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

Shawn Plank January 7, 2026

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.

Box-Toppers’ big dippers—players whose 2025 point total declined most from 2024: Luis Gil leads list

Shawn Plank December 30, 2025

The 2024 Box-Toppers rookie leaders, Luis Gil and Shota Imanaga, both faltered during sophomore slumps in 2025, recording the two largest year-over-year Box-Toppers point declines.

Yankees pitcher Gil, whose Box-Toppers point total slid 16.4 points and Cubs pitcher Imanaga, whose total slipped 13.7 points, lead this year’s list of Box-Toppers’ big dippers.

Luzardo becomes 2nd to lead Box-Toppers’ most-improved player list in 2 seasons

Shawn Plank December 20, 2025

Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is 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.

Meanwhile, the consensus 2025 Comeback Player of the Year winner in the American League, Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, ranks fifth among Box-Toppers’ most-improved players in 2025.

Three of six Box-Toppers’ choices won major postseason honors and three did not. Top row players all won: Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal won AL Cy Young, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes won NL Cy Young and Drake Baldwin of the Braves won NL Rookie of the Year. Box-Toppers choices in the bottom row all lost: Skubal for AL MVP, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies for NL MVP and Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez for AL Rookie of the Year.

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

Shawn Plank November 17, 2025

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

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.

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points, won the American League Cy Young Award. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who led National League players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, won the NL Cy Young Award.

Box-Toppers leaders Tigers’ Skubal, Pirates’ Skenes win 2025 Cy Young Awards

Shawn Plank November 13, 2025

Both pitchers who led their leagues in Box-Toppers points for the season won the 2025 Cy Young Awards on Wednesday.

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points, won the American League Cy Young Award. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who led National League players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, won the NL Cy Young Award.

Box-Toppers’ top-ranked NL rookie Drake Baldwin of the Braves was voted NL Rookie of the Year. However, Nick Kurtz of the Athletics was voted AL Rookie of the Year over Box-Toppers’ top AL rookie, Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez.

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

Shawn Plank November 11, 2025

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

But Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, who won the American League 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 in Monday’s balloting.

These four are both Box-Toppers top-ranked players and finalists for major 2025 postseason awards: Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, Paul Skenes of the Pirates, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies and Drake Baldwin of the Braves.

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

Shawn Plank November 9, 2025

In four of the six major postseason player awards, the 2025 Box-Toppers points leader for each honor is among the finalists announced by baseball writers.

There are two awards in which the Box-Toppers leader is not among the finalists: AL Most Valuable Player and AL Rookie of the Year.

Here are Box-Toppers’ picks for major postseason awards: Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez and Nick Baldwin of the Braves.

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

Shawn Plank November 7, 2025

Box-Toppers’ points leaders for 2025 seem likely to win two of the four major postseason awards.

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points, seems likely to win the American League Cy Young Award. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who led National League pitchers with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, is likely to win the NL Cy Young Award.

**Logo source: Chris Creamer’s** **SportsLogos.Net**

Box-Toppers picks Dodgers over Orioles in 2025 World Series, plus our awards forecasts

Shawn Plank March 25, 2025

Box-Toppers picks the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2025 World Series, beating the predicted American League champion Baltimore Orioles.

Box-Toppers projects the Dodgers will have the most wins among all teams—108—and that National League teams will be among the most dominant. Eight of the 15 NL teams are projected to have as many or more wins as the best American League teams (89).

**Box-Toppers three top-ranked rookies are named to Box-Toppers 2024 All-Rookie Team: Yankees pitcher Luis Gil, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga.**

Box-Toppers 2024 All-Rookie Team includes Rookies of the Year Gil, Skenes

Shawn Plank January 11, 2025

The past season’s Rookie of the Year winners—Yankees pitcher Luis Gil and Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes—are among the Box-Toppers 2024 All-Rookie Team players.

Gil is placed on the Box-Toppers All-Rookie Team as the second starting pitcher and Skenes is placed as the third starter. Gil ranked second among rookie starting pitchers with 17.4 Box-Toppers points and Skenes ranked third with 13.0 Box-Toppers points. Both finished behind Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked rookie pitcher, who earned 20.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024.

Box-Toppers points leaders Aaron Judge of the Yankees (left), Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (middle) and Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (left) also were winners of the 2024 Players Choice Awards as voted by members of the players’ union.

Box-Toppers points leaders Judge, Ohtani, Skubal win 2024 Players Choice Awards

Shawn Plank January 2, 2025

Three Box-Toppers category leaders also won Players Choice Awards for 2024 as voted by the players’ union:

Aaron Judge of the Yankees was voted American League Outstanding Player and also was Box-Toppers’ choice as AL Most Valuable Player.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers was voted National League Outstanding Player and was also Box-Toppers’ choice as NL Most Valuable Player.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal was voted AL Outstanding Pitcher and also was Box-Toppers’ choice as NL Cy Young Award winner.

Imanaga makes biggest leap in Box-Toppers points; 2 others win B-T Comeback Player

Shawn Plank December 20, 2024

While Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2024, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes and Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez.

Meanwhile, one of the consensus choices for Comeback Player of the Year—Braves pitcher Chris Sale—ranks 13th among Box-Toppers’ most-improved players in 2024.

Box-Toppers analysis: Why Ichiro Suzuki is not a Hall-of-Famer

Shawn Plank December 2, 2024

As baseball writers push for Ichiro Suzuki to not only be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame but to become only the second player voted in unanimously, what chucklehead will oppose that?

It pains me to say: Me. Let me explain.

Despite earning Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Awards and getting 3,000 hits, Suzuki was not the key player very often in his team’s wins. There was almost always some other teammate outperforming Suzuki in team wins. Suzuki never led his team in a season in Box-Toppers points and never even led his team’s batters.

Postseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 4 of 6 major honors in 2024

Shawn Plank November 24, 2024

Box-Toppers’ choices for baseball’s major postseason player awards won four of six 2024 honors:

Aaron Judge of the Yankees won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers won the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award.
Yankees pitcher Luis Gil won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Box-Toppers batting leaders Judge, Ohtani win Most Valuable Player awards

Shawn Plank November 21, 2024

Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, who both led their league’s batters in Box-Toppers points in 2024, won the season’s Most Valuable Player Awards Thursday.

Judge, who led American League batters with 13.0 Box-Toppers points, won the AL award and Ohtani, who led National League batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points, won the NL award.

Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is voted AL Rookie of the Year and Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is voted NL Rookie of the Year. Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, Box-Toppers’ choice for top NL rookie, finished fourth in voting.

Box-Toppers’ top AL rookie Gil wins AL Rookie of Year; top NL rookie Imanaga finishes 4th

Shawn Plank November 18, 2024

Yankees pitcher Luis Gil, Box-Toppers’ choice for 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, was also voted winner of the honor by baseball writers Monday.

But Paul Skenes of the Pirates, who won the National League Rookie of the Year honor, was second among Box-Toppers’ top three choices for top NL rookie. Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, Box-Toppers’ choice for top NL rookie, finished fourth in voting.

Box-Toppers points leaders are finalists in 5 of 6 major postseason player awards

Shawn Plank November 12, 2024

In five of the six major postseason player awards, the 2024 Box-Toppers points leader for each honor is among the finalists announced by baseball writers Monday.

Here are the five awards for which Box-Toppers top-ranked players are among the finalists:

American League Cy Young Award—Tarik Skubal of the Tigers.
National League Cy Young Award—Zack Wheeler of the Phillies.
AL Most Valuable Player—Aaron Judge of the Yankees.
NL Most Valuable Player—Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers.
AL Rookie of the Year—Luis Gil of the Yankees.

A Box-Toppers look at postseason awards—For 1st time in 30 years, our picks may win

Shawn Plank October 28, 2024

Box-Toppers points leaders have never won all four major postseason awards since tracking began in 1995.

But this year, in the 30th season of tracking, there is a chance that the four Box-Toppers points category leaders (both league’s batters and pitchers) may win the four major awards (both league’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards).

Box-Toppers picks Dodgers over Astros in 2024 World Series, plus our awards forecasts

Shawn Plank March 27, 2024

Box-Toppers picks the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2024 World Series, beating the predicted American League champion Houston Astros.

Box-Toppers projects the Dodgers will have the most wins among all teams—103—and will be one of three teams with 99 or more wins, along with the Astros and the Atlanta Braves.

Henderson named to Box-Toppers 2023 All-Rookie Team but Carroll falls short

Shawn Plank January 8, 2024

Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, the American League Rookie of the Year, is among the players on Box-Toppers 2023 All-Rookie Team.

But Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks, voted National League Rookie of the Year, is not among the players on the team, having finished sixth among rookie outfielders with 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023.