Box-Toppers picks Yankees over Nationals in 2020 World Series

Shawn Plank March 18, 2020

Box-Toppers picks the New York Yankees to beat the Washington Nationals in the 2020 World Series.

Box-Toppers projects the Yankees will have the most wins among all teams—110—and will be the only team with more than 100 wins this season.

Of course, these projections are made with the assumption that each team will play a complete 162-game schedule. That is thrown into doubt now that Coronavirus precautions have prompted baseball to suspend spring training and delay the start of the season.

A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of ‘all-time’ after the 2019 season

Shawn Plank February 17, 2020

Randy Johnson leads all players in career Box-Toppers points and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Johnson earned 278.8 Box-Toppers points from the time Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995 until he retired in 2009.

Houston Astros maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead for ninth straight week

Shawn Plank September 20, 2019

The Houston Astros maintain the lead in Box-Toppers team rankings, leading for the ninth straight week, and are also the hottest team of the past week.

Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals maintain their lead among National League teams in the penultimate (and also next-to-last) weekly team rankings report of the 2019 season. The final team rankings report will be posted after the completion of regular season games Sunday, Sept. 29.

Dodgers, Red Sox have most players—six–among Box-Toppers’ top 100 for 2019 at All-Star break

Shawn Plank July 9, 2019

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.

Box-Toppers picks Yankees over Cubs in 2019 World Series

Shawn Plank March 20, 2019

Box-Toppers picks the New York Yankees to beat the Chicago Cubs in the 2019 World Series.

In addition, Box-Toppers projects the Yankees will win 111 games in 2019, one of four teams projected to win 100 or more games this season. All 2018 American League playoff teams are projected to return to the postseason, while three different teams are forecast for the National League postseason—the Nationals, Phillies and Mets.

Yankees top Box-Toppers 2019 preseason team rankings; champion Red Sox fall to 2nd

Shawn Plank March 10, 2019

The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.

The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.

A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time' after the 2018 season

Shawn Plank December 31, 2018

Randy Johnson leads all players in career Box-Toppers points and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The most likely rival to Johnson’s throne at the moment is Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has 214.8 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995 and most among active players.

A look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2017-18 and 2013-18

Shawn Plank December 24, 2018

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over both the past two seasons and past six seasons.

Scherzer has the most Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons (50.1 over 2017 and 2018) and the most points over the past six seasons (137.0 from 2013 to 2018).

Red Sox maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead; Angels are week's hottest team

Shawn Plank September 14, 2018

The Boston Red Sox maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the seventh straight week.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers maintain their lead among National League teams and the Los Angeles Angels are the hottest team of the past week.

Red Sox maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead for fifth week

Shawn Plank August 31, 2018

The Boston Red Sox maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the fifth straight week.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs rise to regain the lead among National League teams and the New York Yankees are the hottest team of the past week.

New York Yankees rise to top Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report

Shawn Plank June 8, 2018

The New York Yankees rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report, passing the Houston Astros.

Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals maintain their lead among National League teams and the Minnesota Twins are the week’s hottest team.

Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers’ most-mentioned player since 2013 & over past year; Dodgers are most-mentioned team

Shawn Plank March 22, 2018

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been mentioned on Box-Toppers.com more than any other player.

His team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is also Box-Toppers’ most-mentioned team.

Box-Toppers picks Indians over Nationals in 2018 World Series

Shawn Plank March 16, 2018

Box-Toppers picks the Cleveland Indians to beat the Washington Nationals in the 2018 World Series.

Box-Toppers projects the Indians to defeat the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series and the Nationals to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team, 2017

Shawn Plank January 21, 2018

Three of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.

The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players.

A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time' after the 2017 season

Shawn Plank November 30, 2017

Randy Johnson leads Box-Toppers "all-time" career top 100 list, since record-keeping began in 1995. Clayton Kershaw, ranked third overall, leads all active players. And Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year Chris Sale makes the biggest jump up the top 100 chart.

A look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2016-17 and 2012-17

Shawn Plank November 27, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past six seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons.

Kershaw leads all players in Box-Toppers points over 2012-2017 with 147.2, ahead of Scherzer, in second place with 128.9.

Box-Toppers' big dippers—players whose 2017 point total declined most from 2016: Jose Fernandez leads list

Shawn Plank November 24, 2017

Sadly, Jose Fernandez leads the list of players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2016 to 2017. The 22.4-point decline is 8.0 points more than the next biggest decline which was the highest among players active in 2017—that belongs to Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto, whose 2017 point total dipped 14.4 points, from 16.4 in 2016 to 2.0 in 2017.

Red Sox' Chris Sale tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 8, bolsters Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank August 9, 2017

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, bolstering his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.

Also Tuesday, Buster Posey of the Giants rises to lead National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to seventh place in overall Box-Toppers player rankings.

In 2017, Clayton Kershaw has become new leader among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to 3rd on the ‘all-time’ top 100 list

Shawn Plank July 31, 2017

During the 2017 season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has taken the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to third place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players list.

Kershaw has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw leads all players with 22.1 points in 2017.

Clayton Kershaw leads list of most mentioned players & teams on Box-Toppers.com since 2013

Shawn Plank March 29, 2017

Kershaw, Scherzer, Cabrera are the most frequently mentioned players on Box-Toppers.com since its debut in 2013. The Chicago Cubs hold narrow lead among the most-tagged teams on the website.