Box-Toppers’ top-ranked nominees in both leagues won 2023’s Hank Aaron Awards for top offensive player. But Box-Toppers would have chosen two other players for the honors.
Hank Aaron Awards
Here are finalists for the American League and National League Hank Aaron Awards, given to the best offensive performer in each league. Finalists in each league are shown ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the season. The rank shown is among their league’s batters. The winners are shown highlighted in red and in italics. Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who led AL batters with 19.4 Box-Toppers points, won the AL Award and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Braves, who ranked second among NL batters with 10.7 Box-Toppers points, won the NL Award.| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| > | Shohei Ohtani* | Angels | 19.4 | 1 |
| Kyle Tucker | Astros | 12.5 | 2 | |
| Aaron Judge | Yankees | 12.0 | 3 | |
| Yandy Diaz | Rays | 7.0 | 12 | |
| Marcus Semien | Rangers | 6.7 | 15 | |
| Yordan Alvarez | Astros | 6.5 | 16 | |
| Corey Seager | Rangers | 6.2 | 22 | |
| Adolis Garcia | Rangers | 6.0 | 25 | |
| Julio Rodriguez | Mariners | 4.0 | 45 | |
| NL finalists† | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| > | Ronald Acuña Jr. | Braves | 10.7 | 2 |
| Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 10.0 | 3 | |
| Juan Soto | Padres | 9.0 | 6 | |
| Mookie Betts | Dodgers | 8.5 | 8 | |
| Luis Arraez | Marlins | 7.5 | 11 | |
| Cody Bellinger | Cubs | 5.5 | 28 | |
| Matt Olson | Braves | 4.2 | 49 | |
| Bryce Harper | Phillies | 3.0 | 74 | |
| Corbin Carroll | D-backs | 3.0 | 89 |
>—Denotes the league winner
* While Ohtani led AL batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points (19.4), he earned 9.7 as a pitcher and 9.7 as a batter. Based on the 9.7 points earned only as a batter, Ohtani would rank third among AL batters, behind Kyle Tucker of the Astros (12.5) and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (12.0).
† Pete Alonso of the Mets led NL batters in 2023 with 12.0 Box-Toppers points but was not among the finalists for the Hank Aaron Award.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels won the award in the American League and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves won the award in the National League.
Ohtani, who earned 19.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, was Box-Toppers top-ranked AL batter. He also had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among the nine players nominated for the AL award.
Tucker is Box-Toppers’ choice for AL Hank Aaron Award
However, Ohtani earned half his Box-Toppers points in 2023 as a pitcher, so his 9.7 points he earned as a batter would have ranked third among AL batters. The AL player who earned the most points solely as a batter was Kyle Tucker of the Astros, whose 12.5 Box-Toppers points was second among AL batters and 23rd overall. Tucker would have been Box-Toppers’ choice for the Hank Aaron Award, just ahead of Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who earned 12.0 Box-Toppers points as a batter, third among AL batters. Tucker was among the nine nominated AL batters for the award.
Alonso is Box-Toppers’ choice for NL Hank Aaron Award
Acuna, who earned 10.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, had the most points among the nine NL batters nominated for the award. But Box-Toppers would have chosen a player not among the nine nominees, Pete Alonso of the Mets, whose 12.0 Box-Toppers points led NL batters and was 28th overall. Acuna finished second among NL batters after Alonso passed him for the NL batting lead on Sept. 27 in the final days of the season.
Seven of the 18 nominees for the award were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2023, including Ohtani, Acuna, Tucker and Judge. The others were:
Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, whose 10.0 Box-Toppers points was third among NL batters.
Juan Soto of the Padres, whose 9.0 Box-Toppers points was sixth among NL batters.
Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, whose 8.5 Box-Toppers points was eighth among NL batters.
Alonso was the highest-ranking NL batter who was not among the nine NL nominees. (His 12.0 Box-Toppers points led all NL batters.) In the AL, Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals was the highest-ranking batter not among that league’s nine nominees. Witt’s 7.7 Box-Toppers points was fourth among AL batters, 83rd overall.
About Box-Toppers
Box-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. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point 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.
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