Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2020. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Sunday, Aug. 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 2 | Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 3 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | lf | nyy al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.7 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 |
| 7 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp mr | oak al | 2.7 |
| 8 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Meanwhile, three other players rose into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday—Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to third place, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to sixth and Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt rises to seventh.
Player of the Day—Bauer struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 4-0, seven-inning win over the Tigers.
It was a COVID-era complete game and shutout. Makeshift rules devised on the fly last week deemed that all doubleheaders beginning Aug. 1 be only seven innings to help teams make up missed games during the health crisis. This was one of the first of those.
Bauer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Mariners.
Bassitt earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 9-7 win over the Red Sox. Judge went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
Judge earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 points for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, second place among AL players and first place among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
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 | 228.5 |
| 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 | 198.2 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 175.3 |
| 12 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | atl nl | 175.1 |
| 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.
Streak—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2020 Sunday.
Kershaw (5.2IP 3H 0R 0BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Diamondbacks) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Dodgers and now has 228.5 career points, third among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw ranks first in career points among active players.
Kershaw’s best season was 2014 with the Dodgers when he had 31.5 Box-Toppers points, first among all players. He has led all players in Box-Toppers points in a season three times (2011, 2013 and 2014) and finished among the top three in points in each season from 2011 to 2017. He earned 20 or more points for those seven straight seasons, the longest such streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
In 2019, he earned 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 14th among NL pitchers.
Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. He also rises to 11th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.
Lester (6IP 4H R BB 4K ND in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.
He also now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 11th place among all players since 1995, passing Braves pitcher Felix Hernandez (175.1), who is sitting out the 2020 season due to coronavirus. Lester now trails 10th-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Lester also rises to sixth place in career points among active players.
Notable—Braves pitcher Tyler Matzek earned Player of the Game honors Sunday for the first time in nearly six years.
Matzek (2IP 2H 0R 0BB 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Mets) last earned Player of the Game honors Sept. 5, 2014, when he was with the Rockies. He earned 4.7 Box-Toppers points that season and now has 5.7 career points.
Scoring—Bauer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bassitt earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Judge 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)| 8/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | CIN 4, DET 0 (F/7) | Trevor Bauer, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| +8.2 | LAD 3, ARI 0 | Clayton Kershaw, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| AL | +7.2 | OAK 3, SEA 2 | Chris Bassitt, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| +7.1 | `HOU 6, LAA 5 (F/11) | Framber Valdez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | NYY 9, BOS 7 | Aaron Judge, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | COL 9, SD 6 | Antonio Senzatela, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | TEX 9, SF 5 | Jonathan Hernández, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | `BAL 5, TB 1 | Tommy Milone | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | ATL 4, NYM 0 | Tyler Matzek, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | `CIN 4, DET 3 (F/7) | Anthony DeSclafani | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | `MIN 3, CLE 1 | Trevor May, (Hld 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 9, KC 2 | Yasmani Grandal, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `CHC 2, PIT 1 (F/11) | Jon Lester | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 20.2 | 20.2 | +2.0 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 | 10.7 | 66.2 | 175.3 | ‑5.3 |
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp mr | oak al | 2.7 | 9.4 | 13.4 | 15.4 | ‑4.0 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 16.1 | 60.7 | 69.4 | ‑12.1 |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 13.7 | 94.9 | 228.5 | ‑11.7 |
| DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 8.0 | 23.7 | 23.7 | ‑6.0 |
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi mr sp | hou al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | ‑2.7 |
| Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca 1b | chi al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 18.2 | 26.2 | ‑1.0 |
| Milone, Tommy 2954 | pi sp mr | bal al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 12.4 | 29.8 | ‑1.0 |
| Senzatela, Antonio 3760 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +0.0 |
| May, Trevor 3417 | pi mr cp | min al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | +0.0 |
| Hernandez, Jonathan 4242 | pi mr | tex al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +0.0 |
| Matzek, Tyler 3351 | pi mr sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.7 | +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.