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Three players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday—Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
All three received the necessary 75 percent support of voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Box-Toppers supported Sabathia and Wagner in separate voting by the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), but notably did not support Suzuki, who was a near-unanimous choice.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2025 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Felix Hernandez, Torii Hunter, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
Notably, Box-Toppers is not voting for Ichiro Suzuki, who is on the Hall ballot for the first time for 2025. While Suzuki is expected to be a shoo-in for the Hall and to possibly be only the second player inducted on a unanimous vote, I devoted a previous post to why Box-Toppers doesn’t view him as a Hall of Famer. In addition, this post which will show how unfavorably he compares in Box-Toppers rankings to even this year’s Hall candidates, may even make a more stark case why I don’t see Suzuki as a Hall of Famer.
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As baseball writers push for Ichiro Suzuki to not only be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame but to become only the second player voted in unanimously, what chucklehead will oppose that?
It pains me to say: Me. Let me explain.
Despite earning Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Awards and getting 3,000 hits, Suzuki was not the key player very often in his team’s wins. There was almost always some other teammate outperforming Suzuki in team wins. Suzuki never led his team in a season in Box-Toppers points and never even led his team’s batters.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Chris Sale is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his streak of earning Box-Toppers points to 17 straight seasons—tied for the longest active streak—after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024.
Read MoreRangers pitcher Cody Bradford is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Royals pitcher Brady Singer rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, two players extend significant streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday—Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel (15 seasons) and Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (10 seasons).
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Three players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday, all of whom Box-Toppers supported for induction.
Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton all received the necessary 75 percent support of voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
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Box-Toppers is voting for six players for 2024 Hall of Fame induction on the internet writers’ ballot—Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Billy Wagner.
Box-Toppers is voting for six players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2024 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players, listed alphabetically by last name: Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Billy Wagner.
Read MorePadres pitcher Yu Darvish is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to ninth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Bassitt pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.
Read MoreRockies pitcher Kyle Freeland is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors—Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises to fifth place and Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises to sixth place.
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Box-Toppers is voting for four players for 2023 Hall of Fame induction on the internet writers’ ballot—Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Box-Toppers is voting for four players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2023 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Box-Toppers is voting for these players: Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner.
Read MoreWhite Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani maintains second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Nola pitched a complete-game, five-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Reds.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
deGrom struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreGuardians pitcher Shane Bieber is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease rises to third place and Rays pitcher Corey Kluber rises to 10th.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen 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—first among National League pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Eric Lauer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lauer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 9-1 win over the Cubs.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Eric Lauer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—Mets pitcher Tylor Megill rises to second place and Ty France of the Mariners rises to fourth.
Read MoreThough Box-Toppers would not have voted David Ortiz as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, it’s hard to argue that his performance on the field was not worthy.
Yet, several other candidates with Hall-of-Fame worthy careers were not voted for induction Tuesday because of their ties to the steroid era. In fact, it can be argued that righteous baseball writers did a noble thing Tuesday by blocking three such candidates—Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa—for their 10th and final time on the ballot.
Read MoreBox-Toppers is voting for nine players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2022 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Of the nine players, three are in their first year on the ballot—Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy and Mark Teixeira. The other six all return after not receiving the necessary votes to make the hall last year, including Curt Schilling, who is on the ballot for his 10th and final year.
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.