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Trey Mancini of the Orioles and Buster Posey of the Giants were named Comeback Players of the Year for 2021 Monday.
Both ranked far outside Box-Toppers’ 25 most-improved players list for 2021 and neither were among Box-Toppers’ top candidate in either league for the player who had the biggest bounce back to a successful season this year.
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Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Bryce Harper of the Phillies win the American League and National League Most Valuable Player awards. However, Jose Ramirez of the Indians led AL batters and Nick Castellanos of the Reds led NL batters in 2021 Box-Toppers points.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Bryce Harper of the Phillies were voted 2021 Most Valuable Players Thursday, ahead of other Box-Toppers points leaders.
Ohtani, who ranked third in Box-Toppers points among all American League players with 16.1, was voted AL MVP. Harper, who ranked 28th among National League batters with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.
Read MoreHere is a look at Box-Toppers choices for the All-MLB Team for 2021.
Unlike the midseason All-Star Game choices, players are chosen regardless of league, meaning the All-MLB Teams will likely be a mix of both American League and National League players. Box-Toppers did choose end-of-season 2021 All-Star teams based on league in October.
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These five players were 2021 Silver Slugger Award winners and also led their league’s position in Box-Toppers points for the season: Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox, Aaron Judge of the Yankees, Ozzie Albies of the Braves, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres and Nick Castellanos of the Reds.
Only five of the 17 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards Thursday also were among the leaders at their positions in 2021 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.
Read MoreThe two players who won the Hank Aaron Award, given to the best offensive performer in each league, trailed most of the award finalists in 2021 Box-Toppers points.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays and Bryce Harper of the Phillies were chosen Tuesday as winners by a panel of eight Hall of Fame players and a Major League Baseball fan vote.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Max Scherzer is the only Box-Toppers points leader to win one of nine Players Choice Awards for 2021 as voted by the players’ union.
Scherzer, who led all players in 2021 Box-Toppers points with 25.1, was voted National League Outstanding Pitcher.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2021 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer.
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 MoreOrioles pitcher Zac Lowther is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lowther struck out seven over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Rangers.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Jake Woodford is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Woodford struck out five over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Brewers.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Julio Urias is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Urias struck out seven over five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 13-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, 2020’s Box-Toppers Player of the Year, Indians pitcher Shane Bieber, earned his first Player of the Game honor of 2021, as American League Player of the Day.
Read MoreSelections 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 MoreOnly 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 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 MoreMike Piazza has the most Box-Toppers points of any catcher since tracking began in 1995.
Piazza, who played from 1992 to 2007 primarily for the Mets and Dodgers, but also for the Padres, Athletics and Marlins, earned 95.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career. That is 13.1 more points than the second-place catcher since 1995, Joe Mauer (82.6).
Read MoreRangers pitcher Lance Lynn is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, three other players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after each earned Player of the Game honors—Reds pitcher Sonny Gray rose to fourth, Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly rose to eighth and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to 10th.
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Angels pitcher Dylan Bundy rises to lead Box-Toppers weekly season player rankings report.
Meanwhile, Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish rises to lead National League pitchers, rising to third place overall. Plus, Aaron Judge of the Yankees leads American League batters and Jason Heyward of the Cubs leads NL batters.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Jason Heyward of the Cubs earns Player of the Game honors for the second straight day, rising to ninth in season player rankings.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Dylan Bundy is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead season player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Luke Voit of the Yankees rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Shane Bieber leads Box-Toppers first weekly player rankings report after two weeks of the 2020 season.
Meanwhile, Cubs pitcher Tyler Chatwood leads National League players and ranks second overall.
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.