Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 29, maintains 2nd place in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 30, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his spot at second place in season player rankings.

Kershaw pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 13, in the 8-0 win over the Giants.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 29.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	27.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	21.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
10	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	18.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 24.7 for the season. He still trails overall and National League pitching leader Jake Arrieta (27.1) by 2.4 Box-Toppers points. And with five days left in the season, Kershaw has no realistic shot of catching him, ending his streak of four straight years leading NL pitchers and two straight years of leading all players in Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +20. It is the eighth time this season that a player has had a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more.

Kershaw also rose to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Tuesday, Kershaw has 158.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Tim Hudson (157.0), who had earlier passed Kershaw. John Smoltz (160.9) is ranked just ahead of Kershaw on the “all-time” list at 12th place. Kershaw is the third-ranked active pitcher in career Box-Toppers points, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (162.7).

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Athletics.

American League Batter of the Day—Blake Swihart of the Red Sox hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 10-4 win over the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pierzynski of the Braves hit two homers and went 3-for-3 in the 2-1 win over the Nationals.

With Tuesday’s Player of the Game honor, his first of the season, Pierzynski has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2001 with the Twins, but his current 13-season streak began in 2003 with the Twins. His best year was 2012 with the White Sox, when he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL catchers. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Red Sox (and later played with the Cardinals that season).

Pierzynski has 47.2 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 331st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. However, he ranks sixth among all catchers in that time and ranks second among active catchers in career Box-Toppers points, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (55.2).

Notable—Others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday had notable achievements:

Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rose to third place among AL batters in season Box-Toppers points. Beltre (3-5 R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He trails Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) and Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5). Beltre becomes the 43rd player—and eighth batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Phillies pitcher Adam Loewen earned his first Box-Toppers points in four years and his first points as a pitcher in nine years Tuesday. Loewen (0.1IP 0H 0R K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) last earned Box-Toppers points as a right fielder with the Blue Jays on Sept. 28, 2011. He last earned Box-Toppers points as a pitcher with the Orioles on Aug. 22, 2006.
Cubs pitcher Dan Haren maintains his rank of 49th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Haren (7.1IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 112.2 for his career. He trails 48th-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8). Haren has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Silvino Bracho made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Bracho (1.2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 30 and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,605th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tropeano earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Swihart and Pierzynski each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/29
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    20.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,16-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    AL
    11.2
    Angels
    Nick Tropeano (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    10.1
    Cubs
    Dan Haren (W,10-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Red Sox
    Blake Swihart, C
    4
    2
    2
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Braves
    A.J. Pierzynski, C
    3
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    `Dbacks
    Silvino Bracho (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Jean Segura, SS
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    3
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
    3
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    Phillies
    Adam Loewen (MR) (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    1
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Monday, Sept. 28, rises to 8th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 29, 2015

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth in player rankings.

Scherzer struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 5-1 win over the Reds. Scherzer had a no-hitter until allowing his first hit in the eighth inning.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 28.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	27.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	21.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
10	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	18.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.0 for the season, rising to eighth place among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also rises to 58th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Monday, Scherzer has 104.0 career points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2), Miguel Tejada (102.3) and Jamie Moyer (104.0). Scherzer trails 57th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8).

Both Griffey and Moyer started their careers before the start of Box-Toppers record keeping in 1995 and so would likely have more actual points if their entire career were tracked. Griffey, who started in 1989, would likely have about 140 career Box-Toppers points, according to rough projections. Moyer, who started in 1986, would likely have about 125 career Box-Toppers points. Tejada made his debut in 1997, so his entire career has been tracked by Box-Toppers.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers struck out seven over six innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Cardinals homered and drove in two runs in the 3-0 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Red Sox homered and went 3-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 5-1 win over the Yankees.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, ranked sixth in player rankings (19.7 Box-Toppers points), started Monday but did not earn Player of the Game honors. Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 7K ND in the 3-2, 12-inning loss to the Giants) had a Box-Toppers game score of +3. Player of the Game was Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (7IP 3H R 4K ND) with a Box-Toppers game score of +5.

Notable—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy maintained his rank of 25th among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Peavy (7IP 3H R 4K ND in the 3-2, 12-inning win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 136.8 for his career. He trails 24th-ranked player David Ortiz (137.9). Peavy has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McCullers earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds and Shaw each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/28
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,13-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    3
    10
  

    
    11.0
    `Cubs
    Kyle Hendricks
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    5.0
    `Giants
    Jake Peavy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Mark Reynolds, 1B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    3.0
    Astros
    Lance McCullers (W,6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Blue Jays
    Brett Cecil (MR) (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Travis Shaw, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    Twins
    Tommy Milone (W,9-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    2
    2
    0
    4
  

    
    1.0
    Tigers
    Tyler Collins, LF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Angels
    Chris Iannetta, C
    1
    1
    0
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, Sept. 27, cementing his status as Box-Toppers Player of the Year

Shawn Plank September 28, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, taking a commanding lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and virtually assuring his status as Box-Toppers Player of the Year.

Also Sunday, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 27.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	27.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	21.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
9	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	18.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	17.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third place.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fourth place and took the lead among American League pitchers, displacing previous leader, David Price of the Blue Jays.

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out nine, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 27.1 for the season, cementing his lead atop Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Sunday became the player with the 11th-most points in a single season (27.1) since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    9
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    10
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    11
    *Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    27.1
  

    12
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    13
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    13
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    15
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    16
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    16
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    18
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    18
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    20
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    21
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

Arrieta also now has the 11th-highest Box-Toppers single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began (see Best seasons chart). Only once since 2002 has a player had a higher Box-Toppers point total than Arrieta has in 2015—last season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had 31.5, ranked fourth since 1995.

Arrieta’s Box-Toppers points lead for 2015 is all-but insurmountable. He now leads second-place player Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) by 4.4 Box-Toppers points. Since the most a player can earn in one game is 2.0 Box-Toppers points, that means Kershaw would need at least three starts to pass Arrieta. Kershaw likely only has one start left this season, at most, two.

It would be extremely unlikely, though still mathematically possible, for a player to pass Arrieta in Box-Toppers points. With seven games left in the season, if a player earned Player of the Day honors each day, they could earn up to 14.0 points. But if you consider the players who are now within 14.0 points of Arrieta, that would include the top 19 players, all of whom are starting pitchers and who aren’t likely to pitch every day. But mathematically, it would be possible, for example for Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 19th) to be Box-Toppers Player of the Day for seven games, earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each day and ending the season with 27.7 points, passing Arrieta. But that just won’t happen.

In other words, Arrieta on Sunday won Box-Toppers Player of the Year for 2015, with a week left to go in the season.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Henry Owens pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-5 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Rays.

Rankings—Two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings:

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third in player rankings. deGrom (6IP 5H R 9K W in the 8-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.4 for the season. He also ranks third among NL pitchers.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fourth in player rankings. Keuchel (7IP 2H R 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.4 for the season. (Though tied with deGrom in Box-Toppers points at 21.4, deGrom ranks ahead of Keuchel on a tiebreaker: deGrom had more Box-Toppers points in 2014, 13.0 vs. 12.4.) Keuchel rises to first place among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader David Price of the Blue Jays (21.1).

Debuts—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

Jason Rogers of the Brewers (pinch-hit, ninth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 8-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 2, 2014, and was playing in his 92nd career game. He is the 3,602nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Angels closing pitcher Mike Morin (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut April 30, 2014, and was playing in his 103rd career game. He is the 3,603rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Byron Buxton of the Twins (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-1 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,604th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Owens earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Smoak each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/27
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,21-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    11.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,19-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    10
  

    AL
    8.2
    Red Sox
    Henry Owens (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    8.0
    Mets
    Jacob deGrom (W,14-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Rockies
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    5
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Royals
    Chris Young (W,11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    5.0
    Brewers
    Jason Rogers, 3B
    1
    1
    1
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Dbacks
    Ender Inciarte, RF
    5
    2
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Blue Jays
    Justin Smoak, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Marlins
    Justin Bour, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Mike Morin (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Freddy Galvis, SS
    5
    2
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Twins
    Byron Buxton, CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Luis Severino (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Santiago Casilla (S,37)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

Nationals' Strasburg tops players for Saturday, Sept. 26; Cubs' Arrieta moves closer to winning Box-Toppers Player of the Year

Shawn Plank September 27, 2015

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 26.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
9	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	18.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	17.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Meanwhile, Cubs’ pitcher Jake Arrieta’s chances for winning the Box-Toppers Player of the Year crown were further solidified when perhaps the only player with a chance to catch him—Blue Jays pitcher David Price—did not earn Box-Toppers points Saturday.

Player of the Day—Strasburg struck out 13 over eight innings, allowing one runs and three hits, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Phillies. Strasburg did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied, 1-1.

Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks 21st among all players and 11th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Jarrett Parker of the Giants hit three home runs, including a grand slam, driving in seven total runs, in the 14-10 win over the Athletics.

This was Parker’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Parker made his Major League debut June 13 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,600th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Carlos Correa.

Rankings—Blue Jays pitcher David Price, the only player with a remote chance of catching Box-Toppers points leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, did not earn Box-Toppers points, meaning Arrieta will most likely win the crown as Box-Toppers Player of the Year.

Price entered the game ranked third in Box-Toppers points with 21.1, 4.0 points behind Arrieta (25.1). Price needed to win overall Player of the Day in what would likely be his final two starts to match Arrieta’s total of 25.1. Price would have ranked ahead of Arrieta on a tiebreaker.

Arrieta already leads second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) by 2.4 points. Since Kershaw likely only has one start remaining this season, he can only earn 2.0 more points this season and with 24.7, would still be short of Arrieta.

Arrieta starts Sunday against the Pirates. While he’s already got the Box-Toppers crown pretty well wrapped up now, earning overall Player of the Day honors would virtually seal it for him.

Two players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Saturday, but neither earned Box-Toppers points:

Price (5IP 6H 5R 6K W in the 10-8 win over the Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5. Player of the Game was Jose Bautista (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI, Box-Toppers game score +5).
Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, ranked seventh in Box-Toppers points (19.4), third among AL pitchers, did not earn Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (6IP 8H 2R 6K ND in the 3-2 loss to the Angels) had a Box-Toppers game score of −2. Player of the Game was Angels middle reliever Trevor Gott (1IP 0R 0H 2K ND, Box-Toppers game score of +3).

Notable—Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday had notable achievements:

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano had the highest season Box-Toppers point total of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. Liriano (7.2IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 4-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.9 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays became the 42nd player—and seventh batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Bautista (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI in the 10-8 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and fourth among AL batters.

Debut—In addition to Parker, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Angels pitcher Trevor Gott (1IP 0R 0H 2K ND in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 44th career game. He is the 3,601st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Correa earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Parker earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/26
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    `Nationals
    Stephen Strasburg
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    13
  

    
    9.2
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,12-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    3
    9
  

    BAT
    8.0
    Giants
    Jarrett Parker, LF
    5
    3
    3
    7
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    Padres
    Robbie Erlin (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    7.0
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,10-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    AL
    5.0
    Astros
    Carlos Correa, SS
    4
    3
    3
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista, RF
    3
    2
    2
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Mets
    Lucas Duda, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Eduardo Escobar, SS
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Justin Miller (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Andrew Miller (S,36)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Angels
    Trevor Gott (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Indians
    Jose Ramirez, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Justin Bour, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Red Sox
    Mookie Betts, RF
    4
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Indians' Carrasco, with 1-hitter, tops players for Friday, Sept. 25, rises to 9th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 26, 2015

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in player rankings.

Also Friday, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole maintained his spot in eighth place and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th place.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 25.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
9	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	18.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	17.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 15, in the 6-0 win over the Royals. Carrasco had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning before giving up the only hit.

Carrasco earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.0 for the season. He rises to ninth place among all players and fourth place among AL pitchers.

Carrasco also had the third-highest Box-Toppers game score of 2015, +21. Indians pitcher Corey Kluber had the highest score of +25 on May 13 (8IP H 0R 18K). Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had the second-highest score of +23 on June 14 (CG H 0R 16K). It is the seventh time this season that a player has achieved a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 12-5 win over the Reds.

Syndergaard earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the 41st player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 37th among all players, 15th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 6-3 win over the Padres.

American League Batter of the Day—C.J. Cron of the Angels homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Mariners.

Rankings—In addition to Carrasco, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole maintained his spot in eighth place in player rankings. Cole (7IP 4H R 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 19.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th place in player rankings. Gray (6IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 5-4 win over the Giants) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.8 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—With the rise of Carrasco and Gray into Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, two players fell from the top 10—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (17.1 Box-Toppers points, 11th place) and Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (17.0 Box-Toppers points, 12th place).

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Syndergaard earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Pollock and Cron each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/25
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    21.0
    Indians
    Carlos Carrasco (W,14-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    15
  

    
    16.0
    Red Sox
    Rich Hill (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    NL
    9.2
    Mets
    Noah Syndergaard (W,9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    2
    2
    0
    11
  

    
    7.0
    Phillies
    Jerad Eickhoff (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    10
  

    
    7.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,18-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Dbacks
    A.J. Pollock, CF
    4
    2
    2
    5
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Corey Dickerson, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    Rangers
    Ross Ohlendorf (MR) (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Marlins
    Justin Bour, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Tigers
    Al Alburquerque (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Angels
    C.J. Cron, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Kevin Pillar, CF
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Sonny Gray (W,14-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Will Smith (MR) (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    David Robertson (S,32)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Cubs' Jake Arrieta may have insurmountable Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 25, 2015

Arrieta takes lead over Kershaw. AL pitching leader David Price has chance to pass. Trout takes AL batting lead, Gonzo maintains lead among NL batters.

Pittsburgh Pirates remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings for 3rd straight week

Shawn Plank September 25, 2015

In next-to-last report of season, Pirates extend lead on AL-leading Royals. Cardinals in 3rd. Cubs are hottest team of week.

Royals' Moustakas tops players for Thursday, Sept. 24; Kershaw's chances to pass Arrieta for Box-Toppers lead diminish

Shawn Plank September 25, 2015

Mike Moustakas of the Royals is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Thursday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw did not earn Player of the Game honors in his start, greatly reducing the chances that he will take the Box-Toppers point lead this season and further solidifying Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta’s chances that he will end the season as leader.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 24.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Moustakas homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Mariners.

National League Player of the Day—Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals homered and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Brewers.

American League and National League Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Thursday because both the overall Player of the Day and the NL Player of the Day were batters—Mike Moustakas and Stephen Piscotty.

Notable—Mets closing pitcher Jeurys Familia has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any of the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Familia (1IP 0H 0R K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks 81st among all players, 27th among NL pitchers and second among NL closers, behind Aroldis Champman of the Reds (8.0 points).

Kershaw, Arrieta and the Box-Toppers points lead—While Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers won his game, he did not earn Player of the Game honors. Kershaw (5IP 6H 3R 9K W in the 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Chris Heisey (1-3 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.

Kershaw’s chances to repeat as Box-Toppers points leaders and his chances to repeat as leader among NL pitchers for the fifth straight season now seem to be greatly diminished. With 10 days left in the season, Kershaw probably will not make more than one more start and he already trails overall Box-Toppers points leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (25.1), by 2.4 points. If Kershaw makes one more start, the most he can earn is 2.0 points, giving him 24.7, short of Arrieta’s total.

But if Kershaw does make two more starts—or even two more appearances this season—he may have a chance, but would have to earn at least Player of the Game honors in both games. However, if Arrieta earns overall Player of the Day honors in his start Sunday, he would probably wrap up Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors, barring any miracle by another player.

The only other player who has a realistic chance of catching or passing Arrieta is Blue Jays pitcher David Price. Price has 21.1 Box-Toppers points, third place among all players and trails Arrieta by 4.0 Box-Toppers points. Price likely has two starts remaining, the first of which is Saturday. Price would have to earn overall Player of the Day honors in both starts, earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each time, to give him 25.1 Box-Toppers points, the same total Arrieta currently has. Price would win the tiebreaker over Arrieta because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014—19.1 vs. 14.7. But again, if Arrieta even earns Player of the Game honors in a start, Price would have no realistic shot of catching him.

Rankings—Two other pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings started Thursday, but neither earned Player of the Game honors:

Chris Sale of the White Sox (7IP 7H 3R 8K L in the 3-2 loss to the Yankees) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (2-4 R 3BI, Box-Toppers game score +2). Sale is ranked ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings, fourth among AL pitchers, with 17.1 points.
Madison Bumgarner of the Giants (7IP 3H 3R 9K ND in the 5-4 loss to the Padres) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Player of the Game was Derek Norris of the Padres (3-4 R 3BI, Box-Toppers game score of +3). (Bumgarner had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Norris, but Norris earned Player of the Game because he had the highest score on the Padres—the team that won the game.) Bumgarner is ranked 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings, sixth among NL pitchers, with 17.0 points.

Scoring—Moustakas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Piscotty earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/24
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    Royals
    Mike Moustakas, 3B
    3
    3
    3
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Erasmo Ramirez (W,11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    NL
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Stephen Piscotty, 1B-LF
    4
    1
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    `Marlins
    Chris Narveson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Padres
    Derek Norris, C
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Dodgers
    Chris Heisey, CF-RF
    3
    1
    1
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Mark Melancon (S,50)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Delino DeShields, CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Carlos Beltran, RF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Orioles
    Matt Wieters, C
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Indians
    Carlos Santana, DH
    3
    1
    1
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Jeurys Familia (S,42)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Marlins' Adam Conley (6IP R 3H 8K ND) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 23

Shawn Plank September 24, 2015

Marlins pitcher Adam Conley is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Conley struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Marlins. Conley did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because after he exited, the Phillies tied the game 2-2 in the eighth inning.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 23.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing five hits, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. This was Stroman’s first Player of the Game honor this season. He was out much of the season after an ACL injury in spring training. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 13-7 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Athletics.

Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to sixth place among AL batters.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Lynn (6IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 10-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He rises to 29th place among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Givens (2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 24 and was playing in his 19th career game. He is the 3,599th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Conley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Walker and Beltre each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/23
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    `Marlins
    Adam Conley
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Pirates
    Neil Walker, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    6
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Cardinals
    Lance Lynn (W,12-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    7.0
    Brewers
    Zach Davies (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    6.0
    Braves
    Freddie Freeman, PH-1B
    2
    1
    2
    5
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    Blue Jays
    Marcus Stroman (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    5.1
    Rays
    Drew Smyly (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    5.0
    Twins
    Phil Hughes (W,11-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    `Orioles
    Mychal Givens (MR) (H,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Dodgers
    Carlos Frias
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    1
    1
    1
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Jedd Gyorko, SS-2B
    5
    2
    4
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Tigers
    Rajai Davis, LF
    4
    3
    3
    0
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    `Angels
    Nick Tropeano
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    4
    2
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    Royals
    Jarrod Dyson, PR-CF
    0
    0
    0
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 22, solidifies lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 23, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his lead in player rankings.

Also Tuesday, Mike Trout of the Angels took the lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 22.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 25.1 for the season. He becomes the 21st player with 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.

With his points Tuesday, he takes a 2.4-point lead over second-place player and fellow NL pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. That means Kershaw would need to earn Box-Toppers points in each of what would likely be his final two starts of the season to have a chance to pass Arrieta. Kershaw has led NL pitchers for the past four seasons. Only one player has led his league category in Box-Toppers points in more consecutive seasons since 1995—Randy Johnson led NL pitchers five straight years from 1998 to 2002.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing three hits, in the 11-2 win over the Royals.

Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 20th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Cody Asche of the Phillies homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Marlins.

Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Tuesday became the 21st player in 21 seasons with 25 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st on the list.
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    9
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    10
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    11
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    12
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    12
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    14
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    15
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    15
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    17
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    17
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    19
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    20
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    21
    *Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    25.1
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

American League Batter of the Day—Delino DeShields of the Rangers went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Athletics.

Rankings—Mike Trout of the Angels took the lead among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Trout (HR 1-3 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He passes Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5) to lead AL batters. Trout ranks 25th among all players.

Notable—Two others who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:

Giants pitcher Chris Heston rose to 12th place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Heston (4.1IP 2H 0R 7K ND in the 4-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 29th among all players.
Cardinals pitcher John Lackey maintained his rank of 55th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Lackey (7IP 9H R 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 107.8 for his career. He trails 54th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). He has 9.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked 17th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Asche and DeShields each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/22
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,20-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    AL
    13.0
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,9-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    
    9.0
    `Tigers
    Daniel Norris
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    8.0
    Dbacks
    Robbie Ray (W,5-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Twins
    Ervin Santana (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    Braves
    Matt Wisler (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    4.1
    `Giants
    Chris Heston
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    2
    0
    0
    5
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Phillies
    Cody Asche, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Orioles
    Brad Brach (MR) (H,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rangers
    Delino DeShields, CF
    2
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    John Lackey (W,13-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    9
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    3.0
    `Pirates
    Joakim Soria (MR) (H,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Carlos Beltran, RF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (S,36)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Angels
    Mike Trout, CF
    3
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

White Sox' Samardzija tops players for Monday, Sept. 21; Price, Keuchel both rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank September 22, 2015

White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija, pitching a one-hitter, is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 21.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Monday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings, maintaining his lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Plus, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to second among AL pitchers, fifth overall and becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Samardzija pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Tigers. Samardjiza allowed only one baserunner when he allowed a single in the fifth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-5 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox hit a grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Jorge Soler.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place and maintained his lead among AL pitchers. Price (7IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season. Price now trails two players in Box-Toppers season player rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (23.1) and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7).
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to fifth place and second place among AL pitchers, behind Price. Keuchel (7.2IP 6H R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season. Keuchel becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, Keuchel passes Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (19.7) and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (19.4) in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Scoring—Samardjiza earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Soler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/21
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    White Sox
    Jeff Samardzija (W,10-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    11.0
    Blue Jays
    David Price (W,17-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    4.2
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,18-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Xander Bogaerts, SS
    5
    2
    2
    5
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    4.0
    Cubs
    Jorge Soler, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    White Sox
    Erik Johnson (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Starling Marte, LF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Jonathon Niese (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    Dbacks
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Twins' Duffey tops players for Sunday, Sept. 20; Pirates' Cole rises to 8th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 21, 2015

Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Player of the Day—Duffey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Angels.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 20.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Julio Teheran struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Phillies. Teheran was perfect through six innings. He earned no decision, not picking up the win, because he exited the game with the score tied 1-1.

National League Batter of the Day—Yunel Escobar of the Nationals doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-3 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Forsythe of the Rays hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-6 win over the Orioles.

Rankings—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Cole (7IP 6H 3R 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Two of Sunday's Players of the Game achieved notable milestones:

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Hudson (6IP 4H 0R 3K in the 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 157.0 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Clayton Kershaw (156.3) on the “all-time” list—Kershaw had caught and briefly passed Hudson on the “all-time” list only on Sept. 14. Hudson trails 12th-ranked player John Smoltz (160.9) and regains his spot as fifth among active players, third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (179.0) and Felix Hernandez (162.7). Hudson has 4.0 Box-Toppers points so far in what is expected to be his final season.
Justin Upton of the Padres rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Upton (2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 10-4 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season. He ranks 49th among all players.
Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, ranked sixth in Box-Toppers player rankings (19.4 points) failed to earn Player of the Game honors in his start Sunday against the Rangers, despite earning the win. Hernandez (5.2IP 4H 2R 5K W in the 9-2 win) had a Box-Toppers game score of -2.8. Player of the Game was Robinson Cano (2-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0.

Scoring—Duffey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Teheran earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Escobar and Forsythe each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/20
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Twins
    Tyler Duffey (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    NL
    8.1
    `Braves
    Julio Teheran
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,17-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    8.0
    Royals
    Danny Duffy (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Nationals
    Yunel Escobar, 3B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.2
    Indians
    Josh Tomlin (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rays
    Logan Forsythe, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Rich Hill (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    3
    3
    0
    10
  

    
    4.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,17-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    3
    3
    0
    9
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Adam Lind, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Greg Bird, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Cardinals
    Trevor Rosenthal (S,46)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Justin Upton, LF
    5
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Tim Hudson (W,8-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Rangers' Hamels tops players for Saturday, Sept. 19; Kershaw fails to unseat Arrieta for player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 20, 2015

Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place among American League pitchers in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 19.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to retake the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after falling to the Pirates. Kershaw (22.7 Box-Toppers points) remains in second place behind Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (23.1), with whom he has traded leads every two or three days since Sept. 2. Arrieta’s lead is now safe at least until Kershaw’s next start later this week.

Player of the Day—Hamels struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run and seven hits, in the 10-1 win over the Mariners.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.7 for the season, rising to 17th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

Hammels also rises to 34th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. With his points Saturday, Hamels has 124.5 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Hamels now trails 33rd-ranked player Justin Verlander (124.6), who also passed Weaver and Sheffield on Friday.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, in the 6-0 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—Victor Martinez of the Tigers homered, doubled and drove in three runs, in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in a run, in the 10-2 win over the Padres.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday in his start, preventing him from retaking the player rankings lead.

Kershaw (7IP 7H 3H 8K L in the 3-2 loss to the Pirates) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Player of the Game was Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano.

Had Kershaw won Player of the Game honors, he would have passed Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta for the Box-Toppers season points lead and it would have been the seventh lead change in September between Kershaw (22.7 Box-Toppers points) and Arrieta (23.1 Box-Toppers points). Kershaw has led NL pitchers the past four seasons in Box-Toppers points—with days and starts dwindling to only a few this season, his chances for a fifth straight season leading NL pitchers is diminishing.

Notable—Several other Player of the Game honorees from Saturday achieved notable Box-Toppers milestones:

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano rose to 16th place among all players and ninth place among NL pitchers. Liriano (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.9 for the season.
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards rose to 29th place among all players and 15th among AL pitchers. Richards (8.2IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season.
Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda becomes the 40th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Pineda (5.1IP 4H 0R 4K W in the 5-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to 33rd among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.
Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox (2-4 R 3BI in the 7-6 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to sixth among AL batters.
Bryce Harper of the Nationals (1-3 R 3BI in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season, rising to fifth among NL batters.

Debut—Braves pitcher Ryan Weber made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Weber (7IP 2H R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 8 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,598th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Corbin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Martinez and Blackmon each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/19
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Rangers
    Cole Hamels (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    12
  

    NL
    7.0
    Dbacks
    Patrick Corbin (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Orioles
    Wei-Yin Chen (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    6.0
    `Braves
    Ryan Weber
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    4.1
    Yankees
    Michael Pineda (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Tigers
    Victor Martinez, DH
    2
    1
    2
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Angels
    Andrew Heaney
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    3.1
    Cubs
    Trevor Cahill (MR) (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rockies
    Charlie Blackmon, CF
    4
    3
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Evan Gattis, DH
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Reds
    J.J. Hoover (MR) (H,18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.2
    Angels
    Garrett Richards (W,14-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    5
    2
    2
    4
    7
  

    
    2.2
    White Sox
    Carlos Rodon (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Bryce Harper, RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Cubs' Starlin Castro (2HR 6RBI) tops players for Friday, Sept. 18; 4 top 10 pitchers fail to earn Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 19, 2015

Starlin Castro of the Cubs is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also, despite four top 10 pitchers from Box-Toppers player rankings starting Friday, none of them earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 18.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Castro hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 8-3 win over the Cardinals.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out seven over 8 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals. Verlander did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the Royals tied the game after he exited with a 3-2 lead.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 124.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 33rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Friday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Verlander now trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).

Among Friday’s 14 Players of the Game, Verlander has the most Box-Toppers points this season—6.4, ranking 111th among all players and 43rd among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit two homers and went 3-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day Friday because the overall Player of the Day was batter Starlin Castro.

Notable—Four pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Friday but none of them earned Player of the Game honors:

Fifth-ranked Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, 19.7 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors, though the Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-2. Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 3K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Justin Ruggiano of the Dodgers (2-3 R BI) won Player of the Game honors with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.
Eighth-ranked White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, 17.1 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 12-1 loss to the Indians. Sale (7IP 8H 7R 9K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Santana of the Indians (1-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.
Ninth-ranked Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, 17.0 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 2-0 loss to the Diamondbacks. Bumgarner (8IP 5H 2R 7K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Player of the Game was Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa (5.2IP H 0R 5K W) with a Box-Toppers game score of +5.2.
Tenth-ranked Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, 17.0 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors, though the Nationals beat the Marlins, 5-4 in 10 innings. Scherzer (7IP 5H 2R 6K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Nationals closing pitcher Casey Janssen (0.2IP 0H 0R K W) with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.2.

Scoring—Castro earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/18
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Cubs
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    3
    2
    3
    6
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    Dbacks
    Rubby De La Rosa (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    1
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    AL
    5.2
    `Tigers
    Justin Verlander
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    5
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Athletics
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    3
    2
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Chad Bettis (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Juan Uribe, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Braves
    Arodys Vizcaino (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Tom Wilhelmsen (S,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Grady Sizemore, LF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Indians
    Carlos Santana, 1B
    4
    1
    1
    4
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    Nationals
    Casey Janssen (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Blue Jays
    Justin Smoak, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Dodgers
    Justin Ruggiano, LF
    3
    1
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Reds
    Brandon Finnegan (W,4-0)
    5
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Cubs' Jake Arrieta, in tight race with Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, leads Box-Toppers player rankings—for now

Shawn Plank September 18, 2015

Jake Arrieta & Clayton Kershaw keep swapping player ranking leads with Jake leading for now. Price, Prince take lead in AL categories. Gonzo still leads NL batters.

Pittsburgh Pirates hold on to Box-Toppers team rankings lead for 2nd straight week

Shawn Plank September 18, 2015

Pirates hold slim edge over Royals for top overall team. Rangers have hot week. Cards rise to 3rd.

Cardinals' Lackey tops players for Thursday, Sept. 17; Angels' Trout rises to 2nd among AL batters

Shawn Plank September 18, 2015

Cardinals pitcher John Lackey is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits, in the 6-3 win over the Brewers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 17.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Lackey rises to 55th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 106.8 for his career. With his points Thursday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Aramis Ramirez (105.8) and Frank Thomas (106.2). (Thomas began his career in 1990, five years before Box-Toppers record keeping began. If his entire career were tracked, based on rough projections, Thomas would likely have about 145 career Box-Toppers points.) Lackey now trails 54th-place player Lance Berkman (108.1).

Lackey has 8.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 52nd among all players, 20th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in seven runs, in the 8-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Omar Infante.

Notable—Mike Trout of the Angels rose to second place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Trout (2HR 2-3 3R 5BI in the 11-8 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to 29th place among all players.

Trout had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0 Thursday, the same as Omar Infante. But Infante won AL Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more at bats than Trout—four vs. three. Had Trout earned AL Player of the Day honors instead of Infante and earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points, Trout would have had 11.7 points for the season, enough to pass AL batting leader Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5). But he didn’t.

Trout led AL batters in Box-Toppers points much of July and all of August, but was passed by other players in September. This was Trout’s first Box-Toppers point since July 26.

Debut—Orioles pitcher Chaz Roe made his Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Roe (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 1, 2013, and was playing in his 58th career game. He is the 3,597th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Infante earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Russell earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/17
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Cardinals
    John Lackey (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    AL
    7.0
    Royals
    Omar Infante, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Angels
    Mike Trout, CF
    3
    3
    2
    5
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Blue Jays
    Marco Estrada (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.1
    Orioles
    Chaz Roe (MR) (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.1
    Marlins
    A.J. Ramos (S,28)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Shin-Soo Choo, RF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Athletics
    Sean Doolittle (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Cubs
    Addison Russell, SS
    4
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Dodgers' Wood tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 16; Cubs' Arrieta retakes Box-Toppers points lead, Price leads AL pitchers

Shawn Plank September 17, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings, marking the sixth September lead change between him and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw in the topsy-turvy, see-saw race for Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors coming down to the season’s final days.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 16.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	23.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	20.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Plus, Blue Jays pitcher David Price Wednesday rose to lead American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, rising to fourth place among all players.

In addition, Prince Fielder of the Rangers rose to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points Wednesday.

Player of the Day—Wood pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Rockies.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Angels.

Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He becomes the 39th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to 27th place among all players, 14th place among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Prince Fielder of the Rangers homered twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 14-3 win over the Astros.

Fielder earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season. He rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (10.4). He ranks 26th among all players.

Fielder also earned AL Batter of the Day honors Monday, meaning he has 3.0 Box-Toppers points in the past three days. Fielder has earned his Box-Toppers points in bursts this season. He earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points between May 13 and May 26 and has earned 4.0 points since Sept. 1.

National League Batter of the Day—Thomas Pham of the Cardinals hit two home runs and a triple, going 3-for-4 and driving in four runs, in the 5-4 win over the Brewers.

This was Pham’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pham made his Major League debut Sept. 9, 2014, and was playing in his 43rd career game. He is the 3,596th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  





  
    
    
    
    
  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  

    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  

    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  

    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  

    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  

    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  

    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  

    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  

    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  

    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  

    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  

    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  

    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7
  

    9/11
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    22.1
  

    9/14
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    22.7
  

    9/16
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    23.1
  
 

Overall leader—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta reclaimed the Box-Toppers points lead from Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Arrieta (8IP 6H 2R 5K ND in the 3-2, 12-inning win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 23.1 for the season. He passes Kershaw (22.7) for the third time in September.

AL pitching leader—Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Price (7IP 6H R 9K W in the 9-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.1 for the season. Price passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (19.4) for the lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. He rises to fourth place among all players. He also becomes the fourth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the first time in his career Price has reached 20.0 Box-Toppers points in a season. His previous best season was 2014 when he had 19.1 Box-Toppers points with the Rays and Tigers.

Notable—Two others who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday reached notable milestones:

Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (7IP 4H R 6K W in the 5-1 win over the Royals) rose to 21st place in Box-Toppers player rankings, 11th among AL pitchers, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season.
Giants pitcher Jake Peavy now has 135.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank at 25th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Peavy (6IP 7H 2R 8K W in the 5-3 win over the Reds) trails 24th-ranked player David Ortiz (137.9). Peavy has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debuts—in addition to Pham, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

Marlins pitcher Adam Conley (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 6-0 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,594th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Red Sox pitcher Henry C. Owens (7.2IP 6H 0R 4K W in the 10-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Aug. 4 and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,595th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Fielder and Pham each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/16
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Dodgers
    Alex Wood (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    10.0
    Marlins
    Adam Conley (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    AL
    9.0
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    8.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    12
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Rangers
    Prince Fielder, DH
    5
    3
    3
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    Red Sox
    Henry Owens (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cardinals
    Thomas Pham, LF-CF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Blue Jays
    David Price (W,16-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    3
    9
  

    
    5.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.2
    `Tigers
    Daniel Norris
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.2
    1
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    4.1
    Padres
    Craig Kimbrel (S,37)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Yankees
    Andrew Miller (S,34)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    `Cubs
    Jake Arrieta
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    2
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Jake Peavy (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    4
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Nationals' Stephen Strasburg (8IP 0R H 14K) tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 15

Shawn Plank September 16, 2015

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 12th among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Strasburg pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 14, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 15.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 26th place among all players. He becomes the 37th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

His Box-Toppers game score of 20.0 is only the sixth time a player has had a score that high this season. The highest Box-Toppers game score of the season was 25.0 by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber on May 13 (8IP H 0R 18K).

American League Player of the Day—Josh Reddick of Athletics hit a two-run homer an went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 17-6 win over the White Sox.

Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and rising to 10th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Dee Gordon of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Josh Reddick.

Notable—Two other NL pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:

Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 4H R 9K ND in the 3-1, 10-inning win over the Brewers) rose ninth place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Martinez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players.
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (CG 5H R 9K W in the 2-1 win over the Pirates) became the 38th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. Lester earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 15th among NL pitchers and 33rd among all players. Lester also rises to 37th place in career Box-Toppers point among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Lester has 119.1 career points and passes Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list (Lester beats Lee on a tiebreaker—he has more Box-Toppers points this season—10 vs. 0). Lester trails 36th-place player Cole Hamels (122.5).

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.

Rockies pitcher Jairo Diaz (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 5-4, 16-inning win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Sept. 8, 2014, and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,592nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Ramon Cabrera of the Reds (1-1 2BI in the 9-8, 10-inning win over the Giants) made his Major League debut Sept. 5 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,593rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gordon earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/15
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    20.0
    Nationals
    Stephen Strasburg (W,9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    14
  

    
    10.0
    Cubs
    Jon Lester (W,10-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    9.0
    `Cardinals
    Carlos Martinez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    AL
    5.0
    Athletics
    Josh Reddick, RF
    4
    3
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Marlins
    Dee Gordon, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Joe Smith (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Mark Melancon (S,46)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Rockies
    Jairo Diaz (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    1
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Nick Franklin, SS
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Ramon Cabrera, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    Dbacks
    Brad Ziegler (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Tigers
    Victor Martinez, DH
    4
    0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Braves
    Todd Cunningham, PR
    0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.1
    Royals
    Kris Medlen (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    0
    0
    1
    0
  

    
    0.0
    Orioles
    Manny Machado, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Mariners' Walker tops players for Monday, Sept. 14; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers points lead for 3rd time in September

Shawn Plank September 15, 2015

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the Box-Toppers season points lead, marking the fifth lead change this month between him and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, a race for the lead coming down to the wire in the season’s final weeks.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 14.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Walker struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 10-1 win over the Angels.

Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher James Shields allowed one run over seven innings, striking out six and giving up four hits, in the 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit two home runs and went 2-for-6, driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day—Prince Fielder of the Rangers hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Astros.

Fielder earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 36th player (and sixth batter) this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 36th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead for the third time this month after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  





  
    
    
    
    
  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  

    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  

    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  

    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  

    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  

    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  

    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  

    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  

    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  

    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  

    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  

    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  

    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7
  

    9/11
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    22.1
  

    9/14
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    22.7
  
 

Kershaw (7IP 3H R 5K W in the 4-1 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.7 for the season. Kershaw passes Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (22.1 Box-Toppers points) for the lead. Kershaw previously took the lead on Sept. 2 and Sept. 8, only holding it for three days each time when Arrieta passed him. Arrieta is slated to start Wednesday and could regain the lead.

Kershaw also rises to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Kershaw now has 156.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Mike Mussina (155.6) and Tim Hudson (156.0). (Mussina, who pitched for four seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, would likely have about 190 Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked, based on rough projections.) Kershaw trails 12th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Passing Hudson, Kershaw rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers points among active players and third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (179.0) and Felix Hernandez (162.7).

Kershaw also had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 5.0, the same as NL Player of the Day James Shields of the Padres. But Shields won the tiebreaker because he had more strikeouts—six vs. five.

Notable—Two others who earned Player of the Game honors Monday achieved notable milestones:

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia extended his lead in career Box-Toppers points among active pitchers. Sabathia (6.2IP 3H 0R 6K ND in the 4-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 179.0 for his career. Sabathia ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks second among all active players, behind Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0). Sabathia has 5.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rose to 16th place in Box-Toppers player rankings, seventh among AL pitchers. Carrasco (6IP 5H R 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.0 for the season.

Debut—White Sox pitcher Dan Jennings made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Jennings (2IP 0H 0R 3K W in the 8-7 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut April 30, 2012, and was playing in his 160th career game. He is the 3,591st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shields earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Werth and Fielder each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/14
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Mariners
    Taijuan Walker (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    7.2
    `Yankees
    CC Sabathia
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    7.0
    `Orioles
    Kevin Gausman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Indians
    Carlos Carrasco (W,13-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    NL
    5.0
    Padres
    James Shields (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,14-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    5.0
    White Sox
    Dan Jennings (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Nationals
    Jayson Werth, LF
    6
    2
    2
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rangers
    Prince Fielder, DH
    4
    3
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Twins
    Tyler Duffey (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    7
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    2.1
    Giants
    George Kontos (MR) (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Hansel Robles (MR) (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Best seasons

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Best seasons

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Lead changes

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Lead changes

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.