Chris Davis of the Orioles led players with 47 home runs and ranked fourth among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.0.
Read MorePostseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 2 of 6 major honors
Box-Toppers pitching leaders Jake Arrieta and Dallas Keuchel won Cy Young Awards. But Box-Toppers leaders in four other award categories did not win awards.
Read MoreBox-Toppers' top batters Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gonzalez finish behind MVPs Josh Donaldson, Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays win MVP awards, though they each ranked 7th among their league's batters in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreBox-Toppers pitching leaders among finalists for Cy Young, but batting leaders excluded from MVP finalists
Box-Toppers' top pitchers Jake Arrieta of the Cubs and Dallas Keuchel of the Astros are Cy Young Award finalists. But Box-Toppers' top batters Adrian Beltre of the Rangers and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies are not MVP finalists.
Read MoreBatting average leaders do not make big impact in Box-Toppers player rankings
Only three of the top 10 players in batting average for 2015 are among Box-Toppers' top 100 players.
Read MoreHow 2015 Silver Slugger winners fared in Box-Toppers points and rankings
Only 5 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders win only 2 of 9 Players Choice Awards
Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays wins Players Choice top player award, though Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Year.
Read MoreMets' Matt Harvey is Box-Toppers Most Improved Player in 2015
Coming back from injury, Matt Harvey had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points from 2014 to 2015. Rangers' Prince Fielder had big comeback year in AL, but 2 AL players had bigger gains from 2014 to 2015.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2015
Jake Arrieta of the Cubs tops Box-Toppers player rankings in 2015. The World Champion Kansas City Royals have the most representatives among the top 100 players—seven.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2015 year-end All-Star teams
Cubs lead year-end All-Star teams with 3 players, including overall leader, Jake Arrieta. Six players return from 2014 All-Star teams.
Read MoreCubs' Jake Arrieta wins Box-Toppers Player of the Year, Keuchel tops AL players
Arrieta wins overall top player crown. Keuchel tops AL players. Beltre, Gonzalez win batting titles with record-low point totals.
Read MorePhillies' Eickhoff tops players for Thursday, Oct. 1; Rangers' Beltre rises to top AL batters in Box-Toppers points
Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also, Adrian Beltre of the Rangers, earning Player of the Game honors for the third straight day, rises to lead American League batters in Box-Toppers points with three days to go in the season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 27.1 |
| 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 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 18.0 |
Player of the Day—Eickhoff pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi struck out seven over seven innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run, in the 4-1 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Socrates Brito of the Diamondbacks tripled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 8-6 win over the Rockies.
This was Brito’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Brito made his Major League debut Sept. 8 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,606th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rose to first place among AL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday for the third straight day.
Beltre (2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 5-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.5 for the season. He passes Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) to lead AL batters.
A week ago, Beltre ranked sixth among AL batters with 9.5 Box-Toppers points. He’s earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to rise to the AL lead and ranks 24th among all players.
If Beltre’s lead holds through the final three days of the season, his 12.5 Box-Toppers points would be tied for the lowest point total to lead AL batters in a single season. In 2008, Aubrey Huff of the Orioles led AL batters with 12.5 points. In 2012, Beltre led AL batters with 13.0 Box-Toppers points, his best season. He had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2014. While in 2014, Beltre had batting numbers similar to or better than this year, the Rangers did not win as many games.
Beltre also rises to 62nd place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when record keeping began). Beltre has 101.8 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Adam Wainwright (101.8). He trails 61st-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).
It should be noted that Wakefield and Griffey both began their careers before the advent of Box-Toppers and would likely have higher point totals if their entire career were tracked. Wakefield started in 1992 and would likely have about 110 Box-Toppers points, according to rough projections. Griffey started in 1989 and would likely have about 140. Schmidt debuted in 1995 and Wainwright in 2005, so their entire careers have been tracked by Box-Toppers.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rose to 10th place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Strasburg (6IP 6H 0R 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. He ranks 17th among all players.
Reports—Our usual Friday reports on team and player rankings will be delayed until after the season’s final games Sunday. Here are last week’s penultimate (and also next-to-last) team rankings and player rankings reports of the season.
Scoring—Eickhoff earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Machado and Brito each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Phillies | Jerad Eickhoff (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 10.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W,9-15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | Rays | Jake Odorizzi (W,9-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,11-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Cubs | Jason Hammel (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | `Yankees | Adam Warren (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Dbacks | Socrates Brito, PH-LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | Dodgers | Brett Anderson (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Jonny Gomes, RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Kevin Jepsen (S,15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cubs' Jon Lester (8IP R 9K) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 30
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lester struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 10-3 win over the Reds.
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 26th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 30.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 27.1 |
| 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 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 18.0 |
Lester also now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 37th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 36th-ranked player Jered Weaver (123.1).
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 8-1 win over the Blue Jays.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals.
Rankings—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers maintained his rank of third among AL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Beltre (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.5 for the season. He ranks 31st among all players and third among AL batters behind Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) and Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5).
This was the second straight day Beltre earned Player of the Game honors. It was the fifth time in September Beltre earned the honor—he earned 6.0 total Box-Toppers points in September. In fact, Beltre has earned all his points since earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season on July 31. He had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in August. And despite a season when he had very similar numbers to this year, Beltre earned no Box-Toppers points in 2014—in fact this year, he has a lower batting average (.281 to .324) and lower home run totals (16 to 19) than in 2014. (One notable difference—the Rangers had 67 wins in 2014 and already have 86 in 2015, so Beltre has had more opportunity for Box-Toppers points this year, since players can only earn Player of the Game honors when their team wins.)
Beltre also Wednesday became the 68th player since 1995 to earn 100 or more career Box-Toppers points. Beltre now has 100.8 career points and rises to 65th place among all players since 1995. He passes three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). He trails 67th-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2).
It should be noted that Walker and Bagwell both started their careers before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995 and that if their entire career were tracked they would likely have more points. Walker’s first year was 1989 and rough estimates would put his Box-Toppers career point total at 135. Bagwell began in 1991 and his estimated career total would be 125. Konerko began in 1997, so his entire career was tracked by Box-Toppers.
Notable—Giants pitcher Mike Leake became the 44th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Leake (CG 2H 0R K W in the 5-0 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.
Top 10—Two pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Wednesday, but did not earn Player of the Game honors:
- Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (7IP 7H 2R 2K W in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals) had a Box-Toppers game score of -2. Player of the Game was Francisco Cervelli (GS 2B 2-4 2R 4BI), with a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Cole ranks ninth in Box-Toppers points with 19.0.
- Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (3IP 5H 5R 5K L in the 7-1 loss to the Twins) had a Box-Toppers game score of -9. Player of the Game was Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson (6IP 4H 0R 9K W), with a Box-Toppers game score of +9. Carrasco ranks 10th in Box-Toppers points with 18.0.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Cervelli 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
| 9/30 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W,11-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | 11.0 | Orioles | Kevin Gausman (W,4-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| 9.0 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 8.0 | Cardinals | Tyler Lyons (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Blue Jays | Marcus Stroman (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Brewers | Zach Davies (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Rays | Drew Smyly (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Giants | Mike Leake (W,11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Indians | Jose Ramirez, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Francisco Cervelli, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Phillies | Freddy Galvis, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Travis Shaw, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Luis Valbuena, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Arodys Vizcaino (S,9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Eric Sogard, 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | David Peralta, LF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 29, maintains 2nd place in player rankings
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his spot at second place in season player rankings.
Kershaw pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 13, in the 8-0 win over the Giants.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 29.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 27.1 |
| 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 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 18.0 |
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 24.7 for the season. He still trails overall and National League pitching leader Jake Arrieta (27.1) by 2.4 Box-Toppers points. And with five days left in the season, Kershaw has no realistic shot of catching him, ending his streak of four straight years leading NL pitchers and two straight years of leading all players in Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +20. It is the eighth time this season that a player has had a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more.
Kershaw also rose to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Tuesday, Kershaw has 158.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Tim Hudson (157.0), who had earlier passed Kershaw. John Smoltz (160.9) is ranked just ahead of Kershaw on the “all-time” list at 12th place. Kershaw is the third-ranked active pitcher in career Box-Toppers points, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (162.7).
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Athletics.
American League Batter of the Day—Blake Swihart of the Red Sox hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 10-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pierzynski of the Braves hit two homers and went 3-for-3 in the 2-1 win over the Nationals.
With Tuesday’s Player of the Game honor, his first of the season, Pierzynski has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2001 with the Twins, but his current 13-season streak began in 2003 with the Twins. His best year was 2012 with the White Sox, when he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL catchers. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Red Sox (and later played with the Cardinals that season).
Pierzynski has 47.2 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 331st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. However, he ranks sixth among all catchers in that time and ranks second among active catchers in career Box-Toppers points, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (55.2).
Notable—Others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday had notable achievements:
- Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rose to third place among AL batters in season Box-Toppers points. Beltre (3-5 R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He trails Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) and Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5). Beltre becomes the 43rd player—and eighth batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
- Phillies pitcher Adam Loewen earned his first Box-Toppers points in four years and his first points as a pitcher in nine years Tuesday. Loewen (0.1IP 0H 0R K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) last earned Box-Toppers points as a right fielder with the Blue Jays on Sept. 28, 2011. He last earned Box-Toppers points as a pitcher with the Orioles on Aug. 22, 2006.
- Cubs pitcher Dan Haren maintains his rank of 49th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Haren (7.1IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 112.2 for his career. He trails 48th-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8). Haren has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Silvino Bracho made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Bracho (1.2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 30 and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,605th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tropeano earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Swihart and Pierzynski each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/29 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,16-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| AL | 11.2 | Angels | Nick Tropeano (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 10.1 | Cubs | Dan Haren (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Blake Swihart, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Braves | A.J. Pierzynski, C | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | `Dbacks | Silvino Bracho (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Jean Segura, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Asdrubal Cabrera, SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Carlos Sanchez, 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Phillies | Adam Loewen (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Marlins' Adam Conley (6IP R 3H 8K ND) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 23
Marlins pitcher Adam Conley is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Conley struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Marlins. Conley did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because after he exited, the Phillies tied the game 2-2 in the eighth inning.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 20.4 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 18.0 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 10 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing five hits, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. This was Stroman’s first Player of the Game honor this season. He was out much of the season after an ACL injury in spring training. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 13-7 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Athletics.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to sixth place among AL batters.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Lynn (6IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 10-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He rises to 29th place among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Givens (2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 24 and was playing in his 19th career game. He is the 3,599th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Conley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Walker and Beltre 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
| 9/23 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | `Marlins | Adam Conley | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Pirates | Neil Walker, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W,12-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 7.0 | Brewers | Zach Davies (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 6.0 | Braves | Freddie Freeman, PH-1B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Blue Jays | Marcus Stroman (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.1 | Rays | Drew Smyly (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Twins | Phil Hughes (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `Orioles | Mychal Givens (MR) (H,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Dodgers | Carlos Frias | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Jedd Gyorko, SS-2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Tigers | Rajai Davis, LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | `Angels | Nick Tropeano | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson, PR-CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Red Sox' Hill tops players for Sunday, Sept. 13; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 4th in player rankings
Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, marking the first time he’s earned Box-Toppers points in more than six years.
Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 10th.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 13.| 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 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 19.1 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 10, in the 2-0, 13-inning win over the Rays. Hill did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because he exited with the game in a scoreless tie.
This was the first time Hill has earned Player of the Game honors since June 1, 2009, with the Orioles, when he was Player of the Day. Hill’s best season was 2007 with the Cubs when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10, in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 19.7 for the season and rising to fourth place in player rankings. He also ranks fourth place among NL pitchers.
Greinke now also has 145.4 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 21st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 12-4 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Adams of the Cardinals hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-2 win over the Reds.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Scherzer (8IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Scherzer also rises to 61st place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Sunday, Scherzer now has 102.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Adam Wainwright (101.8). He trails 60th-place player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).
Debut—Dixon Machado of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Machado (2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 9-2 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 25 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,590th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Adams each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | `Red Sox | Rich Hill | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 11.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,17-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Yankees | Masahiro Tanaka (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 9.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,12-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8.2 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Astros | Jed Lowrie, DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Orioles | Jonathan Schoop, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Dixon Machado, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Cardinals | Matt Adams, PH-1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Giants | Angel Pagan, CF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Curtis Granderson, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Ryan Howard, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez, 1B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | John Axford (S,23) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Indians | Chris Johnson, 1B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Blue Jays' David Price tops players for Monday, Aug. 3, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Blue Jays pitcher David Price is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in player rankings.
Price struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Twins in his debut with the Blue Jays. Price, previously with the Tigers, was Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked player traded prior to the July trade deadline.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 3 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 15.1 |
| 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 14.1 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 13.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 10 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 13.0 |
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. | ||||||||||||||||
A look at Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 100 player list, led by Hall inductee Randy Johnson
The Big Unit leads the list of the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points since record keeping began in 1995. A look at all 100 ...
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