Pirates' Cole tops players for Sunday, May 15; Beltran becomes 69th player to 100 career Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank May 15, 2016

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 15:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	6.7
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
7	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
8	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7
9	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5
10	Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	5.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Carlos Beltran of the Yankees becomes the 69th player with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points (since player tracking began in 1995).

Player of the Day—Cole struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 2-1 win over the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Hector Santiago pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 3-0 win over the Mariners.

Santiago earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit three home runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth, in the 7-6 win over the Rays. Valencia went 3-for-5 with five total RBIs.

National League Batter of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.

Notable—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees becomes the 69th player—and 26th batter—with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Beltran (HR 1-3 2R 3BI in the 7-5 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.9 for his career. He rises to 66th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when player tracking began), passing three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Beltran now trails 65th-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2). Beltran has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Tigers pitcher Warwick Saupold made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Saupold (2.2IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 6-5 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 14 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,636th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He is the only player among the 3,636 to be named “Warwick.”

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santiago earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia and Bruce 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/15
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    AL
    10.0
    Angels
    Hector Santiago (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    11
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Athletics
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    5
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Twins
    Tyler Duffey (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    5.1
    `Brewers
    Zach Davies
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    Red Sox
    Ryan Hanigan, C
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `Royals
    Danny Duffy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Ian Desmond, CF
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Reds
    Jay Bruce, RF
    3
    3
    3
    0
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Carlos Beltran, DH
    3
    2
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Ryan Raburn, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    Tigers
    Warwick Saupold (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Cardinals
    Yadier Molina, PH-C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Giants
    Hunter Strickland (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	5.4	13.4	25.8	25.8	-2.6
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	5.0	9.7	35.7	35.7	0.3
Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	3.0	22.0	32.4	32.4	-16.0
Desmond, Ian 2673	cf lf	tex al	3.0	4.0	19.7	26.2	2.0
Valencia, Danny 2772	3b	oak al	2.5	6.0	8.0	11.0	-1.0
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	cin nl	2.5	5.7	25.7	52.8	-0.7
Beltran, Carlos 1194	rf dh	nyy al	2.0	5.5	22.9	100.9	-1.5
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	1.0	5.0	20.0	20.0	-3.0
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	1.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-3.0
Davies, Zach 3581	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Raburn, Ryan 2340	dh rf ph	col nl	1.0	3.0	18.7	36.7	-1.0
Hanigan, Ryan 2708	ca	bos al	1.0	2.5	8.0	11.0	-0.5
Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	stl nl	1.0	2.0	14.7	31.7	0.0
Strickland, Hunter 3546	pi mr	sf nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Saupold, Warwick 3636	pi mr	det al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rays' Andriese tops players for Saturday, May 14; Cubs' Arrieta rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank May 15, 2016

Rays pitcher Matt Andriese 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 2016 season as of May 14:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	6.7
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
7	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
8	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7
9	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings and David Ortiz of the Red Sox extended his consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points to 17.

Player of the Day—Andriese pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 6-0 win over the Athletics.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 8-2 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season and rising from fourth to second in season player rankings, trailing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (9.0).

American League Batter of the Day—Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers. Schoop went 2-for-3 with five total RBIs.

National League Batter of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Nationals.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Nola (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

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
  

    7
    17
    David Ortiz*
    dh
    2000-2016
    138.9
  

    13
    16
    Manny Ramirez
    lf
    1995-2010
    167.2
  

    13
    16
    Andy Pettitte
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    138.5
  

    13
    16
    Jamie Moyer
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    104.0
  

    13
    16
    Scott Rolen
    3b
    1996-2011
    97.6
  

    13
    16
    Kevin Millwood
    pi sp
    1997-2012
    108.3
  

    13
    16
    Derek Lowe
    pi sp
    1998-2013
    91.5
  

    13
    16
    Aramis Ramirez
    3b
    2000-2015
    105.8
  

    13
    16
    Mark Buehrle*
    pi sp
    2000-2015
    116.7
  

    13
    16
    Albert Pujols*
    dh 1b
    2001-2016
    175.3
  

    13
    16
    Ichiro Suzuki*
    rf
    2001-2016
    52.7
  

    13
    16
    CC Sabathia*
    pi sp
    2001-2016
    180.0
  


BTP: Box-Toppers points

* Active streak


 

Streak—Two players extended notable streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:

David Ortiz of the Red Sox (HR 3B 2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 6-5 win over the Astros) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons—only six players in Box-Toppers tracking history (going back to 1995) have longer streaks.

Ortiz had his first Box-Toppers points in 1997 with the Twins, but his current 17-season streak began in 2000 with the Twins. He has 138.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 23rd among all players since 1995, passing Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. Ortiz now trails 22nd-ranked player Bartolo Colon of the Mets (142.1). Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995 and third among active batters.

Ortiz had his best seasons in 2005 and 2006 with the Red Sox, when he led AL batters in Box-Toppers points both seasons (14.7 in 2005 and 16.7 in 2006). He had 4.5 points in 2015 with the Red Sox.

Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (6IP 3H R 5K ND in the 8-7 win over the Brewers) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2002 with the Padres and has 137.8 career points, 25th among all players since 1995. He trails 24th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Peavy’s best season was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among NL pitchers. He had 5.0 points in 2015 with the Giants.

Debut—Juan Centeno of the Twins made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Centeno (HR 2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Sept. 18, 2013, and was playing in his 28th career game. He is the 3,635th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Andriese earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arrieta earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Schoop and Ozuna 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/14
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Rays
    Matt Andriese (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    NL
    10.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,7-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    11
  

    
    7.0
    Phillies
    Aaron Nola (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    1
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Orioles
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    5
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Braves
    Mike Foltynewicz (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    `Rangers
    Colby Lewis
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    `Padres
    Brad Hand
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    4.2
    Dodgers
    Scott Kazmir (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    5
    3
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Angels
    Kole Calhoun, RF
    4
    3
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Giants
    Jake Peavy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Juan Centeno, C
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Aroldis Chapman (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    5
    1
    3
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Marlins
    Marcell Ozuna, CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Nationals
    Michael Taylor, CF
    3
    2
    2
    0
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7	36.8	64.5	67.5	-21.4
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	3.7
Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	tex al	2.7	10.4	28.6	40	-5
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	lad nl	2.0	14.7	42.6	98.4	-10.7
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	2.0	9.0	15.0	15.0	-5.0
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	2.0	5.2	12.7	12.7	-1.2
Andriese, Matt 3505	pi mr	tb al	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	cf	fla nl	1.5	4.5	15.0	15.0	-1.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	1.5	4.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	nyy al	1.0	9.0	39.0	40.0	-7.0
Taylor, Michael 3447	cf	dc nl	1.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	-4.5
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	1.0	6.0	34.1	137.8	-4.0
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	1.0	5.5	36.9	138.9	-3.5
Foltynewicz, Mike 3455	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	3.7	3.7	3.7	-1.7
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr sp	sd nl	1.0	2.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Centeno, Juan 3635	ca	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Blue Jays' Dickey tops players for Friday, May 13; White Sox' Sale rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank May 14, 2016

Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 12:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
2	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	6.7
3	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
7	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
8	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, passing Manny Machado of the Orioles for the lead among all American League players.

Player of the Day—Dickey pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Rangers.

National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs (both unearned), in the 3-2 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—David Ross of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 9-4 win over the Pirates. This was Ross’ first Player of the Game honor in more than three years. He last earned Box-Toppers points on April 26, 2013, when he was AL Batter of the Day while playing for the Red Sox.

Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Sale (CG 6H R 6K W in the 7-1 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. Sale also passes Manny Machado of the Orioles (6.7 points) to lead all AL players in Box-Toppers points. Though both Sale and Machado have 6.7 points, Sale wins the tiebreaker because he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points—18.8 vs. 7.5.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

Brewers pitcher Junior Guerra (6IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 1-0 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut June 12, 2015, and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,633rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rockies pitcher Jon Gray (7IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 5-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 2015, and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,634th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Dickey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hellickson earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Springer and Ross 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/13
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    NL
    9.0
    Phillies
    Jeremy Hellickson (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    7.0
    White Sox
    Chris Sale (W,8-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    7.0
    Orioles
    Chris Tillman (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Brewers
    Junior Guerra (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Rockies
    Jon Gray (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Astros
    George Springer, RF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Cubs
    David Ross, C
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Joe Panik, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Nationals
    Bryce Harper, RF
    2
    1
    2
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Fernando Salas (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    Indians
    Zach McAllister (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Dodgers
    Yasiel Puig, RF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    1
    1
    1
    0
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	6.7	25.5	77.7	79.7	-12.1
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	4.4	9.4	33.1	36.1	-0.6
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	4.0	8.7	37.8	39.8	-0.7
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	2.5	3.5	6.5	6.5	1.5
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	2.0	7.0	51.2	72.9	-3.0
Panik, Joe 3401	2b	sf nl	2.0	6.0	7.0	7.0	-2.0
Ross, David 1729	ca	chi nl	1.5	1.5	10.0	26.1	1.5
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	1.0	10.0	23.5	23.5	-8.0
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	1.0	10.0	25.4	25.4	-8.0
Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	lad nl	1.0	4.5	7.0	7.0	-2.5
Valencia, Danny 2772	3b	oak al	1.0	4.5	6.5	9.5	-2.5
McAllister, Zach 3088	pi mr sp	cle al	1.0	2.0	12.7	12.7	0.0
Salas, Fernando 2853	pi cp	ana al	1.0	2.0	9.0	9.0	0.0
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw takes lead in Box-Toppers weekly player rankings report

Shawn Plank May 13, 2016

Kershaw passes Cubs' Arrieta to take Box-Toppers points lead. Machado rises to lead AL batters, Sale rises to lead AL pitchers, Cespedes maintains NL batting lead.

Chicago Cubs maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead for 4th week; White Sox keep AL lead

Shawn Plank May 13, 2016

Both Chicago teams continue leading Box-Toppers team rankings. Red Sox are hottest team of the past week.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Thursday, May 12, solidifies lead in season Box-Toppers points, rises to 8th in ‘all-time' points

Shawn Plank May 13, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, pitching a three-hit shutout, is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and solidifies his lead in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 12:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
2	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
7	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
8	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw also rises two spots to eighth place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when tracking began.

Kershaw pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, allowing one walk and striking out 13, in the 5-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season, 2.3 more than second-place player, Manny Machado of the Orioles.

Kershaw also now has 168.3 career Box-Toppers points and rises from 10th to eighth on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings, passing two players—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Kershaw trails seventh-place player Roy Halladay (170.7).

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher David Price struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 11-1 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-10 win over the Angels.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	180.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	175.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	168.3
9	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
10	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
11	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
12	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	163.7
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	149.4
19	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

American League Batter of the Day—Chase Headley of the Yankees homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Besides Kershaw, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:

Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (7IP 8H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to fourth place. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.5 for the season, rising to eighth place. He ranks second among AL batters, behind teammate Manny Machado (6.7). In addition, Davis Thursday earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day—he was Player of the Game Wednesday in the 9-2 win over the Twins.

Streak—Padres pitcher James Shields has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Shields (7IP 7H 0R 9K W in the 3-0 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rays and has 97.4 career points, 11th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2011 with the Rays when he had 20.1 points, third among AL pitchers. He had 5.7 points in 2015 with the Padres.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Holliday and Headley 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/12
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    18.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    AL
    9.2
    Red Sox
    David Price (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    12
  

    
    8.0
    Padres
    James Shields (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Holliday, DH
    5
    3
    4
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Yankees
    Chase Headley, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Odubel Herrera, CF
    4
    2
    4
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Johnny Cueto (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0	34.7	134.8	168.3	-16.7
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0	18.8	70.0	89.4	-6.8
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5	16.5	47.4	55.9	-5.5
Price, David 2593	pi sp	bos al	4.7	25.8	81.8	98.5	-16.4
Holliday, Matt 1836	1b dh lf	stl nl	3.0	4.5	34.7	94.8	1.5
Herrera, Odubel 3449	cf	phi nl	2.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-2.0
Headley, Chase 2552	3b	nyy al	1.5	3.5	15.0	25.5	-0.5
Shields, James 2157	pi sp	sd nl	1.0	8.4	66.6	97.4	-6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer strikes out 20, tops players for Wednesday, May 11, rises to 8th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank May 12, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who tied a Major League record by striking out 20 in a single game, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 11:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
5	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
7	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	5.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Scherzer pitched a complete game, allowing two runs, six hits and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Tigers. His 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game ties the record of Roger Clemens of the Red Sox (who did it twice, in 1986 and 1996) and Kerry Wood of the Cubs (1998). (In 2001, Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks also struck out 20 in nine innings in a game that lasted 11 innings.)

While his 20 strikeouts tie a record, Scherzer’s Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +19.0 is only the fourth-highest score of the season. (See chart at the bottom of the page for the four highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016.) In 2015, Scherzer had three games with a Box-Toppers game score of +19.0 or more, including the season’s highest score of +26.0 in his Oct. 3 no-hitter. He also had the season’s third-highest score (+23.0 on June 14 in a one-hitter) and 11th-highest score (+19.0 on June 20 in a no-hitter).

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points Wednesday for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to eighth place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers. He also rises to 51st place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) with 111.0 career points, moving past Tom Glavine (110.6) on the “all-time” list. Scherzer now trails 50th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher John Lackey (111.5).

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Michael Feliz struck out five over three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and earning the save, in the 5-3, 16-inning win over the Indians.

This was Feliz’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Feliz made his Major League debut May 31, 2015, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,632nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer, a two-run homer and a double in the 13-3 win over the Athletics. Bradley also went 3-for-6, driving in six total runs.

National League Batter of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

Notable—Noah Syndergaard of the Mets became the second pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.

Syndergaard (2HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 for batting and a score of +3.0 for pitching (8IP 6H 2R BB K W). Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals is the other pitcher who earned Player of the Game honors for batting this season when he did it on May 2. In 2015, pitchers won Player of the Game honors for batting seven times.

Streak—Nelson Cruz of the Mariners has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Cruz (HR 1-3 2R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Rays) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 48.2 career points, fifth among active AL outfielders and 10th among active AL designated hitters. His best season was 2014 with the Orioles when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, sixth among AL batters. He had 2.0 points in 2015 with the Mariners.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Feliz earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bradley and Blackmon 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/11
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    19.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    20
  

    
    10.0
    Padres
    Drew Pomeranz (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    10
  

    
    8.0
    Braves
    Williams Perez (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    8.0
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    7.0
    Astros
    Michael Feliz (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.1
    Marlins
    Wei-Yin Chen (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    2
    12
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
    5
    2
    3
    6
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rockies
    Charlie Blackmon, CF
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Mets
    Noah Syndergaard, P
    4
    2
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    `Giants
    Madison Bumgarner
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    1
    4
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Ian Desmond, CF-LF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Jung Ho Kang, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Brett Wallace, 3B
    3
    1
    1
    3
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Nelson Cruz, DH
    3
    2
    1
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Lorenzo Cain, CF
    2
    1
    1
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	5.0	26.0	90.6	111.0	-16.0
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	4.5	15.5	46.4	54.9	-6.5
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	4.0	14.4	14.4	14.4	-6.4
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	4.0	13.4	31.1	39.8	-5.4
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp mr	sd nl	4.0	7.0	15.0	15.0	1.0
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	3.0	20.0	90.0	95.7	-14.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	bos al	2.5	12.0	13.0	13.0	-7.0
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	2.0	10.2	16.2	16.2	-6.2
Desmond, Ian 2673	lf cf ss	tex al	2.0	3.0	18.7	25.2	1.0
Feliz, Michael 3632	pi cp	hou al	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Blackmon, Charlie 2891	cf	col nl	1.5	4.0	9.5	9.5	-1.0
Chen, Wei-Yin 3026	pi sp	fla nl	1.0	6.7	26.1	26.1	-4.7
Perez, Williams 3476	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-3.0
Kang, Jung-Ho 3464	ss 3b	pit nl	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Cruz, Nelson 2224	dh rf	sea al	1.0	3.0	28.7	48.2	-1.0
Wallace, Brett 2837	3b	sd nl	1.0	1.0	3.5	3.5	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Top Box-Toppers game scores of 2016

Here are the top Box-Toppers game scores of 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14. Also shown are the Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the game by the player. Note that Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point because he earned his Box-Toppers game score of +20 on April 14, the same day Velasquez bested him for Player of the Day with +22.0.

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Date
    BTP
    Score
    Team
    Player of the Game
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    4/14
    2.0
    22.0
    Phillies
    Vince Velasquez (W,2-0)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    16
  

    4/14
    1.0
    20.0
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,1-0)
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    5/1
    2.0
    20.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

    5/11
    2.0
    19.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,4-2)
    9.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    20
  

Indians' Bauer tops players for Tuesday, May 10; Orioles' Machado rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank May 11, 2016

Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 10:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
5	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
7	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
9	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
10	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, taking the lead among all American League players.

Player of the Day—Bauer struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 4-0 win over the Astros.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Rockies.

De La Rosa earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season and rises to sixth in season player rankings, third among NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (7.0) and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (6.0).

American League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-5 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Ben Zobrist of the Cubs went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Padres.

Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Machado (HR 3-3 2R BI in the 5-3 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. He passes White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (5.7) for the AL lead in Box-Toppers points and trails only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (7.0).

Debut—Ryan Rua of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Rua (HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 13-11 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2014, and was playing in his 71st career game. He is the 3,631st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bauer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and De La Rosa earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Shaw and Zobrist each earn 1.5 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/10
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Indians
    Trevor Bauer (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    NL
    6.1
    Dbacks
    Rubby De La Rosa (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.1
    `Dodgers
    Alex Wood
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    2
    1
    2
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Travis Shaw, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    5
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cubs
    Ben Zobrist, 2B
    4
    3
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    Blue Jays
    J.A. Happ (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    6
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Rangers
    Ryan Rua, 1B-LF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Mike Leake (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Phillies
    Adam Morgan (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Manny Machado, SS
    3
    2
    3
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Mariners
    Steve Cishek (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Aaron Hill, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Didi Gregorius, SS
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Tigers
    Victor Martinez, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	6.7	14.2	17.7	17.7	-0.8
De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7	11.7	15.7	15.7	-0.3
Martinez, Victor 1695	dh 1b ph	det al	3.5	7.0	26.9	67.1	0.0
Hill, Aaron 2056	3b 2b	mil nl	3.0	6.0	20.0	39.0	0.0
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	3.0	4.0	23.0	23.0	2.0
Zobrist, Ben 2216	rf 2b	chi nl	2.5	3.5	21.5	30.5	1.5
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	2.0	15.1	30.5	38.5	-11.1
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	2.0	11.4	20.1	20.1	-7.4
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b	bos al	1.5	5.7	5.7	5.7	-2.7
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	1.0	11.0	36.1	40.6	-9.0
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	1.0	8.7	19.4	19.4	-6.7
Gregorius, Didi 3184	ss	nyy al	1.0	3.5	5.5	5.5	-1.5
Morgan, Adam 3572	pi sp	phi nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Rua, Ryan 3631	1b lf	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Fernandez tops players for Monday, May 9; White Sox' Frazier tops AL players

Shawn Plank May 10, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez 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 2016 season as of May 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	5.7
5	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
8	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
9	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
10	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fernandez struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Brewers. Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, ranking 21st among all players, the highest ranking of any of Monday’s 11 Players of the Games.

American League Player of the Day—Todd Frazier of the White Sox hit two home runs, including a 12-inning, tie-breaking grand slam, in the 8-4 win over the Twins. Frazier also went 4-for-6.

National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Todd Frazier.

Debut—Ketel Marte of the Mariners made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Marte (HR 2B 4-5 3R 3BI in the 5-2 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 31, 2015, and was playing in his 87th career game. He is the 3,630th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Frazier earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Lamb earns 1.5 points for being NL 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/9
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    4
    11
  

    AL
    6.0
    White Sox
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    6
    2
    4
    6
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
    5
    2
    3
    6
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Dbacks
    Jake Lamb, 3B
    3
    3
    2
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Mariners
    Ketel Marte, SS
    5
    3
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Mike Fiers (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    2.2
    Yankees
    Kirby Yates (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Daniel Murphy, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Aaron Sanchez (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    5
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Jeurys Familia (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Reds
    Joey Votto, 1B
    2
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	4.0	8.7	34.7	34.7	-0.7
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	3.7	5.7	7.7	7.7	1.7
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	2.5	4.0	26.0	27.5	1.0
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	2.0	7.0	23.7	55.7	-3.0
Yates, Kirby 3628	pi mr	nyy al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	chi al	1.7	10.6	24.6	24.6	-7.2
Lamb, Jake 3517	3b	ari nl	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.5
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	bos al	1.0	10.5	11.5	11.5	-8.5
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	1.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-7.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	1.0	8.0	22.1	22.1	-6.0
Marte, Ketel 3630	ss	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Red Sox' Wright tops players for Sunday, May 8; Orioles' Machado leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank May 9, 2016

Red Sox Steven Wright is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 8:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	5.7
5	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
8	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
9	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
10	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Manny Machado of the Orioles earned American League Batter of the Day and rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.

Player of the Day—Wright pitched a complete-game three-hitter, striking out seven and allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Yankees.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling struck out six over six innings, allowing one run and one hit, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays. Stripling did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the Dodgers trailing 1-0.

This was Stripling’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,629th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Machado hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 11-3 win over the Athletics. Machado also went 2-for-4 and drove in six runs.

Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, rising to fourth among all players this season and first among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—John Jaso of the Pirates homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 10-5 win over the Cardinals.

Jaso had a Box-Toppers game score of +2, the same as Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers, who was Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Reds (HR 2B 3-4 R 2BI). Jaso and Lucroy had very similar batting lines and Jaso won NL Batter of the Day honors on a low-level tiebreaker—he left fewer runners on base—0 vs. 1.

Rankings—White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Quintana (7IP 6H R 5K W in the 3-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind teammate Chris Sale, who has the same Box-Toppers point total (5.7) but ranks ahead of Quintana because he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points—18.8 vs. 6.0.

Scoring—Wright earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stripling earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Machado and Jaso 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/8
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Red Sox
    Steven Wright (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    NL
    9.0
    `Dodgers
    Ross Stripling
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Orioles
    Manny Machado, SS
    4
    2
    2
    6
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Mets
    Matt Harvey (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    
    6.0
    Rockies
    Eddie Butler (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    `Dbacks
    Patrick Corbin
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Rangers
    Bobby Wilson, C
    4
    1
    3
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    White Sox
    Jose Quintana (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    2.2
    `Indians
    Bryan Shaw
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Pirates
    John Jaso, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Jonathan Lucroy, C
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `Cubs
    Trevor Cahill
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Jeanmar Gomez (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Alex Colome (S, 9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	5.7	13.2	16.7	16.7	-1.8
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7	11.7	30.5	30.5	-0.3
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	bos al	3.0	6.7	7.7	7.7	-0.7
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	2.0	7.0	10.7	10.7	-3.0
Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	mil nl	2.0	3.7	22.6	23.6	0.3
Shaw, Bryan 2995	pi mr	cle al	2.0	3.0	7.0	7.0	1.0
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Jaso, John 2705	1b ca	pit nl	1.5	1.5	6.5	12.5	1.5
Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	1.0	16.4	34.4	34.4	-14.4
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	1.0	10.7	22.5	22.5	-8.7
Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	6.4	29.8	29.8	-4.4
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr	chi nl	1.0	2.0	25.1	38.2	0.0
Butler, Eddie 3483	pi sp	col nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Gomez, Jeanmar 2759	pi cp	phi nl	1.0	1.0	6.0	8.0	1.0
Wilson, Bobby 3071	ca	tex al	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Hill tops players for Saturday, May 7; Dodgers' Kershaw takes Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank May 8, 2016

Aaron Hill of the Brewers 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 2016 season as of May 7:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
4	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
6	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
8	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	4.7
10	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Meanwhile, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to take the lead in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Hill hit three homers, including a 10th-inning, go-ahead grand slam, in the 13-7 win over the Reds. Hill went 3-for-5 and drove in seven total runs.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 7-2 win over the Twins.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, rising to third place in season player rankings, first among AL players.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit two homers and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Tigers.

Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 104.3 for his career. He rises to 59th place in points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (103.3) and Jamie Moyer (104.0). Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day was an NL batter, Aaron Hill of the Brewers.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Kershaw (7IP 8H 2R 10K W in the 6-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (6.0).

Also, Kershaw now has 166.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 10th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails ninth-place player, Johan Santana (166.6).

Notable—Two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:

Athletics pitcher Rich Hill (5.2IP 2H R 5K W in the 8-4 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to fourth place.
Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (8.1IP 8H 0R 3K ND in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to fifth place.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Sale earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Beltre earns 1.5 points for being AL 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/7
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Brewers
    Aaron Hill, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    8.0
    White Sox
    Chris Sale (W,7-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    
    7.0
    Royals
    Ian Kennedy (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    5.1
    `Mariners
    Nathan Karns
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    5.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    2
    2
    0
    10
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Yankees
    Nathan Eovaldi (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    
    3.2
    Athletics
    Rich Hill (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    2
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Stephen Piscotty, RF
    3
    3
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    David Wright, 3B
    2
    2
    2
    1
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    `Giants
    Johnny Cueto
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    8
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Addison Russell, SS
    4
    1
    2
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Brett Oberholtzer (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    `Dbacks
    Tyler Clippard
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Orioles
    Zach Britton (S,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Rays
    Steven Souza, RF
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0	32.7	132.8	166.3	-18.7
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7	24.5	76.7	78.7	-13.1
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4	9.4	9.4	29.1	1.4
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0	17.8	69.0	88.4	-7.8
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	4.0	10.7	54.5	60.5	-2.7
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	2.7	8.2	8.2	8.2	-2.8
Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	2.5	15.0	40.9	104.3	-10.0
Karns, Nathan 3414	pi sp	sea al	2.0	7.0	8.0	8.0	-3.0
Hill, Aaron 2056	3b 2b	mil nl	2.0	5.0	19.0	38.0	-1.0
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	2.0	4.5	4.5	4.5	-0.5
Eovaldi, Nathan 2928	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	4.0	21.1	21.1	0.0
Britton, Zachary 2835	pi cp	bal al	1.0	9.7	29.1	29.1	-7.7
Piscotty, Stephen 3570	rf	stl nl	1.0	5.2	5.2	5.2	-3.2
Clippard, Tyler 2291	pi mr	ari nl	1.0	2.0	17.0	28.4	0.0
Oberholtzer, Brett 3244	pi mr	phi nl	1.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	1.0	1.0	24.5	75.1	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Hamels top players for Friday, May 6, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank May 7, 2016

Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 6:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
3	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
4	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
5	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	4.7
7	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7
8	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7
9	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
10	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	4.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hamels struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 5-1 win over the Tigers. Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to sixth in player rankings, first among American League pitchers.

Hamels also now has 130.9 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes one player on the “all-time” list, Trevor Hoffman (129.4) and now trails 27th-ranked player, Jason Giambi (133.4).

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher John Lackey struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 8-6 win over the Nationals.

Lackey now has 111.5 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 50th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes one player on the “all-time” list, Tom Glavine (110.6) and now trails 49th-ranked player, Kevin Brown (112.8).

American League Batter of the Day—Melky Cabrera of the White Sox doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 10-4 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 6-4 win over the Phillies.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	180.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	175.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	165.3
11	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
12	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	163.7
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	149.4
19	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 18th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when player tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Greinke (6IP 7H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 149.4 for his career. He passes one player on the “all-time” list, Chipper Jones (149.0) and now trails 17th-ranked player, Greg Maddux (151.7). Greinke has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Yankees pitcher Kirby Yates made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Yates (0.2IP 0H 0R K W in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut June 7, 2014, and was playing in his 68th career game. He is the 3,628th 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 Lackey earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cabrera and Yelich 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/6
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    Rangers
    Cole Hamels (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    11.2
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    NL
    7.0
    Cubs
    John Lackey (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    
    6.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    
    6.0
    Padres
    Drew Pomeranz (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Chris Archer (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    3.0
    White Sox
    Melky Cabrera, LF
    5
    1
    4
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Carlos Correa, SS
    3
    1
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Santiago Casilla (S,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Marlins
    Christian Yelich, LF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Joey Votto, 1B
    2
    2
    1
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Dbacks
    Zack Greinke (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    1.2
    Yankees
    Kirby Yates (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Blue Jays
    Kevin Pillar, CF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	4.7	20.1	71.7	130.9	-10.7
Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	4.4	17.8	27.2	27.2	-9.0
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	4.0	18.9	59.4	99.2	-10.9
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	3.7	13.4	33.1	111.5	-6.0
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	3.0	23.7	88.8	149.4	-17.7
Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	3.0	19.0	43.1	43.1	-13.0
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp mr	sd nl	3.0	6.0	14.0	14.0	0.0
Yelich, Christian 3334	lf	fla nl	2.5	5.0	12.5	12.5	0.0
Cabrera, Melky 2143	lf	chi al	2.5	3.5	18.0	29.0	1.5
Casilla, Santiago 2301	pi cp	sf nl	2.0	7.0	19.7	22.7	-3.0
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	1.0	8.2	8.2	8.2	-6.2
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	1.0	6.0	22.7	54.7	-4.0
Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	tor al	1.0	4.5	4.5	4.5	-2.5
Yates, Kirby 3628	pi mr	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops 3rd straight Box-Toppers weekly player rankings report

Shawn Plank May 6, 2016

There are new leaders in 3 of Box-Toppers main 4 categories: AL batter—Altuve, AL pitcher—Quintana, NL batter—Cespedes.

Chicago Cubs top team rankings for 3rd straight week; White Sox top AL teams

Shawn Plank May 6, 2016

Two Chicago teams remain atop their league standings in Box-Toppers points. Mets and Mariners rise after hot weeks.

Cardinals' Garcia tops players for Thursday, May 5; Orioles' Gausman tops AL players

Shawn Plank May 6, 2016

Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 5:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
3	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
4	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
5	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7
7	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7
8	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
9	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	4.5
10	Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	4.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Garcia pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 10-inning, 1-0 win over the Yankees. Gausman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 0-0.

American League Batter of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and doubled twice, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Rangers. This was the second straight day Encarnacion earned Player of the Game honors. He has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.

National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 17-7 win over the Giants.

Rankings—Robinson Cano of the Mariners rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Cano (2B 3-5 4BI in the 6-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.5 for the season. He ranks second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (5.0).

Streak—Brandon Phillips of the Reds has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Phillips (HR 2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 9-5 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but his 11-season streak began in 2006 with the Indians and Reds. He has 63.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Dodgers (72.1). His best season was 2012 with the Reds, when he had 9.5 points, seventh among NL batters. He had 2.7 points in 2015 with the Reds.

Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Encarnacion and Parra 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/5
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    AL
    9.0
    `Orioles
    Kevin Gausman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    8.1
    Marlins
    Adam Conley (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Blue Jays
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    4
    2
    3
    6
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Padres
    Colin Rea (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Hendricks (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rockies
    Gerardo Parra, RF
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Red Sox
    Robbie Ross
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Indians
    Michael Brantley, LF
    5
    1
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Reds
    Brandon Phillips, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    5
    0
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	4.5	11.0	40.0	71.9	-2.0
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	3.0	12.4	30.1	38.8	-6.4
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	2.5	12.9	41.1	61.6	-7.9
Conley, Adam 3594	pi sp	fla nl	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	1.7	7.4	15.1	15.1	-4.0
Parra, Gerardo 2746	rf	col nl	1.5	8.0	19.0	20.0	-5.0
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	1.0	10.7	15.7	15.7	-8.7
Brantley, Michael 2785	lf	cle al	1.0	5.2	19.9	21.4	-3.2
Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	1.0	3.7	29.2	63.1	-1.7
Rea, Colin 3582	pi sp	sd nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Ross, Robbie 2999	pi cp	bos al	1.0	1.0	10.7	10.7	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Matz tops players for Wednesday, May 4; Yankees' Sabathia extends consecutive season streak to 16

Shawn Plank May 5, 2016

Mets pitcher Steven Matz is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 4:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
3	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
4	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
5	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7
7	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7
8	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
9	Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	4.5
10	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia extended his consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points to 16 and Jose Altuve of the Astros rose to lead American League players in Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Matz struck out eight over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 8-0 win over the Braves. Matz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to fourth in season player rankings, third among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched a complete game shutout, striking out seven and allowing five hits, in the 4-0 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 13-2 win over the Royals.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 16-4 win over the Twins. Altuve earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to third in season player rankings, first among all AL players.

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
  

    12
    16
    Manny Ramirez
    lf
    1995-2010
    167.2
  

    12
    16
    Andy Pettitte
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    138.5
  

    12
    16
    Jamie Moyer
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    104.0
  

    12
    16
    Scott Rolen
    3b
    1996-2011
    97.6
  

    12
    16
    Kevin Millwood
    pi sp
    1997-2012
    108.3
  

    12
    16
    Derek Lowe
    pi sp
    1998-2013
    91.5
  

    12
    16
    David Ortiz*
    dh
    2000-2015
    137.9
  

    12
    16
    Aramis Ramirez
    3b
    2000-2015
    105.8
  

    12
    16
    Mark Buehrle*
    pi sp
    2000-2015
    116.7
  

    12
    16
    Albert Pujols*
    dh 1b
    2001-2016
    175.3
  

    12
    16
    Ichiro Suzuki*
    rf
    2001-2016
    52.7
  

    12
    16
    CC Sabathia*
    pi sp
    2001-2016
    180.0
  


BTP: Box-Toppers points

* Active streak


 

Streaks—Two players extended their lengthy consecutive season streaks earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (7IP 6H 0R 6K W in the 7-0 win over the Orioles) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons, tied for the 12th-longest streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Sabathia earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Indians and has 180.0 career points, ranked fifth among all players since 1995, second among all active players (behind teammate Alex Rodriguez, who has 187.0) and first among all active pitchers. His best year was 2008 with the Indians and Brewers, when he had 26.7 points, ranked first among all players. He had 5.7 points in 2015 with the Yankees.
Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (HR 2-4 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Rangers) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Reds and has 60.1 career points, seventh among active AL designated hitters. His best season was 2015 with the Blue Jays when he had 10.4 points, fifth among AL batters.

Rankings—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Suarez (HR 3-4 R 3BI in the 7-4 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.5 for the season. He ranks second among NL batters, behind Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (4.5).

Debut—Dae-Ho Lee of the Mariners made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Lee (2HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 9-8 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut April 4 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,627th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Matz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphy and Altuve 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/4
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.2
    Mets
    Steven Matz (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    11.0
    Rockies
    Tyler Chatwood (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    9.0
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Nationals
    Daniel Murphy, 2B
    5
    4
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Yankees
    CC Sabathia (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Astros
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Clay Buchholz (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Reds
    Eugenio Suarez, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Dae-Ho Lee, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Marlins
    Giancarlo Stanton, RF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Joe Smith (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Kevin Siegrist (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    5
    3
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Steve Pearce, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Blue Jays
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0	12.0	21.5	21.5	-2.0
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0	8.5	8.5	8.5	1.5
Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	4.5	7.5	10.0	10.0	1.5
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	3.4	16.8	47.6	47.6	-10.0
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	3.0	11.5	27.0	27.0	-5.5
Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr cp	stl nl	3.0	7.0	9.0	9.0	-1.0
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	3.0	3.0	12.7	12.7	3.0
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	2.0	7.5	29.2	34.7	-3.5
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	1.5	3.0	25.0	26.5	0.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	1.0	11.4	39.6	60.1	-9.4
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	1.0	7.0	35.2	54.9	-5.0
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	1.0	6.7	41.5	180.0	-4.7
Smith, Joe 2388	pi cp	ana al	1.0	4.0	12.0	13.0	-2.0
Pearce, Steve 2371	1b	tb al	1.0	3.5	13.0	15.0	-1.5
Lee, Dae-Ho 3627	1b	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Phillies' Nola tops players for Tuesday, May 3; Cubs' Arrieta regains Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank May 4, 2016

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 3:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7
5	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7
6	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
7	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
9	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained his top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Aaron Nola struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 1-0 win over the Cardinals. Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to fifth in season player rankings.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana allowed one run over eight innings, striking out five and allowing four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Red Sox. Quintana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to fourth in season player rankings.

American League Batter of the Day—Francisco Lindor of the Indians hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rays.

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
  

    12
    16
    Manny Ramirez
    lf
    1995-2010
    167.2
  

    12
    16
    Andy Pettitte
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    138.5
  

    12
    16
    Jamie Moyer
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    104.0
  

    12
    16
    Scott Rolen
    3b
    1996-2011
    97.6
  

    12
    16
    Kevin Millwood
    pi sp
    1997-2012
    108.3
  

    12
    16
    Derek Lowe
    pi sp
    1998-2013
    91.5
  

    12
    16
    David Ortiz*
    dh
    2000-2015
    137.9
  

    12
    16
    Aramis Ramirez
    3b
    2000-2015
    105.8
  

    12
    16
    Mark Buehrle*
    pi sp
    2000-2015
    116.7
  

    12
    16
    Albert Pujols*
    dh 1b
    2001-2016
    175.3
  

    12
    16
    Ichiro Suzuki*
    rf
    2001-2016
    52.7
  


BTP: Box-Toppers points

* Active player


 

Kendrick has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels and has 31.5 career points, sixth among active NL second basemen. His best season was 2009 with the Angels when he had 5.5 points. He had 4.0 points in 2015 with the Dodgers.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Arrieta (7IP 3H R 5K W in the 7-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. While he has the same number of Box-Toppers points as Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Arrieta wins the tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2015—29.1 vs. 25.7.

Streak—Ichiro Suzuki of the Marlins has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons, tied for the 12th-longest streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.

Suzuki (1-1 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Mariners and has 52.7 career points, sixth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2007 with the Mariners when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL outfielders. He had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Marlins.

Scoring—Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Quintana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Lindor and Kendrick each earn 1.5 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/3
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Phillies
    Aaron Nola (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    10.0
    Giants
    Jeff Samardzija (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Braves
    Matt Wisler (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    8.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,6-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    AL
    7.0
    White Sox
    Jose Quintana (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Indians
    Francisco Lindor, SS
    4
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Orioles
    Chris Tillman (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    4
    9
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Dodgers
    Howie Kendrick, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Blue Jays
    Justin Smoak, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Chris Carter, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    George Springer, RF
    2
    2
    1
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Mike Moustakas, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Padres
    Fernando Rodney (S,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Kyle Seager, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Ichiro Suzuki, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0	35.1	62.8	65.8	-23.1
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7	10.7	29.5	29.5	-1.3
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	2.7
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	3.5	4.5	22.4	23.4	2.5
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	3.0	7.7	36.8	38.8	-1.7
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	11.4	40.1	41.1	-7.4
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp	sd nl	2.0	3.0	20.0	32.0	1.0
Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b	lad nl	1.5	5.5	17.5	31.5	-2.5
Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	cle al	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.5
Moustakas, Mike 2967	3b ph	kc al	1.0	8.7	22.2	22.2	-6.7
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	1.0	6.0	20.0	20.0	-4.0
Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	tor al	1.0	6.0	15.9	20.4	-4.0
Wisler, Matt 3522	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	1.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	0.0
Suzuki, Ichiro 1467	rf ph	fla nl	1.0	2.0	9.5	52.7	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Colon tops players for Monday, May 2; Cards' Wainwright tops NL batters

Shawn Plank May 3, 2016

Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon 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 2016 season as of May 2:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
5	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
7	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
10	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Colon struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing seven hits, in the 4-1 win over the Braves.

Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, giving him 142.1 for his career. Colon ranks 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 21st-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher A.J. Griffin struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. Griffin did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1.

National League Batter of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-2, in the 10-3 win over the Phillies. Wainwright also won the game on the mound (6IP 5H 3R 4K), but had a higher Box-Toppers game score for batting (+4.0) than pitching (-2.0).

This is the first time in 2016 that a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting—it happened seven times in 2015. This is the third time in Wainwright’s career he has earned Player of the Game honors for batting.

Wainwright earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, his first of the season, and now has 103.3 career points and rises to 60th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes three players on the “all-time” list—Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2), Miguel Tejada (102.3) and Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (102.8). Wainwright trails 59th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).

This is also Wainwright’s first Box-Toppers points in more than a year—he was out much of 2015 with an Achilles injury. He last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors April 25, 2015, and had 3.0 points for 2015 after he had 18.7 in 2014 (ranked eighth) and 20.2 in 2013 (ranked second).

American League Batter of the Day—Byung Ho Park of the Twins tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Astros.

Streak—Nationals closing pitcher Jonathan Papelbon has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Papelbon (1IP 0H 0R K Sv in the 2-0 win over the Royals) first earned Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and has 53.4 career points, first among active NL closing pitchers, second among all active closing pitchers (behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Tigers, with 60.4) and 18th among all closing pitchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Papelbon’s best season was 2012 with the Phillies when he had 7.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among NL closing pitchers. In 2015, Papelbon had 4.0 points with the Phillies, a season in which he also played for the Nationals. Monday was the first time Papelbon earned Player of the Game honors as a member of the Nationals.

Notable—Ryan Braun of the Brewers is Monday’s highest-ranked Player of the Game. Braun (2B 3-3 R BI in the 8-5 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season and ranks 20th in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fourth among NL batters.

Debut—Padres relief pitcher Ryan Buchter made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Buchter (1.1IP 0H 0R 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut June 20, 2014, and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,626th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Griffin earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wainwright and Park 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/2
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Mets
    Bartolo Colon (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    `Rangers
    A.J. Griffin
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    4.1
    `Padres
    Ryan Buchter
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Adam Wainwright, SP
    2
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Steve Cishek (S,7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Santiago Casilla (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Ryan Braun, LF
    3
    1
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Twins
    Byung Ho Park, DH
    3
    1
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Jonathan Papelbon (S,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Cubs
    Ben Zobrist, RF
    3
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	3.5	8.5	39.5	81.2	-1.5
Park, Byung Ho 3616	dh	min al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	tex al	2.7	2.7	17.4	17.4	2.7
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	nym nl	2.0	8.7	50.6	142.1	-4.7
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	2.0	3.0	22.0	22.0	1.0
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	1.5	4.5	52.6	103.3	-1.5
Casilla, Santiago 2301	pi cp	sf nl	1.0	6.0	18.7	21.7	-4.0
Papelbon, Jonathan 2110	pi cp	dc nl	1.0	5.0	22.7	53.4	-3.0
Zobrist, Ben 2216	rf	chi nl	1.0	2.0	20.0	29.0	0.0
Buchter, Ryan 3626	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 1, rises to 1st in season player rankings, 10th in ‘all-time' rankings

Shawn Plank May 2, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 1:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
5	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
7	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
10	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

In addition, Kershaw rises to 10th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began).

Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Padres.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to first place in player rankings, displacing previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (5.0 Box-Toppers points).

Kershaw also now has 165.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 10th place in “all-time” rankings, passing two players—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (163.7) and Roger Clemens (164.8). Kershaw now trails ninth-place player Johan Santana (166.6).

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +20.0, the third time this season a player has had a game score of +20.0 or more. It is the second-highest game score of the season, behind only the +22.0 earned April 14 by Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	175.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	165.3
11	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
12	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	163.7
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	148.4
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Brewers homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-5 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered and went 1-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Twins.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Velasquez (6IP 2H 0R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 53rd place in “all-time” Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Scherzer (7IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 6-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.0 for his career. With his point, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Scherzer now trails the 52nd-ranked player on the list, Jeff Kent (109.7). (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Scherzer has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Reds pitcher Tim Adleman made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adleman (6IP 3H 2R 6K ND in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,625th 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 Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Carter and Castellanos 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/1
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    20.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

    
    13.0
    `Braves
    Julio Teheran
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    12.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    AL
    10.0
    Blue Jays
    Marcus Stroman (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    6.0
    Phillies
    Vince Velasquez (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Brewers
    Chris Carter, 1B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Tigers
    Nick Castellanos, 3B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Reds
    Tim Adleman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Ian Kennedy (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Red Sox
    Craig Kimbrel (S,8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Kole Calhoun, RF
    4
    1
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Melky Cabrera, LF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Luke Gregerson (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0	31.7	131.8	165.3	-19.7
Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	3.5	12.0	13.5	13.5	-5.0
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	24.0	88.6	109.0	-18.0
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	3.0	9.7	53.5	59.5	-3.7
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	3.0	9.2	11.2	11.2	-3.2
Carter, Chris 2828	1b dh	mil nl	2.5	3.5	21.4	22.4	1.5
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	19.0	89.0	94.7	-15.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	2.0	8.0	51.7	52.7	-4.0
Gregerson, Luke 2563	pi cp	hou al	2.0	8.0	12.0	17.0	-4.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	1.7	4.4	18.1	18.1	-1.0
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	8.7	36.8	36.8	-6.7
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	1.0	4.2	11.7	11.7	-2.2
Cabrera, Melky 2143	lf	chi al	1.0	2.0	16.5	27.5	0.0
Adleman, Tim 3625	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' Miley tops players for Saturday, April 30; Rockies' Rusin tops NL players

Shawn Plank May 1, 2016

Mariners pitcher Wade Miley 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 2016 season as of April 30:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
2	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
3	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
4	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
5	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
9	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0
10	Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Miley pitched a complete game shutout, allowing five hits and striking out four, in the 6-0 win over the Royals.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chris Rusin struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Rusin did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Diamondbacks tied the game after he exited.

National League Batter of the Day—Michael Conforto of the Mets homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-5 win over the Giants. Conforto earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, the most of any of Saturday’s 14 Players of the Games. Conforto now ranks 11th in Box-Toppers season player rankings, second among NL batters, behind teammate Yoenis Cespedes (4.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Forsythe of the Rays homered and went 3-for-3, driving two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Streak—Jason Werth of the Nationals has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Werth (HR 2-3 R 4BI in the 6-1 win over the Cardinals) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Blue Jays, but his current 10-year streak began in 2007 with the Phillies. He has 45.2 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 13th among active NL outfielders. His best year was 2010 with the Phillies when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. He had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Nationals.

Scoring—Miley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rusin earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Conforto and Forsythe 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/30
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Mariners
    Wade Miley (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    7.0
    Red Sox
    Rick Porcello (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    NL
    7.0
    `Rockies
    Chris Rusin
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Tigers
    Jordan Zimmermann (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    5.2
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    5.2
    Athletics
    Jesse Hahn (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Mets
    Michael Conforto, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Nationals
    Jayson Werth, LF
    3
    1
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rays
    Logan Forsythe, 2B
    3
    1
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Derek Holland (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.1
    White Sox
    Nate Jones (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Freddy Galvis, SS
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Wil Myers, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Marlins
    Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
    5
    1
    4
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Conforto, Michael 3622	lf	nym nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	3.0	17.9	58.4	98.2	-11.9
Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	det al	3.0	10.0	59.4	60.4	-4.0
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	bos al	3.0	7.0	28.7	37.7	-1.0
Forsythe, Logan 3364	2b	tb al	2.5	4.0	5.5	5.5	1.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	sea al	2.0	9.0	32.4	32.4	-5.0
Myers, Wil 3228	1b cf	sd nl	2.0	5.0	10.5	10.5	-1.0
Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	tex al	2.0	4.7	36.8	43.8	-0.7
Rusin, Chris 3236	pi sp	col nl	1.7	2.7	4.7	4.7	0.7
Hechavarria, Adeiny 3445	ss	fla nl	1.0	5.5	5.5	5.5	-3.5
Hahn, Jesse 3354	pi sp	oak al	1.0	5.0	11.7	11.7	-3.0
Galvis, Freddy 3202	ss	phi nl	1.0	5.0	9.0	9.0	-3.0
Werth, Jayson 1664	lf	dc nl	1.0	4.0	18.0	45.2	-2.0
Jones, Nate 3125	pi cp	chi al	1.0	2.0	9.0	9.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Box-Toppers season streaks

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top Box-Toppers game scores of 2016

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Box-Toppers season streaks

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Box-Toppers season streaks

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

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.