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.
Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Randy Arozarena of the Rays rises to first place among American League batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Kelly struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.
Kelly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 81st among all players, 28th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Bailey Ober struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Guardians.
Ober earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 35th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Ryan Noda of the Athletics hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-8 win over the Royals.
Noda earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to seventh among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Wilmer Flores of the Giants homered and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-4 win over the Brewers.
Rankings—Randy Arozarena of the Rays rises to first place among AL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Arozarena (HR 1-2 R BI in the 5-4 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season, passing previous leaders Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox teammates who were tied for the lead with 3.5 points. Though Arozarena has the same point total as both of them, he ranks higher because he has more 2022 Box-Toppers points (6.0). Neither Duran nor Yoshida earned points in previous seasons.
Arozarena ranks 25th among all players.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Justin Steele has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s Player of the Game winners.
Steele (7IP 6H R 0BB 4K W in the 4-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season, 14th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.
More than 100 career points—Two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish (6.2IP 4H 2R ER BB 6K W in the 5-2 win over the Dodgers) earned 1.0 point, giving him 125.0 career points, rising to 47th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 46th-ranked player, Red Sox pitcher Corey Kluber (125.1). Darvish ranks 13th among active players in career points, seventh among active NL pitchers. He has 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2023.
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (6IP 7H 3H BB 10K W in the 5-3 win over the Phillies) now has 148.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.0 point Friday, he passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player Chipper Jones (149.0). Sale ranks eighth among active players in career points, second among active AL pitchers, behind Zack Greinke of the Royals (223.5). Sale now has 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 16th among all players and ninth among AL pitchers.
Also notable—Chad Wallach of the Angels earned his first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor in more than five years Friday.
Wallach (2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Rangers) last earned Player of the Game honors April 1, 2018, when he was with the Marlins. It was his only previous Player of the Game honor. He now has 2.0 career Box-Toppers points.
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 5.| 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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Scoring—Kelly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ober earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Noda and Flores 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.
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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
| 5/5 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | ARI 3, WSH 1 | Merrill Kelly, (W 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | +9.0 | MIN 2, CLE 0 | Bailey Ober, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | OAK 12, KC 8 | Ryan Noda, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.2 | SD 5, LAD 2 | Yu Darvish, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | BAL 9, ATL 4 | Anthony Santander, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | CHW 5, CIN 4 | Elvis Andrus, 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | TOR 4, PIT 0 | Chris Bassitt, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | NYM 1, COL 0 | Kodai Senga, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | `HOU 6, SEA 4 | Cristian Javier | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | LAA 5, TEX 4 (F/10) | Chad Wallach, C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 4, MIA 1 | Justin Steele, (W 5‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | DET 5, STL 4 | Alex Lange, (S 6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | SF 6, MIL 4 | Wilmer Flores, PH‑DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | BOS 5, PHI 3 | Chris Sale, (W 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | ||
| +1.0 | TB 5, NYY 4 | Randy Arozarena, LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steele, Justin 4415 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.0 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 37.1 | 148.6 | +4.0 |
| Arozarena, Randy 4331 | lf | tb al | 3.5 | 9.5 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -2.5 |
| Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 3.0 | 18.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 | -12.7 |
| Noda, Ryan 4791 | 1b ph | oak al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Senga, Kodai 4762 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 13.0 | 41.8 | 45.8 | -9.0 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 2.0 | 13.0 | 28.0 | 28.0 | -9.0 |
| Ober, Bailey 4441 | pi sp | min al | 1.7 | 4.7 | 11.4 | 11.4 | -1.3 |
| Flores, Wilmer 3345 | dh 3b 1b ph | sf nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 25.5 | -1.0 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 17.8 | 56.4 | 125.0 | -15.8 |
| Santander, Anthony 3935 | rf | bal al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -4.0 |
| Lange, Alex 4575 | pi cp mr | det al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | chi al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 7.5 | 38.2 | -2.0 |
| Wallach, Chad 3928 | ca | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Turnbull, Spencer 4086 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| STL | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 34.8 | 152.3 |
| MIA | Hoeing, Bryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 23.7 | 59.2 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| NYM | Megill, Tylor 4464 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 26.4 | 26.4 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 5.0 | 16.1 | 18.1 | 18.1 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 5.7 | 17.8 | 52.0 | 93.2 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 3.7 | 12.7 | 53.6 | 62.6 |
| PIT | Oviedo, Johan 4442 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| CHW | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 40.5 | 54.9 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| OAK | Waldichuk, Ken 4757 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 4.0 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| BOS | Kluber, Corey 3200 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 37.7 | 125.1 |
| PHI | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIL | Rea, Colin 3582 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.7 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 20.1 | 59.9 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| ARI | Henry, Tommy* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | May, Dustin 4214 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| SD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 0.0 | 13.1 | 65.4 | 74.4 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 35.8 | 61.6 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| HOU | France, J.P.* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 32.5 | 36.5 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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