Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, July 12; Nationals' Scherzer regains Box-Toppers points lead

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 12th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Also Sunday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the Box-Toppers season points lead and also earned his 100th career Box-Toppers point. Plus, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to ninth 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 July 12.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.4
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	13.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
7	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
8	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	11.7
9	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	hou al	11.1
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out nine, in the 3-1 win over the White Sox.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season. He is the 12th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among all players, seventh among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Indians.

Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season. He is the 13th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to ninth in season player rankings, fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets hit three homers and drove in four runs in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 11-10 win over the Blue Jays.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings Sunday after earning Player of the Game honors.

Scherzer (8.2IP 4H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (14.4 Box-Toppers points) for first place in Box-Toppers rankings. Scherzer previously led players in Box-Toppers points this season from June 26 to July 8, when he both took the lead from and lost the lead to Hernandez.

Scherzer also now has 100.0 career Box-Toppers points, becoming the 67th player with 100 since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Scherzer ranks 67th among all players and trails 66th-place player Larry Walker (100.1).

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis and Infante 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

7/12	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,10-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	1	1	0	9
AL	12.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W,10-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	1	6
	7.2	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W,10-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.2	4	2	2	0	7
	7.2	Padres	Tyson Ross (W,6-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	3	0	0	2	6
	7.0	Angels	Andrew Heaney (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	1	6
BAT	6.0	Mets	Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF	4	3	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Twins	Kyle Gibson (W,8-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	0	2	6
	4.2	Giants	Chris Heston (W,9-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	7	1	1	0	7
	3.0	Rockies	Charlie Blackmon, CF	5	1	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Marlins	Justin Bour, 1B	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Dodgers	Kenley Jansen (S,16)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Royals	Omar Infante, 2B	4	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Pirates	Gregory Polanco, RF	4	1	3	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Yankees	Brian McCann, C	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rays	David DeJesus, LF	3	2	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Sunday, June 14, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

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

Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rises to ninth in player rankings. Plus, Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett now has 125.8 career Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	12.4
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	11.0
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	11.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	10.1
7	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	9.7
8	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	9.7
9	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	9.4
10	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	8.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Scherzer pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout, striking out 16, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers. Scherzer allowed only two base runners, giving up one walk and one hit. He had a Box-Toppers game score of 23, the second-highest of the season. (Indians pitcher Corey Kluber had a higher Box-Toppers game score of 25 when he was Player of the Day on May 13.)

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and moving him to third in season Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks second among American League pitchers, behind overall leader Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (12.4). Scherzer is the sixth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray struck out nine over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 8-1 win over the Angels.

Gray rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Ryan Goins of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-5 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batters earned Player of the Game honors. In fact, in all 14 games completed Sunday, only one batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Notable—Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett now has 125.8 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Burnett (9IP 5H 0R 4K ND in the 1-0, 11-inning win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. His 125.8 career Box-Toppers points ranks 32nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 31st-place player Mariano Rivera (126.4). Burnett has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, ranked in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings, started Sunday but did not earn Player of the Game honors. Sale (6.2IP 3H 2R 12K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.2, but the White Sox lost to the Rays, 2-1. Rays pitcher Nathan Karns (6IP 7H R 8K ND, Box-Toppers game score of 4) was Player of the Game.

Sale has 10.4 Box-Toppers points for the season and fell from fourth to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings Sunday.

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

• Mets pitcher Sean Gilmartin (2IP 0H 0R 3K W in the 10-8 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 10, and was playing in his 24th career game. He is the 3,500th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin (2IP H 0R 3K W in the 4-2 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut June 2, and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,501st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Goins earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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

6/14	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	23.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W, 7-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	1	0	0	1	16
AL	10.2	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 8-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	1	0	0	9
	7.0	`Pirates	A.J. Burnett	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	5	0	0	1	4
	6.0	Tigers	Alfredo Simon (W, 7-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	0	0	1	5
	5.0	Astros	Lance McCullers (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	0	0	0	4	4
	5.0	`Yankees	Justin Wilson (H, 9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	4.0	Blue Jays	Ryan Goins 2B	5	2	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dbacks	Rubby De La Rosa (W, 5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	8	0	0	2	6
	4.0	`Cubs	Jon Lester	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	0	4
	4.0	`Rays	Nathan Karns	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	7	1	1	1	8
	4.0	Twins	Casey Fien (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	1	3
	4.0	Mets	Sean Gilmartin (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	1	3
	4.0	Dodgers	Josh Ravin (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Rockies	John Axford (S, 12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	3
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

White Sox' Sale tops players for Wednesday, June 3, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth in season player rankings.

Also Wednesday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray and Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings. Plus, Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle earned a Box-Toppers point in his 16th straight season.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	10.0
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	9.0
5	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	7.7
8	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	7.7
9	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	7.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	7.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Sale pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 13, allowing three hits, in the 9-2 win over the Rangers. Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season. He rises to sixth among players in Box-Toppers player rankings, third among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano allowed one run over seven innings, striking out six, in the 5-2 win over the Giants.

National League Batter of the Day—Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs, going 2-for-3, in the 7-6 win over the Dodgers. Tulowitzki led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 11.6 (despite playing just over half the season). Tulowitzki earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day Wednesday, his first points of the season.

American League Batter of the Day—Steven Souza Jr. of the Rays hit a three-run homer in the 6-5 win over the Angels.

Rankings—Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season:

• Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray (8IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to eighth in player rankings. Gray ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
• Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (7IP 2R 8K ND in the 5-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, rising to 10th in player rankings. Cole ranks fifth among NL pitchers. Hamels also rises to 37th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point earned Wednesday, Hamels now has 117.8 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Barry Zito (117.4 Box-Toppers points) and Carlos Delgado (117.7 Box-Toppers points). Hamels now trails 36th-place player on the list, Justin Verlander (118.2 Box-Toppers points).

Streak—Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 16 straight seasons.

Buehrle was Player of the Game in Wednesday’s 8-0 win over the Nationals (CG 0R 6H 2K W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Buehrle earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2000 with the White Sox. His best season was 2005 with the White Sox when he had 17.7 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points with the Blue Jays, 28th among AL pitchers.

Buehrle has 115.7 career Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Wednesday, he passes Tim Lincecum (115.0 Box-Toppers points) on that list. He trails 40th-place player Todd Helton (116.4 Box-Toppers points).

Buehrle’s 115.7 career Box-Toppers points ranks seventh among active pitchers currently in the AL.

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

• Astros pitcher Lance McCullers (CG 4H R 11K W in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,488th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Yasmany Tomas of the Diamondbacks (3-5 2R RBI in the 9-8 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 15 and was playing in his 38th career game. He is the 3,489th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Liriano earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Tulowitzki and Souza 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.

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

6/3	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	13
	14.0	Astros	Lance McCullers (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	1	1	0	11
	14.0	Twins	Trevor May (W, 4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	0	9
	12.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 7-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	1	7
	11.0	Yankees	Masahiro Tanaka (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	0	9
	8.0	Red Sox	Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	7
NL	6.0	Pirates	Francisco Liriano (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	1	6
BAT	5.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki SS	3	1	2	5	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Blue Jays	Mark Buehrle (W, 7-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	6	0	0	1	2
	2.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S, 8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	`Phillies	Cole Hamels	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	3	8
	1.0	Dbacks	Yasmany Tomas 3B	5	2	3	1	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter 3B	4	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Marlins	Adeiny Hechavarria SS	4	2	2	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	1.0	Rays	Steven Souza Jr. RF	4	1	1	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Padres	Justin Upton LF	3	2	2	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Mariners' Walker tops players for Friday, May 29; Athletics' Gray rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Friday’s Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Plus, three pitchers with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday—Tim Hudson of the Giants, Dan Haren of the Marlins and John Lackey of the Cardinals.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	9.0
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	7.0
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
6	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	6.7
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
9	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	6.7
10	Fielder, Prince 2029	dh	tex al	6.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Walker pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 2-1 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 4-1 win over the Phillies. Bettis had a perfect game into the seventh inning and a no-hitter into the eighth inning, before giving up a one-out single.

This was Bettis’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut Aug. 1, 2013, and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,481st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Hamilton of the Rangers hit two home runs and scored three total runs in the 7-4 win over the Red Sox. It was Hamilton’s first Player of the Game honor of the season and the first since his return to the Rangers after two seasons with the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Friday because no NL batters earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Gray (8IP 4H 2R 5K W in the 6-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Notable—Three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Hudson earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game in the 4-2 win over the Braves (7IP 5H R 4K W), giving him 155.0 career Box-Toppers points. Hudson passes Felix Hernandez (154.7) on that list and trails 12th-place player, Mike Mussina (155.6). Hudson has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
• Marlins pitcher Dan Haren rose to 48th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Haren earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game in the 4-3 win over the Mets (7IP 4H 2R 4K W), giving him 111.2 career Box-Toppers points. Haren passes Jon Lester (111.1) and Tom Glavine (110.6) on that list and trails 47th-place player Torii Hunter (111.4). Haren has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
• Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rose to 59th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Lackey earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers (7IP 5H 0R 9K W), giving him 101.8 career Box-Toppers points. Lackey passes Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Adam Wainwright (101.8) on that list and trails Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2). Lackey has 3.7 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Scoring—Walker 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. Hamilton earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/29	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W, 2-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	0	8
NL	13.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	0	7
	10.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	1	9
	9.0	`Orioles	Miguel Gonzalez	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	0	6
	8.1	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	3	0	0	3	7
BAT	4.0	Rangers	Josh Hamilton LF	3	3	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Giants	Tim Hudson (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	0	4
	3.0	White Sox	Geovany Soto C	1	1	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 6-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	2	2	2	5
	3.0	Padres	Craig Kimbrel (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Dbacks	Addison Reed (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	1	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF	4	2	3	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Marlins	Dan Haren (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	1	4
	2.0	Reds	Aroldis Chapman (S, 8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Blue Jays	Josh Donaldson 3B	5	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Tim Lincecum (8IP 0R) tops players for Sunday, May 3

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Lincecum pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 5-0 win over the Angels.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
4	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.7
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	4.7
8	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	4.4
10	Upton, Justin 2411	lf	sd nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Lincecum earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season. He now has 111.3 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 46th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Sunday, he passed three players on that list—Jon Lester (111.1), Tom Glavine (110.6) and Jeff Kent (109.7). He ranks 32nd among all pitchers since 1995 and ninth among active pitchers currently in the NL.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits, in the 7-1 win over the Rangers. Gray rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings—he earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season.

American League Batter of the Day—Evan Gattis of the Astros hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 7-6 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Justin Upton of the Padres homered and hit two doubles, scoring twice and driving in three, in the 8-6 win over the Rockies. Upton rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season. He ranks second among NL batters, behind Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins (4.5 Box-Toppers points).

Rankings—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Royals). Cabrera earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season. He leads all AL batters.

With Sunday’s point, Cabrera now has 132.9 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 25th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He is just behind two players with 133.4 Box-Toppers points—David Ortiz and Jason Giambi.

Streak—Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers achieved two Box-Toppers milestones Sunday—he became the 65th player with 100 or more Box-Toppers points and also has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 16 straight seasons.

Ramirez was Player of the Game in Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Cubs (HR 2-3 R 3BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Ramirez earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2000 with the Pirates. His best season was 2005 with the Cubs when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters. In 2014, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points with the Brewers, most among NL third basemen.

Ramirez has 100.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 62nd among all players (since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With Sunday’s point, he passes three players on that list—Paul Konerko (100.7), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Larry Walker (100.1). Ramirez ranks 21st among all batters since 1995 and sixth among active batters currently in the NL.

Debut—Cardinals pitcher Miguel Socolovich made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Socolovich (1IP 0R K W in the 3-2, 14-inning win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut July 14, 2012, and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,456th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lincecum earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gattis and Upton 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

5/3	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Giants	Tim Lincecum (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	1	4
AL	7.2	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	2	0	0	7	10
	7.0	Braves	Julio Teheran (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	2	6
	5.2	Twins	Ryan Pressly (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.2	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	5.0	Astros	Evan Gattis DH	4	3	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`Dodgers	Brett Anderson	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	0	0	0	4
	4.1	Nationals	Doug Fister (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Indians	Jason Kipnis 2B	5	3	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Padres	Justin Upton LF	4	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Aramis Ramirez 3B	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.1	Orioles	Zach Britton (S, 5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	1	2
	2.0	Yankees	Jacoby Ellsbury CF	4	2	4	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 1B	4	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Cardinals	Miguel Socolovich (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Phillies	Ryan Howard 1B	4	1	2	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Athletics' Sonny Gray, Reds' Johnny Cueto top players for Wednesday, April 22

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.

Gray struck out seven over seven innings and allowed one run on two hits in the 9-2 win over the Angels. Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rises to eighth 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 April 22.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	4.0
2	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
3	DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	3.7
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	3.4
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
6	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	3.0
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	3.0
8	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	3.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	3.0
10	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto struck out eight over eight innings and allowed one run on five hits in the 2-1 win over the Brewers. Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rises to fourth in Box-Toppers player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Kolten Wong of the Cardinals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Gregorio Petit of the Yankees doubled, scored and drove in three runs in the 13-4 win over the Tigers. It is Petit’s first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years. He last earned Player of the Game honors May 2, 2009, as a member of the Athletics.

Notable—Jose Abreu of the White Sox, last season’s Box-Toppers points leader among AL batters, scored his first Box-Toppers point of the season. Abreu (HR 2B 2-4 R 3BI in the 6-0 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. In 2014, he had 15.5 Box-Toppers points.

Also notable—The NL’s top two Box-Toppers points leaders in 2014 faced off in a pitching duel Wednesday, but neither earned Player of the Game honors.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5, faced Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, second among NL pitchers and third place overall in 2014 with 22.6 Box-Toppers points.

The Giants beat the Dodgers 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning on Joe Panik’s walk-off sacrifice fly. Panik earned Player of the Game honors with an Box-Toppers game score of +1.0, the highest of any Giants player.

Had the Dodgers prevailed, Kershaw (6IP 3H 2R 9K ND) likely would have been Player of the Game. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +7. But he exited the game after six innings with the Giants leading 2-0. Kershaw has 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season, earned April 17.

Bumgarner also earned a no decision in the game, leaving with the score tied 2-2. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +0.1 (6.1IP 6H 2R 6K), allowing Panik’s low game score of +1 to beat him for Player of the Game. Bumgarner has yet to earn Player of the Game honors this season and so has no Box-Toppers points for 2015.

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Wong and Petit 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.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/22	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	7
NL	7.0	Reds	Johnny Cueto (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	2	8
	4.0	Twins	Mike Pelfrey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	2	4
	4.0	Marlins	Jarred Cosart (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	0	4
	4.0	Rays	Brad Boxberger (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Cardinals	Kolten Wong 2B	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rockies	Corey Dickerson LF	3	2	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Yankees	Gregorio Petit 2B	2	1	1	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Blue Jays	Devon Travis 2B	4	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	White Sox	Jose Abreu 1B	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Chris Owings 2B	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Pirates	Tony Watson (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Mets	Jeurys Familia (S, 7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Giants	Joe Panik PH, 2B	0	0	0	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.1	Mariners	J.A. Happ (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	8	2	2	0	5

Nationals' Zimmermann (no-hitter) tops players for Sunday, Sept. 28; trio of players in Box-Toppers top 10 earn points in season finale

Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, pitching a no-hitter in the final game of the season, is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, three other pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors in their final start—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to fourth place, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez maintained his sixth place spot and Tigers pitcher David Price rose to seventh place.

Also Sunday, Buster Posey of the Giants rose to second place among National League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Lucas Duda of the Mets rose to third place among NL batters.

Zimmermann struck out 10 and allowed only one baserunner on a walk, as he no-hit the Marlins, 1-0. Zimmermann earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season. He rises to 16th in Box-Toppers player rankings and ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

Cueto rose from fifth to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Cueto (8IP R 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.4 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers.

Hernandez became the sixth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Hernandez (5.1IP 0R 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.8 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Price rose from eighth to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings afte earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Price (7.1IP 0R 8K in the 3-0 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 19.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among American League pitchers.

Posey rises to second place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Posey (HR 1-2 R 2BI in the 9-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He trails NL batting leader Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (11.6 Box-Toppers points). He ranks 76th among all players.

Duda rises to third place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Duda (HR 2-4, R 4BI in the 8-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. (Though both Duda and Posey have 8.5 points on the season, Posey has the edge in the tie-breaker, having more points over the past two seasons—15.5 vs. 8.5.) Duda ranks 79th among all players.

Also Sunday:

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is AL Player of the Day. Pineda struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 9-5 win over the Red Sox.

Roger Bernadina of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Bernadina homered and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rockies.

Christian Colon of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Colon doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the White Sox.

Notables: Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray becomes the 58th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Gray (CG 0R 5K W in the 4-0 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 57th among all players and 26th among AL pitchers. In 2013, there were 54 players who had 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Two players made their Box-Toppers debut on the final day of the season. Players make their debut the first time they earn Player of the Game honors:

• Braves pitcher James Russell (4IP 0R ND in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) is the 3,435th player to debut since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

• Jose Ramirez of the Indians (2B 3-4 R BI in the 7-2 win over the Rays) is the 3,436th player to debut since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

There were 135 players who debuted in Box-Toppers during the 2014 season. In 2013, 168 players debuted in Box-Toppers.

Zimmermann receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Pineda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Rizzo and Colon each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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

928	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	18.0	Nationals	Jordan Zimmermann (W, 14-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	0	0	0	1	10
AL	11.1	Yankees	Michael Pineda (W, 5-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	3	1	1	0	10
	11.1	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W, 15-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	1	0	0	0	7
	9.1	Tigers	David Price (W, 15-12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	0	0	2	8
	8.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 14-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	6	0	0	0	5
	7.0	Reds	Johnny Cueto (W, 20-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	1	1	0	7
BAT	5.0	Dodgers	Roger Bernadina RF	2	1	2	4	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`Braves	James Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	2	0	0	1	4
	4.0	`Cardinals	Marco Gonzales (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	1	2
	3.0	Cubs	Anthony Rizzo 1B	4	2	3	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mets	Lucas Duda 1B	4	1	2	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Royals	Christian Colon 3B	2	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Giants	Buster Posey C	2	1	1	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Miguel Gonzalez (W, 10-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	5	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Indians	Jose Ramirez SS	4	1	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Oakland Athletics have most players on Box-Toppers Top 100 list

The Oakland Athletics, baseball’s best team at the All-Star break, has seven players on Box-Toppers Top 100 players list, the most of any team.

The list is led by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has earned 18.1 Box-Toppers points this season and Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer with 16.1. Kershaw led all players in 2013 with 21.7 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer led all American League players in 2013 with 18.1.

Top 100 list 2014

Here is Box-Toppers Top 100, listing players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals at the All-Star break.

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	16.1
3	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	14.0
4	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	13.5
5	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	13.1
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	12.8
7	Richards, Garrett 3042	pi sp	ana al	12.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	12.7
9	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	12.7
10	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	col nl	11.6
11	Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	11.4
12	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	10.4
13	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tb al	10.4
14	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.4
15	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	10.1
16	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.0
17	Abreu, Jose 3308	1b	chi al	9.5
18	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	9.4
19	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
20	Hutchison, Drew 3038	pi sp	tor al	9.0
21	Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
22	Alvarez, Henderson 2951	pi sp	fla nl	8.7
23	Simon, Alfredo 2718	pi sp	cin nl	8.7
24	Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	oak al	8.7
25	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	8.7
26	Lohse, Kyle 1487	pi sp	mil nl	8.4
27	Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139	pi sp	lad nl	8.4
28	Hughes, Phil 2272	pi sp	min al	8.4
29	Young, Chris 1933	pi sp	sea al	8.4
30	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	atl nl	8.0
31	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	8.0
32	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh lf	tor al	8.0
33	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	7.7
34	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	sf nl	7.7
35	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	bos al	7.7
36	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7
37	Chavez, Jesse 2780	pi sp	oak al	7.7
38	Beckett, Josh 1544	pi sp	lad nl	7.7
39	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	7.5
40	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	7.0
41	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	7.0
42	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	7.0
43	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	7.0
44	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	7.0
45	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
46	Uehara, Koji 2802	pi cp	bos al	7.0
47	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	7.0
48	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	kc al	6.7
49	Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	sd nl	6.7
50	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
51	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf	oak al	6.5
52	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	6.5
53	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.4
54	McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	6.4
55	Colabello, Chris 3235	1b dh rf	min al	6.2
56	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	6.0
57	Collmenter, Josh 2863	pi sp	ari nl	6.0
58	Aybar, Erick 2416	ss	ana al	6.0
59	Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp mr	kc al	6.0
60	Doolittle, Sean 3052	pi cp	oak al	6.0
61	Elias, Roenis 3309	pi sp	sea al	6.0
62	Buehrle, Mark 1407	pi sp	tor al	5.7
63	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	5.7
64	Fister, Doug 2688	pi sp	dc nl	5.7
65	Ross, Tyson 2840	pi sp	sd nl	5.7
66	Vogelsong, Ryan 1820	pi sp	sf nl	5.7
67	Hahn, Jesse 3354	pi sp	sd nl	5.7
68	Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	det al	5.5
69	Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	5.5
70	Ramirez, Alexei 2537	ss	chi al	5.5
71	Morse, Michael 2020	lf	sf nl	5.5
72	Upton, Justin 2411	lf	atl nl	5.2
73	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	5.0
74	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	5.0
75	Bailey, Homer 2324	pi sp	cin nl	5.0
76	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	kc al	5.0
77	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
78	Burnett, A.J. 1300	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
79	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
80	Cashner, Andrew 2807	pi sp	sd nl	5.0
81	Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
82	Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	cin nl	5.0
83	Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	cin nl	5.0
84	Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	det al	5.0
85	Smyly, Drew 3009	pi sp mr	det al	5.0
86	Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	fla nl	5.0
87	Perez, Martin 3213	pi sp	tex al	5.0
88	Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	5.0
89	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	pit nl	5.0
90	Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	5.0
91	Suzuki, Kurt 2344	ca	min al	5.0
92	Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	5.0
93	Koehler, Tom 3159	pi sp	fla nl	5.0
94	Dozier, Brian 3219	2b	min al	5.0
95	Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	nyy al	5.0
96	Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp cp	cle al	5.0
97	Rodriguez, Sean 2729	lf 1b 2b dh ph	tb al	5.0
98	Duda, Lucas 2818	1b	nym nl	5.0
99	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
100	Cobb, Alex 2916	pi sp	tb al	4.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Pitcher Scott Kazmir leads the seven Athletics on the top 100 list, he has 13.1 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall (second among AL pitchers). The other Athletics players are:

• Jason Hammel, starting pitcher, in 24th place with 8.7. (Hammel earned all 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs, prior to being traded to the Athletics.)

• Jesse Chavez, starting pitcher, in 37th place with 7.7.

• Sonny Gray, starting pitcher, in 47th place with 7.0.

• Josh Donaldson, third base, in 50th place with 6.5.

• Yoenis Cespedes, left field, in 51st place with 6.5.

• Sean Doolittle, closing pitcher, in 60th place with 6.0.

Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most of any team. The Los Angeles Dodgers, in second place, have 69.7.

While the addition of Hammel gives the Athletics seven players in the top 100, they would still have the most players on the list without him, with six. No other team has more than five players on the list. There are five teams with five players each—the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Washington Nationals, the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners.

All but one team is represented on the top 100 list. The only team without a member is the Baltimore Orioles. That team’s leader in Box-Toppers points, Nelson Cruz, designated hitter and left fielder, has 4.5 points, in 109th place. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies both have one player on the top 100 list.

Pitchers dominate the top 100 list, with 80 members—73 of them starting pitchers. Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters, especially in the short-term. Star pitchers tend to rack up points in quick batches while batters tend to pick up points steadily over long periods of time. For example, the Box-Toppers “all-time” top 100 list has 45 batters and 55 pitchers (the “all-time” list tracks players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began).

Here is a breakdown of the top 100 list by position:

• Starting pitchers 73

• Closing pitchers 7

• First base 7

• Outfield 6 (4 LF, 1 CF, 1 RF)

• Shortstop 3

• Third base 2

• Second base 1

• Catcher 1

Here are some notable players’ statuses in the top 100.

• Last year’s Cy Young Award winners are ranked No. 1 and 2. Kershaw, the reigning National League winner, is in first place with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer, the reigning AL winner, is in second place with 16.1.

• Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies leads all NL batters and is in 10th place overall, with 11.6 Box-Toppers points.

• Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads all AL batters and is in 17th place overall, with 9.5 Box-Toppers points.

• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2013’s AL Most Valuable Player is in 39th place overall with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL batters.

• Pitcher Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, 2013’s NL Rookie of the Year is in 40th place overall with 7.0 Box-Toppers points. However, Fernandez is injured and now out for the rest of the season.

• Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, 2013’s NL MVP, is in 52nd place overall with 6.5 Box-Toppers points (already more than the 6.0 he earned last season, when he ranked 22nd among NL batters). McCutchen currently ranks third among NL batters.

• Pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who started the All-Star Game for the NL, is ranked third overall with 14.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among NL pitchers.

• Pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, who started the All-Star Game for the AL, is ranked sixth overall with 12.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

• Wil Myers of the Rays, 2013’s AL Rookie of the Year has 1.0 Box-Toppers point and is not on this year’s top 100. (He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.)

• Pitcher Chris Archer of the Rays, who led AL Rookies in Box-Toppers points in 2013, is in 53rd place with 6.4 Box-Toppers points. (Last season, he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.)

So far this season, 578 players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so have at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Eighty new players have earned Player of the Game honors for the first time this season, making their Box-Toppers debut.

 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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Athletics' Sonny Gray (CG 0R 6K) tops players for Monday, April 28

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Monday’s Player of the Day. Gray pitched a complete game shutout, striking out six, in the 4-0 win over the Rangers.

Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies is National League Player of the Day. Tulowitzki homered, hit two doubles and drove in three runs in the 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI in the 7-3 win over the Rays.

Gray receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Tulowitzki receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ramirez receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.

All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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

428	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	3	0	0	1	6
NL	5.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki SS	3	2	3	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Padres	Rene Rivera C	5	1	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Brewers	Lyle Overbay PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Angels	Tyler Skaggs	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	3	3	1	6
BAT	1.0	White Sox	Alexei Ramirez SS	3	1	2	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Adam Wainwright leads Cardinals in NLDS series win, tops players for Wednesday, Oct. 9

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, who helped seal his team's berth in the National League Championship Series, is Wednesday's Player of the Day.

Wainwright gave up one run and pitched a complete game in the 6-1 win over the Pirates, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 NL Division Series win. 

This is the second time this postseason that Wainwright has earned Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game in the Cardinals win in Game 1 of the series. Wainwright had 20.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked second overall (see the Top 10 Player Ranking list on the home page).

The Cardinals will face the Dodgers beginning Friday in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series. 

Coming Thursday: The League Division Series conclude Thursday with Game 5 of the ALDS series between the Tigers and Athletics. The pitching match-ups are the same as in Game 2 of the series (won by the Athletics 1-0):

ALDS Game 5, Tigers at Athletics, series tied 2-2

Tigers: Justin Verlander, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 53rd overall

Athletics: Sonny Gray, 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 272nd overall

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Top player from each game 

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1009	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	4.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Adam Wainwright (W, 2-0)	9.0	8	1	1	1	6

Pirates' Sonny Gray tops players in Saturday, Oct. 5's ALDS games

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Saturday's Player of the Day in the two American League Division Series playoff games. 

Gray pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 1-0 win over the Tigers to tie the series at 1-1. Gray picked up a no decision because he left the game in a scoreless tie after eight innings, but the Athletics scored on Stephen Vogt's bases-loaded walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. 

Gray had 4.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 272nd overall.

Jacob Ellsbury of the Red Sox is Saturday's other Player of the Game. Ellsbury scored three runs and went 3-for-4 in the 7-4 win over the Rays, to lead that series 2-0.  Ellsbury had 5.5 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 161st overall.

 Coming Sunday: The two NLDS series continue Sunday. Here are the pitching match-ups:

NLDS Game 3, Cardinals at Pirates, series tied 1-1

Cardinals: Joe Kelly, 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 264th overall

Pirates: Francisco Liriano, 16.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked ninth overall (see the top 10 Player Rankings list on the home page)

NLDS Game 3, Braves at Dodgers, series tied 1-1

Braves: Julio Teheran, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 23rd overall

Dodgers: Hyun-Jin Ryu, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 61st overall

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league and 1.5 for top batter in each league. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Top player from each game 

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1005	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	11.0	`Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Sonny Gray	8.0	4	0	0	2	9
BAT	3.0	Red Sox	Jacoby Ellsbury CF	4	3	3	1	0	1	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

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

Tigers' Max Scherzer tops players in Friday, Oct 4's playoff games

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, who led American League players in regular season Box-Toppers points, is Friday's Player of the Day in the four division series playoff games.

Scherzer struck out 11 over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Athletics, as the Tigers lead the AL Division Series best-of-five, 1-0. 

Scherzer had 18.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, the most of any AL player, ranking fifth overall (see the top 10 Player Ranking list on the home page). 

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole was National League Player of the Day. Cole gave up one run over six innings in the 7-1 win over the Cardinals to tie the NLDS series at 1-1.  Cole had 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013, ranking 211th overall.

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester was Player of the Game in the 12-2 win over the Rays, leading the Red Sox to an ALDS series lead of 1-0. Lester struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings.  Lester had 12.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013, ranking 34th overall.

Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel was Player of the Game in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers, leading the Braves to tie the NLDS series at 1-1. Kimbrel struck out two over 1 1/3 innings and picked up the save. Kimbrel had 12.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013, ranking 31st overall.

Coming Saturday: The two ALDS series continue Saturday. Here are the pitching match-ups:

ALDS Game 2, Red Sox lead Rays 1-0

Rays: David Price, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 92nd overall

Red Sox: John Lackey, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 148th overall

ALDS Game 2, Tigers lead Athletics 1-0

Tigers: Justin Verlander, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 53rd overall

Athletics: Sonny Gray, 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 272nd overall

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league and 1.5 for top batter in each league. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Top player from each game 

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1004	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	9.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Max Scherzer (W, 1-0)	7.0	3	2	2	2	11
NL	6.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gerrit Cole (W, 1-0)	6.0	2	1	1	1	5
	4.2	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lester (W, 1-0)	7.2	3	2	2	3	7
	1.1	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Craig Kimbrel (S, 1)	1.1	0	0	0	2	2

Athletics' Sonny Gray (8IP 0R 9K) tops players for Thursday, Aug. 15

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Thursday, Aug. 15:

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Thursday's Player of the Day. Gray pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 5-0 win over the Astros. 

It is Gray's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,259th player to debut on Box-Toppers since record-keeping began in 1995. 

Reds pitcher Tony Cingrani is National League Player of the Day. Cingrani struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings in the 2-1 win over the Brewers. 

Wil Myers of the Rays is American League Batter of the Day. He went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs in the 7-1 win over the Mariners. 

Hector Sanchez of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. He hit a pinch-hit three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Nationals, 4-3.

Notable: Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez rose to 18th place in Box-Toppers player season standings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Sanchez (7.1IP 1R 5K W in the 4-1 win vs. the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. 

Gray receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Cingrani receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Myers and Sanchez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

815	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Sonny Gray (W, 1-1)	8.0	4	0	0	1	9
NL	8.1	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tony Cingrani (W, 6-2)	6.1	4	1	1	1	9
	8.0	`Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Zack Wheeler	6.0	7	1	1	1	12
BAT	5.0	Rays	Wil Myers DH	4	2	3	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Angels	Chris Nelson 3B	4	2	2	5	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Giants	Hector Sanchez PH	1	1	1	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kevin Siegrist (W, 1-1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Anibal Sanchez (W, 11-7)	7.1	7	1	1	1	5
	1.0	Twins	Chris Herrmann PH	1	0	1	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Blue Jays	Mark DeRosa PH, 1B	0	0	0	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

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