Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second in season player rankings.
Verlander also regains fifth place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list, passing Royals pitcher Zack Greinke, who only passed Verlander July 10.
Verlander struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Athletics.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 10 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 254.6 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 4 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | nym nl | 231.3 |
| 5 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | hou al | 221.6 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | kc al | 219.8 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | stl nl | 205.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | retired | 187.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season, rising from fourth to second place in season player rankings, trailing only Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17.0). (Ohtani has earned 4.0 of his points as a designated hitter and 13.0 as a pitcher.) Verlander also ranks second among American League pitchers behind Ohtani.
Verlander also now has 221.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to fifth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 2.0 points Saturday, he passes Royals pitcher Zack Greinke (219.8), who only passed Verlander July 10. Verlander now trails fourth-ranked player, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (231.3), who also earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Verlander ranks third among active players in career points. Passing Greinke, he regains the lead among active AL pitchers in career points.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 7-1 win over the Angels.
Urias earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, 12th among all players and sixth among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Carpenter of the Yankees hit a pair of three-run home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 10-0 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Notable—Mets pitcher Max Scherzer now has 231.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Scherzer (6.1IP 8H 2R BB 11K ND in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Cubs) ranks fourth among all players in career Box-Toppers points since player tracking began in 1995. He trails third-ranked Pedro Martinez (244.8). Scherzer ranks second among active players in career points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (254.6). He also ranks second to Kershaw among active NL pitchers in career points.
Scherzer also now has 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 29th among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Jose Ramirez of the Guardians now has 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022—second among AL batters—after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Ramirez (2HR 2-4 2R 5BI in the 10-0 win over the Tigers) trails Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (17.0) among AL batters. (However, Ohtani has only earned 4.0 of his point as a batter; the remainder have been earned as a starting pitcher.) Ramirez now ranks 13th overall in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2022. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Saturday, July 16.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 17.0 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 15.0 |
| 3 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 14.4 |
| 4 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 13.0 |
| 5 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 12.7 |
| 6 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 12.4 |
| 7 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.7 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 10.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Debut—Mariners pitcher Matthew Festa makes his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Festa (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut July 14, 2018, and was playing in his 52nd career game.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urias earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Carpenter earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Player of the Game winners (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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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| 7/16 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | HOU 5, OAK 0 | Justin Verlander, (W 12‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| BAT | +8.0 | NYY 14, BOS 1 | Matt Carpenter, RF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| NL | +8.0 | LAD 7, LAA 1 | Julio Urías, (W 8‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| +7.1 | `SF 2, MIL 1 | Alex Cobb | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | CLE 10, DET 0 | Jose Ramírez, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | STL 11, CIN 3 | Miles Mikolas, (W 7‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | PHI 10, MIA 0 | Ranger Suárez, (W 7‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | NYM 2, CHC 1 (F/11) | Adam Ottavino, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.1 | `NYM 4, CHC 3 (F/10) | Max Scherzer | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 3, TEX 2 (F/10) | Matthew Festa, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 6, TB 4 (F/11) | Adley Rutschman, PH‑C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | COL 2, PIT 0 | Jose Ureña, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 4, ARI 3 | Taylor Rogers, (S 26) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | MIN 6, CHW 3 | Jorge Polanco, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 6, KC 5 (F/10) | Ramiel Tapia, PH‑DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | ATL 6, WSH 3 | Kenley Jansen, (S 22) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 15.0 | 15.0 | 82.3 | 221.6 | +15.0 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.7 | 28.8 | 36.8 | 42.5 | -9.4 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 9.7 | 22.7 | 43.7 | 48.7 | -3.3 |
| Mikolas, Miles 3034 | pi sp | stl nl | 6.7 | 6.7 | 21.4 | 24.1 | +6.7 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 | 30.1 | 99.6 | 231.3 | -20.1 |
| Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 3b 1b rf | nyy al | 4.5 | 6.0 | 15.5 | 45.0 | +3.0 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 | 11.4 | 23.8 | 55.2 | -3.4 |
| Rutschman, Adley 4659 | dh ca ph | bal al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp mr | phi nl | 2.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -7.0 |
| Polanco, Jorge 3739 | 2b | min al | 2.0 | 8.7 | 16.2 | 17.7 | -4.7 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | atl nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 23.0 | 59.4 | -4.0 |
| Ottavino, Adam 3054 | pi mr | nym nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 18.0 | -3.0 |
| Rogers, Taylor 3648 | pi cp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | -1.0 |
| Tapia, Raimel 3824 | dh lf ph | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +1.0 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 19.7 | 23.4 | +1.0 |
| Festa, Matthew 4692 | pi cp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21-22 | ’17-22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | Bubic, Kris 4413 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 6.0 | 15.4 | 55.9 | 55.9 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| WSH | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 58.2 | 144.6 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 10.4 | 32.8 | 97.4 | 133.3 |
| BAL | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 20.7 | 28.4 |
| TB | Kluber, Corey 3200 | 10.0 | 15.0 | 58.7 | 124.1 |
| DET | Alexander, Tyler 4196 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 6.7 | 13.4 | 49.3 | 49.3 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 7.0 | 17.7 | 72.0 | 80.7 |
| MIA | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| CHW | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 13.0 | 27.4 | 29.4 | 29.4 |
| MIN | Archer, Chris 3194 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 14.7 | 63.8 |
| OAK | Oller, Adam* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 39.2 | 65.3 |
| CIN | Ashcraft, Graham 4645 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| STL | Matz, Steven 3516 | 4.4 | 11.1 | 27.8 | 43.4 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CHC | Sampson, Adrian 4147 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SEA | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| TEX | Otto, Glenn 4584 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PIT | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| MIL | Alexander, Jason* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 5.7 | 21.2 | 23.9 | 23.9 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| SD | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 47.9 | 50.9 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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.