Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second 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 Wednesday, Sept. 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 2 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 9.1 |
| 4 | Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 9.0 |
| 5 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 6 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 8.4 |
| 8 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 |
| 10 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 |
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Also Tuesday, Indians pitcher Shane Bieber increased his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors and seems to have an insurmountable lead to be Box-Toppers’ 2020 Player of the Year.
In addition, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earn Player of the Game honors Tuesday—Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda rises to seventh place and Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow rises to eighth place.
Player of the Day—Bauer struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Brewers.
Bauer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising from sixth to first place in season player rankings. Because he was Player of the Day and had his points awarded first among all Player of the Game winners, he was the first player in 2020 to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points. Bauer also rises to first place among National League pitchers, passing previous leader Dinelson Lamet of the Padres (9.0 Box-Toppers points).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Shane Bieber struck out 10 over five innings, allowing one run (none earned), two hits and three walks, in the 3-2 win over the White Sox. Bieber did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Bieber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, extending his lead in season player rankings and opening up a lead that appears insurmountable. With four days left in the season and with starting pitchers likely to make at most one more start, they would only be able to earn 2.0 more points this season. Bieber has a lead of at least 2.3 points on any pitchers in contention to pass him. He leads Trevor Bauer by just 1.4 points but Bauer likely made his final start of 2020 Wednesday. It is possible but highly unlikely that a batter or relief pitcher with 3.4 or more points could earn Player of the Day honors in each of the final four days of the season, earning 2.0 points per day to reach 11.4 points. So we can’t say Bieber has definitively clinched Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors, but he pretty much has.
Bieber also extends his lead among AL pitchers ahead of second-place Lance Lynn of the Rangers (9.1).
Bieber Wednesday became among the first two players to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020. In 2019, 50 players had 10.0 or more points. Many fewer players were expected to reach 10.0 points in this season shortened from 162 to 60 games because of the pandemic. Last year, in the first 60 games, just two players had 10.0 or more points. In the final 60 games of 2019, five players had 10.0 or more points.
American League Batter of the Day—Danny Jansen of the Blue Jays hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-1 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Phillies hit two home runs and went 2-for-2, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 12-3 win over the Nationals.
Rankings—Two other players rose into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday, Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda and Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow.
Maeda (6IP 4H 3R 0BB 9K W in the 7-6 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season, rising to seventh place overall and third among AL pitchers.
Glasnow (6IP 3H 2R BB 8K W in the 8-5 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to eight place overall and fourth among AL pitchers.
Debut—Wyatt Mathisen of the Diamondbacks made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Mathisen (2HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 7-3 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 7 and was playing in his seventh career game.
Scoring—Bauer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bieber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Jansen and Harper each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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)| 9/23 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | CIN 6, MIL 1 | Trevor Bauer, (W 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| AL | +9.0 | `CLE 3, CHW 2 | Shane Bieber | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | TOR 14, NYY 1 | Danny Jansen, C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | KC 12, STL 3 | Franchy Cordero, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | PHI 12, WSH 3 | Bryce Harper, DH | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | TB 8, NYM 5 | Tyler Glasnow, (W 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | BOS 9, BAL 1 | Nathan Eovaldi, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | LAA 5, SD 2 | Patrick Sandoval, (W 1‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | MIN 7, DET 6 | Kenta Maeda, (W 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 3, HOU 2 | Nick Margevicius, (W 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 7, TEX 3 | Wyatt Mathisen, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 9, MIA 4 | Dansby Swanson, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 2, CHC 1 | Richard Rodríguez, (S 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | OAK 6, LAD 4 | Ramon Laureano, CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SF 7, COL 2 | Brandon Belt, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 29.5 | 35.9 | 35.9 | ‑6.7 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 | 24.1 | 68.7 | 77.4 | ‑4.1 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 8.4 | 17.1 | 47.8 | 47.8 | ‑0.3 |
| Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 8.0 | 17.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 | ‑1.7 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | bos al | 4.0 | 5.0 | 22.4 | 39.5 | +3.0 |
| Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 3.7 | 7.7 | 22.7 | 34.7 | ‑0.3 |
| Jansen, Danny 4163 | ca | tor al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| Laureano, Ramon 4054 | cf | oak al | 2.0 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | ‑1.7 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 2.0 | 5.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | ‑1.5 |
| Rodriguez, Richard 4023 | pi cp mr | pit nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +0.0 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | dh rf | phi nl | 1.5 | 9.5 | 36.0 | 51.4 | ‑6.5 |
| Margevicius, Nick 4102 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Cordero, Franchy 3821 | cf | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Mathisen, Wyatt 4358 | 3b | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Sandoval, Patrick 4357 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations