With trade for Scott Kazmir, Houston Astros rise to top Box-Toppers team rankings

Astros rocket from 8th to 1st in team rankings with Kazmir trade. St. Louis Cardinals fall from 1st to 2nd but remain top NL team.

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Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Thursday, July 23, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

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

Also Thursday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season.

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out 11, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 23.  


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 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 14.4
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 13.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
8 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 12.0
9 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
10 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season and rising to sixth in player rankings, third among NL pitchers.

Kershaw now has 146.6 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player on the “all-time” list, Jim Thome (146.7).

Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011, 2013 and 2014, has far and away the most Box-Toppers points of all players since 2010. Since the start of the 2010 season, Kershaw has 129.2 Box-Toppers points. In second place is Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (100.8), 28.4 points behind.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.

Thursday marked the first time Santana earned Player of the Game honors this season, giving him a streak of 11 straight seasons with Box-Toppers points. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Angels. His best year was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7, most among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points with the Braves.

Santana has 89.6 career Box-Toppers points, 93rd among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks ninth in career Box-Toppers points among active AL pitchers.

Santana was suspended for the first 80 games of the season under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros hit a walk-off homer in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox. Altuve also hit a double and went 4-for-5, scoring twice.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Royals.

Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Godley (6IP 4H 0R 7K W in the 8-3 win over the Brewers) was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,538th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

7/23 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 17.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,8-6) - - - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 0 11
AL 11.0 Twins Ervin Santana (W,2-0) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 0 7
9.0 Pirates Francisco Liriano (W,6-6) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 3 11
9.0 Dbacks Zack Godley (W,1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 0 7
7.0 Marlins Tom Koehler (W,8-6) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 4 7
5.0 White Sox Jeff Samardzija (W,7-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 0 3
4.2 Yankees Masahiro Tanaka (W,7-3) - - - - - - 7.2 4 3 3 0 7
4.1 Blue Jays R.A. Dickey (W,4-10) - - - - - - 8.1 5 2 2 1 6
BAT 2.0 Astros Jose Altuve, 2B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 `Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 2 7
BAT 1.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk, LF 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.

Detroit Tigers have most players (six) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2015 at All-Star break

Max Scherzer leads top 100 players at midseason.

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Indians' Carlos Carrasco, with near no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, July 1

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who was one strike away from a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned Player of the Game honors and rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” top 50 player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 14.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 13.4
3 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
4 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 11.4
6 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 11.4
7 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 11.1
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 10.7
9 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 10.7
10 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 9.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco struck out 13 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one run, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Carrasco had a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning before allowing his first hit to Joey Butler, who was down to his final strike.

Carrasco also has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and is ranked 16th among all players. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates hit two homers and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-5 win over the Royals.

Notables—Two pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings top 50:

  • Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle rose to 40th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Buehrle (7IP 4H R 7K W in the 11-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 116.7 career Box-Toppers points. He passes Todd Helton (116.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).
  • Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 45th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Lester (7IP 5H 0R 7K ND in the 2-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 114.1 for his career. He passes Sammy Sosa (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 44th-place player Torii Hunter (114.4). Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season—he has earned 4.0 of those points when he’s earned a no decision.

Debut—Braves pitcher Matt Wisler made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Wisler (5.1IP H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 19 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,522nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco 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. Walker and Altuve 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

7/1 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 16.2 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 8.2 1 1 1 2 13
12.0 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W, 7-6) - - - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 0 7
NL 9.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W, 5-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 1 8
8.0 Blue Jays Mark Buehrle (W, 9-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 0 7
8.0 `Cubs Jon Lester - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 7
6.0 White Sox Jose Quintana (W, 4-7) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 0 8
5.1 Braves Matt Wisler (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 5.1 1 0 0 5 6
BAT 4.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 6 3 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Jesse Hahn (W, 6-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 6
4.0 Orioles Zach Britton (S, 23) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Brewers Scooter Gennett 2B 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Brett Anderson (W, 5-4) - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 2 7
2.2 `Yankees Chasen Shreve (H, 5) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 1
BAT 2.0 Astros Jose Altuve 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Justin Bour 1B 4 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.

How did baseball's statistical leaders for 2014 do in Box-Toppers points?

How did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points?

The leaders in pitching statistical categories in general did better than leaders in batting statistical categories.

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Box-Toppers' top player Clayton Kershaw wins NL MVP; top-ranked AL batter Jose Abreu finishes behind Mike Trout for AL MVP

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014, was voted National League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

Center fielder Mike Trout of the Angels was the unanimous choice for American League Most Valuable Player, though Trout ranked seventh among AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014.

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If Box-Toppers points measured Silver Sluggers, most winners would be different

Only four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.

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Batting average leaders did not make big impact in Box-Toppers points or team wins in 2014

Batters with the most Box-Toppers points tend to hit for power and play on teams that win a lot of games. The 2014 batting average leaders in both the American and National leagues did neither. Both batting average leaders were largely singles hitters and played on teams that finished well below .500. And as a consequence, neither batting average leader scored many Box-Toppers points in 2014.

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Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, Aug. 17; Cuddyer earns NL Batter of Day with cycle

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, Sunday’s Player of the Day, becomes the 30th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 2-1 win over the Mets. Arrieta picked up a no-decision because after he left the game with the lead, the Mets tied the game at 1-1, before the Cubs scored the go-ahead run in the ninth. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 27th among all players and 12th among National League pitchers.

Mariners pitcher Chris Young is American League Player of the Day. Young pitched six scoreless innings in the 8-1 win over the Tigers. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season. He ranks 17th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Cuddyer hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-5 win over the Reds.

Jose Altuve of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Altuve hit a grand slam and went 4-for-5 in the 8-1 win over the Red Sox.

Notable: Nationals pitcher Doug Fister rose to 22nd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Fister (7IP 5K ND in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

Arrieta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Young receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Cuddyer and Altuve 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

817 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 `Cubs Jake Arrieta - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 2 9
BAT 5.0 Rockies Michael Cuddyer RF, 1B 5 3 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
AL 5.0 Mariners Chris Young (W, 12-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 1 4
BAT 4.0 Astros Jose Altuve 2B 5 1 4 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Cardinals Matt Carpenter 3B 4 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Marlins Giancarlo Stanton RF 4 2 2 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 White Sox Conor Gillaspie 3B 3 2 1 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Braves Mike Minor (W, 5-8) - - - - - - 7.0 4 2 2 2 7
4.0 `Nationals Doug Fister - - - - - - 7.0 5 2 0 1 5
3.2 `Giants Javier Lopez (H, 8) - - - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 0 3
3.0 Brewers Jonathan Lucroy C 5 1 2 5 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Alex Gordon LF 4 3 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies Drew Stubbs CF 6 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 `Yankees Dellin Betances (H, 18) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
1.0 Rangers Neftali Feliz (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Orioles Steve Pearce 1B, LF 5 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -

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

 

Mets' Matt Harvey, nearly perfect (but no W), is top player for Tuesday, May 7

Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard graphic.png

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey nearly pitched a perfect game and left after nine innings without the lead, but is still Tuesday's Player of the Day.

Harvey gave up his first and only hit in the seventh inning, walked none and struck out 12 over nine innings against the White Sox. But it took the Mets until the bottom of the tenth to score their first run to beat the Sox, 1-0.

Though Harvey had a dominant Box-Toppers game score of 20, he did not earn the win in the game. Harvey scores 2.0 Box-Toppers points for winning Player of the Day and now has 7.0 for the season, ranking fourth among players in 2013, behind current leader Miguel Cabrera of Detroit, with 7.2.​

Twins pitcher Scott Diamond is American League Player of the Day. Diamond pitched seven shutout innings and gave up only three hits in the 6-1 win over the Red Sox.​

Jose Altuve of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Altuve homered and went 2-for-3 in the 7-6 win over the Angels.​

Will Venable of the Padres is National League Batter of the Day. Venable hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 5-1 win over the Marlins.​

Harvey receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Diamond receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Altuve and Venable receive 1.5 each for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

507ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB20.0`Mets 0000000  Matt Harvey 9.0100012
AL6.0Twins 0000000  Scott Diamond (W, 3-2)7.030002
 6.0Pirates 0000000  Jeanmar Gomez (W, 2-0)5.020025
 5.2Indians 0000000  Zach McAllister (W, 3-3)7.250014
 5.2Cubs 0000000  Travis Wood (W, 3-2)6.251128
 4.0Rockies 0000000  Jorge De La Rosa (W, 3-3)6.030012
BAT3.0Astros Jose Altuve 2B322210  00.000000
 3.0Phillies 0000000  Kyle Kendrick (W, 4-1)7.062206
 2.1`Blue Jays 0000000  Aaron Loup 2.110001
 2.1Orioles 0000000  Tommy Hunter (W, 2-1)1.100001
BAT2.0Padres Will Venable RF412301  00.000000
 2.0Reds Devin Mesoraco PH111100  00.000000
 2.0Diamondbacks 0000000  Heath Bell (S, 2)1.000001
 1.0Brewers Ryan Braun LF211120  00.000000

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