Giants' Madison Bumgarner tops players in NL Wild Card Game win over Mets

Shawn Plank October 6, 2016

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie who hit the ninth-inning, three-run homer that put the Giants ahead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (HR 2-4 R 3BI).

Bumgarner had 13.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 19th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. Over the past two seasons, Bumgarner has 30.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among NL pitchers. Gillaspie had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.

The Giants, 10th-ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings (112.7), beat the Mets, ranked sixth (119.1). The Giants are the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason but among the 10 teams in the playoffs, they were hottest down the stretch—in the season’s final 10 games, they picked up 8.7 Box-Toppers points.

The Giants will face the Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best record and highest accumulated Box-Toppers point total of 139.5.

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

  
    BTG
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  
    9.0
    SF 3, NYM 0
    Madison Bumgarner (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  
    BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series:

AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers

The Blue Jays rank 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings (114.0 Box-Toppers points) while the Rangers rank fifth (122.5). In the final 10 days of the season, the Rangers picked up 7.5 Box-Toppers points while the Blue Jays picked up 6.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.

Rangers—Cole Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players, second among AL pitchers.

The Blue Jays have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:

J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks third among AL pitchers.
Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers poitns, ranks seventh among AL batters.

The Rangers also have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:

Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers, sixth among all players.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre, 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus, 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL batters.

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

Here are players for both teams in the AL Divisional Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Toronto Blue Jays			Texas Rangers
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	17.8
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	10.4
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	9.5
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5	Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	9.2
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7	Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	7.7
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	7.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0	Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	6.5
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0	Beltran, Carlos 1194	dh rf	6.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7	Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	5.7
Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2	Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	5.7
Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5	Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf	4.5
Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0	Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	4.0
Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5	Desmond, Ian 2673	cf lf	4.0
Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0	Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	3.5
Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0	Harrell, Lucas 2988	pi sp	3.0
Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5	Rua, Ryan 3631	1b lf	3.0
Bautista, Jose 2169	rf	1.0	DeShields, Delino 3557	cf lf	2.0
Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0	Perez, Martin 3213	pi sp	2.0
Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0	Barnette, Tony 3670	pi mr	2.0
Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0	Bush, Matt 3673	pi mr cp	2.0
Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0	Tolleson, Shawn 3077	pi cp	1.0
Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0	Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	1.0
Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0	Claudio, Alex 3459	pi mr	1.0
Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0	Jeffress, Jeremy 3473	pi cp	1.0
			Diekman, Jake 3266	pi mr	1.0
			Alvarez, Dario 3663	pi mr	1.0
			Profar, Jurickson 3665	ph	1.0
Totals		114.0	Totals		122.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians

The Red Sox rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (128.3 Box-Toppers points) while the Indians rank fourth (123.7). In the final 10 days of the season, the Indians picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points while the Red Sox picked up 5.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Red Sox—Rick Porcello, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 91st among all players, 31st among AL pitchers. (Despite leading all pitchers with 22 wins, Porcello did not rank highly in Box-Toppers player rankings in 2016.)

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers. (Bauer ranks higher than Porcello in Box-Toppers player rankings but has 10 fewer wins—he was 12-8 in 2016.)

The Red Sox are the AL’s top-ranked team in Box-Toppers points, but have only one player ranked in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among AL pitchers.

The Indians have three pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers list, none of whom is starting Game 1:

Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, ranks first among AL pitchers and fifth among all players.
Danny Salazar, 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks eighth among AL pitchers.
Carlos Carrasco, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks 10th among AL pitchers.

Red Sox vs. Indians


Boston Red Sox			Cleveland Indians
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Price, David 2593	pi sp	12.4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	21.2
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	12.4	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	12.5
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	8.4	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	12.4
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	8.0	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	11.4
Ortiz, David	dh	8.0	Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp mr	8.0
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	8.0	Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	7.0
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	7.0	Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	7.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	7.0	Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	6.5
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	6.2	Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp	5.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	5.5	Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf	3.5
Hill, Aaron 2056	2b	5.5	Crisp, Coco 1876	lf	3.0
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	5.0	Otero, Dan 3365	pi mr	3.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	5.0	Shaw, Bryan 2995	pi mr	3.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	4.7	Clevinger, Mike 3707	pi mr sp	3.0
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi cp	4.0	Byrd, Marlon 1751	rf	2.5
Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999	pi cp mr sp	3.0	Santana, Carlos 2757	dh 1b	2.5
Leon, Sandy 3676	ca	3.0	Almonte, Abraham 3554	rf ph	2.0
Holt, Brock 3340	3b lf	2.5	Naquin, Tyler 3662	cf ph	2.0
Ziegler, Brad 2504	pi cp	2.0	Anderson, Cody 3509	pi sp	1.7
Abad, Fernando 3653	pi mr	2.0	Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	1.5
Hembree, Heath 3620	pi cp	1.7	Brantley, Michael 2785	lf	1.0
Swihart, Blake 3565	lf ca	1.0	McAllister, Zach 3088	pi mr sp	1.0
Kelly, Joe 3066	pi sp	1.0	Gomes, Yan 3177	ca	1.0
Bogaerts, Xander 3383	ss	1.0	Guyer, Brandon 3363	lf	1.0
Hanigan, Ryan 2708	ca	1.0	Gimenez, Chris 2870	ca	1.0
Tazawa, Junichi 3151	pi mr	1.0
Vazquez, Christian 3380	ca	1.0
Brentz, Bryce 3680	lf	1.0
Totals		128.3	Totals		123.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

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.

Orioles' Chris Tillman faces Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman in AL Wild Card Game

Shawn Plank October 4, 2016

The Baltimore Orioles visit the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.

Starting pitchers are:

Orioles—Chris Tillman, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among AL pitchers, 89th overall.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.

Both teams have identical 89-73 records, but the Orioles rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings—they are seventh with 116.6 Box-Toppers points, while the Blue Jays are ninth with 114.0. The Blue Jays are the lowest-ranked AL team to make the postseason.

The Orioles finished the season as one of the hottest teams in baseball. In the final 10 days of the season, they earned 8.5 Box-Toppers points, third-most among all teams. The Blue Jays earned 6.0 points during that period.

Top-ranked player among both teams is Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among AL pitchers and 11th among all players. However, Happ started Saturday.

The Blue Jays also feature two players ranked in the top 10 list of AL batters for 2016:

Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters, 48th among all players.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks seventh among AL batters, 57th among all players.

The Orioles top-ranked player is third baseman-shortstop Manny Machado, whose 12.7 Box-Toppers points leads all AL batters. He ranks 21st among all players.

Also in the top 10 among AL batters is Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth, 38th among all players.

The winner of the AL Wild Card game will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings, third among AL teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points.

Orioles vs. Blue Jays

Here are players for both teams in the AL Wild Card Game Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Baltimore Orioles			Toronto Blue Jays
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	12.7	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	11.0	Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	10.8	Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	8.2	Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	8.0	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	7.5	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0
Hardy, J.J. 2071	ss	6.2	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	6.0	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	6.0	Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	5.0	Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	4.7	Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	4.5	Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0
Brach, Brad 3374	pi mr	3.0	Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr cp	3.0	Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0
Wilson, Tyler 3608	pi mr sp	3.0	Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0
Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	2.0	Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5
Pearce, Steve 2371	1b	2.0	Bautista, Jose Antonio 2169	rf	1.0
Bourn, Michael 2505	rf cf	2.0	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	2.0	Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0
Lobstein, Kyle 3406	pi sp mr	2.0	Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	2.0	Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0
Jones, Adam 2347	cf	1.0	Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0
Alvarez, Pedro 2817	dh 1b	1.0	Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0
Wright, Mike 3471	pi sp	1.0	Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi cp	1.0
Reimold, Nolan 2607	lf	1.0
Totals		116.6	Totals		114.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Kevin Gausman tops players for Sunday, Aug. 28; Dodgers' Stewart tops NL players

Shawn Plank August 28, 2016

Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman 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 Aug. 28:


	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?

Gausman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing seven hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Brock Stewart pitched five scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Cubs. Stewart did not earn the win, picking up the no decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

This was Stewart’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Stewart made his Major League debut June 29 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,722nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit three home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 9-6 win over the Twins.

Donaldson earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Donaldson ranks 34th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Joe Panik of the Giants hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 13-4 win over the Braves.

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

Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs (6IP 4H 3R 0BB 8K W in the 7-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut April 25 and was playing in his 23rd career game. He is the 3,723rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Royals pitcher Matt Strahm (2.2IP 0H 0R BB K W in the 10-4 over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut July 31, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,724th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stewart earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Panik 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/28
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    BAL 5, NYY 0
    Kevin Gausman (W,6-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    NL
    9.0
    `LAD 1, CHC 0
    Brock Stewart
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    8.0
    LAA 5, DET 0
    Tyler Skaggs (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    6.0
    TOR 9, MIN 6
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    SF 13, ATL 4
    Joe Panik, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    TB 10, HOU 4
    Chris Archer (W,8-17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    3
    3
    2
    10
  

    
    5.0
    TEX 2, CLE 1
    Derek Holland (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    5.0
    PIT 3, MIL 1
    Ivan Nova (W,11-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    COL 5, WSH 3
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    4
    1
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    OAK 7, STL 4
    Andrew Triggs (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    3
    3
    0
    8
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 4, SEA 1
    Carlos Rodon (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    `PHI 5, NYM 1
    Vince Velasquez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 11, CIN 2
    Welington Castillo, C
    3
    0
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    KC 10, BOS 4
    Matt Strahm (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    1.0
    SD 3, MIA 1
    Ryan Schimpf, 2B
    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

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	+/-
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	9.7	19.6	39.6	39.6	-0.2
Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	9.0	25.0	49.1	49.1	-7.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	9.0	17.5	19.0	19.0	0.5
Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	7.4	13.1	20.8	20.8	1.7
Panik, Joe 3401	2b	sf nl	5.5	9.5	10.5	10.5	1.5
Schimpf, Ryan 3686	2b	sd nl	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2
Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	5.0	6.0	27.1	28.1	4.0
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	4.0	12.1	12.1	12.1	-4.1
Castillo, Wellington 3251	ca	ari nl	4.0	7.5	10.5	10.5	0.5
Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	tex al	4.0	6.7	38.8	45.8	1.3
Skaggs, Tyler 3183	pi sp	ana al	2.7	2.7	12.4	12.4	2.7
Stewart, Brock 3722	pi sp	lad nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Strahm, Matt 3724	pi mr	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars: Top players by position & league for July 21

Shawn Plank July 22, 2016

11 AL players and seven NL players are leaders in Box-Toppers points for their position for both 2016 and 2015-16.

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.

An All-Star break look at who Box-Toppers deems to be All-Stars

Shawn Plank July 11, 2016

A look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position and by league for the 2016 season and for the combined 2015-16 seasons.

A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars at the season's halfway point

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league in both the 2016 season the combined 2015-16 seasons.

A late June look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams, led by Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw

Shawn Plank June 24, 2016

Eight AL players and five NL players occupy All-Star spots at their position in both the 2016 season and the combined 2015-16 seasons.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw continues lead of Box-Toppers All-Star teams for both 2015 and 2015-16

Shawn Plank June 17, 2016

A look at leaders in Box-Toppers points by position and league over both 2016 and 2015-16.

Pirates' Jameson Taillon tops players for Tuesday, June 14; Lackey, Bumgarner rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank June 15, 2016

Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon 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 June 14:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	17.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
4	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	9.4
5	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
6	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
7	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	8.8
8	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
10	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher John Lackey and Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Taillon pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Mets.

This was Taillon’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Taillon made his Major League debut June 8 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,658th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Player of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit a grand slam and two doubles, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five total runs, in the 11-3 win over the Phillies.

Donaldson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.2 for the season, rising to second place among AL batters, trailing only Manny Machado of the Orioles (8.7 Box-Toppers points). Donaldson ranks 19th among all players.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies homered and doubled, going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-10 win over the Yankees.

Gonzalez, who led NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 11.5, has 2.5 points in 2016.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Josh Donaldson.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

Cubs pitcher John Lackey rises to fourth place in season rankings with 9.4 Box-Toppers points. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday and now has 117.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 41st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4) and Mark Buehrle (116.7). Lackey now trails 40th-ranked player Barry Zito (117.4).
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to fifth place in season rankings with 9.0 Box-Toppers points. Bumgarner (8IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday and now has 101.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 64th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes four players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9), Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (101.4). Bumgarner now trails 63rd-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/14
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    PIT 4/NYM 0
    Jameson Taillon (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    AL
    7.0
    TOR 11/PHI 3
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    SF 3/MIL 2
    Madison Bumgarner (W,8-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    BAL 3/BOS 2
    Chris Tillman (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    COL 13/NYY 10
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    5
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TB 8/SEA 7
    Corey Dickerson, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 11/CHW 8
    Justin Upton, LF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 10/OAK 6
    Ryan Rua, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 7/ARI 4
    Kenley Jansen (S,18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    HOU 5/STL 2
    Doug Fister (W,7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 5/SD 2
    Jeff Mathis, C
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `CHC 4/DC 3
    John Lackey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    2.0
    LAA 5/MIN 4
    Kole Calhoun, RF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 3/ATL 1
    Brandon Finnegan (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    1.2
    KC 3/CLE 2
    Joakim Soria (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    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	+/-
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	9.4	19.1	38.8	117.2	-0.3
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	9.0	26.0	96.0	101.7	-8.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	7.2	17.1	37.1	37.1	-2.7
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	6.0	10.7	39.8	41.8	1.3
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	4.0	7.2	14.7	14.7	0.8
Rua, Ryan 3631	1b lf	tex al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	rf	col nl	2.5	14.0	42.7	55.7	-9.0
Upton, Justin 2411	lf	det al	2.0	11.0	37.9	46.4	-7.0
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	lad nl	2.0	6.0	32.4	32.4	-2.0
Dickerson, Corey 3222	lf	tb al	2.0	5.0	14.0	14.0	-1.0
Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Soria, Joakim 2258	pi cp	kc al	1.0	6.7	13.7	45.7	-4.7
Fister, Doug 2688	pi sp	hou al	1.0	3.0	48.5	52.2	-1.0
Mathis, Jeff 2412	ca	fla nl	1.0	1.0	6.0	11.5	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw continues leading Box-Toppers All-Stars over 2016 and combined 2015-16 seasons

Shawn Plank June 10, 2016

A look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position over the 2016 season so far and the combined 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Mariners' Walker tops players for Wednesday, June 8; Lackey, Scherzer rise into Box-Toppers top 10

Shawn Plank June 9, 2016

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker 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 June 8:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	8.4
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	8.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher John Lackey and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer both rose into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner became the 71st player since 1995 with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Walker pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher John Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Phillies.

Lackey earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season and rising to eighth in season player rankings. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Lackey also rises to 43rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Lackey now has 116.2 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9), Angels pitcher Tim Lincecum (115.0) and Torii Hunter (115.9). Lackey now trails 42nd-ranked player Todd Helton (116.4).

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 2-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 12-7 win over the Reds.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Scherzer (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 11-4 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also rises to 47th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, Scherzer has 114.0 for his career and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Scherzer now trails 46th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).

Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner becomes the 71st player with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Bumgarner (6IP 4H R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.7 for his career. He rises to 68th place among all players since 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Bumgarner now trails 67th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9).

Bumgarner also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 12th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lackey earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Moss 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    16.0
    SEA 5/CLE 0
    Taijuan Walker (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    NL
    12.0
    CHC 8/PHI 1
    John Lackey (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.2
    MIL 4/OAK 0
    Chase Anderson (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    8.1
    BAL 4/KC 0
    Chris Tillman (W,8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    8
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    7.0
    DC 11/CHW 4
    Max Scherzer (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    ATL 4/SD 2
    Julio Teheran (W,2-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    5.0
    TOR 7/DET 2
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    COL 1/LAD 0
    Chris Rusin (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 12/LAA 6
    Chris Parmelee, 1B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `SF 2/BOS 1
    Madison Bumgarner
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    TB 6/ARI 3
    Corey Dickerson, LF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIN 7/MIA 5
    Trevor Plouffe, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    STL 12/CIN 7
    Brandon Moss, LF-1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 6/PIT 5
    Michael Conforto, LF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    HOU 3/TEX 1
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    3
    0
    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	+/-
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	8.4	18.1	37.8	116.2	-1.3
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	8.0	29.0	93.6	114.0	-13.0
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	8.0	25.0	95.0	100.7	-9.0
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	6.0	13.0	22.5	22.5	-1.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	5.5	15.4	35.4	35.4	-4.4
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	5.0	9.7	38.8	40.8	0.3
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	5.0	9.0	14.0	14.0	1.0
Conforto, Michael 3622	lf	nym nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Walker, Taijuan 3453	pi sp	sea al	4.7	18.4	18.4	18.4	-9.0
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	3.0	10.7	38.8	38.8	-4.7
Rusin, Chris 3236	pi sp	col nl	2.7	3.7	5.7	5.7	1.7
Plouffe, Trevor 2869	3b	min al	2.5	5.5	21.5	21.5	-0.5
Moss, Brandon 2520	rf lf	stl nl	1.5	6.5	22.5	24.5	-3.5
Dickerson, Corey 3222	lf	tb al	1.0	4.0	13.0	13.0	-2.0
Parmelee, Chris 2996	1b	nyy al	1.0	3.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Yankees' Tanaka tops players for Friday, May 27; Orioles' Machado rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank May 28, 2016

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers 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 May 27:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
5	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
6	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	7.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Tanaka pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 4-1 win over the Rays.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 7-5 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hill of the Brewers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, in the 9-5 win over the Reds.

Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Machado (2B 4-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He extends his lead among AL batters.

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 125.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Lester (6.1IP 6H 2R 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Phillies) ranks 35th in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 34th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).

Debut—Twins pitcher Pat Dean made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Dean (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut May 11 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,644th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Tanaka earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Friedrich earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Hill 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/27
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    NYY 4/TB 1
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    8.1
    LAA 7/HOU 2
    Matt Shoemaker (W,3-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    7
    2
    2
    0
    11
  

    NL
    8.0
    SD 10/ARI 3
    Christian Friedrich (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    7.0
    MIN 7/SEA 2
    Pat Dean (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    6.2
    DET 4/OAK 1
    Michael Fulmer (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    3
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    6.0
    TOR 7/BOS 5
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    5
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `NYM 6/LAD 5
    Jacob deGrom
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    7
  

    
    5.0
    COL 5/SF 2
    Tyler Chatwood (W,6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    KC 7/CHW 5
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIL 9/CIN 5
    Aaron Hill, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    CHC 6/PHI 2
    Jon Lester (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    2.0
    BAL 6/CLE 4
    Manny Machado, SS
    5
    2
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 9/TEX 1
    Starling Marte, LF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    STL 6/DC 2
    Stephen Piscotty, RF
    4
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 4/MIA 2
    Arodys Vizcaino (S,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7	16.2	19.7	19.7	1.2
Hill, Aaron 2056	2b 3b	mil nl	4.5	7.5	21.5	40.5	1.5
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	4.0	16.0	62.2	125.1	-8.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	4.0	13.9	33.9	33.9	-5.9
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	4.0	12.0	24.7	24.7	-4.0
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	4.0	4.0	13.7	13.7	4.0
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Marte, Starling 3122	lf	pit nl	2.5	7.5	12.0	12.0	-2.5
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	2.0	24.4	37.4	37.4	-20.4
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	2.0	11.0	24.5	24.5	-7.0
Shoemaker, Matt 3290	pi sp	ana al	2.0	7.7	20.4	20.4	-3.7
Piscotty, Stephen 3570	rf	stl nl	2.0	6.2	6.2	6.2	-2.2
Friedrich, Christian 3024	pi sp	sd nl	1.7	1.7	5.4	5.4	1.7
Vizcaino, Arodys 3533	pi cp	atl nl	1.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-3.0
Dean, Pat 3644	pi sp	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Roark tops players for Saturday, April 23; Indians' Kluber tops AL players

Shawn Plank April 24, 2016

Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Roark struck out 15 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 2-0 win over the Twins.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
2	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
4	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
5	Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	3.7
6	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	3.7
7	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	ba al	3.5
8	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	3.5
9	Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	3.5
10	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	3.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 10-1 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs in the 13-5 win over the Cubs.

Suarez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season and rising to ninth in player rankings. He also rises to lead all NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-3 win over the Athletics.

Rankings—Besides Suarez, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings Saturday after earning Player of the Game honors:

Angels pitcher Hector Santiago (6IP 4H 2R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season, rising to fifth among all players and second among AL pitchers (behind Edinson Volquez of the Royals with 4.4).
Chris Davis of the Orioles (HR 4-5 3R 2BI in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season, rising to seventh among all players and first among AL batters.

Debut—Kelby Tomlinson of the Giants made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Tomlinson (1-1 R BI in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2015, and was playing in his 61st career game. He is the 3,619th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Roark 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. Suarez and Donaldson 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/23
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    Nationals
    Tanner Roark (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    15
  

    AL
    14.0
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    10.1
    Dodgers
    Kenta Maeda (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Reds
    Eugenio Suarez, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Dbacks
    Rubby De La Rosa (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    5.2
    `White Sox
    Carlos Rodon
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    2
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Blue Jays
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Phillies
    Odubel Herrera, CF
    4
    4
    3
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, 1B
    5
    3
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Colby Rasmus, LF
    4
    1
    2
    5
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Aledmys Diaz, SS
    5
    1
    5
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Hector Santiago (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Kelby Tomlinson, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    Mets
    Steven Matz (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    9
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    
    `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	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	3.7	11.7	24.1	24.1	-4.3
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	3.5	14.5	45.4	53.9	-7.5
Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b	cin nl	3.5	6.5	9.0	9.0	0.5
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	3.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	-0.5
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	4.0	19.0	19.0	2.0
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	2.5	12.4	32.4	32.4	-7.4
Rasmus, Colby 2608	lf	hou al	2.5	8.5	22.7	34.2	-3.5
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	2.0	10.1	10.1	10.1	-6.1
De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi mr	ari nl	2.0	8.0	12.0	12.0	-4.0
Diaz, Aledmys 3612	ss	stl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	1.7	15.1	45.9	45.9	-11.7
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	1.0	9.0	21.7	21.7	-7.0
Herrera, Odubel 3449	cf	phi nl	1.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-3.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619	ph	sf nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers picks the Blue Jays over the Cubs in the 2016 World Series

Shawn Plank March 25, 2016

Blue Jays projected to win it all after beating Indians in ALCS. Cubs picked to win NLCS over the Dodgers.

In 2015, pitchers had more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors than batters

Shawn Plank January 29, 2016

Analysis of the 2,429 games played and tracked by Box-Toppers in 2015 shows pitchers bested batters with more Player of the Game honors, more Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors.

Box-Toppers’ top single game performances by batters for 2015

Shawn Plank January 26, 2016

Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets had the highest single-game Box-Toppers game score for a batter in 2015 of +11. Here's a look at the 16 best batting performances in 2015 as measured by Box-Toppers game score.

Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team in 2015

Shawn Plank December 28, 2015

Box-Toppers' high players by team does not include AL MVP Donaldson, who ranked 3rd among Blue Jays batters.

Box-Toppers 2014-15 All-Star teams

Shawn Plank December 18, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points over past 2 seasons. Blue Jays have 5 players among 2014-15 All-Stars.

Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points over past two seasons

Shawn Plank December 7, 2015

Kershaw holds commanding lead in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons. David Price leads AL pitchers over 2014-15. Trout, Cespedes lead league batters.

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians

Red Sox vs. Indians

Orioles vs. Blue Jays

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.