Athletics pitcher Joey Estes is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
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Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, who ranked third among National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2023, earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second time this spring.
Player of the Day
Estes struck out five over three scoreless, hitless innings, walking none and picking up the save, in the 12-5 win over the Angels.
Estes 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.
Estes has played in two regular season Major League games, both in 2023, but did not win Player of the Game honors in either of them and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
National League Player of the Day
Reds pitcher Carson Spiers struck out five over four scoreless middle relief innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Padres.
Spiers, who picked up a no-decision in the game, entered in the fourth inning and pitched through the seventh. The win was awarded to starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft, who pitched the first three innings (3IP 2H 2R BB 0K W) and exited with the Reds leading.
Spiers would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Spiers has played in four regular season Major League games, all in 2023, but did not win Player of the Game honors in any of them and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day
Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers hit a grand slam, a sacrifice fly and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 12-9 win over the White Sox.
Freeman would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
This is the second time in 2024 spring training season that Freeman earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did it Monday, Feb. 26 (1-1 R 2BI in the 9-4 win over the Rockies). Freeman also has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Wednesday’s Player of the Game winners—his 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023 was third among NL batters. His 85.9 career points is second among active NL batters, behind Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals (87.0).
American League Batter of the Day
Jair Camargo of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Red Sox.
Camargo would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.
Camargo, 24, has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Wednesday’s games
In Wednesday’s 12 completed spring training games featuring matchups between two Major League teams, there were four Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games.
In six of Wednesday’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.
Two games ended in ties (Guardians vs. Brewers and Rangers vs. Rockies) and so no Player of the Game honors were awarded in either of those.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Estes would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Spiers would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Freeman and Camargo would have each earned 1.5 points for being their league’s top batter. All of Wednesday’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).| 3/6 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | OAK 12, LAA 5 | Joey Estes (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| NL | +6.0 | `CIN 6, SD 2 | Carson Spiers (H, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | LAD 12, CHW 9 | Freddie Freeman 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | MIN 7, BOS 1 | Jair Camargo C | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | TB 4, NYY 3 | Amed Rosario RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | WSH 9, MIA 3 | Dylan Crews LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 6, LAA 5 | Javier Assad (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 8, KC 7 | Samad Taylor LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BAL 6, PIT 4 | Coby Mayo 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 2, CIN 0 | Bryse Wilson (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | CLE 3, MIL 3 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | TEX 6, COL 6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 0.0 | 10.0 | 36.7 | 85.9 |
| Assad, Javier 4899 | pi sp | chi nl | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Rosario, Amed 3879 | ss | tb al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 19.0 |
| Wilson, Bryse 4048 | pi mr sp | mil nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
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 2024 (’24)†, last year (’23), over a six-year period (’19-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24† | ’23 | ’19‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 30.7 | 30.7 |
| STL | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 35.8 | 62.2 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 56.1 | 101.7 |
| TB | Lopez, Jacob* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 24.7 | 44.4 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 53.9 | 60.3 |
| OAK | Wood, Alex 3246 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 23.0 | 63.1 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 0.0 | 16.7 | 51.1 | 51.1 |
| TEX | Urena, Jose 3492 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 23.4 |
| MIL | Ashby, Aaron 4511 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| CHW | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 46.8 | 46.8 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| COL | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| TOR | Francis, Bowden* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | 0.0 | 11.1 | 33.9 | 64.6 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYM | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.8 | 83.1 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 32.2 | 45.3 |
| NYY | Weaver, Luke 3719 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 25.7 |
| CHC | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| LAD | Paxton, James 3280 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 19.1 | 60.9 |
| SF | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
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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