Diamondbacks' Anderson tops players for Friday, Aug. 7; Mets' deGrom extends Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to third place—first place among American League pitchers—in Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 17.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
3 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 15.8
4 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 15.1
6 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 15.0
7 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
8 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 14.4
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 14.0
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 13.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Reds.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, allowing one run and five hits, striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Astros.

Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 15.8 for the season. He rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).

American League Batter of the Day—Torii Hunter of the Twins hit a go-ahead ninth-inning homer in the 10-9 win over the Indians. Hunter also doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs. 

Hunter earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 115.9 for his career, rising to 43rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Friday, Hunter passes Tim Lincecum (115.0) on the “all-time” list. He trails 42nd-place player Todd Helton (116.4). Hunter’s 115.9 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active AL batters.

Hunter also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among AL batters behind Mike Trout of the Angels (10.0) and Lorenzo Cain of the Royals (8.2).

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam in the 5-4 win over the Nationals. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 in the game.

Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and ranks fourth among NL batters.

Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

deGrom (6.1IP 6H 2R 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He has led players in Box-Toppers points since July 26.

Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place among NL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. McCutchen (2B 2-3 2R BI in the 10-inning 5-4 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players. McCutchen trails overall NL batting leader Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5 Box-Toppers points).

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

  • Rusney Castillo of the Red Sox (3-5 3R BI in the 7-2 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 17, 2014, and was playing in his 47th career game. He is the 3,552nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Phillies pitcher Hector Neris (1IP H 0R 2K W in the 4-3, 12-inning win over the Padres) made his Major League debut Aug. 5, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,553rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Anderson 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. Hunter and Gonzalez 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.

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

8/7 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Dbacks Chase Anderson (W,5-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 2 7
AL 7.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W,12-4) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 1 0 5
6.0 Cardinals Carlos Villanueva (S,2) - - - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 4.0 Twins Torii Hunter, RF 5 3 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.1 `Mets Jacob deGrom - - - - - - 6.1 6 2 2 0 7
BAT 3.0 Rockies Carlos Gonzalez, RF 4 1 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels C.J. Cron, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.2 Cubs Hector Rondon (S,18) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 1 2
2.0 Red Sox Rusney Castillo, RF 5 3 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Braves Nick Markakis, RF 4 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Pirates Andrew McCutchen, CF 3 2 2 1 2 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Royals Edinson Volquez (W,11-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 3
2.0 Phillies Hector Neris (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
1.0 Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma (W,3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 6 3 3 0 6
1.0 Blue Jays Roberto Osuna (S,9) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Blue Jays' David Price tops players for Monday, Aug. 3, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Blue Jays pitcher David Price is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in player rankings.

Price struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Twins in his debut with the Blue Jays. Price, previously with the Tigers, was Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked player traded prior to the July trade deadline.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 16.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
3 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
4 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 15.1
5 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 15.0
6 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
7 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 14.1
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 13.7
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 13.0
10 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among all players and second among American League pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing three hits, in the 6-4 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit for the cycle (home run, triple, double, single), going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-9 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-7 win over the Marlins.

Cespedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season, rising to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5).

Scoring—Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Godley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Cespedes 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.

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

8/3 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Blue Jays David Price (W,10-4) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 2 11
NL 7.0 Dbacks Zack Godley (W,3-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 2 6
BAT 4.0 Rangers Adrian Beltre, 3B 5 2 4 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Mets Yoenis Cespedes, CF 5 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Padres Yangervis Solarte, 3B 4 2 2 4 1 1 - - - - - -
3.1 Angels Garrett Richards (W,11-8) - - - - - - 7.1 4 4 4 3 11
3.1 `Rays Nathan Karns - - - - - - 5.1 3 2 2 2 7
3.0 Braves Jace Peterson, 2B 5 2 3 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mariners Kyle Seager, 3B 4 3 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Caleb Joseph, C 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.

Mariners' Iwakuma tops players for Sunday, Aug. 2, Athletics' Gray rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rises to sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 16.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
3 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
4 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 15.0
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
6 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 14.1
7 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 13.7
8 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 13.1
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 13.0
10 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Iwakuma struck out eight over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1, 11-inning win over the Twins. Iwakuma did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 5-2 win over the Padres. Fernandez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because after he exited, the Padres tied the game 2-2.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-3 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Jace Peterson of the Braves hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 6-2 win over the Phillies.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Gray (7IP 4H R 7K ND in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (14.4).

Notable—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers point lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Grichuk (2-R HR 2-4 in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. Grichuk ranks 24th among all players this season.

Debut—Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Norris (7.1IP 4H R 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2014, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,548th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Iwakuma earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Drew and Peterson 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

8/2 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.2 `Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma - - - - - - 8.2 3 1 1 1 8
10.1 Rangers Martin Perez (W,1-2) - - - - - - 8.0 2 1 1 0 6
NL 10.0 `Marlins Jose Fernandez - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 2 10
9.0 Pirates Charlie Morton (W,7-4) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 0 7
9.0 Blue Jays R.A. Dickey (W,6-10) - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 2 6
6.0 Mets Noah Syndergaard (W, 6-5) - - - - - - 8.0 7 2 2 0 9
5.1 Tigers Daniel Norris (W,2-1) - - - - - - 7.1 4 1 1 1 5
BAT 4.0 Yankees Stephen Drew, 2B 5 2 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 `Athletics Sonny Gray - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 4 7
4.0 Rays Brad Boxberger (S,26) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Braves Jace Peterson, 2B 4 1 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Dodgers Andre Ethier, LF 5 2 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Astros Collin McHugh (W,13-5) - - - - - - 7.0 8 1 1 1 6
2.0 Cubs Clayton Richard (W,2-0) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 0 3
1.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk, CF 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.

Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Wednesday, July 29; Peavy, Verlander each earn 1st Box-Toppers points of 2015

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

Also Wednesday, two players who earned their first Player of the Game honors of the season extended their streaks of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

  • Giants pitcher Jake Peavy—14 seasons.
  • Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander—10 seasons.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 16.4
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 13.1
7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
8 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
9 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 13.0
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lester struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 117.1 for his career, rising to 40th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Todd Helton (116.4) and Mark Buehrle (116.7). He trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).

Lester is also the season’s highest-ranked of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. With 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season, Lester ranks 31st among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.

Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of 12 Wednesday, the same as Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (Player of the Game in the win over the Rays) but Lester won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Verlander (14 vs. 10).

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Rays.

Verlander, earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2015, has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Tigers. His best season was 2012 with the Tigers when he had 24.8 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. Verlander also led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2011, when he had 24.4. In 2014, he had 4.0 Box-Toppers points.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day and now has 119.9 for his career, rising to 35th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 34th-place player Cole Hamels (120.8).

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.

Harper earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and rises to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (8.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays homered, doubled twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Phillies.

This was Tulowitzki’s first game since being traded from the Rockies. Tulowitzki led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 11.6. With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned Wednesday for being AL Batter of the Day, Tulowitzki now has 6.0 for the season and ranks eighth among AL batters.

Streak—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy has now earned Box-Toppers points for 14 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Peavy (6IP 4H 0R 3K ND in the 5-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season. 

Peavy earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Padres. His best year was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. In 2014, Peavy had 5.7 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox and Giants.

Peavy has 132.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 26th-place player Miguel Cabrera (132.9). Peavy’s 132.8 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active NL pitchers.

Debut—Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (PH 2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 10-7 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut July 1, 2014, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,541st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Harper and Tulowitzki 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

7/29 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Cubs Jon Lester (W,6-8) - - - - - - 8.0 5 2 2 1 14
AL 12.0 Tigers Justin Verlander (W,1-3) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 0 10
7.0 Indians Corey Kluber (W,6-11) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 1 1 6
6.2 Orioles Chris Tillman (W,8-7) - - - - - - 8.2 4 0 0 0 2
BAT 6.0 Nationals Bryce Harper, RF 4 3 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Astros Lance McCullers (W,5-3) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 0 5
5.0 Dbacks Patrick Corbin (W,2-3) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 2 6
5.0 `Giants Jake Peavy - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 0 3
BAT 4.0 Blue Jays Troy Tulowitzki, SS 5 3 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Reds Anthony DeSclafani (W,6-7) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 3 3
3.0 Pirates Andrew McCutchen, CF 4 2 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Enrique Hernandez, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rangers Shawn Tolleson (S,18) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Padres Yangervis Solarte, 3B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 White Sox Adam Eaton, CF 6 2 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

White Sox' Quintana tops players for Friday, July 24; Mariners' Hernandez regains lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Other highlights Friday:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 24.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
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 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 12.0
10 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
  • Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regains the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.
  • Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals takes the Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning NL Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day.
  • Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings.
  • Pitcher Scott Kazmir, newly traded from the Athletics to the Astros, becomes the 18th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Quintana pitched a seven-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out eight, in the 6-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Ian Thomas allowed one run on three hits in five innings, striking out five, in the 7-2 win over the Mets.

This was Thomas’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Thomas made his Major League debut March 31, 2014, and was playing in his 24th career game. He is the 3,539th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 4-2 win over the Braves. It is the second straight day Grichuk has earned NL Batter of the Day honors and the third time since July 18, meaning he’s earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in eight days.

Grichuk also rose to top NL batters in Box-Toppers points. He earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season and passes previous leader Todd Frazier of the Reds (7.2 Box-Toppers points). Grichuk ranks 24th among all players in Box-Toppers points this season.

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

New leader—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hernandez (7IP 6H 2R 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season. He rises from second to first in player rankings, passing previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (15.0 Box-Toppers points).

It is the fourth separate time this season Hernandez has led players in Box-Toppers points. He led from April 6 to April 12, April 18 to June 26 and July 9 to July 11.

Hernandez also now has 158.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his 12th-place rank among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9 Box-Toppers points).

Rankings—Rays pitcher Chris Archer rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Archer (6IP 5H R 9K ND in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir became the 18th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Kazmir, in his first start since being traded from the Athletics (7IP 3H 0R 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Royals), earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Thomas earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Grichuk earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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

7/24 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 White Sox Jose Quintana (W,5-9) - - - - - - 9.0 7 0 0 0 8
6.2 Rangers Colby Lewis (W,10-4) - - - - - - 7.2 5 2 2 1 9
6.0 Astros Scott Kazmir (W,6-5) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 1 3
6.0 `Red Sox Rick Porcello - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 0 6
6.0 `Rays Chris Archer - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 2 9
NL 5.0 Dodgers Ian Thomas (W,1-1) - - - - - - 5.0 3 1 1 0 5
4.0 Mariners Felix Hernandez (W,12-5) - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 1 1 7
4.0 Brewers Jimmy Nelson (W,8-9) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 3 5
4.0 Padres Andrew Cashner (W,4-10) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 5
BAT 3.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk, CF-LF 3 2 2 2 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Phil Hughes (W,9-6) - - - - - - 7.0 7 0 0 0 3
2.0 Giants Hunter Pence, RF 5 1 4 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies Carlos Gonzalez, RF 4 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Pirates Gregory Polanco, RF 4 1 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
1.0 Phillies Cody Asche, LF 4 0 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.

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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.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Saturday, July 18, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th in season player rankings.

Also Saturday, Robinson Cano of the Mariners earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season and three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Kershaw, Aramis Ramirez and Jon Lester—earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 18.  


 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 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 11.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 10th place in season Box-Toppers player rankings. Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5. He also led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011 and 2013.

Kershaw is the 15th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the seventh straight season Kershaw has had 10.0 or more points.

Kershaw has 144.6 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 20th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a pair of two-run homers and went 3-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Yankees.

Cano has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor for 2015. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Yankees. His best season was 2013 with the Yankees, when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points with the Mariners.

Cano has 62.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks sixth among all second baseman since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He ranks second in career points among active second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).

Notables—In addition to Kershaw, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

  • Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7.1IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 115.1 career Box-Toppers points. He rises to 42nd place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Saturday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Torii Hunter (114.4), Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 41st-place player Todd Helton (116.4).
  • Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers (HR 3-3 2R 2BI in the 8-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.3 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 58th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 57th-place player John Lackey (103.8).

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

  • Matt den Dekker of the Nationals (2-R HR in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,534th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Royals pitcher Brandon Finnegan (2IP H 0R 2K W in the 7-6, 13-inning win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 6, 2014, and was playing in his 21st career game. He is the 3,535th 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 Tillman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Cano each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

7/18 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 19.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,7-6) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 0 14
AL 14.0 Orioles Chris Tillman (W,7-7) - - - - - - 8.0 1 0 0 1 8
12.0 Angels Garrett Richards (W,10-6) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 1 6
11.1 Cubs Jon Lester (W,5-8) - - - - - - 7.1 2 0 0 1 7
BAT 8.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk, CF-LF-RF 3 2 3 6 1 0 - - - - - -
6.1 Rangers Colby Lewis (W,9-4) - - - - - - 7.1 4 2 2 0 7
5.1 `Athletics Scott Kazmir - - - - - - 8.1 5 1 1 1 5
BAT 5.0 Mariners Robinson Cano, 2B 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Giants Buster Posey, 1B-C 4 1 3 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Brewers Aramis Ramirez, 3B 3 2 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Padres Craig Kimbrel (S,25) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Nationals Matt den Dekker PH LF 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Brandon Finnegan (W,3-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.2 `Rays Erasmo Ramirez - - - - - - 4.2 4 1 1 0 4
2.0 Indians Carlos Santana, 1B 3 2 2 1 2 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Phillies Chad Billingsley (W,2-3) - - - - - - 5.0 4 0 0 1 2
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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Nationals' Scherzer pitches no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, June 20, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, pitching a no-hitter, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in player rankings.

Also Saturday, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees earned Player of the Game honors and now has 185.3 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995, first among batters since 1995 and extending his lead among active players.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 20.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 13.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 13.0
3 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
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 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 9.7
10 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 9.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Scherzer had a perfect game through 8 2/3 innings when he hit a batter, allowing the game’s only baserunner, before retiring the final batter. Scherzer struck out 10 through nine innings, allowing no hits, runs or walks, in the 6-0 win over the Pirates.

Scherzer had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of 19, which is the fourth-highest score for a Box-Toppers Player of the Game this season. In fact, it is lower than his Box-Toppers game score of 23 he had in his last start on June 14, when he pitched a one-hitter, striking out 16, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season. He rises to second place among all players, trailing Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (13.4). Scherzer passes Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (12.0) to lead all National League players in Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker struck out 11 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees homered and drove in five runs, going 2-for-5 and scoring twice, in the 14-3 win over the Tigers.

Rodriguez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 185.3 for his career. He maintains his rank at fourth among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1) and leads fifth-place player CC Sabathia (175.3). Rodriguez leads all batters in Box-Toppers points since 1995 and leads all active players in Box-Toppers points.

Rodriguez has 6.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most he has had in one season since 2010 when he had 13.7. His 6.0 Box-Toppers points ranks second among AL batters this season, behind Prince Fielder of the Rangers (7.5).

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 10-1 win over the Phillies. Grichuk also doubled, going 3-for-5.

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

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

6/20 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 19.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W, 8-5) - - - - - - 9.0 0 0 0 0 10
11.0 Padres Tyson Ross (W, 4-7) - - - - - - 9.0 4 1 1 1 9
AL 6.1 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W, 5-6) - - - - - - 6.1 5 3 3 0 11
BAT 6.0 Yankees Alex Rodriguez DH 3 2 2 5 1 0 - - - - - -
5.1 `Cubs Jon Lester - - - - - - 6.1 3 1 1 3 7
BAT 5.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk LF 5 3 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Marlins Derek Dietrich 3B 2 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 `Rays Erasmo Ramirez - - - - - - 3.0 2 0 0 0 3
4.0 `White Sox Zach Putnam (H, 4) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Braves Andrelton Simmons SS 4 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.1 Rockies Chad Bettis (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 6.1 5 1 1 2 5
2.0 Orioles Manny Machado 3B 5 2 3 2 0 2 - - - - - -
1.2 Athletics Jesse Hahn (W, 5-5) - - - - - - 7.2 4 1 1 4 4
1.0 Royals Mike Moustakas 3B 3 0 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Giants Norichika Aoki LF 0 1 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.

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, May 26; Rangers' Fielder, Player of the Game 4 times in 5 days, rises to 8th in player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 26.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 9.7
2 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 8.0
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 7.0
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 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 6.7
8 Fielder, Prince 2029 dh tex al 6.5
9 Harper, Bryce 3011 lf rf dc nl 6.5
10 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 6.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Prince Fielder of the Rangers earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day—and fourth time in five days—rising into Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings. Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday also rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom and Tigers pitcher David Price.

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out 10, in the 8-0 win over the Braves.

Kershaw rises to 21st place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He now has 137.6 career Box-Toppers points and passes Bartolo Colon (136.4) on that list. He trails 20th-place player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Kershaw led all players in 2014 with 31.5 Box-Toppers points, the fourth-highest single-season total in 20 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping. Tuesday marked the first time this season he earned overall Player of the Day honors, something he did eight times last year. However, despite his high point total last season, he is not that far off his 2014 pace. At this point last season, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points and had earned Player of the Day honors twice. With the 2.0 Box-Toppers points he earned Tuesday for being Player of the Day, he has 4.0 points this season and ranks 14th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit two home runs, including a walk-off, three-run homer in the 10-9 win over the White Sox. Donaldson also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring five times and driving in four.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Tuesday since the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays).

Notable—Prince Fielder of the Rangers earned Player of the Game honors for the second time in as many days and the fourth time in five days, rising into Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Fielder (3R-HR 2B 3-5 in the 4-3 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season, rising to eighth place among all players. Fielder, who Monday rose to lead all AL batters in Box-Toppers points for 2015, now ranks ahead of all batters in baseball this season, passing Bryce Harper of the Nationals, who also has 6.5 points this season. (Harper ranks behind Fielder because he had fewer Box-Toppers points in 2014. Fielder had 1.0 point in 2014, Harper had 0.0.)

Fielder has earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in the past five days:

Fielder has earned all 6.5 of his points in the past 14 days. He was AL Batter of the Day on May 13, the first time this season he earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Two other player rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after they earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

  • Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to sixth place (7.1IP 6H 2R 9K ND in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Phillies), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
  • Tigers pitcher David Price rose to 10th place (7IP 5H 0R W in the 1-0 win over the Athletics), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Debut—Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Lorenzen (7IP 2H R ND in the 2-1 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 29 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,479th 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 Donaldson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Grichuk earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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

5/26 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W, 3-3) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 0 10
AL 9.0 Blue Jays Josh Donaldson 3B 4 5 4 4 1 0 - - - - - -
7.1 Yankees Adam Warren (W, 3-3) - - - - - - 6.1 2 1 1 0 5
6.1 `Mets Jacob deGrom - - - - - - 7.1 6 2 2 0 9
6.0 Mariners Kyle Seager 3B 5 2 3 6 0 0 - - - - - -
6.0 `Padres Odrisamer Despaigne - - - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 0 5
4.0 Tigers David Price (W, 4-1) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 3
3.2 Pirates Jeff Locke (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 5.2 4 0 0 4 6
3.0 Twins Mike Pelfrey (W, 4-1) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 4
3.0 `Cubs Kyle Hendricks - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 4
3.0 `Reds Michael Lorenzen - - - - - - 7.0 2 1 1 3 3
3.0 Astros Luke Gregerson (S, 13) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Rangers Prince Fielder DH 5 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk CF 3 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.1 `Giants Sergio Romo - - - - - - 1.1 1 0 0 0 1
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Royals' Ventura tops players for Tuesday, May 19; Giants' Hudson earns Box-Toppers points for 17th straight season

Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Colby Rasmus of the Astros rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, taking the lead among American League batters and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson earned a Box-Toppers point for the 17th straight season, tying him for the longest current consecutive streak.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 19.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 8.7
2 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 7.0
3 Miller, Shelby 3134 pi sp atl nl 7.0
4 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 6.7
5 Harper, Bryce 3011 lf rf dc nl 6.5
6 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 6.0
7 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 6.0
8 Harang, Aaron 1599 pi sp phi nl 5.1
9 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp phi nl 5.0
10 Rasmus, Colby 2608 lf rf cf hou al 5.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher James Shields struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Cubs. Shields did not pick up the win in the game because he exited with the score tied 2-2.

National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks hit a pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead home run in the 4-2 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Jimmy Paredes of the Orioles homered and went 2-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Mariners.

Rankings—Colby Rasmus of the Astros rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, taking the lead among AL batters, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Rasmus (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. Rasmus has the same 2015 Box-Toppers point total as Eric Hosmer of the Royals, but wins the tie-breaker because he had more points in 2014—3.2 vs. 2.5.

Streak—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the longest currently active streak. Hudson was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers (6.1IP 0R W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

In addition, with his point Tuesday, Hudson now has 154.0 for his career and rises to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Hudson passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on that list, though it should be noted Bonds played nine seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began and so would likely have many more career Box-Toppers points.

Hudson’s 17-season streak of earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point ties him with Torii Hunter of the Twins for the longest active streak. (Hunter has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season.) The record for most consecutive seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point is 19, held by Jason Giambi (1995-2013). (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) One other active player had Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons as of 2014 and also has a chance to extend that to 17 straight seasons in 2015—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees.

Hudson earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Athletics. His best year was 2001 with the Athletics, when he had 18.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.

His 154.0 career Box-Toppers points ranks him 13th among all players since 1995, just behind Mike Mussina (155.6). His career total ranks 10th among all pitchers since 1995 and first among active pitchers currently in the NL, ahead of Bartolo Colon of the Mets (136.4).

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

  • Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (3B 2-2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 10-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 28, 2014, and was playing in his 57th career game. He is the 3,474th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Clint Robinson of the Nationals (PH 2B 1-1 R BI in the 8-6 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut June 8, 2012, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,475th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Ventura earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shields earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Pollock and Paredes 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.

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

5/19 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.0 Royals Yordano Ventura (W, 3-3) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 0 6
NL 7.0 `Padres James Shields - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 1 11
5.1 Indians Trevor Bauer (W, 3-1) - - - - - - 7.1 4 1 1 3 7
4.0 Brewers Jimmy Nelson (W, 2-4) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 4 5
BAT 3.0 Dbacks A.J. Pollock PH, CF 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.2 `Twins Blaine Boyer (H, 7) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk RF 5 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Orioles Jimmy Paredes DH 5 1 2 4 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Astros Colby Rasmus CF, LF 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Nationals Clint Robinson PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Red Sox Wade Miley (W, 3-4) - - - - - - 7.0 7 2 2 1 7
2.0 Angels Hector Santiago (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 4 2 1 3 5
2.0 Rays Brad Boxberger (S, 11) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.1 Giants Tim Hudson (W, 2-3) - - - - - - 6.1 5 0 0 2 2
1.0 Rockies Nick Hundley C 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.