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Twins pitcher Bailey Ober is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Royals pitcher Seth Lugo rises to first place among American League pitchers (fifth overall) after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2024 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the San Diego Padres saw the biggest decline.
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The Atlanta Braves are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2024, with a roster mostly intact from 2023 when they had baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are Box-Toppers’ top two American League teams, with the Mariners having one of the best offseason improvements of any team so far. And also, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have made big offseason splashes adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, their offseason ranking has actually fallen from third place last season to fourth place now.
Read MoreSix of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards in 2023 were also among the leaders at their positions in 2023 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, analyzing traditional box scores, tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreOnly four Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2023’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced this month. Three other Box-Toppers leaders were chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.
The All-MLB team players are not selected based on their affiliation with American League or National League. Rather, all players are chosen regardless of league as “First Team” or “Second Team” players.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani, who signed a record free-agent deal with the Dodgers, has consistently been among Box-Toppers' highest-ranking players over the past three seasons.
However, his second surgery to repair his pitching elbow's ulnar collateral ligament, raises concerns about his future effectiveness. A Box-Toppers look at Ohtani’s career and the mixed outcomes of pitchers with a second elbow surgery.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s World Series Game 2.
The Arizona Diamondbacks win 9-1 to tie the best-of-seven game series with the Texas Rangers, 1-1.
Read MoreAdolis Garcia of the Rangers is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s American League Championship Series Game 7.
Also Monday, Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the National League Championship Series Game 6.
Read MoreMitch Garver of the Rangers is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s American League Championship Series Game 6.
Garver homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Pablo Lopez tops players in Sunday’s two American League Division Series playoff games.
Rangers pitcher Cody Bradford was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the other ALDS game.
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Source: MLB.com.
Both American League Division Series begin Saturday.
The Texas Rangers face the Baltimore Orioles in one best-of-five game series and the Minnesota Twins face the Houston Astros in the other. The top two AL seeds, the Orioles (first) and the Astros (second) received byes from the first round of playoffs and face the winners of the best-of-three Wild Card series played this week.
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Source: MLB.com
The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series.
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The Texas Rangers still lead Box-Toppers team rankings this week, despite falling outside the dozen teams that would currently qualify for a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves continue to gain on the Rangers, leading all National League teams. Plus, the Chicago Cubs are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreMitch Garver of the Rangers is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Garver hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 6-5 win over the Twins. Garver went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
Read MorePadres pitcher Joe Musgrove is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Kelly struck out eight over three scoreless, hitless innings, allowing no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Giants. Kelly did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Giants tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreWhite Sox pitcher Lance Lynn is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Cubs closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel took the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
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).
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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 MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2019 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.
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 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.