s 12.0 points becomes 24.0, more than the highest-ranked pitcher, Tarik Skubal of the Tigers (22.1).
† Rookie players are ranked among their league’s players with rookie status in 2025. While Baldwin was the third-ranked NL rookie, his point total is doubled when compared to pitchers, giving him an adjusted 13.0 points, ahead of top NL rookie pitcher, Cade Horton of the Cubs (9.7).
** For Comeback Player, ranks shown are among each league’s most improved players in Box-Toppers point total from 2024 to 2025. deGrom ranks third among most improved AL players, but ranks first among non-rookie AL players who played the entire season in the AL.

Schwarber voted NL Outstanding Player by peers over unanimous NL MVP Ohtani

Five Box-Toppers category leaders were also 2025 Players Choice Award winners, headlined by the surprising National League Outstanding Player selection, Kyle Schwarber, who beat out unanimous NL MVP Shohei Ohtani for the honor.

But while the players and Box-Toppers data found common ground for the top NL player, a massive disparity emerged for the game’s overall top honor. Players voted Cal Raleigh of the Mariners as Player of the Year, even though he earned just 6.0 Box-Toppers points—ranking 24th among American League batters and 139th among all players. In fact, Raleigh’s 6.0 Box-Toppers points are the third-fewest by a Player of the Year winner in the award’s 28-year history, trailing only Jose Altuve (2.5 points in 2017) and Carlos Delgado (4.0 points in 2000).

Schwarber, who was voted Players Choice NL Outstanding Player, led NL batters with 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025. He was one of five Box-Toppers category leaders to earn Players Choice hardware. The others:

• Tarik Skubal (Tigers): Voted AL Outstanding Pitcher after leading all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points.

• Paul Skenes (Pirates): Voted NL Outstanding Pitcher and led NL pitchers with 21.1 Box-Toppers points.

• Drake Baldwin (Braves): Voted NL Outstanding Rookie and was also Box-Toppers’ top-ranked NL rookie.

• Jacob deGrom (Rangers) Voted AL Comeback Player and also had the biggest improvement in Box-Toppers points from 2024 to 2025 among AL players.

Here is a look at this year’s Players Choice Award winners (presented by the Major League Baseball Players Association) in nine categories and the Box-Toppers points leader in each category:

Player of the Year, AL Outstanding Player

Cal Raleigh of the Mariners won the overall award and top AL player awards in a season in which he led the Majors with 60 home runs.

But Raleigh finished low among AL batters in Box-Toppers points because he was frequently outscored by teammates for Player of the Game honors in Mariners wins.

There were nine Mariners wins in which Raleigh had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 or better, but six times in which he did not earn Player of the Game. Raleigh was beaten four times by pitchers on his team with a higher game score and twice by fellow Mariners batters. Had he won Player of the Game honors in the six team wins in which he had a +3.0 game score or better, he’d have at least 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, enough to lead league batters, ahead of George Springer of the Blue Jays (9.7 points).

(More: Why Judge, Raleigh, Ohtani don’t appear on Box-Toppers’ 2025 MVP ballots.)

In the 28-year history of the award, only two Players Choice Player of the Year winners had fewer Box-Toppers points in a full season than Raleigh’s 6.0 in 2025:

• In 2017, Jose Altuve of the Astros had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, 387th among all players. (A look at why Altuve’s point total was so low in a season in which he won the AL MVP Award.)

• In 2000, Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, 244th among all players.

In 2020, Freddie Freeman of the Braves won the award in a season in which he earned 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 70th among all players, but that season was shortened to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Box-Toppers’ choice for overall Player of the Year is Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, whose 12.0 Box-Toppers points led NL batters and ranked 24th among all players.

However, Schwarber rises to lead all players in Box-Toppers’ adjusted player rankings. When directly comparing batters and pitchers in award categories, we double batters’ Box-Toppers point totals to make them competitive and comparable with pitchers. His adjusted 24.0 points eclipses even the top-ranked pitcher, Tarik Skubal (22.1), making Schwarber the definitive Box-Toppers choice for overall Player of the Year. (Raleigh’s adjusted point total ranking puts him at 65th place among all players.)

Box-Toppers 2025 player rankings, with batter-adjusted rankings

Here are the overall top-ranked players for 2025 based on batter-adjusted point totals:

1. Schwarber, 12.0 Box-Toppers points (adjusted to 24.0).

2. Christian Yelich of the Brewers, 11.2 (adjusted to 22.4).

3. Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, 22.1.

4. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, 21.1.

5. Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, 20.1.

6. Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet, 19.8.

7. George Springer of the Blue Jays, 9.7 (19.4).

8. José Ramírez of the Guardians, 9.5 (19.0).

9. Manny Machado of the Padres, 9.5 (19.0).

10. Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs, 9.5 (19.0).

Why Schwarber is Box-Toppers’ Player of the Year choice

Schwarber led the NL with 56 home runs and 132 runs batted in. While he had fewer homers than Raleigh, Schwarber won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 10 times in his team’s wins in 2025 compared with five times for Raleigh. Schwarber’s achievement is even more remarkable considering he had to secure those 12.0 points while competing for Player of the Game honors against a powerhouse Phillies rotation that featured four of the National League’s top 10 pitchers in Box-Toppers points (Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez).

How Players Choice Player of the Year Award winners have fared in Box-Toppers points (1998-2025)

Here are winners of baseball’s Players Choice Player of the Year Awards from 1998 to 2025 and how they fared in Box-Toppers points. On the left are winners of the awards, followed by their Box-Toppers point (BTP) total, their overall ranking in B-T points and their adusted rank (Adj rank), which is based on doubling the point totals earned by batters. On the right are players who had the highest adjusted Box-Toppers point in each season—six times in the 28-year history of the award, the leader in adjusted Box-Toppers points won the Players Choice Player of the Year award.

Year	Winner	Team	BTP	Rank	Adj rank		Leader	Team	BTP	Rank	Adj rank
1998	Mark McGwire	Cardinals	14.9	17	5		Albert Belle	White Sox	16.4	7	1
1999	Pedro Martínez	Red Sox	31.4	2	6		Manny Ramirez	Indians	19.9	3	1
2000	Carlos Delgado	Blue Jays	4.0	244	172		Frank Thomas	White Sox	17.9	5	1
2001	Barry Bonds	Giants	15.5	12	4		Todd Helton	Rockies	17.0	8	1
2002	Alex Rodriguez	Rangers	15.2	11	5		Barry Bonds	Giants	20.7	4	1
2003	Albert Pujols	Cardinals	16.5	10	2		Carlos Delgado	Blue Jays	17.7	9	1
2004	Barry Bonds	Giants	12.5	22	9		Gary Sheffield	Yankees	16.2	10	1
2005	Andruw Jones	Braves	11.5	31	13		David Ortiz	Red Sox	14.7	12	1
2006	Ryan Howard	Phillies	14.0	16	6		Lance Berkman	Astros	20.8	2	1
2007	Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	18.9	2	1		Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	18.9	2	1
2008	Albert Pujols	Cardinals	15.2	10	1		Albert Pujols	Cardinals	15.2	10	1
2009	Albert Pujols	Cardinals	16.7	8	1		Albert Pujols	Cardinals	16.7	8	1
2010	Carlos González	Rockies	10.0	49	12		Albert Pujols	Cardinals	15.4	15	1
2011	Justin Verlander	Tigers	24.4	3	8		Prince Fielder	Brewers	15.7	15	1
2012	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	11.7	35	5		Adrian Beltre	Rangers	13.0	28	1
2013	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	16.9	8	1		Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	16.9	8	1
2014	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	31.5	1	1		Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	31.5	1	1
2015	Josh Donaldson	Blue Jays	9.9	48	18		Jake Arrieta	Cubs	29.1	1	1
2016	Jose Altuve	Astros	12.5	26	4		Max Scherzer	Nationals	25.7	1	1
2017	Jose Altuve	Astros	2.5	387	288		Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	15.5	14	1
2018	J.D. Martinez	Red Sox	12.5	28	3		Blake Snell	Rays	27.2	1	1
2019	Mike Trout	Angels	8.7	68	24		Gerrit Cole	Astros	32.2	1	1
2020	Freddie Freeman	Braves	3.5	70	30		Luke Voit	Yankees	6.0	22	1
2021	Shohei Ohtani	Angels	16.1	12	9		José Ramírez	Indians	13.0	21	1
2022	Aaron Judge	Yankees	13.2	28	2		Pete Alonso	Mets	14.9	20	1
2023	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Braves	10.7	41	4		Shohei Ohtani	Angels	19.4	3	1
2024	Aaron Judge	Yankees	13.0	21	1		Aaron Judge	Yankees	13.0	21	1
2025	Cal Raleigh	Mariners	6.0	139	65		Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	12.0	24	1

Box-Toppers adjusted leaders have won 6 of 28 Player of the Year Awards

The leader in adjusted Box-Toppers points has won the Players Choice overall Player of the Year Award six times in the 28-year history of the award.

Most recently, it happened in 2024, when Aaron Judge of the Yankees was both Players Choice Player of the Year and AL Outstanding Player. His 13.0 Box-Toppers points was 21st among all players, but he ranked first in Box-Toppers adjusted rankings (with batters’ scored doubled when compared to pitchers), so he was also Box-Toppers’ choice as Player of the Year.

Here are the other five times the leader in adjusted Box-Toppers points has won the Players Choice Player of the Year Award:

• 2007—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees had 18.9 Box-Toppers points, second overall, but first in adjusted rankings.

• 2008—Albert Pujols of the Cardinals had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, 10th overall, but first in adjusted rankings.

• 2009—Pujols had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, eighth overall, but first in adjusted rankings.

• 2013—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers had 16.9 Box-Toppers points, eighth overall, but first in adjusted rankings.

• 2014—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had 31.5 Box-Toppers points, first overall and first in adjusted rankings.

AL Outstanding Player Award

Raleigh also won the Players Choice AL Outstanding Player Award, but Box-Toppers’ choice for the honor is George Springer of the Blue Jays, whose 9.7 Box-Toppers points led AL batters. It was the lowest total to lead any season category (AL or NL pitchers or batters) since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 in a full-length season. Despite Springer’s lower offensive output than Raleigh (32 homers vs. 60 for Raleigh), Springer won Player of the Game honors seven times compared to five for Raleigh.

NL Outstanding Player

Schwarber’s win as NL Outstanding Player stands as a significant upset, coming over the unanimous NL Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers. Ohtani and Schwarber both had outstanding offensive statistics in 2025. Still, Ohtani earned just 5.5 Box-Toppers points and ranked just 27th among NL batters, while Schwarber dominated the league’s hitters with 12.0 points—more than double Ohtani’s total.

While Ohtani narrowly trailed Schwarber in offensive statistics (for example, hitting 55 homers vs. Schwarber’s 56), Ohtani won NL MVP for his return as a two-way player—batting and pitching—in 2025.

Schwarber’s win of this award may be more understandable given how it differs from the MVP award. The Players Choice Award traditionally prizes pure offensive dominance, whereas the MVP recognizes a player’s holistic value—a broad definition that occasionally results in pitchers winning the award. By narrowing the scope to the batter's box, voters possibly favored Schwarber’s slight statistical edge in power and run production, granting the Phillies slugger the nod as the league’s premier pure hitter.

AL Outstanding Pitcher

Award-winner Tarik Skubal of the Tigers also ranked first among all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points. Skubal also won the 2025 AL Cy Young Award.

Skubal led the AL in earned run average (2.21) and led all pitchers with a 0.891 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). He ranked second among AL pitchers in strikeouts (241).

In Box-Toppers rankings, Skubal finished ahead of second-place AL pitcher Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox (19.8).

NL Outstanding Pitcher

Award-winner Paul Skenes of the Pirates also ranked first among NL pitchers with 21.1 Box-Toppers points. Skenes also won the 2025 NL Cy Young Award.

Skenes led all pitchers with a 1.97 earned run average. He struck out 216, second-most in the NL and his 187.2 innings pitched were fourth in the NL.

In Box-Toppers rankings, Skubal finished ahead of second-place NL pitcher Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (20.1), passing him only in his final start of the season on Sept. 24. Wheeler held the lead even though he had been unable to pitch since mid-August, eventually undergoing thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.

AL Outstanding Rookie

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics won the Players Choice Award and was also 2025 AL Rookie of Year, but he was not among Box-Toppers top AL rookies in 2025.

His 4.5 Box-Toppers points was 12th among all AL players with rookie status in 2025 and second among AL rookie batters, behind Kyle Teel of the White Sox (5.0). However, with Kurtz’s Box-Toppers point total adjusted (doubled) when comparing to rookie pitchers, he ranks fourth among AL rookie players.

Box-Toppers’ choice for the award is Kurtz’s Athletics teammate, pitcher Jacob Lopez, whose 11.4 Box-Toppers points led AL rookies and ranked 18th among all AL pitchers.

Lopez, however, received no votes for AL Rookie of the Year. Though his season statistics were not overly impressive—a 7-7 win-loss record and a 4.08 ERA over 92.2 innings pitched, he helped the Athletics more than any other player, winning Player of the Game honors in eight of the 21 games in which he pitched, including winning overall Player of the Day honors in two consecutive starts—Aug. 7 (7.2IP 3H 0R 0BB 10K W) and Aug. 12 (7IP 4H 0R 0BB 9K W).

NL Outstanding Rookie

Award-winner Drake Baldwin of the Braves was also Box-Toppers’ choice for the honor.

Baldwin, who also won the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Award, earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, third among NL rookies, behind Cubs pitcher Cade Horton (9.7 points) and Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (7.7 points).

But Baldwin ranks first among 2025 NL rookies with his adjusted Box-Toppers point total. When Baldwin’s points are doubled, his 13.0 adjusted points beats Horton’s 9.7 for the top spot.

Baldwin hit 19 home runs and drove in 80 runs with a .274 batting average and an .810 OPS, playing in 124 games.

AL Comeback Player

Award-winner Jacob deGrom of the Rangers was also Box-Toppers’ choice for the honor.

deGrom earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025 after earning 1.0 point in 2024. He missed nearly the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons due to his second Tommy John surgery in June 2023.

His 10.0-point increase was the fifth-biggest among all players in 2025, third-biggest among all AL players and second-biggest among non-rookie AL players, behind Rangers pitcher Merrill Kelly, who had a 12.7-point increase. However, since Kelly played most of the season for the Diamondbacks in the National League, we defer to deGrom for the award since he had the biggest increase of any player who spent the entire season in the American League.

NL Comeback Player

Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Braves won the Players Choice Award but Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is Box-Toppers choice for the award.

Acuña earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 46th among NL batters, after earning 0.0 in 2024. His 4.5-point increase from last season is 28th-best among all batters and 12th among NL batters.

Acuña played the first 49 games of the 2024 season before tearing the ACL in his left knee on May 26 and missing the rest of the season. He came back nearly a year later on May 23, 2025, playing in 95 games.

However, Box-Toppers chose Luzardo as Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2025, becoming just the second player to win the honor in a second season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.

Luzardo earned 17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, eighth among all players and fifth among National League pitchers. He earned just 2.0 Box-Toppers points in an injury-shortened 2024 season with the Marlins, making his gain of 15.4 Box-Toppers points from 2024 to 2025 the largest among all players.

Luzardo was also the Box-Toppers’ 2023 most-improved player, when his 13.8-point gain led all players. He earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022 and 17.8 points in 2023, both with the Marlins. In 2023, he ranked fifth overall and second among NL pitchers.

In 2024, Luzardo was on the injured list twice, first for two weeks with left elbow tightness and then in June with a lumbar stress reaction in his back, which kept him out for the remainder of the season. For his 2025 rebound season, Luzardo was traded from the Marlins to the Phillies.

In addition to Luzardo, the late Jose Fernandez is the only other player to be Box-Toppers’ most-improved player in two seasons (2013 and 2016).

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. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)

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Related

• A look at Box-Toppers’ leaders for postseason awards, plus an award finalist overview.

• Awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 3 of 6 major postseason honors in 2025.

• Box-Toppers 2025 player rankings leaders.

• A Box-Toppers look at past Players Choice Awards: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021.

• Players Choice Award history, from Wikipedia

• 2025 Players Choice Award winners news release from the Major League Baseball Players Association.