Postseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 3 of 6 major honors in 2025

Here's how Box-Toppers points leaders fared in the six major postseason awards for 2025 as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The winners of the six major awards are listed at left with the Box-Toppers points (BTP) leader in each category listed at right. Rank shows the players’ rank among all players in 2025.

Most Valuable Player
AL winner	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank		AL BTP leader	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank
Aaron Judge	Yankees	cf rf	6.5	127		George Springer*	Blue Jays	dh rf	9.7	46
NL winner	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank		NL BTP leader	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank
Shohei Ohtani	Dodgers	dh pi sp†	5.5	171		Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	dh	12.0	24
Cy Young Award
AL winner	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank		AL BTP leader	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank
Tarik Skubal	Tigers	pi sp	22.1	1		Tarik Skubal	Tigers	pi sp	22.1	1
NL winner	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank		NL BTP leader	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank
Paul Skenes	Pirates	pi sp	21.1	2		Paul Skenes	Pirates	pi sp	21.1	2
Rookie of the Year
AL winner	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank		AL BTP leader	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank
Nick Kurtz	Athletics	1b ph	4.5	235		Jacob Lopez	Athletics	pi sp	11.4	32
NL winner	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank		NL BTP leader	Team	Pos	BTP	Rank
Drake Baldwin**	Braves	ca	6.5	133		Drake Baldwin**	Braves	ca	6.5	133

BTP: Box-Toppers points
* While George Springer led AL batters in Box-Toppers points, Box-Toppers actually voted Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal for AL MVP. We did this because Skubal had more than twice as many 2025 Box-Toppers points as Springer (22.1 vs. 9.7).
† Shohei Ohtani earned 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025—3.5 as a batter and 2.0 as a pitcher.
** Cubs pitcher Cade Horton actually led NL rookies in 2025, but Box-Toppers treats the Rookie of the Year award as primarily a batter's award and gives batters the benefit of a doubt, doubling their Box-Toppers point total when comparing them to pitchers. In this case, Drake Baldwin's 6.5 points are doubled to 13.0, beating Horton's 9.7 total for the season.

Box-Toppers’ choices for baseball’s major postseason player awards won three of six 2025 honors:

Box-Toppers postseason honors ballot

Here is a look at Box-Toppers’ ballot selections for the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) 2025 postseason awards. The ballot requires votes out to 10 places for Most Valuable Player in both leagues, five for Cy Young Awards and Rookie of the Year in each league, plus three for Manager of the Year and Reliever of the Year in each league.

Players are shown with their team and their Box-Toppers point (BTP) total for 2025.

	AL Most Valuable Player
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Tarik Skubal	Tigers	22.1
2	Garrett Crochet	Red Sox	19.8
3	George Springer	Blue Jays	9.7
4	José Ramírez	Guardians	9.5
5	Salvador Perez	Royals	9.5
6	Riley Greene	Tigers	9.0
7	Junior Caminero	Rays	9.0
8	Bryan Woo	Mariners	18.0
9	Wilyer Abreu	Red Sox	8.5
10	Lenyn Sosa	White Sox	8.5
	NL Most Valuable Player
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	12.0
2	Christian Yelich	Brewers	11.2
3	Paul Skenes	Pirates	21.1
4	Zack Wheeler	Phillies	20.1
5	Manny Machado	Padres	9.5
6	Seiya Suzuki	Cubs	9.5
7	Pete Crow-Armstrong	Cubs	9.5
8	Nick Pivetta	Padres	17.7
9	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Dodgers	17.7
10	Jesús Luzardo	Phillies	17.4
	AL Cy Young
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Tarik Skubal	Tigers	22.1
2	Garrett Crochet	Red Sox	19.8
3	Bryan Woo	Mariners	18.0
4	Luis Castillo	Mariners	16.1
5	Max Fried	Yankees	14.4
	NL Cy Young
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Paul Skenes	Pirates	21.1
2	Zack Wheeler	Phillies	20.1
3	Nick Pivetta	Padres	17.7
4	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Dodgers	17.7
5	Jesús Luzardo	Phillies	17.4
	AL Rookie of the Year
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Jacob Lopez	Athletics	11.4
2	Kyle Teel	White Sox	5.0
3	Will Warren	Yankees	9.4
4	Nick Kurtz	Athletics	4.5
5	Colson Montgomery	White Sox	4.5
	NL Rookie of the Year
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Drake Baldwin	Braves	6.5
2	Agustín Ramírez	Marlins	6.0
3	Isaac Collins	Brewers	5.5
4	Cade Horton	Cubs	9.7
5	Nolan McLean	Mets	7.7
	AL Manager of the Year
	Manager	Team	Team BTP
1	Aaron Boone	Yankees	127.1
2	Bruce Bochy	Rangers	123.6
3	Dan Wilson	Mariners	117.6
	NL Manager of the Year
	Manager	Team	Team BTP
1	Rob Thompson	Phillies	131.4
2	Mike Shildt	Padres	118.6
3	Craig Counsell	Cubs	117.6
	AL Reliever of the Year
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Jeff Hoffman	Blue Jays	8.0
2	Josh Hader	Astros	7.0
3	David Bednar	Yankees	7.0
	NL Reliever of the Year
	Player	Team	BTP
1	Edwin Díaz	Mets	8.0
2	Mason Miller	Padres	7.0
3	Robert Suarez	Padres	6.0

Box-Toppers gives batters a generous, if somewhat arbitrary, benefit of the doubt in these rankings. In cases where batters are directly compared to pitchers, Box-Toppers ranks batters as if their season Box-Toppers point total were doubled.
For example, in rankings for NL MVP, Kyle Schwarber ranks first with 12.0 points even though several pitchers (notably Paul Skenes of the Pirates with 21.1) have more points. Box-Toppers arbitrarily doubles batters’ point totals in figuring these rankings, which would give Schwarber 24.0 points, ahead of Skenes’ 21.1.
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.

• Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal won the American League Cy Young Award.

• Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes won the National League Cy Young Award.

• Drake Baldwin of the Braves won the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Skubal and Skenes both led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points and Baldwin led NL rookie batters in Box-Toppers points.

However, for three other awards announced in the past week, voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Box-Toppers leaders were not among the winners.

Here is a summary of how Box-Toppers’ choices fared in postseason awards:

American League Most Valuable Player

Aaron Judge of the Yankees was voted 2025 AL MVP Thursday but was not Box-Toppers’ choice for the award.

Judge earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 20th among AL batters. Judge won the AL batting title and led all players in slugging percentage and runs scored. His 53 home runs and 114 runs batted in were second among AL batters, behind Cal Raleigh of the Mariners (60 homers and 125 RBIs). But Judge’s Box-Toppers point total was down from his 13.0 in 2024 (which led AL batters) because teammates—often pitchers—won Player of the Game honors in team wins in which he performed well in 2025. (More: Judge, Raleigh frequently outscored in Player of the Game chances.)

Our choice for AL MVP, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points. In cases in which the league’s top pitcher has more than twice as many Box-Toppers points as the league’s top batter, I choose pitchers for league MVP. (Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, this is the 12th instance of a league top pitcher having more than double the points of the league top batter. Here are the other 11 instances.)

Skubal had more than double the point total of Box-Toppers’ top-ranked AL batter, George Springer of the Blue Jays, who earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025. Springer’s 9.7 points is the lowest total to lead any category since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.

Skubal finished fifth in AL MVP voting.

National League Most Valuable Player

Ohtani was unanimously voted 2025 NL MVP Thursday but was not Box-Toppers’ choice for the award.

Award finalists

Here are finalists for the Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards to be given this month, as named by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Players are listed with their Box-Toppers point (BTP) total for 2025 and their Box-Toppers rank in their award category.

Cy Young finalists
AL finalists	Team	BTP	Rank*
Tarik Skubal	Tigers	22.1	1
Garrett Crochet	Red Sox	19.8	2
Hunter Brown	Astros	13.4	9
NL finalists	Team	BTP	Rank*
Paul Skenes	Pirates	20.1	1
Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Dodgers	17.7	4
Cristopher Sánchez	Phillies	15.4	7
Most Valuable Player Awards finalists
AL finalists	Team	BTP	Rank*
José Ramírez	Guardians	9.5	2
Aaron Judge	Yankees	6.5	20
Cal Raleigh	Mariners	6.0	24
**George Springer	Blue Jays	9.7	1
NL finalists	Team	BTP	Rank*
Kyle Schwarber	Phillies	12.0	1
Juan Soto	Mets	7.0	12
Shohei Ohtani	Dodgers	5.5	27
Rookie of the Year finalists
AL finalists	Team	BTP	Rank†
Nick Kurtz	Athletics	4.5	12
Jacob Wilson	Athletics	4.0	14
Roman Anthony	Red Sox	2.0	30
**Jacob Lopez	Athletics	11.4	1
NL finalists	Team	BTP	Rank†
Cade Horton	Cubs	9.7	1
Drake Baldwin	Braves	6.5	3
Caleb Durbin	Brewers	0.0	-§

BTP—Box-Toppers points
* 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.
§ Caleb Durbin has yet to make his Box-Toppers debut by earning his first career Player of the Game honor and so has 0.0 Box-Toppers points and no ranking. Durbin played in 136 games in his 2025 rookie season.
† 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.

In 2025, Ohtani led the NL in runs scored (146), total bases (380), slugging percentage (.622) and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.014). He was second among NL batters in home runs (55) behind Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies (56).

But Ohtani earned just 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 27th among NL batters and 55th among NL pitchers. (While he earned 3.5 points as a batter and 2.0 as a pitcher, he qualified to have his overall total rank in both categories.)

In 2024, by contrast, Ohtani earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters in a season in which he hit 54 home runs and did not pitch.

Our choice for NL MVP, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, led NL batters with 12.0 Box-Toppers points, 24th among all players. He finished second in the NL MVP vote.

American League Cy Young Award

Skubal was voted 2025 AL Cy Young Award winner Wednesday and was also Box-Toppers’ choice for the award.

His 22.1 Box-Toppers points, which led all players, were ahead of overall second-place player Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (21.1) and ahead of second-place AL pitcher, Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox (19.8 points, fourth overall). Crochet finished second in AL Cy Young voting, picking up the other four first-place votes.

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) behind Crochet (255).

Skubal also won the AL Cy Young Award in 2024.

National League Cy Young Award

Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was voted NL Cy Young Award winner Wednesday and was also Box-Toppers’ choice for the award.

His 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2025 led NL pitchers and was second overall, behind Skubal.

Skenes led all pitchers with a 1.97 earned run average. He struck out 216, second-most in the NL and his 187 2/3 innings pitched were fourth in the NL. He was also 2024 Rookie of the Year, a season in which he finished third in NL Cy Young voting. He earned 13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 10th among NL pitchers and second among NL rookies (behind the 20.7  by Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga).

While Skenes was seen as the runaway winner of the award this season, it was a very tight race that he barely won in Box-Toppers rankings. Pirates batters often didn’t give him run support, so there were four times in 2025 that Skenes recorded a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0 or better, in which he did not earn Player of the Game honors because the Pirates lost.

Skenes finished just ahead of Philies pitcher Zack Wheeler, whose 20.1 Box-Toppers points was still leading NL pitchers in the final week of the season even though Wheeler had been out injured since mid-August. Wheeler finished ninth in NL Cy Young voting.

American League Rookie of the Year

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, who won the AL Rookie of Year Award, was fourth among Box-Toppers’ top five choices for top AL rookie. Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez, Box-Toppers’ choice for top AL rookie, received no votes from baseball writers.

Kurtz earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, tied for 12th among AL rookies. Kurtz hit 36 home runs and posted a 1.002 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in just 117 games. A major highlight of Kurtz’s season was his four-home run game on July 25, in which he won Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors worth 2.0 Box-Toppers points.

But his teammate, pitcher Jacob Lopez, by contrast, earned 11.4 total Box-Toppers points, most among all AL rookies and most among all Athletics players. Lopez ranked 32nd among all players and 18th among AL pitchers. He was not among the four Athletics players to receive AL Rookie of the Year votes.

National League Rookie of the Year

Drake Baldwin of the Braves, Box-Toppers’ choice for 2025 NL Rookie of the Year, was also voted winner of the honor by baseball writers.

Baldwin’s 6.5 Box-Toppers points is third among NL rookies, behind Cubs pitcher Cade Horton (9.7 points) and Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (7.7 points), but was Box-Toppers’ choice as top NL rookie. In cases in which batters and pitchers compete for the same award, we arbitrarily double batters’ totals to make them competitive with pitchers, giving Baldwin an adjusted total of 13.0, ahead of Horton’s 9.7.

Baldwin hit 19 home runs and drove in 80 runs with a .274 batting average and an .810 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage), playing in 124 games.

Horton finished second in NL rookie voting, picking up nine first-place votes.

Box-Toppers leaders have never won all 4 major postseason awards

Among those six awards, Box-Toppers leaders were three-for-six in coinciding with baseball writers’ choices.

Box-Toppers points leaders have never won all four major postseason awards—both leagues’ MVP and Cy Young Awards—since tracking began in 1995, an imperfect streak that now extends to 31 straight seasons.

While Skubal and Skenes won both leagues’ Cy Young awards, Box-Toppers’ MVP choices—Skubal and Schwarber—were beaten by Judge and Ohtani.

This was the 11th time in the 31 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking that two of the leaders in Box-Toppers points categories also won the four major postseason awards.

There have been five seasons in which three of four Box-Toppers leaders won awards, including last season, 2024, which was perhaps the closest Box-Toppers and baseball writers ever came to coinciding on major postseason honors. The other four times three of four Box-Toppers category leaders won the big postseason awards: 1997, 2009, 2013 and 2022.

Eleven times, including 2023, only one of the Box-Toppers category leaders won one of the four major postseason award.

And only four times have all four Box-Toppers category leaders failed to win any of the major postseason awards—2003, 2012, 2019 and 2021.

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

• Final 2025 Box-Toppers player rankings: Tigers’ Skubal is 2025 Box-Toppers Player of the Year; Skenes rises to lead NL pitchers

• Box-Toppers points leaders are finalists in 4 of 6 major postseason player awards

• Box-Toppers points leaders in 2025 seem likely to win 2 of 4 major postseason awards

• Why Judge, Raleigh, Ohtani don’t appear on Box-Toppers’ 2025 MVP ballots

• Rookie of the Year results: Baldwin, Kurtz win Rookie of Year Awards, but B‑T top AL rookie Lopez receives no votes

• Cy Young Award results: Box-Toppers leaders Tigers’ Skubal, Pirates’ Skenes win 2025 Cy Young Awards

• Most Valuable Player Award results: Judge, Ohtani win 2025 MVP awards, ahead of Box-Toppers’ picks, Skubal, Schwarber

• Box-Toppers awards wrap-ups from previous seasons: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014