Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins led all players in home runs in 2017 and ranked second among all batters in Box-Toppers points for the season. Four of the top 10 home run leaders in 2017 are among the overall top 100 players.
Read MoreAn overview of Box-Toppers category leaders over several time frames
Four different players lead Box-Toppers’ four main leaderboards.
Three of the four were the top three-ranked players in Box-Toppers points in 2017 and the fourth is Box-Toppers’ all-time leader, Randy Johnson.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2017
An analysis of 23 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since start of 2012
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012.
Kershaw has 147.2 Box-Toppers points over the period 2012-2017, 18.3 points ahead of second-place player in that span, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (128.9). However, Kershaw’s lead in the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total is down from last year and is his narrowest lead since 2013.
Read MoreMax Scherzer takes lead in Box-Toppers points over 2 seasons, passing Kershaw
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Scherzer has earned 50.7 Box-Toppers points over 2016 and 2017. He ranked first in 2016 with 25.7 and second in 2017 with 25.0. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led players in Box-Toppers two-season point totals for each of the past four seasons, falls to second place this year with 47.5 points.
Read MorePostseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 3 of 6 major honors for 2017
Box-Toppers points leaders took home three of the six major postseason awards in 2017 as voted by baseball writers—both Rookie of the Year honors and the NL Cy Young Award.
Read MoreYankees' pitcher Luis Severino is Box-Toppers' Most Improved Player in 2017
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino had the biggest improvement in Box-Toppers point totals from 2016 to 2017, and is this season’s Box-Toppers’ Most Improved Player.
Severino had 19.1 more Box-Toppers points in 2017 than he did in 2016. In 2016, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points and in 2017, he had 21.1 points, seventh among all players, fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreGiancarlo Stanton, Box-Toppers 2nd-ranked NL batter, wins NL Most Valuable Player; Altuve wins AL MVP despite low Box-Toppers ranking
Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins, who ranked second among National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points, was named NL Most Valuable Player Thursday.
But Jose Altuve of the Astros was named American League MVP despite his low Box-Toppers rankings—with just 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, he ranked 90th among AL batters and 387th among all players.
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Why AL MVP favorite Jose Altuve only had 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017
How can it be that likely 2017 American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve has only 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season?
Or should the question be: How is Jose Altuve even considered a candidate for AL MVP when he has only 2.5 Box-Toppers points?
Read MoreHow 2017 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers points and rankings
Only 7 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2017
Chris Sale tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2017. Indians, Nationals and Astros each have seven players on the list, most of any team.
Read MoreA look at 2017 baseball awards finalists and how they fared in Box-Toppers rankings
Box-Toppers pitching leaders and top rookies are among the finalists for the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year honors. But Box-Toppers batting leaders are excluded from the list of finalists for Most Valuable Player Awards.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2017 year-end All-Star teams
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2017 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
Read MoreNLCS preview: Dodgers enter rematch against Cubs with more favorable stats, but L.A. declining since midseason, while Chicago is rising
The 2017 National League Championship Series is a rematch of the 2016 series between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. But this year, the tables are turned.
Last year, the Cubs were kings, leading Box-Toppers team rankings in 2016 almost wire-to-wire, and coming into their NLCS matchup against the Dodgers holding practically every advantage. This year, they’ve scraped together their success with a pitching staff that is little more than half as good as it was when it led them to a World Series title in 2016.
Read MoreIndians' Bauer, Astros' Altuve top players in Thursday's AL Division Series openers
Trevor Bauer of the Indians and Jose Altuve of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.
Bauer struck out eight over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. The Indians now lead the Yankees 1-0 in the best-of-five series.
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Red Sox' Chris Sale is 2017 Box-Toppers Player of the Year
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year, finishing the season with the most Box-Toppers points among all players.
Sale earned 25.1 points in 2017, finishing just 0.1 point ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (25.0).
Read MoreIndians' Carlos Carrasco tops players for Thursday, Sept. 28, rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
Carrasco struck out 14 over 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Twins.
Read MoreRays' Jake Odorizzi tops players for Saturday, Sept. 23, 1 of 3 players to reach 10 Box-Toppers points
Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and is one of three players Saturday to reach 10 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Odorizzi struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run (none earned), three hits and two walks, in the 9-6 win over the Orioles.
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Red Sox' Chris Sale passes Kershaw, Scherzer to lead 2017 Box-Toppers player rankings going into season's final week
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to the lead in this week’s Box-Toppers team rankings report, passing last week’s leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Sale now has 25.1 Box-Toppers points, passing both Kershaw (23.1) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (24.0). However, both Kershaw and Scherzer could pass Sale in their starts Sunday—Kershaw would need to earn Player of the Day honors (worth 2.0 points) and Scherzer would need to earn at least NL Player of the Day honors (worth 1.7 points).
Read MoreYankees' Jaime Garcia tops players for Monday, Sept. 18; Kershaw fails to extend Box-Toppers lead
Yankees pitcher Jamie Garcia is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to extend his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead in his start, a loss to the Phillies. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked third, has the chance to take the lead in his start Tuesday.
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