Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, pitching a no-hitter, is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2019 season through the games of Sept. 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 23.8 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 22.5 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 4 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 16.8 |
| 5 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 16.7 |
| 6 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 16.1 |
| 7 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | sp pi | dc nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
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Verlander also becomes the seventh player in Box-Toppers tracking history (which began in 1995) to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points, rising to sixth place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list.
In addition, Verlander Sunday had Box-Toppers’ highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game this season.
Also Sunday, Rays pitcher Charlie Morton rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Verlander pitched a complete-game no-hit shutout, allowing one walk and striking out 14 in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays.
Verlander allowed just one baserunner, giving up a walk to the second batter of the game, Cavan Biggio.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 226.5 |
| 4 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 203.4 |
| 5 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | hou al | 202.4 |
| 6 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 201.9 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 200.8 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 196.2 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 174.1 |
| 12 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | chi nl | 172.2 |
| 13 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 171.6 |
| 14 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 15 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 18 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 19 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | free agent | 155.9 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
List of top 100 players since 1995 as of the 2019 All-Star break.
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 23.8 for the season, rising from second to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader, teammate Gerrit Cole (22.5), who only passed Verlander Wednesday. Verlander has led player rankings nearly every day since May 10, except for the nine days when Cole led from July 22-23, July 27-29 and Aug. 28-31.
Verlander also assumes the lead among AL pitchers ahead of Cole.
Also, Verlander Sunday becomes the seventh player—and second in two days—to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points (201.9) since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Verlander passes Albert Pujols of the Angels (200.8) on the “all-time” list. Pujols only passed Verlander Saturday, becoming the sixth player in Box-Toppers tracking history to reach 200 career Box-Toppers points. Verlander now trails fifth-ranked player and teammate Zack Greinke (202.4) on the “all-time” list by just 0.5 points. Passing Pujols, Verlander now ranks fourth among active players in career points.
2019 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/20 | Tim Beckham | sea al | 2.0 |
| 3/21 | Hunter Strickland | sea al | 2.0 |
| 3/28 | Jose Berrios | min al | 2.0 |
| 3/31 | Cody Bellinger | lad nl | 2.7 |
| 4/3 | Matt Shoemaker | tor al | 3.7 |
| 4/4 | Trevor Bauer | cle al | 3.7 |
| 4/7 | Cody Bellinger | lad nl | 5.2 |
| 4/15 | Trevor Bauer | cle al | 5.4 |
| 4/24 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 6.4 |
| 5/3 | Tyler Glasnow | tb al | 6.7 |
| 5/5 | Josh Hader | mil nl | 7.0 |
| 5/10 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 8.4 |
| 7/22 | Gerrit Cole | hou al | 16.1 |
| 7/24 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 16.8 |
| 7/27 | Gerrit Cole | hou al | 17.1 |
| 7/30 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 18.8 |
| 8/28 | Gerrit Cole | hou al | 22.5 |
| 9/1 | Justin Verlander | hou al | 23.8 |
Verlander is also now just 1.5 points behind Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (203.4), who ranks fourth among all players since 1995 and second among active players.
Verlander also achieved the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Box-Toppers Player of the Game winner this season (+22.0), beating the previous high score of +20.0, set just Saturday by Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (8IP 2H 0R 0BB 14K W in the 7-0 win over the Marlins). It is the highest Box-Toppers game score for any Player of the Game since May 4, 2018, when Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole had a game score of +23.0 in the 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks (CG H 0R BB 16K W).
National League Player of the Day—Freddie Freeman of the Braves homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 5-3 win over the White Sox.
Freeman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.2 for the season, 31st among all players and second among NL batters, behind Christian Yelich of the Brewers (10.7), who also earned Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Freeman and Yelich become the sixth and seventh batters this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, ensuring that there will not be a record low number of batters with 10 Box-Toppers points in 2019. The record for fewest batters with 10 points is five set in 2014 and 2018. The most is 28 in 1997, 1999 and 2000. There are now 37 players overall with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. There were 52 in 2018.
This is Freeman’s second season with 10 Box-Toppers points. He had 11.5 points in 2013 with the Braves, second among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Daniel Vogelbach of the Mariners homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-3 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Freddie Freeman.
Morton—Rays pitcher Charlie Morton rises from sixth to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Morton (5.1IP 4H R 3BB 8K W in the 8-2 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.8 for the season, third among AL pitchers, behind Verlander (23.8) and Cole (22.5).
Yelich—Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to first place among NL batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Yelich (HR 1-4 R 3BI in the 4-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, passing previous NL batting leader Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers (10.2), who falls to third among NL batters. Yelich leads NL batters for the first time this season. He led all NL batters in 2018 (11.5). This is his second season with 10 Box-Toppers points. He now ranks 26th among all players in 2019 points.
Yelich’s 10.7 points equals the lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead NL batters in a season—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies had 10.7 points in 2016.
Debut—Ty France of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
France (2HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 8-4 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut April 26 and was playing in his 49th career game.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Freeman earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Vogelbach earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 9/1 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +22.0 | HOU 2, TOR 0 | Justin Verlander (W, 17‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | |
| NL | +6.0 | ATL 5, CHW 3 | Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | `NYY 5, OAK 4 | J.A. Happ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | MIN 8, DET 3 | Michael Pineda (W, 11‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +4.1 | TB 8, CLE 2 | Charlie Morton (W, 14‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | WSH 9, MIA 3 | Juan Soto LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | SD 8, SF 4 | Ty France 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SEA 11, TEX 3 | Daniel Vogelbach 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | STL 4, CIN 3 | Carlos Martinez (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | CIN 5, STL 3 | Raisel Iglesias (S, 28) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | BOS 4, LAA 3 | Xander Bogaerts SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `LAD 4, ARI 3 (F/11) | Ross Stripling | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.2 | PHI 5, ATL 2 | Hector Neris (W, 3‑5) (BS, 6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | PIT 6, COL 2 | Steven Brault (W, 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +2.0 | KC 6, BAL 4 | Ian Kennedy (S, 25) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | MIL 4, CHC 0 | Christian Yelich RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’19). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’18-19), the period 2014-2019 (’14-19) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2019 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2018 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’19 | ’18‑19 | ’14‑19 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 23.8 | 47.9 | 87.7 | 201.9 | -0.3 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 16.8 | 31.6 | 53.0 | 67.0 | +2.0 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf | mil nl | 10.7 | 22.2 | 42.7 | 42.7 | -0.8 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 10.2 | 17.7 | 38.9 | 59.4 | +2.7 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 7.2 | 12.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 | +1.7 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.0 | 22.7 | 60.9 | 79.6 | -8.7 |
| Iglesias, Raisel 3467 | pi cp | cin nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | +4.0 |
| Vogelbach, Daniel 4070 | dh | sea al | 7.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | +5.5 |
| Neris, Hector 3553 | pi cp | phi nl | 6.0 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | +4.0 |
| Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | min al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 31.4 | 43.1 | +5.0 |
| Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | dc nl | 4.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -3.0 |
| Stripling, Ross 3629 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 12.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -4.7 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi cp | stl nl | 4.0 | 11.0 | 47.6 | 47.6 | -3.0 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi cp | kc al | 3.0 | 6.0 | 38.4 | 78.5 | 0.0 |
| Brault, Steven 3911 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +2.0 |
| France, Ty 4243 | 2b | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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.