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

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

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

Top 10 players

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

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lead changes

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

Date	Player	Team	BTP
4/5	Adam Wainwright	stl nl	2.0
4/6	Felix Hernandez	sea al	2.0
4/13	Scott Kazmir	oak al	3.7
4/18	Felix Hernandez	sea al	4.0
6/26	Max Scherzer	dc nl	14.0
7/9	Felix Hernandez	sea al	14.4
7/12	Max Scherzer	dc nl	15.0
7/24	Felix Hernandez	sea al	15.4
7/26	Jacob deGrom	nym nl	16.4
9/2	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	20.7
9/5	Jake Arrieta	chi nl	21.1
9/8	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	21.7
9/11	Jake Arrieta	chi nl	22.1

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

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

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

9/11	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Rangers	Colby Lewis (W,15-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	4
AL	7.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W,7-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	6
BAT	5.0	Dbacks	Nick Ahmed, SS	4	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Orioles	Steve Clevenger, PH-C	2	2	1	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,19-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	1	1	2	7
	5.0	Giants	Jake Peavy (W,6-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	0	2
	4.0	Blue Jays	Russell Martin, C	5	2	3	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cubs	Kyle Schwarber, LF	4	3	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Twins	Trevor Plouffe, 3B	5	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Pirates	Mark Melancon (S,45)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`Marlins	Jarred Cosart	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	0	0	3	5
	2.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, CF	5	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rays	J.P. Arencibia, PH-C	2	1	1	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Angels	Jered Weaver (W,7-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	2	2	7
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

Baseball proceeds whether we are ready or not.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

•

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top 10 players

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

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9/3	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	6.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez, RF	5	3	4	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	6.0	Royals	Kendrys Morales, DH	5	3	4	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman, 1B	3	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Padres	Yangervis Solarte, 3B-1B	5	3	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Hernan Perez, 3B	3	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	White Sox	J.B. Shuck, PH	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

(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.

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

9/2	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.

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

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

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

Top 10 players

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

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

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

Mets' Jacob deGrom (7.2IP 0R 2H 8K ND) tops players for Sunday, July 26, rises to top Box-Toppers player rankings

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to the top of season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
7	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
10	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Mike Trout of the Angels becomes the first batter with 10 Box-Toppers points, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to eighth place in season Box-Toppers player rankings and David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 135.9 career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—deGrom pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Dodgers. deGrom picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because after he exited, the Dodgers tied the game, 2-2.

deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising from fourth to first place in season player rankings. DeGrom passes previous Box-Toppers points leader, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (15.4 Box-Toppers points) who only regained the overall lead on Friday.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Indians.

American League Batter of the Day—David Ortiz of the Red Sox hit two three-run homers and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 11-1 win over the Tigers.

Ortiz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 135.9 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 23rd-place player Bartolo Colon (136.4). Ortiz has 2.5 Box-Toppers points this season.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in six runs, in the 17-7 win over the Reds.

Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season, fourth among NL batters.

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

Notable—Mike Trout of the Angels is the first batter this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Trout (2HR GS 4-4 3R 5BI in the 13-7 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He maintains his rank as first among AL batters and ranks 21st among all players. Trout is the 21st overall player with 10 Box-Toppers points this season.

Rankings—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Cole (7.2IP 7H R 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—deGrom 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. Ortiz and Gonzalez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/26	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.2	`Mets	Jacob deGrom	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	2	0	0	2	8
AL	10.2	White Sox	Carlos Rodon (W,4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	0	0	0	9
BAT	9.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz, DH	5	3	4	7	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	9.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez, RF	4	4	3	6	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	8.0	Angels	Mike Trout, CF	4	3	4	5	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.2	Pirates	Gerrit Cole (W,14-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	7	1	1	0	8
	5.0	Dbacks	Jeremy Hellickson (W,7-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	3	6
	4.0	Royals	Yordano Ventura (W,5-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	0	5
	3.0	Yankees	Chase Headley, 3B	4	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Padres	Odrisamer Despaigne (W,4-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	2	3
	3.0	Orioles	Zach Britton (S,25)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	3
	2.0	Phillies	Domonic Brown, RF	5	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Giants	Matt Duffy, 3B	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mariners	Joe Beimel (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	`Braves	Arodys Vizcaino	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	1
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Mets' Steven Matz (6IP 0R 8K) tops players for Sunday, July 5

Mets pitcher Steven Matz is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 36th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.4
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	12.1
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
5	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	11.4
7	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	11.4
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	10.7
9	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	10.7
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Matz pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 8-0 win over the Dodgers.

American League Player of the Day—Kole Calhoun of the Angels hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Kole Calhoun).

Notable—Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 36th place in Box-Toppers points among players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Hamels (7IP 0R 6H 6K ND in the 4-0, 10-inning win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 118.8 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Justin Verlander (118.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 34th-place player Cliff Lee (119.1). Hamels ranks 25th among all pitchers since 1995 and 12th among active pitchers.

Hamels also has the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Hamels has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks 18th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Curt Casali of the Rays made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Casali (2B 1-2 R BI in the 8-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut July 18, 2014, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,524th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/5	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.0	Mets	Steven Matz (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	2	8
	9.0	Nationals	Jordan Zimmermann (W, 7-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	8
	8.0	Cardinals	Lance Lynn (W, 6-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	0	3	8
	7.1	Cubs	Kyle Hendricks (W, 4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	1	6
	7.0	`Phillies	Cole Hamels	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	0	0	0	6
	4.0	Brewers	Taylor Jungmann (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	2	4
AL	3.0	Angels	Kole Calhoun RF	5	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez RF	4	2	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Blue Jays	Devon Travis 2B	3	1	2	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Red Sox	Eduardo Rodriguez	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	6	1	1	2	8
	2.0	Orioles	Steve Pearce 1B RF	4	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rays	Curt Casali C	2	1	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Pirates	Mark Melancon (S, 27)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Royals	Alex Gordon LF	2	1	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Mariners	Seth Smith RF	2	0	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.

Dodgers' Anderson tops players for Friday, June 26; Nationals' Scherzer becomes new Box-Toppers points leader

Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to become the new Box-Toppers player rankings leader after earning Player of the Game honors. Scherzer passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez who had held the top spot for more than two months.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.4
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
4	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
5	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	11.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	11.1
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.4
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	9.7
9	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	9.7
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Anderson struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 7-1 win over the Marlins.

American League Player of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays hit two homers, including a grand slam, and went 3-for-5, in the 12-2 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies tripled, doubled and went 5-for-5, scoring three times and driving in a run, in the 8-6 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the AL’s top overall player was a batter (Edwin Encarnacion).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to first place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Scherzer (8IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. Scherzer passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (13.4 Box-Toppers points). Hernandez had led in Box-Toppers points since April 18 and had led player rankings all but six days this season.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/26	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Dodgers	Brett Anderson (W, 4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	10
	6.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W, 9-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	2	2	0	7
	6.0	Mets	Noah Syndergaard (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	0	5
AL	5.0	Blue Jays	Edwin Encarnacion DH	5	2	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez RF	5	3	5	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W, 6-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	1	1	0	6
	4.0	Royals	Edinson Volquez (W, 8-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	3
	3.1	Yankees	Dellin Betances (S, 5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Red Sox	Koji Uehara (S, 15)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Padres	Cory Spangenberg 2B	3	2	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Cardinals	Greg Garcia PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Pirates	Jared Hughes	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Tigers	Bruce Rondon (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Orioles	Jimmy Paredes DH	4	2	3	0	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun RF	4	2	2	1	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Mets' Henderson Alvarez (CG 0R 7K) tops players for Tuesday, May 6

Mets pitcher Henderson Alvarez is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. Alvarez pitched a complete-game shutout and struck out seven in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is American League Player of the Day. Kuroda struck out eight over 7 2/3 innings in the 4-3 win over the Angels. Kuroda had a no-decision and did not pick up the win because the Angels tied the game 3-3 after he left the game.

Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies is National League Batter of the Day. Gonzalez went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs in the 12-1 win over the Rangers.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Cabrera homered, went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs in the 11-4 win over the Astros.

Alvarez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kuroda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Cabrera each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

506	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.0	Marlins	Henderson Alvarez (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	6	0	0	0	7
	7.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	9	0	0	0	9
AL	6.2	`Yankees	Hiroki Kuroda	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	3	1	0	8
	6.0	`Red Sox	Andrew Miller	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
BAT	5.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez LF	5	2	5	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 1B	5	2	4	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`Pirates	Charlie Morton	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	0	2	3
	5.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	4
	4.0	`White Sox	Hector Noesi	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	1	6
	3.2	Indians	Josh Tomlin (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	4	1	1	1	4
	3.1	Dbacks	Evan Marshall (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Braves	David Carpenter (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Mariners	Justin Smoak 1B	5	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	Blue Jays	Marcus Stroman (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Orioles	Darren O`Day (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	0

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

Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers' short- and long-term leader boards

Clayton Kershaw, who Wednesday agreed to the richest-ever contract for a pitcher, was not only the best player of 2013, he was the best player the past two seasons and has been the most reliable and consistent player for the past six seasons.

Kershaw, 25, and the Dodgers agreed on a seven-year, $215 million deal Wednesday. He will make the highest average annual salary in baseball history at $30.7 million.

The Dodgers pitcher sits atop three of Box-Toppers’ four leader boards at the end of the 2013 season:

• He led all players in the 2013 season with 21.7 Box-Toppers points.

• He led all players for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons with 42.5 Box-Toppers points.

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• He led all players over the period from 2008 to 2013 with 102.1 Box-Toppers points.

Clayton Kershaw

Here are Kershaw's career Box-Toppers statistics. He made his debut as a starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The middle column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) for each season. The next column shows his rank among all players for that season. The final column shows his rank among all NL pitchers for the season.

Kershaw has been top overall player in Box-Toppers points in 2011 and 2013 and was top NL pitcher in 2012.

Year	Pos	Team	BTP	Rank	NL pitcher rank
2008	pi sp	lad nl	4.0	276	73
2009	pi sp	lad nl	13.1	22	8
2010	pi sp	lad nl	16.1	12	8
2011	pi sp	lad nl	26.1	1	1
2012	pi sp	lad nl	20.8	2	1
2013	pi sp	lad nl	21.7	1	1
Career			102.1	54	34*
2008-13			102.1	1	1
2012-13			42.5	1	1

BTP: Box-Toppers points

* Kershaw ranked 34th among all pitchers on the "all-time" Box-Toppers points list, 1995-2013.

In fact, the only Box-Toppers leader board in which Kershaw fails to prevail is the “all-time” list, topped by retired pitcher Randy Johnson with 278.8 points. In this leader board, which tracks all games since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, Kershaw ranks 54th. Kershaw, who made his Major League debut in 2008, has 102.1 career Box-Toppers points, just behind Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and just ahead of Tim Wakefield (101.4).

During the 2013 season, Kershaw passed more than 40 players on the all-time list. At the end of 2012, he was in 98th place with 80.4 Box-Toppers points and rose to 54th after 2013. His strong 2013 season also helped him rise to the top of both the two-year and six-year leader boards.

At the end of the 2012 season, Kershaw was in second place in the two-season leader board. He had 46.9 Box-Toppers points over 2011-2012, behind leader Justin Verlander with 49.2 points. Verlander, the Tigers pitcher, fell to third place in the two-season leader board after 2013—he had 34.8 Box-Toppers points over 2012-2013. (See charts at the bottom of this post for comparisons of leader boards from the end of 2012 and the end of 2013.)

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Kershaw made a big jump in the six-season leader board from 2012 to 2013. At the end of 2012, Kershaw was in ninth place with 80.4 Box-Toppers points from 2007 to 2012. Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia topped the list with 102.0 points. Sabathia fell behind Kershaw to second place in the six-season list after 2013—he had 93.6 points from 2008-2013.

Some other observations from the newly posted updated leader board lists:

• Kershaw tops all National League pitchers in the six-year leader board (2008-2013) with 102.1 Box-Toppers points. He was in fourth place in the six-year leader board after 2012, with 80.4 Box-Toppers points over the 2007-2012 period, behind leader Roy Halladay with 97.7 points. Halladay fell to fifth among NL pitchers in the six-year leader board after last season, with 87.3 points.

• Sabathia remains the leader among American League pitchers in the six-year leader board (2008-2013), though his point total decreased. From 2007-2012, he had 102.0 Box-Toppers points and from 2008-2013, he had 93.6 points. While he still leads among AL pitchers, his lead narrowed over the second-place pitcher, Justin Verlander. Verlander had 93.5 Box-Toppers points from 2007-2012, trailing Sabathia by 8.5. But after 2013, Verlander was only 0.5 behind Sabathia in the six-year leader board from 2008-2013, with 93.1 Box-Toppers points.

• Albert Pujols maintained his lead among American League batters in the six-year leader board, though his point total decreased from last season. From 2007-2012, Pujols had 73.5 Box-Toppers points and from 2008-2013, he had 69.8. Like Sabathia, Pujols’ lead in this category also narrowed over the second-place AL batter, Miguel Cabrera. After 2012, Cabrera, with 67.8 Box-Toppers points, trailed Pujols by 5.7. But after 2013, Cabrera closed the gap to 0.1—he had 69.7 Box-Toppers points from 2008-2013.

• Ryan Braun still leads among National League batters in the six-year leader board and though his point total is down and he was inactive with injury and drug suspension most of 2013, his lead in the category has actually increased since last season. Braun had 64.7 Box-Toppers points from 2007-2012 and 63.0 points from 2008-2013. In second place in the category after 2012 was Ryan Howard with 60.5 points. Howard remains in second after 2013, but with 52.8. So Braun, despite earning only 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013, went from having a 4.2-point lead after 2012 to a 7.7-point lead after 2013.

• Max Scherzer of the Tigers supplants teammate Justin Verlander atop the leader board for AL pitchers for the past two seasons. Scherzer has 35.1 Box-Toppers points over 2012 and 2013, narrowly beating Verlander in second place with 34.8. Verlander led AL pitchers over the 2011-2012 period with 49.2 Box-Toppers points. Scherzer was in 10th place on that list with 24.4.

• Miguel Cabrera supplants Prince Fielder atop the leader board for AL batters for the past two seasons. Cabrera has 28.6 Box-Toppers points over 2012 and 2013, while Fielder is in 10th place on that list with 15.0. However, Fielder led the two-year AL batter list over 2011-2012 with 22.2 Box-Toppers points—Cabrera was in third place on that list with 19.2.

• Carlos Gonzalez supplants Ryan Braun atop the leader board for NL batters for the past two seasons. Gonzalez has 20.2 Box-Toppers points over 2012 and 2013, while Braun is in fifth place with 16.0. But Braun led the two-year NL batter list over 2011-2012 with 23.0 Box-Toppers points—Gonzalez was in eighth place with 16.2.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player of the day in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Single season leaders comparison, 2012 vs. 2013

Here is a comparison of single season leaders in Box-Toppers points for 2012 (left) and 2013 (right):

	2012 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		2013 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	24.8		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.8		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	20.2
3	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	20.4		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.4
4	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	nym nl	19.1		Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	19
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	18.7		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	18.1
6	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	17.7		Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
7	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.7		Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	17.1
8	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	17.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	17		Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	16.7
10	Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp mr cp	atl nl	17		Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
	TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	24.8		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	18.1
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	18.7		Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	17.1
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	17		Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
4	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	16.8		Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	16.1
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	15.7		Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	16.1
6	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	15.4		Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	16.1
7	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	15.4		Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	16
8	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	15.1		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.8
9	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	tb al	14.7		Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	cle al	14.5
10	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tb al	14.1		Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	oak al	13.1
	TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	13.5		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b lf dh rf	bal al	12		Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	12.9
3	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	11.7		Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
4	Hamilton, Josh 2332	cf lf	tex al	11.5		Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	12.5
5	Trout, Mike 2949	cf rf lf	ana al	11		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	12.4
6	Rios, Alex 1989	rf	chi al	9.9		Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh lf ph	cle al	9.5
7	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	9.7		Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	9.5
8	Mauer, Joe 1869	ca dh 1b	min al	9		Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	9
9	Granderson, Curtis 2051	cf	nyy al	8.7		Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	8.7
10	Trumbo, Mark 2851	lf 1b rf dh	ana al	8.7		Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	8.5
	TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.8		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
2	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	20.4		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	20.2
3	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	nym nl	19.1		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.4
4	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	17.7		Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	19
5	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.7		Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
6	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	17.7		Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	16.7
7	Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp mr cp	atl nl	17		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	16.1
8	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	15.4		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	15.7
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	atl nl	15		Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	15.4
10	Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	14.7		Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15
	TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	12.5		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	13.7
2	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	11.7		Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	11.5
3	Kemp, Matt 2151	cf	lad nl	10		Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	11.5
4	Freese, David 2710	3b	stl nl	9.7		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11
5	Uggla, Dan 2158	2b	atl nl	9.5		Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	9.4
6	Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	9.5		Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	9.2
7	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	9.5		Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	9
8	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	9.2		Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	nym nl	8.5
9	Hill, Aaron 2056	2b	ari nl	9		Alvarez, Pedro 2817	3b	pit nl	7.7
10	LaRoche, Adam 1910	1b	dc nl	9		Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	7.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

Two-season leaders comparison, 2012 vs. 2013

Here is a comparison of two-season leaders in Box-Toppers points. At left are the leaders in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2011 and 2012 seasons. At right are the points leaders in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons:

	2011-12 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		2012-13 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	49.2		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	42.5
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	46.9		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	35.1
3	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	38.2		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	34.8
4	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	tb al	34.8		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	33.8
5	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	33.4		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	33.5
6	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	32.9		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	33.4
7	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	32.8		Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	32.8
8	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	31.7		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	32.1
9	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	30.8		Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	31.8
10	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	30.4		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	30.4
	TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	49.2		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	35.1
2	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	38.2		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	34.8
3	Shields, Jamie (James) 2157	pi sp	tb al	34.8		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	33.5
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	30.4		Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	32.8
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tb al	29.2		Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	31.8
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ana al	29.2		Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	27.5
7	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	29.1		Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	25.8
8	Morrow, Brandon 2264	pi sp	tor al	25.7		Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	25.1
9	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	25.1		Shields, James 2157	pi sp	kc al	24.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	24.4		Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	24.1
	TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	22.2		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	28.6
2	Granderson, Curtis 2051	cf	nyy al	21.4		Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	24.7
3	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	19.2		Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	21.4
4	Hamilton, Josh 2332	cf lf	tex al	19		Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	18.7
5	Pujols, Albert 1438	1b	ana al	18.5		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	17.4
6	Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	ss	cle al	18.2		Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	17.1
7	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	18		Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	16.5
8	Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	17.2		Rios, Alex 1989	rf	tex al	15.9
9	Napoli, Mike 2161	ca	tex al	17.2		Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	15.2
10	Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b 3b	bal al	15.2		Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	15
	TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	46.9		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	42.5
2	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	33.4		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	33.8
3	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	32.9		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	33.4
4	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	32.8		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	32.1
5	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	31.7		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	30.4
6	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	30.8		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	29.4
7	Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	ari nl	29.1		Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	28.8
8	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	28.8		Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	28.4
9	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	nym nl	28.1		Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	28.4
10	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	27.1		Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp	atl nl	28
	TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	23		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	20.2
2	Uggla, Dan 2158	2b	atl nl	21		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	18.2
3	Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	19.5		Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	18.2
4	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	18.2		Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	17
5	Kemp, Matt 2151	cf	lad nl	17		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	16
6	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	col nl	16.5		Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	15.4
7	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	16.2		Freese, David 2710	3b	stl nl	15.2
8	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	16.2		Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	15
9	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	16		McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	14.5
10	Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	14.5		Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	13.2

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

Six-season leaders comparison, 2012 vs. 2013

Here is a comparison of six-season leaders in Box-Toppers points. At left are the leaders in Box-Toppers points over the period from 2007 to 2012. At right are the points leaders over the period from 2008 to 2013 seasons:

	2007-12 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		2008-13 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	102		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	102.1
2	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	97.7		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	93.6
3	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.5		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.1
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	90.3		Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	92.6
5	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	90.2		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	92.1
6	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	87		Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	91
7	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	83.9		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	90.8
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ana al	81.1		Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	89.9
9	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	80.4		Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	88.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	78		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	87.3
	TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	102		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	93.6
2	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.5		Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	93.1
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	90.3		Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	92.1
4	Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	87		Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	91
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ana al	81.1		Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	88.7
6	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	78		Shields, James 2157	pi sp	kc al	64.6
7	Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	ana al	67		Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	62.9
8	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	tb al	61.6		Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	61.5
9	Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	chi al	61.5		Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	cle al	57.7
10	Dempster, Ryan 1109	pi sp	tex al	53.8		Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	tex al	57.4
	TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Pujols, Albert 1438	1b	ana al	73.5		Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	69.8
2	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	67.8		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	69.7
3	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	59.9		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	52.9
4	Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	51.9		Fielder, Prince 2029	1b	det al	51.9
5	Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	49.7		Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	44
6	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	49		Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	43.7
7	Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	ana al	47.4		Mauer, Joe 1869	ca	min al	43.2
8	Granderson, Curtis 2051	cf	nyy al	45.8		Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	det al	41.9
9	Mauer, Joe 1869	ca dh 1b	min al	45.1		Hamilton, Josh 2332	dh cf lf	ana al	41.7
10	Pena, Carlos 1550	1b ph	tb al	44.9		Lind, Adam 2238	1b	tor al	41.6
	TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	97.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	102.1
2	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	90.2		Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	92.6
3	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	83.9		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	90.8
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	80.4		Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	89.9
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	78		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	87.3
6	Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	68		Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	77.3
7	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	67.6		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	70.1
8	Rodriguez, Wandy 2117	pi sp	hou nl	65.6		Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	68
9	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	64.3		Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	66.7
10	Beckett, Josh 1544	pi sp	lad nl	58.7		Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	dc nl	65
	TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	64.7		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	63
2	Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	60.5		Howard, Ryan 2040	1b	phi nl	52.8
3	Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	52.9		Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	46.2
4	Uggla, Dan 2158	2b	atl nl	45.7		Holliday, Matt 1836	lf	stl nl	43.2
5	Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	45.7		Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	42.5
6	Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	44.2		Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	42.2
7	Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	43.2		Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	cin nl	41.6
8	Kubel, Jason 2177	lf	ari nl	40.1		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	40.2
9	Ramirez, Aramis 1364	3b	mil nl	39.5		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	col nl	39.2
10	Ramirez, Hanley 2119	3b	lad nl	38.6		Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	38

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

"All-time" Box-Toppers leader comparison

Here is a comparison of the "all-time" Box-Toppers leaders from the end of 2012 (left) to the end of 2013 (right). There was not much movement by players in this leader board covering the 19 seasons since Box-Toppers record keeping began. Note: This leader board does not divide players by league since many players spent their careers in both the American and National Leagues.

	1995-12 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		1995-13 LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8		Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8		Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8
3	schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1		schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1
4	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	176.3		Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	179.3
5	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	169.7		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	172.3
6	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	167.6		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	170.7
7	Ramirez, manny	lf dh	free agent	167.2		Ramirez, manny	lf dh		167.2
8	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6		Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6
9	clemens, roger	pi sp	indy	164.8		clemens, roger	pi sp		164.8
10	smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9		smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9
	TOP PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8		Johnson, randy	pi sp		278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8		Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp		244.8
3	schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1		schilling, curt	pi sp		194.1
4	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	169.7		Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	172.3
5	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	167.6		Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	phi nl	170.7
6	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6		Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	nym nl	166.6
7	clemens, roger	pi sp	indy	164.8		clemens, roger	pi sp		164.8
8	smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9		smoltz, john	pi sp		160.9
9	mussina, Mike	pi sp		155.6		mussina, Mike	pi sp		155.6
10	maddux, greg	pi sp		151.7		maddux, greg	pi sp		151.7
	TOP BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP		TOP BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	176.3		Rodriguez, Alex	3b dh	nyy al	179.3
2	Ramirez, manny	lf dh	free agent	167.2		Ramirez, manny	lf dh		167.2
3	Pujols, Albert 1438	1b	ana al	155.8		Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	159.8
4	bonds, barry	lf		153.2		bonds, barry	lf		153.2
5	jones, chipper	3b	atl nl	149		jones, chipper	3b	retired	149
6	thome, jim	dh	bal al	146.7		thome, jim	dh	free agent	146.7
7	giambi, jason	dh 1b ph	col nl	129.9		giambi, jason	dh ph	cle al	133.4
8	Guerrero, Vladimir	dh		128.3		Guerrero, Vladimir	rf dh	retired	128.3
9	sheffield, gary	lf		124.1		Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	126.4
10	Delgado, Carlos	1b		117.7		sheffield, gary	lf		124.1

BTP: Box-Toppers points
What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers' batting leader Miguel Cabrera wins AL MVP; NL leader Goldschmidt finishes behind McCutchen for NL MVP

Box-Toppers' top-ranked batter Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

But the National League leading batter in Box-Toppers points, Paul Goldschmidt, finished in second place in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who finished 71st among NL players and 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.

Cabrera had 16.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, first among all batters, third among all AL players and eighth among all players. He was consistently the only batter in the overall player top 10 list during the season. He led all players in Box-Toppers points four different times during the season, most recently from June 28 to June 30.

Cabrera was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots, winning his second straight MVP award. However, in 2012, Cabrera ranked third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.7, behind Adrian Beltre (13.5) and Chris Davis (12.0). Cabrera ranked third in 2012 despite his Triple Crown season.

McCutchen, voted NL MVP, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots and was voted on all 30 ballots no lower than third place. However, as the 22nd-ranked NL batter in Box-Toppers points, he wouldn’t have even appeared on Box-Toppers’ 10-spot ballot.

Box-Toppers’ top NL batter Goldschmidt had 13.7 Box-Toppers points and received 15 of the writers’ second place votes, enough to secure the NL MVP runner-up spot.

So what went wrong here? Why do the writers so unanimously see McCutchen as the MVP and Box-Toppers so ... does not? (In fact, McCutchen is not even the highest-ranked batter in Box-Toppers points on his team—that honor goes to Pedro Alvarez, with 7.7 points.)

McCutchen’s batting average is .317. He hit 21 homers and 84 RBIs, scored 97 runs and stole 27 bases. Goldschmidt’s numbers were just as good, often better—.302 average, 36 homers, 125 RBIs. But McCutchen’s team made the postseason. Goldschmidt’s didn’t. Plus, words being used to describe McCutchen are “all-around player,” a “heart-and-soul” guy—intangibles. By their very nature, it’s hard to measure intangibles.

But Box-Toppers measures tangibles. The player who most helps his team win the most games earns the most Box-Toppers points. And to be fair, Box-Toppers doesn’t measure defensive play—for batters, it relies on what they produce at the plate. So it is possible that a lot of McCutchen’s valuableness gets missed that way.

Though in the previous two seasons, McCutchen has fared better in Box-Toppers points than he did in 2013. In 2011, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, in eighth place among NL batters. And in 2012, he had 8.5, finishing just out of the top 10 among NL batters.

So, by Box-Toppers standards, Goldschmidt very simply more often helped his team win more games than did McCutchen.

A couple of other players were voted by writers to higher spots than would be recommended by their Box-Toppers point total:

• Mike Trout of the Angels was voted in second place in AL MVP voting with five first place votes. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 144th place among all AL players and 62nd among all AL batters. (In 2012, he also finished second in AL MVP voting, but in 2012, he finished fifth among AL batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points.)
• Yadier Molina of the Cardinals was voted in third place in NL MVP voting with two first place votes. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 126th place among all NL players and 52nd among all NL batters. However, Molina is rightly given credit for his defensive skills as a catcher and his role in shaping a pitching staff with four or five Cy Young-worthy starters. Box-Toppers doesn’t measure that.

There were several players who had high Box-Toppers point totals who did not receive MVP votes. Three of the Box-Toppers top 10 AL batters received no votes and seven of the Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters were shut out:

• Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all AL players and second among all AL batters. However, Soriano played in the National League for the Cubs at the start of the season and switched to the American League in July.
• Billy Butler of the Royals had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 33rd among all AL players and eighth among AL batters.
• Prince Fielder of the Tigers had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 39th among all AL players and 10th among AL batters.
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all NL players and fourth among NL batters.
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals had 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all NL players and fifth among NL batters.
• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all NL players and sixth among NL batters.
• Will Venable of the Padres had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all NL players and seventh among NL batters.
• Daniel Murphy of the Mets had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 40th among all NL players and eighth among NL batters.
• Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all NL players and ninth among NL batters.
• Brandon Phillips of the Reds had 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 48th among all NL players and 10th among NL batters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Here are the final Box-Toppers Player Rankings for 2013, showing the top 10 overall players, plus the top 10 in AL and NL pitching and AL and NL batting. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers season point totals.

Box-Toppers rankings of MVP Award candidates 

Here are the results of Most Valuable Player Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among all players in their league.

MVP vote
AL
Player	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Miguel Cabrera	3b	Tigers	23	7									385	16.9	3
Mike Trout	cf lf	Angels	5	19	3	1	1		1				282	3.5	144
Chris Davis	1b	Orioles	1	4	11	12	1		1				232	12.7	14
Josh Donaldson	3b	Athletics	1		14	9	3	3					222	9.5	31
Robinson Cano	2b	Yankees			1	5	9	2	6	5	2		150	12.5	17
Evan Longoria	3b	Rays					4	6	6	4	5	3	103	5.5	82
Dustin Pedroia	2b	Red Sox				1	5	5	5	4	2	1	99	3.5	145
Adrian Beltre	3b	Rangers					2	8	7	3	4	2	99	8.4	41
Manny Machado	3b	Orioles					2	1	2	5	5	7	57	1.0	316
David Ortiz	dh	Red Sox				2	1	2	2	1	2	2	47	12.4	18
Jason Kipnis	2b	Indians					1	1		3	3	5	31	8.0	44
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers			1			2		1	1	2	25	18.1	1
Adam Jones	cf	Orioles					1			1			9	8.0	43
Edwin Encarnacion	1b dh	Blue Jays								1	2		7	8.7	38
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals								1			3	11.0	22
Carlos Santana	ca	Indians								1			3	1.0	287
Coco Crisp	cf	Athletics									1	1	3	4.0	129
Jacoby Ellsbury	cf	Red Sox									1	1	3	5.5	83
Torii Hunter	rf	Tigers									1		2	4.0	125
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners									1		2	16.1	7
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox										2	2	6.0	76
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers										1	1	16.0	8
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners										1	1	14.8	9
Salvador Perez	ca 1b	Royals										1	1	2.5	195
Shane Victorino	rf	Red Sox										1	1	4.5	112
Notable AL snubs
Alfonso Soriano	lf	Yankees											0	12.9	12
Billy Butler	dh	Royals											0	9.0	33
Prince Fielder	1b	Tigers											0	8.5	39
NL
Player, Club	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Andrew McCutchen	cf	Pirates	28	1	1								409	6.0	71
Paul Goldschmidt	1b	D-Backs		15	9	1	3	2					242	13.7	12
Yadier Molina	ca	Cardinals	2	8	4	6	6		1		2	1	219	4.0	126
Matt Carpenter	2b	Cardinals		6	5	4	3	9	1	1	1		194	7.5	49
Freddie Freeman	1b	Braves				5	7	8	8	1	1		154	11.5	19
Joey Votto	1b	Reds			2	8	7	3	4		1	2	149	4.5	109
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers			8	4		4	5	4	1		146	21.7	1
Hanley Ramirez	ss	Dodgers			1	1	2	1	2	3	3	3	58	5.0	87
Carlos Gomez	cf	Brewers					1		3	6	2	3	43	3.0	162
Jay Bruce	rf	Reds					1	1	3		2	3	30	4.5	112
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves				1		1		3	3		27	12.7	18
Shin Soo Choo	cf	Reds						1	1	1	4	3	23	7.0	55
Jayson Werth	rf	Nationals							1	2	2	6	20	6.5	66
Andrelton Simmons	ss	Braves								2	4		14	1.5	261
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers							1	2			10	1.5	259
Hunter Pence	rf	Giants								1	1	2	7	6.5	63
Troy Tulowitzki	ss	Rockies									2	1	5	4.0	124
Allen Craig	lf 1b	Cardinals								1		1	4	5.0	84
Adrian Gonzalez	1b	Dodgers								1		1	4	5.0	86
Buster Posey	ca	Giants								1			3	7.0	54
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals								1			3	20.2	2
Michael Cuddyer	rf	Rockies										3	3	11.5	20
Matt Holliday	lf	Cardinals									1		2	6.5	62
Russell Martin	ca	Pirates										1	1	2.0	212
Notable NL snubs
Carlos Gonzalez	lf	Rockies											0	11.0	22
Bryce Harper	lf	Nationals											0	9.4	34
Ryan Zimmerman	3b	Nationals											0	9.2	35
Will Venable	rf cf	Padres											0	9.0	36
Daniel Murphy	2b	Mets											0	8.5	40
Pedro Alvarez	3b	Pirates											0	7.7	45
Brandon Phillips	2b	Reds											0	7.5	48

* Rank among players (batters and pitchers) in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America

Dodgers' Kershaw holds lead in Box-Toppers player rankings, Tigers' Cabrera becomes top AL player

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw maintains his top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings, while Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers takes the lead among American League players.

Kershaw has 18.7 Box-Toppers to lead for the second straight week. 

Cabrera has 16.9 points to rise from 10th overall last week to fourth this week. He passes Indians pitcher Justin Masterson (16.4 points, now in fifth overall), the previous AL leader.

Masterson still leads in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers. 

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks  leads among NL batters with 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Goldschmidt is in 25th place among all players. 

Thirty-five players have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. Only five are batters—Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0), Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7) and Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (11.9).

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 22. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 29

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.0
3	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
4	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
5	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
7	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	15.4
8	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
9	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	15.4
3	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
4	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
6	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	14.4
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
8	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	12.4
9	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	11.7
10	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	10.4
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
3	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	11.9
4	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	9.5
5	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	9.2
6	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
7	Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	8.0
8	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	8.0
9	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
10	Carter, Chris 2828	dh lf 1b	hou al	7.9
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.0
3	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
5	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
6	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	14.7
7	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	14.7
8	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	14.4
9	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	13.4
10	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	11.7
2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
3	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	9.5
4	Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	9.0
5	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
6	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
7	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
8	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
9	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw takes Box-Toppers points lead, Masterson, Cabrera, Goldschmidt among leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, Aug. 22:

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw takes over the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings. 

Kershaw has 18.7 Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, Aug. 22, taking over the lead from Indians pitcher Justin Masterson (16.4 points), who has fallen to third place behind Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (17.4).

Masterson continues to lead American League players in Box-Toppers points.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers remains the leader among American League batters with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. However, Cabrera fell from ninth to 10th place overall this week.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks  leads among NL batters with 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Goldschmidt is in 23rd place among all players. 

Thirty-two players have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. Only five are batters—Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0), Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7) and Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (10.9).

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 15. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 22

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
3	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.0
5	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
6	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
9	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	14.7
10	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	14.4
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
4	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	14.4
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	12.7
8	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	12.4
9	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	10.7
10	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	10.4
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	14.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
3	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	10.9
4	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	9.2
5	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	8.5
6	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
7	Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	8.0
8	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
9	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	7.5
10	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	7.2
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.0
4	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
6	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	14.7
7	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	13.7
8	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	13.4
9	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
10	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	11.7
2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
3	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	9.5
4	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
6	Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	8.0
7	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
8	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
9	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Masterson continues lead in player Box-Toppers points for season; Kershaw, Cabrera, Goldschmidt among leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, Aug. 15:

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson continues to lead all players in Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, Aug. 15, with 16.4 points. 

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, in second place overall, leads all National League players with 15.7 points. He passes previous NL leader, Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (15.4), who is now in third overall. 

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers remains the leader among American League batters with 13.4 Box-Toppers points. However, Cabrera fell from seventh to ninth place overall this week.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks now leads among NL batters with 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Goldschmidt passed previous leader, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0). Goldschmidt is in 20th place among all players. 

Thirty players have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. Only four are batters—Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Gonzalez and Chris Davis of the Orioles (11.2).

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 8. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 15

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
3	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
4	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
5	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
6	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
7	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	15.0
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
9	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
10	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	12.7
7	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	12.7
8	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	10.7
9	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	10.7
10	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	10.4
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	11.2
3	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	9.4
4	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
5	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
6	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
7	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	7.5
8	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	7.2
9	Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	7.0
10	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
3	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	15.0
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
6	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
7	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	12.7
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.7
9	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
10	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	12.7
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	11.7
2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
3	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	9.5
4	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
6	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
7	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
8	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
9	Venable, Will 2621	rf	sd nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 13, rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player standings

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Tuesday, Aug. 13:

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Tuesday's Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers player standings for the season. 

Fernandez pitched seven shutout innings in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Royals. However, Fernandez left with the game tied 0-0 and earned no decision.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season, moving up to seventh place among all players. 

Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees is American League Player of the Day. Soriano hit two homers and drove in six runs in the 14-7 win over the Angels. 

Scooter Gennett of the Brewers is National League Batter of the Day. Gennett hit two homers and drove in three runs in the 5-1 win over the Rangers.  This was Gennett's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,254th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record-keeping began in 1995.

Notable: Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks rises to 20th place in Box-Toppers player standings for the season after he earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Goldschmidt (2HR including walk-off, 3-5 in 4-3, 11-inning win vs. Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. In addition, he becomes top NL batter in Box-Toppers points, passing Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0). 

Fernandez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Soriano receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Gennett receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

813	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	9.0	`Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Fernandez	7.0	3	0	0	1	6
AL	6.0	Yankees	Alfonso Soriano LF	6	3	3	6	0	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Zach McAllister (W, 5-7)	6.0	4	2	1	1	7
	4.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kris Medlen (W, 10-10)	7.0	5	1	1	1	5
	3.1	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			J.J. Hoover (W, 3-5)	2.1	1	0	0	0	2
	3.1	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tim Stauffer (W, 2-1)	1.1	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Brewers	Scooter Gennett 2B	4	2	2	3	0	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	`Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ryan Dempster	7.0	4	1	1	2	4
	3.0	`Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Trevor Rosenthal	1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Danny Farquhar (S, 5)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Diamondbacks	Paul Goldschmidt 1B	5	2	3	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	White Sox	Avisail Garcia RF	4	2	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Dodgers	A.J. Ellis C	2	1	1	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.1	Astros	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chia-Jen Lo (S, 1)	1.1	0	0	0	1	1
	1.0	Nationals	Ian Desmond SS	4	2	3	0	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

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

Masterson stays on top of Box-Toppers player rankings; Corbin, Cabrera, Gonzalez among leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away.  These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, Aug. 8:

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson continues to lead all players in Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, Aug. 8, with 16.4 points. 

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin, in second place overall, leads all National League players with 15.4 points.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, in seventh place overall with 13.4 points, is leader among American League batters. 

Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies leads among NL batters with 11.0 points. He is in 20th place overall.

Twenty-six players (22 of them pitchers) have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. 

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 1. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 8

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
3	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
4	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
7	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
8	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
9	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
10	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	13.0
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
4	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	13.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	11.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
7	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	10.7
8	Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	10.1
9	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	10.0
10	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	10.0
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	11.2
3	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
4	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
5	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	7.4
6	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	7.2
7	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
8	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	7.0
9	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	6.5
10	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
2	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
4	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
5	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
6	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.0
7	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	12.7
8	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
9	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	11.7
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	11.7
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
2	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	10.7
3	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
4	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
5	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	8.0
6	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
7	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
8	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
9	Venable, Will 2621	rf	sd nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Indians' Masterson continues to lead players in Box-Toppers points; Corbin, Cabrera, Gonzalez among points leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, Aug. 1:

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson continues to lead all players in Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, Aug. 1, with 16.4 points. 

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin, in second place overall, leads all National League players with 15.4 points.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, in fifth place overall with 13.4 points, is leader among American League batters. 

Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies leads among NL batters with 11.0 points. 

Twenty-four players (20 of them pitchers) have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. 

Previous player rankings report from July 25. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 1

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
3	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
5	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
6	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
7	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	13.0
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	13.0
9	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	13.0
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	11.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
7	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	10.7
8	Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	10.1
9	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	9.4
10	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	9.0
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	11.2
3	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
4	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
5	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	7.2
6	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
7	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	7.0
8	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	6.5
9	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
10	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf	oak al	6.0
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
3	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
4	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	13.0
5	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
6	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	11.7
8	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	11.4
9	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.0
10	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	10.7
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
2	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	10.7
3	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
4	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
5	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	8.0
6	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
7	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
8	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
9	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7
10	Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	nym nl	6.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Indians' Justin Masterson leads Box-Toppers rankings; Corbin, Cabrera, Gonzalez among points leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, July 25:

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson leads all players in Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, July 25, with 15.4 points. 

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin leads all National League players. He has 15.4 points, same as Masterson, but Masterson holds the lead because he has more points than Corbin over the past two seasons (23.1 vs. 21.4). 

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, in fifth place overall with 13.4 points, is leader among American League batters. 

Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies leads among NL batters with 11.0 points. He is in 13th place overall. 

Twenty-one players (17 of them pitchers) have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. 

Previous player rankings report from July 18. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, July 25

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	15.4
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
3	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.7
5	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
6	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	13.0
8	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
10	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	15.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
4	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	11.0
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	10.7
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
7	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	10.7
8	Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	10.1
9	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	9.0
10	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	8.1
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	10.2
3	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
4	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
5	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	7.0
6	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	6.5
7	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
8	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	5.7
9	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	5.7
10	Johnson, Kelly 2018	lf	tb al	5.5
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.7
3	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
4	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	13.0
5	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
6	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
7	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	11.4
8	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	10.7
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	10.7
10	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	9.4
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
2	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	10.7
3	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
4	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
5	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
6	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
7	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7
8	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	6.5
9	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	6.5
10	Alvarez, Pedro 2817	3b	pit nl	6.2

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season