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.
Adolis Garcia of the Rangers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording what is possibly the fifth-highest Box-Toppers game score by a batter since tracking began in 1995.
Also Saturday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole regains first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises to fifth place in player rankings.
Player of the Day—Garcia hit three two-run home runs and two doubles, in the 18-3 win over the Athletics. Garcia went 5-for-5, scoring five times and driving in eight runs.
Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 40th in season player rankings, 10th among American League batters.
Garcia recorded a +13.0 Box-Toppers game score Saturday, which is possibly the fifth-highest for a batter earning Player of the Game honors in the 29 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking.
While Box-Toppers has records for each Player of the Game since the start of 1995, the data from actual game score records from box scores only goes back to the start of 2011. However, looking back at some of the most likely games to produce high Box-Toppers game scores for batters from 1995 to 2010 (games in which players had large home run, RBI or hit totals), it appears Garcia’s is the fifth-best since 1995.
With that caveat, here are what are possibly the highest Box-Toppers game scores by batters earning Player of the Game honors since tracking began:
+15.0 by Anthony Rendon of the Nationals, April 30, 2017, (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets).
+14.0 by Scooter Gennett of the Reds, June 6, 2017, (4HR 5-5 4R 10BI in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals).
+13.0 by Shawn Green of the Dodgers, May 23, 2002 (prior to start of Box-Toppers website), (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 7BI in the 16-3 win over the Brewers).
+13.0 by Mark Reynolds of the Nationals, July 7, 2018, (2HR 2B 5-5 3R 10BI in the 18-4 win over the Marlins).
+13.0 by Garcia Saturday.
+13.0 by Adam Duvall of the Braves, Sept. 9, 2020, (3HR 3-4 5R 9BI in the 29-9 win over the Marlins).
While four players had game scores of +13.0, Green ranks highest because he had the most at bats among the four (six). Reynolds and Garcia had the same at-bat total (five), but Reynolds ranks ahead of Garcia because he had more RBIs (10 vs. eight). Duvall ranks fourth among the four batters with +13.0 game scores because he had the fewest at bats (four).
Garcia’s +13.0 game score is the highest for a batter earning Player of the Game honors in 2023, beating the previous high +10.0 by Ryan Mountcastle of the Orioles on April 11 (2HR 3-4 2R 9BI in the 12-8 win over the Athletics). While it is highest for a batter earning Player of the Game honors, it is 10th among all Player of the Game winners for 2023. Pitchers have recorded the nine highest game scores for Player of the Game winners in 2023, led by the +17.0 game score by Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs on April 2. Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen has two of the nine best game scores in 2023—+16.0, the fourth-best on April 21 and +14.0, the sixth-best on April 10.
Garcia’s +13.0 game score is the highest for a batter earning Player of the Game honors since Duvall’s in 2020.
National League Player of the Day—James Outman of the Dodgers hit two home runs and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Cubs.
Outman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, 14th among all players and third among NL batters, behind Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates (3.7) and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (3.5).
AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batter of the Day winners for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Adolis García and the overall NL Player of the Day is batter James Outman.
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 Saturday, April 22.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 2 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.7 |
| 5 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 |
| 7 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 3.7 |
| 8 | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | tb al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 3.7 |
| 10 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.7 |
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New Box-Toppers player rankings leader—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises from fifth to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Cole (5.2IP 4H 0R 2BB 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Guardians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, passing previous leader, Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen. Though three players have 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, Cole ranks first among them because he has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points—Cole has 15.4, Rasmussen has 11.1 and third-place Jacob deGrom of the Rangers has 9.4.
Cole regains the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead he held for one day, April 16, before losing it to deGrom on April 17.
Cole now has 143.3 career Box-Toppers points, 31st among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (145.6). Cole ranks ninth among active players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Zack Greinke of the Royals (222.5) and Sale (145.6).
Rankings—Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
McClanahan (6IP 3H 2R BB 10K ND in the 4-3 10-inning win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers. He’s one of three Rays pitchers currently in the top 10 list—Drew Rasmussen ranks second (5.0 points) and Jeffrey Springs ranks eighth (3.7 points).
Streak—Orioles pitcher Kyle Gibson has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2023 Saturday.
Gibson (6.1IP 2H R 3BB 11K W in the 5-1 win over the Tigers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2014 with the Twins and now has 54.5 career Box-Toppers points, 24th among active AL pitchers. His best season was 2022 with the Phillies, when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 32nd among NL pitchers.
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Mariners pitcher Matt Brash (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut April 12, 2022, and was playing in his 51st career game.
Marlins pitcher Huascar Brazoban (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 6-1 win over the Guardians) made his Major League debut July 24, 2022, and was playing in his 36th career game.
Nationals pitcher Mason Thompson (2.1IP 2H R 0ER 0BB 4K W in the 10-4 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut July 22, 2021, and was playing in his 64th career game.
Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Outman earns 1.7 points for being NL Player 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
| 4/22 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | TEX 18, OAK 3 | Adolis García, RF | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +10.1 | BAL 5, DET 1 | Kyle Gibson, (W 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | ||
| +8.0 | `TB 4, CHW 3 (F/10) | Shane McClanahan | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| NL | +5.0 | LAD 9, CHC 4 | James Outman, CF‑LF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | SF 7, NYM 4 | Logan Webb, (W 1‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 5, STL 4 | Matt Brash, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.2 | `NYY 3, TOR 2 | Gerrit Cole | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +3.2 | `MIA 6, CLE 1 | Huascar Brazoban, (Hld 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.1 | WSH 10, MIN 4 | Mason Thompson, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 4, COL 3 | Nick Castellanos, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | KC 11, LAA 8 | Matt Duffy, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 2, CIN 1 | Duane Underwood Jr., (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +3.0 | HOU 6, ATL 3 | Bryan Abreu, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | MIA 3, CLE 2 | Garrett Hampson, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | MIL 5, BOS 4 | Christian Yelich, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | SD 5, ARI 3 | Josh Hader, (S 7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 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.
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.0 | 20.4 | 100.4 | 143.3 | -10.4 |
| McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 20.4 | 25.1 | 25.1 | -12.4 |
| Outman, James 4699 | rf cf lf | lad nl | 3.2 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +1.7 |
| Garcia, Adolis 4387 | rf | tex al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -3.0 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | mil nl | 2.0 | 5.5 | 35.7 | 56.2 | -1.5 |
| Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 28.9 | 28.9 | -8.7 |
| Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 10.0 | 35.5 | 54.5 | -8.0 |
| Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | sd nl | 1.0 | 7.0 | 40.4 | 43.4 | -5.0 |
| Duffy, Matt 3504 | 2b 3b | kc al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 14.2 | -1.0 |
| Abreu, Bryan 4663 | pi cp mr | hou al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Underwood, Duane Jr. 4614 | pi cp mr | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Castellanos, Nick 3349 | rf | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 25.0 | 43.2 | +1.0 |
| Hampson, Garrett 4252 | ss cf | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +1.0 |
| Brash, Matt 4786 | pi mr | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Brazoban, Huascar 4787 | pi mr | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Thompson, Mason 4788 | pi mr | dc 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 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | Urena, Jose 3492 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 23.4 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 0.0 | 14.4 | 56.2 | 68.9 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 36.8 | 56.2 |
| BAL | Rodriguez, Grayson* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 1.0 | 16.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 1.0 | 17.0 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 4.0 | 16.7 | 38.1 | 73.4 |
| NYY | Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| PIT | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 20.8 | 29.8 |
| CHW | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 41.1 | 44.1 |
| TB | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 26.5 | 31.5 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 19.8 | 19.8 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 2.0 | 17.4 | 46.2 | 46.2 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 43.1 | 85.3 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 1.7 | 12.4 | 54.2 | 261.0 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 3.7 | 9.4 | 30.4 | 58.2 |
| OAK | Muller, Kyle 4454 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 5.0 | 14.4 | 75.7 | 136.5 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 0.0 | 16.8 | 55.4 | 124.0 |
| ARI | Jameson, Drey 4742 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 42.3 | 42.3 |
| SEA | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| NYM | Megill, Tylor 4464 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| SF | Stripling, Ross 3629 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 32.4 | 38.1 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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