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What would the 2019 baseball season have looked like if only the final 60 games were played?
In many ways, it would have looked exactly like the entire, overall 2019 season: From about July 25 on in 2019, the Houston Astros were Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team and Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole was Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player. Both also led for the overall 2019 season.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Tyler Chatwood is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Chatwood struck out 11 over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 4-3 win over the Pirates.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Gerrit Cole tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2019.
Cole had 32.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the fourth-highest single-season point total in the 25 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking, which began in 1995. It was 1.5 points short of the record, 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002.
Read MorePadres rookie pitcher Chris Paddack had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers point totals from 2018 to 2019.
Paddack earned 15.8 Box-Toppers points in his first season in 2019 after obviously earning no points in 2018, making his 15.8-point gain the largest among all players this season.
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points among returning players and among American League pitchers. His 14.2-point gain from 2018 to 2019 was the second-biggest of the season.
Read MoreNo Box-Toppers points leaders were among the winners in six major postseason awards for 2019.
In fact, looking at Box-Toppers’ ballot in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, none of the 10 candidates we chose for awards based on Box-Toppers points won an award.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ top-ranked 2019 rookie—far and away the top-ranked rookie—did not even receive a single vote in baseball writers’ Rookie of the Year voting.
Padres pitcher Chris Paddack had nearly twice as many 2019 Box-Toppers points as any other player who made their Box-Toppers debut during the season. His 15.8 Box-Toppers points, in fact, ranked 14th among all players and eighth among all National League pitchers, just ahead of NL Cy Young Award finalist Max Scherzer of the Nationals (15.4 points, ninth among NL pitchers).
Read MoreThe players who played the most key roles in helping their teams win the most games in 2019, for the most part, are not among the finalists for baseball’s postseason awards.
Gerrit Cole of the Astros, who led American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 32.2, is one of three finalists for the AL Cy Young Award. He is the only Box-Toppers point leader in any of the six categories to even be named as a finalist.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is casting a vote for the American League Cy Young Award to Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.
We are also casting our vote for AL Most Valuable Player to … Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the 11th straight week.
Meanwhile, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers regains the lead among National League batters and Alex Bregman of the Astros regains the lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings this week.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox have the most players—six each—among the top 100 in Box-Toppers’ 2019 player rankings at the All-Star break.
The Dodgers also are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into the All-Star break, with its players accumulating 72.6 Box-Toppers points this season. The defending World Series champion Red Sox, while they have as many representatives among the top 100 players, rank lower—in 13th place overall, with 55.9 Box-Toppers points.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the eighth straight week. But barely.
Meanwhile, there are new batting leaders in each league as Brett Gardner of the Yankees rises to lead American League batters and Josh Bell of the Pirates rises to lead National League batters. Josh Hader of the Brewers continues his lead among NL pitchers.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Brett Gardner of the Yankees rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors, passing previous leader Mike Trout of the Angels.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Shane Bieber is the most deserving player not selected to the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Bieber has 11.1 Box-Toppers points in 2019, eighth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers. Other key players not chosen for the All-Star Game who rank among Box-Toppers top players this season include Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals and Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to 10th place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Mike Trout of the Angels rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the seventh straight week.
Meanwhile, the leaders in the four main categories remain unchanged from last week: Verlander continues to lead American League pitchers, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader continues to lead National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers continues to lead NL batters and Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox continues to lead AL batters.
Read MoreThere are nine players who lead their league’s positions in Box-Toppers points who are also among the finalists in the newfangled All-Star “general” election being held this week.
But there are eight players who lead their league’s position in Box-Toppers points who are not even listed among the top three finalists (top nine for outfielders) for their positions.
Read MoreWith the first round of All-Star voting ending today, here is a look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Actually, because the 2019 season so far is a relatively small sample size—just under halfway complete—we’ll also look at top players since the start of the 2018 season.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the sixth straight week.
Also this week, there is a new leader in Box-Toppers points among American League batters as Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox passes previous leader Joey Gallo of the Rangers.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Jordan Yamamoto is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list, passing Alex Rodriguez.
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.