Here is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2023.
Detail leaders 2023
Here are Box-Toppers point leaders for 2023 broken down according to several factors, including by position and league. Included here are:▶︎ Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
▶︎ Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
▶︎ The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the “dippers” are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2022; the “risers” are players whose point total climbed the most from 2022.
▶︎ Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
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| 2023 OVERALL | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 20.1 |
| 3 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 19.4 |
| 4 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 18.7 |
| 5 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 17.8 |
| 6 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 17.0 |
| 8 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.7 |
| 9 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 16.1 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 15.4 |
| 2023 AL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 20.1 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 19.4 |
| 3 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 18.7 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 17.0 |
| 5 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 16.1 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 15.4 |
| 7 | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | pi sp | bal al | 14.0 |
| 8 | Kirby, George 4595 | pi sp | sea al | 13.7 |
| 9 | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 10 | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 13.4 |
| 2023 AL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 19.4 |
| 2 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | rf | hou al | 12.5 |
| 3 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf dh | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Witt, Bobby Jr. 4592 | ss | kc al | 7.7 |
| 5 | Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b 1b dh | ana al | 7.5 |
| 6 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 7.5 |
| 7 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 7.5 |
| 8 | Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | dh 3b ss | bal al | 7.5 |
| 9 | McCormick, Chas 4444 | lf cf | hou al | 7.5 |
| 10 | Duran, Jarren 4783 | cf | bos al | 7.5 |
| 2023 NL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 17.8 |
| 3 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 4 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 14.7 |
| 6 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | sd nl | 14.7 |
| 7 | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 13.0 |
| 8 | Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 13.0 |
| 9 | Garrett, Braxton 4341 | pi sp | fla nl | 12.7 |
| 10 | Senga, Kodai 4762 | pi sp | nym nl | 12.7 |
| 2023 NL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 12.0 |
| 2 | Acuna, Ronald Jr. 3947 | rf | atl nl | 10.7 |
| 3 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 10.0 |
| 4 | Gorman, Nolan 4633 | 2b | stl nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 9.2 |
| 6 | Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | sd nl | 9.0 |
| 7 | Outman, James 4699 | cf | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf 2b | lad nl | 8.5 |
| 9 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 8.2 |
| 10 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | lf cf | pit nl | 7.7 |
| 2023 AL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b 1b dh | ana al | 7.5 |
| 2 | Paredes, Isaac 4666 | 3b 1b 2b | tb al | 7.2 |
| 3 | Diaz, Yandy 3896 | 1b dh | tb al | 7.0 |
| 4 | Naylor, Josh 4154 | 1b | cle al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | nyy al | 6.4 |
| 2023 AL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b 1b dh | ana al | 7.5 |
| 2 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 7.5 |
| 3 | Paredes, Isaac 4666 | 3b 1b 2b | tb al | 7.2 |
| 4 | Rengifo, Luis 4178 | 2b | ana al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Semien, Marcus 3302 | 2b | tex al | 6.7 |
| 2023 AL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Witt, Bobby Jr. 4592 | ss | kc al | 7.7 |
| 2 | Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | dh 3b ss | bal al | 7.5 |
| 3 | Crawford, J.P. 3937 | ss | sea al | 6.5 |
| 4 | Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | tex al | 6.2 |
| 5 | Franco, Wander 4630 | ss | tb al | 5.0 |
| 2023 AL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 7.5 |
| 2 | Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | dh 3b ss | bal al | 7.5 |
| 3 | Paredes, Isaac 4666 | 3b 1b 2b | tb al | 7.2 |
| 4 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 6.2 |
| 5 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 6.0 |
| 2023 AL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Garver, Mitch 3950 | ca dh | tex al | 6.5 |
| 2 | Rutschman, Adley 4659 | ca | bal al | 5.0 |
| 3 | Heim, Jonah 4492 | ca | tex al | 4.5 |
| 4 | Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 4.5 |
| 5 | Jeffers, Ryan 4432 | ca dh | min al | 4.2 |
| 2023 AL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | rf | hou al | 12.5 |
| 2 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf dh | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 3 | McCormick, Chas 4444 | lf cf | hou al | 7.5 |
| 4 | Duran, Jarren 4783 | cf | bos al | 7.5 |
| 5 | Alvarez, Yordan 4209 | dh lf | hou al | 6.5 |
| 6 | Vierling, Matt 4652 | rf cf | det al | 6.5 |
| 7 | Arozarena, Randy 4331 | lf | tb al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Garcia, Adolis 4387 | rf | tex al | 6.0 |
| 9 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | cf rf | bos al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Grichuk, Randal 3474 | lf | ana al | 4.5 |
| 2023 AL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 19.4 |
| 2 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf dh | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 3 | Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b 1b dh | ana al | 7.5 |
| 4 | Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | dh 3b ss | bal al | 7.5 |
| 5 | Diaz, Yandy 3896 | 1b dh | tb al | 7.0 |
| 2023 NL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 12.0 |
| 2 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 8.2 |
| 4 | Meneses, Joey 4725 | dh 1b | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 5 | Bohm, Alec 4309 | 3b 1b dh | phi nl | 6.4 |
| 2023 NL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Gorman, Nolan 4633 | 2b | stl nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf 2b | lad nl | 8.5 |
| 3 | Arraez, Luis 4219 | 2b | fla nl | 7.5 |
| 4 | Marte, Ketel 3630 | 2b | ari nl | 4.5 |
| 5 | India, Jonathan 4469 | 2b | cin nl | 4.0 |
| 2023 NL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Adames, Willy 4041 | ss | mil nl | 6.7 |
| 2 | Tovar, Ezequiel 4801 | ss | col nl | 6.5 |
| 3 | De La Cruz, Elly 4844 | 3b ss | cin nl | 5.5 |
| 4 | Edman, Tommy 4255 | ss rf cf | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 2023 NL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bohm, Alec 4309 | 3b 1b dh | phi nl | 6.4 |
| 2 | De La Cruz, Elly 4844 | 3b ss | cin nl | 5.5 |
| 3 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 3b | lad nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Burger, Jake 4629 | dh 3b | fla nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 3b | col nl | 4.5 |
| 2023 NL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Alvarez, Francisco 4815 | ca | nym nl | 5.5 |
| 2 | Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 3 | Ruiz, Keibert 4616 | ca dh | Dc nl | 4.7 |
| 4 | Campusano, Luis 4770 | ca | sd nl | 4.7 |
| 5 | Murphy, Sean 4246 | ca | atl nl | 4.0 |
| 2023 NL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Acuna, Ronald Jr. 3947 | rf | atl nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 9.2 |
| 3 | Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | sd nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Outman, James 4699 | cf | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf 2b | lad nl | 8.5 |
| 6 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | lf cf | pit nl | 7.7 |
| 7 | Heyward, Jason 2695 | rf cf | lad nl | 7.5 |
| 8 | Castellanos, Nick 3349 | rf | phi nl | 7.0 |
| 9 | Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | atl nl | 6.2 |
| 10 | Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | rf | sd nl | 6.0 |
| 2023 NL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | dh | atl nl | 7.5 |
| 2 | Meneses, Joey 4725 | dh 1b | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 3 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | lad nl | 6.7 |
| 4 | Bohm, Alec 4309 | 3b 1b dh | phi nl | 6.4 |
| 5 | Soler, Jorge 3403 | rf dh | fla nl | 5.7 |
| 2023 DIPPERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | nyy al | -18.8 |
| 2 | Wright, Kyle 4349 | pi sp | atl nl | -14.4 |
| 3 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | sea al | -14.4 |
| 4 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | -14.1 |
| 5 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | -13.8 |
| 6 | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | -13.7 |
| 7 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | -13.6 |
| 8 | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | -13.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | nym nl | -11.4 |
| 10 | Manoah, Alek 4424 | pi sp | tor al | -11.1 |
| 2023 RISERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.8 |
| 2 | Miller, Bryce 4797 | pi sp | sea al | 13.1 |
| 3 | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | det al | 13.0 |
| 4 | Senga, Kodai 4762 | pi sp | nym nl | 12.7 |
| 5 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 11.1 |
| 7 | Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 11.0 |
| 8 | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | pi sp | cin nl | 11.0 |
| 9 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 10.3 |
| 10 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 9.1 |
| 2023 AL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Bautista, Felix 4668 | pi cp | bal al | 11.0 |
| 2 | King, Michael 4549 | pi cp mr sp | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 3 | Adam, Jason 4256 | pi cp mr | tb al | 6.4 |
| 4 | Clase, Emmanuel 4225 | pi cp | cle al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Lange, Alex 4575 | pi cp | det al | 5.0 |
| 2023 AL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | pi mr sp | bos al | 9.0 |
| 2 | King, Michael 4549 | pi cp mr sp | nyy al | 9.0 |
| 3 | Adam, Jason 4256 | pi cp mr | tb al | 6.4 |
| 4 | Brito, Jhony 4761 | pi sp mr | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp mr | tex al | 4.7 |
| 2023 NL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Williams, Devin 4319 | pi cp | mil nl | 8.0 |
| 2 | Bednar, David 4499 | pi cp | pit nl | 7.0 |
| 3 | Diaz, Alexis 4613 | pi cp | cin nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Beck, Tristan 4823 | pi mr cp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Ginkel, Kevin 4830 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 6.0 |
| 2023 NL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp mr | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Tonkin, Michael 3615 | pi mr | atl nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Beck, Tristan 4823 | pi mr cp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Ginkel, Kevin 4830 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Junis, Jakob 3857 | pi mr sp | sf nl | 5.7 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
➜ Players are listed by the position they predominantly played when they earned Box-Toppers points (by earning Player of the Game honors).
➜ Players are listed with the team on which they finished the season. Some players played on two or more teams in a single season.
➜ DIPPERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point decline.
➜ RISERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point increase.
➜ Note: If players have the same Box-Toppers point total, ties are broken based on which player had more Box-Toppers points in the previous season (or the previous season before that—and so on, if those point totals are tied).
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The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications, including:
Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the "dippers" are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2022; the "risers" are players whose point total climbed the most from 2022.
Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
Highlights include:
Top overall player for 2023
Braves Pitcher Spencer Strider is Box-Toppers 2023 Player of the Year, leading all players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points for the season. He also led National League pitchers.
Strider rose into the top 10 in Box-Toppers points on June 20 with 8.0 Box-Toppers points and took the overall lead for the first time on Aug. 25 with 19.1 Box-Toppers points, but only held the lead for one day after being passed by Shohei Ohtani on Aug. 26. Strider retook the lead Sept. 13 with 20.1 and held it the final 19 days of the season, finishing the season with 21.1 points.
It is the first time Strider has won Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors in his second season. He earned 13.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Braves, 27th overall and 13th among NL pitchers.
Strider’s 21.1 Box-Toppers points is the lowest point total to lead final season player rankings since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. The previous lowest total to lead players was 21.5 by Zack Greinke of the Royals in 2009.
Top AL pitcher for 2023
Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt led AL pitchers in 2023 with 20.1 Box-Toppers points, second overall.
Top AL batter for 2023
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels led AL batters in 2023 with 19.4 Box-Toppers points, third overall.
However, Kyle Tucker of the Astros has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points (12.5) earned solely as a batter. That’s because Ohtani earned half of his 19.4 point as a pitcher (9.7) and half as a batter (9.7).
If Ohtani’s points were separated by category, his 9.7 points as a pitcher would rank 27th among AL pitchers and his 9.7 points as a batter would rank third among AL batters, behind Tucker and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (12.0).
Top NL batter for 2023
Pete Alonso of the Mets led NL batters with 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ahead of Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (10.7), who was second.
Top batters by position
The chart shows the top AL and NL batters by position, including the top five first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen, catchers and designated hitters in both the AL and NL. Also shown are the top 10 outfielders in each league.
Dippers
These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2022 to 2023. Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon had the biggest decline of 18.8 points. He had 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth among all players and third among NL pitchers. But moving to the Yankees in 2023, he earned only 1.0 point, battling injury much of the season.
Risers
These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from 2022 to 2023. Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo had the biggest increase of 13.8 points, earning 4.0 points in 2022 and 17.8 in 2023.
Relief pitchers
The chart shows the top five closing and relief pitchers in both the AL and NL for 2023. Felix Bautista of the Orioles led AL closing pitchers with 11.0 Box-Toppers points. Devin Williams of the Brewers led NL closers with 8.0 points. Nick Pivetta of the Red Sox led AL middle relievers with 9.0 points. And Drew Smyly of the Cubs led NL middle relievers with 6.0 points.
Box-Toppers has tracked each game played since the start of the 1995 season. A season-by-season look at Box-Toppers’ detail leaders for all 29 seasons—a sprawling, scrolling chart—can be found at this link. Like the chart here, it shows the top groups of players at different positions and by different categories or classifications, but this chart shows every season from 1995 to 2023. For example, who was the top AL first baseman in 1996? Who was the top NL closing pitcher in 1999? Whose Box-Toppers point total rose the most from 2004 to 2005? And who was the top NL second baseman in 2008? It’s all there.
(Answers, by the way are: Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox with 18.6 points, Billy Wagner of the Astros with 15.0 points, Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins, who rose 12.7 points from 2004 to 2005 and Chase Utley of the Phillies with 12.0 points.)
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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
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