Mets' deGrom tops players in 4 league division playoff games, Friday, Oct. 9

Shawn Plank October 10, 2015

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.

Other Players of the Game Friday:

Cardinals pitcher John Lackey.
Rangers closing pitcher Ross Ohlendorf.
Salvador Perez of the Royals.

NLDS Game 1: Mets 3, Dodgers 1

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 13 and allowing five hits.

During the regular season deGrom had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

He outdueled Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who was ranked second overall in Box-Toppers points with 25.7. Kershaw (6.2IP 4H 3R 11K) had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2 and picked up the loss.

The Mets now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Los Angeles.

NLDS Game 1: Cardinals 4, Cubs 0

Cardinals pitcher John Lackey pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.

During the regular season, Lackey had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

The Cardinals now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in St. Louis.

ALDS Game 2: Rangers 6, Blue Jays 4

Rangers pitcher Ross Ohlendorf pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out the side, allowing no hits and earning the save.

During the regular season, Ohlendorf had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 651st among all players and 163rd among the 189 AL pitchers who earned Box-Toppers points this season.

The Rangers now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Texas.

ALDS Game 2: Royals 5, Astros 4

Salvador Perez of the Royals homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs.

During the regular season, Perez had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 211th among all players, 45th among AL batters and third among AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (6.5) and Russell Martin of the Blue Jays (5.0).

The best-of-five game series is tied 1-1 and resumes Sunday in Houston.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    10/9
    Score
    Team
    BATTERS
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    POG
    14.0
    Mets
    Jacob deGrom (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    13
  

    POG
    9.1
    Cardinals
    John Lackey (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    POG
    4.0
    Rangers
    Ross Ohlendorf (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    POG
    2.0
    Royals
    Salvador Perez, C
    3
    1
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:

NL Division Series Game 2, Cardinals lead Cubs, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.

Cardinals—Jaime Garcia, 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 59th among all players, 25th among NL pitchers.

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs and Cardinals who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

NL Division Series Game 2, Mets lead Dodgers, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Zack Greinke, 20.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets and Dodgers who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

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.

Rangers' Odor, Astros' Gregerson top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 8

Shawn Plank October 9, 2015

Rougned Odor of the Rangers and Luke Gregerson of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.

Odor homered and scored three runs in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. The Rangers lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

During the regular season, Odor earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 337th among all players, 76th among AL batters.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price, Box-Toppers’ fifth-ranked player, started the game and picked up the loss. Price (7IP 5H 5R 5K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5. He had 21.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked second among AL pitchers.

Astros closing pitcher Luke Gregerson is Player of the Game in the other AL Division Series Game 1. Gregerson picked up the save, pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits and striking out two, in the 5-2 win over the Royals. The Astros lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

Gregerson had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 150th among all players, 53rd among AL pitchers and sixth among AL closing pitchers.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    10/8
    Score
    Team
    BATTERS
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    POG
    3.0
    Rangers
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    2
    3
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    POG
    3.0
    Astros
    Luke Gregerson (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

Coming Friday: The National League Division Series playoffs begin with two Game 1s and the American League Division Series resume with two Game 2s:

AL Division Series Game 2, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Rangers—Cole Hamels, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 368th among all players, 105th among AL pitchers. (Stroman was out recovering from injury much of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Rangers and Blue Jays players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2015.

AL Division Series Game 2, Astros lead Royals, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Astros—Scott Kazmir, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players, 14th among AL pitchers,

Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Astros and Royals players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2015.

NL Division Series Game 1, Cubs at Cardinals

Though the Chicago Cubs are the Wild Card team and have a lesser win-loss record than the NL Central champ St. Louis Cardinals, they have an edge in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Cubs passed the Cardinals in the final 10 days of the season to rank third in Box-Toppers team points with 127.4. The Cardinals, with baseball’s best record, rank fourth with 124.3. The Cubs surged at the end of the season, earning 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Cardinals, by comparison, picked up only 3.5 during that period.

The two teams are the highest ranked NL teams remaining in the playoffs after the Cubs knocked off the top-rated Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6) in the NL Wild Card playoff.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.

Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

Cubs vs. Cardinals

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Chicago Cubs			St. Louis Cardinals
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	29.1	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	13.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	12.0	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	11.4
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	9.7	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	9.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	9.7	Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	9.7
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	8.5	Grichuk, Randal 3474	rf lf cf	9.5
Bryant, Kris 3465	3b	8.5	Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	9.4
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	5.5	Rosenthal, Trevor 3124	pi cp	6.0
Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	5.0	Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	5.5
Schwarber, Kyle 3536	lf ca	5.0	Moss, Brandon 2520	rf lf	5.0
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	4.5	Piscotty, Stephen 3570	lf rf 1b	4.2
Wada, Tsuyoshi 3389	pi sp	3.7	Wong, Kolten 3377	2b	4.0
Soler, Jorge 3403	rf ph	3.2	Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	4.0
Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	3.0	Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr	4.0
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	2.5	Villanueva, Carlos 2241	pi mr cp	3.7
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	2.5	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	3.0
Jackson, Austin 2694	cf	2.0	Lyons, Tyler 3178	pi sp	3.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	2.0	Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	2.5
Strop, Pedro 3005	pi mr	2.0	Maness, Seth 3362	pi cp mr	2.0
Coghlan, Chris 2610	lf	1.0	Kozma, Pete 3138	2b pr	2.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp mr	1.0	Scruggs, Xavier 3514	1b	2.0
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr	1.0	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf dh	1.5
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi mr	1.0	Pham, Thomas 3596	lf cf	1.5
Grimm, Justin 3153	pi mr	1.0	Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	1.0
Richard, Clayton 2584	pi sp	1.0	Bourjos, Peter 2790	cf ph	1.0
Motte, Jason 2926	pi mr	1.0	Garcia, Greg 3331	ph	1.0
Beeler, Dallas 3528	pi sp	1.0	Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	1.0
Ramirez, Neil 3439	pi mr	1.0	Walden, Jordan 2864	pi mr	1.0
			Broxton, Jonathan 2108	pi mr	1.0
			Socolovich, Miguel 3456	pi cp	1.0
Totals		127.4	Totals		124.3

What are those numbers after players' names?

NL Division Series Game 1, Mets at Dodgers

In Box-Toppers team rankings, the Dodgers and the Mets are almost identical.

The Dodgers hold the slight edge, ranking sixth among all teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points. But the Mets are only 0.5 points behind, with 122.0, ranking seventh among all teams. During the final 10 days of the season, the Dodgers picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets earned 4.7.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Mets vs. Dodgers


New York Mets			Los Angeles Dodgers
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	22.4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	25.7
Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	15.4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	20.7
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf cf	10.9	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	7.7
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	10.4	Ethier, Andre 2137	rf lf	6.5
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	8.0	Anderson, Brett 2597	pi sp	6.0
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	6.7	Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	5.7
Niese, Jonathon 2531	pi sp	6.0	Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	4.0
Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf	4.0	Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	4.0
Nieuwenhuis, Kirk 3022	cf rf lf ph	4.0	Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b	4.0
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	3.5	Van Slyke, Scott 3033	cf lf 1b	4.0
Uribe, Juan 1542	3b ph	3.0	Turner, Justin 2865	2b 3b ph	4.0
Verrett, Logan 3518	pi mr	3.0	Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	3.5
Robles, Hansel 3580	pi mr	2.7	Guerrero, Alex 3442	lf ph	3.5
Duda, Lucas 2818	1b	2.5	Rollins, Jimmy 1516	ss	3.0
d’Arnaud, Travis 3384	ca	2.5	McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	2.0
Flores, Wilmer 3345	ss 2b	2.5	Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca 1b	2.0
Tejada, Ruben 2801	ss	2.0	Ruggiano, Justin 2396	lf ph	2.0
Johnson, Kelly 2018	lf 1b	2.0	Frias, Carlos 3434	pi sp	2.0
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	1.5	Johnson, Jim 2417	pi mr	2.0
Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	1.0	Thomas, Ian 3539	pi sp	1.7
Lagares, Juan 3243	cf ph	1.0	Seager, Corey 3587	ss	1.5
Cuddyer, Michael 1826	lf 1b	1.0	Heisey, Chris 2866	cf rf	1.0
Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr cp	1.0	Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	1.0
Torres, Carlos 2668	pi mr	1.0	Hatcher, Chris 3420	pi cp	1.0
Blevins, Jerry 2788	pi mr	1.0	Howell, J.P. 2016	pi mr	1.0
Clippard, Tyler 2291	pi cp	1.0	Garcia, Yimi 3440	pi cp	1.0
Gilmartin, Sean 3500	pi mr	1.0	Hernandez, Enrique 3541	ph	1.0
Monell, Johnny 3463	ph	1.0	Ravin, Josh 3501	pi mr	1.0
Total		122.0	Total		122.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers points leader Jake Arrieta tops players as Cubs beat Pirates in NL Wild Card Game

Shawn Plank October 7, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.

Arrieta pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing four hits, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta led all players during the regular season with 29.1 Box-Toppers points, the eighth-highest single-season total since 1995. He outdueled Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who had 19.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ninth among all players and sixth among NL pitchers. Cole (5IP 6H 4R 4K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of -6.

The Pirates’ loss means the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers rankings is eliminated from the playoffs. The Pirates had 129.6 Box-Toppers points on the season. The Cubs, rank third with 127.4, are now the top-ranked NL team remaining in the playoffs.

The Cubs carried more momentum into the postseason, picking up 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Pirates, by comparison, had 5.5 during that period.

The Cubs will face face the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in St. Louis. The Cardinals have baseball’s best record, but rank fourth in Box-Toppers team rankings, behind both the Cubs and Pirates, with 124.3 Box-Toppers points.

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

  
    10/7
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  
    POG
    16.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    11

Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series Thursday.

AL Division Series Game 1, Rangers at Blue Jays

The Blue Jays rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 124.1 Box-Toppers points. The Rangers rank 10th with 107.2. In the final 10 days of the season, the Blue Jays picked up 6.5 Box-Toppers points, while the Rangers earned 5.7

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Rangers—Yovani Gallardo, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 176th among all players, 62nd among AL pitchers.

Blue Jays—David Price, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.

Rangers vs. Blue Jays

Here are players for both teams in the AL Division Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Texas Rangers
    
    Toronto Blue Jays
  

    Player
    Pos
    BTP
    
    Player
    Pos
    BTP
  

    Hamels, Cole 2135
    pi sp
    15.4
    
    Price, David 2593
    pi sp
    21.1
  

    Beltre, Adrian 1141
    3b
    12.5
    
    Encarnacion, Edwin 2098
    dh
    10.4
  

    Fielder, Prince 2029
    dh
    11.5
    
    Bautista, Jose 2169
    rf
    10.0
  

    Lewis, Colby 1567
    pi sp
    7.7
    
    Donaldson, Josh 3144
    3b
    9.9
  

    Moreland, Mitch 2799
    1b
    6.2
    
    Hutchison, Drew 3038
    pi sp
    9.0
  

    Tolleson, Shawn 3077
    pi cp
    6.0
    
    Estrada, Marco 2847
    pi sp
    8.0
  

    Gallardo, Yovani 2333
    pi sp
    5.0
    
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    ss
    6.0
  

    Napoli, Mike 2161
    1b
    4.5
    
    Dickey, R.A. 1734
    pi sp
    5.0
  

    Choo, Shin-Soo 2267
    rf
    4.5
    
    Martin, Russell 2202
    ca
    5.0
  

    DeShields, Delino 3557
    cf
    4.5
    
    Smoak, Justin 2731
    1b
    5.0
  

    Hamilton, Josh 2332
    lf dh ph
    3.5
    
    Goins, Ryan 3478
    ss 2b
    4.5
  

    Chirinos, Robinson 2924
    ca
    3.5
    
    Osuna, Roberto 3512
    pi cp
    4.0
  

    Odor, Rougned 3336
    2b
    3.0
    
    Pillar, Kevin 3486
    cf
    3.5
  

    Holland, Derek 2634
    pi sp
    2.7
    
    Travis, Devon 3436
    2b
    3.0
  

    Martinez, Nick 3430
    pi sp
    2.0
    
    Stroman, Marcus 3327
    pi sp
    2.7
  

    Dyson, Sam 3399
    pi mr cp
    2.0
    
    Buehrle, Mark 1407
    pi sp
    2.0
  

    Patton, Spencer 3416
    pi mr
    2.0
    
    Colabello, Chris 3235
    lf dh 1b
    2.0
  

    Gonzalez, Chi Chi 3490
    pi sp
    1.7
    
    Sanchez, Aaron 3392
    pi sp
    2.0
  

    Blanks, Kyle 2661
    1b
    1.5
    
    Cecil, Brett 2566
    pi cp mr
    2.0
  

    Gallo, Joey 3485
    3b
    1.5
    
    Pennington, Cliff 2641
    ss 3b
    2.0
  

    Perez, Martin 3213
    pi sp
    1.0
    
    Navarro, Dioner 2087
    ca
    1.0
  

    Gimenez, Chris 2870
    ca
    1.0
    
    
    Revere, Ben 2886
    lf
    1.0
  

    Ohlendorf, Ross 2457
    pi mr
    1.0
    
    Loup, Aaron 3146
    pi mr cp
    1.0
  

    Claudio, Alex 3459
    pi mr
    1.0
    
    Hendriks, Liam 3339
    pi mr
    1.0
  

    Klein, Phil 3477
    pi sp
    1.0
    
    Delabar, Steve 3020
    pi mr
    1.0
  

    Strausborger, Ryan 3560
    lf
    1.0
    
    Carrera, Ezequiel 2873
    lf ph
    1.0
  

    
    
    
    
    Pompey, Dalton 3450
    cf
    1.0
  

    Total
    
    107.2
    
    Total
    
    124.1
  
 

AL Division Series Game 1, Astros at Royals

The Royals have the most Box-Toppers team points in the AL with 127.5, ranked second overall, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros rank eighth with 118.4. In the final 10 days of the season, the Astros were slightly hotter than the Royals—7.9 vs. 6.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Astros—Collin McHugh, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 49th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.

Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.

Astros vs. Royals

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Houston Astros
    
    Kansas City Royals
  

    Player
    Pos
    BTP
    
    Player
    Pos
    BTP
  

    Keuchel, Dallas 3050
    pi sp
    21.4
    
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    pi sp
    12.8
  

    Kazmir, Scott 1947
    pi sp
    12.7
    
    Ventura, Yordano 3294
    pi sp
    11.7
  

    McHugh, Collin 3316
    pi sp
    9.7
    
    Hosmer, Eric 2886
    1b
    9.0
  

    Correa, Carlos 3506
    ss
    7.2
    
    Cain, Lorenzo 3171
    cf
    8.2
  

    Fiers, Michael 3029
    pi sp
    7.0
    
    Young, Chris R. 1933
    pi sp
    8.0
  

    Altuve, Jose 3007
    2b
    7.0
    
    Holland, Greg 2906
    pi cp
    8.0
  

    McCullers, Lance 3488
    pi sp
    6.7
    
    Moustakas, Mike 2967
    3b
    7.7
  

    Gomez, Carlos 2397
    cf
    6.0
    
    Volquez, Edinson 2220
    pi sp
    7.0
  

    Rasmus, Colby 2608
    lf rf cf
    6.0
    
    Rodriguez, Wandy 2117
    pi sp
    6.7
  

    Gregerson, Luke 2563
    pi cp
    6.0
    
    Infante, Omar 1949
    2b
    5.2
  

    Valbuena, Luis 2600
    3b
    4.5
    
    Morales, Kendrys 2142
    dh
    4.7
  

    Gattis, Evan 3179
    dh
    4.0
    
    Perez, Salvador 2972
    ca
    4.5
  

    Harris, Will 3093
    pi mr cp
    3.7
    
    Gomes, Jonny 2059
    lf rf
    4.5
  

    Qualls, Chad 1958
    pi mr cp
    3.0
    
    Gordon, Alex 2328
    lf
    4.5
  

    Lowrie, Jed 2437
    ss dh
    2.5
    
    Duffy, Danny 2915
    pi sp
    4.0
  

    Feldman, Scott 2632
    pi sp cp
    2.0
    
    Davis, Wade 2681
    pi cp
    4.0
  

    Marisnick, Jake 3428
    cf
    2.0
    
    Escobar, Alcides 2663
    ss
    3.5
  

    Tucker, Preston 3525
    rf lf
    2.0
    
    Rios, Alex 1989
    rf
    2.5
  

    Carter, Chris 2828
    dh
    1.0
    
    Guthrie, Jeremy 2290
    pi sp
    2.0
  

    Springer, George 3337
    rf
    1.0
    
    Dyson, Jarrod 2813
    cf pr
    2.0
  

    Fields, Josh 3247
    pi mr
    1.0
    
    Medlen, Kris 2596
    pi sp
    2.0
  

    Conger, Hank 2843
    ca
    1.0
    
    Vargas, Jason 2055
    pi sp
    1.0
  

    Oberholtzer, Brett 3244
    pi sp
    1.0
    
    Morales, Franklin 2369
    pi mr sp
    1.0
  

    
    
    
    
    Zobrist, Ben 2216
    lf ss
    1.0
  

    
    
    
    
    Hochevar, Luke 2440
    pi mr
    1.0
  

    
    
    
    
    Orlando, Paulo 3526
    cf
    1.0
  

    Totals
    
    118.4
    
    Totals
    
    127.5
  

Dallas Keuchel tops players as Astros beat Yankees in AL Wild Card Game

Shawn Plank October 7, 2015

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card game.

Keuchel pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 3-0 win over the Yankees.

Keuchel had 21.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked first among AL pitchers and fourth overall.

While the Astros were the second-ranked AL Wild Card team in terms of win-loss record, they did rank higher in team Box-Toppers rankings. The Astros rank eighth in team Box-Toppers rankings, third among AL teams, while the Yankees rank 13th, sixth among AL teams. The Yankees were Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked playoff team.

The Astros will face the Kansas City Royals in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Kansas City. The Royals have the AL’s best record and also have the most Box-Toppers points among AL teams, 127.5, ranked second overall, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6).

Top player from AL Wild Card Game

  
    10/6
    Score
    Team
    BATTERS
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  
    POG
    9.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7

Box-Toppers' 2 top NL teams meet in Wild Card Game

Coming Wednesday—The National League Wild Card Game is in Pittsburgh, with the Cubs facing the Pirates. Here is the pitching match-up:

Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 29.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among all players with the eighth-highest single-season total since 1995.

Pirates—Gerrit Cole, 19.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.

The Pirates rank first in Box-Toppers team rankings with 129.6 Box-Toppers points. The Cubs rank third with 127.4. In other words, the top two NL teams face off in a one-game playoff to see who qualifies for the NL Divisional Series. The Cubs were the hotter team during the final 10 days of the season, picking up 11.0 Box-Toppers points, while the Pirates picked up 5.5.

The winner of the NL Wild Card game will face the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in St. Louis. The Cardinals have baseball’s best record, but rank fourth in Box-Toppers team rankings, behind both the Cubs and Pirates, with 124.3 Box-Toppers points.

Cubs vs. Pirates

Here are players for both teams in the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Chicago Cubs			Pittsburgh Pirates
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	29.1	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	19.0
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	12.0	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	14.9
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	9.7	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	13.1
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	9.7	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	10.5
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	8.5	Melancon, Mark 2792	pi cp	7.0
Bryant, Kris 3465	3b	8.5	Morton, Charlie 2503	pi sp	6.7
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	5.5	Burnett, A.J. 1300	pi sp	6.0
Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	5.0	Ramirez, Aramis 1364	3b	6.0
Schwarber, Kyle 3536	lf ca	5.0	Locke, Jeff 3133	pi sp	6.0
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	4.5	Soria, Joakim 2258	pi cp	5.7
Wada, Tsuyoshi 3389	pi sp	3.7	Marte, Starling 3122	lf	5.0
Soler, Jorge 3403	rf ph	3.2	Walker, Neil 2756	2b	4.0
Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	3.0	Cervelli, Francisco 3387	ca	4.0
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	2.5	Polanco, Gregory 3361	rf	3.0
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	2.5	Alvarez, Pedro 2817	1b	3.0
Jackson, Austin 2694	cf	2.0	Blanton, Joe 1977	pi mr sp	3.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	2.0	Kang, Jung-Ho 3464	ss 3b	3.0
Strop, Pedro 3005	pi mr	2.0	Caminero, Arquimedes 3498	pi mr	2.0
Coghlan, Chris 2610	lf	1.0	Guerra, Deolis 3521	pi cp	2.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp mr	1.0	Ishikawa, Travis 2530	1b	1.7
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr	1.0	Harrison, Josh 2947	3b	1.0
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi mr	1.0	Watson, Tony 3215	pi cp	1.0
Grimm, Justin 3153	pi mr	1.0	Hughes, Jared 3043	pi mr	1.0
Richard, Clayton 2584	pi sp	1.0	Scahill, Rob 3391	pi mr	1.0
Motte, Jason 2926	pi mr	1.0
Beeler, Dallas 3528	pi sp	1.0
Ramirez, Neil 3439	pi mr	1.0
Totals		127.4	Totals		129.6

What are those numbers after players' names?

Astros' Dallas Keuchel faces Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka in AL Wild Card Game

Shawn Plank October 6, 2015

The Houston Astros visit the New York Yankees Tuesday in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game.

Starting pitchers are:

Astros—Dallas Keuchel, 21.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among AL pitchers, fourth overall.

Yankees—Masahiro Tanaka, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among AL pitchers, 77th overall.

The Yankees hold home-field advantage because they have one more win on the season than the Astros (87-75 vs. 86-76). But the Astros players have accumulated more Box-Toppers points—118.4 vs. 99.8. The Astros rank eighth in team Box-Toppers rankings, third among AL teams, while the Yankees rank 13th, sixth among AL teams. The Yankees are Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked playoff team and finished behind three teams that did not qualify for the postseason—the San Francisco Giants, the Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Angels.

The winner of the AL Wild Card game will face the Kansas City Royals in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Kansas City. The Royals have the AL’s best record and also have the most Box-Toppers points among AL teams, 127.5, ranked second overall, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6).

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will not be available for the postseason after it was announced Monday that he will enter alcohol rehabilitation. In 2015, Sabathia had 5.7 Box-Toppers points, his best season since 2012, when he had 15.1. Sabathia is Box-Toppers active leader among pitchers in career points with 179.0. He ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Sabathia, 35, had eight straight seasons with more than 13.0 Box-Toppers points per season from 2005 to 2012. In 2013, he had 4.7 points. In 2014, he had 1.0 point.

Astros vs. Yankees

Here are players for both teams in the AL Wild Card Game Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters. Players who earned no Box-Toppers points in 2015 are not included.


Houston Astros			New York Yankees
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	21.4	Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	10.7
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	12.7	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	8.0
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	9.7	Drew, Stephen 2210	2b	8.0
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	7.2	Rodriguez, Alex	dh	7.7
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	7.0	Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	7.5
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	7.0	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	6.5
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	6.7	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	5.7
Gomez, Carlos 2397	cf	6.0	Young, Chris B. 2270	rf cf lf	4.5
Rasmus, Colby 2608	lf rf cf	6.0	Betances, Dellin 3333	pi cp mr	4.0
Gregerson, Luke 2563	pi cp	6.0	Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp	4.0
Valbuena, Luis 2600	3b	4.5	Warren, Adam 3169	pi sp mr	3.7
Gattis, Evan 3179	dh	4.0	Beltran, Carlos 1194	rf ph	3.5
Harris, Will 3093	pi mr cp	3.7	Gardner, Brett 2486	lf cf	3.5
Qualls, Chad 1958	pi mr cp	3.0	Ellsbury, Jacoby 2365	cf	3.0
Lowrie, Jed 2437	ss dh	2.5	Bird, Greg 3562	1b	3.0
Feldman, Scott 2632	pi sp cp	2.0	Severino, Luis 3567	pi sp	3.0
Marisnick, Jake 3428	cf	2.0	Gregorius, Didi 3184	ss	2.5
Tucker, Preston 3525	rf lf	2.0	Eovaldi, Nathan 2928	pi sp	2.0
Carter, Chris 2828	dh	1.0	Headley, Chase 2552	3b	2.0
Springer, George 3337	rf	1.0	Shreve, Chasen 3482	pi mr	2.0
Fields, Josh 3247	pi mr	1.0	Ackley, Dustin 2921	lf ph	1.0
Conger, Hank 2843	ca	1.0	Wilson, Justin 3140	pi mr	1.0
Oberholtzer, Brett 3244	pi sp	1.0	Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	1.0
			Petit, Gregorio 2562	2b	1.0
			Moreno, Diego 3540	pi mr	1.0
Totals		118.4	Totals		99.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Jake Arrieta wins Box-Toppers Player of the Year, Keuchel tops AL players

Shawn Plank October 5, 2015

Arrieta wins overall top player crown. Keuchel tops AL players. Beltre, Gonzalez win batting titles with record-low point totals.

Pittsburgh Pirates finish season atop Box-Toppers team rankings, Royals top AL teams

Shawn Plank October 5, 2015

Pirates finish season atop team rankings. Royals top AL teams. Cubs, on hot week, rise to 3rd, Cardinals, with baseball's best record, fall to 4th.

Braves' Miller tops players for Sunday, Oct. 4; Kershaw picks up 3rd season with 25+ Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank October 4, 2015

Braves pitcher Shelby Miller is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day on the season’s final day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 4 (Final standings).


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	29.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	25.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	22.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	21.0
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	18.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw passed 25 Box-Toppers points in a single season for the third time, only the third player to do that since 1995.

Plus, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom maintained his spot in third place in player rankings, behind Kershaw. In addition, eight players who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday had more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Player of the Day—Miller pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven, in the 6-0 win over the Cardinals.

Miller earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 46th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 44th among all players, 17th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched a complete game three-hitter, allowing two runs and striking out eight, in the 9-2 win over the Angels.

Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 15.4 for the season. He ranks 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.

Hamels rises to 33rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Sunday, he has 126.2 career points and passes Justin Verlander (124.6) on the “all-time” list. He trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).

American League Batter of the Day—Joey Butler of the Rays hit two home runs—a grand slam and a two-run homer—and went 3-for-4, in the 12-3 win over the Blue Jays.

This was Butler’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Butler made his Major League debut Aug. 7, 2013, and was playing in his 102nd career game. He is the 3,607th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He is the 172nd and final player to debut in Box-Toppers during the 2015 season.

National League Batter of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Astros.

Goldschmidt earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.2 for the season. He becomes the 47th and final player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, 10th among batters. He ranks 42nd among all players and fourth among NL batters.

Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw picked up his third 25+ point season of his career Sunday—his 25.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 are tied for the 20th-most points in a single season since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    *Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    29.1
  

    9
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    10
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    11
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    12
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    13
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    13
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    15
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    16
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    16
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    18
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    18
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    20
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    20
    *Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2015
    25.7
  

    22
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

Kershaw—Clayton Kershaw (3.2IP 2H 0R 7K ND in the 6-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 25.7 for the season. He maintains his rank of second among all players and among NL pitchers, behind overall leader Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (29.1).

But Kershaw has now earned more than 25 Box-Toppers points for the third time in his career, a feat only done by two other players in the 21-season history of Box-Toppers:

Randy Johnson did it five times—1998 (26.4), 1999 (31.5), 2000 (33.7), 2001 (29.4) and 2002 (33.7).

Pedro Martinez did it four times—1997 (26.7), 1999 (31.4), 2000 (33.5) and 2002 (28.8).

Roger Clemens and Johan Santana are the only other players who have earned 25 points in a single season more than once. (See Best seasons chart.)

Kershaw earned 26.1 points in 2011 and 31.5 points in 2014. Despite earning 25.7 points this season, Kershaw’s streak of four straight seasons leading NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points comes to an end this year as he was topped by Arrieta. Kershaw also led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Kershaw now has 159.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his spot in 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Kershaw trails 12th-place player John Smoltz (160.9).

Other notables who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday—

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (4IP 0H 0R 7K ND in the 1-0 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.4 for the season, maintaining his rank of third among all players and among NL pitchers, behind Arrieta and Kershaw.
Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (5.1IP 4H R 6K W in the 3-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 22nd among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.
Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ (6IP 3H 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 24th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Chris Davis of the Orioles (2HR 2B 3-4 3R 4BI in the 9-4 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 42nd among all players and fourth among AL batters.
Cubs pitcher Dan Haren rose to 47th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Haren (6IP 3H R 3K W in the 3-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 113.2 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Sammy Sosa (113.2) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted that Sosa began his career in 1989, before the advent of Box-Toppers. Were his entire career tracked, he would have about 135 career Box-Toppers points, according to rough estimates.) Haren trails 46th-ranked player Chris Carpenter (113.3).

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    10/4
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    Braves
    Shelby Miller (W,6-17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    9.0
    `Mets
    Jacob deGrom
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    8.2
    `Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.2
    2
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    Rangers
    Cole Hamels (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Rays
    Joey Butler, DH
    4
    2
    3
    6
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Pirates
    J.A. Happ (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    6.2
    Braves
    Matt Wisler (W,8-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    6.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, 1B
    4
    3
    3
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Tigers
    Daniel Norris (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    4.1
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,14-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    Mariners
    Tom Wilhelmsen (S,13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    `Phillies
    David Buchanan
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    2
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Salvador Perez, C
    3
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Dbacks
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Justin Morneau, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Dan Haren (W,11-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

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

Nationals' Scherzer, with 2nd no-hitter of '15, tops players for Saturday, Oct. 3, rises to 6th in player rankings

Shawn Plank October 4, 2015

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, pitching his second no-hitter of the season, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 3.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	29.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	21.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	21.0
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	18.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Scherzer and Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke became the sixth and seventh players this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. Plus, Christian Yelich of the Marlins became the 11th player since 1995 to earn Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader.

Player of the Day—Scherzer had a perfect game into the sixth inning, when a batter reached on an error, the only baserunner of the game. Scherzer struck out 17 and walked none in the 2-0 win over the Mets.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.0 for the season, rising to sixth place in player rankings and fourth among National League pitchers. It is the second straight season Scherzer has earned 20 or more points in season. Last season, he had 22.1 with the Tigers.

Scherzer also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of the season Saturday of +26, beating the previous high of +25, set by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (8IP H 0R 18K) on May 13. Scherzer also has the third-highest score of +23 on June 14 (CG H 0R 16K). It is the eighth time this season a player has achieved a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more. In Scherzer’s previous no-hitter this season, on June 20, he had a Box-Toppers game score of +19 (CG 0H 0R 0 BB 10K)—the only baserunner allowed was on a hit-by-pitch.

Scherzer also rises to 57th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. Scherzer has 106.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes Aramis Ramirez (105.8) on the “all-time” list. He trails 56th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2).

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.

Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season and ranking 21st among all players, 10th among AL pitchers. In 2014, he led all AL pitchers with 25.8 Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Orioles doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Yankees.

Doubleheader Players of the Game
Christian Yelich of the Marlins became the 11th player since 1995 to earn Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader. Here are all 11 players who have achieved that distinction since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

    Date
    Player
    Team
    Pos
  
    7/15/98
    Albert Belle
    White Sox
    lf
  
    8/13/99
    Rondell White
    Expos
    lf
  
    8/30/99
    Edgar Martinez
    Mariners
    dh
  
    4/13/00
    Shawn Green
    Dodgers
    rf
  
    6/24/02
    Alex Rodriguez
    Rangers
    ss
  
    5/28/04
    Rob Mackowiak
    Pirates
    cf 3b
  
    9/2/05
    Chad Cordero
    Nationals
    pi cp
  
    5/25/08
    Jorge Cantu
    Marlins
    3b
  
    7/21/09
    Erick Aybar
    Angels
    ss
  
    4/28/11
    Ben Zobrist
    Rays
    2b
  
    10/3/15
    Christian Yelich
    Marlins
    cf lf

National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Marlins doubled and went 5-for-5, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 7-6 win over the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader.

Yelich was also Player of the Game in the second game of the doubleheader (3-4 2R BI in the 5-2 win over the Phillies. He is only the 11th player in 21 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping to earn Player of the Game in both games of a doubleheader. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and 1.0 point for being Player of the Game, giving him 2.5 points for the day, which were also his first points of the season. (Yelich had 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, ninth among NL batters.)

It is the first time a player has earned Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader since April 28, 2011, when it was done by Ben Zobrist of the Rays.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke became the seventh player of the season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Greinke (8IP 4H R 8K W in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.7 for the season. He actually slips from sixth to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings as he was passed by Scherzer. Greinke ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

This is the second season Greinke has earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points in a season. In 2009, he had 21.5 Box-Toppers points with the Royals, his best season.

Greinke ranks 21st among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. He has 146.4 career Box-Toppers points and trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).

Notable—Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura (7IP 4H R 11K W in the 5-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 30th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Parra and Yelich each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day (Yelich earns an extra 1.0 point for being Player of the Game in the second game of the doubleheader). 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    10/3
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    26.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,14-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    17
  

    
    13.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Hendricks (W,8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    AL
    12.0
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W,9-16)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,19-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    9.0
    Royals
    Yordano Ventura (W,13-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    11
  

    
    7.0
    `Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Athletics
    Pat Venditte (MR) (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    5.0
    Reds
    Brandon Finnegan (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,19-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Orioles
    Gerardo Parra, RF
    5
    1
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    T.J. McFarland (MR) (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.1
    `Giants
    Sergio Romo (MR) (H,33)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Marlins
    Christian Yelich, CF
    5
    1
    5
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Johnny Giavotella, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Christian Yelich, LF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    J.B. Shuck, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Alex Colome (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Friday, Oct. 2, secures Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors

Shawn Plank October 3, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, officially and mathematically securing Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors.

Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to 10th in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 2.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	29.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	21.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	18.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 6-1 win over the Brewers.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 29.1 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.7), by 4.4 Box-Toppers points. So even in the off-chance that Kershaw plays and earns Player of the Day honors in both of the final two games of the season, he would only earn 4.0 Box-Toppers points, not enough to catch Arrieta. While there hasn’t been much doubt since his last start (in which he earned Player of the Day) on Sunday that Arrieta would end the season leading in Box-Toppers points, his Friday start removed all doubt.

Arrieta’s 29.1 Box-Toppers points this season is the eighth-highest single-season total since record keeping began in 1995. Only three pitchers have earned more points in a single season than Arrieta in 21 seasons—Randy Johnson (who did it four times), Pedro Martinez (who did it twice) and Clayton Kershaw (who earned 31.5 points last season, tied for the fourth-most points in a single season). (See the Best seasons chart.)

Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Friday rose to eighth place on the list (29.1 Box-Toppers points):
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    *Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    29.1
  

    9
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    10
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    11
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    12
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    13
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    13
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    15
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    16
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    16
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    18
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    18
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    20
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    21
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

Arrieta nearly doubled his Box-Toppers point total from 2014, when he had 14.7 points with the Cubs and ranked eighth among National League pitchers. In Arrieta’s previous seasons, he had fewer than 10 points each season

2010—3.0 with the Orioles
2011—2.0 with the Orioles
2012—6.0 with the Orioles
2013—5.0 with the Orioles and Cubs

Arrieta has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 217th among all players since 1995. He ranks 25th among active NL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Tigers.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 18.8 for the season. He rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings and fourth among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in four runs, in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.

Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to third place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

McCutchen (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He becomes the 45th player—and ninth batter—this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 38th among all players. He trails two NL batters—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5) and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (10.9).

Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel started Friday but did not earn Player of the Game honors and so did not extend his Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers. However, with only two days left in the season and neither of the pitchers contending for the lead among AL pitchers scheduled to start, Keuchel appears to have wrapped up Box-Toppers AL Player of the Year honors.

Keuchel (6IP 6H 2R 3K W in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Correa (HR 3B 3-4 4R 4BI), who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.

Keuchel has 21.4 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. The only two pitchers who could catch him are not scheduled to start in the final two days of the season:

David Price of the Blue Jays, 21.1 Box-Toppers points.
Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, 19.4 Box-Toppers points.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    10/2
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,22-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Astros
    Carlos Correa, SS
    4
    4
    3
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    White Sox
    Chris Sale (W,13-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Braves
    Julio Teheran (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Indians
    Carlos Santana, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Kyle Kendrick (W,7-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.1
    `Royals
    Chris Young
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Athletics
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Russell Martin, C
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Joe Smith (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Pirates
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    5
    2
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Dodgers
    Justin Turner, 3B
    3
    1
    1
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Phillies' Eickhoff tops players for Thursday, Oct. 1; Rangers' Beltre rises to top AL batters in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank October 2, 2015

Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also, Adrian Beltre of the Rangers, earning Player of the Game honors for the third straight day, rises to lead American League batters in Box-Toppers points with three days to go in the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 1.


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Eickhoff pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi struck out seven over seven innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run, in the 4-1 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Socrates Brito of the Diamondbacks tripled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 8-6 win over the Rockies.

This was Brito’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Brito made his Major League debut Sept. 8 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,606th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rose to first place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday for the third straight day.

Beltre (2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 5-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.5 for the season. He passes Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) to lead AL batters.

A week ago, Beltre ranked sixth among AL batters with 9.5 Box-Toppers points. He’s earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to rise to the AL lead and ranks 24th among all players.

If Beltre’s lead holds through the final three days of the season, his 12.5 Box-Toppers points would be tied for the lowest point total to lead AL batters in a single season. In 2008, Aubrey Huff of the Orioles led AL batters with 12.5 points. In 2012, Beltre led AL batters with 13.0 Box-Toppers points, his best season. He had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2014. While in 2014, Beltre had batting numbers similar to or better than this year, the Rangers did not win as many games.

Beltre also rises to 62nd place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when record keeping began). Beltre has 101.8 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Adam Wainwright (101.8). He trails 61st-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

It should be noted that Wakefield and Griffey both began their careers before the advent of Box-Toppers and would likely have higher point totals if their entire career were tracked. Wakefield started in 1992 and would likely have about 110 Box-Toppers points, according to rough projections. Griffey started in 1989 and would likely have about 140. Schmidt debuted in 1995 and Wainwright in 2005, so their entire careers have been tracked by Box-Toppers.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rose to 10th place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Strasburg (6IP 6H 0R 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. He ranks 17th among all players.

Reports—Our usual Friday reports on team and player rankings will be delayed until after the season’s final games Sunday. Here are last week’s penultimate (and also next-to-last) team rankings and player rankings reports of the season.

Scoring—Eickhoff earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Machado and Brito each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    10/1
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Phillies
    Jerad Eickhoff (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    
    10.0
    Padres
    Ian Kennedy (W,9-15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    AL
    7.0
    Rays
    Jake Odorizzi (W,9-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Nationals
    Stephen Strasburg (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Orioles
    Manny Machado, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Cubs
    Jason Hammel (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    4.0
    `Yankees
    Adam Warren (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Dbacks
    Socrates Brito, PH-LF
    3
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    Dodgers
    Brett Anderson (W,10-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    2
    2
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Jonny Gomes, RF
    2
    0
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Twins
    Kevin Jepsen (S,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

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

Cubs' Jon Lester (8IP R 9K) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 30

Shawn Plank October 1, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Lester struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 10-3 win over the Reds.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 26th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 30.


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Lester also now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 37th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 36th-ranked player Jered Weaver (123.1).

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 8-1 win over the Blue Jays.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals.

Rankings—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers maintained his rank of third among AL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Beltre (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.5 for the season. He ranks 31st among all players and third among AL batters behind Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) and Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5).

This was the second straight day Beltre earned Player of the Game honors. It was the fifth time in September Beltre earned the honor—he earned 6.0 total Box-Toppers points in September. In fact, Beltre has earned all his points since earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season on July 31. He had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in August. And despite a season when he had very similar numbers to this year, Beltre earned no Box-Toppers points in 2014—in fact this year, he has a lower batting average (.281 to .324) and lower home run totals (16 to 19) than in 2014. (One notable difference—the Rangers had 67 wins in 2014 and already have 86 in 2015, so Beltre has had more opportunity for Box-Toppers points this year, since players can only earn Player of the Game honors when their team wins.)

Beltre also Wednesday became the 68th player since 1995 to earn 100 or more career Box-Toppers points. Beltre now has 100.8 career points and rises to 65th place among all players since 1995. He passes three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). He trails 67th-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2).

It should be noted that Walker and Bagwell both started their careers before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995 and that if their entire career were tracked they would likely have more points. Walker’s first year was 1989 and rough estimates would put his Box-Toppers career point total at 135. Bagwell began in 1991 and his estimated career total would be 125. Konerko began in 1997, so his entire career was tracked by Box-Toppers.

Notable—Giants pitcher Mike Leake became the 44th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Leake (CG 2H 0R K W in the 5-0 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.

Top 10—Two pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Wednesday, but did not earn Player of the Game honors:

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (7IP 7H 2R 2K W in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals) had a Box-Toppers game score of -2. Player of the Game was Francisco Cervelli (GS 2B 2-4 2R 4BI), with a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Cole ranks ninth in Box-Toppers points with 19.0.
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (3IP 5H 5R 5K L in the 7-1 loss to the Twins) had a Box-Toppers game score of -9. Player of the Game was Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson (6IP 4H 0R 9K W), with a Box-Toppers game score of +9. Carrasco ranks 10th in Box-Toppers points with 18.0.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/30
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Cubs
    Jon Lester (W,11-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    AL
    11.0
    Orioles
    Kevin Gausman (W,4-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Twins
    Kyle Gibson (W,11-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    8.0
    Cardinals
    Tyler Lyons (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    7.0
    Blue Jays
    Marcus Stroman (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Brewers
    Zach Davies (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Rays
    Drew Smyly (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Giants
    Mike Leake (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    1
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Indians
    Jose Ramirez, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Cervelli, C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Phillies
    Freddy Galvis, SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Travis Shaw, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Luis Valbuena, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Wade Davis (S,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Braves
    Arodys Vizcaino (S,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Athletics
    Eric Sogard, 2B
    4
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Dbacks
    David Peralta, LF
    2
    0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

NLDS Game 1: Mets 3, Dodgers 1

NLDS Game 1: Cardinals 4, Cubs 0

ALDS Game 2: Rangers 6, Blue Jays 4

ALDS Game 2: Royals 5, Astros 4

Top player from each game

NL Division Series Game 2, Cardinals lead Cubs, 1-0

NL Division Series Game 2, Mets lead Dodgers, 1-0

Top player from each game

AL Division Series Game 2, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 1-0

AL Division Series Game 2, Astros lead Royals, 1-0

NL Division Series Game 1, Cubs at Cardinals

Cubs vs. Cardinals

NL Division Series Game 1, Mets at Dodgers

Mets vs. Dodgers

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

AL Division Series Game 1, Rangers at Blue Jays

Rangers vs. Blue Jays

AL Division Series Game 1, Astros at Royals

Astros vs. Royals

Top player from AL Wild Card Game

Box-Toppers' 2 top NL teams meet in Wild Card Game

Cubs vs. Pirates

Astros vs. Yankees

Top 10 players

Best seasons

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Doubleheader Players of the Game

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Best seasons

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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.