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 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
(NOTE: Post corrected Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 1:20 p.m. to reflect correct National League Batter of the Day winner, Jack Suwinski of the Pirates. Previous version had Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks as NL Batter of the Day.)
Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons—tied for the third-longest active streak—after earning National League Player of the Day honors Tuesday.
Player of the Day—Rodriguez struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Guardians.
Rodriguez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 44th in season player rankings.
Active season streaks
Here are the 14 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. 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* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Miguel Cabrera | dh 1b | Tigers | 2003‑2022 | 159.4 |
| 18 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Padres | 2006‑2023 | 89.9 |
| 16 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 2007‑2022 | 222.5 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2023 | 261.0 |
| 16 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Diamondbacks | 2008‑2023 | 61.0 |
| 15 | Johnny Cueto | pi sp | Marlins | 2008‑2022 | 118.2 |
| 15 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Mets | 2009‑2023 | 237.3 |
| 14 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Pirates | 2009‑2022 | 78.9 |
| 14 | Aroldis Chapman | pi cp mr | Royals | 2010‑2023 | 63.1 |
| 13 | Madison Bumgarner | pi sp | Diamondbacks | 2010‑2022 | 139.1 |
| 13 | Craig Kimbrel | pi cp | Phillies | 2010‑2022 | 84.1 |
| 13 | Giancarlo Stanton | dh | Yankees | 2010‑2022 | 73.4 |
| 13 | Mike Trout | cf | Angels | 2011‑2023 | 82.2 |
| 13 | Kenley Jansen | pi cp | Red Sox | 2011‑2023 | 62.4 |
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.
Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 46th in season player rankings.
Kershaw now has 261.0 career Box-Toppers points, second-most since 1995, behind Randy Johnson (282.5). (It should be noted Johnson would have more Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked—projections put his point total at about 385.) Kershaw leads active players in career points, ahead of second-place player, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (237.3).
Kershaw has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons, tied for the third-longest currently active streak. He’s one of five players with an active streak of 16 seasons or more. He’s also one of 32 players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 with a streak of 16 or more seasons—his streak is now tied for 17th-longest since 1995.
Kershaw earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Dodgers. His 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 2022, he earned 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 21st among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jack Suwinski of the Pirates hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rockies.
Suwinski had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +4.0 and had similar line scores to two other Player of the Game winners—Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks and Marcus Semien of the Rangers. All three went 2-for-3, scored twice and drove in three runs. Suwinski ranked highest because he hit two home runs, Moreno ranked next-highest because he homered and doubled and Semien ranked lowest among the three because he homered and singled. (NOTE: A previous version of this post incorrectly ranked Moreno as the highest among the three.)
American League Batter of the Day—Marcus Semien of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs in the 12-2 win over the Royals.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Tuesday, April 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 5.0 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 3 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 |
| 4 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 |
| 5 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.7 |
| 6 | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | tb al | 3.7 |
| 7 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 3.7 |
| 8 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 9 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | cf lf | pit nl | 3.7 |
| 10 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Rankings—Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Stroman (6IP 2H 0R 2BB 5K ND in the 4-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks. Though both Gallen and Stroman have 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, Gallen ranks ahead because he has more 2022 points—18.7 vs. 5.7.
Streak—Christian Yelich of the Brewers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2023 Tuesday.
Yelich (HR 3-5 2R 2BI in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Mariners) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2014 with the Marlins and now has 55.2 career points, 10th among active NL batters.
His best season was 2019 with the Brewers when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points, second among NL batters. He led NL batters in 2018 with the Brewers when he had 11.5 points. In 2022, he had 3.5 points with the Brewers, 46th among NL batters.
Notable—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale now has 145.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Sale (6IP 3H R 2BB 11K ND in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Twins) ranks 30th among all players in career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 29th-ranked player David Ortiz (145.9). Sale ranks eighth among active players in career points, second among active AL pitchers, behind Zack Greinke of the Royals (222.5).
It is the first Box-Toppers point for Sale since Sept. 17, 2021. Sale was limited by injury, pitching only two games in 2022. Sale has earned just 3.0 total Box-Toppers points since the start of 2020, pitching in only 15 games over that span, including missing the entire 2020 season.
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Rays pitcher Taj Bradley (5.1IP 3H 0R BB 9K W in the 10-0 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 12 and was playing in his second career game.
Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks (HR 2B 2-3 2R 3BI in the 8-7 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut June 11, 2022, and was playing in his 38th career game.
Tigers pitcher Mason Englert (3IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Guardians) made his Major League debut March 30 and was playing in his sixth career game.
Scoring—Rodriguez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kershaw earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Moreno and Semien each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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
| 4/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | DET 1, CLE 0 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| NL | +13.0 | LAD 5, NYM 0 | Clayton Kershaw, (W 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| +12.0 | CHW 3, PHI 0 | Lucas Giolito, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +11.0 | ATL 8, SD 1 | Spencer Strider, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| +10.1 | TB 10, CIN 0 | Taj Bradley, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +10.0 | `BOS 5, MIN 4 (F/10) | Chris Sale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| +8.2 | BAL 1, WSH 0 | Dean Kremer, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +7.1 | TOR 4, HOU 2 | Chris Bassitt, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | `CHC 4, OAK 0 | Marcus Stroman | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | PIT 5, COL 3 | Jack Suwinski, CF‑RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | ARI 8, STL 7 | Gabriel Moreno, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | TEX 12, KC 2 | Marcus Semien, 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | `LAA 5, NYY 2 | Jimmy Herget, (Hld 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 7, CHW 4 | Josh Harrison, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `DET 4, CLE 3 | Mason Englert | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 6, SEA 5 (F/11) | Christian Yelich, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIA 4, SF 2 | Jazz Chisholm Jr., CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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 would 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 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.7 | 9.4 | 30.4 | 58.2 | -2.0 |
| Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | -11.4 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 36.8 | 56.2 | +2.0 |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.7 | 12.4 | 54.2 | 261.0 | -9.0 |
| Semien, Marcus 3302 | 2b | tex al | 1.5 | 8.5 | 27.9 | 39.9 | -5.5 |
| Suwinski, Jack 4628 | cf rf | pit nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 12.0 | 40.8 | 44.8 | -10.0 |
| Kremer, Dean 4330 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 8.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | -6.7 |
| Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 41.1 | 44.1 | -3.0 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 34.7 | 55.2 | -2.5 |
| Chisholm, Jazz Jr. 4364 | cf 2b ss | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -0.5 |
| Herget, Jimmy 4610 | pi mr cp | ana al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Harrison, Josh 2947 | 3b 2b | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 17.0 | +1.0 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 34.1 | 145.6 | +1.0 |
| Bradley, Taj 4780 | pi sp | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Englert, Mason 4782 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Moreno, Gabriel 4781 | ca | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 4.0 | 15.1 | 17.1 | 17.1 |
| CIN | Stoudt, Levi* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| DET | Turnbull, Spencer 4086 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 18.1 | 57.9 |
| MIA | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| ARI | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 31.4 | 139.1 |
| STL | Woodford, Jake 4293 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 23.1 | 49.5 |
| CHW | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 40.5 | 54.9 |
| TEX | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 9.1 | 12.8 | 29.8 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| NYM | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 80.6 | 237.3 |
| LAD | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 22.4 | 52.5 |
| PIT | Oviedo, Johan 4442 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| OAK | Miller, Mason* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| SEA | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 32.5 | 36.5 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 58.7 | 94.1 |
| SD | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 11.7 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| NYY | Brito, Jhony 4761 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BAL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 2.0 | 16.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| BOS | Kluber, Corey 3200 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 37.7 | 125.1 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 1.7 | 10.7 | 51.6 | 60.6 |
| HOU | Garcia, Luis 4423 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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