Last year's lowest-ranked team tops 1st team rankings of 2016; Cubs rank 2nd; Orioles top AL teams.
Read MorePhillies' Velasquez, tops players for Thursday, April 14, rises to 1st in Box-Toppers player rankings
Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 14:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 2.7 |
| 6 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 7 | Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | sf nl | 2.5 |
| 8 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
Also Thursday, two players—Velasquez and Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia—had Box-Toppers game scores of +20.0 or more, a feat achieved only nine times in all of 2015. It is the first time this season players have had Box-Toppers game scores of +20.0 or more and so are the two highest game scores of the season.
Player of the Day—Velasquez struck out 16 in a complete game, 3-0 shutout against the Padres. He allowed three hits and no walks.
Velasquez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season (he was previously Player of the Day Saturday, April 9 when he made his Box-Toppers debut) and rises to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (3.0 Box-Toppers points).
Velasquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +22.0, the highest so far this season. It would have ranked fourth among all game scores in 2015. There were nine times in 2015 in which a player had a Box-Toppers game score of +20.0 or more. Thursday, there were two when both Velasquez and Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia did it.
Garcia (CG H 0R BB 13K W in the 7-0 win over the Brewers) had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +20.0. Despite the high game score, Garcia loses overall Player of the Day to fellow National League pitcher Velasquez and only earns Player of the Game honors and 1.0 Box-Toppers point. And he earns only 1.0 point despite more than doubling the Box-Toppers game score of Thursday’s next-highest player, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (+9.0), who earns American League Player of the Day honors and 1.7 Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 6-0 win over the Rays. Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day and now has 3.4 points for the season, rising to second place in player rankings.
American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos hit a two-run homer and a two-run double, going 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 7-4 win over the Pirates.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies hit two doubles, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Giants.
Reynolds has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2007 with the Diamondbacks and has 48.9 career points, ranking fifth among active NL first basemen. His best season was 2011 with the Orioles when he had 9.5 points, ranking fifth among AL batters. In 2015, he had 4.0 points with the Cardinals.
Notable—White Sox pitcher Mat Latos rises to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Latos (6IP 3H R 4K W in the 3-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 2.7 for the season.
Scoring—Velasquez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Reynolds each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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
| 4/14 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 22.0 | Phillies | Vince Velasquez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 20.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| 8.0 | Royals | Ian Kennedy (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | White Sox | Mat Latos (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Dodgers | J.P. Howell (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Addison Russell, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Rougned Odor, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Phillies' Jerad Eickhoff tops players for Wednesday, April 13
Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Eickhoff struck out nine over seven scoreless innings in the 2-1 win over the Padres.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 13:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 4 | Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | sf nl | 2.5 |
| 5 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 |
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit two home runs, a double and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in seven runs, in the 10-6 win over the Giants.
American League Batter of the Day—Ryan Goins of the Blue Jays hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Yankees.
Scoring—Eickhoff earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Carrasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Goins each earn 1.5 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.
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
| 4/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Phillies | Jerad Eickhoff (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 8.0 | Rockies | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | `Mets | Logan Verrett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Mariners | Steve Cishek (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Nationals | Tanner Roark (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | White Sox | Carlos Rodon (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Red Sox | Craig Kimbrel (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Dodgers | Kenley Jansen (S,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Brewers | Jonathan Lucroy, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Shane Greene (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `Royals | Yordano Ventura | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Blue Jays | Ryan Goins, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Cubs | Kris Bryant, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Phillies' Morton tops players for Tuesday, April 12; Giants' Trevor Brown rises to 4th in player rankings
Phillies pitcher Charlie Morton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Morton struck out seven over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 3-0 win over the Padres. Morton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and ranks 10th in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 12:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 4 | Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | sf nl | 2.5 |
| 5 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 |
American League Player of the Day—J.J. Hardy of the Orioles hit a pair of two-run homers and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 9-5 win over the Red Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Brown of the Giants hit a pair of two-run homers and went 2-for-4, in the 7-2 win over the Rockies. Brown earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season and rising to fourth in player rankings.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the AL Player of the Day was batter J.J. Hardy.
Scoring—Morton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Hardy earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Brown earns 1.5 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.
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
| 4/12 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.2 | Phillies | Charlie Morton (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | `Nationals | Gio Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | Orioles | J.J. Hardy, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | Rangers | Derek Holland (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Tigers | Justin Upton, LF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Giants | Trevor Brown, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Rays | Matt Moore | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Marlins | David Phelps (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Andrew Miller (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.1 | Angels | Mike Morin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Nick Ahmed, SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cardinals' Wacha tops players for Monday, April 11; Rangers' Lewis tops AL players
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Wacha struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 10-1 win over the Brewers. Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and ranks sixth in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 11:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 4 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b ss | cin nl | 2.0 |
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis struck out six over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-3 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 9-7 win over the Red Sox. Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day and now has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising to third in season player rankings.
National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.
Zimmerman has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Nationals and has 56.3 career points, ninth among active NL batters. His best season was 2013 with the Nationals when he had 9.2 points, sixth among NL batters. He had 3.0 points in 2015 with the Nationals.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lewis earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Zimmerman each earn 1.5 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.
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
| 4/11 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Cardinals | Michael Wacha (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | 5.0 | Rangers | Colby Lewis (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Cubs | Hector Rondon (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Jose Altuve, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Nick Tropeano (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | `Padres | Carlos Villanueva | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | Marlins | Chris Narveson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Pirates | Francisco Cervelli, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Blue Jays' Estrada tops players for Sunday, April 10; Royals' Volquez rises to 2nd in player rankings
Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez rose to second in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season and Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 10:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b ss | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 |
Player of the Day—Estrada struck out eight over seven scoreless innings in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis struck out six over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Dodgers.
Notable—Two players earned Box-Toppers points for the second time this season Sunday:
- Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Volquez (5.2IP 8H 2R 10K ND in the 4-3 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.
- Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Sunday. Suarez (HR 3-4 R BI in the 2-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season. He ranks eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Debut—Aledmys Diaz of the Cardinals made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Diaz (2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 12-7 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,612th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Streak—Huston Street of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Street (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Athletics. He has 51.0 career points, ranked second among active AL closing pitchers (behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Tigers who has 60.4). His best season was 2008 with the Athletics, when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked fourth among AL closing pitchers. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Angels.
Scoring—Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bettis earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Machado and Belt each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart 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
| 4/10 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Blue Jays | Marco Estrada (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado, 3B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | Rockies | Chad Bettis (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 3.2 | `Royals | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Giants | Brandon Belt, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Aledmys Diaz, SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Joe Ross (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Huston Street (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Phillies | Jeremy Hellickson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Sean Doolittle (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cubs | Tommy La Stella, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Phillies' Velasquez tops players for Saturday, April 9; Kershaw extends lead, Beltran extends consecutive season streak to 18
Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, making his Box-Toppers debut.
Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings, becoming the first player in 2016 to earn Player of the Game honors for the second time.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 9:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 |
| 8 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 |
| 9 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 1.7 |
| 10 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
In addition, Carlos Beltran of the Yankees extended his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 18, which is the most of any active player and one short of the record of 19 held by Jason Giambi.
Player of the Day—Velasquez struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Mets. Velasquez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and ranks seventh in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
This was also Velasquez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Velasquez made his Major League debut June 10, 2015, and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,611th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Rich Hill struck out 10 over six innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 6-1 win over the Mariners.
National League Player of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Padres hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, driving in six runs, in the 16-3 win over the Rockies.
Kemp has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Dodgers and has 53.1 career points, which ranks fifth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2012 with the Dodgers when he had 10.0 points, ranked third among NL batters. He had 5.5 points in 2015 with the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Colby Rasmus of the Astros hit two homers and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Brewers.
Leader—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw maintained his lead in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Kershaw (8IP 4H 2R 5K ND in the 3-2 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season. He is the first player this season to earn Player of the Game honors for the second time. (Kershaw did not earn the win because the Dodgers were not leading when he exited the game.)
With his point Saturday, Kershaw now has 162.3 career Box-Toppers points, 12th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 11th-place player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, who has 162.7.
Box-Toppers season streaks
Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Jason Giambi earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 19 straight seasons from 1995 to 2013, more than any other player. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Players are listed by duration of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Duration | Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995-2013 | 133.4 |
| 2 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995-2012 | 146.7 |
| 2 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995-2012 | 149.0 |
| 2 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995-2012 | 63.0 |
| 2 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | 1996-2013 | 187.0 |
| 2 | 18 | Carlos Beltran* | rf | 1999-2016 | 99.9 |
| 7 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995-2011 | 126.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996-2012 | 76.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998-2014 | 100.7 |
| 7 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999-2015 | 157.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999-2015 | 115.9 |
* Active player.
Streak—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees has now earned Box-Toppers points in 18 straight seasons, extending his lead in that category among active players. It is tied for the second-longest streak since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, trailing only Jason Giambi’s record 19-season streak.
Beltran (HR 2-4 2R 2BI) was Player of the Game in the 8-4 win over the Tigers and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Beltran earned his first points in 1999 with the Royals and has 99.9 career points, 69th among all players since 1995, 26th among all batters in the span and sixth among all active batters. His best season was 2003 with the Royals, when he had 13.9 points, second among AL batters. He had 3.5 points in 2015 with the Yankees.
Notable—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rises to 60th place in “all-time” Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Beltre (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 4-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 102.8 career points, moving to 60th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Beltre passes two players on the “all-time” list, Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and Miguel Tejada (102.3). Beltre trails 59th-place player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Beltre’s 102.8 points ranks fifth among active batters.
Scoring—Velasquez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hill earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kemp and Rasmus each earn 1.5 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.
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
| 4/9 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Phillies | Vince Velasquez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| AL | 8.0 | Athletics | Rich Hill (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 7.2 | Royals | Ian Kennedy (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Padres | Matt Kemp, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Astros | Colby Rasmus, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez, 3B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | Avisail Garcia, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Hector Rondon (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Carlos Beltran, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Dustin Pedroia, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Brewers' Chase Anderson top players for Friday, April 8; Indians' Salazar tops AL players
Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Anderson pitched five scoreless innings, striking out five, in the 6-4 win over the Astros. Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and is in fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 8:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 2 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 1.7 |
| 9 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
| 10 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 |
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits, in the 7-1 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit an eighth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 6-5 win over the Reds. Marte also went 3-for-4.
American League Batter of the Day—Brock Holt of the Red Sox hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4, driving in five total runs, in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable—Athletics closing pitcher Ryan Madson earned his first Player of the Game honors in nearly five years. Madson (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) last earned a Box-Toppers point when he earned Player of the Game honors on May 30, 2011, with the Phillies. Madson now has 21.7 career Box-Toppers points.
Debut—Trevor Brown of the Giants made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Brown (HR 1-3 2BI in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Sept. 19, 2015, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,610th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Marte and Holt each earn 1.5 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.
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
| 4/8 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Brewers | Chase Anderson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 5.1 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | Tigers | Jordan Zimmermann (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | Padres | Robbie Erlin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Starling Marte, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Brock Holt, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Ryan Madson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Trevor Brown, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Rangers | Delino DeShields, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Cubs' Anthony Rizzo tops players for Thursday, April 7; White Sox' Latos tops AL players
Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Rizzo hit a three-run homer, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 14-6 win over the Diamondbacks.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 7:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 2 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 |
| 7 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
| 8 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 |
| 9 | Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf | tb al | 1.7 |
| 10 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 1.7 |
Rizzo receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and is now in fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He had 8.5 points in 2015, ranked ninth among National League batters.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Mat Latos pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.
American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 8-5 win over the Astros.
Teixeira has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2003 with the Rangers and has 98.8 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 70th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began and 27th among all batters. He ranks seventh among active batters. Teixeira’s best season was 2009 with the Yankees when he had 11.5 points, ranked sixth among AL batters. He had 7.5 points in 2015 with the Yankees, 17th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall Player of the Day was an NL batter, Anthony Rizzo.
Streak—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Jimenez (7IP 8H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Twins) earned his first Box-Toppers points with the Rockies in 2007 and has 75.8 career points, ranked 10th among active AL pitchers. His best season was 2013 with the Indians when he had 14.5 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL pitchers. He had 8.7 points in 2015 with the Orioles, ranked 25th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Rizzo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Latos earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Teixeira earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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
| 4/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Cubs | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Reds | Jay Bruce, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 6.0 | White Sox | Mat Latos (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 5.0 | Orioles | Ubaldo Jimenez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 4.0 | Giants | Joe Panik, 2B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Yankees | Mark Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Marlins | David Phelps (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | `Angels | Hector Santiago | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Pirates' Juan Nicasio tops players for Wednesday, April 6; Rays' Souza tops AL players
Pirates pitcher Juan Nicasio is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Nicasio struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 5-1 win over the Cardinals. Nicasio earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and is in fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 2 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 |
| 6 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
| 7 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 |
| 8 | Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf | tb al | 1.7 |
| 9 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 1.5 |
| 10 | Kinsler, Ian 2144 | 2b | det al | 1.5 |
American League Player of the Day—Steven Souza of the Rays hit two home runs, including a three-run go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Souza also doubled and went 4-for-4.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt den Dekker of the Nationals hit a seventh-inning, pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead double in the 3-1 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the over AL Player of the Day is a batter, Steven Souza.
Streaks—Two players Wednesday extended their streak of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
- Robinson Cano of the Mariners has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. Cano (2HR 2-4 2R 5BI) was Player of the Game in the 9-5 win over the Rangers and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Cano earned his first points in 2005 with the Yankees. He has 68.4 career points, most among active AL second basemen and fourth among all second basemen since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. His best year was 2013 with the Yankees when he had 12.5 points, fourth among AL batters. In 2015, he had 6.5 points with the Mariners, 22nd among all AL batters and third among AL second basemen.
- Yovani Gallardo of the Orioles has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. Gallardo (5IP 2H R 4K W) was Player of the Game in the 4-2 win over the Twins and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Gallardo earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Brewers. He has 88.7 career points, ranking 98th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began and eighth among active AL pitchers. His best year was 2011 with the Brewers when he had 19.9 points, ranked fourth among NL pitchers. In 2015, he had 5.0 points with the Rangers.
Debut—Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Maeda (6IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 7-0 win over the Padres) was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,609th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Maeda also hit a home run in the game.
Scoring—Nicasio earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Souza earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and den Dekker earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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
| 4/6 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Pirates | Juan Nicasio (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| 7.0 | `Reds | Brandon Finnegan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Rays | Steven Souza, RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Yankees | Starlin Castro, SS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Kenta Maeda (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Victor Martinez, PH-DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Nationals | Matt den Dekker, PH-LF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Orioles | Yovani Gallardo (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Jeremy Jeffress (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rockies | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mets' Noah Syndergaard tops players for Tuesday, April 5; Rays' Odorizzi tops AL players
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Syndergaard struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 2-0 win over the Royals.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. Odorizzi did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because when he exited, the Rays trailed 2-1.
American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-6, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-7 win over the Marlins.
Kinsler has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 57.6 career points, second among active AL second basemen (behind Robinson Cano of the Mariners who has 67.4). Kinsler’s best season was 2009 with the Rangers when he had 11.2 points, eighth among AL batters. In 2015, he had 6.5 points, fourth among AL second basemen.
National League Batter of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks homered, tripled and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rockies. Goldschmidt ranked fourth among NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 10.2.
Notable—David Price (6IP 5H 2R 10K W in the 6-2 win over the Indians) earns his first Player of the Game honor pitching for the Red Sox. Price had 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2015 pitching for the Tigers and Blue Jays, second among AL pitchers.
Streak—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. Lester (7IP 4H R 4K W) was Player of the Game in the 6-1 win over the Angels. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and has 122.1 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks fifth among active NL pitchers. His best year was 2010 with the Red Sox when he led AL pitchers with 23.4 Box-Toppers points. In 2015, he had 12.0 points with the Cubs, 13th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kinsler and Goldschmidt each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for 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
| 4/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | Dodgers | Scott Kazmir (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 6.2 | `Rays | Jake Odorizzi | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 5.0 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Red Sox | David Price (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Tigers | Ian Kinsler, 2B | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Dbacks | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Mariners | Seth Smith, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Johnny Cueto (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Kyle Lobstein (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | David Robertson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Luke Gregerson (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Monday, April 4, moves into 12th in Box-Toppers' 'all-time' rankings
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kershaw struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 15-0 win over the Padres.
Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and takes the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings after the second day of the season. He passes Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano, who was Sunday’s Player of the Day. While both players have 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, Kershaw ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2015—25.7 vs. 14.9.
Kershaw’s 25.7 points ranked second among all players in 2015 (behind Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta’s 29.1). Kershaw led all National League pitchers in points from 2011 to 2014. He led all players in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
In addition, Kershaw passes John Smoltz to move into 12th place in career Box-Toppers player rankings since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw now has 161.3 career Box-Toppers points, passing Smoltz’s 160.9 points. Kershaw trails 11th place player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (162.7).
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Mariners. Hamels ranked eighth among AL pitchers in 2015 with 15.4 Box-Toppers points.
Hamels also has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Phillies and in each of his 10 previous seasons, has earned at least 10.0 Box-Toppers points per season. He has 127.9 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 30th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began). It ranks third among active AL pitchers, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (179.0) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (162.7). His best season was 2011 with the Phillies, when he had 15.8 points, ranked eighth among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Denard Span of the Giants hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-3 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Michael Saunders of the Blue Jays hit a two-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
Notable—Two other pitchers who ranked among Box-Toppers’ top 10 players in 2015 also earned Player of the Game honors Monday:
- Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (7.0IP 2H 0R 6K W in the 9-0 win over the Angels) had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score (+10.0) of Monday’s Players of the Day, but only earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, since he lost overall Player of the Day and NL Player of the Day honors to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0. Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points.
- Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (7.0IP 3H 2R 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He had 21.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, sixth among all players and fourth among NL pitchers.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Trevor Story of the Rockies (2HR 2-6 2R 4BI in the 10-6 win over the Diamondbacks) was making his Major League debut Monday. He is the 3,607th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Tyler Wilson of the Orioles (3.0IP 2H 0R K ND in the 3-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut May 20, 2015, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,608th 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 Hamels earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Span and Saunders each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Monday’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
| 4/4 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Giants | Denard Span, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `Nationals | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 4.0 | Rangers | Cole Hamels (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |
| 3.0 | `Reds | Raisel Iglesias | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Trevor Story, SS | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Orioles | Tyler Wilson | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | Blue Jays | Michael Saunders, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | White Sox | Adam Eaton, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Pirates' Francisco Liriano tops players in Sunday, April 3's opening day games
Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Sunday’s Box-Toppers opening day Player of the Day.
Liriano struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Cardinals.
Liriano receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being opening day Player of the Day and now leads all players in Box-Toppers points with 2.0. He had 14.9 Box-Toppers points in 2015, ranked ninth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 4-3 win over the Mets.
Volquez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 consecutive seasons. He first earned Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 59.5 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 19th among active AL pitchers. His best year was 2008 with the Reds when he had 15.1 points, ranked sixth among NL pitchers. He had 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Royals.
Notable—Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna was Player of the Game in the other regular season game Sunday. Osuna struck out two in one scoreless inning and earned the save in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
Also, Sunday, Angels pitcher A.J. Achter was Player of the Game in the final spring training game of the season, a 6-4 win over the Cubs. Achter struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning, picking up a no decision. (Achter earns no Box-Toppers points because he was playing in a spring training game.)
Scoring—Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Volquez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. All of Sunday’s other regular season 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
| 4/3 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Pirates | Francisco Liriano (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Roberto Osuna (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Spring training | ||||||||||||||||
| 3.0 | `Angels | A.J. Achter | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
A 2016 opening day introduction to Box-Toppers player tracking
Play ball! Join us all year as we mark the 22nd season tracking baseball's top players with the hand-crafted metric, Box-Toppers points. Here is how it works.
Read MoreAthletics' Eric Surkamp tops players in Saturday, April 2's final spring training games
Athletics pitcher Eric Surkamp is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, the final day of spring training.
Surkamp pitched seven scoreless innings of middle relief, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 4-1 win over the Giants. Surkamp had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox and Dodgers. He has 1.0 career Box-Toppers point, earned Sept. 16, 2014, with the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Jake Cave of the Reds tripled and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 13-6 win over the Pirates. Cave has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has no career Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day—Mike Trout of the Angels hit two doubles and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 8-1 win over the Dodgers. Trout had 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, second among AL batters.
Trout had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +4.0, tied with Dae-Ho Lee of the Mariners, who was Player of the Game in the 8-5 win over the Rockies. But Trout won AL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more doubles—2 vs. 1.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Surkamp would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Cave would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Trout would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Thirteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—nine are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Twins vs. Nationals), one game was cancelled (Tigers vs. Braves) and two other games were not included because they involved non-Major League teams (Phillies Futures vs. Phillies and Brewers vs. Biloxi).
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
| 4/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Athletics | Eric Surkamp (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Angels | Mike Trout CF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Dae-Ho Lee 1B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| NL | 3.0 | Reds | Jake Cave LF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Indians | Rajai Davis CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | Travis Ishikawa 1B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Kyle Martin (SV, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.1 | `Dbacks | Robbie Ray | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2.1 | Marlins | Chris Narveson (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mets' Steven Matz tops players in Friday, April 1's spring training games
Mets pitcher Steven Matz is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.
Matz struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing no hits, in the 8-1 win over the Cubs. Matz had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Mets.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Hector Santiago pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 5-1 win over the Dodgers. Santiago had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Angels.
American League Batter of the Day—Anthony Gose of the Tigers hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-3, scoring twice, in the 9-4 win over the Rays. Gose has played in 342 regular season Major League games, but has yet to earn Player of the Game honors and so has no career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Rickie Weeks of the Diamondbacks doubled and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 7-4 win over the Royals. Weeks had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Mariners. He has 36.1 career Box-Toppers points since 2005. His best year was 2007 with the Brewers when he had 6.2 points.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Matz would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santiago would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gose and Weeks would each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s top Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Fourteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—12 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Rays vs. Braves and Rockies vs. Mariners).
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
| 4/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Mets | Steven Matz (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Angels | Héctor Santiago (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Tigers | Anthony Gose CF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Giants | Jake Peavy (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.2 | Indians | Cody Anderson (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Astros | Josh Fields (SV, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Orioles | Garabez Rosa 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Lane Adams PH-DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Jonathan Papelbon (SV, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Luis Ysla (SV, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Nate Jones (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | Dbacks | Rickie Weeks DH | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Giants' Jeff Samardzija tops players in Thursday, March 31's spring training games
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.
Samardzija pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics. Samardzija had 9.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox, ranked 20th among American League pitchers. His best season was 2012 with the Cubs when he had 12.7 points, 16th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—J.D. Martinez of the Tigers hit three homers, going 3-for-4 and driving in four runs, in the 10-6 win over the Yankees. Martinez had 1.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Tigers. His best season was 2014 with the Tigers, when he had 5.0 points.
National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit a grand slam, going 1-for-2, in the 13-8 win over the Rays. Rodriguez had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Pirates. He had 5.0 points in 2014 with the Rays.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the AL Player of the Day was a batter, J.D. Martinez.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Samardzija would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Martinez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Rodriguez would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Thirteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—11 are listed below. Two games are not listed because they involved non-Major League teams (Phillies vs. Phillies Futures and Padres vs. El Paso).
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
| 3/31 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Giants | Jeff Samardzija (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 7.1 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Mike Leake (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Tigers | J.D. Martínez RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Orioles | Yovani Gallardo (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Seán Rodríguez CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Angels | Al Alburquerque (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Ryan Pressly (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Charlie Blackmon CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Yasiel Balaguert 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |