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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Hunter Brown rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Stephenson of the Reds and Taylor Walls of the Rays.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Yusei Kikuchi is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly rises to sixth place after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMariners pitcher George Kirby is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. In addition, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his streak of earning Box-Toppers points to 18 consecutive seasons Sunday, the longest active streak, and also extends his lead in career Box-Toppers points among active players.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher José Berríos is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday are Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore, Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Junior Caminero of the Rays and Rafael Marchán of the Phillies.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Joe Ryan is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Riley Greene of the Tigers rises to first place among American League batters after earning AL Batter of the Day honors. In addition, Braves pitcher Chris Sale rises to 10th place among pitchers on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Pablo López is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors:
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to third place.
Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen rises to seventh place.
Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Jonathan India of the Royals, Giants pitcher Justin Verlander and Yuli Gurriel of the Padres.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Chris Sale is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Astros pitcher Framber Valdez, Henry Davis of the Pirates, Corey Seager of the Rangers and Royals pitcher Austin Cox.
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The most notable change in Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 lists at the end of 2024 is an almost complete lack of change.
No players changed position, and only three—Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander—earned any Box-Toppers points in 2024, each adding just 2.0. The lack of movement contrasts with 2023 when four players combined for 40.9 points and when Scherzer and Verlander both rose one spot in the rankings.
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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2019.
Cole has 104.1 Box-Toppers points over the period 2019-24, 22.5 points ahead of second-ranked player, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, who has 81.6 over that span.
Read MoreA 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.
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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2023 to 2024.
Strider led all players in 2023 with 21.1 Box-Toppers points but earned just 1.0 point in 2024, a 20.1-point decline, which is also the fifth-largest decline (in regular-length seasons) since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
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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.
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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 points leaders among 2024 free agents include Blake Snell, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Clayton Kershaw.
Blake Snell and Juan Soto are among this season’s free-agent players with the most 2024 Box-Toppers points.
Snell leads the entire class, earning 15.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024 with the Giants, most among all free-agent players, seventh among all players and fifth among National League pitchers.
Soto has the most 2024 Box-Toppers points among all free-agent batters, earning 11.0 with the Yankees, seventh among all free agents, 43rd among all players in 2024 and second among American League batters (behind only teammate Aaron Judge’s 13.0).
Read MoreYankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cole struck out five over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 10-1 win over the Orioles.
Read MoreReds pitcher Nick Martinez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day and third time in the past week, rising to fifth place among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Read MorePadres pitcher Joe Musgrove is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Musgrove struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cole struck out eight over six scoreless innnings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.
Read MorePadres pitcher Dylan Cease is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a no-hitter and increasing his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Cease allowed no hits in a complete game shutout, striking out nine and allowing three walks in the 3-0 win over the Nationals. He threw 114 pitches.
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.