Diamondbacks' Greinke tops players for Thursday, June 2, rises to 10th in season player rankings, 16th in all-time rankings

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th 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 2:  

	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	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc al	7.0
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Greinke also rises two spots to 16th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing four hits, in the 3-0 win over the Astros.

Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 7.0 for the season, rising to 10th in season player rankings, seventh among National League pitchers. 

Greinke also now has 153.4 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 16th in “all-time” rankings, passing two players—Greg Maddux (151.7) and Barry Bonds (153.2). (It should be noted that both Bonds and Maddux began their careers before 1995 when tracking began and so both would likely have many more Box-Toppers points if their entire careers were tracked.) Greinke now trails 15th-ranked player Mike Mussina (155.6).

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	181.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	176.3
7	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	173.3
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	153.4
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)

American League Player of the Day—Dae-Ho Lee of the Mariners homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 16-13 win over the Padres.

National League Batter of the Day—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds hit two homers, including a three-run shot, in the 11-4 win over the Rockies. Suarez also doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four total runs.

Suarez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season and now ranks second among NL batters in season Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the AL Player of the Day was batter Dae-Ho Lee.

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

• Marlins pitcher Nick Wittgren (3IP 0H 0R 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,647th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Twins pitcher Taylor Rogers (2IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 6-4 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut April 14 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,648th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lee earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Suarez 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.

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

6/2	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	ARI 3/HOU 0	Zack Greinke (W,7-3)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	11
	12.2	SF 6/ATL 0	Madison Bumgarner (W,7-2)	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	2	11
	6.2	MIL 4/PHI 1	Chase Anderson (W,3-6)	-	-	-	-		5.2	3	1	1	0	6
AL	6.0	SEA 16/SD 13	Dae-Ho Lee, PH-1B	3	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	CHC 7/LAD 2	Kyle Hendricks (W,4-4)	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	1	6
	6.0	MIA 4/PIT 3	Nick Wittgren (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	5.0	CIN 11/COL 4	Eugenio Suarez, 3B	5	3	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	`NYY 5/DET 4	Michael Pineda	-	-	-	-		5.2	7	1	1	0	8
	4.0	MIN 6/TB 4	Taylor Rogers (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	BAL 12/BOS 7	Mark Trumbo, RF	4	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.2	CLE 5/KC 4	Tommy Hunter (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		1.2	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.

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	+/-
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.0	27.7	92.8	153.4	-13.7
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	7.0	24.0	94.0	99.7	-10.0
Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	6.0	9.0	11.5	11.5	3.0
Lee, Dae-Ho 3627	1b ph	sea al	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	4.0	13.7	18.7	18.7	-5.7
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	4.0	8.0	13.0	13.0	0.0
Trumbo, Mark 2851	dh rf	bal al	2.5	5.0	28.2	28.2	0.0
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	1.0	11.7	29.1	29.1	-9.7
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi cp	cle al	1.0	2.0	9.0	16.0	0.0
Rogers, Taylor 3648	pi mr	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Wittgren, Nick 3647	pi cp	fla nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Wednesday, Sept 2, takes Box-Toppers player rankings lead

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

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 2 and takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
2	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw is the first player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and has now exceeded 20.0 Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons. This is the first time this season Kershaw has led in Box-Toppers points. Kershaw led players in Box-Toppers points in three of the past four seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014) and has led National League pitchers the past four seasons.

Kershaw struck out 15 in a complete game, allowing one run and six hits, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.7 for the season. He rises from third place to take the Box-Toppers player rankings lead, passing previous leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (19.1 points).

Kershaw also rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Kershaw now has 154.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted Bonds began his career in 1986 and if his entire career were tracked, he would likely have about 230 career Box-Toppers points, making a rough extrapolation.) Kershaw trails 14th-place player Tim Hudson (155.0).

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Tommy Milone pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and drove in seven runs.

Lead changes

Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

Date	Player	Team	BTP
4/5	Adam Wainwright	stl nl	2.0
4/6	Felix Hernandez	sea al	2.0
4/13	Scott Kazmir	oak al	3.7
4/18	Felix Hernandez	sea al	4.0
6/26	Max Scherzer	dc nl	14.0
7/9	Felix Hernandez	sea al	14.4
7/12	Max Scherzer	dc nl	15.0
7/24	Felix Hernandez	sea al	15.4
7/26	Jacob deGrom	nym nl	16.4
9/2	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	20.7

Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season. He ranks third among NL batters, behind Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9) and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates (9.5). He ranks 36th among all players.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Mariners earned AL Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day. Morrison homered, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Astros. He has 4.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 3.0 in the past two days.

Notable—Two other notable milestones from Wednesday:

• Albert Pujols of the Angels earned Player of the Game honors and now has 174.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his spot in sixth place among all players since 1995. Pujols (HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 9-4 win over the Athletics) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point and trails fifth-place player on the “all-time” list, CC Sabathia (178.0). Pujols is ranked third among active players and is second among all batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Pujols has 7.0 Box-Toppers points this season, 12th among AL batters.
• Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura became the 30th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors. Ventura (7IP 5H R 11K W in the 12-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 24th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Milone earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Morrison each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/2	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W,12-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	6	1	1	1	15
AL	11.0	Twins	Tommy Milone (W,7-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	0	7
	10.0	Royals	Yordano Ventura (W,10-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	11
	9.0	Blue Jays	R.A. Dickey (W,10-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	1	1	0	6
BAT	7.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez, RF	4	2	2	7	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	`Reds	Raisel Iglesias	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	2	3	10
BAT	5.0	Mariners	Logan Morrison, PH-1B	1	2	1	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Yankees	Stephen Drew, 2B	4	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Orioles	Chris Davis, 1B	4	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman, 1B	4	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mets	Ruben Tejada, SS	4	1	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rangers	Sam Dyson (W,5-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	1	2
	2.0	Angels	Albert Pujols, DH	5	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Brewers	Adam Lind, 1B	4	2	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Marlins	Marcell Ozuna, CF	3	2	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Friday, Aug. 28, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

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

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 28 and rises to second place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 28.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
5	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	17.0
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	16.7
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	15.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also, Kershaw rises to 16th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rises to 35th among all players since 1995.

Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.7 for the season and rising to second place among all players, behind overall leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.4 Box-Toppers points).

Kershaw also has 152.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 16th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Friday, Kershaw passes one player on the “all-time” list, Greg Maddux (151.7 Box-Toppers points). (It should be noted that Maddux made his debut in 1986 and had seven 15-plus win seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995 and so, based on very rough extrapolations, would likely have about 250 career Box-Toppers points.) Kershaw now trails 15th-place player, Barry Bonds (153.2 points).

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 4-1 win over the Orioles.

Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 122.5 for his career, rising to 35th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Friday, Hamels passes Jered Weaver (122.1 Box-Toppers points). He trails 34th-place player Justin Verlander (122.9 points).

This was Hamels first Player of the Game honor since his trade from the Phillies.

Hamels now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks 20th among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Didi Gregorius of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-5, driving in six runs, in the 15-4 win over the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day—Martin Prado of the Marlins homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Nationals.

Notable—In addition to Kershaw and Hamels, one other player with more than 10 Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker (6.1IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 21st among all players and 12th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gregorius and Prado each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/28	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W,11-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	1	14
AL	10.0	Rangers	Cole Hamels (W,8-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	1	1	4	10
	8.1	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W,10-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	3	0	0	1	6
	7.0	Phillies	Aaron Nola (W,5-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	6
BAT	6.0	Yankees	Didi Gregorius, SS	5	1	4	6	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Indians	Trevor Bauer (W,10-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	3	7
	5.0	Brewers	Taylor Jungmann (W,8-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	3	5
	4.0	Blue Jays	Roberto Osuna (S,16)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S,29)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Twins	Kyle Gibson (W,9-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	4	0	0	3	4
BAT	2.0	Marlins	Martin Prado, 3B	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Red Sox	Jackie Bradley Jr., LF	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Aaron Hill, PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Pirates	Gregory Polanco, RF	5	2	3	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Giants	Marlon Byrd, RF	5	1	1	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

Pirates' Cole tops players for Friday, May 22, rises to 2nd in player rankings; Hernandez extends player rankings lead

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Also Friday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his overall player rankings lead and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to third place in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 22.  

	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	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	5.7
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	5.7
10	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	5.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Cole struck out 10 over 8 1/3 innings and allowed one run in the 4-1 win over the Mets. Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers player rankings. He passes Braves pitcher Shelby Miller (7.0 Box-Toppers points) to lead National League pitchers on the season.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija struck out nine over eight innings and allowed two runs in the 3-2 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals homered twice and drove in five runs, going 3-for-4, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers homered, hit two doubles and drove in four runs, going 3-for-3 and scoring twice, in the 11-0 win over the Braves.

Leader—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez maintained his top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hernandez (7IP R 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He has led player rankings all but six days this season (Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals led April 5, Scott Kazmir of the Athletics led from April 13 to 17).

Hernandez now has 153.0 career Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He is just behind Barry Bonds (153.2) and Tim Hudson (154.0). Hernandez’s 153.0 career points ranks third among active pitchers currently in the AL, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (174.3) and Johan Santana of the Blue Jays (166.6).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Scherzer (8IP R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. While Scherzer and two other players have 7.0 points this season, Scherzer holds the tiebreaker because he had more points in 2014—Scherzer (22.1), Chris Archer (12.4), Shelby Miller (9.0).

Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 27th place in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began, after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Grienke (7.2IP R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season and 130.7 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) in Box-Toppers points earned since 1995. Greinke now trails Jake Peavy (131.8) on that list.

Scoring—Cole 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. Morales and Braun each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/22	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.1	Pirates	Gerrit Cole (W, 6-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.1	6	1	0	1	10
AL	9.0	White Sox	Jeff Samardzija (W, 4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	1	9
	7.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W, 5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	1	6
	7.0	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W, 7-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	2	8
BAT	6.0	Royals	Kendrys Morales DH	4	2	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	6.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun RF	3	2	3	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Giants	Ryan Vogelsong (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	3	5
	5.0	Tigers	Alfredo Simon (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	0	1	5
	3.2	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	6	1	1	1	5
	3.0	Rangers	Prince Fielder DH	5	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Orioles	Caleb Joseph C	4	2	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Indians	Jason Kipnis 2B	4	2	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rays	Evan Longoria 3B	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Paul Goldschmidt 1B	5	1	3	3	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Angels	Chris Iannetta C	3	1	1	3	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Royals' Ventura tops players for Tuesday, May 19; Giants' Hudson earns Box-Toppers points for 17th straight season

Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Colby Rasmus of the Astros rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, taking the lead among American League batters and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson earned a Box-Toppers point for the 17th straight season, tying him for the longest current consecutive streak.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 19.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	7.0
3	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
4	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	6.5
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
7	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
8	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	5.1
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
10	Rasmus, Colby 2608	lf rf cf	hou al	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher James Shields struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Cubs. Shields did not pick up the win in the game because he exited with the score tied 2-2.

National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks hit a pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead home run in the 4-2 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Jimmy Paredes of the Orioles homered and went 2-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Mariners.

Rankings—Colby Rasmus of the Astros rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season, taking the lead among AL batters, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Rasmus (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. Rasmus has the same 2015 Box-Toppers point total as Eric Hosmer of the Royals, but wins the tie-breaker because he had more points in 2014—3.2 vs. 2.5.

Streak—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the longest currently active streak. Hudson was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers (6.1IP 0R W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

In addition, with his point Tuesday, Hudson now has 154.0 for his career and rises to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Hudson passes Barry Bonds (153.2) on that list, though it should be noted Bonds played nine seasons before Box-Toppers record keeping began and so would likely have many more career Box-Toppers points.

Hudson’s 17-season streak of earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point ties him with Torii Hunter of the Twins for the longest active streak. (Hunter has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season.) The record for most consecutive seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point is 19, held by Jason Giambi (1995-2013). (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) One other active player had Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons as of 2014 and also has a chance to extend that to 17 straight seasons in 2015—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees.

Hudson earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Athletics. His best year was 2001 with the Athletics, when he had 18.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.

His 154.0 career Box-Toppers points ranks him 13th among all players since 1995, just behind Mike Mussina (155.6). His career total ranks 10th among all pitchers since 1995 and first among active pitchers currently in the NL, ahead of Bartolo Colon of the Mets (136.4).

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

• Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (3B 2-2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 10-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 28, 2014, and was playing in his 57th career game. He is the 3,474th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Clint Robinson of the Nationals (PH 2B 1-1 R BI in the 8-6 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut June 8, 2012, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,475th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Ventura earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shields earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Pollock and Paredes each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/19	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Royals	Yordano Ventura (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	6
NL	7.0	`Padres	James Shields	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	1	11
	5.1	Indians	Trevor Bauer (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	1	1	3	7
	4.0	Brewers	Jimmy Nelson (W, 2-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	4	5
BAT	3.0	Dbacks	A.J. Pollock PH, CF	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.2	`Twins	Blaine Boyer (H, 7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Cardinals	Randal Grichuk RF	5	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Orioles	Jimmy Paredes DH	5	1	2	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Colby Rasmus CF, LF	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Nationals	Clint Robinson PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Red Sox	Wade Miley (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	2	2	1	7
	2.0	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	1	3	5
	2.0	Rays	Brad Boxberger (S, 11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.1	Giants	Tim Hudson (W, 2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	0	0	2	2
	1.0	Rockies	Nick Hundley C	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.

Yankees' Pineda tops players for Sunday, May 10; Mariners' Hernandez extends lead among players, rises to 15th in 'all-time' rankings

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and moved into 15th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings, passing Greg Maddux.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
4	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
5	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.7
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	4.7
9	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
10	Rodriguez, Alex	dh	nyy al	4.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Pineda struck out 16 batters over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Pineda had a Box-Toppers game score of 15, the highest recorded so far this season. However, another player also had a Box-Toppers game score of 15 Sunday—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar, Player of the Game in the 8-2 win over the Twins (7IP H R 11K). However, Pineda won the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day because he had more strikeouts than Salazar—16 vs. 11. And though Salazar had one of the two highest Box-Toppers game scores of the season, he earns only 1.0 Box-Toppers point as Player of the Game, while Pineda earns 2.0 for being Player of the Day.

National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Cubs. After Garza exited the game, the Cubs tied the score 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, so Garza did not earn the win, but picked up a no-decision.

National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers hit two doubles and drove in four runs in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Red Sox hit a three-run home run in the 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Napoli has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Angels. His best year was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0, ninth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox.

Napoli has 48.2 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 23rd among active batters currently in the AL.

Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Hernandez (7IP 2R 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He is 2.7 Box-Toppers points ahead of the second place player, Gerrit Cole of the Pirates (6.0).

With the Box-Toppers point earned Sunday, Hernandez now has 152.0 for his career, which moves him up to 15th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He passes Greg Maddux (151.7) on the list. It should be noted that Maddux pitched nine seasons, many of them stellar, before Box-Toppers record keeping began, so his actual Box-Toppers career total would likely be much higher. Hernandez now trails Tim Hudson of the Giants (153.0) and Barry Bonds (153.2).

Streak—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons.

Zimmerman was Player of the Game in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Braves (2B 2-4 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Zimmerman earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Nationals. His best year was 2013 with the Nationals when he had 9.2, sixth among NL batters. In 2014, he had 3.5 Box-Toppers points with the Nationals.

Zimmerman has 52.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among active batters currently in the NL.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Johnny Monell of the Mets (pinch hitter: 2B 2BI in the 7-4 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2013, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,463rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Jung-Ho Kang of the Pirates (HR 2-4 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,464th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Pineda earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garza earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Napoli each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/10	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.0	Yankees	Michael Pineda (W, 5-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	0	16
	15.0	Indians	Danny Salazar (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	1	1	0	11
	9.2	Angels	Garrett Richards (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	1	1	1	4	10
NL	8.0	`Brewers	Matt Garza	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	3	9
	7.0	`Rangers	Wandy Rodriguez	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	1	6
	6.0	`Giants	Ryan Vogelsong	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	0	5
	5.0	`Royals	Chris Young	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	0	0	3
	4.1	`Dbacks	Daniel Hudson	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.1	2	0	0	2	5
BAT	3.0	Dodgers	Adrian Gonzalez 1B	4	1	2	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Red Sox	Mike Napoli 1B	2	1	1	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mariners	Felix Hernandez (W, 6-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	1	6
	2.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman 1B	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mets	Johnny Monell PH	1	0	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Pirates	Jung-Ho Kang 3B	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	White Sox	Tyler Flowers C	2	1	2	0	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Tim Hudson rises onto Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 10 pitchers list

Giants pitcher Tim Hudson has moved into Box-Toppers ‘all-time’ top 10 pitchers list, passing Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux.

Top 10 pitchers 'all-time'

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 'all-time' pitchers (record keeping began in 1995). The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players have accumulated since 1995.

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Johnson, Randy	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Martinez, Pedro J.	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Schilling, Curt	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	173.3
5	Halladay, Roy 1178	pi sp	retired	170.7
6	Santana, Johan 1448	pi sp	bal al	166.6
7	Clemens, Roger	pi sp	retired	164.8
8	Smoltz, John	pi sp	retired	160.9
9	Mussina, Mike	pi sp	retired	155.6
10	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	sf nl	152.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Hudson, who earned Player of the Game honors July 5, now has 152.0 career Box-Toppers points (including 7.7 this season) and passes Maddux, who had 151.7.

However, Box-Toppers record keeping did not begin until 1995 and so some of Maddux’s most productive years—1986 to 1994, in which he won 15 or more games per season seven times—are not recorded. Meanwhile, Hudson’s entire career, beginning in 1999, has been recorded.

Hudson has scored at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in each of his 16 seasons. He has scored 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season six times. His best season was in 2001 with the Oakland Athletics, when he earned 18.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks 14th among all players in ‘all-time’ Box-Toppers points, just behind Barry Bonds (153.2).

Hudson turned 39 Monday.

The top 10 ‘all-time’ pitchers list does not change that often. The last time there was any change in the standings was June 2013, when Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia passed Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay to move into fourth place overall. Sabathia has since scored only 1.0 additional Box-Toppers point and now has 173.3 for his career.

The last time there was any change in membership in the ‘all-time’ top 10 pitcher list was September 2010, when Sabathia rose onto the list with 137.5 Box-Toppers points, passing then-Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez, with 135.6.

While there are three active pitchers on the top 10 list—Sabathia, Johan Santana of the Orioles and Hudson—Hudson is the only pitcher who is both active and not on the disabled list. Sabathia and Santana are both likely out for the season.

Randy Johnson leads the list with 278.8 Box-Toppers points and is the overall ‘all-time’ Box-Toppers leader (again, since 1995, when record keeping began).

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?

Lance Berkman retires; he led NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2006

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 13th of the series:

13. Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman led all National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2006 and finished among the top five NL batters three times, but never won the NL Most Valuable Player Award.

Lance Berkman

Here are Lance Berkman'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
1999	hou nl	2.0
2000	hou nl	5.0	RoY-6
2001	hou nl	6.5	AS, BTP-134, BTP-NL bat-38, MVP-5
2002	hou nl	8.5	AS, BTP-80, BTP-NL bat-18, MVP-3
2003	hou nl	7.5
2004	hou nl	11.2	AS, BTP-27, BTP-NL bat-5, MVP-7
2005	hou nl	7.0	MVP-14
2006	hou nl	20.8	AS, BTP-2, BTP-NL bat-1, MVP-3
2007	hou nl	4.5
2008	hou nl	12.9	AS, BTP-20, BTP-NL bat-5, MVP-5
2009	hou nl	6.5
2010	hou nl/nyy al	4.5
2011	stl nl	10.2	AS, BTP-48, BTP-NL bat-7, MVP-7
2012	stl nl	0.0
2013	tex al	1.0
Total		108.1	BTP-46, BTP-bat-16

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
RoY Rookie of the Year

Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com

Berkman, who retired in January and is now 38, has 108.1 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 16th among batters and 46th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Berkman played most of his career with the Astros (1999-2010). He moved to the Yankees to end the 2010 season. He played 2011 and 2012 with the Cardinals (where in 2011, he won a World Series title and NL Comeback Player of the Year). He finished his career in 2013 with the Rangers.

Some career highlights:

• In 2001, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points, 38th among NL batters and 134th among all players. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting.

• In 2002, he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 18th among NL batters and 80th among all players. He finished third in NL MVP voting.

• In 2004, he had 11.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters and 27th among all players. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting. (Barry Bonds of the Giants was voted NL MVP. He had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals led NL batters with 15.9 Box-Toppers points.)

• In 2006, he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, his most in a single season. He finished first among NL batters and second among all players (behind only Johan Santana of the Twins with 25.7 points). However, Berkman finished third in NL MVP voting. Ryan Howard of the Phillies, who won the award, had 14.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters.

• In 2008, he had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters and 20th among all players. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, who won the award, had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, most among NL batters.

• In 2011, he had 10.2 Box-Toppers points with the Cardinals, seventh among NL batters and 48th among all players. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting. Ryan Braun of the Brewers, who won the award, had 10.5 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL batters. (Prince Fielder of the Brewers led NL batters in 2011 with 15.7 points.)

Berkman had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and one season with more than 20.0.

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: Ryan Dempster

Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Todd Helton, Barry Zito, Chris Carpenter

Todd Helton topped NL batters twice in Box-Toppers points, but never won NL MVP

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 10th of the series:

10. Todd Helton

Todd Helton never won the Most Valuable Player Award, but was the top National League batter in Box-Toppers points twice and among the top three NL batters four seasons in a row.

Todd Helton

Here are Todd Helton'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
1997	col nl	0.0
1998	col nl	7.5
1999	col nl	14.7	BTP-12, BTP-NL bat-2
2000	col nl	15.2	AS, BTP-11, BTP-NL bat-1, MVP-5
2001	col nl	17.0	AS, BTP-9, BTP-NL bat-1, MVP-9
2002	col nl	14.0	AS, BTP-15, BTP-NL bat-3, MVP-19
2003	col nl	11.0	AS, BTP-32, BTP-NL bat-6, MVP-7
2004	col nl	6.5	AS, BTP-126, BTP-NL bat-32, MVP-16
2005	col nl	6.5
2006	col nl	4.5
2007	col nl	5.5
2008	col nl	2.0
2009	col nl	4.0	BTP-259, BTP-NL bat-66, MVP-13
2010	col nl	2.0
2011	col nl	4.5
2012	col nl	0.0
2013	col nl	1.5
Total		116.4	BTP-33, BTP-bat-12

AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting

Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com

Helton, who retired at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 40, spent his entire 17-year Major League career with the Colorado Rockies. He had 116.4 career Box-Toppers points, ranking third among first basemen in the “all-time” Box-Toppers list (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Ahead of him on the first baseman list—Albert Pujols (159.8) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).

Helton ranks 12th among all batters on Box-Toppers “all-time” list and 33rd among all players.

Helton’s most impressive period of his career was a four-season stretch from 1999 to 2002, when he was among the top three NL batters in Box-Toppers points and was the top batter two straight years, 2000 and 2001:

• In 1999, he had 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking second among NL batters and 12th among all players. He finished just behind Barry Bonds of the Giants (15.2). Chipper Jones of the Braves was voted NL MVP. He had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 16th among NL batters. Helton received no MVP votes in 1999.

• In 2000, he had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking first among NL batters and 11th among all players. (Gary Sheffield of the Dodgers was second among NL batters with 14.2.) Jeff Kent of the Giants, who was voted NL MVP, had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters. Helton finished fifth in NL MVP voting.

• In 2001, Helton’s best season, he had 17.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking first among NL batters and ninth among all players. (Chipper Jones of the Braves was second among NL batters with 16.7.) However, Helton finished ninth in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds of the Giants, who won the award, had 15.5 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters.

• In 2002, he had 14.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among NL batters and 15th among all players. He finished 19th in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds, who won NL MVP voting, was also Box-Toppers’ NL batting leader with 20.7 points.

Other career highlights for Helton:

• In 2003, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among NL batters, 32nd among all players. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting.

• In 2004, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking 32nd among NL batters and 126th among all players and finished 16th in NL MVP voting.

• In 2009, while he finished 13th in NL MVP voting, he had only 4.0 Box-Toppers points, 66th among NL batters and 259th among all players.

Helton had five consecutive seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points (1999-2003), including two seasons with 15.0 or more (2000 and 2001).

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: Barry Zito

Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte