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In 2026—for the 20th straight year—baseball writers maintained their blockade against Hall of Fame candidates tied to performance-enhancing drugs.
This year’s results officially extinguished the candidacy of Manny Ramírez after a decade on the ballot and once again stalled the progress of Álex Rodríguez as he reaches his five-year midpoint.
Read MoreJeff Kent, who Box-Toppers supported for the Hall of Fame for the 10 years he fell short on the baseball writers’ ballot, finally made the Hall of Fame Sunday.
Kent was elected to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era Players Committee.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter, Spencer Horwitz of the Pirates, Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees and Lenyn Sosa of the White Sox.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Yankees pitcher Cam Schlitter, Gavin Sheets of the Padres, Tigers pitcher Charlie Morton and Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics.
Read MoreOrioles pitcher Brandon Young is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning his first career Box-Toppers points.
Also Friday, Christian Yelich of the Brewers extends his lead among National League batters in 2025 Box-Toppers points—becoming the first batter to reach 10 Box-Toppers points this season—after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreNationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings—becoming the first player to 20 Box-Toppers points for the second year in a row—after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Sonny Gray is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Astros pitcher Jason Alexander, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies and Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, two players in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list earn Player of the Game honors: Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, first place overall, extends his lead, and Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, rises from ninth to fifth place overall.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his lead in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Sunday’s American League Player of the Day, maintaining second place in season player rankings and extending his lead among AL pitchers.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his lead in season player rankings.
Also Monday, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2025. Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Mariners pitcher George Kirby and Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Sonny Gray is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to eighth place in season player rankings.
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos, Gary Sánchez of the Orioles and Trea Turner of the Phillies.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Jeffrey Springs is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, three players make notable rises in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors:
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Astros pitcher Hunter Brown rises to fifth place overall.
Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to first place among National League batters after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
A look at Box-Toppers season-by-season leaders chart for each of the past 30 seasons, including the leaders in Box-Toppers points each season among four main categories—American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Also, a look at how often Box-Toppers leaders win major postseason awards (Cy Young and Most Valuable Player), what players have led a Box-Toppers season category most often since tracking began in 1995 and what teams have had the most category leaders in 30 seasons. Also, a look at the lowest point totals to lead a season category, which includes 2024 leaders.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Blake Snell is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRays pitcher Taj Bradley is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole extended his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 12 after winning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024.
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Cole Ragans is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Bryce Harper of the Phillies rises to lead National League batters in 2024 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Cole Ragans is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Ragans struck out 12 over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 8-3 win over the Tigers.
Read MoreOrioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Rodriguez struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 13-4 win over the Angels.
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Three players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday, all of whom Box-Toppers supported for induction.
Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton all received the necessary 75 percent support of voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
Read MoreBox-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.