Who are each franchise's top 4 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995?
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time'
Randy Johnson's perch atop 'all-time' 100 is safe. A-Rod is top active player. Pujols rises in top 10. Hernandez, Kershaw both make top 20 rises. Price, Scherzer, Bumgarner all make big jumps up the list.
Read MoreNationals' Stephen Strasburg (8IP 0R H 14K) tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 15
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 12th among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
Strasburg pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 14, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 15.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 22.1 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 19.1 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 26th place among all players. He becomes the 37th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
His Box-Toppers game score of 20.0 is only the sixth time a player has had a score that high this season. The highest Box-Toppers game score of the season was 25.0 by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber on May 13 (8IP H 0R 18K).
American League Player of the Day—Josh Reddick of Athletics hit a two-run homer an went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 17-6 win over the White Sox.
Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and rising to 10th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Dee Gordon of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Josh Reddick.
Notable—Two other NL pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:
- Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 4H R 9K ND in the 3-1, 10-inning win over the Brewers) rose ninth place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Martinez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players.
- Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (CG 5H R 9K W in the 2-1 win over the Pirates) became the 38th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. Lester earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 15th among NL pitchers and 33rd among all players. Lester also rises to 37th place in career Box-Toppers point among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Lester has 119.1 career points and passes Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list (Lester beats Lee on a tiebreaker—he has more Box-Toppers points this season—10 vs. 0). Lester trails 36th-place player Cole Hamels (122.5).
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.
- Rockies pitcher Jairo Diaz (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 5-4, 16-inning win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Sept. 8, 2014, and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,592nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Ramon Cabrera of the Reds (1-1 2BI in the 9-8, 10-inning win over the Giants) made his Major League debut Sept. 5 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,593rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gordon earns 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/15 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | |
| 10.0 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 9.0 | `Cardinals | Carlos Martinez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Marlins | Dee Gordon, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Joe Smith (S,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S,46) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Rockies | Jairo Diaz (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Nick Franklin, SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Ramon Cabrera, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Dbacks | Brad Ziegler (S,26) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | Victor Martinez, DH | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Todd Cunningham, PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.1 | Royals | Kris Medlen (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Yankees' Nathan Eovaldi (8IP 0R 7K) tops players for Monday, Aug. 24
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 24.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 24.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
Also Monday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned Player of the Game honors, giving him 118.1 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 38th place among all players since 1995.
Player of the Day—Eovaldi pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 1-0 win over the Astros. Eovaldi picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he exited with the game tied 0-0.
National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing four hits, in the 5-2 win over the Marlins.
National League Batter of the Day—Wilmer Flores of the Mets homered twice, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 16-7 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Rusney Castillo of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and a two-run double and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the White Sox.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 38th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (8IP 4H 0R 6K ND in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 118.1 for his career. With his point Monday, he passed two players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list—Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7). He trails 37th-place player Cliff Lee (119.1).
Lester also had the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Lester has 9.0 Box-Toppers points for the season and ranks 33rd among all players on the season, 15th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Eovaldi earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Flores and Castillo each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/24 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | `Yankees | Nathan Eovaldi | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| NL | 7.0 | Pirates | J.A. Happ (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 5.2 | `Cubs | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Mets | Wilmer Flores, 2B | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Rusney Castillo, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Jonny Gomes, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Omar Infante, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter, 3B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Wednesday, July 29; Peavy, Verlander each earn 1st Box-Toppers points of 2015
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, two players who earned their first Player of the Game honors of the season extended their streaks of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
- Giants pitcher Jake Peavy—14 seasons.
- Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander—10 seasons.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 29.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 13.1 |
| 7 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 8 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 13.0 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 13.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 12.7 |
Player of the Day—Lester struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 3-2 win over the Rockies.
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 117.1 for his career, rising to 40th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Todd Helton (116.4) and Mark Buehrle (116.7). He trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).
Lester is also the season’s highest-ranked of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. With 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season, Lester ranks 31st among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.
Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of 12 Wednesday, the same as Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (Player of the Game in the win over the Rays) but Lester won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Verlander (14 vs. 10).
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Rays.
Verlander, earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2015, has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Tigers. His best season was 2012 with the Tigers when he had 24.8 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. Verlander also led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2011, when he had 24.4. In 2014, he had 4.0 Box-Toppers points.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day and now has 119.9 for his career, rising to 35th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 34th-place player Cole Hamels (120.8).
National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.
Harper earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and rises to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (8.5).
American League Batter of the Day—Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays homered, doubled twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Phillies.
This was Tulowitzki’s first game since being traded from the Rockies. Tulowitzki led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 11.6. With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned Wednesday for being AL Batter of the Day, Tulowitzki now has 6.0 for the season and ranks eighth among AL batters.
Streak—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy has now earned Box-Toppers points for 14 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Peavy (6IP 4H 0R 3K ND in the 5-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Peavy earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Padres. His best year was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. In 2014, Peavy had 5.7 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox and Giants.
Peavy has 132.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 26th-place player Miguel Cabrera (132.9). Peavy’s 132.8 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active NL pitchers.
Debut—Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (PH 2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 10-7 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut July 1, 2014, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,541st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Harper and Tulowitzki each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/29 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W,6-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | |
| AL | 12.0 | Tigers | Justin Verlander (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| 7.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W,6-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.2 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Nationals | Bryce Harper, RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Astros | Lance McCullers (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Dbacks | Patrick Corbin (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | `Giants | Jake Peavy | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Troy Tulowitzki, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Reds | Anthony DeSclafani (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Enrique Hernandez, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Shawn Tolleson (S,18) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Yangervis Solarte, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | White Sox | Adam Eaton, CF | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Phillies' Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, July 25; Sale, Martinez rise in Box-Toppers' top 10
Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter against the Cubs, 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 2015 season as of July 25.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 7 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 13.0 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 12.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 12.7 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
Also Saturday, two players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place and Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to ninth place. Plus, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, the active career Box-Toppers points leader, now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day—Hamels pitched a no-hitter in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. He faced 29 batters and allowed two walks and struck out 13.
Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He is the 19th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and now ranks 20th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.
Hamels has now earned at least 10 Box-Toppers points in each of his first 10 seasons.
In addition, Hamels now has 120.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 34th place in among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Saturday, Hamels passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 33rd-place player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Hamels ranks seventh in career Box-Toppers points among active NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit three home runs and drove in four runs in the 8-5 win over the Twins.
Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to third among AL batters.
Rodriguez also now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank in fourth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Rodriguez leads all batters and all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 15-2 win over the Dodgers.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter (Alex Rodriguez).
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:
- White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (7IP 7H 2R 7K W in the 10-3 win over the Indians) rose to third place with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. Sale, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).
- Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 6H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Braves) rose to ninth place with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. Martinez, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Notable—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto became the 20th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Cueto (8IP 4H 0R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rockies) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
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
| 7/25 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Phillies | Cole Hamels (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | |
| 8.0 | Dbacks | Rubby De La Rosa (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W,7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Carlos Martinez (W,11-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Mets | Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF-RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 6.0 | Yankees | Alex Rodriguez, DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.2 | Orioles | Miguel Gonzalez (W,9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W,11-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Michael Taylor, CF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `Royals | Danny Duffy | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Ezequiel Carrera, PH-LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Rougned Odor, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
A look at Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 100 player list, led by Hall inductee Randy Johnson
The Big Unit leads the list of the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points since record keeping began in 1995. A look at all 100 ...
Read MoreMets' Steven Matz (6IP 0R 8K) tops players for Sunday, July 5
Mets pitcher Steven Matz is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 36th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 5.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Matz pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 8-0 win over the Dodgers.
American League Player of the Day—Kole Calhoun of the Angels hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Kole Calhoun).
Notable—Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 36th place in Box-Toppers points among players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Hamels (7IP 0R 6H 6K ND in the 4-0, 10-inning win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 118.8 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Justin Verlander (118.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 34th-place player Cliff Lee (119.1). Hamels ranks 25th among all pitchers since 1995 and 12th among active pitchers.
Hamels also has the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Hamels has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks 18th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Curt Casali of the Rays made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Casali (2B 1-2 R BI in the 8-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut July 18, 2014, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,524th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Matz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Calhoun earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Mets | Steven Matz (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 8.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 7.1 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W, 4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `Phillies | Cole Hamels | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| AL | 3.0 | Angels | Kole Calhoun RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Devon Travis 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Red Sox | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Steve Pearce 1B RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Curt Casali C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 27) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Seth Smith RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Blue Jays' Hutchison tops players for Monday, May 25; Rangers' Fielder now leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points
Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchison is Monday’s Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 25.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 8 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.7 |
Also Monday, Prince Fielder of the Rangers earned Player of the Game honors for the third time in four days and takes the Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters. In addition, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day and Angels pitcher Jered Weaver rose to 34th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.
Player of the Day—Hutchison pitched a complete game shutout, striking out eight and allowing four hits, in the 6-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Diamondbacks. Martinez did not earn the win, picking up a no decision. After he exited, the Diamondbacks tied the game 2-2 before the Cardinals won 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th.
American League Batter of the Day—Rangers pitcher Prince Fielder homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-8 win over the Indians. It is the third time in four days Fielder has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game Friday, May 22 and AL Batter of the Day Saturday, May 23.
Fielder earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day Monday and has earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points over the four-day period. He has 5.5 Box-Toppers points for the season and now leads all AL batters, passing Colby Rasmus of the Astros (5.0 Box-Toppers points). He ranks 14th in Box-Toppers points among all players this season.
National League Batter of the Day—Norichika Aoki of the Giants homered and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Brewers.
Notable—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Monday. Arenado (HR 3-4 R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Reds) was also NL Batter of the Day Monday, May 25. Arenado now has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranking sixth among NL batters.
Rankings—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver rises to 34th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Weaver was Player of the Game in the 4-3 win over the Padres (6.2IP 6H R 7K ND) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 119.4 for his career. He passes Cliff Lee (119.1 Box-Toppers points) on the list of players since 1995 and now trails the 33rd-place player, Gary Sheffield (124.1). Weaver’s 119.4 career Box-Toppers points ranks fourth among active pitchers currently in the AL. Weaver has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season and ranks 14th among AL pitchers for 2015.
Scoring—Hutchison earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Martinez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Fielder and Aoki each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/25 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | Athletics | Jesse Hahn (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | `Cardinals | Carlos Martinez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 5.0 | Orioles | Brad Brach (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.2 | `Angels | Jered Weaver | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rangers | Prince Fielder DH | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Giants | Norichika Aoki LF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Yankees | Brett Gardner LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Pirates | Francisco Cervelli C | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Nolan Arenado 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Alex Guerrero PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Jeurys Familia (S, 14) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Tanner Roark (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 1.2 | Twins | Ricky Nolasco (W, 5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Roenis Elias (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time'
Randy Johnson’s perch atop Box-Toppers’ “all-time” player standings was safe during 2014.The flame-throwing, likely Hall-of-Fame pitcher retired in 2009 with 278.8 Box-Toppers points, the most of any player since record keeping began in 1995.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw has chance to pass Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season
SPECIAL REPORT
Most BTP single season
Randy Johnson is the all-time leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season—he scored 33.7 twice, in 2000 and 2002. In 20 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping, players have scored 25.0 or more points in a season only 19 times. They are listed below. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers reached the 25.0 point threshold in 2014 on Wednesday (he now has 25.8), the second time in his career he has had 25.0 or more points. And with a month to go in the season, he has a chance to break Randy Johnson's record for most Box-Toppers points in a season.| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 6 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 7 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 8 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 9 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 10 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 11 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 11 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 13 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 14 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 16 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 16 | *Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 18 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 19 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has a chance to become the “all-time” leader in Box-Toppers points in a single season.
Kershaw, Wednesday’s Player of the Day, now has 25.8 Box-Toppers points this season and has an outside chance of catching the “all-time” single season leader, Randy Johnson, who scored 33.7 points in a season twice when he was pitching for the Diamondbacks—in 2000 and 2002.
Kershaw's 2014 starts
Here are Clayton Kershaw's starts for 2014. BTP/gm indicates how many Box-Toppers points he earned in each game (2.0 for overall Player of the Day, 1.7 for NL Player of the Day, 1.0 for top Player of the Game and 0.0 if he did not earn Player of the Game honors.| Start | BTP /gm |
Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 22, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 2 | May 6, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 3 | May 11, 2014 | 0.0 | ND |
| 4 | May 17, 2014 | 0.0 | L |
| 5 | May 23, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 6 | May 28, 2014 | 0.0 | L |
| 7 | Jun 2, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 8 | Jun 8, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 9 | Jun 13, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 10 | Jun 18, 2014 | 2.0 | W* |
| 11 | Jun 24, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 12 | Jun 29, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 13 | Jul 4, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 14 | Jul 10, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 15 | Jul 20, 2014 | 0.0 | ND |
| 16 | Jul 26, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
| 17 | Jul 31, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 18 | Aug 5, 2014 | 0.0 | ND |
| 19 | Aug 10, 2014 | 1.0 | W |
| 20 | Aug 16, 2014 | 0.0 | L |
| 21 | Aug 21, 2014 | 1.7 | W |
| 22 | Aug 27, 2014 | 2.0 | W |
BTP: Box-Toppers points
With a month to go in the season, Kershaw likely has four or five more starts remaining. He would need to earn 8.0 Box-Toppers points—equivalent to earning Player of the Day honors four times—to pass Johnson’s 33.7. While that seems unlikely, he did have a stretch of five starts this season (from his June 18 no-hitter through July 10) in which he scored 9.4 Box-Toppers points, earning Player of the Day three times (2.0 Box-Toppers points each) and NL Player of the Day twice (1.7 Box-Toppers points each).
Kershaw’s accomplishment this season is all the more remarkable because he missed six weeks on the disabled list from late March through early May. In his 22 starts this season, he has been Player of the Day seven times (earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each time), NL Player of the Day four times (earning 1.7 points each time) and Player of the Game five times (earning 1.0 each time). In only six of his 22 starts has he failed to earn at least Player of the Game honors.
Johnson has the most Box-Toppers points in a single season, however, record keeping began in 1995, so his “all-time” record covers only the past 20 seasons. Only 19 times in the past 20 seasons has a player earned more than 25.0 Box-Toppers points in a season. And this season is the second time Kershaw has achieved that. In 2011, Kershaw had his best season when he earned 26.1 Box-Toppers points.
While Kershaw’s current 25.8 Box-Toppers points is currently tied for 16th place in Box-Toppers highest points for a season, it is only one of five times in the past 10 seasons that a player has reached 25.0 points. The other four times:
• In 2008, CC Sabathia, pitching for the Indians and Brewers, had 26.7 Box-Toppers points.
• In 2011, Kershaw had 26.1.
• In 2006, Johan Santana of the Twins had 25.7 Box-Toppers points.
• In 2011, Cliff Lee of the Phillies had 25.4 Box-Toppers points.
All 14 other instances in which a player had 25.0 or more Box-Toppers points happened from 1995 to 2004. The top eight times happened from 1999 to 2002. Johnson earned four of those top eight top spots in four consecutive seasons, leading all players in Box-Toppers points in each of those seasons. All 19 players on the list are starting pitchers.
Phillies' Cliff Lee (8IP 0R 10K) tops players for Monday, April 21
Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee is Monday’s Player of the Day. Lee pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing only four hits, in the 7-0 win over the Dodgers.
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards is American League Player of the Day. Richards gave up one hit and one run over six innings in the 4-2 win over the Nationals. Richards picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he left the game with the Angels trailing 1-0.
Ike Davis of the Pirates (recently traded from the Mets) is National League Batter of the Day. Davis hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4 in the 6-5 win over the Reds.
Matt Dominguez of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Dominguez hit a two-run homer, drove in three and went 2-for-3 in the 7-2 win over the Mariners.
Lee receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Richards receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Davis and Dominguez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Retired saves king Mariano Rivera ranks as 2nd-best all-time closer in Box-Toppers points
One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the seventh of the series:
7. Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera, considered the greatest closing pitcher of all time, is only the second-best closer in career Box-Toppers points.
Mariano Rivera
Here are Mariano Rivera's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in key postseason awards voting.| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | nyy al | 3.0 | |
| 1996 | nyy al | 8.4 | BTP-77, BTP-AL pi-11, CYA-3, MVP-12 |
| 1997 | nyy al | 5.0 | AS, MVP-25 |
| 1998 | nyy al | 4.0 | |
| 1999 | nyy al | 8.0 | AS, BTP-82, BTP-AL pi-13, CYA-3, MVP-14 |
| 2000 | nyy al | 4.0 | AS |
| 2001 | nyy al | 12.0 | AS, BTP-30, BTP-AL pi-8, MVP-11 |
| 2002 | nyy al | 4.0 | AS |
| 2003 | nyy al | 6.0 | MVP-27 |
| 2004 | nyy al | 5.0 | AS, BTP-189, BTP-AL pi-37, CYA-3, MVP-9 |
| 2005 | nyy al | 11.0 | AS, BTP-37, BTP-AL pi-9, CYA-2, MVP-9 |
| 2006 | nyy al | 4.0 | AS, MVP-26 |
| 2007 | nyy al | 12.0 | BTP-27, BTP-AL pi-11 |
| 2008 | nyy al | 14.0 | AS, BTP-17, BTP-AL pi-8, CYA-5 |
| 2009 | nyy al | 8.0 | AS, BTP-84, BTP-AL pi-18, MVP-14 |
| 2010 | nyy al | 7.0 | AS |
| 2011 | nyy al | 6.0 | AS, CYA-8 |
| 2012 | nyy al | 0.0 | |
| 2013 | nyy al | 5.0 | AS |
| Total | 126.4 | BTP-25, BTP-pi-16 |
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Rivera retired amid great fanfare at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 43. He recorded more saves than any other pitcher with 652. He helped the New York Yankees, the team with which he spent his entire 19-season career, win five World Series championships, earning World Series Most Valuable Player once (in 1999) and American League Championship Series MVP once (in 2003).
And yet, despite all this, Rivera trails one other closing pitcher in all-time Box-Toppers points. Rivera recorded 126.4 Box-Toppers points, ranking 25th among all players and 16th among all pitchers. But ahead of him, with 129.4 Box-Toppers points, ranking 21st among all players and 14th among all pitchers is Trevor Hoffman.
Hoffman, who pitched primarily for the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1993 to 2010, has 601 career saves—he was passed by Rivera in 2011. And even though Rivera was only 3.0 Box-Toppers points from tying him, Hoffman would likely have a higher point total since his career began before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995—Hoffman picked up 25 of his career saves in 1993 and 1994.
More about the comparison of Rivera and Hoffman ahead, but first a look back at the career of Rivera, who finished among the top 10 in AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points for a season three times during his career. Here are some career highlights:
• In 1996, he had 8.4 Box-Toppers points and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting. (Pat Hentgen of the Blue Jays won the award—he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points that season, fifth among AL pitchers.)
• In 1999, he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points and finished third in AL Cy Young voting. (Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox won the award—he had 31.4 Box-Toppers points, the most of any AL pitcher.)
• In 2001, he had 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth among AL pitchers. (He received no Cy Young votes.)
• In 2004, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points and finished third in AL Cy Young voting. (Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins won the award—he had 26.8 Box-Toppers points, the most of any player that season.)
• In 2005, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking ninth among AL pitchers and finishing second in Cy Young voting, his highest finish ever. (Bartolo Colon of the Angels won the award—he had 9.4 Box-Toppers points that year, ranking 13th among AL pitchers.)
• In 2007, he had 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 11th among AL pitchers. (He received no Cy Young votes.)
• In 2008, he had a career-high-for-a-season 14.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth among AL pitchers and finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. (Cliff Lee of the Indians won the award —he had 15.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among AL pitchers.)
• In 2011, he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points and finished eighth in Cy Young voting. (Justin Verlander of the Tigers won the award—he had 24.4 Box-Toppers points, first among AL pitchers.)
Rivera had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He had 17 straight seasons in which he earned at least one Box-Toppers point. That streak was cut short in 2012, when he was injured for the season in May and earned no Box-Toppers points that year. He came back from that injury in 2013 to earn 5.0 Box-Toppers points in his final season.
Rivera vs. Hoffman
Trevor Hoffman
Here are Trevor Hoffman's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in key postseason awards voting.| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | fla nl/sd nl | * | |
| 1994 | sd nl | * | |
| 1995 | sd nl | 9.0 | BTP-42, BTP-NL pi-8 |
| 1996 | sd nl | 14.7 | BTP-12, BTP-NL pi-5, CYA-5, MVP-22 |
| 1997 | sd nl | 14.0 | BTP-17, BTP-Nl pi-7 |
| 1998 | sd nl | 11.0 | AS, BTP-31, BTP-NL pi-12, CYA-2, MVP-7 |
| 1999 | sd nl | 7.0 | AS, BTP-111, BTP-NL pi-27, CYA-6, MVP-28 |
| 2000 | sd nl | 11.0 | AS, BTP-30, BTP-NL pi-8 |
| 2001 | sd nl | 12.0 | BTP-29, BTP-NL pi-13 |
| 2002 | sd nl | 8.0 | AS, BTP-88, BTP-NL pi-30 |
| 2003 | sd nl | 0.0 | |
| 2004 | sd nl | 8.7 | BTP-65, BTP-NL pi-22 |
| 2005 | sd nl | 7.0 | MVP-17 |
| 2006 | sd nl | 7.0 | AS, BTP-115, BTP-NL pi-33, CYA-2, MVP-10 |
| 2007 | sd nl | 3.0 | AS |
| 2008 | sd nl | 9.0 | BTP-69, BTP-NL pi-27 |
| 2009 | mil nl | 7.0 | AS |
| 2010 | mil nl | 1.0 | |
| Total | 129.4 | BTP-21, BTP-pi-14 |
* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Hoffman appeared in 67 games in 1993 and 47 games in 1994, recording 25 of his 601 career saves.
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
So why does Rivera have fewer Box-Toppers points than Hoffman?
First: Box-Toppers measures which player most contributes to a team’s win. While Rivera was with the Yankees, there was a cavalcade of stars who made contributions who regularly edged out Rivera to earn Player of the Game honors (and thus, Box-Toppers points)—Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi … the names roll off the tongue and are among all-time career leaders in Box-Toppers points. But Hoffman did not have as many stars around him (his San Diego teammate Jake Peavy is the only one that comes to mind at present) and so the competition among team members to earn Box-Toppers points was less, allowing Hoffman to, perhaps, put up bigger numbers.
In addition, it’s simply harder for a closer to accumulate a lot of Box-Toppers points. When they pitch only one inning, it is hard for them to amass a large enough Box-Toppers game score in comparison with their teammates. For a closer to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, they almost have to dominate their inning, striking out the side and allowing no hits, while their teammates either completely fail or make only minor contributions to the win. The closer may only win Player of the Game honors because the starting pitcher got shelled and no batter had a decent hitting line.
Box-Toppers doesn’t give credence to the so-called “clutch” or late-inning situation in which most closers find themselves. In the view of the Box-Toppers statistic, the first inning is as important as the ninth and the first game is as important as the 162nd. So, a closer who pitches one inning and faces just three batters may do it well and may give his team an emotional boost, but it is hard for him to compete statistically with the pitcher who goes seven innings or the batter who makes four plate appearances and gets three hits.
Given all those obstacles, it is really remarkable that Rivera and Hoffman could accumulate so many points over their careers—for comparison here are the next highest-ranked closers on the all-time Box-Toppers points list:
• Billy Wagner (1996-2010), 108.7, ranked 44th overall.
• Troy Percival (1995-2009), 80.7, ranked 102nd overall.
• Rob Nen (1993-2004), 66.0, ranked 157th overall.
Given his status as “saves king” and his reputation for postseason dominance, it may be true to say Rivera is the greatest closer of all time. But it can also be fair to say that Hoffman is actually the closer who contributed most often to his teams’ wins.
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.
Coming next in the series: Roy Oswalt
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter
Padres' Andrew Cashner pitches 1-hitter, tops players for Monday, Sept. 16
Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner is Monday's Player of the Day. Cashner pitched a one-hit, complete game shutout, striking out seven in the 2-0 win over the Pirates. He gave up the one hit in the seventh inning.
White Sox pitcher Erik Johnson is American League Player of the Day. Johnson pitched six shutout innings and struck out eight in the 12-1 win over the Twins. This was Johnson's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,284th player to make his Box-Toppers debut since record keeping began in 1995.
Caleb Gindl of the Brewers is National League Batter of the Day. Gindl homered, drove in three runs, scored three runs and went 3-for-3 in the 6-1 win over the Cubs. This was Gindl's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,285th player to make his Box-Toppers debut since record keeping began in 1995.
No American League batters earned Player of the Game honors Monday, so there is no AL Batter of the Day.
Notable: Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee rises to 20th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lee (8IP 14K W in 12-2 win vs. Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season.
Coming Tuesday: Two of Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers face off. Zack Greinke of the Dodgers faces Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks. Greinke has 18.4 Box-Toppers points and is in third place in Box-Toppers standings (see the top 10 list on the home page), while Corbin has 17.4 and is in fifth. Both trail points leader Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (19.0) and either could pass him to take the points lead after Tuesday's game.
Cashner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Johnson receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Gindl receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Monday'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
| 916 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 15.0 | Padres | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Andrew Cashner (W, 10-8) | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 10.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 14-6) | 8.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | |||
| AL | 8.0 | White Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Erik Johnson (W, 1-2) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Alex Cobb (W, 9-3) | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |||
| 7.0 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rick Porcello (W, 13-8) | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |||
| BAT | 6.0 | Brewers | Caleb Gindl LF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6.0 | Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | James Shields (W, 12-9) | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |||
| 4.0 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | C.J. Wilson (W, 17-6) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |||
| 4.0 | Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Johnny Cueto (W, 5-2) | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Charlie Blackmon CF, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.1 | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Cahill (W, 7-10) | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Nats' Haren tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 11; Tigers' Sanchez rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Nationals pitcher Dan Haren is Wednesday's Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Haren pitched six scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
Sanchez, American League Player of the Day, rises to 10th on the season's Box-Toppers player rankings (see the top 10 player list on the home page). Sanchez pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 1-0 win over the White Sox. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.1 for the season.
Mike Carp of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Carp hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the 10th inning to beat the Rays, 7-3.
Jack Hannahan of the Reds is National League Batter of the Day. Hannahan homered and drove in three runs in the 6-0 win over the Cubs.
Notables: Four other players who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday are among the top 30 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season:
- Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn rises to 17th place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (6IP 0ER 10K ND in 5-1 win vs. Brewers), giving him 14.1 for the season.
- Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks rises to 26th place and remains the top-ranked NL batter. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (4-5 2RBI in 4-1 win vs. Dodgers), giving him 12.7 for the season.
- Robinson Cano of the Yankees rises to 27th place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (HR 2-4 2RBI in 5-4 win vs. Orioles), giving him 12.5 for the season.
- Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee rises to 28th place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (8IP 9K W in 4-2 win vs. Padres), giving him 12.4 for the season.
Haren receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Sanchez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Carp and Hannahan 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
| 911 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Nationals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dan Haren (W, 9-13) | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | 8.1 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anibal Sanchez (W, 14-7) | 7.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | `Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lance Lynn | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |||
| 7.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 13-6) | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 6.0 | Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | James Shields (W, 11-9) | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Mike Carp PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Athletics | Jed Lowrie SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Reds | Jack Hannahan PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Astros | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brad Peacock (W, 5-5) | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 3.0 | Marlins | Giancarlo Stanton RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kyle Farnsworth (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1.0 | Diamondbacks | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Yankees | Robinson Cano 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Angels | Josh Hamilton DH | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Giants | Angel Pagan PH, CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Marlins' Jose Fernandez takes lead among players in Box-Toppers points; Giants' Petit, nearly perfect, tops players for Friday, Sept. 6
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez takes the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Meanwhile, Giants pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, who nearly threw a perfect game, is Friday's overall Player of the Day.
Fernandez pitched seven shutout innings, giving up only one hit and striking out nine in the 7-0 win over the Nationals. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being top player in the game, giving him 19.0 for the season. He moves from second to first in the Box-Toppers player ranking list, passing previous leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (18.7 points), who had led since Aug. 17 (see the updated top 10 player rankings list on the home page). This is the first time Fernandez has led in Box-Toppers points this season.
Though Fernandez' performance Friday was impressive and his Box-Toppers game score of 13.0 would usually be enough to earn Player of the Day honors, there were three other players who had better scores Friday.
Petit, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 15.0, is Friday's overall top player. Petit was one strike away from a perfect game in the 3-0 win over the Diamondbacks. He gave up one hit with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning. He struck out seven in the complete game shutout.
This is Petit's first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor since Aug. 27, 2009 when he was with the Diamondbacks.
Indians pitcher Scott Kazmir is American League Player of the Day. Kazmir struck out 12 over six scoreless innings in the 8-1 win over the Mets.
Omar Infante of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Infante went 5-for-6 and drove in six runs in the 16-2 win over the Royals.
Jon Jay of the Cardinals is National League Batter of the Day. Jay went 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in three runs in the 12-8 win over the Pirates.
Notable: Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee rises to 29th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Lee (8IP 2H 1R 10K W in 2-1 win vs. Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season.
Petit receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kazmir receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Infante and Jay 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
| 906 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 15.0 | Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 3-0) | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 14.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 12-6) | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |||
| AL | 14.0 | Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Kazmir (W, 8-7) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 13.0 | Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jose Fernandez (W, 11-6) | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |||
| BAT | 8.0 | Tigers | Omar Infante 2B | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 7.1 | Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Carlos Villanueva (W, 5-8) | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 7.0 | Red Sox | Mike Napoli 1B | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 6.0 | Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Feldman (W, 5-4) | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Cardinals | Jon Jay CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Reds | Joey Votto 1B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Donaldson 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Angels | Mark Trumbo 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Kyle Seager 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Reyes SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Padres | Jesus Guzman PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rockies' Nicasio tops players for Monday, Aug. 26; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Monday, Aug. 26:
Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio is Monday's Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to sixth in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Nicasio pitched six shutout innings and struck out nine in the 6-1 win over the Giants.
Greinke, who was top player in his game Monday, moves from 10th to sixth place in season player rankings in Box-Toppers points. Greinke (8.2IP 9K W in 6-2 win vs. Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.7 for the season.
Chris Carter of the Astros is American League Player of the Day. Carter hit two home runs, drove in four runs and went 3-for-4 in the 10-8 win over the White Sox.
Allen Craig of the Cardinals is National League Batter of the Day. Craig hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4 in the 8-6 win over the Reds.
Notable: Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee rises to 30th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lee (8IP 1R 7K W in 2-1 win vs. Mets) picks up 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season.
Nicasio receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Carter receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Craig receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Monday'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
| 826 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.0 | Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Juan Nicasio (W, 8-6) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 7.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 11-6) | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 6.2 | Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Zack Greinke (W, 13-3) | 8.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | |||
| AL | 6.0 | Astros | Chris Carter DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6.0 | Royals | Billy Butler DH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 6.0 | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brandon McCarthy (W, 3-8) | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Cardinals | Allen Craig RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.1 | `Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Aaron Loup (H, 7) | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Coco Crisp CF | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Alex Rios RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Red Sox' Felix Doubront, Phillies' Cliff Lee, Mets' Matt Harvey top players for Tuesday, June 18
Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Doubront pitched eight shutout innings and gave up only three hits (but earned no decision) in the 3-1 win over the Rays.
Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee is National League Player of the Day. Lee struck out nine over eight innings in the 4-2 win over the Nationals. Lee rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season (see the current top 10 standings on the home page). Lee earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for NL Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season.
Matt Dominguez of the Astros is American League Batter of the Day. Dominguez hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 in the 10-1 win over the Brewers.
Standings update: Mets pitcher Matt Harvey rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season (see the updated top 10 list). Harvey (7IP 13K) was Player of the Game in the 4-3 win over the Braves, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season.
Doubront receives 2.0 Box-Toppers
points for being Player of the Day. Lee receives 1.7 for NL
Player of
the Day. Dominguez receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day. No
NL batter was Player of the Game Tuesday, so no NL batter
receives bonus points.
All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 618 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.0 | `Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Felix Doubront | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 9-2) | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 8.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Matt Harvey (W, 6-1) | 7.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 | |||
| 7.0 | `Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Matt Cain | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Astros | Matt Dominguez 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.1 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Charlie Morton (W, 1-1) | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 4.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Zack Wheeler (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | |||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Twins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Glen Perkins (S, 17) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.1 | Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jeff Samardzija (W, 4-7) | 8.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 2.0 | Orioles | J.J. Hardy SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Athletics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jarrod Parker (W, 6-6) | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 2.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yoervis Medina (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2.0 | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | David Hernandez (W, 3-4) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Jacoby Ellsbury CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0.0 | Indians | Mike Aviles SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Athletics' Jarrod Parker, Phillies' Cliff Lee top players for Sunday, June 2
Athletics pitcher Jarrod Parker is Sunday's Player of the Day. Parker struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings in the 2-0 win over the White Sox.
Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee is National League Player of the Day. Lee struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings in the 7-5 win over the Brewers.
Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins is NL Batter of the Day. Ozuna went 3-for-5 and was a homer short of the cycle in the 11-6 win over the Mets.
Yunel Escobar of the Rays is American League Batter of the Day. Escobar hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5 in the 11-3 win over the Indians.
Standings update: Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz scored 1.0 Box-Toppers point Sunday to maintain third place in player standings (see updated standings on the home page) for the 2013 season. Also, Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish rose to fourth place on the list. Buchholz (5IP 4K) was Player of the Game in the rain-shortened, six-inning 3-0 win over the Yankees. Darvish (7IP 0R 6K ND) was Player of the Game in the 3-1 win over the Royals. Both Buchholz and Darvish earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Buchholz now has 10.1 Box-Toppers points, Darvish has 9.0. Box-Toppers leader Miguel Cabrera has 10.7.
Parker receives 2.0 Box-Toppers
points for being Player of the Day. Lee receives 1.7 for NL
Player of the Day. Ozuna and Escobar each receive 1.5 for being top
Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 602 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.1 | Athletics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jarrod Parker (W, 4-6) | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | `Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yu Darvish | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 6.0 | Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clay Buchholz (W, 8-0) | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |||
| NL | 5.2 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 7-2) | 7.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Rockies | Dexter Fowler CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4.0 | Twins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Diamond (W, 4-4) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Justin Wilson (W, 5-0) | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 3.0 | Diamondbacks | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chad Gaudin (W, 1-1) | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 3.0 | `Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kevin Gausman | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |||
| BAT | 2.0 | Rays | Yunel Escobar SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Mark DeRosa PH, 4,5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Astros | Carlos Pena DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Craig Kimbrel (S, 17) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.