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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Cole has earned 29.8 Box-Toppers points over 2020 and 2021. He ranked second among all players in 2021 with 22.4 Box-Toppers points and 12th among all players with 7.4 in 2020, a season shortened to 60 games by the coronavirus pandemic. Cole led American League pitchers in 2021 and ranked fifth among AL pitchers in 2020.
Read MoreHere is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2021.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications,
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The Milwaukee Brewers are the top-ranked team going into 2022, leading Box-Toppers offseason team rankings as of mid-December.
Players currently signed to the Brewers 40-man roster accumulated 111.1 Box-Toppers points during the 2021 season, most of any team. The Chicago White Sox rank second overall with 109.2 Box-Toppers points, leading all American League teams.
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These six players were selected for the 16-member All-MLB First Team and were also Box-Toppers’ choices for the All-MLB team: Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres, Aaron Judge of the Yankees, Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer, Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks.
Six Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2021’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced Tuesday.
Another three Box-Toppers leaders were chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.
Read MoreTrey 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.
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders won none of the six major postseason awards for 2021.
Baseball writers have awarded Most Valuable Player, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in both leagues and Box-Toppers leaders failed to win any of them.
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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.
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Robbie Ray of the Blue Jays and Corbin Burnes of the Brewers were voted winners of the 2021 Cy Young Awards. They beat Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers, Gerrit Cole of the Yankees in the American League and Max Scherzer of the Dodgers in the National League.
Robbie Ray of the Blue Jays and Corbin Burnes of the Brewers won 2021 Cy Young Awards over Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked pitchers for 2021.
Ray won the American League Cy Young Award after ranking second in 2021 Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers, behind Gerrit Cole of the Yankees. Burnes won the National League Cy Young Award after ranking fourth in 2021 Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Dodgers.
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.
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 MoreBox-Toppers has cast votes for postseason honors for Gerrit Cole, Jose Ramirez and for Max Scherzer—twice.
I have cast my vote in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) for Dodgers pitcher Scherzer to be both National League Cy Young Award winner and NL Most Valuable Player.
Read MoreBraves relief pitcher Tyler Matzek is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s clinching National League Championship Series Game 6.
Matzek struck out four over two scoreless innings (the seventh and eighth), allowing no hits and no walks, in the 4-2 win over the Dodgers. The Braves win the best-of-seven game series, 4-2, and advance to the World Series.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Luis Garcia is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s clinching American League Championship Series Game 6.
Garcia struck out seven over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Red Sox. The Astros win the best-of-seven game series, 4-2, and advance to the World Series.
Read MoreBraves closing pitcher Will Smith is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s National League Championship Series Game 2.
Smith struck out two over one scoreless inning, allowing no hits, no walks and picking up the win, in the 5-4 win over the Dodgers. The Braves take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreRafael Devers of the Red Sox and Austin Riley of the Braves are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreJose Altuve of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s American League Championship Series Game 1.
Altuve homered and went 1-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox. The Astros take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreEven though the Los Angeles Dodgers are Box-Toppers’ most dominant team in 2021, the Atlanta Braves should be a competitive match for them in the upcoming National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers are far and away Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team in 2021, with its players accumulating 146.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season. The Braves ranked fifth overall with 122.4 points.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Julio Urias is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Division Series Game 5 win over the Giants.
The Dodgers beat the Giants 2-1, winning the best-of-five game series, 3-2, and advance to the NL Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, beginning Saturday.
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.