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During the 2023 season, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander each rose one spot on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 list.
They were the only player movements among Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 players overall, among the top 10 pitchers and among the top 10 batters. Pitcher Randy Johnson, who retired in 2009, still leads all players in career Box-Toppers points with 282.5 (tracking began in 1995).
Read MoreAngels pitcher Shohei Ohtani has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Ohtani has earned 44.1 Box-Toppers points over 2022 and 2023. He ranked second among all players in 2022 with 24.7 Box-Toppers points and third among all players in 2023 with 19.4 points.
Read MoreAnalyzing 29 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching and batting in both leagues.
In 2023, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, American League Most Valuable Player, was the only player who won a major postseason award and also led his Box-Toppers category (leading AL batters with 19.4). Also, Pete Alonso of the Mets became the ninth batter since 1995 to lead his league’s batters in Box-Toppers points more than once, leading NL batters for the second straight season.
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The Atlanta Braves are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2024, with a roster mostly intact from 2023 when they had baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are Box-Toppers’ top two American League teams, with the Mariners having one of the best offseason improvements of any team so far. And also, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have made big offseason splashes adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, their offseason ranking has actually fallen from third place last season to fourth place now.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Carlos Rodon had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2022 to 2023.
Rodon had 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth among all players and third among National League pitchers. But moving to the Yankees in 2023, he earned only 1.0 Box-Toppers point. That 18.8-point decline was the biggest among all players.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani, who signed a record free-agent deal with the Dodgers, has consistently been among Box-Toppers' highest-ranking players over the past three seasons.
However, his second surgery to repair his pitching elbow's ulnar collateral ligament, raises concerns about his future effectiveness. A Box-Toppers look at Ohtani’s career and the mixed outcomes of pitchers with a second elbow surgery.
Read MoreWhile Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2023, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Eduardo Rodriguez of the Tigers and Jason Heyward of the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, the consensus choices for Comeback Players of the Year—Cody Bellinger and Liam Hendriks—did not rank very highly among Box-Toppers most improved players in 2023.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani of the Angels, favorite for American League Most Valuable Player, is also Box-Toppers’ choice for the award. But Box-Toppers’ choice for NL MVP, Pete Alonso of the Mets, is not among the finalists for the award, expected to go to Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves, who is second on Box-Toppers’ NL MVP ballot.
Read MoreAlek Thomas of the Diamondbacks is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s National League Championship Series Game 4.
Also Friday, Astros closing pitcher Ryan Pressly is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 5.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 3.
Also Thursday, Jose Abreu of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 4 win over the Rangers.
Read MoreRangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s American League Championship Series Game 1.
Montgomery struck out six over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk.
Read MoreThough the Texas Rangers finished first overall in Box-Toppers team rankings for 2023, Box-Toppers favors the Houston Astros to beat them in the American League Championship Series.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly tops players in Saturday’s four league division series playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s league division series games: Ranger Suarez of the Phillies, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and Evan Carter of the Rangers.
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Source: MLB.com.
Both American League Division Series begin Saturday.
The Texas Rangers face the Baltimore Orioles in one best-of-five game series and the Minnesota Twins face the Houston Astros in the other. The top two AL seeds, the Orioles (first) and the Astros (second) received byes from the first round of playoffs and face the winners of the best-of-three Wild Card series played this week.
Read MorePadres pitcher Michael Wacha is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander passes Pedro Martinez, rising to fourth place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to first place among National League batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors, passing previous leader Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Verlander struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Mariners.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Freddy Peralta is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer maintains his eight place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRays pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
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.