Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 14; Dodgers' Kershaw rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 15, 2016

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the fifth player this season with 20 Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earns his first Box-Toppers point in nearly three months and despite not earning points for almost half the season, rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings for 2016.

Player of the Day—Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season. He maintains his rank of fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fourth among National League pitchers.

This is Lester’s second season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2010, he had 23.4 points with the Red Sox, leading American League pitchers.

Lester also now has 141.2 career Box-Toppers points, 27th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 26th-ranked player Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list.

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.

Gausman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers point for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.8 for the season. He becomes the 40th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 32nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Jean Segura of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and went 5-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Twins.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning his first Player of the Game honor Wednesday in nearly three months.

Kershaw (5IP H 0R 0BB 5K ND in the 2-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.0 for the season, rising from fourth to second in player rankings. Kershaw trails overall leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7 Box-Toppers points) by 2.7.

Kershaw’s second-place spot is remarkable since he was on the disabled list for two months with lower back issues and last earned Player of the Game honors June 20. Kershaw held a dominant lead in Box-Toppers points for much of the middle of the season, leading in points from May 7 to Aug. 25, when Scherzer passed him.

Kershaw also now has 180.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and third-most among all active players, behind Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (184.0) and Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3). (See the homepage for the updated top 20 list of all players since 1995.)

Fernandez—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, now ranked third in Box-Toppers player rankings with 20.4 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game in his start Wednesday.

Fernandez (7IP 6H 4R 2BB 3K W in the 7-5 win over the Braves) had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of −6.0. Teammate Marcell Ozuna earned Player of the Game honors (HR 2-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark now has 12.7 Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Roark (7IP 3H 0R 4BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the Mets) now ranks 18th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.

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

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

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/14
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    CHC 7, STL 0
    Jon Lester (W,17-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    9.0
    BAL 1, BOS 0
    Kevin Gausman (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    9.0
    `LAD 2, NYY 0
    Clayton Kershaw
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    7.0
    WSH 1, NYM 0
    Tanner Roark (W,15-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    7
  

    
    6.0
    MIL 7, CIN 0
    Junior Guerra (W,9-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    6.0
    OAK 8, KC 0
    Sean Manaea (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    ARI 11, COL 6
    Jean Segura, 2B
    6
    3
    5
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.1
    SD 3, SF 1
    Luis Perdomo (W,8-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    DET 9, MIN 6
    Ian Kinsler, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TB 8, TOR 1
    Corey Dickerson, LF
    5
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 7, ATL 5
    Marcell Ozuna, RF
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CLE 6, CHW 1
    Coco Crisp, LF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 6, PIT 2
    Tommy Joseph, 1B
    4
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 8, TEX 4
    Evan Gattis, C
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SEA 2, LAA 1
    Edwin Diaz (S,16)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0	46.7	146.8	180.3	-4.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1	32.1	78.3	141.2	8.1
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	12.7	13.7	28.7	28.7	11.7
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	10.8	16.5	24.2	24.2	5.1
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp	sea al	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7
Kinsler, Ian 2144	2b	det al	6.0	12.5	31.7	62.1	-0.5
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	cf rf	fla nl	5.0	8.0	18.5	18.5	2.0
Dickerson, Corey 3222	lf	tb al	4.5	7.5	16.5	16.5	1.5
Segura, Jean 3173	2b	ari nl	4.5	6.5	11.0	11.0	2.5
Gattis, Evan 3179	ca	hou al	4.0	8.0	10.0	10.0	0.0
Crisp, Coco 1876	lf	cle al	3.0	5.0	21.5	38.7	1.0
Joseph, Tommy 3681	1b ph	phi nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Perdomo, Luis D. 3715	pi sp	sd nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Saturday, Sept. 10, rises to 9th; Nationals' Scherzer bolsters lead in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank September 11, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
10	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	14.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka rises to 10th place in player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven perfect innings, striking out nine, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins. Despite allowing no base runners for seven innings, he was pulled after 89 pitches to preserve his health—he had spent time recently on the disabled list. While three Dodgers relievers preserved the shutout, they did give up two hits.

Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.

Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

With the rise of Hill to ninth place and Tanaka to 10th place in season player rankings, two other players were displaced from Box-Toppers top 10 list for the season—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (14.0) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (13.7).

American League Batter of the Day—Matt Wieters of the Orioles hit two homers and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Pence of the Giants homered and went 3-for-3, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 11-3 win over the Diamondbacks. It is the second straight day Pence has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 0R BB 8K ND in the 3-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 23.7 for the season. He leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (20.4) by 3.3 points.

Scherzer also now has 129.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-ranked Jason Giambi (133.4).

Notable—Three other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season also earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (6IP 4H 2R BB 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season, 13th among all players and fourth among AL pitchers.
Joey Votto of the Reds (HR 2B 4-5 2R BI in the 8-7 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season, 33rd among all players and second among NL batters, behind Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5). (Bryant holds the higher rank because he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points—8.5 vs. 5.)
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (8IP 6H R 4BB 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.2 for the season, 36th among all players and 17th among NL pitchers. Wainwright now has 112.0 career Box-Toppers points, 52nd-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (111.3) in “all-time” rankings and now trails 51st-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8).

Debut—Twins pitcher J.T. Chargois made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Chargois (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Indians) made his Major League debut June 11 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,736th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/10
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    LAD 5, MIA 0
    Rich Hill (W,12-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    14.0
    SD 6, COL 3
    Christian Friedrich (W,5-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    10.1
    NYY 5, TB 1
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,13-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    9.2
    `WSH 3, PHI 0
    Max Scherzer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    6.0
    BAL 11, DET 3
    Matt Wieters, C
    4
    3
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    SF 11, ARI 3
    Hunter Pence, RF
    3
    4
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SEA 14, OAK 3
    Nelson Cruz, DH
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 2, CHC 1
    Collin McHugh (W,10-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    3.0
    STL 5, MIL 1
    Adam Wainwright (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    1
    1
    4
    7
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 8, PIT 7
    Joey Votto, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 8, LAA 5
    Carlos Gomez, LF
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    KC 6, CHW 5
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 3, BOS 2
    J.A. Happ (W,18-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 2, CLE 1 (12)
    J.T. Chargois (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    ATL 4, NYM 3 (10)
    Matt Kemp, LF
    3
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7	44.7	109.3	129.7	2.7
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4	18.4	18.4	38.1	10.4
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	14.1	22.1	34.8	34.8	6.1
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	13.7	26.8	42.2	50.2	0.6
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	10.5	15.5	32.2	64.2	5.5
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	10.2	13.2	61.3	112.0	7.2
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	9.5	10.5	28.5	34.2	8.5
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	8.5	17.5	31.0	31.0	-0.5
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	7.7	17.4	29.2	29.2	-2.0
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf lf	atl nl	6.5	12.0	36.5	58.1	1.0
Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224	dh	sea al	5.5	7.5	33.2	52.7	3.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	3.5	5.5	24.5	52.2	1.5
Friedrich, Christian 3024	pi sp	sd nl	2.7	2.7	6.4	6.4	2.7
Gomez, Carlos 2397	cf lf	tex al	2.0	8.0	18.5	29.5	-4.0
Chargois, J.T. 3736	pi cp	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Friday, Sept. 9, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 10, 2016

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

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester maintained his spot in fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mark Teixeira of the Yankees reached 100 career Box-Toppers points after earning American League Batter of the Day honors Friday.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits and three walks, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.4 for the season and rising to second place in season player rankings.

Fernandez passed Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0) in the rankings, who just happened to be making his return from more than two months on the disabled list in the same game. Kershaw (3IP 5H 2R 0BB 5K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0 in his return. Kershaw, who led Box-Toppers season rankings from May 7 to Aug. 24, now falls to third place.

Fernandez becomes the third player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and now trails overall season leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (22.7). This is now Fernandez’s best season; his previous best year was his rookie year of 2013, when he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Angels. Darvish did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-5 win over the Rays.

Teixeira earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 100.3 points over his 14-year career. Teixeira, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season, becomes the 74th player and 27th batter with 100 or more career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Teixeira now ranks 73rd on the “all-time” list, just ahead of Larry Walker (100.1) and just behind Jeff Bagwell (100.4).

Teixeira earned his first points in 2003 with the Rangers. His best season was 2009 with the Yankees when he had 11.5 points, ranked sixth among AL batters. He had 7.5 points in 2015 with the Yankees, 17th among AL batters. He has 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

National League Batter of the Day—Curtis Granderson of the Mets homered and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his fifth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Lester (7IP 7H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Lester now has 139.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).

Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points for the season earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark (6IP 6H R 2BB 8K ND in the 5-4 win over the Phillies) now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 24th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.
Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer (7IP 3H 2R BB 5K ND in the 4-3 win over the Orioles) now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Tim Adleman of the Reds (2B 2-2 R BI in the 4-3 win over the Pirates) became the sixth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Pitchers have earned Player of the Game honors seven times in 2016—Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals did it twice.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/9
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    MIA 4, LAD 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,14-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    14
  

    AL
    9.2
    `TEX 2, LAA 1
    Yu Darvish
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    7.0
    CHC 2, HOU 0
    Jon Lester (W,16-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    NYY 7, TB 5
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    NYM 6, ATL 4
    Curtis Granderson, CF
    2
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 13, TOR 3
    Dustin Pedroia, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `DET 4, BAL 3
    Michael Fulmer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 7, KC 2
    Carlos Rodon (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    2
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    4.0
    `WSH 5, PHI 4
    Tanner Roark
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    3.0
    SF 7, ARI 6 (12)
    Hunter Pence, RF
    5
    4
    4
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 5, MIN 4
    Cody Allen (S,27)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `STL 4, MIL 3
    Kevin Siegrist (H,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `SEA 3, OAK 2
    Steve Cishek (H,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    COL 4, SD 1
    Adam Ottavino (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 4, PIT 3
    Tim Adleman, P
    2
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4	25.1	51.1	51.1	15.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1	30.1	76.3	139.2	6.1
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	11.7	12.7	27.7	27.7	10.7
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7
Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	cle al	7.0	11.0	16.0	16.0	3.0
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	6.4	6.4	51.6	51.6	6.4
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	5.0	13.1	13.1	13.1	-3.1
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	5.0	6.0	25.0	25.0	4.0
Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf cf ph	nym nl	4.5	8.5	33.4	65.8	0.5
Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr cp	stl nl	4.0	8.0	10.0	10.0	0.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	4.0	4.0	24.4	36.5	4.0
Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	3.0	10.5	31.2	100.3	-4.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	2.0	4.0	23.0	50.7	0.0
Ottavino, Adam 3054	pi cp	col nl	2.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Adleman, Tim 3625	pi sp	cin nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer passes Kershaw, idle for 2 months, to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings

Shawn Plank August 26, 2016

It took 2 months for Kershaw to be idle on the disabled list, but Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer finally passed him to take the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead.

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 24, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 25, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third 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 Aug. 24:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	17.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	15.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	15.1
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fernandez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing six hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Royals.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.4 for the season, rising from fourth to third place among all players and among all National League pitchers in 2016.

Fernandez is now 1.6 Box-Toppers points behind overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 points), meaning Fernandez could pass Kershaw for the season lead in his next start if he earns NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7 points) or overall Player of the Day (worth 2.0 points). Kershaw has led all players since May 7 and maintained his lead despite spending the past nearly two months on the disabled list.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing six hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Mariners.

Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising to 15th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered and went 4-for-6, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-8 win over the Nationals.

Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He maintains his rank of second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5 points). Machado ranks 18th among all players.

National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks homered, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-9, 11-inning win over the Braves. Lamb and teammate Paul Goldschmidt both had Box-Toppers game scores of +2.0 Wednesday with similar line scores (3-6 3R 2BI), but Lamb won Player of the Game honors over Goldschmidt because he had both a homer and a double, while Goldschmidt had just a home run.

Notable—Three other players became the 28th, 29th and 30th players to reach the 10.0-Box-Toppers point threshold for the 2016 season:

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks (6IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 6-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, becoming the 28th player with 10 or more this season. Hendricks rises to 22nd place among all players and 14th among NL pitchers. He is the fifth Cubs pitcher this season with 10 or more points.
Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill (6IP 5H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 1-0 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, becoming the 29th player with 10 or more this season. Hill ranks 29th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers. It is Hill’s second 10-point season; his other was 2007 with the Cubs when he had 11.7. Wednesday marked Hill’s first Player of the Game honor since being traded from the Athletics to the Dodgers.
Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (HR 2B 4-5 2R 2BI in the 9-4 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, becoming the 30th player (and third batter) with 10 or more this season. Cabrera ranks third among AL batters and 30th among all players. It is his seventh season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Cabrera also now has 142.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 23rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Cabrera passes David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9) on the “all-time” list, to become the seventh-ranked active player in career points, second among all active batters, behind Albert Pujols of the Angels (181.3). While Cabrera and Ortiz both have the same 142.9 career Box-Toppers point total, Cabrera now ranks ahead because he has more points in 2016—10.0 vs. 5.0. Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8).

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/24
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    MIA 3, KC 0
    Jose Fernandez (W,13-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    AL
    5.0
    NYY 5, SEA 0
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    5.0
    LAA 8, TOR 2
    Matt Shoemaker (W,8-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    BAL 10, WSH 8
    Manny Machado, 3B
    6
    2
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    STL 8, NYM 1
    Carlos Martinez (W,12-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    MIL 7, COL 1
    Zach Davies (W,10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 6, SD 3
    Kyle Hendricks (W,12-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 1, SF 0
    Rich Hill (W,10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    `TB 4, BOS 3 (11)
    Alex Colome
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    DET 9, MIN 4
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 5, PIT 4
    Ken Giles (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    ARI 10, ATL 9 (11)
    Jake Lamb, 3B
    6
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 5, CHW 3
    Aaron Altherr, LF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 6, CIN 5
    Nomar Mazara, LF-RF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    OAK 5, CLE 1
    Ryon Healy, 3B
    3
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4	23.1	49.1	49.1	13.7
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	12.4	20.4	33.1	33.1	4.4
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	11.7	19.2	22.7	22.7	4.2
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	10.7	20.4	25.4	25.4	1.0
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	10.4	14.4	14.4	34.1	6.4
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	10.0	14.7	63.3	142.9	5.3
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	7.7	21.4	22.4	22.4	-6.0
Shoemaker, Matt 3290	pi sp	ana al	7.0	12.7	25.4	25.4	1.3
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	7.0	12.0	15.7	15.7	2.0
Davies, Zach 3581	pi sp	mil nl	5.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	tex al	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Lamb, Jake 3517	3b	ari nl	4.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	3.0
Healy, Ryon 3685	3b	oak al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Altherr, Aaron 3563	rf lf	phi nl	2.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	1.5
Giles, Ken 3402	pi mr cp	hou nl	2.0	5.0	7.0	7.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Nolasco tops players for Friday, July 29; Scherzer, Lester rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank July 30, 2016

Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, two players—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester—rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
6	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Nolasco allowed one run over eight innings, giving up three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the White Sox. Nolasco did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 12-1 win over the Mariners.

Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season and rising to eighth place in season player rankings, sixth among NL pitchers.

Lester displaces teammate, pitcher Jake Arrieta (10.7 Box-Toppers points), from the season player ranking top 10 list. Arrieta had been in the top 10 this season continuously since April 16 and led all players from April 21 to April 30 and from May 3 to May 6. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has led all players since May 7 (currently with 20.0 Box-Toppers points). Arrieta has not earned Box-Toppers points since June 17. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.

Lester now also has 133.5 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 28th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, Lester passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 27th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (138.4).

National League Batter of the Day—Tommy Pham of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Cameron Maybin of the Tigers doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 14-6 win over the Astros.

Rankings—Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Scherzer (7IP 5H R 2BB 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He rises from third to second in season player rankings, passing Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (16.4) and now trails overall leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points) by 3.0 points.

Scherzer also now has 123.0 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 38th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Scherzer trails 37th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

Scoring—Nolasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Pham and Maybin each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/29
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    `MIN 2, CHW 1 (12)
    Ricky Nolasco
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    NL
    7.0
    CHC 12, SEA 1
    Jon Lester (W,11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    6.2
    MIL 3, PIT 1
    Junior Guerra (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    5.2
    TB 5, NYY 1
    Jake Odorizzi (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    STL 11, MIA 6
    Tommy Pham, CF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 4, SF 1
    Max Scherzer (W,11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 6, SD 0
    Brandon Finnegan (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    DET 14, HOU 6
    Cameron Maybin, CF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 8, KC 3
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 9, ARI 7
    Joc Pederson, CF
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 6, LAA 2
    Rick Porcello (W,14-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    COL 6, NYM 1
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    5
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 6, BAL 5
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CLE 5, OAK 3
    Abraham Almonte, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ATL 2, PHI 1
    Nick Markakis, RF
    3
    0
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0	38.0	102.6	123.0	-4.0
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4	24.4	70.6	133.5	0.4
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	7.0	17.4	45.6	66.1	-3.4
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	bos al	6.0	10.0	31.7	40.7	2.0
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	min al	5.7	7.7	28.4	81.5	3.7
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	rf	col nl	5.5	17.0	45.7	58.7	-6.0
Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	4.0	8.5	19.5	46.1	-0.5
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	4.0	7.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	3.7	12.4	23.4	23.4	-5.0
Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	3.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672	cf	det al	3.0	4.0	11.5	15.5	2.0
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	lad nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Pham, Thomas 3596	cf	stl nl	1.5	3.0	3.0	3.0	0.0
Almonte, Abraham 3554	cf ph	cle al	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw still leads Box-Toppers player rankings, but new leaders rise among AL batters, pitchers

Shawn Plank July 29, 2016

Jose Altuve of Astros rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points, Cole Hamels of the Rangers rises to lead AL pitchers. Kershaw maintains overall lead.

Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Saturday, July 23, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 24, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his third-place spot in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 23:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	12.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	11.4
8	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto maintained his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Padres. Scherzer did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.0 for the season, maintaining his spot in third place in season player rankings. He also ranks third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (16.4).

Scherzer also now has 122.0 Box-Toppers points for his career, 38th-most since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 37th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven, in the 5-2 win over the Indians. Gausman also allowed four hits and walked three.

National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Rockies hit two home runs and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Nelson Cruz of the Mariners hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 14-5 win over the Blue Jays. Cruz went 2-for-5, driving in seven total runs.

Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto maintained his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Cueto (6IP 6H R BB 9K ND in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. Cueto also ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Debut—Andrew Toles of the Dodgers made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Toles (2B 3-4 2R in the 7-2 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut July 8 and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,692nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Story and Cruz each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/23
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    `WSH 3, SD 2
    Max Scherzer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    10
  

    BAT
    8.0
    COL 8, ATL 4
    Trevor Story, SS
    4
    3
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    7.0
    BAL 5, CLE 2
    Kevin Gausman (W,2-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    7.0
    `SF 2, NYY 1 (12)
    Johnny Cueto
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    0
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    SEA 14, TOR 5
    Nelson Cruz, DH
    5
    2
    2
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    MIL 6, CHC 1
    Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF
    3
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    HOU 7, LAA 2
    Evan Gattis, C
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    CIN 6, ARI 1
    Michael Lorenzen (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 11, BOS 9
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    4
    3
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 7, KC 4
    Nomar Mazara, RF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 7, NYM 2
    Giancarlo Stanton, RF
    5
    1
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 7, PHI 4
    Mark Melancon (S,29)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    LAD 7, STL 2
    Andrew Toles, RF
    4
    2
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    OAK 4, TB 3
    Jake Smolinski, RF
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0	37.0	101.6	122.0	-5.0
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4	27.2	78.4	97.8	1.6
Story, Trevor 3607	ss	col nl	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	5.5	11.0	32.7	38.2	0.0
Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224	dh	sea al	4.5	6.5	32.2	51.7	2.5
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	4.4	10.1	17.8	17.8	-1.3
Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Melancon, Mark 2792	pi cp	pit nl	2.0	9.0	22.0	23.0	-5.0
Gattis, Evan 3179	ca dh	hou al	2.0	6.0	8.0	8.0	-2.0
Rosario, Eddie 3542	lf	min al	2.0	3.5	3.5	3.5	0.5
Nieuwenhuis, Kirk 3022	cf	mil nl	1.0	5.0	12.5	12.5	-3.0
Lorenzen, Michael 3479	pi mr	cin nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Smolinski, Jake 3424	rf	oak al	1.0	1.0	3.5	3.5	1.0
Toles, Andrew 3692	rf	lad nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Despite not earning a Box-Toppers points in a month, Clayton Kershaw still leads player rankings

Shawn Plank July 22, 2016

Kershaw, on disabled list since late June with return date uncertain, has not earned Box-Toppers points since June 20, but still holds lead in player rankings.

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Monday, July 18, maintains 2nd place in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank July 19, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his rank of second 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 July 18:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	12.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	11.4
8	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fernandez struck out 14 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Phillies. Fernandez picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Marlins were trailing when he exited the game.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks second, 3.6 points (and at least two more stellar starts) behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points), who went on the disabled list with a herniated disk in late June. Kershaw’s return date is uncertain.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Jarrod Dyson of the Royals hit a grand slam and tripled, going 2-for-3, in the 7-3 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Braves.

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 15th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Lester (7.2IP 4H R 3BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the Mets) now has 10.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 11th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers. This is the eighth season in which Lester has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points, the fourth consecutive season.

Lester now has 131.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-place player Jason Giambi (133.4.). Lester ranks 12th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.

Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Dyson and Votto each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/18
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.1
    `MIA 3, PHI 2 (11)
    Jose Fernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    2
    2
    2
    14
  

    
    9.0
    STL 10, SD 2
    Mike Leake (W,7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    AL
    9.0
    DET 1, MIN 0
    Matt Boyd (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    `LAA 9, TEX 5
    Jhoulys Chacin
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    KC 7, CLE 3
    Jarrod Dyson, CF
    3
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CIN 8, ATL 2
    Joey Votto, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SEA 4, CHW 3
    Adam Lind, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 7, TB 4
    Trevor Story, SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    OAK 7, HOU 4
    Yonder Alonso, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    CHC 5, NYM 1
    Jon Lester (W,10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    1
    1
    3
    3
  

    
    1.0
    NYY 2, BAL 1
    Ivan Nova (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    4
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4	21.1	47.1	47.1	11.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	10.7	22.7	68.9	131.8	-1.3
Story, Trevor 3607	ss	col nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	4.5	9.5	26.2	58.2	-0.5
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	4.0	14.0	39.1	43.6	-6.0
Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	nyy al	3.0	4.0	25.1	26.1	2.0
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi sp mr	ana al	3.0	3.0	17.4	25.1	3.0
Lind, Adam 2238	1b ph	sea al	2.7	9.2	29.2	56.8	-3.8
Boyd, Matt 3550	pi sp	det al	2.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	1.7
Dyson, Jarrod 2813	cf	kc al	1.5	3.5	7.0	8.0	-0.5
Alonso, Yonder 2945	1b	oak al	1.0	2.5	12.0	12.0	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Toronto Blue Jays have most players (seven) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2016 at All-Star break

Shawn Plank July 12, 2016

A look at Box-Toppers 100 top-ranked players for 2016 at the All-Star break. Blue Jays and top-ranked Cubs have most representatives on the list.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings at All-Star break

Shawn Plank July 11, 2016

Despite being on disabled list, Kershaw's dominating lead has only been reduced by 1.0 Box-Toppers point since start of July.

Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Saturday, July 9, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank July 10, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	14.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Scherzer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Mets.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.0 for the season, rising from fifth to third in player rankings, behind two other National League pitchers, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (14.4).

Scherzer also now has 120.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 38th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 37th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

In addition, Scherzer ranks third among all players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2015 with 35.0, trailing Kershaw (45.7) and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (39.8). He ranks second among all players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2011 with 99.6, behind only Kershaw (145.8).

American League Player of the Day—Yankees closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no runs or hits and striking out four, in the 7-6, 11-inning win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Josh E. Bell of the Pirates hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the 12-6 win over the Cubs.

This was Bell’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Bell made his Major League debut July 8 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,682nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Vogt of the Athletics homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 3-2 win over the Astros.

Debut—Cheslor Cuthbert of the Royals made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Cuthbert (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut July 7, 2015, and was playing in his 74th career game. He is the 3,683rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chapman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bell and Vogt each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    10.0
    DC 6/NYM 1
    Max Scherzer (W,10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    6.0
    STL 8/MIL 1
    Carlos Martinez (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    11
  

    AL
    5.1
    NYY 7/CLE 6
    Aroldis Chapman (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    PIT 12/CHC 6
    Josh Bell, PH
    1
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 8/TEX 6
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    5
    4
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 4/TB 1
    Rick Porcello (W,11-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    3.2
    MIA 4/CIN 2
    Adam Conley (W,6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    3.0
    OAK 3/HOU 2
    Stephen Vogt, C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 8/PHI 3
    Tony Wolters, C
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `DET 3/TOR 2
    Matt Boyd
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 4/SD 3
    Kenley Jansen (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    SF 4/ARI 2
    George Kontos (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 5/ATL 4
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    KC 5/SEA 3
    Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    BAL 3/LAA 2
    Brad Brach (W,6-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0	35.0	99.6	120.0	-7.0
Conley, Adam 3594	pi sp	fla nl	6.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	3.7
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	4.7	18.4	19.4	19.4	-9.0
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	nyy al	4.7	12.7	42.7	43.7	-3.3
Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	chi al	4.2	13.1	27.1	27.1	-4.7
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	bos al	4.0	8.0	29.7	38.7	0.0
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	lad nl	4.0	8.0	34.4	34.4	0.0
Vogt, Stephen 3503	ca 1b	oak al	2.5	5.0	5.0	5.0	0.0
Wolters, Tony 3668	ca	col nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Brach, Brad 3374	pi mr	bal al	2.0	5.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Kontos, George 3106	pi cp mr	sf nl	2.0	4.0	6.7	6.7	0.0
Bell, Josh E. 2789	ph	pit nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Rosario, Eddie 3542	lf	min al	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5
Boyd, Matt 3550	pi sp	det al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Cuthbert, Cheslor 3683	3b	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Yasmani Grandal tops players for Friday, July 8; 3 pitchers rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank July 9, 2016

Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 8:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	14.4
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, three players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rises to second, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to fourth and Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to 10th.

Player of the Day—Grandal hit three homers and went 5-for-5, driving in six runs, in the 10-6 win over the Padres.

Grandal had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, tied with two other of Friday’s Players of the Games. Grandal won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker. The other two players were pitchers—Kluber and Strasburg—and in case of game score ties, batters own the tiebreaker over pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 10-2 win over the Yankees.

Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.5 for the season, rising to fourth in player rankings and extending his lead among AL pitchers (second place AL pitcher Chris Sale of the White Sox has 10.7 points).

American League Batter of the Day—Luis Valbuena of the Astros hit a three-run walk-off home run in the 10-9 win over the Athletics. Valbuena went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall Player of the Day is NL batter Yasmani Grandal.

Rankings—In addition to Kluber, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (7IP 6H R 0BB 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to second place in player rankings, trailing overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0).
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (7IP 2H R 3BB 9K W in the 3-1 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings, sixth among NL pitchers. Strasburg becomes the 12th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Debut—Tommy Joseph of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, earning his first career Player of the Game honor.

Joseph (PH 3-R HR in the 5-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut May 13 and was playing in his 44th career game. He is the 3,681st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/8
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    LAD 10/SD 6
    Yasmani Grandal, C
    5
    3
    5
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    9.0
    CLE 10/NYY 2
    Corey Kluber (W,9-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    9.0
    DC 3/NYM 1
    Stephen Strasburg (W,12-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    3
    9
  

    
    8.0
    MIA 3/CIN 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    7.2
    TOR 6/DET 0
    J.A. Happ (W,12-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    4.0
    HOU 10/OAK 9
    Luis Valbuena, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SF 6/ARI 2
    Brandon Crawford, SS
    3
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PHI 5/COL 3
    Tommy Joseph, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    TEX 6/MIN 5
    Tony Barnette (W,6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 11/CHW 8
    Adonis Garcia, 3B
    5
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 9/BAL 5
    Mike Trout, CF
    3
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    SEA 3/KC 2
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    2.1
    BOS 6/TB 5
    Robbie Ross Jr. (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 4/STL 3
    Chris Carter, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    PIT 8/CHC 4
    Mark Melancon (S,27)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	14.4	19.1	45.1	45.1	9.7
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5	25.9	56.7	56.7	-0.9
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4	24.4	70.5	78.2	-3.6
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	7.5	19.5	44.0	44.0	-4.5
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	7.0	20.1	35.5	43.5	-6.1
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	7.0	8.0	25.9	26.9	6.0
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	lad nl	3.0	5.0	13.0	13.0	1.0
Crawford, Brandon 2878	ss	sf nl	2.0	5.5	16.5	16.5	-1.5
Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999	pi cp mr	bos al	2.0	2.0	11.7	11.7	2.0
Barnette, Tony 3670	pi mr	tex al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Garcia, Adonis 3613	3b	atl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Valbuena, Luis 2600	3b	hou al	1.5	6.0	10.5	13.5	-3.0
Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	1.0	14.1	49.2	49.2	-12.1
Melancon, Mark 2792	pi cp	pit nl	1.0	8.0	21.0	22.0	-6.0
Joseph, Tommy 3681	ph	phi nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer ‘most worthy but unchosen' player for 2016 All-Star Game

Shawn Plank July 8, 2016

A look at the All-Star rosters based on Box-Toppers points. Which players were worthy but unchosen? Which players made it but probably shouldn't have?

Though Clayton Kershaw is on DL, he still holds commanding Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

If Kershaw comes back, he could break single-season Box-Toppers points record of 33.7. If he doesn't come back, his 20 points could still lead NL pitchers.

Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, June 29, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank June 30, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Mets.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, rising to third among all players and third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (13.4).

Scherzer also now has 118.0 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 39th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes five players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4), Mark Buehrle (116.7), Cubs pitcher John Lackey (117.2), Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (10.8) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).

Salazar also becomes the 10th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees hit two home runs, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.

With his first Player of the Game honor of the season, McCann has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons, beginning in 2006 with the Braves. He has 56.7 career Box-Toppers points, first among active catchers and fifth among all catchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 points, first among NL catchers. In 2015, he had 6.5 points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1 win over the Mariners.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/29
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.1
    DC 4/NYM 2
    Max Scherzer (W,9-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    
    11.0
    MIL 7/LAD 0
    Junior Guerra (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    10.0
    CLE 3/ATL 0
    Danny Salazar (W,10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.0
    TB 4/BOS 0
    Matt Moore (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    6.0
    NYY 9/TEX 7
    Brian McCann, C
    3
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    PIT 8/SEA 1
    Sean Rodriguez, RF
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 10/LAA 4
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    4
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    `KC 3/STL 2
    Edinson Volquez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 12/SD 6
    Mark Trumbo, RF
    5
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 10/MIA 3
    Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    OAK 7/SF 1
    Sean Manaea (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 9/MIN 6
    Tyler Saladino, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 5/COL 3
    Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 9/ARI 8
    Cody Asche, LF
    5
    0
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    CHC 9/CIN 2
    Javier Baez, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0	33.0	97.6	118.0	-9.0
Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5	23.9	33.3	33.3	-2.9
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	8.5	15.5	25.0	25.0	1.5
Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	6.4	13.4	38.1	64.2	-0.6
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	bal al	6.2	8.7	31.9	31.9	3.7
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	6.0	16.4	44.6	65.1	-4.4
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	5.7	5.7	31.2	31.2	5.7
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Saladino, Tyler 3645	ss 3b	chi al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
McCann, Brian 2179	ca	nyy al	1.5	8.0	33.7	56.7	-5.0
Asche, Cody 3268	lf 3b	phi nl	1.0	4.5	10.0	10.0	-2.5
Rodriguez, Sean 2729	rf1b 2b	pit nl	1.0	1.0	12.5	17.5	1.0
Baez, Javier 3395	2b	chi nl	1.0	1.0	3.5	3.5	1.0
Saltalamacchia, Jarod 2355	ca	det al	1.0	1.0	12.0	18.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Duffey tops players for Sunday, June 26; Marlins' Fernandez rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank June 26, 2016

Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, two players who earned Player of the Game honors rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings:

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
8	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	9.8
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rises to second place.
White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to fifth place among all players and first place among AL pitchers.

Player of the Day—Duffey struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 7-1 win over the Yankees.

Duffey had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +12, tied with Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy, Player of the Game in the 6-1 win over the Astros (7IP 3H R BB 11K W), but Duffey wins Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and three walks, in the 6-1 win over the Cubs.

Fernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, rising to second place in season player rankings. He trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points).

Fernandez had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +11, tied with Braves pitcher Bud Norris, Player of the Game in the 5-2 win over the Mets (7IP 4H 0R 0BB 8K W), but Fernandez wins NL Player of the Day over Norris on a tiebreaker because he had more strikeouts.

American League Batter of the Day—Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians homered, tripled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-2, scoring four runs, in the 9-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to fifth place among all players—and first among AL pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Sale (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the seventh player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He also takes the Box-Toppers points lead for the season among AL pitchers, passing Corey Kluber of the Indians (9.8).

Streak—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Sunday.

Choo (2B 3-4 2R in the 6-2 win over the Red Sox) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Indians and has 47.7 for his career, sixth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2010 with the Indians, when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 4.5 Box-Toppers points with the Rangers, 13th among AL outfielders.

Debut—Pirates pitcher A.J. Schugel made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Schugel (2IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 12, 2015, and was playing in his 27th career game. He is the 3,669th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Duffey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Chisenhall and Story each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/26
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    MIN 7/NYY 1
    Tyler Duffey (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    12.0
    KC 6/HOU 1
    Ian Kennedy (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    NL
    11.0
    MIA 6/CHC 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    13
  

    
    11.0
    ATL 5/NYM 2
    Bud Norris (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.0
    CIN 3/SD 0
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    DC 3/MIL 2
    Tanner Roark (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    CLE 9/DET 3
    Lonnie Chisenhall, RF
    4
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    COL 9/ARI 7
    Trevor Story, SS
    2
    4
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SF 8/PHI 7
    Angel Pagan, LF
    5
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 12/TB 5
    Chris Davis, DH
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 5/TOR 2
    Chris Sale (W,13-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 7/OAK 6
    Mike Trout, CF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `PIT 4/LAD 3
    A.J. Schugel (H,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    STL 11/SEA 6
    Matt Carpenter, 2B
    6
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 6/BOS 2
    Shin-Soo Choo, RF
    4
    2
    3
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4	18.1	44.1	44.1	8.7
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7	29.5	81.7	83.7	-8.1
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	7.5	18.5	49.4	57.9	-3.5
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	7.0	13.7	57.5	63.5	0.3
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	6.7	7.7	22.7	22.7	5.7
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	6.5	18.5	43.0	43.0	-5.5
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	stl nl	6.5	12.0	26.5	26.5	1.0
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	3.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	-1.0
Norris, Bud 2638	pi sp	atl nl	3.0	4.0	34.4	43.4	2.0
Story, Trevor 3607	ss	col nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf 3b	cle al	1.5	1.5	11.5	11.5	1.5
DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	8.7	8.7	8.7	-6.7
Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	tex al	1.0	5.5	22.0	47.7	-3.5
Pagan, Angel 2184	lf	sf nl	1.0	3.0	14.5	25.5	-1.0
Schugel, A.J. 3669	pi mr	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Monday, June 20, extends overwhelming dominance in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 21, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Player of the Day, extending his overwhelming dominance in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	10.0
6	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
8	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	9.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
10	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	8.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Nationals.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.0 for the season. It is the sixth straight season Kershaw has had 20 or more Box-Toppers points. He now has twice as many Box-Toppers points this season than all but two players—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (10.7).

Kershaw’s 20.0 Box-Toppers points on June 20, less than halfway into the season, would have put him in eighth place among all players in 2015—at the end of the season.

Kershaw seems to be on track to earn more than 40.0 Box-Toppers points this season. Randy Johnson holds the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) with 33.5. Johnson did it twice—in 2000 and 2002 with the Diamondbacks.

At this point in the 2000 season, Johnson had 20.7 Box-Toppers points, meaning Kershaw is slightly behind his pace. But at this point in the 2002 season, Johnson had only 11.7 points, putting Kershaw well ahead of that pace.

In Kershaw’s best season, 2014, he had 31.5 Box-Toppers points, tied for the fourth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (since 1995). And at this point in the 2014 season, Kershaw had only 10.7 Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw also now has 179.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fifth-place player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0). (See homepage for updated rankings of top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.)

Kershaw is now 99.5 Box-Toppers points behind “all-time” leader Johnson’s career mark of 278.8 Box-Toppers points. Since the start of the 2013 season—a span of three and a half seasons—Kershaw has earned 98.9 points, meaning at his current torrid pace, Kershaw could catch Johnson’s career points mark by the end of the 2019 season, when he will be 31 years old.

(It should be noted that Johnson began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. If his entire career were tracked, Johnson would likely have many more Box-Toppers points. Rough Box-Toppers projections puts his estimated career total at 380—more than 100 more than his total from 1995 to 2009.)

American League Player of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a two-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-7 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Marlins.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/20
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    LAD 4/DC 1
    Clayton Kershaw (W,11-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    4.2
    PIT 1/SF 0
    Jeff Locke (W,6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    AL
    4.0
    HOU 10/LAA 7
    Carlos Correa, SS
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CLE 7/TB 4
    Bryan Shaw (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    ARI 3/PHI 1
    Shelby Miller (W,2-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    3.2
    `CHW 3/BOS 1
    Miguel Gonzalez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    COL 5/MIA 3
    Mark Reynolds, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    DET 8/SEA 7
    Justin Upton, LF
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.2
    STL 3/CHC 2
    Jaime Garcia (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    0.0
    TEX 4/BAL 3
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    4
    1
    3
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0	45.7	145.8	179.3	-5.7
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	5.2	12.4	12.4	12.4	-2.0
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	5.0	14.4	32.1	40.8	-4.4
Locke, Jeff 3133	pi sp	pit nl	3.7	9.7	21.1	21.1	-2.3
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	3.7	3.7	11.2	14.2	3.7
Upton, Justin 2411	lf	det al	3.0	12.0	38.9	47.4	-6.0
Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	col nl	3.0	7.0	27.2	50.4	-1.0
Shaw, Bryan 2995	pi mr	cle al	3.0	4.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	2.7	9.4	31.5	31.5	-4.0
Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	11.0	37.1	37.1	-9.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings for 6th week; Indians' Salazar now leads AL pitchers

Shawn Plank June 17, 2016

Kershaw extends Box-Toppers points lead. Indians' Danny Salazar takes lead among AL pitchers. Machado, Suarez lead batters.

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Box-Toppers

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