Athletics pitcher Frankie Montas is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in 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 Saturday, Aug. 8.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 4.7 |
| 2 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 |
| 3 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 4.0 |
| 4 | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | ana al | 4.0 |
| 5 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | lf | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 7 | Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 8 | Kepler, Max 3664 | rf | min al | 3.5 |
| 9 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.0 |
| 10 | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Also Saturday, Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers has now earned Box-Toppers points for 18 straight seasons—tied for the fifth-longest streak since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Player of the Day—Montas struck out five over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Astros.
Montas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to third place in season player rankings, second among American League pitchers, behind overall leader Shane Bieber of the Indians (4.7 points).
National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Brewers.
DeSclafani earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, ninth place 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 |
| 18 | Miguel Cabrera | dh | Tigers | 2003‑2020 | 152.4 |
| 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 | 175.3 |
| 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 |
† Opted out 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.
National League Batter of the Day—J.D. Davis of the Mets hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Marlins.
Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season, third among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-5 win over the Pirates.
Cabrera has now earned Box-Toppers points in 18 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2020. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2003 with the Marlins. With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned Saturday, Cabrera now has 152.4 career points and rises to 23rd place among all players since 1995. He passes Barry Bonds (152.2) and trails 22nd-ranked player Greg Maddux (152.7). It should be noted that both Bonds and Maddux began their careers before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and so would likely have more career Box-Toppers points. In fact, Box-Toppers has projected that Bonds would have about 230 career points and Maddux would have about 250 if their entire careers were tracked. Passing Bonds, Cabrera now ranks fourth among batters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.
Cabrera’s best season was 2013 with the Tigers when he had 16.9 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and first among AL batters. He also led AL batters in 2009 with the Tigers with 16.5 points. In 2019, he had 3.0 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers.
Box-Toppers season streaks
Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. In 2019, Albert Pujols and CC Sabathia tied Carlos Beltran and Jason Giambi for the longest streak—19 straight seasons. Players are listed by length of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)Streak |
Player |
Pos |
Duration |
Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995‑2013 | 133.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Carlos Beltran | rf | 1999‑2017 | 108.6 |
| 1 | 19 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | 2001‑2019 | 203.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Albert Pujols* | 1b | 2001‑2019 | 201.8 |
| 5 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995‑2012 | 146.7 |
| 5 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995‑2012 | 149.0 |
| 5 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995‑2012 | 63.0 |
| 5 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | 1996‑2013 | 187.0 |
| 5 | 18 | Miguel Cabrera* | dh | 2003‑2020 | 152.4 |
| 10 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995‑2011 | 126.4 |
| 10 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996‑2012 | 76.4 |
| 10 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998‑2014 | 100.7 |
| 10 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999‑2015 | 157.0 |
| 10 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999‑2015 | 115.9 |
| 10 | 17 | David Ortiz | dh | 2000‑2016 | 145.9 |
| 16 | 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf | 1995‑2010 | 166.2 |
| 16 | 16 | Andy Pettitte | pi sp | 1995‑2010 | 138.5 |
| 16 | 16 | Jamie Moyer | pi sp | 1995‑2010 | 104.0 |
| 16 | 16 | Scott Rolen | 3b | 1996‑2011 | 97.6 |
| 16 | 16 | Kevin Millwood | pi sp | 1997‑2012 | 108.3 |
| 16 | 16 | Derek Lowe | pi sp | 1998‑2013 | 91.5 |
| 16 | 16 | Aramis Ramirez | 3b | 2000‑2015 | 105.8 |
| 16 | 16 | Mark Buehrle | pi sp | 2000‑2015 | 116.7 |
| 16 | 16 | Ichiro Suzuki | rf | 2001‑2016 | 53.7 |
| 25 | 15 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | 1995‑2009 | 282.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Garret Anderson | lf | 1995‑2009 | 86.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Ivan Rodriguez | ca | 1995‑2009 | 79.0 |
| 25 | 15 | Tony Clark | 1b | 1995‑2009 | 63.8 |
| 25 | 15 | Gary Sheffield | lf | 1995‑2009 | 124.1 |
| 25 | 15 | Jason Kendall | ca | 1996‑2010 | 40.9 |
| 25 | 15 | Vladimir Guerrero | rf | 1997‑2011 | 128.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Bobby Abreu | rf | 1997‑2011 | 95.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Mike Cameron | cf | 1997‑2011 | 70.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Miguel Tejada | ss | 1997‑2011 | 102.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Jorge Posada | ca | 1997‑2011 | 79.5 |
| 25 | 15 | Livan Hernandez | pi sp | 1997‑2011 | 76.7 |
| 25 | 15 | Kyle Lohse | pi sp | 2001‑2015 | 89.0 |
| 25 | 15 | Jake Peavy | pi sp | 2002‑2016 | 141.8 |
| 25 | 15 | Joe Mauer | 1b | 2004‑2018 | 82.6 |
| 25 | 15 | Felix Hernandez*† | pi sp | 2005‑2019 | 175.1 |
| 25 | 15 | Edwin Encarnacion* | dh | 2005‑2019 | 87.2 |
| 25 | 15 | Robinson Cano* | 2b | 2005‑2019 | 84.4 |
| 25 | 15 | Justin Verlander* | pi sp | 2006‑2020 | 206.6 |
| 25 | 15 | Jon Lester* | pi sp | 2006‑2020 | 175.3 |
| 25 | 15 | Nelson Cruz* | pi sp | 2006‑2020 | 76.2 |
* Active streak of a player active in 2020.
† While Hernandez is an active player, he has opted out of playing in 2020 due to COVID-19 and is unlikely to extend his streak.
(Chart updated Aug. 9, 2020)
Details of Box-Toppers season streaks as of May 2, 2020
Cabrera’s streak of 18 straight seasons earning Box-Toppers points is the second-longest active streak behind Albert Pujols of the Angels, who has earned points in 19 straight seasons (2001-2019) and has a chance to extend that to 20 if he earns points in 2020. Cabrera is in a tie for the fifth-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history with four other players who achieved 18 season streaks—Jim Thome, Chipper Jones, Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez.
Rankings—In addition to Montas, two other players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:
Aaron Judge of the Yankees (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 8-4, seven-inning win over the Rays) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising from eighth to fifth place overall. He rises to first place among AL batters, passing previous leader Max Kepler of the Twins (3.5).
Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly (6IP 6H R 0BB 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Padres) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to 10th place. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Streak—Phillies pitcher Jake Arrieta has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2020 Saturday.
Arrieta (6IP 3H 0R BB 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Braves) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2010 with the Orioles and now has 92.9 career points, 12th among active NL pitchers.
His best year was 2015 with the Cubs when he led all players with 29.1 Box-Toppers points. He’s had two seasons with 15.0 or more points (he had 15.7 points in 2016 with the Cubs). In 2019, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Phillies.
Notable—Royals closing pitcher Trevor Rosenthal earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Saturday.
Rosenthal (1.1IP H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 9-6 win over the Twins) was also Player of the Game Friday in the 3-2 win over the Twins (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv). Rosenthal has 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020, second among AL closers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Rockies pitcher Ryan Castellani (4IP 0H 0R BB 3K ND in the 5-0 win over the Mariners) was also making his Major League debut.
Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Kay (3.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 7, 2019, and was playing in his sixth career game.
Scoring—Montas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and DeSclafani earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Davis and Cabrera each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 8/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | OAK 3, HOU 1 | Frankie Montas, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| NL | +9.0 | CIN 4, MIL 1 | Anthony DeSclafani, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| +8.0 | PHI 5, ATL 0 | Jake Arrieta, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +8.0 | `TEX 2, LAA 0 | Kolby Allard | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +7.0 | CLE 7, CHW 1 | Zach Plesac, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | `COL 5, SEA 0 | Ryan Castellani | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | NYM 8, MIA 4 | J.D. Davis, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.1 | TOR 2, BOS 1 | Anthony Kay, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | DET 11, PIT 5 | Miguel Cabrera, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.1 | KC 9, MIN 6 | Trevor Rosenthal, (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 8, TB 4 (F/7) | Aaron Judge, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.2 | BAL 5, WSH 3 | Shawn Armstrong, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | TB 5, NYY 3 (F/7) | Kevan Smith, C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 3, SD 2 | Merrill Kelly, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +1.0 | SF 5, LAD 4 | Austin Slater, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 4.0 | 13.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 | ‑5.4 |
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 4.0 | 5.0 | 21.2 | 21.2 | +3.0 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | ‑5.0 |
| DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.7 | 9.7 | 25.4 | 25.4 | ‑4.3 |
| Davis, J.D. 4146 | lf 3b | nym nl | 2.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | kc al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 26.0 | +2.0 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | dh | det al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 24.2 | 152.4 | ‑1.5 |
| Plesac, Zach 4168 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | ‑4.7 |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 62.2 | 92.9 | ‑1.0 |
| Allard, Kolby 4232 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Armstrong, Shawn 4204 | pi mr cp | bal al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Slater, Austin 3818 | rf 1b | sf nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | ‑0.5 |
| Smith, Kevan 3872 | ca | tb al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +0.0 |
| Castellani, Ryan 4284 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Kay, Anthony 4285 | pi mr | tor al | 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.