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Indians pitcher Shane Bieber tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players of 2020.
Bieber had 11.4 Box-Toppers points during the pandemic-shortened regular season. And because it was such a short season—reduced from 162 games to 60—it is the lowest total to lead all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, beating the previous low set by Royals pitcher Zack Greinke, who led all players with 21.5 points in 2009.
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On Jan. 14, 2020, for the sixth time ever and the first time in more than 40 years, there was only one manager who had won a World Series on the team he currently managed (Dave Martinez of the Nationals).
Dave Roberts of the Dodgers became the second active incumbent World Series-winning manager on Oct. 27. Still, going from six such managers at the end of 2019 to just two in 2020 is the biggest-ever decline from the end of one season to the next.
Read MoreSelections for Major League Baseball’s 2020 “All-MLB” teams announced this past week rarely coincided with the season’s Box-Toppers points leaders.
Only one All-MLB First Team batter was among the Box-Toppers points leaders at his position—Marcell Ozuna of the Braves led all designated hitters with 4.5 Box-Toppers points. However, three of the four All-MLB First Team starting pitchers were also among the top three players in Box-Toppers points for 2020—Shane Bieber of the Indians (11.4), Trevor Bauer of the Reds (10.0) and Yu Darvish of the Cubs (9.7).
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Corbin Burnes had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers point totals from 2019 to 2020.
Burnes earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points in 2020 after earning no points in 2019. Burnes had earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points in his 2018 rookie season.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2019 to 2020.
Verlander, who earned 27.5 Box-Toppers points in 2019 (second among all players), earned 1.0 point in 2020. His decline of 26.5 points was ahead of Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, whose 7.4 points in 2020 represented a 24.8-point drop from the 32.2 points he earned to lead all players in 2019.
Read MoreA detailed look at Box-Toppers points leaders for 2020, including overall top 10 leaders and the top 10 in both the American League and National League. Also includes the top 10 overall batters, plus top 10 in both AL and NL, plus top batters by position in each league. Also includes top 10 biggest dippers and risers—players whose Box-Toppers point increased and decreased most from 2019.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is voting for seven players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot—Todd Helton, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent, Aramis Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders won two of the six major postseason awards for 2020.
Both Cy Young Award winners also led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2020—AL winner Shane Bieber of the Indians led AL pitchers with 11.4 and NL winner Trevor Bauer of the Reds led NL pitchers with 10.0. Bieber and Bauer also were Box-Toppers top two ranked players in 2020, the only two who earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened season.
Read MoreJose Abreu of the White Sox and Freddie Freeman of the Braves were voted 2020 Most Valuable Players Thursday, ahead of other Box-Toppers points leaders.
Abreu, who ranked sixth in Box-Toppers points among American League batters with 4.5, was voted AL MVP. Freeman, who ranked eighth in Box-Toppers points among National League batters with 3.5, was voted NL MVP.
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Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked pitchers in 2020 won this season’s Cy Young Awards.
Shane Bieber of the Indians, who led all American League players with 11.4 Box-Toppers points, was named Cy Young winner in the AL. And Trevor Bauer of the Reds, who led all National League players with 10.0 Box-Toppers points, was named winner in the NL.
Read MoreKyle Lewis of the Mariners and Devin Williams of the Brewers were voted 2020 Rookies of the Year by baseball writers.
Neither were among Box-Toppers’ top-ranked rookies in 2020. Plus, none of Box-Toppers’ top-ranked rookies even received votes from baseball writers for top rookie.
Read MoreOnly three of the 18 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards this week also were among the leaders at their positions in 2020 Box-Toppers point totals.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers analyzes traditional box scores and tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Julio Urias is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s World Series Game 6.
The Los Angeles Dodgers win 3-1 to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 in the best-of-seven game series, winning their first World Series since 1988.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2020 seems incomplete. So for added context, Box-Toppers is also looking at the All-Star teams over the past two seasons, 2019-20.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Dustin May is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s World Series Game 5.
The Los Angeles Dodgers win 4-2 to take a 3-2 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreRandy Arozarena of the Rays is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s World Series Game 4.
The Tampa Bay Rays won in a wild, walk-off win, 8-7, in which Arozarena scored the winning run. The Rays tie the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-2 in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s World Series Game 3.
The Los Angeles Dodgers win 6-2 to take a 2-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreRays pitcher Blake Snell is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s World Series Game 2.
The Tampa Bay Rays win 6-4 to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-1 in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s World Series Game 1.
The Los Angeles Dodgers win 8-3 to take a 1-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven game series.
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.