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.
Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Bassitt pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.
Bassitt earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 19th among all players and 11th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four walks, in the 5-1 win over the Royals.
Burnes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 13th among all players and fourth among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Fraley of the Reds hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins. Fraley went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs.
Fraley earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, fourth among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Esteury Ruiz of the Athletics homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-7, 10-inning win over the Rangers.
This was Ruiz’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Ruiz made his Major League debut July 12, 2022, and was playing in his 57th career game.
Ruiz had a +4.0 Box-Toppers game score Friday and a nearly identical line score to another AL batter earning Player of the Game honors—Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners (HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 9-2 win over the Tigers). Ruiz beat Rodriguez on a tiebreaker to earn AL Batter of the Day honors because he had one walk in his game while Rodriguez had none.
Active season streaks
Here are the 10 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 14 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 |
| 17 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 2007‑2023 | 223.5 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2023 | 265.4 |
| 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 | Craig Kimbrel | pi cp | Phillies | 2010‑2023 | 85.1 |
| 14 | Aroldis Chapman | pi cp mr | Royals | 2010‑2023 | 64.1 |
Streak—Phillies closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2023 Friday.
Kimbrel (1IP H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 6-3 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2010 with the Braves and now has 85.1 career points, first among active closers, ahead of Aroldis Chapman of the Royals (64.1). He leads active NL closers in career points ahead of Josh Hader of the Padres (43.4). Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Kimbrel ranks behind only three retired closers in career points—Trevor Hoffman (128.4), Mariano Rivera (126.4) and Billy Wagner (108.7).
Kimbrel’s best season was 2012 with the Braves when he had 15.0 Box-Toppers points, first among NL closing pitchers and tied for the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers point total for a closing pitcher since 1998. Kimbrel earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2022 with the Dodgers, one of four previous seasons in which he extended his streak by earning only 1.0 point.
Kimbrel is now one of 10 players with an active streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points of 14 or more seasons. His 14-season streak is tied for the eighth-longest active streak.
Streak—Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2023 Friday.
Freeman (HR 2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 4-2 win over the Padres) earned his first Player of the Game honor in 2011 with the Braves and has 76.9 career points, fifth among active NL batters. His best season was 2013 with the Braves when he had 11.5 Box-Toppers points, second among NL batters. In 2022, he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points with the Dodgers, fourth among NL batters.
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 Friday, May 12.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 3 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 |
| 4 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 5 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.1 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | det al | 6.0 |
| 9 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 5.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Back to top
Debut—In addition to Ruiz, two other players also made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Dominic Fletcher of the Diamondbacks (HR 2B 3-4 R 4BI in the 7-5 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut April 30 and was playing in his 11th career game.
Astros pitcher J.P. France (6.2IP 3H R BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut May 6 and was playing in his second career game.
Scoring—Bassitt earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Burnes earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Fraley and Ruiz each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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.
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.
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
| 5/12 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | TOR 3, ATL 0 | Chris Bassitt, (W 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| NL | +7.0 | MIL 5, KC 1 | Corbin Burnes, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | |
| +7.0 | `BAL 6, PIT 3 | Kyle Bradish | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | STL 8, BOS 6 | Ryan Helsley, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | CIN 7, MIA 4 | Jake Fraley, LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | OAK 9, TEX 7 (F/10) | Esteury Ruiz, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | SEA 9, DET 2 | Julio Rodríguez, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | ARI 7, SF 5 | Dominic Fletcher, CF‑RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.2 | HOU 5, CHW 1 | J.P. France, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +3.2 | `NYM 3, WSH 2 | David Robertson, (Hld 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 6, TB 5 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 4, SD 2 | Freddie Freeman, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 6, COL 3 | Craig Kimbrel, (S 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +1.0 | CHC 6, MIN 2 | Drew Smyly, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 0.0 | LAA 5, CLE 4 | Brandon Drury, 2B‑1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 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 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.
Back to top
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 4.7 | 20.1 | 48.9 | 48.9 | -10.7 |
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 | 15.0 | 43.8 | 47.8 | -7.0 |
| Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.0 | 12.7 | 24.7 | 60.2 | -4.7 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | nym nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 41.0 | +2.0 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | nyy al | 3.7 | 7.7 | 25.2 | 67.7 | -0.3 |
| Fraley, Jake 4430 | lf ph | cin nl | 3.5 | 6.7 | 10.2 | 10.2 | +0.3 |
| Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b 1b dh | ana al | 3.0 | 7.5 | 10.5 | 16.5 | -1.5 |
| Bradish, Kyle 4597 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -4.0 |
| Helsley, Ryan 4589 | pi cp | stl nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -4.0 |
| Ruiz, Esteury 4808 | cf | oak al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 1.0 | 9.5 | 35.2 | 76.9 | -7.5 |
| Rodriguez, Julio 4590 | cf | sea al | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -6.5 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | phi nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 85.1 | 0.0 |
| Fletcher, Dominic 4810 | cf rf | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| France, J.P. 4811 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | 6.7 | 23.1 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 0.0 | 15.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| CIN | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 3.0 | 24.1 | 43.2 | 43.2 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| DET | Faedo, Alex 4612 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 3.0 | 17.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 3.7 | 12.7 | 53.6 | 62.6 |
| NYM | Lucchesi, Joey 3936 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| WSH | Williams, Trevor 3792 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 20.7 | 25.7 |
| TEX | Gray, Jon 3634 | 1.7 | 7.7 | 35.4 | 47.1 |
| OAK | Sears, JP 4627 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| STL | Matz, Steven 3516 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 27.8 | 44.4 |
| BOS | Sale, Chris 2806 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 37.1 | 148.6 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CLE | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| PIT | Contreras, Roansy 4574 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| BAL | Wells, Tyler 4428 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| KC | Greinke, Zack 1871 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 47.3 | 223.5 |
| MIL | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| HOU | Bielak, Brandon 4297 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| CHW | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 3.0 | 23.4 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| SD | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | 0.0 | 17.4 | 47.5 | 53.2 |
| LAD | Urias, Julio 3652 | 3.0 | 22.4 | 48.5 | 55.2 |
| SF | DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 30.1 | 41.8 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 7.7 | 26.4 | 42.1 | 42.1 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top