While batters made modest gains in 2017, earning more Box-Toppers points and Player of the Game honors than in 2016, pitchers were still dominant, earning the most Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors for the season.
And while batters made overall gains, there are indications that top pitchers are as strong as they’ve ever been, since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, while top batters could be at one of their weakest points in the past 23 seasons.
Most Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors in 2017
Here are the 11 players who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors four or more times in 2017. Two players earned eight Player of the Day honors, leading all players for 2017—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale and Indians pitcher Corey Kluber. Players are listed here by number of times they earned Player of the Day (PoD). Also listed are their Box-Toppers point (BTP) totals for 2017 and their rank among all players in Box-Toppers points.| PoD | Player | Team | BTP | Rank |
| 8 | Chris Sale | White Sox | 25.1 | 1 |
| 8 | Corey Kluber | Indians | 22.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 25.0 | 2 |
| 6 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 23.1 | 3 |
| 5 | Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | 22.5 | 4 |
| 5 | Jeff Samardzija | Giants | 11.0 | 29 |
| 4 | Carlos Carrasco | Indians | 21.8 | 6 |
| 4 | Zack Greinke | Diamondbacks | 20.1 | 8 |
| 4 | Robbie Ray | Diamondbacks | 16.0 | 10 |
| 4 | Jacob deGrom | Mets | 15.7 | 12 |
| 4 | Jose Quintana | White Sox/Cubs | 15.0 | 15 |
In 2017, eight players—all pitchers—earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points, the most in any of Box-Toppers’ 23 seasons of tracking. On the other hand, Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians had the lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead American League batters in 2017 (12.1). It was the fourth-lowest point total to lead a season category, beaten only by the NL batting leaders for the three previous seasons (2014 to 2016).
In a comprehensive look at all 2,430 Major League Baseball games played and tracked in 2017 by Box-Toppers, here are some key statistics:
Pitchers earned Player of the Game honors more frequently
Pitchers won Player of the Game honors in 1,339 games, while batters were top player in a team win in 1,091 games. That means pitchers won Player of the Game in 55.1 percent of games, while batters won in 44.9 percent.
Yet batters made gains in 2017 over 2016. They had 5.1 percent more Player of the Game honors (1,038 in 2016 vs. 1,091 in 2017), while pitchers fell 3.7 percent (1,390 in 2016 vs. 1,339 in 2017).
Pitchers earned the most Box-Toppers points
Pitchers outearned batters in Box-Toppers points in 2017 by 1,600.4 to 1,278.9. That means pitchers had 55.6 percent of all 2,879.3 Box-Toppers points awarded in 2017.
But again, batters made gains, with 4.5 percent more Box-Toppers points earned in 2017 than they earned in 2016 (1,223.9). Pitchers meanwhile saw their Box-Toppers points decline 3.7 percent from 2016 (1,661.9).
Pitchers had the most Player of the Day honors
But the statistic in which pitchers blew away batters was the number of Player of the Day honors. Of the 179 days in the 2017 season, pitchers earned Player of the Day honors 169 times, compared to only 10 for batters. That means pitchers earned 94.4 percent of all Player of the Day honors in 2017.
That marks an increase for pitchers over 2016. In that season, pitchers won Player of the Day 165 times compared to 14 times for batters.
Why do pitchers earn Player of the Day honors so frequently compared to batters? Pitchers have more potential to earn higher Box-Toppers game scores than batters, which makes sense if you consider that pitchers are directly involved in and contributing to each play and can be involved for roughly half the game, while batters are involved in maybe 10 percent of the play while their teams are at bat.
In the 2,430 games played in 2017, pitchers had the 15 highest Box-Toppers game scores among players who earned Player of the Game honors. Further, pitchers had 97 of the top 100 highest Box-Toppers game scores among those earning Player of the Game honors in 2017. And pitchers had 193 of the top 200 highest Box-Toppers game scores among players earning Player of the Game honors during the season. Of players with the 217 highest Box-Toppers game scores to earn Player of the Game honors in 2017, only 15 are batters.
Earning Player of the Day honors so frequently helps boost pitchers overall Box-Toppers points. A player who earns Player of the Day receives a bonus Box-Toppers point, earning 2.0 points each time they are the day’s top player.
Pitchers earned more league Player of the Day honors
Pitchers also outearned batters in league Player of the Day honors. These are given to the top player of the day in his league who does not earn overall Player of the Day honors. Players who win American League or National League Player of the Day honors earn 1.7 Box-Toppers points (receiving 0.7 bonus Box-Toppers points).
League Player of the Day honors were awarded in 179 days during 2017, more frequently in the AL (98) than the NL (81), meaning that NL players more frequently won overall Player of the Day honors.
Of the 98 AL Player of the Day honors, 74 were won by pitchers and 24 by batters.
Of the 81 NL Player of the Day honors, 58 were won by pitchers and 23 by batters.
That means pitchers won 73.7 percent of all league Player of the Day honors, still an overwhelming majority, but less than the 94.4 percent of all overall Player of the Day honors.
But batters earned a larger share of league Player of the Day honors in 2017 than in 2016. In 2016, batters earned 15.1 percent of all league Player of the Day honors. But in 2017, batters earned 26.3 percent of the honors.
League Batter of the Day honors
During 2017, there were 290 times when batters won league Batter of the Day honors.
These are given to the top AL and NL batters who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and who did not otherwise win overall Player of the Day or league Player of the Day honors. Winning Batter of the Day honors is worth 1.5 Box-Toppers points (with the bonus 0.5 points). So without this bonus, batters would have earned 145.0 fewer points or about 11.3 percent of batters’ total 1,278.9 points earned in 2017. (Though it should be noted that pitchers twice won league Batter of the Day honors in 2017—Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals won on April 21 and Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals on May 8. Those instances are among the seven times pitchers earned Player of the Game honors for batting in 2017.)
Bonus points
Box-Toppers bonus points of some kind for Player of the Day, league Player of the Day or league Batter of the Day were awarded in 648 of the 2,430 games played. So bonus points were awarded in more than a quarter of all games—26.7 percent (compared to 27.4 percent of all games in 2016).
There were 449.3 bonus points awarded during 2017, which is 15.6 percent of all 2,879.3 points awarded in 2017.
No-decision pitchers earning Player of the Game honors
Pitchers who did not earn a win or save won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 213 times in 2017. That means no-decision pitchers won 15.9 percent of all 1,339 Player of the Game honors won by pitchers in 2017 (compared to 16.8 percent in 2016).
There were 21 times no-decision pitchers earned overall Player of the Day honors in 2017. Three pitchers did it more than once:
- Jeff Samardzija of the Giants did it three times—May 3, May 20 and Sept. 2. (Samardzija earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017—6.0 earned in no-decisions, 5.0 earned in wins.)
- Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers did it twice—May 23 and June 2.
- Chris Sale of the Red Sox did it twice—April 20 and Aug. 13.
No-decision pitchers won league Player of the Day honors 17 times.
Box-Toppers awards pitchers who made key contributions to their team’s win even if they did not earn the win or save.
Most Player of the Day honors
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale and Indians pitcher Corey Kluber each won Player of the Day honors eight times during 2017, the most of any player.
Sale led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2017 with 25.1, boosted by the 16.0 points he earned for his eight Player of the Day honors. Sale also won AL Player of the Day honors (worth 1.7 points each) three times and won Player of the Game honors without bonus points (worth 1.0 point each) four other times.
Kluber ranked fifth in Box-Toppers points (second among AL pitchers, behind Sale) with 22.0. He earned 16.0 of those points through his eight Player of the Day honors. Kluber also won Player of the Game without bonus points (worth 1.0 point each) six other times.
Batters who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day in 2017
In the 179 days of the 2017 season, batters won Player of the Day honors 10 times, with pitchers winning the other 169 times. Here are the 10 batters who earned Player of the Day honors in 2017, listed chronologically. Also shown is each batters Box-Toppers game score (Score) on the day they were top player. For details of each player’s performance that earned them Player of the Day honors, click the date link to see that day’s Box-Toppers report.| Date | Score | Player | Game |
| 4/6 | 6.0 | Yasiel Puig, RF | LAD 10, SD 2 |
| 4/7 | 6.0 | Nomar Mazara, RF | TEX 10, OAK 5 |
| 4/30 | 15.0 | Anthony Rendon, 3B | WSH 23, NYM 5 |
| 5/5 | 7.0 | Kendrys Morales, DH | TOR 8, TB 4 |
| 6/12 | 6.0 | Matt Adams, 1B | ATL 11, WSH 10 |
| 6/14 | 6.0 | Mookie Betts, RF | BOS 7, PHI 3 |
| 6/20 | 8.0 | Corey Seager, SS | LAD 12, NYM 0 |
| 8/18 | 8.0 | Manny Machado 3B | BAL 9, LAA 7 |
| 8/31 | 10.0 | Kendry Morales DH | TOR 11, BAL 8 |
| 9/26 | 12.0 | Andrew McCutchen CF | PIT 10, BAL 1 |
There were 11 players—all pitchers—who had four or more Player of the Day honors in 2017. There were 39 players who earned Player of the Day honors more than once and only one of them was a batter. Kendrys Morales of the Blue Jays led batters in Player of the Day honors with two—on May 5 and Aug. 31. Morales had 6.5 Box-Toppers points on the season (4.0 earned as Player of the Day), 24th among AL batters.
Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors
0.0—Ben Lively of the Phillies on Aug. 31 had the 2,430th-ranked Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors in 2017. Lively went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs, in the 3-2 win over the Marlins. It was one of 12 times in 2017 that a batter earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors with a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0. Lively had the lowest overall score based on tiebreakers—including number of at bats and walks.
Lively’s Player of the Game honor marked one of seven times during the season that a pitcher earned Player of the Game honors for batting. Interestingly, Lively is the only pitcher to do it twice in 2017 (he also did it Sept. 5) and they are the only times in his career Lively has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors by a pitcher
+0.1—Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez on April 13 had the 2,418th-ranked Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors in 2017. Rodriguez struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, three runs (two earned) and four walks in the 4-3 win over the Pirates. Rodriguez picked up a no decision and did not earn the win or save in the game.
Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn bonus points
0.0—Yoan Moncada of the White Sox earned AL Batter of the Day honors (earning the bonus 0.5 Box-Toppers points) with the lowest Box-Toppers game score of the day on Aug. 10. No other AL batter earned Player of the Game honors that day—in the five other games won by AL teams, pitchers earned Player of the Game honors. Moncada homered and went 2-for-5, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Astros. Moncada’s game score was ranked 2,423rd among the 2,430 Player of the Game honorees for 2017.
Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn bonus points by a pitcher
+4.0—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke earned NL Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 0.7 Box-Toppers points) on Aug. 31. Greinke struck out six over six innings, allowing one run, four hits, two walks and picking up the win, in the 8-1 win over the Dodgers. The performance was ranked 1,255th among the 2,430 Player of the Game honors for 2017.
Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn league Player of the Day honors
+2.0—Curtis Granderson of the Dodgers earned NL Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 0.7 Box-Toppers points) on Aug. 21. Granderson hit a grand slam and went 2-for-5 in the 6-5, 12-inning win over the Pirates. Granderson’s game score ranks 1,937th among the 2,430 games played in 2017.
Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Day honors
+5.0—Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen earned overall Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 1.0 Box-Toppers point for a total of 2.0) on May 1. Lorenzen pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three and earning the win, in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Pirates.
While it wasn’t a full 15-game schedule that day, there were 10 other games played that day and Lorenzen had the same Box-Toppers game score as another of the day’s Player of the Game honorees, Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi. However, Lorenzen won overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he earned the win in his game, while Odorizzi picked up a no-decision in his.
Lorenzen’s game score ranks 924th among the 2,430 games.
Highest Box-Toppers game score to earn no bonus Box-Toppers points
+15.0—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber had the 18th-best Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game in 2017 on Aug. 8, but earned no bonus Box-Toppers points. Kluber had the second-highest score of the day, behind Player of the Day, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +18.0, the fifth-highest score in 2017 for a Player of the Game.
Kluber pitched a complete-game, three-hitter, allowing one run, no walks, striking out 11 and earning the win, in the 4-1 win over the Rockies.
Kluber earned no bonus points despite his +15.0 Box-Toppers game score, while two other players with far lower game scores did earn bonus points. Brian Dozier of the Twins earned AL Batter of the Day (worth 0.5 bonus points) and Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks earned NL Player of the Day (worth 0.7 bonus points)—both had Box-Toppers game scores of +5.0.
2,430 games
There were 2,430 Major League Baseball games scheduled in 2017 and all scheduled games were played to completion with no ties. Each of the 30 teams play a 162-game schedule. Box-Toppers awarded Player of the Game honors in each of the 2,430 contests.
About Box-Toppers—Box-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. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point 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.
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Related:
Box-Toppers top single game performances for 2017
Box-Toppers top single game performances by batters for 2017
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
Box-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.