A look at how opening day starters have fared in Box-Toppers points and an opening day introduction to Box-Toppers.
Read MoreHere we go anyway: Box-Toppers opening day preview of 2021 season
A Box-Toppers preview of the 2021 baseball season.
First, a commentary on baseball and COVID-19. Though case rates are declining and vaccines are slowly arriving, coronavirus cases are higher now than during most of the shortened 2020 baseball season. Yet baseball is on the fast track to return to normalcy.
Second, an introduction to the Box-Toppers metric, used to track and compare players since 1995.
Read More8 of 14 RBI leaders among top 100 players in Box-Toppers points for 2020
Eight of the top 14 runs batted in leaders were among the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points in 2020.
Six of those players were also among their league’s top 10 batters during the pandemic-shortened season.
Read MoreFive of top 10 batting average leaders in 2020 among overall top 100 in Box-Toppers points
Five of the top 10 players in batting average for 2020 are among Box-Toppers’ top 100 players.
DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees led all players with a .364 batting average in the pandemic-shortened, 60-game 2020 season. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 75th among all players and 13th among American League batters.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2020
Analyzing 26 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
Read MoreGerrit Cole leads players in Box-Toppers points over past 2 seasons (2019-20)
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Cole has earned 39.6 Box-Toppers points over 2019 and 2020. He led all players in 2019 with 32.2 Box-Toppers points, the fourth-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he had 7.4 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players and fifth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers’ top 100 players for 2020
Indians pitcher Shane Bieber tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players of 2020.
Bieber had 11.4 Box-Toppers points during the pandemic-shortened regular season. And because it was such a short season—reduced from 162 games to 60—it is the lowest total to lead all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, beating the previous low set by Royals pitcher Zack Greinke, who led all players with 21.5 points in 2009.
Read MorePlayers named to ‘All-MLB’ teams rarely coincided with 2020 Box-Toppers points leaders
Selections for Major League Baseball’s 2020 “All-MLB” teams announced this past week rarely coincided with the season’s Box-Toppers points leaders.
Only one All-MLB First Team batter was among the Box-Toppers points leaders at his position—Marcell Ozuna of the Braves led all designated hitters with 4.5 Box-Toppers points. However, three of the four All-MLB First Team starting pitchers were also among the top three players in Box-Toppers points for 2020—Shane Bieber of the Indians (11.4), Trevor Bauer of the Reds (10.0) and Yu Darvish of the Cubs (9.7).
Read MoreAwards wrap-up: Box-Toppers points leaders win 2 of 6 major postseason awards in 2020
Box-Toppers points leaders won two of the six major postseason awards for 2020.
Both Cy Young Award winners also led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2020—AL winner Shane Bieber of the Indians led AL pitchers with 11.4 and NL winner Trevor Bauer of the Reds led NL pitchers with 10.0. Bieber and Bauer also were Box-Toppers top two ranked players in 2020, the only two who earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened season.
Read MoreAbreu, Freeman win MVP Awards ahead of Box-Toppers batting leaders Voit, Ozuna
Jose Abreu of the White Sox and Freddie Freeman of the Braves were voted 2020 Most Valuable Players Thursday, ahead of other Box-Toppers points leaders.
Abreu, who ranked sixth in Box-Toppers points among American League batters with 4.5, was voted AL MVP. Freeman, who ranked eighth in Box-Toppers points among National League batters with 3.5, was voted NL MVP.
Read MoreHow 2020 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings
Only three of the 18 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards this week also were among the leaders at their positions in 2020 Box-Toppers point totals.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers analyzes traditional box scores and tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreA look at 2020 baseball awards finalists and how they fared in Box-Toppers rankings
A look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams for past season (2020) and past 2 seasons (2019-20)
A look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2020 seems incomplete. So for added context, Box-Toppers is also looking at the All-Star teams over the past two seasons, 2019-20.
Read MoreAstros’ Valdez, Dodgers’ Seager top players in Friday's league championship series games
Astros pitcher Framber Valdez and Corey Seager of the Dodgers are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Friday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreBraves’ Freeman, Rays’ Wendle top players in Tuesday's league championship series games
Freddie Freeman of the Braves and Joey Wendle of the Rays are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreTop-ranked Dodgers hold advantages against Braves in NL Championship Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Box-Toppers’ dominant team during much of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hold the edge over the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.
Read MoreBrewers’ Woodruff tops players for Wednesday, July 29; Rangers’ Lynn rises to lead player rankings
Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. He is one of three players Wednesday to win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for a second time this season.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top first basemen by time frame (after 2019 season)
Albert Pujols of the Angels has the most Box-Toppers points of any first baseman since tracking began in 1995.
Pujols also has the distinction of leading all American League first basemen in Box-Toppers points over the past season (2019), the past two seasons (2018-19) and the past six seasons (2014-19).
Read More7 of top 11 RBI leaders among top 10 AL & NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019
Seven of the 11 top runs batted in leaders were among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019.
However, overall RBI leader Anthony Rendon of the Nationals ranked outside the top 10 National League batters in Box-Toppers points.
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Yankees top Box-Toppers 2020 preseason team rankings; champion Nationals rank 2nd
The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2020 preseason rankings, rising from fifth place at the end of the 2019 season.
The 2019 World Series-champion Washington Nationals, ranked second at the end of 2019, maintain second place in the 2020 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Houston Astros—2019’s top-ranked team and American League champion—had the biggest decline.
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