Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Friday, Oct. 2, secures Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, officially and mathematically securing Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors.

Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to 10th in player rankings.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	29.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	21.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	21.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	19.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	19.0
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	18.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 6-1 win over the Brewers.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 29.1 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.7), by 4.4 Box-Toppers points. So even in the off-chance that Kershaw plays and earns Player of the Day honors in both of the final two games of the season, he would only earn 4.0 Box-Toppers points, not enough to catch Arrieta. While there hasn’t been much doubt since his last start (in which he earned Player of the Day) on Sunday that Arrieta would end the season leading in Box-Toppers points, his Friday start removed all doubt.

Arrieta’s 29.1 Box-Toppers points this season is the eighth-highest single-season total since record keeping began in 1995. Only three pitchers have earned more points in a single season than Arrieta in 21 seasons—Randy Johnson (who did it four times), Pedro Martinez (who did it twice) and Clayton Kershaw (who earned 31.5 points last season, tied for the fourth-most points in a single season). (See the Best seasons chart.)

Best seasons

Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Friday rose to eighth place on the list (29.1 Box-Toppers points):  

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
4	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	31.5
6	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	*Jake Arrieta	Cubs	pi sp	2015	29.1
9	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
10	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
11	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4
12	Johan Santana	Twins	pi sp	2004	26.8
13	Pedro Martinez	Expos	pi sp	1997	26.7
13	CC Sabathia	Indians/Brewers	pi sp	2008	26.7
15	Randy Johnson	Mariners/Astros	pi sp	1998	26.4
16	John Smoltz	Braves	pi sp	1996	26.1
16	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2011	26.1
18	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1998	25.8
18	Corey Kluber	Indians	pi sp	2014	25.8
20	Johan Santana	Twins	pi sp	2006	25.7
21	Cliff Lee	Phillies	pi sp	2011	25.4
	* Current season

Arrieta nearly doubled his Box-Toppers point total from 2014, when he had 14.7 points with the Cubs and ranked eighth among National League pitchers. In Arrieta’s previous seasons, he had fewer than 10 points each season

• 2010—3.0 with the Orioles
• 2011—2.0 with the Orioles
• 2012—6.0 with the Orioles
• 2013—5.0 with the Orioles and Cubs

Arrieta has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 217th among all players since 1995. He ranks 25th among active NL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Tigers.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 18.8 for the season. He rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings and fourth among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in four runs, in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.

Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to third place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

McCutchen (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He becomes the 45th player—and ninth batter—this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 38th among all players. He trails two NL batters—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5) and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (10.9).

Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel started Friday but did not earn Player of the Game honors and so did not extend his Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers. However, with only two days left in the season and neither of the pitchers contending for the lead among AL pitchers scheduled to start, Keuchel appears to have wrapped up Box-Toppers AL Player of the Year honors.

Keuchel (6IP 6H 2R 3K W in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Correa (HR 3B 3-4 4R 4BI), who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.

Keuchel has 21.4 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. The only two pitchers who could catch him are not scheduled to start in the final two days of the season:

• David Price of the Blue Jays, 21.1 Box-Toppers points.
• Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, 19.4 Box-Toppers points.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Correa and Santana 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

10/2	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,22-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	0	7
BAT	7.0	Astros	Carlos Correa, SS	4	4	3	4	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	6.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,13-11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	7
	6.0	Braves	Julio Teheran (W,11-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	0	0	1	6
BAT	4.0	Indians	Carlos Santana, 1B	3	2	2	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rockies	Kyle Kendrick (W,7-13)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	1	6
	3.1	`Royals	Chris Young	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	4	1	1	2	5
	3.0	Athletics	Danny Valencia, 3B	4	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Blue Jays	Russell Martin, C	5	2	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Angels	Joe Smith (S,4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen, CF	5	2	3	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Dodgers	Justin Turner, 3B	3	1	1	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

(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.

Tigers' Verlander tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 26; Price, Hernandez rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

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

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, pitching a complete-game one-hit shutout, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Top 10 players

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

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Verlander now has 122.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 34th place among all players since 1995.

In addition Wednesday:

• Blue Jays pitcher David Price maintained his lead among American League pitchers and his second-place overall rank in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
• Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to seventh place in player rankings.
• Two other players besides Verlander who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday have more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Hernandez and Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon.

Player of the Day—Verlander allowed one hit in the ninth inning, striking out nine and walking two, in the 5-0 shutout of the Angels.

Verlander earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 122.9 for his career, rising to 34th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes Jered Weaver (122.1) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player, Gary Sheffield (124.1). Verlander has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.

Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 138.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 23rd among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Colon trails 22nd-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.1). Colon has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Barnes of the Rockies homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Twins hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.

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

• Blue Jays pitcher David Price (6IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 12-4 win over the Rangers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He maintains his lead among AL pitchers and is second to overall leader Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
• Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (8IP 3H 2R 7K W in the 8-2 win over the Athletics) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.4 for the season, rising to seventh among all players and fourth among AL pitchers. Hernandez, who led all players in Box-Toppers points for much of the season, was in danger in recent days of falling out of Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, falling to 10th place before Wednesday’s Player of the Game honor.

Hernandez also now has 159.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Hernandez trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez ranks fourth among active players in Box-Toppers points and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0).

Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. McCutchen (HR 2-5 R 4BI in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. He trails NL batting leader Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9 Box-Toppers points).

Debut—Indians pitcher Jeff Manship made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. 

Manship (1IP 0H 0R K W in the 6-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 15, 2009, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,571st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Barnes and Escobar 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

8/26	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	Tigers	Justin Verlander (W,2-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	1	0	0	2	9
NL	8.0	Mets	Bartolo Colon (W,11-11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	2	8
	7.0	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W,15-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	1	7
	7.0	Red Sox	Rick Porcello (W,6-11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	0	5
	4.0	Blue Jays	David Price (W,13-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	2	1	8
	3.1	Astros	Collin McHugh (W,14-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	2	2	2	8
BAT	3.0	Rockies	Brandon Barnes, LF	4	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Padres	Justin Upton, LF	4	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Giants	Santiago Casilla (S,31)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	Indians	Jeff Manship (MR) (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen, CF	5	1	2	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Twins	Eduardo Escobar, SS	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Ryan Flaherty, SS	3	2	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Cardinals	Trevor Rosenthal (S,40)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	2
	1.2	Dodgers	Brett Anderson (W,8-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	3	0	1	4

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' Matt Harvey tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 5, rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh in player rankings.

Harvey pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 8-6 win over the Marlins.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	15.1
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
8	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	14.1
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Harvey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to seventh in season player rankings and fourth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit a game-winning, 10th-inning grand slam in the 7-3 win over the Athletics. Davis went 2-for-4, scoring two runs.

Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, ranking seventh among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates homered, scored twice and drove in two runs, going 1-for-2, in the 7-5 win over the Cubs.

McCutchen earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.5 for the season, ranking fourth among NL batters.

Debut—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Boyd (7IP 7H R 2K W in the 2-1 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut June 27 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,550th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Harvey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wright earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and McCutchen 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

8/5	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Mets	Matt Harvey (W,10-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	0	6
AL	9.0	Red Sox	Steven Wright (W,5-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	2	9
	7.1	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W,12-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	7	1	1	0	9
	6.0	White Sox	David Robertson (W,5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
	5.0	Brewers	Taylor Jungmann (W,6-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	0	8
BAT	4.0	Orioles	Chris Davis, 1B	4	2	2	4	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dodgers	Kenley Jansen (S,20)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.1	`Rangers	Spencer Patton (H,3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Blue Jays	Jose Bautista, RF	4	2	1	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen, CF	2	2	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Welington Castillo, C	4	1	2	3	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Rockies	Ben Paulsen, 1B	5	2	3	1	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Angels	C.J. Cron, 1B	2	0	1	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Cardinals	Peter Bourjos, PH	0	1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Tigers	Matt Boyd (W,1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	1	1	0	2
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

White Sox' Sale tops players for Thursday, May 28; Giants' Heston rises to 8th in Box-Toppers player rankings

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Thursday’s Player of the Day.

Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Chris Heston rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.

Player of the Day—Sale pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out 12, allowing four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Orioles.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 28.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	9.0
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	7.0
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
6	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
8	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	6.7
9	Fielder, Prince 2029	dh	tex al	6.5
10	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	6.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Chris Heston pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing four hits, in the 7-0 win over the Braves.

Heston rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates went 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 11-5 win over the Padres.

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

Debut—Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rodriguez (7.2IP 3H 0R 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Rangers) was also making his Major League debut Thursday, playing in his first career game. He is the 3,480th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/28	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.2	White Sox	Chris Sale (W, 4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	0	12
	9.2	Red Sox	Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	3	0	0	2	7
NL	8.1	Giants	Chris Heston (W, 5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	0	0	1	6
	6.0	Indians	Corey Kluber (W, 3-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	3	3	1	13
	4.0	Angels	C.J. Wilson (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	5	7
	3.2	Athletics	Evan Scribner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen CF	5	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Zach Britton (S, 13)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1

Dodgers' Zack Greinke (7IP 0R 7K) tops players for Sunday, April 12

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 12.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.0
2	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
3	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
4	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	2.0
5	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	2.0
6	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	2.0
7	Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	oak al	2.0
8	Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	2.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	1.7
10	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	1.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 127.7 for his career, moving to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He passes Mariano Rivera (126.4) and Roy Oswalt (127.2) on the “all-time” list.

American League Player of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two home runs and a double and went 4-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs in the 8-5 win over the Indians.

Cabrera earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 129.9 for his career, moving to 26th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He passes Vladimir Guerrero (128.3) and Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list.

Cabrera has now also scored at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 13 straight seasons. He scored his first points in 2003 with the Marlins. His best season was 2013 with the Tigers, when he led all AL batters with 16.9. He had 12.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, second among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four, in the 10-2 win over the Brewers.

A-Rod—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees earned Player of the Game honors for the first time since his season long suspension and his first since Sept. 20, 2013. Rodriguez hit a three-run double and drove in four total runs in the 14-4 win over the Red Sox. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 180.3 for his career. He leads all batters in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began—second place is Albert Pujols (167.3).

Debut—Cubs pitcher Neil Ramirez made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. This was Ramirez’ 54th career game—he made his Major League debut April 25, 2014. Ramirez (0.2IP 0R 2K W in the 6-5 win over the Rockies) is the 3,439th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Greinke  earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cabrera earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. McCutchen 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

4/12	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Dodgers	Zack Greinke (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	0	7
AL	7.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 1B	4	3	4	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Rays	Nathan Karns (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	2	1	2	6
	6.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	1	8
	5.0	Astros	Will Harris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Yankees	Alex Rodriguez DH	2	1	1	4	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	`Cardinals	Carlos Martinez	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	2	8
	4.0	`Nationals	Max Scherzer	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	1	1	2	8
BAT	3.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen CF	5	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mariners	Rickie Weeks PH, DH	2	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Mets	Jerry Blevins (H, 2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Royals	Yordano Ventura (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	4	2	2	2	7
	2.2	Blue Jays	Aaron Loup (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	1
	2.2	Cubs	Neil Ramirez (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		0.2	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Padres	Wil Nieves C	4	1	1	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.