Box-Toppers selects 4 players for 2025 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers' ballot

Box-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.

Read More

Rockies’ 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.

Read More

How 2022 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers

Though 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 More

Box-Toppers selects 9 players for 2022 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers’ ballot

Box-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 More

How 2021 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers

No players were voted for induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday.

None of the 25 players eligible received the necessary 75 percent of the vote from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Pitcher Curt Schilling came the closest to reaching 75 percent—he received 71.1 percent of the vote, falling 16 votes short.

Read More

Box-Toppers selects seven players for 2021 Hall of Fame induction in internet writers’ ballot

Box-Toppers is voting for seven players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot—Todd Helton, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Jeff Kent, Aramis Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner.

Read More

Rays’ Glasnow tops players for Monday, July 27; Cubs’ Lester earns Box-Toppers points in 15th straight season

Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester extended his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 15—tied for the third-longest active streak—after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Lester also rises to 12th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list.

Read More

Twins’ Cruz tops players for Sunday, July 26, earning Box-Toppers points in 15th straight season

Nelson Cruz of the Twins is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his streak of earning Box-Toppers points to 15 consecutive seasons.

Cruz hit two homers and two doubles, going 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in seven runs, in the 14-2 win over the White Sox.

Read More

Cubs’ Hendricks tops players for Friday, July 24; Astros’ Verlander extends streak earning points to 15 seasons

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander extended his consecutive streak of seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 15, tied for the third-longest active streak.

Read More

Box-Toppers top second basemen by time frame (after 2019 season)

Jeff 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 More

Box-Toppers 2014-19 All-Star teams

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2014-19 consist of the best players over the past six seasons, which includes seven of the 27 players who are also on Box-Toppers 2018-19 All-Star teams.

Also, among the 27 players on the teams, there are eight players who are on Box-Toppers 2019 All-Star teams and six who are on All-Star teams over all three time spans—for 2019, for 2018-19 and for 2014-19. Leading the 2014-19 All-Stars is Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over that six-season period with 134.3.

Read More

Albert Pujols could break record for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points in 2020

Albert Pujols has the chance in 2020 to break the record for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points.

If Pujols of the Angels earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors once in 2020, he will have earned Box-Toppers points for 20 straight seasons (2001-2020). Pujols is currently tied for the longest streak at 19 seasons with three other players—CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi and Carlos Beltran.

Read More

How 2020 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers

Derek Jeter and Larry Walker were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday.

Both received the necessary 75 percent of the vote from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and will be inducted in the Hall in Cooperstown, N.Y., in July.

Read More

Box-Toppers’ 2010s All-Decade All-Star team, plus top 100 players from 2010-2019

Clayton Kershaw and Albert Pujols lead Box-Toppers All-Decade All-Star team for the 2010s.

Kershaw earned the most Box-Toppers points of any player from 2010-2019 (210.1) and Pujols earned the most of any batter over that span (79.9), which is 25th among all players. The All-Decade All-Star team is made up of players who led their position in Box-Toppers points over the span of 2010-2019.

Read More

Box-Toppers selects six players for Hall of Fame in internet writers’ ballot

Box-Toppers votes Todd Helton, Derek Jeter, Jeff Kent,, Curt Schilling, Billy Wagner and Larry Walker into the Hall of Fame on Internet Baseball Writers of America ballot.

Read More

Mets’ deGrom tops players for Saturday, Sept. 14; Astros’ Greinke rises to 8th in player rankings

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Zack Greinke rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Read More