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.
Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors—Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises to fifth place and Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises to sixth place.
Plus, Royals pitcher Zack Greinke has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons—the third-longest active streak—after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Player of the Day—Freeland struck out five over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 7-1 win over the Brewers.
Freeland earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, ninth among all players and second among National League pitchers, behind Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks (6.7).
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, five hits and two walks, in the 8-1 win over the Pirates.
McClanahan earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, sixth among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Braves hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 14-6 win over the Marlins. Ozuna went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Eric Haase of the Tigers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 6-5 win over the Mets.
Rankings—Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises from seventh to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Ohtani (5IP 5H 4R BB 13K ND in the 6-4 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season, fourth among AL pitchers. While he has the same 5.7-point total as two other AL pitchers, he ranks highest among them because he has the most 2022 Box-Toppers points—24.7, vs. 16.4 for Shane McClanahan of the Rays and 12.1 for Sonny Gray of the Twins.
Ohtani has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times this season, four as starting pitcher and once as designated hitter. Ohtani only ranks among pitchers (and not among batters) in Box-Toppers rankings because he’s earned such an overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors at that position. To rank in a certain category, a player must have more than 25 percent of his Player of the Game honors at that position. Ohtani now has 20 percent of his Player of the Game honors as a batter.
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 |
| 17 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 2007‑2023 | 223.5 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2023 | 263.7 |
| 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 | 64.1 |
| 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 |
| 13 | Brandon Belt | 1b | Blue Jays | 2011‑2023 | 44.7 |
Streak—Royals pitcher Zack Grienke has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons—the third-longest active streak—after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season.
Greinke (5IP 3H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 6-0 win over the Orioles) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Royals. However, he earned no points in 2006, so his 17-season streak began in 2007 with the Royals.
He has 223.5 career Box-Toppers points, sixth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fifth-ranked player, Mets pitcher Justin Verlander (232.6) on the “all-time” list and ranks fourth among active players in career points. Greinke leads active AL players in career points, ahead of Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (159.4).
Greinke’s best season was 2009 with the Royals when he had 21.5 Box-Toppers points, first among all players. He’s had three seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points, including 2009, 2015 with the Dodgers (20.7) and 2017 with the Diamondbacks (20.1). Greinke had 4.7 points with the Royals in 2022, 68th among AL pitchers.
Only 10 players have longer streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points since the advent of Box-Toppers player tracking in 1995. Albert Pujols has the longest streak of 22 consecutive seasons (2001-22). Two players have longer active streaks—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (20 seasons—2003-22) and Nelson Cruz of the Padres (18—2006-23). Greinke’s 17 seasons is now tied for 11th place among player streaks with six other players—Mariano Rivera (1995-2011), Derek Jeter (1996-2012), Paul Konerko (1998-2014), Tim Hudson (1999-2015), Torii Hunter (1999-2015) and David Ortiz (2000-16).
Greinke is one of 14 players with a currently active streak of earning Box-Toppers points in 13 or more consecutive seasons.
Notable—Jarren Duran of the Red Sox rises to first place among AL batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Duran (2B 1-2 2R BI in the 8-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season, passing previous AL batting leader Ryan Mountcastle of the Orioles (3.2), who only took the lead Tuesday. Duran ranks 23rd among all players.
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 Wednesday, May 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 2 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 5.7 |
| 6 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 5.7 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
| 8 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 9 | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 4.7 |
| 10 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 4.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Debut—Brett Sullivan of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Sullivan (HR 2B 2-4 R 4BI in the 7-1 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 18 and was playing in his seventh career game.
Scoring—Freeland earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McClanahan earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ozuna and Haase each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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
| 5/3 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +7.0 | COL 7, MIL 1 | Kyle Freeland, (W 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | ATL 14, MIA 6 | Marcell Ozuna, DH | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | ARI 12, TEX 7 | Christian Walker, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| AL | +6.0 | TB 8, PIT 1 | Shane McClanahan, (W 6‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| +5.0 | KC 6, BAL 0 | Zack Greinke, (W 1‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | DET 6, NYM 5 | Eric Haase, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | `LAA 6, STL 4 | Shohei Ohtani | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 7, CIN 1 | Brett Sullivan, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `SEA 7, OAK 2 (F/10) | Logan Gilbert | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 6, MIN 4 | Kenyan Middleton, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.2 | `WSH 2, CHC 1 | Andres Machado | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | DET 8, NYM 1 | Andy Ibáñez, DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 4, CLE 3 (F/10) | Willie Calhoun, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 8, TOR 3 | Jarren Duran, CF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | LAD 10, PHI 6 | Austin Barnes, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.2 | SF 4, HOU 2 | Logan Webb, (W 2‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 5.7 | 30.4 | 61.0 | 61.0 | -19.0 |
| McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 5.7 | 22.1 | 26.8 | 26.8 | -10.7 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 4.7 | 10.7 | 32.1 | 38.1 | -1.3 |
| Duran, Jarren 4783 | cf | bos al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Gilbert, Logan 4439 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 | 16.1 | 23.1 | 23.1 | -12.1 |
| Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 11.7 | 29.9 | 29.9 | -7.7 |
| Haase, Eric 4461 | dh ca | det al | 1.5 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -3.5 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | dh lf | atl nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 23.0 | 50.7 | -1.0 |
| Walker, Christian 3958 | 1b | ari nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -4.5 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 5.7 | 47.3 | 223.5 | -3.7 |
| Calhoun, Willie 4208 | dh lf | nyy al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| Machado, Andres 4695 | pi mr | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Ibanez, Andy 4496 | dh 2b 1b | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Middleton, Kenyan 3918 | pi cp mr | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | +1.0 |
| Barnes, Austin 3856 | ca | lad nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Sullivan, Brett 4800 | ca | sd 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 Thursday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 32.1 | 46.1 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 43.1 | 85.3 |
| NYM | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 0.0 | 26.0 | 78.6 | 232.6 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 36.8 | 56.2 |
| PIT | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 23.5 | 32.5 |
| TB | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 27.5 | 32.5 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 42.3 | 42.3 |
| BAL | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| MIN | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 35.8 | 35.8 |
| CHW | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 41.1 | 44.1 |
| MIL | Miley, Wade 3006 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 64.5 |
| COL | Seablod, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 1.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| OAK | Rucinski, Drew 4001 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ATL | Dodd, Dylan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 20.8 | 20.8 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 7.0 | 19.7 | 41.1 | 76.4 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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