Rockies' Tyler Chatwood tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 28; White Sox' Gonzalez tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 29, 2016

Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood is Wednesday’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 Sept. 28:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Chatwood pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out five, in the 1-0 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—John Jaso of the Pirates hit for the cycle (single, double, triple and three-run homer) in the 8-4 win over the Cubs. Jaso went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gomez of the Rangers hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning, three-run homer in the 8-5 win over the Brewers. Gomez also doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice. This was the second straight day Gomez earned Player of the Game honors. He has 4.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 2.5 earned in the past two days.

Notable—Two batters with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 6-3, five-inning win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 144.9 for his career. He rises to 23rd among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing two players on the “all-time” list—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) and David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). (Though Ortiz and Cabrera are tied, Cabrera holds the tiebreaker and ranks higher because he has more 2016 Box-Toppers points—12 vs. 7.) Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7). Cabrera also rises from ninth to seventh place in career points among active players, second among active batters behind only Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3).

Cabrera also has the highest season Box-Toppers point total (12.0) of any of the 15 who earnedPlayer of the Game honors Wednesday. Cabrera ranks 31st among all players, fourth among AL batters, behind Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7), Mike Trout of the Angels (12.5) and Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5).

Mark Teixeira of the Yankees (GS 1-3 R 4BI in the 5-3 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 101.3 for his career. Teixeira rises to 70th place among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Jason Schmidt (101.2). He trails 69th-ranked player Tim Wakefield (101.4). Teixeria, who is retiring at season’s end, has 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

Also notable—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres, who made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday, one of two players who earned Box-Toppers points two days in a row. (The other was AL Batter of the Day Carlos Gomez.)

Renfroe (HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 6-5 win over the Dodgers) now has 2.5 Box-Toppers points.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with their first career Player of the Game honors:

Dansby Swanson of the Braves (3B 2B 2-3 3R 2BI in the 12-2 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 17 and was playing in his 34th career game. He is the 3,751st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Angels pitcher A.J. Achter (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 8-6 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Sept. 3, 2014, and was playing in his 44th career game. He is the 3,752nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Chatwood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Jaso and Gomez 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/28
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    COL 2, SF 0
    Tyler Chatwood (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    AL
    10.1
    CHW 1, TB 0
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    3
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    7.0
    PIT 8, CHC 4
    John Jaso, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `KC 5, MIN 2
    Jason Vargas
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    TEX 8, MIL 5
    Carlos Gomez, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 6, LAD 5
    Hunter Renfroe, RF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ATL 12, PHI 2
    Dansby Swanson, SS
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 3, WSH 0 (6)
    Shelby Miller (W,3-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 12, HOU 4
    Leonys Martin, CF
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 6, CLE 3 (5)
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 5, BOS 3
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 3, TOR 2
    Hyun Soo Kim, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 5, MIA 2
    Jeurys Familia (S,50)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 8, OAK 6
    A.J. Achter (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 2, STL 1
    Raisel Iglesias (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

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

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

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	+/-
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	12.0	16.7	65.3	144.9	7.3
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	9.1	15.8	37.9	37.9	2.4
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	8.0	16.0	16.0	16.0	0.0
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	7.0	7.0	16.7	16.7	7.0
Jaso, John 2705	1b	pit nl	5.5	5.5	10.5	16.5	5.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf	tex al	4.5	10.5	21.0	32.0	-1.5
Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	4.0	11.5	32.2	101.3	-3.5
Iglesias, Raisel 3467	pi sp cp	cin nl	3.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	0.3
Renfroe, Hunter 3749	rf	sd nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	12.0	38.1	38.1	-8.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	bal al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	1.0	2.0	35.5	47.2	0.0
Martin, Leonys 3053	cf	sea al	1.0	1.0	7.5	7.5	1.0
Achter, A.J. 3752	pi mr	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Swanson, Dansby 3751	ss	atl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

With a week to go, Scherzer leads 5-player race for 2016 Box-Toppers points crown

Shawn Plank September 23, 2016

Nationals pitcher Scherzer leads Box-Toppers points for 5th week. Indians' Kluber secures 2016 Box-Toppers AL pitching crown. Rockies' Arenado takes narrow lead in wide-open race among NL batters.

Yankees' Gary Sanchez tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 21; Scherzer extends Box-Toppers lead, Kluber secures AL Player of Year, Arenado rises to lead NL batters

Shawn Plank September 22, 2016

Gary Sanchez of the Yankees is Wednesday’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 Sept. 21:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, three players reached notable milestones after earning Player of the Game honors:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber all but secured his status as Box-Toppers American League Player of the Year, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Nolan Arenado of the Rockies rose to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Sanchez hit two home runs—including a three-run shot—in the 11-5 win over the Rays. Sanchez went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

National League Player of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-1 win over the Cardinals.

Arenado earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to first place among NL batters, passing previous leader Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5).

If Arenado’s lead with 10.7 points stands with a little more than week to go in the season, it will be the lowest point total to lead a category in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history. The record was set in 2015 when Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies led NL batters with 11.5 points. Interestingly, the previous record was 2014 when Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies led NL batters with 11.6. So if Arenado’s lead holds, not only will the low-point record be broken three years in a row, it will be broken each time by a batter from the Colorado Rockies.

Arenado becomes the 45th player (and ninth batter) in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Wednesday because both the overall Player of the Day (Gary Sanchez) and NL Player of the Day (Nolan Arenado) are batters.

Rankings—Two players among Box-Toppers top five in season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 3R 2BB 8K W in the 8-3 win over the Marlins) extended his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 24.7 for the season. He is now 2.0 Box-Toppers points ahead of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7), meaning Kershaw still has a chance to pass Scherzer on his next start.

Scherzer now has 130.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (6.1IP 6H 2R 2BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Royals) all but secured his status as Box-Toppers American League Player of the Year. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.2 for the season, extending his lead among AL pitchers and is now 4.4 points ahead of second-place AL pitcher Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8). Hamels would need at least three starts to pass Kluber in Box-Toppers points—he likely only has two starts remaining in the season’s final 10 days.

This will be the second time Kluber has led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in a season. He also did it in 2014 when he had 25.8 points and also won the AL Cy Young Award. In 2015 he had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL pitchers. Kluber also rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Notable—Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points on the season earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Mike Trout of the Angels (HR 1-4 R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to third among AL batters, behind leader Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7) and Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5).
Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda (5IP 3H 2R 2BB 6K W in the 9-3 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 46th player in 2016 with 10 or more points and ranks 46th among all players, 19th among NL pitchers.

Also notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez now has 168.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Hernandez (7IP 2H 0R 3BB 4K ND in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays) maintains his ninth-place rank in career Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers player tracking began in 1995. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” list. (See Box-Toppers career top 20 list on the home page.) Hernandez has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. If that total stands, it would be his lowest season total in his 12-year career. His previous low was 7.4 in 2008 with the Mariners.

Scoring—Sanchez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arenado earns 1.7 points for being NL Player 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    NYY 11, TB 5
    Gary Sanchez, C
    4
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `SEA 2, TOR 1 (12)
    Felix Hernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    4
  

    NL
    5.0
    COL 11, STL 1
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 5, BAL 1
    Clay Buchholz (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 4, MIL 1
    Chad Kuhl (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.1
    CLE 4, KC 3
    Corey Kluber (W,18-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 6, OAK 5
    Evan Gattis, DH
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3, SD 2
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 9, SF 3
    Kenta Maeda (W,16-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    2
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    2.2
    WSH 8, MIA 3
    Max Scherzer (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    3
    3
    2
    8
  

    
    2.0
    CHC 9, CIN 2
    Miguel Montero, C
    5
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 8, CHW 3
    Tommy Joseph, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    `ATL 4, NYM 3
    Chaz Roe
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    LAA 5, TEX 4
    Mike Trout, CF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `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	24.7	45.7	110.3	130.7	3.7
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2	34.6	65.4	65.4	7.8
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	11.0	23.0	47.5	47.5	-1.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	10.7	19.2	20.7	20.7	2.2
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0	25.4	91.4	168.7	-13.4
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	5.0	11.0	39.2	58.9	-1.0
Gattis, Evan 3179	ca	hou al	5.0	9.0	11.0	11.0	1.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	4.5	14.7	39.9	39.9	-5.7
Sanchez, Gary 3701	ca dh	nyy al	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Joseph, Tommy 3681	1b ph	phi nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Kuhl, Chad 3687	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	chi nl	1.0	6.5	20.7	30.9	-4.5
Roe, Chaz 3597	pi mr	atl nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Scherzer tops Box-Toppers player rankings for 3rd week, Machado rises to lead AL batters

Shawn Plank September 9, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer tops Box-Toppers season player rankings for 3rd week, Manny Machado of the Orioles rises to lead AL batters in points.

Giants' Jeff Samardzija tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 6; Orioles' Machado rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 7, 2016

Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija 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 2016 season as of Sept. 6:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
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?

Also Tuesday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rises to lead American League batters in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Samardzija struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Rockies. Samardzija did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because the Giants trailed when he exited.

American League Batter of the Day—White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 2-0 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Yadier Molina of the Cardinals hit a grand slam and two doubles in the 9-7 win over the Pirates. Molina went 4-for-5, scoring twice.

American League Batter of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 10-3 win over the Twins. Morales went 2-for-5, driving in five runs.

Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Machado (GS 3-6 R 5BI in the 11-2 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He passes Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5) for the lead among AL batters in season Box-Toppers points. Machado ranks 14th among all players.

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

Astros pitcher James Hoyt (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Aug. 3 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,731st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Tyler Austin of the Yankees (HR 1-2 R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut Aug. 13 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,732nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Molina and Morales each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/6
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    `SF 3, COL 2
    Jeff Samardzija
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    5.0
    STL 9, PIT 7
    Yadier Molina, C
    5
    2
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    4.1
    CHW 2, DET 0
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    KC 10, MIN 3
    Kendrys Morales, DH
    5
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIL 12, CHC 5
    Ryan Braun, LF
    5
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PHI 4, MIA 3
    Adam Morgan (W,2-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    3.1
    HOU 4, CLE 3
    James Hoyt (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 10, SEA 7
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    6
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 11, TB 2
    Manny Machado, 3B
    6
    1
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    WSH 9, ATL 7
    Anthony Rendon, 3B
    4
    2
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 5, ARI 2
    Ross Stripling (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    5
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 5, CIN 3
    Jeurys Familia (S,46)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 3, LAA 2
    Ryan Madson (S,28)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    BOS 5, SD 1
    Clay Buchholz (W,6-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    8
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    2.0
    NYY 7, TOR 6
    Tyler Austin, 1B
    2
    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	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	12.7	20.2	23.7	23.7	5.2
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	9.0	14.0	45.0	86.7	4.0
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	sf nl	8.7	18.1	46.8	47.8	-0.7
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	7.7	7.7	15.2	18.2	7.7
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	7.4	14.1	36.2	36.2	0.7
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	7.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	-1.0
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	5.5	10.2	20.2	36.2	0.8
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	4.5	5.5	11.0	11.0	3.5
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	4.0	10.0	38.2	57.9	-2.0
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Madson, Ryan 1841	pi cp	oak al	3.0	3.0	6.0	23.7	3.0
Molina, Yadier 1967	ca ph	stl nl	2.5	3.5	16.2	33.2	1.5
Morgan, Adam 3572	pi sp	phi nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Austin, Tyler 3732	1b	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Hoyt, James 3731	pi mr	hou al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Carlos Carrasco tops players for Friday, Sept. 2; Cubs' Lester rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 3, 2016

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 2:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
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—Carrasco pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing six hits and one walk, in the 6-2 win over the Marlins.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched a complete game, allowing one run, three hits, two walks and striking out four, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.

Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 17.1 for the season, rising from sixth to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Lester also now has 138.2 career Box-Toppers points, 28th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and two doubles in the 16-2 win over the Athletics. Shaw went 3-for-6, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Braves hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Phillies.

Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers now has 11.0 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Cabrera (HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 7-6 win over the Royals) now ranks 25th in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5) and Manny Machado of the Orioles (11.7).

Cabrera also rises to 23rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He now has 143.9 career points, passing Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8). Cabrera rises to seventh place among active players in career Box-Toppers points.

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

Nationals pitcher A.J. Cole (6IP 3H R 2BB 5K in the 4-1 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 28, 2015, and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,727th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Brewers pitcher Jhan Marinez (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 1-0 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut July 16, 2010, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,728th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco 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. Shaw and Kemp 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/2
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.1
    CLE 6, MIA 2
    Carlos Carrasco (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    6
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    NL
    6.0
    CHC 2, SF 1
    Jon Lester (W,15-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    4.2
    BAL 8, NYY 0
    Dylan Bundy (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    2
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    
    4.2
    SD 4, LAD 2
    Brad Hand (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    BOS 16, OAK 2
    Travis Shaw, 3B-1B
    6
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 11, MIN 4
    Adam Eaton, CF
    5
    4
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ATL 8, PHI 4
    Matt Kemp, LF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 7, KC 6
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    COL 14, ARI 7
    Nick Hundley, C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 4, NYM 1
    A.J. Cole (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    TB 8, TOR 3
    Logan Morrison, DH
    2
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SEA 11, LAA 8
    Dae-Ho Lee, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 10, HOU 8
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `MIL 1, PIT 0
    Jhan Marinez (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 3, STL 2
    Zack Cozart, SS
    2
    2
    1
    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	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1	29.1	75.3	138.2	5.1
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	12.4	30.4	46.5	46.5	-5.6
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	11.0	15.7	64.3	143.9	6.3
Lee, Dae-Ho 3627	1b	sea al	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	bos al	7.0	11.2	11.2	11.2	2.8
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	6.7	6.7	14.2	17.2	6.7
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf lf	atl nl	5.5	11.0	35.5	57.1	0.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	bal al	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Eaton, Adam 3253	rf cf	chi al	4.0	9.5	12.0	12.0	-1.5
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr	sd nl	4.0	5.0	9.0	9.0	3.0
Morrison, Logan 2794	1b dh	tb al	2.0	6.0	16.0	17.5	-2.0
Cozart, Zack 3012	ss	cin nl	2.0	5.0	11.0	11.0	-1.0
Hundley, Nick 2497	ca	col nl	1.0	4.5	17.0	22.5	-2.5
Cole, A.J. 3727	pi sp	dc nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Marinez, Jhan 3728	pi mr	mil nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer extends lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 2, 2016

Scherzer leads for 2nd week after passing Kershaw last week. Kluber leads AL pitchers, Altuve leads AL batters, Bryant leads NL batters.

Cardinals' Carlos Martinez top players for Monday, Aug. 29; Astros' Musgrove tops AL players

Shawn Plank August 30, 2016

Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	20.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	17.2
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
6	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	15.4
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
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?

Martinez struck out 13 over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 6-5 win over the Brewers. Martinez did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because after he exited, the Brewers went ahead before the Cardinals came back to take the lead in the ninth inning.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Joe Musgrove pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks, in the 6-0 win over the Athletics.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Trout of the Angels homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-2 win over the Reds.

Trout earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season. He becomes the 33rd player—and fifth batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 32nd among all players and third among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5) and Manny Machado of the Orioles (11.7). This is Trout’s second straight 10-point season, his third overall.

Trout had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +3.0 and had an identical line score (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI) with teammate C.J. Cron. But Trout won Player of the Game honors on a tiebreaker because he had one walk and Cron had none.

National League Batter of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in two runs, in the 8-7, 13-inning win over the Pirates.

Notable—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 13 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday.

Bauer (6IP 5H 0R BB 4K ND in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 19th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark became the 32nd player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Roark (7IP 4H 0R BB 5K W in the 4-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 25th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.

Additionally notable—Carlos Beltran of the Rangers now has 103.9 career Box-Toppers points—64th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Beltran (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Mariners) passes Red Sox pitcher David Price (103.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 63rd-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Beltran has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. This was his first Player of the Game honor since being traded from the Yankees.

Beltran had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +3.0, tied with AL Batter of the Day Mike Trout. Both Beltran and Trout had identical line scores, but Trout won AL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had fewer strikeouts than Beltran—zero vs. one.

Debut—Mets pitcher Josh Smoker made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Smoker (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 19 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,725th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Martinez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Musgrove earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Trout and Soler 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/29
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    `STL 6, MIL 5
    Carlos Martinez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    13
  

    
    7.0
    WSH 4, PHI 0
    Tanner Roark (W,14-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    7.0
    COL 8, LAD 1
    Jon Gray (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    AL
    6.1
    HOU 6, OAK 0
    Joe Musgrove (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    3
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 5, BAL 1
    Marco Estrada (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    4.0
    `CLE 1, MIN 0 (10)
    Trevor Bauer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    LAA 9, CIN 2
    Mike Trout, CF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 6, SEA 3
    Carlos Beltran, DH
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    KC 8, NYY 5
    Dillon Gee (W,6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 2, MIA 1 (10)
    Josh Smoker (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 9, TB 4
    Travis Shaw, 3B-1B
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    CHC 8, PIT 7 (13)
    Jorge Soler, LF
    5
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    DET 4, CHW 3
    Francisco Rodriguez (S,37)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	11.4	20.8	29.5	29.5	2.0
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	10.7	11.7	26.7	26.7	9.7
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	10.0	22.0	46.5	46.5	-2.0
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	9.7	23.4	24.4	24.4	-4.0
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	8.0	16.0	40.1	40.1	0.0
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	bos al	5.5	9.7	9.7	9.7	1.3
Beltran, Carlos 1194	dh rf	tex al	5.0	8.5	25.9	103.9	1.5
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	kc al	4.7	5.7	32.5	33.5	3.7
Rodriguez, Francisco 1707	pi cp	det al	3.0	4.0	17.0	63.4	2.0
Musgrove, Joe 3705	pi sp	hou al	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Soler, Jorge 3403	lf	chi nl	2.5	5.7	6.7	6.7	-0.7
Smoker, Josh 3725	pi cp	nym nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

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?

Mets' Noah Syndergaard tops players for Sunday, Aug. 21, rises to 9th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 22, 2016

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.

Syndergaard pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 21:


	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	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	17.2
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	15.1
6	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
7	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	13.0
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks seventh among National League pitchers. Rising to ninth place overall, he displaces Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5 Box-Toppers points) from the top 10 list. Altuve, who was the only batter in the top 10, falls to 11th place.

American League Player of the Day—Justin Upton of the Tigers hit a pair of three-run homers in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a pair of three-run homers and went 4-for-5 in the 11-4 win over the Cubs.

Arenado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to fourth place among NL batters.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Justin Upton.

Debut—Padres pitcher Luis Perdomo made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Perdomo (7IP 5H R 0BB 5K W in the 9-1 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut April 4 and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,715th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    NYM 2, SF 0
    Noah Syndergaard (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    COL 11, CHC 4
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    5
    2
    4
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    STL 9, PHI 0
    Mike Leake (W,9-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    AL
    6.0
    DET 10, BOS 5
    Justin Upton, LF
    4
    2
    2
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    SD 9, ARI 1
    Luis Perdomo (W,6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    LAD 4, CIN 0
    Julio Urias (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    HOU 5, BAL 3
    Dallas Keuchel (W,8-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    `ATL 7, WSH 6 (10)
    Jim Johnson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 7, SEA 6
    Tyler Thornburg (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 2, NYY 0
    Fernando Salas (S,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    CLE 3, TOR 2
    Mike Clevinger (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    2.0
    TB 8, TEX 4
    Steven Souza Jr., RF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    KC 2, MIN 1
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    2
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    CHW 4, OAK 2
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    4
    0
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIA 3, PIT 2
    Fernando Rodney (S,24)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	13.0	23.4	23.4	23.4	2.6
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	8.0	16.5	18.0	18.0	-0.5
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	7.0	28.4	42.8	42.8	-14.4
Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	chi al	6.2	15.1	29.1	29.1	-2.7
Upton, Justin 2411	lf	det al	5.7	14.7	41.6	50.1	-3.3
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	5.0	15.0	40.1	44.6	-5.0
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	5.0	14.0	27.5	27.5	-4.0
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	4.7	10.2	10.2	10.2	-0.8
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp mr	atl nl	4.0	6.0	16.0	21.7	2.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp	fla nl	4.0	5.0	22.0	34.0	3.0
Thornburg, Tyler 3195	pi cp	mil nl	4.0	4.0	10.0	10.0	4.0
Clevinger, Mike 3707	pi mr sp	cle al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Urias, Julio 3652	pi sp	lad nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Salas, Fernando 2853	pi cp	ana al	2.0	3.0	10.0	10.0	1.0
Perdomo, Luis D. 3715	pi sp	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Kris Bryant takes Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters; Dodgers' Kershaw maintains overall lead

Shawn Plank August 19, 2016

Kris Bryant, Cubs, passes Matt Carpenter, Cardinals, to lead NL batters in Box-Toppers points. Kershaw maintains overall lead. Kluber leads AL pitchers. Altuve leads AL batters.

Kershaw's slim Box-Toppers point lead holds after six weeks on disabled list

Shawn Plank August 12, 2016

Kershaw still holds narrow lead over Nationals' Scherzer. Other Box-Toppers point leaders include Kluber (Indians), Altuve (Astros), Carpenter (Cardinals).

Dbacks' Braden Shipley tops players for Thursday, Aug. 11; Astros' Altuve rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank August 12, 2016

Diamondbacks pitcher Braden Shipley is Thursday’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 Aug. 11:


	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	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Jose Altuve of the Astros became the first batter in nearly two months to land a spot among Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Altuve, the Box-Toppers points leader among American League batters, rises to 10th place among all players.

Player of the Day—Shipley pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Chris Devenski pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out five, in the 10-2 win over the Twins.

This was Devenski’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Devenski made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 32nd career game. He is the 3,702nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Indians hit a three-run homer and two doubles, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-4 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Hernan Perez of the Brewers homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 11-3 win over the Braves.

Rankings—Jose Altuve of the Astros rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Altuve (2B 4-5 3R 3BI in the 15-7 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.5 for the season. He extends his Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters (second place Manny Machado of the Orioles has 10.2 points).

Altuve is the first batter in the overall top 10 in Box-Toppers points since June 14, when Machado was among the top 10 with 8.7 points. Altuve’s 12.5 points for the season also matches the 12.5 points Adrian Beltre of the Rangers had in 2015 to lead AL batters at the end of the season.

Debut—Yankees pitcher Luis Cessa made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Cessa (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,703rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/11
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    ARI 9, NYM 0
    Braden Shipley (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    HOU 10, MIN 2
    Chris Devenski (W,1-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    7.0
    CLE 14, LAA 4
    Mike Napoli, 1B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    PIT 4, SD 0
    Jameson Taillon (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    6.0
    KC 2, CHW 1
    Danny Duffy (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    HOU 15, MIN 7
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    3
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    BAL 9, OAK 6
    Mark Trumbo, RF
    4
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 4, BOS 2
    Luis Cessa (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    4.0
    COL 12, TEX 9
    Adam Ottavino (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIL 11, ATL 3
    Hernan Perez, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 4, STL 3 (11)
    Mike Montgomery (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5	19.5	29.0	29.0	5.5
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	9.7	13.7	28.7	28.7	5.7
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	bal al	8.2	10.7	33.9	33.9	5.7
Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	cle al	5.0	9.5	37.2	56.2	0.5
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Montgomery, Mike 3513	pi cp mr sp	chi nl	4.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	0.0
Perez, Hernan 3577	3b ss ph	mil nl	3.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	2.5
Shipley, Braden 3695	pi sp	ari nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi sp	hou nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Ottavino, Adam 3054	pi cp	col nl	1.0	3.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Cessa, Luis 3703	pi mr	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' John Lackey rises to 9th in player rankings Tuesday; Astros' Altuve retakes Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters

Shawn Plank August 10, 2016

Cubs pitcher John Lackey is Tuesday’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 Aug. 9:


	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	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Jose Altuve of the Astros retakes the Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Lackey allowed one run over eight innings, giving up three hits and one walk, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Angels.

Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season. Cubs pitchers now occupy the eighth, ninth and 10th place spots in Box-Toppers season player rankings:

8. Jon Lester, 13.4 Box-Toppers points
9. Lackey, 12.4
10. Jake Arrieta, 11.7

Lackey rises to seventh place among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Lackey also rises to 40th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, Lackey now has 120.2 Box-Toppers points, passing Cliff Lee (119.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 39th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

Lackey had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +8.0, the same as Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler, Player of the Game in the 2-0 win over the Giants (7IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K W). But Lackey held the tiebreaker, winning overall Player of the Day, because he pitched more innings—eight vs. seven.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out four, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

Nationals’ starting pitcher in the game, Max Scherzer (18.7 Box-Toppers points), had a chance to pass season player rankings leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). While Scherzer’s Box-Toppers game score of +10 (7IP 3H 2R ER BB 10K) was high enough to earn him Player of the Day honors Tuesday, he did not earn Player of the Game honors because the Nationals did not win and Scherzer himself picked up the loss, his seventh of the season (12-7).

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 7-5 win over the Twins.

Altuve earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season, rising to 11th place in season player rankings and first among AL batters, passing previous leader Manny Machado of the Orioles (10.2). Machado had just retaken the AL batting lead from Altuve on Sunday.

National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Phillies.

Notable—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rises to 56th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Beltre (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Rockies) now has 108.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1) and Kevin Millwood (108.3). He trails 55th-ranked player Billy Wagner (108.7).

Beltre has 6.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 14th among AL batters.

Debut—Athletics pitcher Zach Neal made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Neal (5.1IP 2H R 0BB K W in the 2-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 11 and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,700th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bauer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Altuve and Kendrick each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/9
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    CHC 5, LAA 1
    John Lackey (W, 9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    8.0
    MIA 2, SF 0
    Tom Koehler (W, 9-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    AL
    4.1
    CLE 3, WSH 1
    Trevor Bauer (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    TB 9, TOR 2
    Erasmo Ramirez (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    BAT
    3.0
    HOU 7, MIN 5
    Jose Altuve (2B)
    4
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    OAK 2, BAL 1
    Zach Neal (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    2
    1
    1
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 5, NYY 3
    Dustin Pedroia (2B)
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    LAD 9, PHI 3
    Howie Kendrick (LF)
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 7, STL 4
    Billy Hamilton (CF)
    3
    3
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 2, MIL 1
    Mauricio Cabrera (S, 3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.1
    CHW 7, KC 5 (10)
    Dan Jennings (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    SEA 6, DET 5 (15)
    Kyle Seager (3B)
    7
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 6, SD 4
    David Freese (3B)
    5
    3
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 7, COL 5
    Adrian Beltre (3B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ARI 5, NYM 3
    Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	12.4	22.1	41.8	120.2	2.7
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	11.5	18.5	28.0	28.0	4.5
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	9.4	18.8	27.5	27.5	0.0
Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	6.5	19.0	44.9	108.3	-6.0
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	6.0	11.0	25.0	25.0	1.0
Koehler, Tom 3159	pi sp	fla nl	5.0	9.0	17.0	17.0	1.0
Ramirez, Erasmo 1786	pi sp mr cp	tb al	3.7	10.7	12.7	14.7	-3.3
Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b lf	lad nl	3.0	7.0	19.0	33.0	-1.0
Cabrera, Mauricio 3689	pi cp mr	atl nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	2.5	12.7	37.9	37.9	-7.7
Hamilton, Billy 3287	cf	cin nl	2.0	4.0	8.5	8.5	0.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	2.0	2.0	22.4	34.5	2.0
Freese, David 2710	1b 3b	pit nl	2.0	2.0	22.2	24.2	2.0
Jennings, Dan 3591	pi cp	chi al	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Neal, Zach 3700	pi sp	oak al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Yu Darvish tops players for Sunday, Aug. 7; Orioles' Machado regains AL batting Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank August 8, 2016

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Manny Machado of the Orioles regained the Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 7:


	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	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Darvish pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 5-3, 11-inning win over the Astros. Darvish did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because after he exited, the Astros tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles hit three homers, going 3-for-6 and driving in seven runs, in the 10-2 win over the White Sox.

Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.2 for the season. He becomes the 20th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season and the second batter. He passes Jose Altuve of the Astros (10.0) to retake the Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters. Machado ranks 19th among all players, the highest-ranked batter.

National League Batter of the Day—Martin Prado of the Marlins doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-7 win over the Rockies.

Ichiro Suzuki
Suzuki joined the 3,000-hit club Sunday. Here are his career season-by-season Box-Toppers points totals:

    Yr
    Team
    BTP
  
    2001
    SEA
    4.0
  
    2002
    SEA
    2.5
  
    2003
    SEA
    4.2
  
    2004
    SEA
    5.0
  
    2005
    SEA
    6.0
  
    2006
    SEA
    3.5
  
    2007
    SEA
    8.0*
  
    2008
    SEA
    3.5
  
    2009
    SEA
    5.5
  
    2010
    SEA
    1.0
  
    2011
    SEA
    2.0
  
    2012
    SEA/NYY
    2.5
  
    2013
    NYY
    2.0
  
    2014
    NYY
    1.0
  
    2015
    MIA
    1.0
  
    2016
    MIA
    2.0
  
    Total
    
    53.7
  
* Best season, 9th among AL OF

16 straight seasons w/B-T pts, tied for 13th-longest streak since ’95

272nd among all players since ’95

7th among active NL OF

Notable—Ichiro Suzuki of the Marlins picked up his 3,000th Major League hit, a triple, Sunday in the 10-7 win over the Rockies. (Teammate Martin Prado was Player of the Game.)

Suzuki has 53.7 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 272nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He ranks 57th among all outfielders since 1995, ninth among all active outfielders and seventh among active NL outfielders.

Suzuki has earned Box-Toppers points in each of his 16 Major League seasons, tied for the 13th-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history. While Suzuki has consistently earned Box-Toppers points, he doesn’t earn very many since he doesn’t frequently hit for power, with few home runs and RBIs. His best season was 2007 with the Mariners when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL outfielders.

He’s had fewer than 3.0 Box-Toppers points in eight seasons—half his Major League career, including three seasons with only 1.0 point, just enough to keep the consecutive season streak with Box-Toppers points alive. In 2015, he had 1.0 point and so far in 2016, he has 2.0 points.

Only two other players in the 3,000-hit club earned nearly all their hits while being tracked by Box-Toppers (which began in 1995):

Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees has 3,114 hits (including 11 earned in 1994 before Box-Toppers tracking). Rodriguez has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, most among all batters since 1995 and most among all active players. Rodriguez Sunday announced he will play his final game for the Yankees this Friday.
Derek Jeter, who played his entire career for the Yankees from 1995 to 2014 (all tracked by Box-Toppers), has 3,465 hits. Jeter, who like Suzuki, didn’t hit primarily for power, has 76.4 Box-Toppers points, 62nd-most among all batters since 1995 and second among all shortstops (behind Miguel Tejada with 102.3).

Scoring—Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hendricks earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Machado and Prado 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    10.0
    `TEX 5, HOU 3 (11)
    Yu Darvish
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    7.1
    SEA 3, LAA 1
    James Paxton (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    5
    1
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    BAL 10, CHW 2
    Manny Machado, 3B
    6
    3
    3
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.1
    CHC 3, OAK 1
    Kyle Hendricks (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    6.0
    NYY 3, CLE 2
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 6, TB 3
    Miguel Sano, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIA 10, COL 7
    Martin Prado, 3B
    3
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 1, SF 0
    Tanner Roark (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 8, BOS 5
    Kenley Jansen (S,34)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    `PHI 6, SD 5
    Hector Neris (H,21)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    KC 7, TOR 1
    Kendrys Morales, DH
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 9, MIL 3
    Phil Gosselin, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 7, PIT 3
    Dan Straily (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    4
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 3, DET 1
    Jeurys Familia (S,39)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 6, STL 3
    Jim Johnson (S,8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	10.2	17.7	21.2	21.2	2.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	9.7	19.4	24.4	24.4	0.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	9.7	17.7	30.4	30.4	1.7
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	9.7	10.7	25.7	25.7	8.7
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	lad nl	6.0	10.0	36.4	36.4	2.0
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	5.0	13.0	13.0	13.0	-3.0
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	4.0	8.7	18.7	34.7	-0.7
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	3.7	3.7	48.9	48.9	3.7
Prado, Martin 2511	3b	fla nl	3.0	9.0	22.5	29.0	-3.0
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp mr	atl nl	3.0	5.0	15.0	20.7	1.0
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	cin nl	3.0	3.0	13.7	13.7	3.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	2.7	3.7	9.4	9.4	1.7
Sano, Miguel 3527	rf 3b	min al	2.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	-4.0
Neris, Hector 3553	pi mr	phi nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Gosselin, Philip 3398	2b ph	ari nl	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Ryan Braun tops players for Saturday, Aug. 6; Indians' Kluber extends Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank August 7, 2016

Ryan Braun of the Brewers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber maintained his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to ninth place after both earned 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 Aug. 6:


	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	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Braun hit two three-run homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 15-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Braun earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.5 points for the season, rising to eighth among National League batters. It is also his best season since 2012, when he had 12.5 points. That was before his 2013 suspension for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. In 2013, he had 3.5 points, in 2014—4.5 and in 2015—5.0.

This was his first overall Player of the Day honor since April 30, 2012.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Yankees.

Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.2 for the season. Kluber maintains his lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers (ahead of Cole Hamels of the Rangers with 14.1) and also maintains his fourth-place rank among all players.

American League Batter of the Day—Franklin Gutierrez of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Ryan Braun.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Arrieta (8IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. Arrieta ranks seventh among NL pitchers. Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.

Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to 24th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Cabrera (2B 2-4 3BI in the 6-5 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 141.9 for his career. With his point Saturday, he passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player, David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9).

Cabrera now has 9.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and rises to second place among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (10.0)

Debut—Padres pitcher Buddy Baumann made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with this first career Player of the Game honor.

Baumann (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-7 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut July 16 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,697th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Also notable—Royals pitcher Peter Moylan earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Moylan (1.1IP 0H 0R 3K ND in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) last earned Player of the Game honors on Sept. 10, 2010, with the Braves. Moylan has 5.0 career Box-Toppers points since his debut in 2007.

Scoring—Braun 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. Gutierrez earns 1.5 points for being AL 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/6
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    MIL 15, ARI 6
    Ryan Braun, LF
    4
    3
    3
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    CHC 4, OAK 0
    Jake Arrieta (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    6.0
    ATL 13, STL 5
    Freddie Freeman, 1B
    3
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    CLE 5, NYY 2
    Corey Kluber (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    COL 12, MIA 6
    Charlie Blackmon, CF
    5
    2
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    TB 7, MIN 3
    Chris Archer (W,6-15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    7
  

    
    4.2
    SD 9, PHI 7
    Buddy Baumann (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.1
    `KC 4, TOR 2
    Peter Moylan (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 3, BOS 0
    Ross Stripling (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    3.1
    CHW 4, BAL 2
    Nate Jones (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    SF 7, WSH 1
    Eduardo Nunez, 3B
    5
    3
    4
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    SEA 8, LAA 6
    Franklin Gutierrez, RF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 3, HOU 2
    Jonathan Lucroy, C
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 5, CIN 3
    Tony Watson (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    DET 6, NYM 5
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    4
    0
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `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	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2	29.6	60.4	60.4	2.8
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7	40.8	68.5	71.5	-17.4
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	9.0	13.7	62.3	141.9	4.3
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	6.5	11.5	42.5	84.2	1.5
Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0	22.0	46.1	46.1	-10.0
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	3b 2b ss	sf nl	4.5	6.5	12.5	14.0	2.5
Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	4.0	7.0	35.2	35.2	1.0
Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	tex al	4.0	5.7	24.6	25.6	2.3
Watson, Tony 3215	pi cp mr	pit nl	3.0	4.0	7.0	7.0	2.0
Jones, Nate 3125	pi mr cp	chi al	3.0	4.0	11.0	11.0	2.0
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Blackmon, Charlie 2891	cf	col nl	2.5	5.0	10.5	10.5	0.0
Gutierrez, Franklin 2242	rf	sea al	2.5	3.5	7.5	22.5	1.5
Moylan, Peter 2266	pi mr	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	5.0	1.0
Baumann, Buddy 3697	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

As Kershaw sits, his lead narrows—Nationals' Max Scherzer could top Box-Toppers player rankings with next start

Shawn Plank August 5, 2016

Scherzer is 1.3 Box-Toppers points behind Kershaw and could end Kershaw's 3-month-long lead at next start. Indians' Corey Kluber takes points lead among AL pitchers.

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.

Blue Jays' J.A. Happ tops players for Sunday, July 24; Astros' Altuve takes Box-Toppers lead among AL batters

Shawn Plank July 25, 2016

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is Sunday’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 24:


	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 Sunday, Jose Altuve of the Astros rises to lead American League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Happ pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Mariners.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Marlins.

Matz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, the most among the 16 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Matz becomes the 17th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and now ranks 15th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, driving in six runs, in the 13-3 win over the Angels.

Altuve earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 16th player and first batter this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He also takes the lead in season Box-Toppers points among AL batters, passing Manny Machado of the Orioles (8.7). Altuve ranks 17th among all players.

National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-6 win over the Cardinals.

Notable—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees rises to 64th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Beltran (HR 2-4 2R BI in the 5-2 win over the Giants) now has 102.9 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2, who was inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame and now ranks 67th), Red Sox pitcher David Price (102.2) and Miguel Tejada (102.3). Beltran now trails 63rd-ranked player, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (103.7). Beltran now ranks 21st in career Box-Toppers points among all batters since 1995.

Beltran has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 34th among AL batters.

Scoring—Happ earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Matz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Altuve and Gonzalez 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/24
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    TOR 2, SEA 0
    J.A. Happ (W,13-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    4
    6
  

    
    6.2
    `CHW 5, DET 4
    Jose Quintana
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    6.0
    HOU 13, LAA 3
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    2
    3
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.0
    NYM 3, MIA 0
    Steven Matz (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    5.2
    `OAK 3, TB 2
    Jesse Hahn
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    LAD 9, STL 6
    Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 9, CIN 8
    Yasmany Tomas, RF
    4
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 5, PHI 4
    Matt Joyce, RF
    2
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 5, CLE 3
    Darren O'Day (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    CHW 4, DET 3
    David Robertson (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 8, MIN 7
    Hanley Ramirez, DH
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `SD 10, WSH 6
    Carlos Villanueva
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    2.0
    COL 7, ATL 2
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CHC 6, MIL 5
    Tommy La Stella, 2B
    3
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    NYY 5, SF 2
    Carlos Beltran, DH
    4
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 2, KC 1
    Delino DeShields, LF
    3
    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	+/-
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	10.4	13.9	13.9	13.9	6.9
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	10.0	17.0	26.5	26.5	3.0
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	9.0	22.1	37.5	45.5	-4.1
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	7.7	13.7	32.5	32.5	1.7
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	5.5	14.0	15.5	15.5	-3.0
Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	chi al	5.0	13.0	25.0	26.0	-3.0
Beltran, Carlos 1194	rf dh	nyy al	4.0	7.5	24.9	102.9	0.5
Tomas, Yasmany 3489	lf rf	ari nl	3.5	7.0	7.0	7.0	0.0
Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	3.0	7.0	33.7	69.6	-1.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b dh ss	bos al	4.0	4.0	26.7	54.6	4.0
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr cp	bal al	3.0	4.7	12.7	13.7	1.3
Joyce, Matt 2480	rf dh	pit nl	3.0	3.0	19.2	28.7	3.0
DeShields, Delino 3557	cf lf	tex al	2.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	-2.5
Hahn, Jesse 3354	pi sp	oak al	2.0	6.0	12.7	12.7	-2.0
Villanueva, Carlos 2241	pi mr	sd nl	2.0	5.7	16.7	30.4	-1.7
LaStella, Tommy 3367	3b 2b	chi nl	2.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

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

Ichiro Suzuki

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.