Mets' Syndergaard tops players for Wednesday, June 15; Kershaw extends dominant season Box-Toppers lead

Shawn Plank June 16, 2016

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth 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 June 15:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	10.0
5	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
6	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	9.4
7	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	8.8
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his dominant lead in season player rankings and Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to fourth in player rankings.

Player of the Day—Syndergaard struck out 11 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, five hits and no walks, in the 11-2 win over the Pirates.

Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, becoming the fourth player this season with 10 or more points. It is the second straight year Syndergaard has reached 10 points—in 2015, he had 10.4.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Drew Smyly struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Mariners. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.

National League Batter of the Day—Melvin Upton of the Padres homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.

Upton had a Box-Toppers game score of +4, the same as DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies, who was Player of the Game in the 6-3 win over the Yankees. While both players also had similar batting lines (3-3 2R 2BI), Upton won NL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he hit a home run.

American League Batter of the Day—Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer, going 2-for-3 and scoring twice, in the 6-4 win over the Orioles.

Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his dominant lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kershaw (7.1IP 5H 2R BB 11K W in the 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 18.0 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7) by 6.3 points, meaning Fernandez would need at least four starts to have a chance of catching Kershaw.

Kershaw also now has 177.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began (see homepage for updated list of “all-time” top 20 players in career points). Kershaw trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0).

Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Cueto (7IP 7H R BB 9K W in the 10-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the fifth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the fifth season Cueto has reached 10 points, the third straight season.

Notable—With the rise of Syndergaard and Cueto in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, the only batter—Manny Machado of the Orioles—has slipped off the top 10 list. Machado, who leads AL batters with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, now ranks 11th among all players. Machado had been in the top 10 overall rankings since May 8.

The top NL batter, Eugenio Suarez of the Reds (7.0), ranks 20th among all players.

Also, with Machado sliding out of the top 10, eight of the top 10 players are now from the NL. The only two from the AL are Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (8.8 points, eighth place) and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (8.7 points, 10th place).

Debut—Tim Anderson of the White Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Anderson (3B 3-5 3R in the 5-3 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,659th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Upton and Ramirez each earn 1.5 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

6/15

Score

Game

Player of Game

AB

R

H

BI

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

MLB

11.1

NYM 11/PIT 2

Noah Syndergaard (W,7-2)

-

-

-

-

8.1

5

2

1

0

11

AL

10.2

`TB 3/SEA 2

Drew Smyly

-

-

-

-

6.2

4

2

2

0

12

8.1

LAD 3/ARI 2

Clayton Kershaw (W,10-1)

-

-

-

-

7.1

5

2

2

1

11

6.0

SF 10/MIL 1

Johnny Cueto (W,10-1)

-

-

-

-

7.0

7

1

1

1

9

6.0

`DC 5/CHC 4

Stephen Strasburg

-

-

-

-

7.0

6

1

1

1

8

5.0

LAA 10/MIN 2

Hector Santiago (W,4-4)

-

-

-

-

6.0

2

1

1

2

5

BAT

4.0

SD 6/MIA 3

Melvin Upton, LF

3

2

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

4.0

COL 6/NYY 3

DJ LeMahieu, 2B

3

2

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

BAT

4.0

BOS 6/BAL 4

Hanley Ramirez, 1B

3

2

2

3

-

-

-

-

-

-

3.0

TEX 7/OAK 5

Rougned Odor, 2B

4

2

2

3

-

-

-

-

-

-

2.2

TOR 7/PHI 2

Marco Estrada (W,5-2)

-

-

-

-

6.2

4

2

2

1

5

1.2

`HOU 4/STL 1

Collin McHugh

-

-

-

-

6.2

7

1

1

2

6

1.0

CHW 5/DET 3

Tim Anderson, SS

5

3

3

0

-

-

-

-

-

-

1.0

KC 9/CLE 4

Eric Hosmer, 1B

5

2

2

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

1.0

`ATL 9/CIN 8

Bud Norris

-

-

-

-

5.0

3

3

3

2

7

`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 of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.0	43.7	143.8	177.3	-7.7
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	10.0	22.8	74.0	93.4	-2.8
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0	20.4	20.4	20.4	-0.4
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	8.4	22.4	68.5	76.2	-5.6
Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	6.4	14.4	26.8	26.8	-1.6
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	6.0	14.0	38.1	38.1	-2.0
Smyly, Drew 3009	pi sp	tb al	4.7	10.7	32.8	32.8	-1.3
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	4.5	11.5	17.5	17.5	-2.5
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	3.0	12.7	24.5	24.5	-6.7
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	3.0	12.0	25.5	25.5	-6.0
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	3.0	6.0	7.5	7.5	0.0
Norris, Bud 2638	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	3.0	33.4	42.4	1.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b ss	bos al	1.5	1.5	24.2	52.1	1.5
Upton, Melvin 1922	lf	sd nl	1.5	1.5	14.5	36.2	1.5
Anderson, Tim 3659	ss	chi al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Friday, June 10, extends lead in '16 points, rises to 6th in all-time rankings

Shawn Plank June 12, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extending his lead in season player rankings and rising to sixth place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	17.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	8.4
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	8.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw struck out 13 over eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 3-2 win over the Giants.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season, extending his dominant lead in player rankings; second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7 points) is 5.3 points behind. Kershaw has more than doubled the season Box-Toppers point totals of all but six other players.

Kershaw also rises in the rankings of career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, Kershaw rises to sixth place, passing Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3). (While both Kershaw and Pujols have 176.3 career points, Kershaw ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he has more points in 2016—17.0 vs. 2.0).

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	182.0
6	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	176.3
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	176.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
10	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
11	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
12	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	164.7
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	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	154.4
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

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

Kershaw becomes the third-ranked active player in career Box-Toppers points behind only Alex Rodriguez (187.0) and CC Sabathia (182.0), both of the Yankees. Kershaw now trails fifth-ranked Sabathia (who also earned Player of the Game honors Friday) by 5.7 points.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched a complete game, striking out eight and allowing two runs and three hits, in the 6-2 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Justin Bour of the Marlins hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the 8-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Dae-Ho Lee of the Mariners hit two home runs, going 2-for-4 and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Rangers.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, the fifth-ranked player in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, earned Player of the Game honors Friday.

Sabathia (7IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 182.0 for his career, maintaining his rank of fifth place. He trails fourth-place player, teammate Alex Rodriguez (187.0).

Sabathia has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bour and Lee 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/10
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    LAD 3/SF 2
    Clayton Kershaw (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    13
  

    AL
    9.0
    CLE 6/LAA 2
    Corey Kluber (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    `NYM 2/MIL 1
    Matt Harvey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    7.0
    ATL 5/CHC 1
    Bud Norris (W,2-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    MIA 8/ARI 6
    Justin Bour, PH
    1
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    SEA 7/TEX 5
    Dae-Ho Lee, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 4/DET 0
    CC Sabathia (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.1
    BOS 8/MIN 1
    Steven Wright (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    7
    1
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    STL 9/PIT 3
    Matt Carpenter, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 7/KC 5
    Alex Avila, C
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SD 7/COL 5
    Wil Myers, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DC 9/PHI 6
    Stephen Strasburg (W,10-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    4
    4
    1
    10
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 2/OAK 1
    Blake Wood (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    TB 4/HOU 3
    Steve Pearce, 1B
    4
    0
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TOR 4/BAL 3
    Russell Martin, C
    1
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	17.0	42.7	142.8	176.3	-8.7
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	7.8	21.2	52.0	52.0	-5.6
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	7.4	21.4	67.5	75.2	-6.6
Lee, Dae-Ho 3627	1b ph	sea al	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	stl nl	5.5	11.0	25.5	25.5	0.0
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	bos al	5.0	8.7	9.7	9.7	1.3
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	3.5	8.5	25.0	46.0	-1.5
Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	3.0	18.4	36.4	36.4	-12.4
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	3.0	8.7	43.5	182.0	-2.7
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	3.0	6.0	11.5	11.5	0.0
Pearce, Steve 2371	1b	tb al	2.0	4.5	14.0	16.0	-0.5
Bour, Justin 3433	1b ph	fla nl	1.5	10.0	11.5	11.5	-7.0
Norris, Bud 2638	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	2.0	32.4	41.4	0.0
Avila, Alex 2642	ca	chi al	1.0	1.0	12.5	17.0	1.0
Wood, Blake 2850	pi mr	cin nl	1.0	1.0	5.0	5.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings for 5th week; Reds' Suarez rises to lead NL batters

Shawn Plank June 10, 2016

Eugenio Suarez of the Reds passes Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets to lead NL batters in Box-Toppers points. The 3 other category leaders stay the same—Kershaw, Sale and Machado.

Marlins' Fernandez tops players for Sunday, June 5, ranks 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 6, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in second place in season player rankings.

Fernandez struck out 14 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 1-0 win over the Mets.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 5:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	8.0
10	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	7.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He becomes the second player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and trails only season leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (15.0 Box-Toppers points).

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 7-0 win over the Royals.

American League Batter of the Day—Evan Longoria of the Rays hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Corey Seager of the Dodgers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Braves.

Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rose to 32nd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Verlander was Player of the Game Sunday in the 5-2 win over the White Sox (7IP 5H 2R 8K W). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 127.6 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Roy Oswalt (127.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 31st-ranked player, A.J. Burnett (127.8).

Debut—Nationals pitcher Sammy Solis made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Solis (3IP H 0R 6K W in the 10-9 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 30, 2015, and was playing in his 31st career game. He is the 3,651st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Longoria and Seager 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/5
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    MIA 1/NYM 0
    Jose Fernandez (W,9-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    14
  

    
    9.0
    COL 10/SD 3	
    Jon Gray (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    12
  

    AL
    8.0
    CLE 7/KC 0
    Corey Kluber (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    7.0
    DC 10/CIN 9
    Sammy Solis (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    TB 7/MIN 5
    Evan Longoria, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    DET 5/CHW 2
    Justin Verlander (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    PHI 8/MIL 1
    Aaron Nola (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    8
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    4.2
    LAA 5/PIT 4
    Deolis Guerra (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    LAD 12/ATL 6
    Corey Seager, SS
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 5/BOS 4
    Marco Estrada (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    2
    2
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 3/SEA 2
    Derek Holland (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3/CHC 2
    Patrick Corbin (W,3-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    5
  

    
    2.0
    BAL 3/NYY 1
    Matt Wieters, C
    1
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 5/OAK 2
    Will Harris (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    STL 6/SF 3
    Matt Carpenter, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7	16.4	42.4	42.4	7.0
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	6.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	4.7
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	6.1	19.5	50.3	50.3	-7.3
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	5.0	13.0	37.1	37.1	-3.0
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	stl nl	4.5	10.0	24.5	24.5	-1.0
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	4.5	5.5	23.5	29.2	3.5
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	3.0	9.4	72.6	127.6	-3.4
Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	tex al	3.0	5.7	37.8	44.8	0.3
Seager, Corey 3587	ss	lad nl	3.0	4.5	4.5	4.5	1.5
Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	7.4	30.8	30.8	-3.4
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Longoria, Evan 2423	3b	tb al	1.5	4.5	21.0	42.0	-1.5
Harris, Will 3093	pi cp mr	hou al	1.0	4.7	6.7	6.7	-2.7
Guerra, Deolis 3521	pi mr cp	ana al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Solis, Sammy 3651	pi mr	dc nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Hammel tops players for Saturday, June 4; Dodgers' Kershaw extends dominant Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank June 5, 2016

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel 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 June 4:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	9.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	8.0
10	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	7.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his dominant lead in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Hammel struck out six over seven innings, allowing two runs and one hit, in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Player of the Day—Elvis Andrus of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times, in the 10-4 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds hit a three-run homer in the 6-3 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Elvis Andrus.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his dominant lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Kershaw (6IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He leads second-place player Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (9.7) by 5.3 Box-Toppers points, meaning Fernandez would need to earn Player of the Day honors three times to pass Kershaw.

Kershaw also now has 174.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of seventh place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails sixth-place player Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3). (See home page for updated Box-Toppers “All-time” top 20 player rankings.)

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +6.0, the same as Player of the Day Jason Hammel. But Hammel won Player of the Day over Kershaw on a tiebreaker—he had more innings pitched (7 vs. 6).

Debut—Matt Reynolds of the Mets made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Reynolds (PH 1-1 BI in the 6-4 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut May 17 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,650th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Reynolds now ranks second in career Box-Toppers points among all players named Matt Reynolds. The other Matt Reynolds, a middle relief pitcher, has 2.0 Box-Toppers points earned in 2010 and 2011, while playing for the Rockies. Prior to the start of the 2016 season, Reynolds (the middle reliever) was released by the Diamondbacks.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/4
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    CHC 5/ARI 3
    Jason Hammel (W,7-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    LAD 4/ATL 0
    Clayton Kershaw (W,8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    AL
    4.0
    TEX 10/SEA 4
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    4
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 7/CHW 4
    J.D. Martinez, RF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    SD 4/COL 3
    Kevin Quackenbush (H,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.0
    STL 7/SF 4
    Trevor Rosenthal (S,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    CLE 7/KC 1
    Francisco Lindor, SS
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TB 7/MIN 4
    Steven Souza Jr., RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    CIN 6/DC 3
    Adam Duvall, LF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 6/TOR 4
    Blake Swihart, LF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIL 6/PHI 3
    Jonathan Villar, SS
    5
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    HOU 6/OAK 5
    Carlos Correa, SS
    5
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    NYY 8/BAL 6
    Starlin Castro, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 8/LAA 7
    Josh Harrison, 2B
    5
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    NYM 6/MIA 4
    Matt Reynolds, PH
    1
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0	40.7	140.8	174.3	-10.7
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	chi nl	5.0	14.7	38.1	51.2	-4.7
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	3.7	9.2	9.2	9.2	-1.8
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	3.5	10.7	10.7	10.7	-3.7
Martinez, J.D. 2922	rf	det al	3.5	5.2	15.2	15.2	1.8
Duvall, Adam 3573	lf	cin nl	3.5	5.0	5.0	5.0	2.0
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	2.7	2.7	10.2	13.2	2.7
Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	cle al	2.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	1.5
Rosenthal, Trevor 3124	pi cp	stl nl	2.0	8.0	20.0	20.0	-4.0
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss	nyy al	2.0	6.5	19.5	20.5	-2.5
Harrison, Josh 2947	2b 3b	pit nl	2.0	3.0	8.0	8.0	1.0
Villar, Jonathan 3233	ss	mil nl	2.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	2.0
Swihart, Blake 3565	lf ca	bos al	1.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	-2.0
Quackenbush, Kevin 3462	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Reynolds, Matt 3650	ph	nym nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw maintains Box-Toppers player rankings lead for 4th straight week

Shawn Plank June 3, 2016

Kershaw maintains overall Box-Toppers points lead. Sale leads AL pitchers, Machado leads AL batters, Cespedes leads NL batters.

Dodgers' Kazmir tops players for Tuesday, May 31; Marlins' Fernandez rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank June 1, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 70th player since 1995 to earn 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 31:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	9.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Kazmir pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven, in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. Kazmir did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because the game was tied when he exited.

Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 101.4 career Box-Toppers points. He becomes the 70th player with 100 or more points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he rises to 64th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” list, passing seven players—Red Sox pitcher David Price (99.5), Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9), Jason Schmidt (101.2) and Tim Wakefield (101.4). Kazmir trails 63rd-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

Kazmir has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 15th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox hit three home runs, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies homered and hit two doubles, going 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 17-4 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the AL Player of the Day is a batter, Mookie Betts.

Rankings—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Fernandez (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 3-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising to second in season player rankings, trailing only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.0).

Notable—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy rises to 24th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Peavy (7IP H 0R 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 138.8 career points, passing Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (141.4). Peavy has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time they earned Player of the Game honors:

Tyler Saladino of the White Sox (HR 2-2 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut July 10, 2015, and was playing in his 93rd career game. He is the 3,645th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Blue Jays pitcher Joe Biagini (1IP H 0R 2K W in the 4-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,646th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/31
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    `LAD 5/CHC 0
    Scott Kazmir
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    10.0
    MIA 3/PIT 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,8-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    9.0
    SF 4/ATL 0
    Jake Peavy (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    AL
    6.0
    BOS 6/BAL 2
    Mookie Betts, RF
    5
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    COL 17/CIN 4
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    4
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    STL 10/MIL 3
    Matt Carpenter, 3B
    5
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    SEA 16/SD 4
    Kyle Seager, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    HOU 8/ARI 5
    George Springer, RF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    LAA 11/DET 9
    C.J. Cron, DH
    4
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    DC 5/PHI 1
    Joe Ross (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    4.0
    KC 10/TB 5
    Lorenzo Cain, CF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 6/NYM 4
    Tyler Saladino, SS
    2
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 7/CLE 3
    Colby Lewis (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 7/MIN 4
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 4/NYY 1
    Joe Biagini (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	9.7	14.4	40.4	40.4	5.0
Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	tex al	5.7	13.4	31.6	43.0	-2.0
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	lad nl	5.0	17.7	45.6	101.4	-7.7
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	5.0	13.2	19.2	19.2	-3.2
Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	4.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	-0.3
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	4.7	7.7	9.7	9.7	1.7
Valencia, Danny 2772	3b	oak al	4.5	8.0	10.0	13.0	1.0
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	3.5	10.5	16.5	16.5	-3.5
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b 1b	stl nl	3.5	9.0	23.5	23.5	-2.0
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	3.5	8.5	22.5	22.5	-1.5
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	3.5	4.5	7.5	7.5	2.5
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	7.0	35.1	138.8	-3.0
Cron, C.J. 3338	dh 1b	ana al	1.0	7.0	8.0	8.0	-5.0
Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	tor al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Saladino, Tyler 3645	ss	chi al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Thursday, May 26, rises to 5th in player rankings

Shawn Plank May 27, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.

Fernandez struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 9-1 win over the Rays.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 26:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
5	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.7
6	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
7	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	7.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	7.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising to fifth place in season player rankings, fourth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers struck out 10 over five innings, allowing one run and one hit, in the 4-2 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-2, in the 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Cole becomes the third pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. It was done previously by Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright on May 2 and by Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard on May 11. It is the first time in Cole’s career he has earned Player of the Game honors for batting.

Cole had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 for batting and a score of +1.0 for his pitching performance (5IP 7H R 3BB 5K ND).

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

Debut—Dustin Garneau of the Rockies made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Garneau (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2015, and was playing in his 33rd career game. He is the 3,643rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/26
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    MIA 9/TB 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    12
  

    AL
    6.0
    HOU 4/BAL 2
    Lance McCullers (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    1
    1
    6
    10
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PIT 8/ARI 3
    Gerrit Cole, P
    2
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 3/NYY 1
    J.A. Happ (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    2.0
    COL 8/BOS 2
    Dustin Garneau, C
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 6/ATL 2
    Hernan Perez, PH-3B
    1
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    DC 2/STL 1
    Joe Ross (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.7	13.4	39.4	39.4	4.0
Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	4.5	23.5	33.9	33.9	-14.5
Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	3.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	-1.3
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	3.0	16.1	31.5	39.5	-10.1
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	1.7	8.4	8.4	8.4	-5.0
Perez, Hernan 3577	3b ph	mil nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Garneau, Dustin 3643	ca	col nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Fulmer tops players for Saturday, May 21; Marlins' Fernandez rises to 6th in player rankings

Shawn Plank May 22, 2016

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer 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 21:


	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	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	6.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	6.4
9	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	6.1
10	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	nym nl	6.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets rose to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Fulmer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-4 win over the Rays.

This was Fulmer’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut April 29 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,640th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 3-2 win over the Mets.

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

American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Nunez of the Twins hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Nunez had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +2.0, tied with Matt Wieters of the Orioles, who was Player of the Game in the 3-1 win over the Angels. Both Nunez and Wieters also had similar batting lines and Nunez won AL Batter of the Day honors on a low-level tiebreaker—he left fewer runners on base—0 vs. 1.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 5-4 win over the Brewers. Cespedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings. He also extends his lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.

Notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez now has 164.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday, moving closer to 11th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list.

Hernandez (6IP 4H 0R 5K in the 4-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since player tracking began in 1995. He trails 11th-place player Roger Clemens (164.8) by only 0.1 point. It should be noted that Clemens’s career began in 1984, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so he would likely have more Box-Toppers points (rough estimates based on projections would put his career total at about 320 Box-Toppers points).

Hernandez has 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Debut—Rockies pitcher Carlos Estevez made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Estevez (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut April 23 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,641st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Nunez and Cespedes 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.

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
    11.0
    Tigers
    Michael Fulmer (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    9.2
    Red Sox
    Joe Kelly (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    1
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    NL
    8.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    7.1
    Braves
    Williams Perez (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    6.0
    Cardinals
    Mike Leake (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    5.0
    Rangers
    Cesar Ramos (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    5.0
    `Padres
    Cesar Vargas
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    3.1
    `Royals
    Danny Duffy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    4
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.1
    Rockies
    Carlos Estevez (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Twins
    Eduardo Nunez, SS
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Orioles
    Matt Wieters, C
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Mets
    Yoenis Cespedes, CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    1.0
    Giants
    Buster Posey, 1B
    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


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	6.7	11.4	37.4	37.4	2.0
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	nym nl	6.0	16.9	37.9	37.9	-4.9
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	2b ss lf	min al	2.5	4.5	10.5	12.0	0.5
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	2.5	3.5	21.5	27.2	1.5
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.0	21.4	87.4	164.7	-17.4
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	2.0	12.0	37.1	41.6	-8.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	10.0	22.7	22.7	-6.0
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	2.0	6.0	21.0	21.0	-2.0
Perez, Williams 3476	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-2.0
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Vargas, Cesar 3624	pi sp	sd nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Posey, Buster 2745	1b ca	sf nl	1.0	5.0	26.0	30.5	-3.0
Kelly, Joe 3066	pi sp	bos al	1.0	3.0	10.0	10.0	-1.0
Ramos, Cesar 3168	pi sp	tex al	1.0	1.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Estevez, Carlos 3641	pi mr	col nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Fernandez tops players for Monday, May 9; White Sox' Frazier tops AL players

Shawn Plank May 10, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Monday’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 9:


	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	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	5.7
5	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
8	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	5.0
9	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
10	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fernandez struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Brewers. Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, ranking 21st among all players, the highest ranking of any of Monday’s 11 Players of the Games.

American League Player of the Day—Todd Frazier of the White Sox hit two home runs, including a 12-inning, tie-breaking grand slam, in the 8-4 win over the Twins. Frazier also went 4-for-6.

National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Todd Frazier.

Debut—Ketel Marte of the Mariners made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Marte (HR 2B 4-5 3R 3BI in the 5-2 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 31, 2015, and was playing in his 87th career game. He is the 3,630th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/9
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    4
    11
  

    AL
    6.0
    White Sox
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    6
    2
    4
    6
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
    5
    2
    3
    6
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Dbacks
    Jake Lamb, 3B
    3
    3
    2
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Mariners
    Ketel Marte, SS
    5
    3
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Mike Fiers (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    2.2
    Yankees
    Kirby Yates (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Daniel Murphy, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Aaron Sanchez (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    5
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Jeurys Familia (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Reds
    Joey Votto, 1B
    2
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	4.0	8.7	34.7	34.7	-0.7
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	3.7	5.7	7.7	7.7	1.7
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	2.5	4.0	26.0	27.5	1.0
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	2.0	7.0	23.7	55.7	-3.0
Yates, Kirby 3628	pi mr	nyy al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	chi al	1.7	10.6	24.6	24.6	-7.2
Lamb, Jake 3517	3b	ari nl	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.5
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	bos al	1.0	10.5	11.5	11.5	-8.5
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	1.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-7.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	1.0	8.0	22.1	22.1	-6.0
Marte, Ketel 3630	ss	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players in Tuesday, March 22's spring training games

Shawn Plank March 23, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Tuesday.

Fernandez pitched five scoreless, no-hit innings, striking out four and walking one, in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox. Fernandez had 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015. His best season was his 2013 rookie year, when he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking fourth among all players.

American League Player of the Day—Jimmy Rollins of the White Sox hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times, in the 8-7 win over the Giants. Rollins had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers. He has 50.4 career points since 2001, which ranks third among active shortstops. His best year was 2007 with the Phillies when he had 4.7 points, fourth among NL shortstops.

National League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Padres homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 17-5 win over the Rangers. Norris had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015, his best season, when he ranked fourth among NL catchers.

Notable—James Loney of the Rays was Player of the Game in the 4-1 win over the Cuban National Team, in a game played in Havana, Cuba. Loney homered and went 2-for-2, driving in three runs. Loney had no Box-Toppers points in 2015, but has 32.4 career points since 2006. His best year was 2008 with the Dodgers, when he had 6.0 points.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Fernandez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Rollins would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Norris would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Fifteen spring training games were scheduled for Tuesday—13 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Giants vs. Diamondbacks) and one other game was cancelled (Angels vs. a non-Major League opponent).

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    3/22
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Marlins
    José Fernández (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    AL
    5.0
    White Sox
    Jimmy Rollins SS
    4
    3
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.1
    Royals
    Chris Young (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    0
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Padres
    Derek Norris C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    *Rays
    James Loney 1B
    2
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Ryan Goins 2B
    2
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Twins
    Logan Darnell (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Carlos Correa SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Daniel Palka DH
    3
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Geovany Soto PH-DH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Christian Bergman (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    1
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Trevor Cahill (SV, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Didi Gregorius SS
    3
    2
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    * Game was against a non-Major League opponent, Rays beat Cuban National Team, 4-1
  

Mariners' Iwakuma tops players for Sunday, Aug. 2, Athletics' Gray rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 3, 2015

Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rises to sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters.

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	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	14.1
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7
8	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	13.1
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?

Player of the Day—Iwakuma struck out eight over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1, 11-inning win over the Twins. Iwakuma did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 5-2 win over the Padres. Fernandez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because after he exited, the Padres tied the game 2-2.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-3 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Jace Peterson of the Braves hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 6-2 win over the Phillies.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Gray (7IP 4H R 7K ND in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (14.4).

Notable—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers point lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Grichuk (2-R HR 2-4 in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. Grichuk ranks 24th among all players this season.

Debut—Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Norris (7.1IP 4H R 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2014, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,548th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Iwakuma earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Drew and Peterson 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/2
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.2
    `Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    10.1
    Rangers
    Martin Perez (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    NL
    10.0
    `Marlins
    Jose Fernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Pirates
    Charlie Morton (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey (W,6-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Mets
    Noah Syndergaard (W, 6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    2
    2
    0
    9
  

    
    5.1
    Tigers
    Daniel Norris (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Yankees
    Stephen Drew, 2B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Athletics
    Sonny Gray
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Braves
    Jace Peterson, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Dodgers
    Andre Ethier, LF
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Clayton Richard (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

    
    1.0
    Cardinals
    Randal Grichuk, CF
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Dodgers' Greinke tops players for Thursday, July 9; Mariners' Hernandez regains Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank July 10, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 9.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	13.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	12.4
6	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
7	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
8	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	11.7
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	11.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	10.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to the top of Box-Toppers player rankings and two other players—David Price and Carlos Martinez—rose in the top 10 players list. Plus, Lorenzo Cain of the Royals earned American League Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day and now leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.

Player of the Day—Greinke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight, in the 6-0 win over the Phillies.

Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers. He is the 10th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Greinke also rose to 22nd place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his 2.0 points Thursday, Greinke now has 136.7 career Box-Toppers points and passes Bartolo Colon (136.4) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 21st-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Greinke ranks 16th among all pitchers since 1995 and fifth among active pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays.

American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals hit a two-run homer and scored twice in the 8-3 win over the Rays.

Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and moving him to first place among AL batters. He passes Mike Trout of the Angels (7.5 Box-Toppers points) who only rose to the top spot Wednesday. Cain ranks 20th among all players.

This was the second straight day Cain earned AL Batter of the Day honors—he was also the league’s top batter in the Royals win Wednesday over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Hernandez (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He passes previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (14.0 Box-Toppers points).

Hernandez led in Box-Toppers points for more than two months when Scherzer passed him on June 26 with 14.0 points.

Hernandez now has 157.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez ranks ninth among pitchers since 1995 and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (175.3).

Also, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:

Tigers pitcher David Price rose to fourth place. Price (8IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 4-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Hernandez.
Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to eighth place. Martinez (7.1IP 4H 0R 8K W in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez earned his first Player of the Game honor in more than a year after his return from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez (7IP 6H 0R 9K W in the 2-0 win over the Reds) last earned Player of the Game honors April 29, 2014, when he was Box-Toppers Player of the Day. At that point in the 2014 season, Fernandez had 7.0 Box-Toppers points to lead all players. But injury and the surgery cut his season short. Fernandez had 19.0 Box-Toppers points in 2013, ranked fourth among all players and fourth among NL pitchers.

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

(Note: Our usual Friday weekly team and player rankings reports will be postponed until Monday because of the All-Star break.)

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/9
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,8-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    10.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    9.1
    Cardinals
    Carlos Martinez (W,10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    AL
    9.0
    White Sox
    Jeff Samardzija (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    7.2
    Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    2
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Tigers
    David Price (W,9-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W,11-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    John Axford (S,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Royals
    Lorenzo Cain, CF
    3
    2
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Indians
    Ryan Raburn, DH
    3
    1
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Oakland Athletics have most players on Box-Toppers Top 100 list

Shawn Plank July 17, 2014

The Oakland Athletics, baseball’s best team at the All-Star break, has seven players on Box-Toppers Top 100 players list, the most of any team.

The list is led by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has earned 18.1 Box-Toppers points this season and Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer with 16.1. Kershaw led all players in 2013 with 21.7 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer led all American League players in 2013 with 18.1.

Top 100 list 2014
Here is Box-Toppers Top 100, listing players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals at the All-Star break.






  
    

    Player
    Pos
    Team
    BTP
  

    1
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    pi sp
    lad nl
    18.1
  

    2
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    pi sp
    det al
    16.1
  

    3
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    pi sp
    stl nl
    14.0
  

    4
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    pi sp
    sf nl
    13.5
  

    5
    Kazmir, Scott 1947
    pi sp
    oak al
    13.1
  

    6
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    pi sp
    sea al
    12.8
  

    7
    Richards, Garrett 3042
    pi sp
    ana al
    12.7
  

    8
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    pi sp
    cin nl
    12.7
  

    9
    Tanaka, Masahiro 3305
    pi sp
    nyy al
    12.7
  

    10
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    ss
    col nl
    11.6
  

    11
    Teheran, Julio 3176
    pi sp
    atl nl
    11.4
  

    12
    Lincecum, Tim 2288
    pi sp
    sf nl
    10.4
  

    13
    Price, David 2593
    pi sp
    tb al
    10.4
  

    14
    Kluber, Corey 3200
    pi sp
    cle al
    10.4
  

    15
    Greinke, Zack 1871
    pi sp
    lad nl
    10.1
  

    16
    Sale, Chris 2806
    pi sp
    chi al
    10.0
  

    17
    Abreu, Jose 3308
    1b
    chi al
    9.5
  

    18
    Darvish, Yu 3003
    pi sp
    tex al
    9.4
  

    19
    Strasburg, Stephen 2736
    pi sp
    dc nl
    9.0
  

    20
    Hutchison, Drew 3038
    pi sp
    tor al
    9.0
  

    21
    Colon, Bartolo
    pi sp
    nym nl
    8.7
  

    22
    Alvarez, Henderson 2951
    pi sp
    fla nl
    8.7
  

    23
    Simon, Alfredo 2718
    pi sp
    cin nl
    8.7
  

    24
    Hammel, Jason 2235
    pi sp
    oak al
    8.7
  

    25
    Keuchel, Dallas 3050
    pi sp
    hou al
    8.7
  

    26
    Lohse, Kyle 1487
    pi sp
    mil nl
    8.4
  

    27
    Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139
    pi sp
    lad nl
    8.4
  

    28
    Hughes, Phil 2272
    pi sp
    min al
    8.4
  

    29
    Young, Chris 1933
    pi sp
    sea al
    8.4
  

    30
    Kimbrel, Craig 2825
    pi cp
    atl nl
    8.0
  

    31
    Lester, Jon 2173
    pi sp
    bos al
    8.0
  

    32
    Encarnacion, Edwin 2098
    1b dh lf
    tor al
    8.0
  

    33
    Freeman, Freddie 2887
    1b
    atl nl
    7.7
  

    34
    Hudson, Tim 1231
    pi sp
    sf nl
    7.7
  

    35
    Lackey, John 1640
    pi sp
    bos al
    7.7
  

    36
    Arrieta, Jake 2738
    pi sp
    chi nl
    7.7
  

    37
    Chavez, Jesse 2780
    pi sp
    oak al
    7.7
  

    38
    Beckett, Josh 1544
    pi sp
    lad nl
    7.7
  

    39
    Cabrera, Miguel 1776
    1b
    det al
    7.5
  

    40
    Fernandez, Jose 3147
    pi sp
    fla nl
    7.0
  

    41
    Lynn, Lance 2992
    pi sp
    stl nl
    7.0
  

    42
    Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048
    pi sp
    sea al
    7.0
  

    43
    Zimmermann, Jordan 2612
    pi sp
    dc nl
    7.0
  

    44
    Gonzalez, Gio 2626
    pi sp
    dc nl
    7.0
  

    45
    Santana, Ervin 2005
    pi sp
    atl nl
    7.0
  

    46
    Uehara, Koji 2802
    pi cp
    bos al
    7.0
  

    47
    Gray, Sonny 3259
    pi sp
    oak al
    7.0
  

    48
    Shields, James 2157
    pi sp
    kc al
    6.7
  

    49
    Kennedy, Ian 2723
    pi sp
    sd nl
    6.7
  

    50
    Donaldson, Josh 3144
    3b
    oak al
    6.5
  

    51
    Cespedes, Yoenis 3008
    lf
    oak al
    6.5
  

    52
    McCutchen, Andrew 2637
    cf
    pit nl
    6.5
  

    53
    Archer, Chris 3194
    pi sp
    tb al
    6.4
  

    54
    McHugh, Collin 3316
    pi sp
    hou al
    6.4
  

    55
    Colabello, Chris 3235
    1b dh rf
    min al
    6.2
  

    56
    Gallardo, Yovani 2333
    pi sp
    mil nl
    6.0
  

    57
    Collmenter, Josh 2863
    pi sp
    ari nl
    6.0
  

    58
    Aybar, Erick 2416
    ss
    ana al
    6.0
  

    59
    Duffy, Danny 2915
    pi sp mr
    kc al
    6.0
  

    60
    Doolittle, Sean 3052
    pi cp
    oak al
    6.0
  

    61
    Elias, Roenis 3309
    pi sp
    sea al
    6.0
  

    62
    Buehrle, Mark 1407
    pi sp
    tor al
    5.7
  

    63
    Wilson, C.J. 2074
    pi sp
    ana al
    5.7
  

    64
    Fister, Doug 2688
    pi sp
    dc nl
    5.7
  

    65
    Ross, Tyson 2840
    pi sp
    sd nl
    5.7
  

    66
    Vogelsong, Ryan 1820
    pi sp
    sf nl
    5.7
  

    67
    Hahn, Jesse 3354
    pi sp
    sd nl
    5.7
  

    68
    Hunter, Torii 1190
    rf
    det al
    5.5
  

    69
    Rizzo, Anthony 3063
    1b
    chi nl
    5.5
  

    70
    Ramirez, Alexei 2537
    ss
    chi al
    5.5
  

    71
    Morse, Michael 2020
    lf
    sf nl
    5.5
  

    72
    Upton, Justin 2411
    lf
    atl nl
    5.2
  

    73
    Masterson, Justin 2462
    pi sp
    cle al
    5.0
  

    74
    Miller, Shelby 3134
    pi sp
    stl nl
    5.0
  

    75
    Bailey, Homer 2324
    pi sp
    cin nl
    5.0
  

    76
    Holland, Greg 2906
    pi cp
    kc al
    5.0
  

    77
    Hamels, Cole 2135
    pi sp
    phi nl
    5.0
  

    78
    Burnett, A.J. 1300
    pi sp
    phi nl
    5.0
  

    79
    Vargas, Jason 2055
    pi sp
    kc al
    5.0
  

    80
    Cashner, Andrew 2807
    pi sp
    sd nl
    5.0
  

    81
    Wood, Travis 2777
    pi sp
    chi nl
    5.0
  

    82
    Chapman, Aroldis 2826
    pi cp
    cin nl
    5.0
  

    83
    Leake, Mike 2709
    pi sp
    cin nl
    5.0
  

    84
    Porcello, Rick 2573
    pi sp
    det al
    5.0
  

    85
    Smyly, Drew 3009
    pi sp mr
    det al
    5.0
  

    86
    Cishek, Steve 2997
    pi cp
    fla nl
    5.0
  

    87
    Perez, Martin 3213
    pi sp
    tex al
    5.0
  

    88
    Roark, Tanner 3261
    pi sp
    dc nl
    5.0
  

    89
    Volquez, Edinson 2220
    pi sp
    pit nl
    5.0
  

    90
    Wacha, Michael 3276
    pi sp
    stl nl
    5.0
  

    91
    Suzuki, Kurt 2344
    ca
    min al
    5.0
  

    92
    Seager, Kyle 3031
    3b
    sea al
    5.0
  

    93
    Koehler, Tom 3159
    pi sp
    fla nl
    5.0
  

    94
    Dozier, Brian 3219
    2b
    min al
    5.0
  

    95
    Robertson, David 2774
    pi cp
    nyy al
    5.0
  

    96
    Tomlin, Josh 2771
    pi sp cp
    cle al
    5.0
  

    97
    Rodriguez, Sean 2729
    lf 1b 2b dh ph
    tb al
    5.0
  

    98
    Duda, Lucas 2818
    1b
    nym nl
    5.0
  

    99
    deGrom, Jacob 3343
    pi sp
    nym nl
    5.0
  

    100
    Cobb, Alex 2916
    pi sp
    tb al
    4.7
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points 

Pitcher Scott Kazmir leads the seven Athletics on the top 100 list, he has 13.1 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall (second among AL pitchers). The other Athletics players are:

• Jason Hammel, starting pitcher, in 24th place with 8.7. (Hammel earned all 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs, prior to being traded to the Athletics.)

• Jesse Chavez, starting pitcher, in 37th place with 7.7.

• Sonny Gray, starting pitcher, in 47th place with 7.0.

• Josh Donaldson, third base, in 50th place with 6.5.

• Yoenis Cespedes, left field, in 51st place with 6.5.

• Sean Doolittle, closing pitcher, in 60th place with 6.0.

Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most of any team. The Los Angeles Dodgers, in second place, have 69.7.

While the addition of Hammel gives the Athletics seven players in the top 100, they would still have the most players on the list without him, with six. No other team has more than five players on the list. There are five teams with five players each—the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Washington Nationals, the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners.

All but one team is represented on the top 100 list. The only team without a member is the Baltimore Orioles. That team’s leader in Box-Toppers points, Nelson Cruz, designated hitter and left fielder, has 4.5 points, in 109th place. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies both have one player on the top 100 list.

Pitchers dominate the top 100 list, with 80 members—73 of them starting pitchers. Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters, especially in the short-term. Star pitchers tend to rack up points in quick batches while batters tend to pick up points steadily over long periods of time. For example, the Box-Toppers “all-time” top 100 list has 45 batters and 55 pitchers (the “all-time” list tracks players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began).

Here is a breakdown of the top 100 list by position:

• Starting pitchers 73

• Closing pitchers 7

• First base 7

• Outfield 6 (4 LF, 1 CF, 1 RF)

• Shortstop 3

• Third base 2

• Second base 1

• Catcher 1

Here are some notable players’ statuses in the top 100.

• Last year’s Cy Young Award winners are ranked No. 1 and 2. Kershaw, the reigning National League winner, is in first place with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer, the reigning AL winner, is in second place with 16.1.

• Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies leads all NL batters and is in 10th place overall, with 11.6 Box-Toppers points.

• Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads all AL batters and is in 17th place overall, with 9.5 Box-Toppers points.

• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2013’s AL Most Valuable Player is in 39th place overall with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL batters.

• Pitcher Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, 2013’s NL Rookie of the Year is in 40th place overall with 7.0 Box-Toppers points. However, Fernandez is injured and now out for the rest of the season.

• Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, 2013’s NL MVP, is in 52nd place overall with 6.5 Box-Toppers points (already more than the 6.0 he earned last season, when he ranked 22nd among NL batters). McCutchen currently ranks third among NL batters.

• Pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who started the All-Star Game for the NL, is ranked third overall with 14.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among NL pitchers.

• Pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, who started the All-Star Game for the AL, is ranked sixth overall with 12.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

• Wil Myers of the Rays, 2013’s AL Rookie of the Year has 1.0 Box-Toppers point and is not on this year’s top 100. (He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.)

• Pitcher Chris Archer of the Rays, who led AL Rookies in Box-Toppers points in 2013, is in 53rd place with 6.4 Box-Toppers points. (Last season, he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.)

So far this season, 578 players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so have at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Eighty new players have earned Player of the Game honors for the first time this season, making their Box-Toppers debut.

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Oakland Athletics, top AL team 6 straight weeks, reclaims Box-Toppers team rankings lead

Shawn Plank May 23, 2014

The Oakland Athletics have regained the top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings.

Athletics players have accumulated 35.9 Box-Toppers points this season, including 5.5 points this past week, rising from third place last week. They pass last week’s top team, the San Francisco Giants, which fell to fourth place overall.

Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, May 22. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated during the past week.





522

Teams

BTP
BTP
/wkLast 
week 
rank
1Athletics35.95.53
2Marlins34.95.04
3Rockies34.53.72
4Giants33.72.71
5Blue Jays32.98.015
6Angels32.85.46
7Braves31.35.29
8Brewers31.23.05
9White Sox31.06.013
10Cardinals30.06.017

BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Athletics have led all American League teams for six straight weeks and previously led all teams the week of May 1. They are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez, both of whom have 5.7 Box-Toppers points each. Kazmir is ranked 13th and Chavez 14th among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

The Athletics also have baseball’s best winning percentage (.638).

The Miami Marlins are the top National League team with 34.9 Box-Toppers points. They are in second place overall, rising from fourth place a week ago.

The Marlins top players are pitcher Jose Fernandez (7.0 Box-Toppers points, but out for the season) and pitcher Henderson Alvarez (5.0 Box-Toppers points). Fernandez is ranked third among NL pitchers and Alvarez is 10th.

The Toronto Blue Jays are the hottest team of the past week, picking up 8.0 Box-Toppers points. They rose from 15th to fifth place in team rankings, with 32.9 Box-Toppers points for the season.

The Blue Jays rose into the top 10 teams along with the White Sox and the Cardinals. The Dodgers, Tigers and Yankees all fell out of the top 10 this week.

San Francisco Giants, hottest team of the week, rise to top Box-Toppers team rankings

Shawn Plank May 16, 2014

The San Francisco Giants, the hottest team of the past week, have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team power rankings.

Giants players have accumulated 31.0 Box-Toppers points this season, including 7.0 this past week—more than any other team. They rise from fifth place to first, edging past last week’s top team, the Colorado Rockies (30.8 Box-Toppers points).

Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, May 15. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated during the past week.





515

Team

BTP
BTP
/wkLast 
week 
rank
1Giants31.07.05
2Rockies30.81.51
3Athletics30.45.73
4Marlins29.91.02
5Brewers28.24.04
6Angels27.46.515
7Dodgers26.93.06
8Tigers26.74.07
9Braves26.16.416
10Yankees26.04.712

BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Giants are led by pitcher Madison Bumgarner (5.5 Box-Toppers points—ranked 6th among NL pitchers) and left fielder Michael Morse (4.0 Box-Toppers points—ranked 6th among NL batters).

The Giants also have the best winning percentage of any NL team (.643).

The Rockies fell to second overall after a lackluster week in which they picked up only 1.5 Box-Toppers points.

The top American League team for the fifth straight week is the Oakland Athletics. With 30.4 Box-Toppers points, they are ranked third overall, the same spot as last week.

The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez, both of whom have 5.7 Box-Toppers points each. Kazmir is ranked fourth and Chavez fifth among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

The Detroit Tigers have the overall best winning percentage in baseball, .667. They rank eighth in Box-Toppers points with 26.7, down from seventh place a week ago.

Last week’s hottest team, the Miami Marlins, was this week’s coldest team. Last week, they picked up 8.5 Box-Toppers points but this week they picked up the fewest points of any team—1.0. With 29.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, they fell from second to fourth overall. Their bad week was compounded by the news that pitcher Jose Fernandez would be lost for the season, recovering from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez has more Box-Toppers points than any Marlins player, 7.0—nearly one-fourth of the team’s total—and ranks fifth among all players this season.

Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki leads players in season Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank May 9, 2014

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is on top of Box-Toppers player rankings this week.

Tulowitzki has 9.1 Box-Toppers points, rising from third to first place, picking up 3.2 points in the past week.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, in second place with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, is the leader among National League pitchers.

Top players
Through Thursday, May 8




OVERALL LEADERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Tulowitzki, Troy 2308sscol nl9.1
2Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl7.0
3Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl7.0
4Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al6.7
5Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl5.4
6Colabello, Chris 32351b dh rfmin al5.2
7Strasburg, Stephen 2736pi spdc nl5.0
8Perez, Martin 3213pi sptex al5.0
9Hammel, Jason 2235pi spchi nl5.0
10Freeman, Freddie 28871batl nl4.7
AL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al6.7
2Perez, Martin 3213pi sptex al5.0
3Buehrle, Mark 1407pi sptor al4.7
4Chavez, Jesse 2780pi spoak al4.7
5Tanaka, Masahiro 3305pi spnyy al4.7
6Hernandez, Felix 2064pi spsea al4.4
7Kazmir, Scott 1947pi spoak al4.0
8Lackey, John 1640pi spbos al4.0
9Darvish, Yu 3003pi sptex al3.7
10Ventura, Yordano 3294pi spkc al3.7
AL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Colabello, Chris 32351b dh rfmin al5.2
2Donaldson, Josh 31443boak al3.5
3Hunter, Torii 1190rfdet al3.5
4Rodriguez, Sean 2729lf 1b 2b phtb al3.5
5Abreu, Jose 33081b dhchi al3.5
6Rasmus, Colby 2608cftor al3.2
7Murphy, David 2348rfcle al3.0
8Ramirez, Alexei 2537sschi al3.0
9Cabrera, Miguel 17763bdet al2.5
10Aybar, Erick 2416ssana al2.5
NL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl7.0
2Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl7.0
3Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl5.4
4Strasburg, Stephen 2736pi spdc nl5.0
5Hammel, Jason 2235pi spchi nl5.0
6Cueto, Johnny 2400pi spcin nl4.7
7Bumgarner, Madison 2753pi spsf nl4.5
8Teheran, Julio 3176pi spatl nl4.0
9Gonzalez, Gio 2626pi spdc nl4.0
10Burnett, A.J. 1300pi spphi nl4.0
NL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Tulowitzki, Troy 2308sscol nl9.1
2Freeman, Freddie 28871batl nl4.7
3Stanton, Giancarlorffla nl4.7
4Braun, Ryan J. 2300rfmil nl4.5
5Rizzo, Anthony 30631bchi nl4.0
6Duda, Lucas 28181b lfnym nl3.5
7Ruiz, Carlos 2282caphi nl3.0
8LeMahieu, DJ 30912bcol nl3.0
9Alvarez, Pedro 28173bpit nl2.5
10Morse, Mike 2020lfsf nl2.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points 

Last week’s overall leader, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, is now in third place overall. (Both Wainwright and Fernandez have 7.0 Box-Toppers points for 2014, but Wainwright wins the tie-breaker because he has more total points over 2013-14—27.2 vs. 26.0.)

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, in fourth place with 6.7 Box-Toppers points, leads all American League pitchers.

And Chris Colabello of the Twins, in eighth place with 5.2 Box-Toppers points, leads all AL batters.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Tom Koehler (8IP 0R ND) tops players for Wednesday, May 7

Shawn Plank May 8, 2014

Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler is Wednesday’s Player of the Day. Koehler pitched eight shutout innings in the 1-0 win over the Mets. Koehler did not pick up the win, earning the no-decision, because he left the game in a scoreless tie.

Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle is American League Player of the Day. Buehrle pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out six in the 10-0 win over the Phillies.

Eric Hosmer of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Hosmer went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs in the 8-0 win over the Padres.

DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies is National League Batter of the Day. LeMahieu went 3-for-3 with a triple in the 9-2 win over the Rangers.

Notable: Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to second place in Box-Toppers player standings and now leads NL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Wainwright (8IP 1R 6K W in the 7-1 win vs. the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 7.0 for the season. He passes previous NL pitching leader Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (7.0). (Both Wainwright and Fernandez have 7.0 Box-Toppers points for 2014, but Wainwright wins the tie-breaker because he has more total points over 2013-14—27.2 vs. 26.0.)

Koehler receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Buehrle receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Hosmer and LeMahieu each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

507ScoreTeamPlayerABRHBIBBKIPHRERBBK
MLB10.0`MarlinsTom Koehler------8.020015
AL8.0Blue JaysMark Buehrle (W, 6-1)------7.030026
0AthleticsDrew Pomeranz (W, 2-1)------5.020005
0CardinalsAdam Wainwright (W, 6-2)------8.061116
1`TigersJoba Chamberlain (H, 6)------1.100003
BAT4.0RoyalsEric Hosmer   1B413411------
0Red SoxKoji Uehara (S, 8)------1.000003
1DbacksBronson Arroyo (W, 3-2)------7.151024
BAT3.0RockiesDJ LeMahieu   2B323100------
0White SoxPaul Konerko   DH312310------
0NationalsRafael Soriano (S, 7)------1.000002
2`MarinersDanny Farquhar------1.200012
1YankeesVidal Nuno (W, 1-0)------6.141113
0OriolesAdam Jones   CF422200------
0PiratesTravis Snider   RF312211------
0IndiansMike Aviles   2B413100------

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

Orioles' Jimenez tops players for Friday, May 2; Tulowitzki takes lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank May 3, 2014

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies takes the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Jimenez pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10 in the 3-0 win over the Twins.

Tulowitzki now has more Box-Toppers points than any other player this season after earning National League Batter of the Day honors Friday. Tulowitzki went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs in the 10-3 win over the Mets. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season. He rises from third to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (7.0). (See the updated top 10 list on the home page.)

Diamondbacks pitcher Bronson Arroyo is NL Player of the Day. Arroyo pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out six in the 2-0 win over the Padres.

Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Pedroia hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 in the 7-1 win over the Athletics.

Jimenez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Arroyo receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pedroia and Tulowitzki each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

502ScoreTeamPlayerABRHBIBBKIPHRERBBK
MLB13.1OriolesUbaldo Jimenez (W, 1-4)------7.1300110
10.0BrewersWily Peralta (W, 4-1)------8.030027
NL9.0DbacksBronson Arroyo (W, 2-2)------7.030016
6.0MarlinsTom Koehler (W, 3-2)------7.030024
BAT5.0Red SoxDustin Pedroia   2B322420------
5.0TigersRick Porcello (W, 4-1)------7.042206
BAT4.0RockiesTroy Tulowitzki   SS423300------
4.0CubsAnthony Rizzo   1B322310------
3.0IndiansMichael Brantley   LF523301------
3.0AstrosAnthony Bass (W, 1-0)------2.000001
3.0`RaysDavid Price------7.082208
2.0RangersShin-Soo Choo   LF413200------
2.0PiratesNeil Walker   2B433000------
1.0NationalsTyler Moore   LF, 1B422102------
0.0GiantsMichael Morse   LF412100------

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

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rises to top of Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank May 2, 2014

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to the top of Box-Toppers player rankings this week.

Fernandez has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season and has risen from third place last week. Fernandez, who also tops National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, passed last week’s NL pitching leader, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (6.0, second place overall).

Top players
Through Thursday, May 1




OVERALL LEADERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl7.0
2Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl6.0
3Tulowitzki, Troy 2308sscol nl5.9
4Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl5.4
5Colabello, Chris 32351b dh rfmin al5.2
6Strasburg, Stephen 2736pi spdc nl5.0
7Perez, Martin 3213pi sptex al5.0
8Hammel, Jason 2235pi spchi nl5.0
9Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al4.7
10Freeman, Freddie 28871batl nl4.7
AL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Perez, Martin 3213pi sptex al5.0
2Scherzer, Max 2588pi spdet al4.7
3Chavez, Jesse 2780pi spoak al4.7
4Tanaka, Masahiro 3305pi spnyy al4.7
5Hernandez, Felix 2064pi spsea al4.4
6Kazmir, Scott 1947pi spoak al4.0
7Lackey, John 1640pi spbos al4.0
8Darvish, Yu 3003pi sptex al3.7
9Ventura, Yordano 3294pi spkc al3.7
10McHugh, Collin 3316pi sphou al3.4
AL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Colabello, Chris 32351b dh rfmin al5.2
2Rodriguez, Sean 2729lf 1b 2b phtb al3.5
3Abreu, Jose 33081b dhchi al3.5
4Murphy, David 2348rfcle al3.0
5Ramirez, Alexei 2537sschi al3.0
6Donaldson, Josh 31443boak al2.5
7Aybar, Erick 2416ssana al2.5
8Hunter, Torii 1190rfdet al2.5
9Seager, Kyle 30313bsea al2.5
10Semien, Marcus 33022bchi al2.5
NL PITCHERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Fernandez, Jose 3147pi spfla nl7.0
2Wainwright, Adam 2150pi spstl nl6.0
3Greinke, Zack 1871pi splad nl5.4
4Strasburg, Stephen 2736pi spdc nl5.0
5Hammel, Jason 2235pi spchi nl5.0
6Teheran, Julio 3176pi spatl nl4.0
7Gonzalez, Gio 2626pi spdc nl4.0
8Santana, Ervin 2005pi spatl nl4.0
9Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139pi splad nl4.0
10Cashner, Andrew 2807pi spsd nl4.0
NL BATTERSPOSTEAMBTP
1Tulowitzki, Troy 2308sscol nl5.9
2Freeman, Freddie 28871batl nl4.7
3Braun, Ryan J. 2300rfmil nl4.5
4Duda, Lucas 28181b lfnym nl3.5
5Stanton, Giancarlo 2737rffla nl3.2
6Ruiz, Carlos 2282caphi nl3.0
7Alvarez, Pedro 28173bpit nl2.5
8Davis, Ike 27151b phpit nl2.5
9Gonzalez, Adrian 21931blad nl2.0
10Upton, Justin 2411lfatl nl2.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies is the top National League batter in Box-Toppers points with 5.9—he is in third place overall. Tulowitzki passed last week’s NL batting leader, Ryan Braun of the Brewers (4.5).

Chris Colabello of the Twins is top American League batter in Box-Toppers points with 5.2. Last week’s overall leader, Colabello fell to fifth place overall this week.

Rangers pitcher Martin Perez remains top AL pitcher with 5.0 Box-Toppers points. He fell from fourth place overall last week to seventh place this week.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

Top player from each game

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

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

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Top player from each game

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

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

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Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

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

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Top player from each game

Top 10 players

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Top 100 list 2014

Top 10 teams

Top 10 teams

Top players

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Top player from each game

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Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.