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.
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 | 282.5 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 227.5 |
| 4 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | hou al | 207.1 |
| 5 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 206.6 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | retired | 203.4 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 201.8 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 197.2 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | atl nl | 175.1 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 174.3 |
| 13 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | atl nl | 174.2 |
| 14 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 15 | Johan Santana | pi sp | retired | 166.6 |
| 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 166.2 |
| 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 |
Note: We are in the process of auditing results for the 1995 season, which has resulted in minor changes in career Box-Toppers point totals for a few players. For example, Randy Johnson has gained 3.7 points and Manny Ramirez has lost 1.0 point.
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2019 season.
Player of the Day—Glasnow struck out nine over four innings, allowing one run, one hit and two walks, in the 14-5 win over the Braves. Glasnow did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch at least five innings.
Glasnow earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is third in early Box-Toppers season player rankings.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched five scoreless, hitless innings, striking out one and walking one, in the 8-7 win over the Reds.
Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first of the season, and is eighth in early Box-Toppers season player rankings. He also now has 174.3 career points, rising to 12th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Braves pitcher Cole Hamels (174.2) and now trails 11th-ranked player, Braves pitcher Felix Hernandez (175.1), who has opted out of playing in 2020 due to the coronavirus. Lester now ranks seventh among active players in career points.
Lester also has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons—tied for the third-longest active streak—after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2020. He’s already the third player this season to extend a consecutive streak to 15 seasons:
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander did it Friday.
Nelson Cruz of the Twins did it Sunday.
Lester earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006. Lester’s best season was 2010 with the Red Sox when he had 23.4 points, first among all players. He’s had 20 or more points in one other season (2016 with the Cubs, 22.1, fourth among all players). In 2019, Lester had 8.0 points with the Cubs, 33rd among NL pitchers.
Active season streaks
Here are the 10 players who have earned Box-Toppers points for 14 or more consecutive seasons who have a chance to extend their streaks in 2020. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Angels | 2001‑2019 | 201.8 |
| 17 | Miguel Cabrera | 1b | Tigers | 2003‑2019 | 150.9 |
| 15 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 2006‑2020 | 206.6 |
| 15 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Braves | 2005‑2019 | 175.1 |
| 15 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Cubs | 2006‑2020 | 174.3 |
| 15 | Edwin Encarnacion | dh | White Sox | 2005‑2019 | 87.2 |
| 15 | Robinson Cano | 2b | Mets | 2005‑2019 | 85.4 |
| 15 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Twins | 2006‑2020 | 76.2 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Braves | 2006‑2019 | 174.2 |
| 14 | Ryan Zimmerman | 1b | Nationals | 2006‑2019 | 67.2 |
Lester’s 15-season streak earning Box-Toppers points is now tied with five other players for the third-longest active streak—Verlander and Cruz (who both reached the milestone this season), plus Felix Hernandez, Edwin Encarnacion and Robinson Cano, who all reached 15 consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points during the 2019 season. Only two players have longer streaks—Albert Pujols of the Angels (19 seasons) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (17 seasons). Neither has earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2020. Lester’s 15-season streak is tied for the 25th longest such streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Royals hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 14-6 win over the Tigers. Franco went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres tripled and went 2-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Notable—Two games were postponed Monday related to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among Miami Marlins players. The Marlins home opener against the Baltimore Orioles set for Monday was postponed after about a dozen players and team staff tested positive. The Marlins had been playing in Philadelphia, so the the game set there Monday between the Phillies and the Yankees Monday was also postponed due to coronavirus concerns. The White Sox-Indians game set Monday in Cleveland was an old-fashioned rainout, which will be made up as part of a Tuesday doubleheader.
Scoring—Glasnow earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Franco and Tatis each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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)| 7/27 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | `TB 14, ATL 5 | Tyler Glasnow | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | +5.0 | CHC 8, CIN 7 | Jon Lester, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| +5.0 | MIL 6, PIT 5 (F/11) | David Phelps, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | KC 14, DET 6 | Maikel Franco, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | HOU 8, SEA 5 | Alex Bregman, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `OAK 3, LAA ‑ | Chris Bassitt | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +2.1 | NYM 7, BOS 4 | Seth Lugo, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.1 | TOR 4, WSH 1 | Ryan Borucki, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +1.0 | SD 6, ARI 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr., SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 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 (’20). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’19-20), the period 2015-2020 (’15-20) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2020 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2019 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’20 | ’19‑20 | ’15‑20 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 | 11.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 | ‑7.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.7 | 9.7 | 65.2 | 174.3 | ‑6.3 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | kc al | 1.5 | 5.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | ‑2.0 |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | ‑1.5 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 1.0 | 11.0 | 22.2 | 22.2 | ‑9.0 |
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp mr | oak al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 11.7 | 13.7 | ‑5.7 |
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi cp | nym nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | ‑3.0 |
| Borucki, Ryan 4034 | pi mr sp | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +1.0 |
| Phelps, David 2994 | pi cp mr sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.1 | 26.5 | +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.