Twins pitcher Sonny Gray is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
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A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of ‘all-time’ after the 2022 season
Could 2023 be the season Clayton Kershaw passes Randy Johnson for the “all-time” lead in career Box-Toppers points?
Or could this coming season be the year when Kershaw loses the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points to either Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander?
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2022
In 2022, Justin Verlander led American League pitchers in season Box-Toppers points for the third time in his career, tied for the seventh-most times a player has led a season points category.
Also in 2022, the New York Mets and Miami Marlins each had their first Box-Toppers points category leader—Pete Alonso and Sandy Alcantara— leaving the Pittsburgh Pirates as the only team to never have a player lead a category since tracking began in 1995.
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Verlander rises from 6th to 5th on Box-Toppers’ ‘all-time’ top 10 list during 2022
During the 2022 season, Justin Verlander rose from sixth to fifth place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 list.
It was the only player movement among Box-Toppers “all-time” career points top 10 players overall, among the top 10 pitchers and among the top 10 batters. Retired pitcher Randy Johnson still leads all players in career Box-Toppers points with 282.5 (tracking began in 1995).
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Astros’ Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers’ 2022 Player of the Year
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is 2022 Box-Toppers Player of the Year, regaining the season Box-Toppers points lead on the next-to-last day of the season.
Verlander took the lead with 26.0 Box-Toppers points after earning 2.0 points as Player of the Day Tuesday, passing Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani (24.7).
Read MoreAstros’ Javier tops players for Sunday, Sept. 25; Mets’ Alonso extends lead among NL batters
Astros pitcher Cristian Javier is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Pete Alonso of the Mets extends his lead among National League batters and now has the most Box-Toppers points for any batter in a single season since 2017 and the eighth-most for any batter in a single season from 2010 forward.
Read MoreMariners’ Kirby tops players for Saturday, Sept. 10; Mets’ Carrasco tops NL players
Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kirby struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Braves.
Read MoreAngels’ Sandoval tops players for Friday, Aug. 19; Mets’ Alonso rejoins top 10 list
Angels pitcher Patrick Sandoval is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBraves’ Morton tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 16; Brewers’ Woodruff rises to 10th
Braves pitcher Charlie Morton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAngels’ Toussaint tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 10; Mets’ Lindor tops NL players
Angels pitcher Touki Toussaint is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Toussaint struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Athletics. Toussaint did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreReds’ Greene tops players for Monday, Aug. 1; Mets’ Alonso rises to 9th place
Reds pitcher Hunter Greene is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreWhite Sox’ Dylan Cease tops Box-Toppers’ list of worthy, but unchosen All-Stars
White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is the most deserving player not selected to the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
A Box-Toppers look at All-Star starters, reserves and snubs.
Read MoreYankees’ Severino tops players for Saturday, June 4; Mets’ Alonso rises to player rankings lead
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Batter of the Day honors.
Read MorePhillies’ Nola tops players for Thursday, May 26; Yankees’ Cortes rises to 2nd in player rankings
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers earns Box-Toppers points in his 20th consecutive season—the second-longest such streak since 1995—after earning his first Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Read MoreWhite Sox’ Kopech tops players for Sunday, May 22; Pujols extends record streak to 22 seasons
White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Albert Pujols of the Cardinals extends his record streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 22 after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBraves’ Fried tops players for Saturday, May 7, rising to 2nd in season player rankings
Braves pitcher Max Fried is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second in season player rankings, first among National League pitchers.
Also Saturday, two other player rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease rises to sixth place and Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez rises to 10th.
Read MoreTwins’ Winder tops players for Sunday, May 1; Padres’ Musgrove rises to 2nd in player rankings
Twins pitcher Josh Winder is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTwins’ Ryan tops players for Wednesday, April 27, rising to 3rd in player rankings
Twins pitcher Joe Ryan is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreRockies’ Blach tops players for Sunday, April 10; Guardians’ Ramirez tops AL players
Rockies pitcher Ty Blach is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Nelson Cruz of the Nationals has now has earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2022. It’s the third-longest active streak.
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While Box-Toppers stat reflects the decline of batters, they still dominate WAR
Looking at the top 10 players in the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) statistic for each of the past 25 seasons, gives the impression batters are holding steady as the dominant force in baseball.
Yet, in recent years, batters are striking out more and hitting for lower batting averages against pitchers who are holding batters down and stealing their lunch money. Looking at the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points for each of the past 25 seasons provides a more accurate reflection of the game—one in which batters performed well and even dominated through about 2009, until pitchers’ announced their presence with authority from 2010 on.
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