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

Shawn Plank September 9, 2015

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 8.


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shawn Plank September 6, 2015

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable—Two other notable milestones from Wednesday:

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Giants' Bumgarner tops players for Thursday, Aug. 27; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 5th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 4, 2015

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

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Thursday, Aug. 27 and rises to 12th in player rankings.

Also Thursday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth 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 Aug. 27.


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Bumgarner struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 9-1 win over the Cubs.

Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season, rising to 12th among all players and seventh among National League pitchers. It is the fourth straight season Bumgarner has earned 15.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season.

American League Player of the Day—Yordano Ventura of the Royals struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 5-3 win over the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day—Adam Eaton of the White Sox went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 4-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Cardinals homered and went 1-for-2, driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Greinke (7IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 1-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Jacob deGrom of the Mets (19.4) and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (17.1).

Greinke now has 142.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He trails 20th-place player Jim Thome (146.7 Box-Toppers points). Greinke ranks third among active NL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, behind Tim Hudson of the Giants (155.0) and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (150.3).

Notable—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cole (7.1IP 5H R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/27
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,16-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    12
  

    AL
    11.0
    Royals
    Yordano Ventura (W,9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    11
  

    
    10.1
    Angels
    Matt Shoemaker (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    1
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    10.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,14-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Nationals
    Joe Ross (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    1
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    4.1
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,15-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (S,31)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Whte Sox
    Adam Eaton, CF
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Mets
    Carlos Torres (MR) (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Delino DeShields, CF
    2
    2
    2
    0
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Cardinals
    Brandon Moss, LF
    2
    1
    1
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Indians' Kluber, throwing one-hitter, tops players for Friday, Aug. 14; Astros' Keuchel rises to 9th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank August 28, 2015

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

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, throwing a one-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 14.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	18.4
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	16.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	16.1
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
5	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	15.8
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.4
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	14.7
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Carlos Beltran of the Yankees earned Box-Toppers points in his 17th straight season, tying the record for the longest-active season streak.

Player of the Day—Kluber pitched a complete-game, one-hitter, allowing one run and striking out seven, in the 6-1 win over the Twins.

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He becomes the 26th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 17th among all players and ninth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia allowed one run over eight innings, striking out six and allowing six hits, in the 3-1 win over the Marlins.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Padres hit for the cycle (homer, triple, double and single) and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Beltran earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied with two other players for the longest active streak of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson and Torii Hunter of the Twins also have active streaks of 17 straight seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The longest streak of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point is 19, by Jason Giambi from 1995 to 2013. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.)

Beltran earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Royals. His best year was 2003 with the Royals, when he had 13.9 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Yankees.

Beltran has 96.9 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 73rd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks second among active AL outfielders, behind Torii Hunter of the Twins (115.9 Box-Toppers points).

Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Keuchel (7IP 6H R 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Tigers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.

Debut—Delino DeShields of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. DeShields (HR 1-2 2R BI in the 5-3 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 78th career game. He is the 3,557th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/14
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W,8-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    NL
    6.1
    Cardinals
    Jaime Garcia (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    1
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,14-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Braves
    Julio Teheran (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Padres
    Matt Kemp, RF
    5
    2
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Cubs
    Chris Coghlan, LF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Giants
    Matt Duffy, 3B
    3
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Yankees
    Carlos Beltran, PH-RF
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Joe Kelly (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Adam Jones, CF
    5
    1
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Greg Holland (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Dodgers
    Kenley Jansen (S,23)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    `Pirates
    J.A. Happ
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    7
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Delino DeShields, CF
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Wily Peralta (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    
    
    `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 Saturday, June 6, Mariners' Hernandez rises to 12th on Box-Toppers 'all-time' list

Shawn Plank June 7, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings and rose to 12th place among all players since 1995. In addition, Tigers pitcher David Price rose to eighth in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	12.4
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	10.0
3	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	9.7
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
5	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	9.0
6	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.4
8	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	8.1
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	7.7
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	7.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 11, in the 2-0 win over the Cardinals.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 140.6 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 20th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks 14th among all pitchers.

Kershaw also now has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season and ranks 12th among all players in season player rankings, sixth among NL pitchers. Last year, he led all players with 31.5 Box-Toppers points, the fourth-highest single-season total since 1995. And although he still is not in the top 10 player rankings, he is actually ahead of his pace from 2014—on June 7, 2014, Kershaw had 6.7 Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher David Price pitched a complete game, allowing one run and striking out 11, in the 7-1 win over the White Sox. Price earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.1 for the season and rising to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Padres homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 9-7 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Brett Gardner of the Yankees went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs in the 8-2 win over the Angels.

Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Hernandez (7IP 2H R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. Hernandez has led Box-Toppers player rankings all but six days this season.

With the point earned Saturday, Hernandez now rises to 12th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 when record keeping began. Hernandez now has 155.7 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list Saturday—Tim Hudson (155.0) and Mike Mussina (155.6). Hernandez trails the 11th-place player on the list, John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez also rises to ninth place among all pitchers since 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Kemp and Gardner 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    16.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    11
  

    AL
    11.0
    Tigers
    David Price (W, 5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    11
  

    
    8.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W, 6-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Padres
    Matt Kemp   RF
    4
    2
    3
    5
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W, 9-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    4.0
    Rockies
    Wilin Rosario   1B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Cubs
    Jason Hammel (W, 5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Joe Kelly (W, 2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Carlos Gomez   CF
    4
    0
    4
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Braves
    Christian Bethancourt   C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Norichika Aoki   LF
    3
    1
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Wandy Rodriguez (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    2.1
    Blue Jays
    Drew Hutchison (W, 5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Dbacks
    Welington Castillo   C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    Yankees
    Brett Gardner   CF
    4
    1
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Shawn Plank May 30, 2015

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.

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.
  

Pirates' Cole tops players for Friday, May 22, rises to 2nd in player rankings; Hernandez extends player rankings lead

Shawn Plank May 23, 2015

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

Also Friday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his overall player rankings lead and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to third place in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 22.


	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	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	6.5
8	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	5.7
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	5.7
10	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	5.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Cole struck out 10 over 8 1/3 innings and allowed one run in the 4-1 win over the Mets. Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers player rankings. He passes Braves pitcher Shelby Miller (7.0 Box-Toppers points) to lead National League pitchers on the season.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija struck out nine over eight innings and allowed two runs in the 3-2 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals homered twice and drove in five runs, going 3-for-4, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers homered, hit two doubles and drove in four runs, going 3-for-3 and scoring twice, in the 11-0 win over the Braves.

Leader—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez maintained his top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hernandez (7IP R 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He has led player rankings all but six days this season (Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals led April 5, Scott Kazmir of the Athletics led from April 13 to 17).

Hernandez now has 153.0 career Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He is just behind Barry Bonds (153.2) and Tim Hudson (154.0). Hernandez’s 153.0 career points ranks third among active pitchers currently in the AL, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (174.3) and Johan Santana of the Blue Jays (166.6).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Scherzer (8IP R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. While Scherzer and two other players have 7.0 points this season, Scherzer holds the tiebreaker because he had more points in 2014—Scherzer (22.1), Chris Archer (12.4), Shelby Miller (9.0).

Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 27th place in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began, after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Grienke (7.2IP R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season and 130.7 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) in Box-Toppers points earned since 1995. Greinke now trails Jake Peavy (131.8) on that list.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/22
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.1
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W, 6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    6
    1
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    9.0
    White Sox
    Jeff Samardzija (W, 4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    
    7.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W, 5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    7.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W, 7-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Royals
    Kendrys Morales   DH
    4
    2
    3
    5
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Brewers
    Ryan Braun   RF
    3
    2
    3
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Giants
    Ryan Vogelsong (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Tigers
    Alfredo Simon (W, 5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    3.2
    `Dodgers
    Zack Greinke
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Prince Fielder   DH
    5
    2
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Caleb Joseph   C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Indians
    Jason Kipnis   2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rays
    Evan Longoria   3B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Dbacks
    Paul Goldschmidt   1B
    5
    1
    3
    3
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Chris Iannetta   C
    3
    1
    1
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `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

Shawn Plank May 20, 2015

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.

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.
  

Brewers' Kyle Lohse (8IP 0R 8K) tops players for Friday, May 15

Shawn Plank May 16, 2015

Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse is Friday’s Player of the Day.

Also Friday, two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors, including last year’s Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 15.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
4	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	5.1
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	5.0
6	Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	5.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
8	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
9	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lohse pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals drove in five runs, while going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs, in the 12-1 win over the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants hit a three-run home run and a double, going 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBIs, in the 10-2 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday since a batter (Lorenzo Cain of the Royals) was the overall AL Player of the Day.

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

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw now has 135.6 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 22nd among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

Kershaw (6.2IP 3R 10K W in the 6-4 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season. Last year, Kershaw led all players with 31.5 Box-Toppers points, the fourth-highest single-season total since 1995. Still, Kershaw is not far off his 2014 pace—at this time last year, Kershaw had only 3.0 Box-Toppers points, only 1.0 more than he has this season.

Kershaw trails Bartolo Colon (136.4) for 21st place among all players since 1995. His career 135.6 Box-Toppers points puts him at 16th among all pitchers since 1995 and third among all active pitchers currently in the NL (behind Colon and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson—153.0).

Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 118.4 career Box-Toppers points and moves up to 36th place among all players since 1995, passing Justin Verlander (118.2) and Carlos Delgado (117.7) on that list.

Weaver (7.1IP 3H R W in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Weaver’s 118.4 career Box-Toppers points puts him at 24th place among all pitchers since 1995 and fourth among active pitchers currently in the AL—behind CC Sabathia (173.3), Johan Santana (166.6) and Felix Hernandez (152.0).

Debut—Todd Cunningham of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Cunningham (2B 3-4 2R BI in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut July 30, 2013, and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,468th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lohse earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cain earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Belt 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/15
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    Brewers
    Kyle Lohse (W, 3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    6.0
    Royals
    Lorenzo Cain   CF
    4
    2
    3
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Giants
    Brandon Belt   1B
    5
    3
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Nationals
    Jordan Zimmermann (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    4.1
    Angels
    Jered Weaver (W, 2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Indians
    Michael Brantley   CF, LF
    3
    2
    3
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    3
    3
    3
    10
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Yoenis Cespedes   LF
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Kris Bryant   3B
    4
    2
    1
    4
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

    
    2.0
    Braves
    Todd Cunningham   LF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Jose Altuve   2B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Adam LaRoche   DH
    3
    1
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `Mariners
    J.A. Happ
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    1.0
    Twins
    Brian Dozier   2B
    3
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Yankees' Pineda tops players for Sunday, May 10; Mariners' Hernandez extends lead among players, rises to 15th in 'all-time' rankings

Shawn Plank May 11, 2015

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and moved into 15th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings, passing Greg Maddux.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
4	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
5	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.7
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	4.7
9	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
10	Rodriguez, Alex	dh	nyy al	4.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Pineda struck out 16 batters over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Pineda had a Box-Toppers game score of 15, the highest recorded so far this season. However, another player also had a Box-Toppers game score of 15 Sunday—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar, Player of the Game in the 8-2 win over the Twins (7IP H R 11K). However, Pineda won the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day because he had more strikeouts than Salazar—16 vs. 11. And though Salazar had one of the two highest Box-Toppers game scores of the season, he earns only 1.0 Box-Toppers point as Player of the Game, while Pineda earns 2.0 for being Player of the Day.

National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Cubs. After Garza exited the game, the Cubs tied the score 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, so Garza did not earn the win, but picked up a no-decision.

National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers hit two doubles and drove in four runs in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Red Sox hit a three-run home run in the 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Napoli has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels. His best year was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0, ninth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox.

Napoli has 48.2 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 23rd among active batters currently in the AL.

Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Hernandez (7IP 2R 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He is 2.7 Box-Toppers points ahead of the second place player, Gerrit Cole of the Pirates (6.0).

With the Box-Toppers point earned Sunday, Hernandez now has 152.0 for his career, which moves him up to 15th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He passes Greg Maddux (151.7) on the list. It should be noted that Maddux pitched nine seasons, many of them stellar, before Box-Toppers record keeping began, so his actual Box-Toppers career total would likely be much higher. Hernandez now trails Tim Hudson of the Giants (153.0) and Barry Bonds (153.2).

Streak—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons.

Zimmerman was Player of the Game in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Braves (2B 2-4 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Zimmerman earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Nationals. His best year was 2013 with the Nationals when he had 9.2, sixth among NL batters. In 2014, he had 3.5 Box-Toppers points with the Nationals.

Zimmerman has 52.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among active batters currently in the NL.

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

Johnny Monell of the Mets (pinch hitter: 2B 2BI in the 7-4 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2013, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,463rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Jung-Ho Kang of the Pirates (HR 2-4 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,464th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/10
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    Yankees
    Michael Pineda (W, 5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    16
  

    
    15.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W, 4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    
    9.2
    Angels
    Garrett Richards (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    1
    1
    1
    4
    10
  

    NL
    8.0
    `Brewers
    Matt Garza
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    9
  

    
    7.0
    `Rangers
    Wandy Rodriguez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    `Giants
    Ryan Vogelsong
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    5.0
    `Royals
    Chris Young
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.1
    `Dbacks
    Daniel Hudson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    2
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Dodgers
    Adrian Gonzalez   1B
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Red Sox
    Mike Napoli   1B
    2
    1
    1
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W, 6-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Ryan Zimmerman   1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Johnny Monell   PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Pirates
    Jung-Ho Kang   3B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Tyler Flowers   C
    2
    1
    2
    0
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Braves' Miller tops players for Tuesday, May 5; Pujols earns Box-Toppers points for 15th straight season

Shawn Plank May 6, 2015

Braves pitcher Shelby Miller is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.

Miller pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight, in the 9-0 win over the Phillies.

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Wandy Rodriguez struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run on three hits, in the 7-1 win over the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer, a triple and drove in four runs, in the 5-3 win over the Indians.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	7.7
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	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals hit a game-tying three-run homer and drove in four total runs, in the 7-4 win over the Cubs.

Streak—Albert Pujols of the Angels has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 15 straight seasons. He was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 5-4 win over the Mariners (HR 2-3 2R 2BI) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Pujols earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Cardinals. He led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in five different seasons, the most times a batter has led his league in Box-Toppers points (since record keeping began in 1995). Here are the seasons he led NL batters, all with the Cardinals:

2003—16.5 Box-Toppers points
2004—15.9
2008—15.2
2009—16.7 (his best overall season)
2010—15.4

In 2014, Pujols had 7.5 Box-Toppers points with the Angels, fourth among AL designated hitters.

Pujols has 168.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He trails Roy Halladay (170.7) for sixth place. Pujols ranks second among all batters on that list (behind only Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees with 182.8).

Notables—Two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon now has 136.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995 (trailing Andy Pettitte with 138.5). Colon ranks 15th among pitchers on that list and second among active pitchers currently in the NL (behind Tim Hudson of the Giants with 153.0).

Colon was Player of the Game Tuesday in the Mets 3-2 win over the Orioles (7.2IP R 9K W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke now has 129.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995. With Tuesday’s point, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on that list. Greinke ranks 18th among pitchers on that list and is fifth among active pitchers currently in the NL.

Greinke was Player of the Game Tuesday in the Dodgers 8-2 win over the Brewers (7.2IP 2H R 7K W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season, putting him in 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    13.0
    Braves
    Shelby Miller (W, 4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    10.0
    Rangers
    Wandy Rodriguez (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    9.2
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W, 5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    1
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    8.2
    Mets
    Bartolo Colon (W, 5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    8.1
    Athletics
    Jesse Chavez (W, 1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    8.0
    Yankees
    Michael Pineda (W, 4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Giants
    Ryan Vogelsong (W, 1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Red Sox
    Rick Porcello (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    3.1
    Marlins
    Mat Latos (W, 1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    2
    1
    1
    5
    6
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer   1B
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Albert Pujols   1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Carpenter   3B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Marlon Byrd   LF
    5
    1
    2
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Jeff Samardzija (W, 2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

Brewers' Fiers tops players for Saturday, May 2; Twins' Hunter extends to 17 consecutive season streak with Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank May 3, 2015

Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers is Saturday’s Player of the Day.

Fiers struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out six, in the 4-0 win over the Rays.

Top 10 players

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


	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	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
5	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	4.7
6	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	4.4
8	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	3.7
9	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
10	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	3.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Batter of the Day—Kyle Blanks of the Rangers homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three, in the 8-7, 10-inning win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Zack Cozart of the Reds homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.

Rankings—Tigers pitcher David Price rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (CG 5H R 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Royals). Price earns 1.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 3.7 for the season.

Streak—Two players extended their lengthy streaks of consecutive seasons scoring at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

Torii Hunter of the Twins has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 17 straight seasons, which is now the longest currently active streak. 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.) Two other active players had Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons as of 2014 and also have a chance to extend that to 17 straight seasons in 2015—Tim Hudson of the Giants and Carlos Beltran of the Yankees. Neither has earned Box-Toppers points this season.

Hunter was Player of the Game in Saturday’s 5-3 win over the White Sox (HR 3-4 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Hunter earned his first Box-Toppers point in 1999 with the Twins. His best season was 2008 with the Angels when he had 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among AL batters.. In 2014, he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers.

Hunter has 108.9 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 51st among all players (since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). With Saturday’s point, he passed three players on that list—Billy Wagner (108.7), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Lance Berkman (108.1). Hunter ranks 16th among all batters since 1995 and ranks fifth among active batters currently in the AL.

Marlins pitcher Dan Haren has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 13 straight seasons. Haren was Player of the Game in Saturday’s 7-6 win over the Phillies (6IP 0R 4K W) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Haren earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2003 with the Cardinals. His best season was 2011 with the Angels, when he had 16.8 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points with the Dodgers.

Haren has 109.2 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 50th among all players (since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). With Saturday’s point, he also passed Billy Wagner (108.7) and Kevin Millwood (108.3) on that list. Haren ranks 35th among all pitchers since 1995 and ranks 11th among active pitchers currently in the NL, just behind Tim Lincecum of the Giants (109.3).

Scoring—Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Blanks and Cozart 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/2
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Brewers
    Mike Fiers (W, 1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    12
  

    AL
    8.2
    Orioles
    Miguel Gonzalez (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    8.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W, 2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    6.0
    Marlins
    Dan Haren (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.1
    Yankees
    Dellin Betances (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Tigers
    David Price (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

    
    5.0
    Dodgers
    Juan Nicasio (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rangers
    Kyle Blanks   1B
    5
    2
    4
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Torii Hunter   DH
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Padres
    Craig Kimbrel (S, 7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Reds
    Zack Cozart   SS
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Colby Rasmus   LF
    5
    3
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista   DH
    5
    1
    2
    4
    0
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Giants
    Casey McGehee   3B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Cardinals
    Pete Kozma   2B
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Blue Jays' Hutchison, Marlins' Phelps top players for Thursday, April 23

Shawn Plank April 24, 2015

Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchison is Thursday’s Player of the Day.

Hutchison struck out seven over eight innings and allowed two runs in the 7-6 win over the Orioles.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher David Phelps pitched seven shutout innings and struck out five in the 9-1 win over the Phillies. Phelps tied Hutchison for the day’s top Box-Toppers game score of +7, but Hutchison won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more innings pitched than Phelps (eight vs. seven).

Top 10 players

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


	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 Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Mets drove in four runs and went 2-for-3 with a double, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.

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

Streak—Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 15 straight seasons. Lohse was Player of the Game in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Reds (7IP 3H 2R 4K W) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season. Lohse earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Twins. His best season was 2011 with the Cardinals when he had 12.0 Box-Toppers points. In 2014, his second-best season, he had 11.1 points with the Brewers, ranking 17th among NL pitchers. He has 86.0 career Box-Toppers points, ranking him 17th among active pitchers currently in the NL.

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.) Three active players had Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons as of 2014, the longest current streaks—Tim Hudson of the Giants, Carlos Beltran of the Yankees and Torii Hunter of the Tigers. None of them has yet earned Box-Toppers points in 2015.

Debut—Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Tropeano (6IP 5H 0R 5K W in the 2-0 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Sept. 10, 2014, and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,451st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Notables—Three other notable facts from Thursday:

Corey Dickerson of the Rockies earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Thursday (HR 2-3 in the 2-1 win over the Padres).
Pirates pitcher Radhames Liz earned his first Box-Toppers point in more than five years. Liz (2IP H 0R 2K W in the 5-4 win over the Cubs) last earned Player of the Game honors Sept. 14, 2008 as a starting pitcher with the Orioles. It is the only other time he has earned Player of the Game honors.
Thursday marks the first day of the season there are no changes in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings list. Hutchison is the highest-ranked player from Thursday’s list of Players of the Games. He has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked 23rd among all players.

Scoring—Hutchison earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Phelps earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Murphy earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/23
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    Blue Jays
    Drew Hutchison (W, 2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    7
  

    NL
    7.0
    Marlins
    David Phelps (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    5.1
    `Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    `Royals
    Yordano Ventura
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Angels
    Nick Tropeano (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Michael Wacha (W, 3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Mets
    Daniel Murphy   2B
    3
    0
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Kyle Lohse (W, 1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    `Giants
    Ryan Vogelsong
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Radhames Liz (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    Corey Dickerson   LF
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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

A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time'

Shawn Plank January 3, 2015

Randy Johnson’s perch atop Box-Toppers’ “all-time” player standings was safe during 2014.The flame-throwing, likely Hall-of-Fame pitcher retired in 2009 with 278.8 Box-Toppers points, the most of any player since record keeping began in 1995.

Lorenzo Cain tops players as Royals blow out Giants in World Series Game 6, Tuesday, Oct. 28

Shawn Plank October 29, 2014

Lorenzo Cain led an offensive onslaught in World Series Game 6 as the Royals beat the Giants 10-0, pushing the series to a decisive seventh game Wednesday. Cain is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Cain doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs as the Royals evened the series 3-3.

Cain had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Royals player in Tuesday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Orioles on Oct. 11.

During the regular season, Cain had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 421st among all players, 107th among AL batters and 50th among AL outfielders.

Royals starting pitcher in Game 6, Yordano Ventura, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the same as Cain’s. But under Box-Toppers rules, in cases of game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers. Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked five and struck out four, earning the win.

Giants starting pitcher in Game 6, Jake Peavy, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −13.9. He gave up five runs and six hits over 1 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two.

The baseball season ends Wednesday:

World Series Game 7: Giants at Royals, series tied 3-3

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.

Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.

This is a rematch of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the Royals 3-2. Guthrie picked up the win (5IP 4H 2R 0K) and Hudson picked up the loss (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K). Royals middle relief pitcher Wade Davis was Box-Toppers Player of the Game.

Guthrie has started twice this postseason and Hudson has started three times. Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this postseason.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 7 players in World Series Game 6

Here are the top seven Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 6, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Lorenzo Cain, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Starting pitcher Yordano Ventura also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, but under Box-Toppers rules, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers in cases of game score ties.

  
    1028
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    POG
    3.0
    Royals
    Lorenzo Cain   CF, RF
    3
    1
    2
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    5
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Mike Moustakas   3B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Tim Collins
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    0.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer   1B
    5
    1
    2
    2
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Royals
    Omar Infante   2B
    4
    2
    2
    0
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Royals
    Norichika Aoki   RF
    3
    1
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Royals' Wade Davis, pitching scoreless 8th, tops players in World Series Game 3, Friday, Oct. 24

Shawn Plank October 25, 2014

Reliever Wade Davis held the lead for the Royals, shutting down the Giants in the eighth inning and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors for Friday in Game 3 of the World Series.

Davis pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two, as the Royals beat the Giants 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the best-of-seven series.

Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the highest of any Royals player in Friday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Orioles. In the Royals’ 10 postseason wins this year, Davis is the first player from the team to earn Player of the Game honors more than once.

Davis did not earn a win or a save in the game and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a roundabout, but not uncommon fashion. Davis earned the honor because:

• He had a higher Box-Toppers game score than the winning or saving pitcher who otherwise would have been Player of the Game.

• He had the same or more innings pitched as that player.

In Game 3, Royals closer Greg Holland—who earned the save—would have been Player of the Day, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and striking out one. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. However, two other Royals pitchers (see the chart below) had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Holland:

• Brandon Finnegan (0.2IP 0R K, Box-Toppers game score +1.2). However, Finnegan would not qualify for Player of the Game because though his game score was higher than Holland’s, he had fewer innings pitched.

• Davis, who beat Holland for the honor because he had the same number of innings pitched (one) and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0 vs. +1.0).

During the regular season, Davis had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 117th among all players, 42nd among AL pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.

In close, low-scoring games, such as Game 3, Player of the Game honors often goes to relief pitchers who can hold the lead. In fact, only one Royals batter had a Box-Toppers game score of 0 or better—Alcides Escobar (2B 2-4 2R) had a game score of 0. Only five Royals (including four relief pitchers) had game scores of 0 or better.

Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, who earned the win, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3 (5IP 4H 2R 0K). Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who earned the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.8 (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K).

Coming Saturday:

World Series Game 4: Royals lead Giants, 2-1

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.

Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.

Vargas has started twice this postseason (ALDS Game 1 and ALCS Game 4) and Vogelsong has started twice (NLDS Game 4 and NLCS Game 4). Both have earned Player of the Game honors once:

• Vargas in ALCS Game 4.

• Vogelsong in NLDS Game 4.

Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 5 players in World Series Game 3

Here are the top five Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Wade Davis, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Only five Royals players had game scores of 0 or better. Alcides Escobar was the Royals' highest-scoring batter, with a game score of 0.

  
    1024
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    POG
    3.0
    Royals
    Wade Davis (H, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.2
    Royals
    Brandon Finnegan (H, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Royals
    Greg Holland (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    0.1
    Royals
    Kelvin Herrera (H, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    2
    1
  

    
    0.0
    Royals
    Alcides Escobar   SS
    4
    2
    2
    0
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Royals' Omar Infante tops players in World Series Game 2, Wednesday, Oct. 22

Shawn Plank October 23, 2014

Omar Infante of the Royals is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Day in Wednesday’s Game 2 of the World Series.

Infante doubled and hit a two-run homer, going 2-for-3 and scoring twice in the 7-2 win over the Giants. The Royals tie the best-of-seven game World Series 1-1.

Infante had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the best of any Royals player Wednesday. (Pitchers Greg Holland and Wade Davis of the Royals also had Box-Toppers game scores of +3—see the chart below—but in cases of game score ties, Box-Toppers rules have batters finishing ahead of pitchers.)

During the regular season, Infante had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 243rd among all players, 51st among all AL batters and eighth among all AL second basemen.

This was the first time this postseaon Infante has earned Player of the Game honors. In fact, in the Royals’ nine postseason wins of 2014, a different player has earned Player of the Game honors each time. The previous eight are listed in this earlier post. (To compare, five different players have earned Player of the Game honors in the Giants' nine postseason wins of 2014.)

The World Series takes a day off Thursday before resuming Friday in San Francisco:

World Series Game 3: Royals at Giants, series tied, 1-1

The pitching matchup Friday:

Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.

Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.

Guthrie has started once this postseason and Hudson has started twice. Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this postseason.

Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 6 players in World Series Game 2

Here are the top six Royals players in Wednesday's World Series Game 2, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Omar Infante, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Under Box-Toppers rules, batters beat pitchers in cases of game score ties, so Infante finished ahead of two pitchers who also had game scores of +3.0—Greg Holland and Wade Davis.

  
    1022
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    POG
    3.0
    Royals
    Omar Infante   2B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Greg Holland
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Wade Davis
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    Royals
    Billy Butler   DH
    3
    0
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Royals
    Terrance Gore   PR, DH
    0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.2
    Royals
    Kelvin Herrera (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    2
    1
  

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Shawn Plank October 19, 2014

On Friday, Aug. 8, two teams that seemed destined to meet in the World Series began a regular season interleague series.

Yes, the Baltimore Orioles faced the St. Louis Cardinals. The Orioles, up five games in the American League East and the Cardinals, a game out in the National League Central.

Incidentally, two other teams faced each other in another interleague series beginning that night. But these were two ragtag teams struggling to hold on to their Wild Card spots, both in second place in their division. Few people were likely touting this as a possible World Series preview, few even could find intrigue in matching up two teams from different leagues with no trace of geographical or historical rivalry of any kind.

But it was on the schedule, so the San Francisco Giants traveled to Kansas City to face the Royals in a three-game series. A little more than two months later, these two unlikely teams have made their way to the World Series to face each other again.

The Royals swept the three-game series in August. Here is a series recap with Box-Toppers Players of the Game for each game:

Friday, Aug. 8: Royals 4, Giants 2

Player of the Game: Billy Butler of the Royals hit a home run and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs. Butler earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game and finished the season with 2.5 Box-Toppers points.

Madison Bumgarner was starting pitcher for the Giants and picked up the loss. He pitched a complete game (eight innings) and allowed seven hits and four runs, striking out five. Bumgarner finished the season with 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Complete Box-Toppers results for Aug. 8.

Saturday, Aug. 9: Royals 5, Giants 0

Player of the Game: Royals pitcher James Shields pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out five. Shields earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game and finished the season with 13.7 Box-Toppers points.

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson (6IP 6H 3R K) picked up the loss.

Complete Box-Toppers results for Aug. 9.

Sunday, Aug. 10: Royals 7, Giants 4

Player of the Game: Norichika Aoki of the Royals went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in a run. Aoki earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game and finished the season with 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (3.1IP 7H 6R 2K) picked up the loss.

Complete Box-Toppers results for Aug. 10.

That same weekend, as mentioned previously, the Orioles and the Cardinals met—two teams that seemed more likely to go to the World Series, but two teams that would both go on to lose their league championship series. For what it’s worth, the Orioles took two out of three in that series.

Top player from each game

Here are the Players of the Game from each of the three games played between the Giants and Royals in August. The Royals swept the series, 3-0.

  
    Date
    Score
    Team
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    8/8
    3.0
    Royals
    Billy Butler   1B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    8/9
    9.0
    Royals
    James Shields (W, 11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    8/10
    3.0
    Royals
    Norichika Aoki   RF
    2
    2
    2
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Previously: Box-Toppers World Series preview: Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Rain was top player for Monday, Oct. 13; LCS Game 3s on tap for Tuesday

Shawn Plank October 14, 2014

Rain was Monday’s Player of the Day, postponing the American League Championship Series Game 3 in Kansas City with the Orioles against the Royals.

There are two league championship series games Tuesday:

NLCS Game 3, Cardinals at Giants, series tied 1-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cardinals: John Lackey, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 50th among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.

Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.

ALCS Game 3, Royals lead Orioles, 2-0

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Orioles: Wei-Yin Chen, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 131st among all players, 50th among AL pitchers.

Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.

Royals' Yordano Ventura tops players in day of 4 playoff games, Friday, Oct. 3

Shawn Plank October 4, 2014

Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, who allowed one run in seven innings in the American League Division Series Game 2 win over the Angels, is Friday’s Player of the Day.

Ventura, who also struck out five and walked one, did not earn the win in the 4-1, 11-inning win, because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1. Ventura had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Royals player of +4, which was also enough to earn Player of the Day honors in a day of four league division series playoff games.

During the regular season, Ventura had 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking 75th among all players, 33rd among AL pitchers.

The Royals now lead the Angels in the best-of-five series, 2-0. The Angels are first in Box-Toppers team rankings with 124.2 Box-Toppers points. The Royals are 10th with 101.1. The Royals can sweep the series in Game 3 Sunday in Kansas City.

In Friday’s other games:

NLDS Game 1: Giants 3, Nationals 2

Giants pitcher Jake Peavy, who pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the win over the Nationals is Player of the Game in the National League Division Series Game 1.

Peavy, who led the Giants to a 3-2 win, had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2.

During the regular season, Peavy had 5.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking 165th among all players and 58th among NL pitchers.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg, who was 10th among all players in Box-Toppers player rankings during the regular season, picked up the loss. Strasburg gave up eight hits and two runs over five innings, striking out two. His Box-Toppers game score was -5. Strasburg had 16.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.

The Giants now lead the Nationals in the best-of-five series, 1-0.

NLDS Game 1: Cardinals 10, Dodgers 9

Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals, who homered, doubled and drove in four runs, is Player of the Game in the Cardinals 10-9 NL Division Series Game 1 win over the Dodgers.

Carpenter also went 2-for-5 and scored twice and had the Cardinals’ high Box-Toppers game score of +3.

During the regular season, Carpenter had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 407th among all players, 96th among NL batters.

In a game that was billed as a matchup of two pitching aces—Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers—both pitchers had to make early, ignominious exits:

• Wainwright (18.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth) gave up 11 hits and six runs over 4 1/3 innings, striking out five and had a Box-Toppers game score of −14.9. Wainwright earned no decision because the Cardinals later came back to take the lead and win.

• Kershaw (31.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked first) gave up eight runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and picking up the loss. He had a Box-Toppers game score of −7.8.

The Cardinals now lead the Dodgers in the best-of-five series, 1-0.

ALDS Game 2: Orioles 7, Tigers 6

Delmon Young of the Orioles, who hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead three-run double is Player of the Game in the AL Division Series Game 2.

Young’s eighth-inning hit put the Orioles ahead in the game they won 7-6. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.

During the regular season, Young had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking 178th among all players and 31st among AL batters.

The Orioles now lead the Tigers in the best-of-five series, 2-0. The series resumes Sunday in Detroit.

Coming Saturday:

National League Division Series Game 2, Giants lead Nationals, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.

Nationals: Jordan Zimmermann, 15.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, seventh among NL pitchers.

National League Division Series Game 2, Cardinals lead Dodgers, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Cardinals: Lance Lynn, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 48th among all players, 22nd among NL pitchers.

Dodgers: Zack Greinke, 16.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.

Top player from each game

Players of the Game (POG) listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    1003
    Score
    Team
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    POG
    4.0
    `Royals
    Yordano Ventura
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    POG
    3.2
    Giants
    Jake Peavy (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    2
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

    POG
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Carpenter   3B
    5
    2
    2
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    POG
    3.0
    Orioles
    Delmon Young   PH
    1
    0
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Top 10 players

Lead changes

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Lead changes

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World Series Game 7: Giants at Royals, series tied 3-3

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Top 7 players in World Series Game 6

World Series Game 4: Royals lead Giants, 2-1

Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Top 5 players in World Series Game 3

World Series Game 3: Royals at Giants, series tied, 1-1

Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Top 6 players in World Series Game 2

Friday, Aug. 8: Royals 4, Giants 2

Saturday, Aug. 9: Royals 5, Giants 0

Sunday, Aug. 10: Royals 7, Giants 4

Top player from each game

NLCS Game 3, Cardinals at Giants, series tied 1-1

ALCS Game 3, Royals lead Orioles, 2-0

NLDS Game 1: Giants 3, Nationals 2

NLDS Game 1: Cardinals 10, Dodgers 9

ALDS Game 2: Orioles 7, Tigers 6

National League Division Series Game 2, Giants lead Nationals, 1-0

National League Division Series Game 2, Cardinals lead Dodgers, 1-0

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.