Mets' deGrom, Royals' Escobar top players in Tuesday, Oct. 20's league championship games

Jacob deGrom struck out seven over seven innings, allowing two runs and four hits to lead the Mets to a win Tuesday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

deGrom is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, while Alcides Escobar was Player of the Game in the Royals Game 4 win over the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series.

National League Championship Series Game 3: Mets 5, Cubs 2

deGrom had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 to lead all Mets players, as the Mets took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Yoenis Cespedes had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of +1.0 (2B 3-5 R 2BI).

During the regular season, deGrom had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players and third among NL pitchers.

It is the second time this postseason deGrom has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game in the NL Division Series Game 1 win over the Dodgers.

The series resumes Wednesday with Game 4 in Chicago (more details below).

American League Championship Series Game 4: Royals 14, Blue Jays 2

Alcides Escobar went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, as the Royals took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Escobar had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, highest among Royals players. Lorenzo Cain had the second-highest score of +3.0 (2-3 R 3BI).

During the regular season, Escobar had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 283rd among all players, 60th among AL batters and fifth among AL shortstops.

The series resumes Wednesday with Game 5 in Toronto (more details below).

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

10/20	Score	Team	Players	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	5.0	Mets	Jacob deGrom (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	1	7
POG	4.0	Royals	Alcides Escobar, SS	3	1	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Coming Wednesday:

ALCS Game 5, Royals lead Blue Jays, 3-1

The pitching match-up Wednesday:

Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers. Volquez was Player of the Game in the ALCS Game 1 win over the Blue Jays.

Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 85th among all players, 34th among AL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

NLCS Game 4, Mets lead Cubs, 3-0

The pitching match-up Wednesday:

Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Jason Hammel, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 52nd among all players, 22nd among NL pitchers.

Oct. 21, 2015 is the day in the “Back to the Future” movies in which the Cubs are predicted to win the World Series in a sweep over Miami, a city without a Major League team in the 1980s when the movies were made. It could actually be the day in which the Cubs are swept in the NLCS.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

Mets' Travis d'Arnaud tops player in Monday, Oct. 12's divisional playoff games

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is Box-Toppers top player in Monday’s four league division series playoff games.

Other Players of the Game Monday:

• Jorge Soler of the Cubs
• Royals closing pitcher Wade Davis
• Kevin Pillar of the Blue Jays

National League Division Series Game 3: Mets 13, Dodgers 7

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs to earn overall Player of the Day honors Monday.

During the regular season, d’Arnaud had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 381st among all players, 189th among NL batters and ninth among NL catchers.

d’Arnaud had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, the same as teammate Yoenis Cespedes, who had a similar batting line (HR 3-5 3R 3BI), but d’Arnaud won Player of the Game honors on a low-level tie-breaker—he left fewer runners on base than Cespedes—zero vs. one.

D’Arnaud’s Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 is also tied with Players of the Game in two other games—Jorge Soler of the Cubs and Royals pitcher Wade Davis. But d’Arnaud beat Soler because he had more at bats (five vs. two) and he beat Davis because in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters beat pitchers.

The Mets now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in New York.

National League Division Series Game 3: Cubs 8, Cardinals 6

Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-2, to earn Player of the Game honors.

During the regular season, Soler had 3.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked 306th among all players, 70th among NL batters and 33rd among NL outfielders.

Box-Toppers points leader Jake Arrieta (29.1) started the game for the Cubs. Arrieta (5.2IP 5H 4R 9K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −0.8. It is the first time since Aug. 15 that Arrieta did not earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a start. He had 10 straight starts in which he earned Player of the Game honors, including in the postseason on Oct. 7, when he was Player of the Game in the NL Wild Card Game. In his final nine starts of the regular season, Arrieta earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points.

The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in Chicago.

American League Division Series Game 4: Royals 9, Astros 6

Royals closing pitcher Wade Davis struck out three over two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and picking up the save, to earn Player of the Game honors.

During the regular season, Davis had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 235th among all players, 74th among AL pitchers and ninth among AL closing pitchers.

The best-of-five game series is now tied 2-2 and concludes Wednesday in Kansas City.

American League Division Series Game 4: Blue Jays 8, Rangers 4

Kevin Pillar homered and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs to earn Player of the Game honors.

During the regular season, Pillar had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 300th among all players, 68th among AL batters and 22nd among AL outfielders.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price, ranked second among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points (21.1) pitched three innings of middle relief. Price (3IP 6H 3R 2K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −7.0.

The best-of-five game series is now tied 2-2 and concludes Wednesday in Toronto.

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

10/12	Score	Team	Players	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	4.0	Mets	Travis d'Arnaud, C	5	3	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
POG	4.0	Cubs	Jorge Soler, RF	2	2	2	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
POG	4.0	Royals	Wade Davis (S,2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	3
POG	3.0	Blue Jays	Kevin Pillar, CF	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Coming Tuesday, the NL Division Series playoff games resume:

NL Division Series Game 4, Cubs lead Cardinals, 2-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Jason Hammel, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 52nd among all players, 22nd among NL pitchers. (Though Lackey and Hammel have the same Box-Toppers point totals for 2015, Lackey places higher because he holds the tiebreaker—he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014, 10.7 vs. 10.4.)

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Cardinals and Cubs who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

NL Division Series Game 4, Mets lead Dodgers, 2-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets and Dodgers who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

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.

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.

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

Astros' Mike Fiers pitches no-hitter, tops players for Friday, Aug. 21; Price, Sale rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

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

Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, pitching a no-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 21.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 21.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	17.1
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	16.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	16.0
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	15.8
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.4
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third. Plus, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Fiers threw 134 pitches in the 3-0 no-hitter over the Dodgers. He struck out 10 and walked three.

Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season. They were his first Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Brewers.

National League Player of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit three home runs—a grand-slam, a two-run homer and a solo shot—in the 14-9 win over the Rockies. Cespedes also hit a double and went 5-for-6, scoring five times and driving in seven runs.

Cespedes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 9.9 for the season and rising to first among NL batters. He passes previous leader Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5 Box-Toppers points). Cespedes has 3.2 of his Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Tigers.

American League Batter of the Day—Blake Swihart of the Red Sox doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Royals.

This was Swihart’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Swihart made his Major League debut May 2 and was playing in his 59th career game. He is the 3,565th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is a batter—Yoenis Cespedes.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to second place. Price (8IP 6H 2R 9K W in the 9-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.1 for the season. He maintains his lead among AL pitchers and trails only Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).
• White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place. Sale (7IP 4H 3R 14K W in the 11-4 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.1 for the season. While he has the same 2015 Box-Toppers point total as Price, he loses the tie-breaker and ranks second among AL pitchers because he had fewer points than Price in 2014—17.4 vs. 19.1.

Notable—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (6IP 5H R 11K W in the 7-3 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks 12th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.

Debut—In addition to Swihart, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Friday—Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff (6IP 5H 0R 5K W in the 7-1 win over the Marlins), who also was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,566th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

8/21	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	Astros	Mike Fiers (W,6-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	0	0	0	3	10
NL	11.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF	6	5	5	7	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	10.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,12-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	3	3	1	14
	9.2	Indians	Carlos Carrasco (W,12-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	1	11
	7.0	Padres	Andrew Cashner (W,5-12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	0	2	8
	6.0	Blue Jays	David Price (W,12-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	2	2	1	9
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Blake Swihart, C	4	3	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Phillies	Jerad Eickhoff (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	0	0	1	5
	4.0	Twins	Kevin Jepsen (S,6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Dbacks	A.J. Pollock, CF	5	3	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rangers	Shawn Tolleson (S,24)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.0	Brewers	Kyle Lohse (S,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	1	1	2	4
	2.0	Cubs	Jason Motte (MR) (W,8-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.2	Rays	Drew Smyly (W,1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	6	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Giants	Marlon Byrd, RF	5	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

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

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

Top 10 players

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

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Godley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Cespedes each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/3	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	Blue Jays	David Price (W,10-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	2	11
NL	7.0	Dbacks	Zack Godley (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	2	6
BAT	4.0	Rangers	Adrian Beltre, 3B	5	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, CF	5	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Padres	Yangervis Solarte, 3B	4	2	2	4	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	Angels	Garrett Richards (W,11-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	4	4	3	11
	3.1	`Rays	Nathan Karns	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	3	2	2	2	7
	3.0	Braves	Jace Peterson, 2B	5	2	3	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mariners	Kyle Seager, 3B	4	3	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Caleb Joseph, C	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.