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Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2020 to 2021.
Lamet, who earned 9.0 Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (fifth among all players and third among National League pitchers), earned 2.0 points in 2021. After a stellar 2020 season, he battled injury early in 2021, struggled and went from a starter to a bullpen pitcher.
Read MoreAnalyzing 27 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Trevor Rogers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Indians pitcher Aaron Civale rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2021 preseason rankings. They also ended 2020 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team and World Series champions.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Chicago Cubs saw the biggest decline.
Read MoreAnalyzing 26 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
Read MoreJose 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 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.
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Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is Box-Toppers Player of the Year for 2020.
Bieber finishes the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with 11.4 Box-Toppers points, leading Box-Toppers player rankings report for the sixth straight week.
Meanwhile, Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer rises to lead National League pitchers, Marcell Ozuna of the Braves rises to lead NL batters and Luke Voit of the Yankees maintains his lead among American League batters.
Read MoreReds pitcher Luis Castillo is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Castillo struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and three walks, in the 6-3 win over the Brewers.
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.
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 MorePhillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Nola struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 13-8 win over the Braves.
Read MoreAlex Rodriguez has the most Box-Toppers points of any third baseman since tracking began in 1995.
Rodriguez, who played from 1994 to 2016 for the Yankees, Mariners and Rangers, earned 187.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 10th among all players since 1995 and second among all batters. Rodriguez is 38.0 Box-Toppers points ahead of Chipper Jones, who ranks second among third basemen on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list with 149.0.
Read MoreJeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.
Kent, who played from 1992 to 2008 primarily for the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Astros and Blue Jays, earned 109.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career—that’s 30.3 more points than the second-place second baseman since 1995, Robinson Cano of the Mariners (79.4).
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads the list of Box-Toppers Active Career All-Stars and is one of four active players included on Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team.
The Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team consists of the best players by position since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and includes 10 players who have retired and four who are still active—Kershaw, along with Albert Pujols of the Angels, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Astros pitcher Zack Greinke, who joined the All-Time All-Star team in 2019.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2018-19 consist of the best players at each position in each league over the previous two seasons.
Among the 27 players included on the American and National League teams are 18 who are also on Box-Toppers 2019 All-Star teams. Leading the 2018-19 All-Stars is Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over 2018-19 with 51.8.
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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.
Read MoreAnalyzing 25 years of Box-Toppers points leaders among American League and National League pitchers and batters each season.
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.