Red Sox' Hill tops players for Sunday, Sept. 13; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 4th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 14, 2015

Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, marking the first time he’s earned Box-Toppers points in more than six years.

Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 10th.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 13.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 10, in the 2-0, 13-inning win over the Rays. Hill did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because he exited with the game in a scoreless tie.

This was the first time Hill has earned Player of the Game honors since June 1, 2009, with the Orioles, when he was Player of the Day. Hill’s best season was 2007 with the Cubs when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10, in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 19.7 for the season and rising to fourth place in player rankings. He also ranks fourth place among NL pitchers.

Greinke now also has 145.4 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 21st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 12-4 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Adams of the Cardinals hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-2 win over the Reds.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Scherzer (8IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also rises to 61st place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Sunday, Scherzer now has 102.0 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 60th-place player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

Debut—Dixon Machado of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Machado (2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 9-2 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 25 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,590th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Adams 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.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/13
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    `Red Sox
    Rich Hill
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    NL
    11.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,17-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    10.0
    Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,12-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    8.2
    Twins
    Kyle Gibson (W,10-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Jed Lowrie, DH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Dixon Machado, SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Adams, PH-1B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Angel Pagan, CF
    4
    3
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Curtis Granderson, RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Ryan Howard, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Pedro Alvarez, 1B
    2
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    John Axford (S,23)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Indians
    Chris Johnson, 1B
    4
    0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Giants' Bumgarner, nearly perfect, tops players for Saturday, Sept. 12, rises to 9th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 13, 2015

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 12.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 8-0 win over the Padres. Bumgarner was perfect through 7 2/3 innings before allowing the only hit and only baserunner of the game.

Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Mike Moustakas of the Royals hit a grand slam and a three-run homer, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in nine runs, in the 14-6 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Corey Seager of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Seager’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Seager made his Major League debut Sept. 3 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,587th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Mike Moustakas.

Notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 137.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Ortiz (2HR 3-4 2R 4BI in the 10-4 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and maintains his rank of 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Ortiz trails 23rd-place player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995. He ranks third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0) and Albert Pujols (174.3). He has 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season. On Saturday, Ortiz became the 27th player to hit 500 career home runs.

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

Athletics pitcher Sean Nolin (5.2IP 5H R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut May 23, 2013, and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,588th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Carlos Sanchez of the White Sox (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut July 13, 2014, and was playing in his 132nd career game. He is the 3,589th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/12
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    AL
    10.0
    Royals
    Mike Moustakas, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    9
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    9.0
    Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    7.1
    Mariners
    Roenis Elias (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    1
    2
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    7.0
    `Phillies
    Jerad Eickhoff
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    6.1
    Pirates
    Jeff Locke (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Corey Seager, SS
    4
    3
    4
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista, RF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Reds
    Aroldis Chapman (S,30)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Huston Street (S,35)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Ben Revere, LF
    6
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Jeurys Familia (S,40)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.2
    Athletics
    Sean Nolin (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    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.
  

Rangers' Lewis tops players for Friday, Sept. 11; Cubs' Arrieta regains Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank September 12, 2015

Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, three days after losing the lead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 11.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lewis pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out four, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics. He allowed no hits until the eighth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 4-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Ahmed of the Diamondbacks hit a two-run homer, a double and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-4 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Steve Clevenger of the Orioles hit a grand slam and scored two runs in the 14-8 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Arrieta (8IP 6H R 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1. He passes previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.7). Arrieta and Kershaw have traded three-day turns with the Box-Toppers season points lead since since Sept. 2, with Arrieta leading twice and Kershaw leading twice.

Notable—Three other Players of the Game from Friday hit notable milestones:

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





  
    
    
    
    
  

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  

    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  

    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  

    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  

    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  

    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  

    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  

    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  

    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  

    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  

    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  

    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  

    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7
  

    9/11
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    22.1
  
 

Giants pitcher Jake Peavy now has 134.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Peavy (7IP 2H R 2K W in the 9-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He trails 24th-ranked player David Ortiz (136.9) and has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
Angels pitcher Jered Weaver rises to 36th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when record keeping began). Weaver (6IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 123.1 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Justin Verlander (122.9) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Weaver has 7.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets became the 35th player (and fifth batter) with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. Cespedes (HR 2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 5-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.9 for the season. He rises to second place among NL batters —behind Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5)—and 26th among all players.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/11
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Rangers
    Colby Lewis (W,15-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    AL
    7.0
    Rockies
    Chad Bettis (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Dbacks
    Nick Ahmed, SS
    4
    2
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Orioles
    Steve Clevenger, PH-C
    2
    2
    1
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,19-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    5.0
    Giants
    Jake Peavy (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Russell Martin, C
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Schwarber, LF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Trevor Plouffe, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Mark Melancon (S,45)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Marlins
    Jarred Cosart
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Yoenis Cespedes, CF
    5
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    J.P. Arencibia, PH-C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Jered Weaver (W,7-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

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

Dodgers' Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings; Mariners' Hernandez now leads among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank September 11, 2015

Kershaw leads in Box-Toppers points. Mariners' Hernandez retakes lead among AL pitchers. Gonzalez, Encarnacion continue to lead NL, AL batters.

Pittsburgh Pirates regain top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings, Royals fall to 2nd

Shawn Plank September 11, 2015

Pirates regain top spot in team rankings with hot week. Royals fall to 2nd, maintain AL lead. Cardinals fall from 2nd to 6th.

Mariners' Hernandez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 10, rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 11, 2015

Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in overall player rankings, first among American League pitchers.

Hernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight, in the 5-0 win over the Rangers.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.4 for the season. He regains the lead among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Dallas Keuchel of the Astros (19.4).

Hernandez led all players in Box-Toppers points much of the season—including all of May and much of June—but by August nearly fell out of the top 10 list before rebounding. Hernandez lost his lead among all players on July 26 and lost his lead among AL pitchers on Aug. 8.

Hernandez also rises to 11th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Hernandez now has 162.7 Box-Toppers points, passing John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Smoltz began his career in 1988, so his first seven seasons weren’t recorded by Box-Toppers. Making rough extrapolations, Smoltz would likely have about 250 career Box-Toppers points if all his seasons were included.) Hernandez now trails 10th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8).

National League Player of the Day—Todd Frazier of the Reds homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-0 win over the Cardinals.

Frazier earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.9 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Todd Frazier.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    9.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W,17-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    8
  

    NL
    4.0
    Reds
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Justin Miller (MR) (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    Indians
    Cody Allen (W,2-4; BS,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Juan Uribe, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Logan Schafer, CF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Mariners' Nuno tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 9; Mets' deGrom is 3rd player with 20 Box-Toppers points in '15

Shawn Plank September 10, 2015

Mariners pitcher Vidal Nuno is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom became the third player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points and maintains his rank of third place in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 9.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Nuno pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 10, in the 6-0 win over the Rangers.

National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ struck out 10 over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Reds.

Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season, rising to 20th in player rankings. He ranks 11th among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Ryan Hanigan of the Red Sox doubled twice and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 10-4 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Michael Bourn of the Braves tripled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-1 win over the Phillies.

Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom became the third player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Gamed honors Wednesday. deGrom (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 5-3 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season, maintaining his third-place ranking among players this season. He also ranks third among NL pitchers.

Notable—Angels pitcher Garrett Richards became the 34th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers poitns this season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Richards (7.2IP 4H 2R 11K ND in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 31st among all players and 16th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Francisco Lindor of the Indians made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Lindor (HR 3B 3-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 76th career game. He is the 3,586 player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Nuno earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Hanigan and Bourn 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    14.0
    Mariners
    Vidal Nuno (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    NL
    9.0
    Pirates
    J.A. Happ (W,9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    10
  

    
    8.0
    Marlins
    Tom Koehler (W,9-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    
    7.2
    `Angels
    Garrett Richards
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    2
    2
    3
    11
  

    
    5.0
    Mets
    Jacob deGrom (W,13-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    5.0
    Orioles
    Ubaldo Jimenez (W,11-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    3
    3
    0
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Jake Odorizzi (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Ryan Hanigan, C
    3
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Dbacks
    Zack Godley (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Jonathan Broxton (MR) (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Braves
    Michael Bourn, CF
    5
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Wil Myers, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Hank Conger, C
    4
    0
    2
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Twins
    Miguel Sano, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Indians
    Francisco Lindor, SS
    5
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Pirates' Liriano tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 8; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 9, 2015

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano 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 2015 season as of Sept. 8.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th. Also, two players with more than 150 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday—Kershaw and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson, who rose to 13th place among all players since 1995.

Player of the Day—Liriano struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.

Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.9 for the season. He rises to 16th place among all players and ninth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-5 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run double in the 4-2 win over the Twins.

Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season and rises to fifth among AL batters.

New leader—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

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

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  
    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1
  
    9/8
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    21.7

Kershaw (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 6-4 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.7 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (21.1 points), who took the lead from Kershaw on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Kershaw also now has 155.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 15th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 14th-place player Mike Mussina (155.6).

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings Tuesday. Gray (7IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.8 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among all players in Box-Toppers since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Hudson (6IP 4H R 4K W in the 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 156.0 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Tuesday, he passes Mike Mussina (155.6) on the “all-time” list and trails 12th-place player Felix Hernandez (160.7). (Mussina started his career in 1991, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, and would likely have an estimated 190 total Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked.) Hudson has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debuts—Four players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

Padres pitcher Colin Rea (7IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 11 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,582nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Marlins pitcher Kyle Barraclough (1.2IP 0H 0R 4K W in the 6-4 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 7 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,583rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Tigers pitcher Drew VerHagen (2.1IP 1H 0R 2K ND in the 8-7 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 19, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,584th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Orioles pitcher T.J. McFarland (2.1IP 0H 0R K ND in the 2-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut Aug. 6, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,585th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/8
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    7.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Rodon (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    7.0
    Phillies
    Aaron Nola (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,13-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    6.0
    `Padres
    Colin Rea
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    4
  

    
    5.2
    Marlins
    Kyle Barraclough (MR)  (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cubs
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    4
    3
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Athletics
    Sonny Gray (W,13-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    Giants
    Tim Hudson (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    3.1
    `Tigers
    Drew VerHagen (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Shawn Tolleson (S,31)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    `Orioles
    T.J. McFarland (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Kirk Nieuwenhuis, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    4
    1
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Red Sox' Jackie Bradley Jr. (2HR 4-4 4BI) tops players for Monday, Sept. 7

Shawn Plank September 8, 2015

Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Bradley hit two homers and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 11-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 7.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bradley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks sixth among AL batters and 52nd among all players.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Hansel Robles pitched two scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits and striking out four, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Robles earned a no decision in the game, as he held the Mets’ lead in the seventh and eighth innings.

This was Robles’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Robles made his Major League debut April 24 and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,580th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Scott Van Slyke of the Dodgers hit a two-run double and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Angels.

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

Notable—Rockies pitcher Justin Miller earned his first Box-Toppers point in more than six years, earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Miller (1.1IP 0H 0R 4K ND in the 6-4 win over the Padres) last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors July 11, 2009 with the Giants. Before that, it was nearly five years between Box-Toppers points for Miller—he was Player of the Game Sept. 8, 2004, with the Blue Jays. Miller first earned Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Blue Jays and has 6.0 career points.

Debut—Brewers pitcher Zach Davies also made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Davies (7IP 4H R 4K W in the 9-1 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Sept. 2 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,581st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/7
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., RF
    4
    2
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.0
    `Mets
    Hansel Robles (MR) (H,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.1
    `Rockies
    Justin Miller (MR) (H,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Brewers
    Zach Davies (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Dbacks
    Patrick Corbin (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    4.1
    Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    7
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Dodgers
    Scott Van Slyke, 1B
    5
    1
    4
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Twins
    Eduardo Escobar, SS
    3
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Indians
    Ryan Raburn, RF
    2
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Braves
    Williams Perez (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Rajai Davis, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Dexter Fowler, CF
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

    
    2.1
    Rangers
    Yovani Gallardo (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Coco Crisp, PH-LF
    2
    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.
  

Catching up on baseball with Box-Toppers, after falling behind by a ‘fair’ amount

Shawn Plank September 7, 2015

Baseball proceeds whether we are ready or not.

In the past few weeks, other duties put me behind staying up-to-date with the Box-Toppers daily blog and I have been scrambling to catch up. I fell behind three weeks and three days ago, on Aug. 13 and only caught up today (Monday, Sept. 7) with yesterday’s games.

Usually when a person falls behind doing something, it’s best to just move ahead and ignore most of what was missed. But when you’re trying to keep comprehensive track of the baseball season, to assess and evaluate teams and players across an entire season, it is a mistake to simply ignore a chunk of the season, simply due to lack of convenience or lack of attention. So I’ve gone back and picked up the days I’ve missed, posting each day’s summary in the blog, even if was sometimes more than a week late.

During my catch-up phase, I did not post daily highlights to Box-Toppers’ Twitter and Facebook feeds. Instead, I’ve opted to post a summary of highlights of what was missed in the interim while I wasn’t posting to social media here in this post, with links to the relevant posts in the Box-Toppers blog:

New Box-Toppers leaders—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta took over the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings on Saturday, Sept. 5. Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and passed previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2. (Kershaw has 20.7 Box-Toppers points.) Previously, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom led from July 26 to Sept. 1. He currently ranks third with 19.4 points.

Arrieta picked up 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6), including earning Player of the Day honors twice—on Sunday, Aug. 30 (when he pitched a no-hitter) and on Sept. 5.

New American League pitching leader—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel took the lead among AL pitchers on Sunday, Sept. 6 with 19.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Blue Jays pitcher David Price led AL pitchers. He currently ranks second among AL pitchers with 19.1 points.

New American League batting leader—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays took the lead among AL batters on Saturday, Aug. 29 with 10.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Mike Trout of the Angels led AL batters. Trout currently has 10.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks second among AL batters.

New National League batting leader—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies took the lead among NL batters on Thursday, Sept. 3 with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters on Friday, Aug. 21 with 9.9 points. Before that, Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals led NL batters. He currently ranks fourth with 9.5 points.

New Box-Toppers team rankings leader—The Kansas City Royals took over the lead among teams at the last Box-Toppers team ranking report, as of Thursday, Sept. 3. The St. Louis Cardinals rose to top NL teams. For three weeks previously (Aug. 13, 20 and 27), the Pittsburgh Pirates were the top-ranked team. The Pirates ranked third as of Sept. 3.

Notable—Here are some notable achievements by players that happened during the catch-up phase (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6):

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was the first player with 20.0 or more points this season, earning it on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the same day he took the Box-Toppers points lead. Kershaw, who led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and led National League pitchers the past four seasons, has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. Kershaw also rose to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points.
Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon rose to 22nd place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995. He earned Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31, giving him 138.5 Box-Toppers points.
Michael Cuddyer of the Mets extended to 12 the number of consecutive seasons in which he’s earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point on Sunday, Aug. 30.
Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period and is currently ranked sixth among all players with 18.0 points. In addition, with his point earned Tuesday, Sept. 1, Greinke has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.
Astros pitcher Mike Fiers pitched a no-hitter on Friday, Aug. 21, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
Carlos Beltran of the Yankees earned Box-Toppers points in his 17th straight season, tying the record for the longest-active season streak on Friday, Aug. 14.

Debuts—Twenty-three players made their Box-Toppers debut during the catch-up phase. Here is the list with links to the blog post for the day they made their debut with more information:

Delino DeShields of the Rangers, Friday, Aug. 14.
Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey, Saturday, Aug. 15.
Addison Russell of the Cubs, Saturday, Aug. 15.
Ryan Strausborger of the Rangers, Sunday, Aug. 16.
Cole Gillespie of the Marlins, Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Greg Bird of the Yankees, Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Aaron Altherr of the Phillies, Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Rockies pitcher Yohan Flande, Thursday, Aug. 20.
Blake Swihart of the Red Sox, Friday, Aug. 21.
Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff, Friday, Aug. 21.
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino, Saturday, Aug. 22.
Darnell Sweeney of the Phillies, Saturday, Aug. 22.
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola, Sunday, Aug. 23.
Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals, Sunday, Aug. 23.
Indians pitcher Jeff Manship, Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan, Sunday, Aug. 30.
Adam Duvall of the Brewers, Monday, Aug. 31.
Rockies pitcher Simon Castro, Monday, Aug. 31.
Darin Ruf of the Phillies, Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino, Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Hernan Perez of the Brewers, Thursday, Sept. 3.
Rays pitcher Xavier Cedeno, Saturday, Sept. 5.
Nationals pitcher Felipe Rivero, Sunday, Sept. 6.

•

So what was I doing that was keeping me from Box-Toppers? I served as a volunteer coordinator for our local high school band’s major fundraiser. Over the course of the 11-day Iowa State Fair, I helped wrangle nearly 300 student and parent volunteers to fill 550 volunteer spots to serve ice cream and shakes at the fair’s Dairy Barn.

It’s a task that requires a few months of preparation to set up—to get volunteers signed up, to comply with various red-tape regulations and to develop and implement logistics to make it all work. But when the fair starts, the task can sometimes become even more time-consuming. As soon as the fair started on Aug. 13, Box-Toppers fell to the wayside.

My last “on-time” post was Thursday, Aug. 13, covering the games of Wednesday, Aug. 12. The very next post was more than a week later on Friday, Aug. 21, covering the games of Thursday, Aug. 13. After the fair ended on Aug. 23, I kept plugging away, finally catching up two more weeks later.

The fundraiser went well, by the way. All our volunteers made it, worked hard, had a little fun (and a little ice cream) and raised a lot of money for our high school band program. It was my fifth and final year of coordinating volunteers for the fundraiser. And though it put me a little behind updating the Box-Toppers blog, it was a lot of fun and now that it’s over, tremendously satisfying.

And now, with my attention returned more fully to baseball, onto the homestretch of the season …

Pirates' Cole tops players for Sunday, Sept. 6; Astros' Keuchel rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 7, 2015

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in player rankings.

Also Sunday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to lead American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, rising to fourth place in overall player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 6.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Cole pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven, in the 7-1 win over the Cardinals.

Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season and rising to ninth in season player rankings. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing three runs and five hits, in the 8-5 win over the Twins.

Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 19.4 for the season. He rises to first place among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader David Price of the Blue Jays (19.1). Keuchel also rises to fourth place among all players in season player rankings.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-4 win over the Orioles.

Bautista earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to seventh place among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Miguel Montero of the Cubs hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 136.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Ortiz (HR 1-1 R 3BI in the 6-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and maintains his rank of 24th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Ortiz trails 23rd-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Ortiz has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debut—Nationals pitcher Felipe Rivero made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rivero (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 8-4 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 17 and was playing in his 35th career game. He is the 3,579th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/6
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    AL
    7.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,17-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    3
    3
    2
    12
  

    
    6.0
    Indians
    Cody Anderson (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista, RF
    3
    3
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Cubs
    Miguel Montero, C
    3
    1
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    Nationals
    Felipe Rivero (MR) (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Reds
    Brandon Phillips, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Santiago Casilla (S,32)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Adam Eaton, CF
    5
    3
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Brian McCann, C
    3
    1
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Justin Bour, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Hector Santiago (W,8-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    6
    3
  

    
    1.1
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    0.0
    Dodgers
    Justin Turner, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    0
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Saturday, Sept. 5, takes Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 7, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, Sept. 5, and rises to the top of Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 5.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors—Blue Jays pitcher David Price (fourth place) and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (seventh place).

Player of the Day—Arrieta took the Box-Toppers season player ranking lead for the first time in his career, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.7 Box-Toppers points) who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and becomes the second player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Arrieta pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 2-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.1 for the season, his most points in a season, beating his previous high of 14.7 in 2014.

Arrieta had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, the same as Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia (Player of the Game in his team’s 4-1 win over the Pirates). But Arrieta won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—eight vs. seven.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 3-2 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets homered and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.

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

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7
  
    9/5
    Jake Arrieta
    chi nl
    21.1

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

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

Blue Jays pitcher David Price (7IP 3H R 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Orioles) maintained his rank of fourth place overall and first among AL pitchers. Price earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 19.1 for the season.
Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (8IP 6H 3R 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Athletics) rose to seventh place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Price and Dallas Keuchel (17.7). Also, Hernandez now has 160.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Hernandez trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9).

Debut—Rays pitcher Xavier Cedeno made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Cedeno (1.2 IP 0R 0H 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut June 9, 2012, and was playing in his 132nd career game. He is the 3,578th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    11.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,18-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    11.0
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    10.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    10
  

    AL
    9.0
    Twins
    Ervin Santana (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    1
    1
    2
    11
  

    
    8.0
    Red Sox
    Wade Miley (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Rangers
    Derek Holland (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Blue Jays
    David Price (W,14-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    4
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Tigers
    Alfredo Simon (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    3
    3
    0
    9
  

    
    5.0
    White Sox
    Jose Quintana (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    4.2
    Rays
    Xavier Cedeno (MR) (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    4.0
    Dodgers
    Alex Wood (W,10-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Mets
    Travis d'Arnaud, C
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Adam Lind, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Elian Herrera, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Giants
    Gregor Blanco, RF
    4
    2
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Pirates' J.A. Happ (7IP 0R 3H 8K) tops players for Friday, Sept. 4

Shawn Plank September 7, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Sept. 4.

Happ pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 9-3 win over the Cardinals.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
2	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Happ earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the 32nd player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 28th among all players and 12th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin pitched a complete game, allowing one run and four hits, striking out six, in the 8-1 win over the Tigers.

American League Batter of the Day—Kyle Seager of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-8 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 14-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rizzo earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season, rising to fifth place among NL batters. He ranks 50th among all players.

Notable—Chris Davis of the Orioles became the 33rd player (and fourth batter) with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Davis (2HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 10-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL batters, behind Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (10.4) and Mike Trout (10.0). He ranks 33rd among all players.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/4
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Pirates
    J.A. Happ (W,8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    AL
    8.0
    Indians
    Josh Tomlin (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Rockies
    Jorge De La Rosa (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    5.2
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,15-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    7
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Mariners
    Kyle Seager, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cubs
    Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    White Sox
    Alexei Ramirez, SS
    5
    3
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Angels
    C.J. Cron, DH
    4
    0
    3
    5
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Nationals
    Michael Taylor, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Yankees
    Brian McCann, C
    1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Dodgers
    Justin Ruggiano, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Red Sox
    Junichi Tazawa (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Martin Prado, 3B
    6
    1
    5
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw rises to take lead in Box-Toppers' weekly player rankings report

Shawn Plank September 7, 2015

Kershaw unseats Jacob deGrom as overall leader. Encarnacion passes Trout to lead AL batters. Gonzalez passes Cespedes to lead NL batters. Price leads AL pitchers.

Kansas City Royals rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings; Cardinals take NL lead

Shawn Plank September 6, 2015

Royals, with hot week, rise to led team rankings. Cardinals regain NL team lead. Pirates fall to third.

Rockies' Gonzalez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 3, rises to lead NL batters in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 6, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Thursday, Sept. 3, and rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
2	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Gonzalez homered twice and doubled, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-3 win over the Giants.

Gonzalez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season and rising to lead NL batters in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9 Box-Toppers points).

Gonzalez becomes the 31st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and is the first NL batter to reach that mark. Gonzalez now also has more Box-Toppers points than any Major League batter, passing Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (10.4).

This is the second straight day Gonzalez has earned Player of the Game honors. On Wednesday, he was NL Batter of the Day. He has earned 3.5 Box-Toppers points in two days.

American League Player of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 15-7 win over the Tigers.

Morales had a Box-Toppers game score of 6.0, tied with Carlos Gonzalez. But Gonzalez won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more home runs than Morales (two vs. zero).

AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Thursday because the overall Players of the Day in the two leagues were batters—Gonzalez and Morales. In fact, all of the six who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday were batters—no pitchers earned Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Debut—Hernan Perez of the Brewers made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Perez (3B 3-3 R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut June 9, 2012, and was playing in his 131st career game. He is the 3,577th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/3
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    Rockies
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    5
    3
    4
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    Royals
    Kendrys Morales, DH
    5
    3
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Nationals
    Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
    3
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Padres
    Yangervis Solarte, 3B-1B
    5
    3
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Hernan Perez, 3B
    3
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    White Sox
    J.B. Shuck, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Wednesday, Sept 2, takes Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank September 6, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 2 and takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
2	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw is the first player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. This is the first time this season Kershaw has led in Box-Toppers points. Kershaw led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and has led National League pitchers the past four seasons.

Kershaw struck out 15 in a complete game, allowing one run and six hits, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.7 for the season. He rises from third place to take the Box-Toppers player rankings lead, passing previous leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (19.1 points).

Kershaw also rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Kershaw now has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Bonds began his career in 1986 and if his entire career were tracked, he would likely have about 230 career Box-Toppers points, making a rough extrapolation.) Kershaw trails 14th-place player Tim Hudson (155.0).

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Tommy Milone pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and drove in seven runs.

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

    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/5
    Adam Wainwright
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/6
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    2.0
  
    4/13
    Scott Kazmir
    oak al
    3.7
  
    4/18
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    4.0
  
    6/26
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    14.0
  
    7/9
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    14.4
  
    7/12
    Max Scherzer
    dc nl
    15.0
  
    7/24
    Felix Hernandez
    sea al
    15.4
  
    7/26
    Jacob deGrom
    nym nl
    16.4
  
    9/2
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    20.7

Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season. He ranks third among NL batters, behind Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9) and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates (9.5). He ranks 36th among all players.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners earned AL Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day. Morrison homered, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Astros. He has 4.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 3.0 in the past two days.

Notable—Two other notable milestones from Wednesday:

Albert Pujols of the Angels earned Player of the Game honors and now has 174.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his spot in sixth place among all players since 1995. Pujols (HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 9-4 win over the Athletics) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point and trails fifth-place player on the “all-time” list, CC Sabathia (178.0). Pujols is ranked third among active players and is second among all batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Pujols has 7.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 12th among AL batters.
Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura became the 30th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors. Ventura (7IP 5H R 11K W in the 12-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 24th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Milone earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Morrison 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/2
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    15
  

    AL
    11.0
    Twins
    Tommy Milone (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    10.0
    Royals
    Yordano Ventura (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    9.0
    Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey (W,10-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Rockies
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    4
    2
    2
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    `Reds
    Raisel Iglesias
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    3
    10
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Mariners
    Logan Morrison, PH-1B
    1
    2
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Yankees
    Stephen Drew, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Nationals
    Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Ruben Tejada, SS
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Sam Dyson (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Albert Pujols, DH
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Adam Lind, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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

Rays' Smyly tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 1; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 5th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 6, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Rays pitcher Drew Smyly is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Smyly pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 11-2 win over the Orioles.

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Villanueva pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out six and allowing one hit, in the 8-5 win over the Nationals. Villanueva did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because he exited with the Cardinals trailing, 4-3.

National League Batter of the Day—Darin Ruf of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 14-8 win over the Mets.

This was Ruf’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ruf made his Major League debut Sept. 14, 2012, and was playing in his 219th career game. He is the 3,575th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 7-5 win over the Astros.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Greinke (7.1IP 5H R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Greinke also now has 143.7 career Box-Toppers points and maintains his rank at 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).

Notable—Prince Fielder rises to fourth place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Fielder (HR 2-5 2R 2BI in the 8-6 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.

Debut—In addition to Ruf, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday: Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino earned his first Player of the Game honor (7IP 6H 0R 3K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves). Nicolino made his Major League debut June 20 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,576th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Smyly earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Villanueva earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ruf and Morrison each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/1
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Rays
    Drew Smyly (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    NL
    8.1
    `Cardinals
    Carlos Villanueva (MR)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    7.0
    Brewers
    Jimmy Nelson (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    7.0
    Yankees
    Michael Pineda (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Phillies
    Darin Ruf, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    6
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.1
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,15-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Dbacks
    Phil Gosselin, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Schwarber, LF
    3
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Mariners
    Logan Morrison, PH-1B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Matt Shoemaker (W,7-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Twins
    Eduardo Escobar, SS
    4
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Ryan Goins, 2B
    3
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Dbacks
    Aaron Hill, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Justin Nicolino (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    
    1.0
    Tigers
    Ian Kinsler, 2B
    5
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Rangers
    Prince Fielder, 1B
    5
    2
    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.
  

Mets' Colon tops players for Monday, Aug. 31; Keuchel rises to 5th in player rankings, Archer rises to 10th

Shawn Plank September 5, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31.

Also Monday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to 10th place.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 31.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	17.0
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Colon pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies.

Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 140.1 for his career, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Monday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 21st-ranked player Zack Greinke (142.7 points).

Colon has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season. He becomes the 29th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Canha of the Athletics homered, scored twice and drove in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the 13-6 win over the Cubs.

This was Duvall’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Duvall made his Major League debut June 26, 2014, and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,573rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (7IP 6H 2R 10K W in the 8-3 win over the Mariners) rose to fifth place with 17.7 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind David Price of the Blue Jays (18.1 Box-Toppers points).
Rays pitcher Chris Archer (6IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Orioles) rose to 10th place with 16.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rises to 57th place among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 8K ND in the 8-5 win over the Nationals) now has 104.8 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0 points) on the “all-time” list and trails 56th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Lackey has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debut—In addition to Duvall, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Monday: Rockies pitcher Simon Castro earned his first career Player of the Game honor. Castro (2IP 0R 0H K W in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 5, 2013, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,574th 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 Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Canha and Duvall each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/31
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Mets
    Bartolo Colon (W,12-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Padres
    Tyson Ross (W,10-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    6.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,12-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    10
  

    
    6.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,16-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Chris Archer (W,12-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    4.1
    Marlins
    Chris Narveson (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    2
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Athletics
    Mark Canha, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    4
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Dodgers
    Chris Hatcher (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Reds
    Adam Duvall, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Cardinals
    John Lackey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    1
    4
    8
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Simon Castro (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., LF
    3
    2
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Cubs' Jake Arrieta, pitching no-hitter, tops players for Sunday, Aug. 30, rises to 2nd in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 5, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, pitching a no-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Sunday, Aug. 30 and rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	17.0
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	16.7
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	15.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Michael Cuddyer of the Mets extended to 12 the number of consecutive seasons in which he’s earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Player of the Day—Arrieta struck out 12 and walked one, pitching the complete-game no-hitter, shutting out the Dodgers, 2-0.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.1 for the season and rising to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He trails overall leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Derek Holland pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 6-0 win over the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 20-6 win over the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a two-run homer and doubled, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.

Streak—Michael Cuddyer of the Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Cuddyer (3-3 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Cuddyer earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Twins. His best year was 2013 with the Rockies when he had 11.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among NL batters. In 2014, he had 3.0 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.

Cuddyer has 60.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 209th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks third among active NL outfielders in career Box-Toppers points, behind Matt Holliday of the Cardinals (91.8) and Ryan Braun (77.7).

Trivial—This is the first time this season in which all players in the Box-Toppers top 10 have different Box-Toppers point totals. After the games of Aug. 29, Arrieta and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale both had 17.1 Box-Toppers points, but with Arrieta earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points, each player has a different point total.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Holland earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Drew and Werth 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/30
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    20.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,17-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    12
  

    AL
    17.0
    Rangers
    Derek Holland (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    
    11.0
    Twins
    Ervin Santana (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    0
    10
  

    
    8.0
    Rockies
    Jorge De La Rosa (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Yankees
    Stephen Drew, 2B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Padres
    James Shields (W,10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Indians
    Josh Tomlin (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    5.0
    White Sox
    David Robertson (W,6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Russell Martin, C
    3
    3
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Brewers
    Wily Peralta (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Nationals
    Jayson Werth, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mets
    Michael Cuddyer, LF-1B
    3
    2
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Kevin Siegrist (S,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Brandon Guyer, RF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Pat Venditte (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Lead changes

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Lead changes

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Lead changes

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Lead changes

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

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.