Royals' Eric Hosmer is Box-Toppers Player of the Game as AL wins 2016 All-Star Game

Eric Hosmer of the Royals is Box-Toppers 2016 All-Star Player of the Game.

Hosmer hit a game-tying, second-inning homer and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the American League’s 4-2 win over the National League.

Hosmer was also named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

Hosmer had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +2.0, tied with AL and Royal teammate Salvador Perez as highest scores earned by AL players. But Hosmer won Player of the Game on a tiebreaker because he had more at bats than Perez—3 vs. 2. Perez homered and drove in two runs in his two at bats.

Top pitcher of the game for the AL was Corey Kluber of the Indians (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W), who also had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Hosmer won Player of the Game honors over Kluber because in cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers.

Kluber ranked ahead of two other AL pitchers who had Box-Toppers game scores of +2.0 (Dellin Betances of the Yankees and Kelvin Herrera of the Royals) because Kluber earned the win. Kluber leads AL players in Box-Toppers points this season with 12.5—he ranks fifth among all players.

Hosmer has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 42nd among AL batters. In 2015, Hosmer had 9.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked ninth among AL batters, his best season. Hosmer has 25.5 career Box-Toppers points, making his Box-Toppers debut in 2011. Since the start of 2011, he ranks 28th among AL batters in career Box-Toppers points.

Overall Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0), was selected to the NL All-Star team but did not pitch in the game—he is on the disabled list, recovering from a lower back injury.

Manny Machado of the Orioles, who leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points (8.7), went 0-for-3 in the All-Star Game and had a Box-Toppers game score of −3.0.

Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals, who leads NL batters in Box-Toppers points (7.5), was selected to the NL All-Star team but is out with an injury and did not play.

Top player for the NL team was Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who opened scoring with a first-inning solo homer. Bryant went 1-for-2 and had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0.

Scoring—Just as All-Star Game statistics don’t count in a player’s regular season statistics, no Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.

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.

Box-Toppers game scores of AL All-Star players

Here are all the players who played for the winning American League team in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Eric Hosmer had the highest game score and is Box-Toppers All-Star Player of the Game (POG) 

7/12 Score AL All-Stars Team AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
POG 2.0 Eric Hosmer, 1B Royals 3 1 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Salvador Perez, C Royals 2 1 1 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Corey Kluber (W,1-0) Indians - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Dellin Betances Yankees - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.0 Kelvin Herrera Royals - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.1 Will Harris Astros - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Jose Quintana White Sox - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 1
0.0 Jackie Bradley, LF Red Sox 2 0 2 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Mookie Betts, RF Red Sox 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Edwin Encarnacion, DH Blue Jays 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Cole Hamels Rangers - - - - 1.0 2 0 0 0 1
0.0 Robinson Cano, 2B Mariners 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Xander Bogaerts, SS Red Sox 2 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 David Ortiz, DH Red Sox 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Carlos Beltran, RF Yankees 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Michael Saunders, RF Blue Jays 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mark Trumbo, LF Orioles 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Ian Desmond, CF Rangers 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Josh Donaldson, 3B Blue Jays 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Miguel Cabrera, 1B Tigers 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Chris Sale White Sox - - - - 1.0 1 1 1 0 1
-1.8 Andrew Miller Yankees - - - - 0.2 2 0 0 1 1
-2.0 Mike Trout, CF Angels 3 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Francisco Lindor, SS Indians 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Matt Wieters, C Orioles 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Jose Altuve, 2B Astros 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Manny Machado, 3B Orioles 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Aaron Sanchez Blue Jays - - - - 1.0 2 1 1 1 0

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Royals' Chris Young pitches extra-innings relief to top players in World Series Game 1, Tuesday, Oct. 27

Chris Young pitched three innings of extra-innings relief to earn Player of the Game honors Tuesday in World Series Game 1, as the Royals came from behind to win 5-4 in 14 innings.

Young, slated to be the Game 4 starter, came on in relief in the 12th inning and finished out the game, allowing no hits or runs, striking out four and allowing one walk, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, the highest among Royals players.

The Royals take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series.

The Royals trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Alex Gordon hit a one-out home run to tie the game, forcing extra innings. Eric Hosmer hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. While no Royals batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score, Hosmer had the highest score among Kansas City batters of −1.0 (2SF 0-3 2BI).

Chris Young, during the regular season, had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 78th among all players and 29th among American League pitchers.

Royals Game 1 starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had the lowest Box-Toppers game score among Kansas City players of −4.0 (6IP 6H 3R BB 3K ND).

Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0 (6H 5K 3R 2BB 2K ND). Harvey had 15.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among National League pitchers.

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 Royals in World Series Game 1

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 1 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score. Chris Young is Player of the Game (POG).

10/27 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 6.0 Royals Chris Young (W,1-0) - - - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 1 4
4.0 Royals Wade Davis - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
1.2 Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 0.2 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Royals Ryan Madson - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 1 2
0.0 Royals Luke Hochevar - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 0
-0.9 Royals Kelvin Herrera - - - - - - 1.1 3 1 0 0 2
-1.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 3 0 0 2 2 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Ben Zobrist, 2B 6 1 3 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Alcides Escobar, SS 6 2 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Alex Gordon, LF 5 1 1 1 1 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, PR-DH 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 6 0 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Kendrys Morales, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 6 0 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain, CF 6 1 1 0 1 2 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Edinson Volquez - - - - - - 6.0 6 3 3 1 3

Coming Wednesday in Kansas City:

World Series Game 2, Royals lead Mets, 1-0

The pitching match-up Wednesday:

Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report

Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end

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Pirates' Liriano tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 8; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 8.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 21.7
2 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 21.1
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 19.4
4 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 19.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 19.1
6 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 18.0
7 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 17.4
8 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
9 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 17.0
10 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 16.8
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th. Also, two players with more than 150 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday—Kershaw and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson, who rose to 13th place among all players since 1995.

Player of the Day—Liriano struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.

Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.9 for the season. He rises to 16th place among all players and ninth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-5 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run double in the 4-2 win over the Twins.

Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season and rises to fifth among AL batters.

New leader—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

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
9/5 Jake Arrieta chi nl 21.1
9/8 Clayton Kershaw lad nl 21.7

Kershaw (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 6-4 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.7 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (21.1 points), who took the lead from Kershaw on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Kershaw also now has 155.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 15th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 14th-place player Mike Mussina (155.6).

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings Tuesday. Gray (7IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.8 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among all players in Box-Toppers since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Hudson (6IP 4H R 4K W in the 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 156.0 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Tuesday, he passes Mike Mussina (155.6) on the “all-time” list and trails 12th-place player Felix Hernandez (160.7). (Mussina started his career in 1991, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, and would likely have an estimated 190 total Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked.) Hudson has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.

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

  • Padres pitcher Colin Rea (7IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 11 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,582nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Marlins pitcher Kyle Barraclough (1.2IP 0H 0R 4K W in the 6-4 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 7 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,583rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Tigers pitcher Drew VerHagen (2.1IP 1H 0R 2K ND in the 8-7 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 19, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,584th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Orioles pitcher T.J. McFarland (2.1IP 0H 0R K ND in the 2-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut Aug. 6, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,585th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Hosmer each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/8 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Pirates Francisco Liriano (W,10-7) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 1 10
AL 7.0 White Sox Carlos Rodon (W,7-6) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 8
7.0 Phillies Aaron Nola (W,6-2) - - - - - - 7.0 6 0 0 1 7
6.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,13-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 2 1 2 8
6.0 `Padres Colin Rea - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 3 4
5.2 Marlins Kyle Barraclough (MR) (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 4
BAT 5.0 Cubs Starlin Castro, 2B 4 3 2 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W,13-7) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 2 4
4.0 Giants Tim Hudson (W,7-8) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 0 4
3.1 `Tigers Drew VerHagen (MR) - - - - - - 2.1 1 0 0 0 2
3.0 `Blue Jays R.A. Dickey - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 1 4
3.0 Rangers Shawn Tolleson (S,31) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.1 `Orioles T.J. McFarland (MR) - - - - - - 2.1 0 0 0 1 1
2.0 Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis, PH-LF 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 1.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 4 1 1 3 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Athletics' Sonny Gray (CG 0R 3H 9K) tops players for Tuesday, July 28, rises to 6th in player rankings

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in player rankings.

Gray pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers.

Top 10 players

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


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
What are those numbers after players' names?

Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season, rising to sixth in player rankings. He ranks fourth among American League pitchers.

Gray had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of 14, tied with Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who was Player of the Game in his team’s win over the Padres. However, Gray won overall Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—he had more innings pitched than Syndergaard (nine vs. eight).

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 4-0 win over the Padres. Syndergaard had a perfect game until the seventh inning.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 7-3 win over the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day—David Peralta of the Diamondbacks doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Mariners.

Debut—Yankees pitcher Diego Moreno made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Moreno (5.1IP 0H 0R 5K W in the 21-5 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut June 22 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,540th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Notable—Eric Hosmer of the Royals earned Player of the Game honors for the second day in a row Tuesday.

Hosmer (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season, rising to fourth among AL batters. Hosmer was AL Batter of the Day Monday, so has earned 2.5 Box-Toppers points in the past two days.

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Syndergaard earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Davis and Peralta 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

7/28 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W,11-4) - - - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 1 9
NL 14.0 Mets Noah Syndergaard (W,5-5) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 0 9
9.1 Yankees Diego Moreno (W,1-0) - - - - - - 5.1 0 0 0 1 5
6.0 Reds Mike Leake (W,9-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 1 3
BAT 5.0 Orioles Chris Davis, RF 4 2 2 5 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 White Sox Geovany Soto, C 2 2 2 3 3 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Rays Jake Odorizzi (W,6-6) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 1 8
4.0 Astros Jose Altuve, 2B 5 1 3 5 0 1 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 Dbacks David Peralta, LF 4 1 3 2 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 4 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Brewers Gerardo Parra, RF 4 3 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies DJ LeMahieu, 2B 4 2 3 1 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Martin Prado, 3B 3 1 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Phillies Cody Asche, LF 3 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Pirates Jung Ho Kang, SS 4 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -

Orioles' Kevin Gausman (7.2IP 0R 5K ND) tops players for Monday, July 27

Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Gausman pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and striking out five, in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Braves. Gausman did not pick up the win and had a no-decision because when he exited, the score was tied 0-0.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 27.  


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 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
7 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
8 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 13.0
9 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
10 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 12.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Kolten Wong of the Cardinals hit a grand slam in the 4-1 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Indians.

Hosmer is the highest ranked of all nine who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season. He ranks 51st among all players, sixth among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day was a batter (Kolten Wong).

Scoring—Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wong earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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

7/27 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 5.2 `Orioles Kevin Gausman - - - - - - 7.2 6 0 0 1 5
BAT 5.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 5 3 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Yankees Didi Gregorius, SS 4 1 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Rays Curt Casali, C 4 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
NL 3.0 Cardinals Kolten Wong, 2B 3 1 1 4 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Giants Brandon Crawford, SS 2 2 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 `Dbacks Robbie Ray - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 2 8
2.0 Cubs Kris Bryant, 3B 5 2 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 White Sox Jose Abreu, 1B 3 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.

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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.

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