XGBoost with LambdaMART ranking performed the best across all models(neural nets, log reg also tested). Adding pairwise ranking with LambdaMART helped to solve

XGBoost with LambdaMART ranking performed the best across all models(neural nets, log reg also tested). Adding pairwise ranking with LambdaMART helped to solve overfitting with only some 360 data points. Instead of looking at binary win/loss MVP, I looked at the ranking of all players receiving votes in each of the past 38 years.