Rangers' Lewis tops players for Friday, May 20; Cubs' Arrieta rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

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

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 20:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	8.0
5	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	7.7
6	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
7	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	6.4
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	6.1
9	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	6.0
10	Price, David 2593	pi sp	bos al	5.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings, Manny Machado of the Orioles extended his Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters and Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia extended his career Box-Toppers points lead among all active pitchers.

Player of the Day—Lewis pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 2-1 win over the Astros.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 3-2 win over the Brewers.

Matz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising to sixth in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Dae-Ho Lee of the Mariners homered and went 2-for-2, driving in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Reds.

National League Batter of the Day—Christian Bethancourt of the Padres hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

Rankings—Besides Matz, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (7IP 4H R 8K W in the 8-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season and rising to second place in player rankings, trailing only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (10.0).
• Manny Machado of the Orioles (HR 2-4 2R BI in the 9-4 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, maintaining his rank of fifth place among all players and his rank of first among AL batters. He is the only batter among the top 10 players. Also, his 7.7 Box-Toppers points this season is already better than the 7.5 he earned in all of 2015 (his previous best year), when he finished the season ranked 18th among AL batters.

Streak—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Bautista (HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 9-3 win over the Twins) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Pirates and has 62.9 career points, 12th among active AL batters and second among active AL outfielders. His best year was 2010 with the Blue Jays when he led AL batters with 15.2 points. In 2015, he had 10.0 points with the Blue Jays, sixth among AL batters.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, the active leader among pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, earned Player of the Game honors Friday.

Sabathia (6IP 3H R 8K W in the 8-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 181.0 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, behind teammate Alex Rodriguez (187.0), and first among active pitchers. Sabathia has 2.0 points for the season.

Scoring—Lewis earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Matz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Lee and Bethancourt each earn 1.5 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

5/20	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Rangers	Colby Lewis (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	6
NL	8.0	Mets	Steven Matz (W,6-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	2	0	8
	8.0	Yankees	CC Sabathia (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	1	8
	7.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,8-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	2	8
	4.2	Braves	Matt Wisler (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	1	1	2	7
BAT	4.0	Mariners	Dae-Ho Lee, PH-1B	2	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.2	Nationals	Tanner Roark (W,3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	1	1	2	7
BAT	3.0	Padres	Christian Bethancourt, PH	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Dillon Gee (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	1	5
	3.0	Indians	Cody Allen (S,10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	3
	2.0	Blue Jays	Jose Bautista, RF	5	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Chris Herrmann, C	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Manny Machado, SS	4	3	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rays	Alex Colome (S,11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	`Pirates	Tony Watson (H,10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	1
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7	37.8	65.5	68.5	-20.4
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	7.7	15.2	18.7	18.7	0.2
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	6.7	10.2	10.2	10.2	3.2
Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	tex al	4.7	12.4	30.6	42.0	-3.0
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	4.0	9.0	12.7	12.7	-1.0
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	4.0	5.0	20.0	20.0	3.0
Lee, Dae-Ho 3627	1b ph	sea al	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	7.7	42.5	181.0	-3.7
Allen, Cody 3265	pi mr cp	cle al	2.0	6.0	11.0	11.0	-2.0
Wisler, Matt 3522	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Bethancourt, Christian 3407	ca ph	sd nl	1.5	2.5	3.5	3.5	0.5
Bautista, Jose 2169	rf	tor al	1.0	11.0	35.7	62.9	-9.0
Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	kc al	1.0	2.0	28.8	29.8	0.0
Watson, Tony 3215	pi mr	pit nl	1.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	0.0
Herrmann, Chris 3196	ca	ari nl	1.0	1.0	5.5	5.5	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rays' Andriese tops players for Saturday, May 14; Cubs' Arrieta rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Rays pitcher Matt Andriese is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 14:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	6.7
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
7	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
8	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7
9	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings and David Ortiz of the Red Sox extended his consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points to 17.

Player of the Day—Andriese pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 6-0 win over the Athletics.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 8-2 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season and rising from fourth to second in season player rankings, trailing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (9.0).

American League Batter of the Day—Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers. Schoop went 2-for-3 with five total RBIs.

National League Batter of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Nationals.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Nola (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Box-Toppers season streaks

Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Jason Giambi earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 19 straight seasons from 1995 to 2013, more than any other player. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Players are listed by duration of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.

	Streak	Player	Pos	Duration	Career BTP
1	19	Jason Giambi	1b	1995-2013	133.4
2	18	Jim Thome	1b dh	1995-2012	146.7
2	18	Chipper Jones	3b	1995-2012	149.0
2	18	Johnny Damon	lf	1995-2012	63.0
2	18	Alex Rodriguez	dh	1996-2013	187.0
2	18	Carlos Beltran*	rf	1999-2016	99.9
7	17	Mariano Rivera	pi cp	1995-2011	126.4
7	17	Derek Jeter	ss	1996-2012	76.4
7	17	Paul Konerko	1b	1998-2014	100.7
7	17	Tim Hudson	pi sp	1999-2015	157.0
7	17	Torii Hunter	cf	1999-2015	115.9
7	17	David Ortiz*	dh	2000-2016	138.9
13	16	Manny Ramirez	lf	1995-2010	167.2
13	16	Andy Pettitte	pi sp	1995-2010	138.5
13	16	Jamie Moyer	pi sp	1995-2010	104.0
13	16	Scott Rolen	3b	1996-2011	97.6
13	16	Kevin Millwood	pi sp	1997-2012	108.3
13	16	Derek Lowe	pi sp	1998-2013	91.5
13	16	Aramis Ramirez	3b	2000-2015	105.8
13	16	Mark Buehrle*	pi sp	2000-2015	116.7
13	16	Albert Pujols*	dh 1b	2001-2016	175.3
13	16	Ichiro Suzuki*	rf	2001-2016	52.7
13	16	CC Sabathia*	pi sp	2001-2016	180.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
* Active streak

Streak—Two players extended notable streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:

• David Ortiz of the Red Sox (HR 3B 2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 6-5 win over the Astros) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons—only six players in Box-Toppers tracking history (going back to 1995) have longer streaks.

Ortiz had his first Box-Toppers points in 1997 with the Twins, but his current 17-season streak began in 2000 with the Twins. He has 138.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 23rd among all players since 1995, passing Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. Ortiz now trails 22nd-ranked player Bartolo Colon of the Mets (142.1). Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995 and third among active batters.

Ortiz had his best seasons in 2005 and 2006 with the Red Sox, when he led AL batters in Box-Toppers points both seasons (14.7 in 2005 and 16.7 in 2006). He had 4.5 points in 2015 with the Red Sox.

• Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (6IP 3H R 5K ND in the 8-7 win over the Brewers) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2002 with the Padres and has 137.8 career points, 25th among all players since 1995. He trails 24th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Peavy’s best season was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among NL pitchers. He had 5.0 points in 2015 with the Giants.

Debut—Juan Centeno of the Twins made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Centeno (HR 2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Sept. 18, 2013, and was playing in his 28th career game. He is the 3,635th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Andriese earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arrieta earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Schoop and Ozuna each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/14	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	Rays	Matt Andriese (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	5
NL	10.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,7-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	2	11
	7.0	Phillies	Aaron Nola (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	1	1	9
BAT	6.0	Orioles	Jonathan Schoop, 2B	3	2	2	5	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Braves	Mike Foltynewicz (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	7	0	0	0	4
	5.0	`Rangers	Colby Lewis	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	0	6
	5.0	`Padres	Brad Hand	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	2	0	0	2	5
	4.2	Dodgers	Scott Kazmir (W,3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.2	5	3	2	1	7
	4.0	Angels	Kole Calhoun, RF	4	3	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	`Giants	Jake Peavy	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	2	5
	3.0	Twins	Juan Centeno, C	3	2	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Yankees	Aroldis Chapman (S,2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz, DH	5	1	3	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Marlins	Marcell Ozuna, CF	5	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rockies	DJ LeMahieu, 2B	3	1	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Nationals	Michael Taylor, CF	3	2	2	0	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7	36.8	64.5	67.5	-21.4
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	3.7
Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	tex al	2.7	10.4	28.6	40	-5
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	lad nl	2.0	14.7	42.6	98.4	-10.7
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	2.0	9.0	15.0	15.0	-5.0
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	2.0	5.2	12.7	12.7	-1.2
Andriese, Matt 3505	pi mr	tb al	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	cf	fla nl	1.5	4.5	15.0	15.0	-1.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	1.5	4.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	nyy al	1.0	9.0	39.0	40.0	-7.0
Taylor, Michael 3447	cf	dc nl	1.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	-4.5
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	1.0	6.0	34.1	137.8	-4.0
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	1.0	5.5	36.9	138.9	-3.5
Foltynewicz, Mike 3455	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	3.7	3.7	3.7	-1.7
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr sp	sd nl	1.0	2.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Centeno, Juan 3635	ca	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Bauer tops players for Tuesday, May 10; Orioles' Machado rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers points

Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 10:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
5	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
7	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
9	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
10	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, taking the lead among all American League players.

Player of the Day—Bauer struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 4-0 win over the Astros.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Rockies. 

De La Rosa earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season and rises to sixth in season player rankings, third among NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (7.0) and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (6.0).

American League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-5 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day—Ben Zobrist of the Cubs went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Padres.

Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Machado (HR 3-3 2R BI in the 5-3 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. He passes White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (5.7) for the AL lead in Box-Toppers points and trails only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (7.0).

Debut—Ryan Rua of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Rua (HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 13-11 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2014, and was playing in his 71st career game. He is the 3,631st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bauer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and De La Rosa earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Shaw and Zobrist each earn 1.5 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

5/10	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Indians	Trevor Bauer (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	7
NL	6.1	Dbacks	Rubby De La Rosa (W,4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	1	1	1	6
	6.1	`Dodgers	Alex Wood	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	4	2	1	2	9
BAT	6.0	Red Sox	Travis Shaw, 1B	4	2	3	5	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Cubs	Ben Zobrist, 2B	4	3	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	Blue Jays	J.A. Happ (W,5-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.2	6	0	0	3	5
	4.0	Rangers	Ryan Rua, 1B-LF	5	2	3	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cardinals	Mike Leake (W,1-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	1	1	1	5
	4.0	Phillies	Adam Morgan (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	1	4
	3.0	Orioles	Manny Machado, SS	3	2	3	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.1	Mariners	Steve Cishek (S,11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	1	3
	2.0	Brewers	Aaron Hill, 2B	4	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Yankees	Didi Gregorius, SS	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Tigers	Victor Martinez, 1B	5	2	4	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	6.7	14.2	17.7	17.7	-0.8
De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7	11.7	15.7	15.7	-0.3
Martinez, Victor 1695	dh 1b ph	det al	3.5	7.0	26.9	67.1	0.0
Hill, Aaron 2056	3b 2b	mil nl	3.0	6.0	20.0	39.0	0.0
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	3.0	4.0	23.0	23.0	2.0
Zobrist, Ben 2216	rf 2b	chi nl	2.5	3.5	21.5	30.5	1.5
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	2.0	15.1	30.5	38.5	-11.1
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	2.0	11.4	20.1	20.1	-7.4
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b	bos al	1.5	5.7	5.7	5.7	-2.7
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	1.0	11.0	36.1	40.6	-9.0
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	1.0	8.7	19.4	19.4	-6.7
Gregorius, Didi 3184	ss	nyy al	1.0	3.5	5.5	5.5	-1.5
Morgan, Adam 3572	pi sp	phi nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Rua, Ryan 3631	1b lf	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Hill tops players for Saturday, May 7; Dodgers' Kershaw takes Box-Toppers points lead

Aaron Hill of the Brewers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 7:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7
4	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
6	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
8	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	4.7
10	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Meanwhile, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to take the lead in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Hill hit three homers, including a 10th-inning, go-ahead grand slam, in the 13-7 win over the Reds. Hill went 3-for-5 and drove in seven total runs.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 7-2 win over the Twins.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, rising to third place in season player rankings, first among AL players.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit two homers and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Tigers.

Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 104.3 for his career. He rises to 59th place in points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (103.3) and Jamie Moyer (104.0). Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day was an NL batter, Aaron Hill of the Brewers.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Kershaw (7IP 8H 2R 10K W in the 6-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (6.0).

Also, Kershaw now has 166.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 10th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails ninth-place player, Johan Santana (166.6).

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

• Athletics pitcher Rich Hill (5.2IP 2H R 5K W in the 8-4 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to fourth place.
• Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (8.1IP 8H 0R 3K ND in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to fifth place.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Sale earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Beltre earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/7	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Brewers	Aaron Hill, 3B	5	3	3	7	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	8.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,7-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	2	1	9
	7.0	Royals	Ian Kennedy (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	2	6
	5.1	`Mariners	Nathan Karns	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	6	1	1	2	9
	5.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	2	2	0	10
BAT	4.0	Rangers	Adrian Beltre, 3B	4	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Yankees	Nathan Eovaldi (W,2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	2	2	0	6
	3.2	Athletics	Rich Hill (W,4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	1	1	3	5
	3.0	Cardinals	Stephen Piscotty, RF	3	3	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mets	David Wright, 3B	2	2	2	1	3	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.1	`Giants	Johnny Cueto	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.1	8	0	0	1	3
	2.0	Cubs	Addison Russell, SS	4	1	2	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Phillies	Brett Oberholtzer (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	2.0	`Dbacks	Tyler Clippard	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Orioles	Zach Britton (S,7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Rays	Steven Souza, RF	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0	32.7	132.8	166.3	-18.7
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	5.7	24.5	76.7	78.7	-13.1
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4	9.4	9.4	29.1	1.4
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0	17.8	69.0	88.4	-7.8
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	4.0	10.7	54.5	60.5	-2.7
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	2.7	8.2	8.2	8.2	-2.8
Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	2.5	15.0	40.9	104.3	-10.0
Karns, Nathan 3414	pi sp	sea al	2.0	7.0	8.0	8.0	-3.0
Hill, Aaron 2056	3b 2b	mil nl	2.0	5.0	19.0	38.0	-1.0
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	2.0	4.5	4.5	4.5	-0.5
Eovaldi, Nathan 2928	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	4.0	21.1	21.1	0.0
Britton, Zachary 2835	pi cp	bal al	1.0	9.7	29.1	29.1	-7.7
Piscotty, Stephen 3570	rf	stl nl	1.0	5.2	5.2	5.2	-3.2
Clippard, Tyler 2291	pi mr	ari nl	1.0	2.0	17.0	28.4	0.0
Oberholtzer, Brett 3244	pi mr	phi nl	1.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Wright, David 1911	3b	nym nl	1.0	1.0	24.5	75.1	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Phillies' Nola tops players for Tuesday, May 3; Cubs' Arrieta regains Box-Toppers points lead

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 3:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7
5	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7
6	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
7	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
9	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained his top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Aaron Nola struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 1-0 win over the Cardinals. Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to fifth in season player rankings.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana allowed one run over eight innings, striking out five and allowing four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Red Sox. Quintana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to fourth in season player rankings.

American League Batter of the Day—Francisco Lindor of the Indians hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rays.

Box-Toppers season streaks

Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Jason Giambi earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 19 straight seasons from 1995 to 2013, more than any other player. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Players are listed by duration of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.

	Streak	Player	Pos	Duration	Career BTP
1	19	Jason Giambi	1b	1995-2013	133.4
2	18	Jim Thome	1b dh	1995-2012	146.7
2	18	Chipper Jones	3b	1995-2012	149.0
2	18	Johnny Damon	lf	1995-2012	63.0
2	18	Alex Rodriguez	dh	1996-2013	187.0
2	18	Carlos Beltran*	rf	1999-2016	99.9
7	17	Mariano Rivera	pi cp	1995-2011	126.4
7	17	Derek Jeter	ss	1996-2012	76.4
7	17	Paul Konerko	1b	1998-2014	100.7
7	17	Tim Hudson	pi sp	1999-2015	157.0
7	17	Torii Hunter	cf	1999-2015	115.9
12	16	Manny Ramirez	lf	1995-2010	167.2
12	16	Andy Pettitte	pi sp	1995-2010	138.5
12	16	Jamie Moyer	pi sp	1995-2010	104.0
12	16	Scott Rolen	3b	1996-2011	97.6
12	16	Kevin Millwood	pi sp	1997-2012	108.3
12	16	Derek Lowe	pi sp	1998-2013	91.5
12	16	David Ortiz*	dh	2000-2015	137.9
12	16	Aramis Ramirez	3b	2000-2015	105.8
12	16	Mark Buehrle*	pi sp	2000-2015	116.7
12	16	Albert Pujols*	dh 1b	2001-2016	175.3
12	16	Ichiro Suzuki*	rf	2001-2016	52.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points
* Active player

Kendrick has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels and has 31.5 career points, sixth among active NL second basemen. His best season was 2009 with the Angels when he had 5.5 points. He had 4.0 points in 2015 with the Dodgers.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Arrieta (7IP 3H R 5K W in the 7-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. While he has the same number of Box-Toppers points as Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Arrieta wins the tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2015—29.1 vs. 25.7.

Streak—Ichiro Suzuki of the Marlins has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons, tied for the 12th-longest streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. 

Suzuki (1-1 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Mariners and has 52.7 career points, sixth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2007 with the Mariners when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL outfielders. He had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Marlins.

Scoring—Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Quintana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Lindor and Kendrick each earn 1.5 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

5/3	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Phillies	Aaron Nola (W,2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	7
	10.0	Giants	Jeff Samardzija (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	2	9
	9.0	Braves	Matt Wisler (W,1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	1	0	0	2	4
	8.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,6-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	5
AL	7.0	White Sox	Jose Quintana (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	0	5
BAT	5.0	Indians	Francisco Lindor, SS	4	3	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Orioles	Chris Tillman (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	4	9
BAT	3.0	Dodgers	Howie Kendrick, 2B	5	2	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Blue Jays	Justin Smoak, 1B	5	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Chris Carter, 1B	4	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Astros	George Springer, RF	2	2	1	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Mike Moustakas, PH	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Padres	Fernando Rodney (S,6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Mariners	Kyle Seager, 3B	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Marlins	Ichiro Suzuki, PH	1	0	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	6.0	35.1	62.8	65.8	-23.1
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	4.7	10.7	29.5	29.5	-1.3
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	4.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	2.7
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	3.5	4.5	22.4	23.4	2.5
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	3.0	7.7	36.8	38.8	-1.7
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	11.4	40.1	41.1	-7.4
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp	sd nl	2.0	3.0	20.0	32.0	1.0
Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b	lad nl	1.5	5.5	17.5	31.5	-2.5
Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	cle al	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.5
Moustakas, Mike 2967	3b ph	kc al	1.0	8.7	22.2	22.2	-6.7
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	1.0	6.0	20.0	20.0	-4.0
Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	tor al	1.0	6.0	15.9	20.4	-4.0
Wisler, Matt 3522	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	1.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	0.0
Suzuki, Ichiro 1467	rf ph	fla nl	1.0	2.0	9.5	52.7	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 1, rises to 1st in season player rankings, 10th in ‘all-time' rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 1:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
5	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
7	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
10	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

In addition, Kershaw rises to 10th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began).

Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Padres.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to first place in player rankings, displacing previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (5.0 Box-Toppers points).

Kershaw also now has 165.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 10th place in “all-time” rankings, passing two players—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (163.7) and Roger Clemens (164.8). Kershaw now trails ninth-place player Johan Santana (166.6).

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +20.0, the third time this season a player has had a game score of +20.0 or more. It is the second-highest game score of the season, behind only the +22.0 earned April 14 by Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	175.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	165.3
11	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
12	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	163.7
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	148.4
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Brewers homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-5 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered and went 1-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Twins.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Velasquez (6IP 2H 0R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 53rd place in “all-time” Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. 

Scherzer (7IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 6-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.0 for his career. With his point, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Scherzer now trails the 52nd-ranked player on the list, Jeff Kent (109.7). (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Scherzer has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Reds pitcher Tim Adleman made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adleman (6IP 3H 2R 6K ND in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,625th 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 Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Carter and Castellanos each earn 1.5 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

5/1	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	20.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	3	0	0	0	14
	13.0	`Braves	Julio Teheran	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	9
	12.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	9
AL	10.0	Blue Jays	Marcus Stroman (W,4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	2	9
	6.0	Phillies	Vince Velasquez (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	4	6
BAT	4.0	Brewers	Chris Carter, 1B	5	3	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	0	0	3	7
	3.0	Rockies	Nolan Arenado, 3B	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Tigers	Nick Castellanos, 3B	3	1	1	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Reds	Tim Adleman	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	2	2	2	6
	3.0	Royals	Ian Kennedy (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	2	6
	3.0	Red Sox	Craig Kimbrel (S,8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Angels	Kole Calhoun, RF	4	1	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	White Sox	Melky Cabrera, LF	4	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Luke Gregerson (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0	31.7	131.8	165.3	-19.7
Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	3.5	12.0	13.5	13.5	-5.0
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	24.0	88.6	109.0	-18.0
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	3.0	9.7	53.5	59.5	-3.7
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	3.0	9.2	11.2	11.2	-3.2
Carter, Chris 2828	1b dh	mil nl	2.5	3.5	21.4	22.4	1.5
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	19.0	89.0	94.7	-15.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	2.0	8.0	51.7	52.7	-4.0
Gregerson, Luke 2563	pi cp	hou al	2.0	8.0	12.0	17.0	-4.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	1.7	4.4	18.1	18.1	-1.0
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	8.7	36.8	36.8	-6.7
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	1.0	4.2	11.7	11.7	-2.2
Cabrera, Melky 2143	lf	chi al	1.0	2.0	16.5	27.5	0.0
Adleman, Tim 3625	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Pirates' Nicasio tops players for Friday, April 29; Mets' Cespedes rises to 2nd in player rankings

Pirates pitcher Juan Nicasio is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 29:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
2	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
3	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
4	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
5	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
9	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0
10	Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Meanwhile, Yoenis Cespedes rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings, first among National League batters, and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regains his spot in 11th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.

Player of the Day—Nicasio struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Reds.

Nicasio earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season and rising to 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing six hits, in the 6-1 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six total runs, in the 13-1 win over the Giants.

Cespedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, rising to second in overall Box-Toppers player rankings, behind only Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (5.0). Cespedes now leads NL batters in season Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—Victor Martinez of the Tigers homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-2 win over the Twins.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	175.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
11	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	163.7
12	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	163.3
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	148.4
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regained his spot in 11th place in Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. He also extended his consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points to 12.

Hernandez (7.2IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 1-0 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 163.7 for his career. He now ranks 11th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began), passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (163.3), who previously passed Hernandez in career points for the first time on April 21. Hernandez now trails 10th-place player Roger Clemens (164.8).

Hernandez has also now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Mariners and with 163.7 points is the highest-ranked active player to never lead a season category (i.e., AL pitchers) in Box-Toppers points. He has earned 19.0 or more Box-Toppers points four times in his career (2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015), with his best year being 2014 with 20.8 points, third among AL pitchers. In 2015, he had 19.4 points, third among AL pitchers.

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 35th place in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Lester (7IP 7H R 10K ND in the 6-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 124.1 career points, passing Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list. (Lester beats Sheffield on a tiebreaker because he has more Box-Toppers points this season—3.0 vs. 0.0.) Lester now trails 34th-place player, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (124.6). Lester has 3.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

Debut—Padres pitcher Cesar Vargas made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Vargas (5.1IP 4H 0R 6K ND in the 5-1 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 23 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,624th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Nicasio earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sanchez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cespedes and Martinez each earn 1.5 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

4/29	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Pirates	Juan Nicasio (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	1	8
	10.2	Marlins	Adam Conley (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	0	0	0	4	7
BAT	6.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, CF	4	2	2	6	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Phillies	David Hernandez (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
	6.0	`Cubs	Jon Lester	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	1	1	2	10
AL	5.0	Blue Jays	Aaron Sanchez (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	0	0	2	6
	4.1	`Padres	Cesar Vargas	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	4	0	0	3	6
BAT	4.0	Tigers	Victor Martinez, DH	5	3	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Orioles	Nolan Reimold, LF	3	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.2	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W,2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	0	0	3	4
	3.0	Athletics	Coco Crisp, LF	3	2	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Nationals	Stephen Strasburg (W,4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	2	2	1	9
	3.0	Rangers	Shawn Tolleson (S,8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	Rockies	Tyler Chatwood (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	0	0	3	4
	2.0	Red Sox	Koji Uehara (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5	15.4	36.4	36.4	-6.4
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	4.0	5.0	20.4	20.4	3.0
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	3.7	17.7	63.8	71.5	-10.3
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	3.0	15.0	61.2	124.1	-9.0
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	2.7	4.7	6.7	6.7	0.7
Martinez, Victor 1695	dh ph	det al	2.5	6.0	25.9	66.1	-1.0
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	2.0	2.0	11.7	11.7	2.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	1.0	20.4	86.4	163.7	-18.4
Tolleson, Shawn 3077	pi cp	tex al	1.0	7.0	9.0	9.0	-5.0
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi mr cp	bos al	1.0	6.0	23.0	27.0	-4.0
Conley, Adam 3594	pi sp	fla nl	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Crisp, Coco 1876	lf	oak al	1.0	3.0	19.5	36.7	-1.0
Hernandez, David 2649	pi cp	phi nl	1.0	1.0	9.0	13.0	1.0
Reimold, Nolan 2607	lf	bal al	1.0	1.0	6.7	7.7	1.0
Vargas, Cesar 3624	pi sp	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?