Box-Toppers Toppers Box
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Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
Meanwhile, Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen, who ranked fourth among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2023, was Sunday’s NL Player of the Day.
Player of the Day
Bieber struck out eight over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Reds.
Bieber would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Bieber earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 66th among American League pitchers, his lowest single-season total since he began earning points in 2018. His 53.9 Box-Toppers points earned from 2019-23 is seventh among AL pitchers over that span.
This is the second time during 2024 spring training that Bieber has won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did March 12 (4IP 2H 0R BB 4K ND in the 3-0 win over the Rangers).
National League Player of the Day
Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen struck out four over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Angels.
Gallen would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.
Gallen earned 16.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, eighth among all players and fourth among NL pitchers. He had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Sunday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
American League Batter of the Day
John Rhodes of the Orioles hit a pair of two-run home runs and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Braves.
Rhodes would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Rhodes has played in 11 regular season Major League since 2022 but has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in any of them and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day
Brody Moore of the Cardinals hit a grand slam and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-6 win over the Astros.
Moore would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Moore, 23, has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Sunday’s games
In Sunday’s 17 completed spring training games featuring matchups between two Major League teams, there were seven Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games.
In six of Sunday’s games, the Player of the Game winner was a player who has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in the regular season and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Four games ended in a tie (Orioles vs. Tigers, Red Sox vs. Braves, Blue Jays vs. Phillies and White Sox vs. Athletics) and so no Player of the Game honor was awarded in any of them.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Bieber would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gallen would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Rhodes and Moore would have each earned 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart) would have earned 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).| 3/17 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +7.2 | CLE 4, CIN 2 | Shane Bieber (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| NL | +6.1 | ARI 2, LAA 0 | Zac Gallen (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | BAL 8, ATL 2 | John Rhodes RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | `MIL 6, KC 4 | Elvis Peguero (H, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | `WSH 9, NYM 8 | Jacob Barnes (H, 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | TOR 9, MIN 4 | Kevin Kiermaier CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | STL 10, HOU 6 | Brody Moore SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | NYM 7, MIA 6 | Mark Vientos 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BOS 12, NYY 6 | Wilyer Abreu RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 8, TEX 6 | Christian Franklin RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 8, TB 4 | Shawn Ross 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.2 | COL 5, SF 3 | Cal Quantrill (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 5, SEA 4 | Dakota Chalmers (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | BAL 4, DET 4 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | BOS 3, ATL 3 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | TOR 5, PHI 5 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | CHW 3, OAK 3 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2024. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for the period 2019-2023 (’19-23) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 0.0 | 16.7 | 51.1 | 51.1 |
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 53.9 | 60.3 |
| Quantrill, Cal 4195 | pi sp | col nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| Abreu, Wilyer 4911 | cf | bos al | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Peguero, Elvis 4864 | pi cp | mil nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Kiermaier, Kevin 3373 | cf | tor al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 15.5 |
| Barnes, Jacob 3941 | pi cp | dc nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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 2024 (’24)†, last year (’23), over a five-year period (’19-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24† | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 24.7 | 44.4 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 26.1 | 26.1 |
| PIT | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 17.5 | 34.5 |
| PHI | Phillips, Tyler* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 52.5 | 53.5 |
| TB | Devenski, Chris 3702 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 9.7 |
| PHI | Strahm, Matt 3724 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 14.0 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 34.5 | 57.6 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| MIA | Hoeing, Bryan 4856 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SEA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Sampson, Adrian 4147 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| CHW | Thorpe, Drew* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| OAK | Stripling, Ross 3629 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 24.7 | 39.1 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| MIL | Hall, DL* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 30.7 | 30.7 |
| SF | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CIN | Montas, Frankie 3803 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 32.5 | 35.5 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2024.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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