Jose Fernandez is Box-Toppers' Most Improved Player in 2016

The late Jose Fernandez had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points from 2015 to 2016, 17.7, far outdistancing second-place player, Tigers rookie pitcher Michael Fulmer (12.7).

Read More

Box-Toppers rookie, pitching leaders among finalists for top postseason awards, but batting leaders excluded from MVP finalists

Rookie of the Year finlists Fulmer, Maeda lead newcomers in Box-Toppers points. Cy Young finalists Scherzer, Kluber lead pitchers in points. But Box-Toppers batting leaders Arenado, Machado not among MVP finalists.

Read More

A look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads the list of the top 100 players for 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 20th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Read More

David Ross tops players in World Series Game 7 as Cubs defeat Indians to secure 1st championship in 108 years

David Ross is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 7 as the Chicago Cubs win their first championship in 108 years.

The Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-7 Wednesday in 10 innings, winning the best-of-seven-game series, 4-3.

Ross hit a sixth-inning solo home run, going 1-for-1 with a walk, and earning a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0, the highest among all Cubs players Wednesday.

During the regular season, Ross had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, 91st among National League batters and ninth among NL catchers. Ross has said he will retire after the 2016 season.

It is the first time this World Series and only the fifth time in 35 postseason games this year that a batter has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.

Mike Montgomery, who earned the save, had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+0.1) among Cubs pitchers (0.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K), getting the game’s final out with two pitches in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.8 (4.2IP 4H 2R BB 2K ND). Hendricks had 13.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester, who pitched three innings of relief, had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (3IP 3H 2R BB 4K ND). Lester had the highest regular season Box-Toppers point total of any player in the World Series, 22.1, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of −10.0 (4IP 6H 4R 0BB 0K ND). Kluber had 21.2 regular season Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among American League pitchers. He earned Box-ToppersPlayer of the Game honors four times during the postseason, most of any player, including twice in the World Series. Pitching on short rest for the second time in the World Series, Kluber got off to a rocky start, giving up a lead-off solo home run to Dexter Fowler.

Cubs left fielder Ben Zobrist was named World Series Most Valuable Player, though he never had a Box-Toppers game score of more than 0.0 in any of the Cubs’ four wins. Box-Toppers would have chosen pitcher Jake Arrieta as MVP; he was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the Cubs’ Game 2 and Game 6 wins.

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

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 Cubs in World Series Game 7: Cubs 8, Indians 7 (10 innings)

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 7 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
2.0 * David Ross, C 1 1 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Miguel Montero, C 1 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Albert Almora Jr., PR-DH 0 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.1 Mike Montgomery (S,1) - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 5 1 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 3 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Willson Contreras, C 2 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Jon Lester - - - - - - 3.0 3 2 1 1 4
0.0 Chris Coghlan, PR - - - - - - - - - - - -
-1.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 4 2 1 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.8 Kyle Hendricks - - - - - - 4.2 4 2 1 1 2
-2.0 Kyle Schwarber, DH 5 0 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 5 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Javier Baez, 2B 5 1 1 1 0 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Addison Russell, SS 3 0 0 1 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.8 Carl Edwards Jr. (H,4) - - - - - - 0.2 1 1 1 1 1
-3.9 Aroldis Chapman (W,2-0; BS,3) - - - - - - 1.1 3 2 2 0 2
-5.0 Jason Heyward, RF 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Game 7 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 7 progressed:

Jake Arrieta tops players in World Series Game 6 as Cubs tie series with Indians, 3-3

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 6 Tuesday.

The Chicago Cubs win 9-3 and even the best-of-seven game series with the Cleveland Indians at three games apiece, setting up a decisive Game 7 Wednesday.

Arrieta struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks, earning the win. Arrieta had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Cubs players, +4.2.

This is the second time this postseason (and second time in the World Series) Arrieta has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game. He was also top player in the Game 2 win against the Indians.

Arrieta had 15.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. In 2015, he led all players in Box-Toppers points with 29.1.

Shortstop Addison Russell had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+4.0) among Cubs batters (GS 2B 2-5 R 6BI). Russell was the leading candidate for Box-Toppers Player of the Game during much of Game 6 after his third-inning grand slam homer, but his game score fell just below Arrieta’s after hitless at-bats later in the game.

Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of −10.9 (2.1IP 6H 6R BB 0K L).

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 Cubs in World Series Game 6: Cubs 9, Indians 3

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 6 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.2 * Jake Arrieta (W,2-1) - - - - - - 5.2 3 2 2 3 9
4.0 Addison Russell, SS 5 1 2 6 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 5 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.1 Travis Wood - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 4 2 2 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mike Montgomery - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 1 0
-1.8 Pedro Strop - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 1 0
-1.9 Aroldis Chapman - - - - - - 1.1 1 1 1 1 1
-2.0 Kyle Schwarber, DH 4 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Javier Baez, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-3.0 Willson Contreras, C 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-4.0 Jason Heyward, RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Wednesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 7, Cubs at Indians, series tied, 3-3

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among National League pitchers. Hendricks was Player of the Game in the National League Championship Series Game 6 vs. the Dodgers.

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among American League pitchers. Kluber was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox, in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays, in World Series Game 1 vs. the Cubs and World Series Game 4 vs. the Cubs.

Kluber has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game four times during the postseason, more than any other player and twice during the World Series, tied with Arrieta of the Cubs.

Kluber is Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked AL pitcher in 2016 with 21.2 Box-Toppers points.

Given that, the Indians should be favored in Game 7. But Kluber is pitching on short rest. But again, he’s done that before in Game 4 and earned Player of the Game honors.

Hendricks has only been Player of the Game once this postseason. In his previous World Series start in Game 3, which the Cubs lost, he didn’t do badly. He had a positive Box-Toppers game score, +2.1 (4.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 6K ND). Unlike Kluber, he is pitching on full rest and making just his second appearance in the World Series. And though he has fewer regular season Box-Toppers points than Kluber, Hendricks is among the top 10 NL pitchers in 2016.

Given how both managers have put starters on a short leash and relied on middle relievers and closers to carry the load, it would be odd to see both pitchers go deep in a Jack Morris-John Smoltz style Game 7 1991 World Series pitching duel.

It would be far more likely to see the bullpens handle the load, as has happened most of the series. That would give the Indians the edge with strong relievers Cody Allen (7.0 Box-Toppers points) and Andrew Miller (8.0 Box-Toppers points), neither of whom pitched Tuesday. The Cubs counter with their closer Aroldis Chapman (7.4 Box-Toppers points), but Chapman pitched Tuesday and had a long 2 2/3-inning outing to secure Game 5 on Sunday.

But on the other hand, the Cubs have the best starting pitching line-up in baseball and have the luxury of bringing in two of their starting aces in relief in Game 7. Both Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth, third among NL pitchers) and John Lackey (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers) would be available as relievers for the season’s final game. 

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 6 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 6 progressed:

Cubs' Aroldis Chapman tops players in World Series Game 5; Indians lead series, 3-2

Cubs closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 5 Sunday.

The Chicago Cubs win 3-2 as the Cleveland Indians maintain a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Chapman pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks, striking out four and earning the save. Chapman had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Cubs players, +5.2.

This is the second time this postseason Chapman has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game. He was also top player in the National League Division Series Game 4 win vs. the Giants.

Chapman had 7.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 104th among all players, 33rd among NL pitchers and second among NL closers, behind Jeurys Familia of the Mets (8.0).

Starting pitcher Jon Lester had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Cubs players, +3.0 (6IP 4H 2R 0BB 5K W). Lester has the highest regular season Box-Toppers point total of any player remaining in the postseason 22.1, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Kris Bryant had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Cubs batters Sunday, 0.0 (HR 1-3 R BI).

Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0 (4IP 6H 3R 0BB 7K L).

Monday is a travel day in the World Series. Game 6 is Tuesday in Cleveland.

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 Cubs in World Series Game 5: Cubs 3, Indians 2

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 5 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
5.2 * Aroldis Chapman (S,4) - - - - - - 2.2 1 0 0 0 4
3.0 Jon Lester (W,3-1) - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 0 5
0.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 3 1 1 1 1 2 - - - - - -
0.0 David Ross, C 1 0 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Carl Edwards Jr., P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-0.9 Carl Edwards Jr. (H,3) - - - - - - 0.1 1 0 0 0 0
-1.0 Addison Russell, SS 4 0 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 3 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 a-Miguel Montero, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Aroldis Chapman, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Willson Contreras, C 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Jon Lester, P 2 0 0 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-3.0 Jason Heyward, RF 4 0 1 0 0 3 - - - - - -
-3.0 Javier Baez, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 3 - - - - - -
-3.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Tuesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 6, Indians lead Cubs in series, 3-2

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. Arrieta was Player of the Game in World Series Game 2.

Indians—Josh Tomlin, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 202nd among all players, 63rd among American League pitchers. Tomlin was Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 2 vs. the Blue Jays.

On paper, the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Arrieta outmatches Tomlin. In addition, Arrieta is pitching on five days rest having last pitched and won in Game 2. Tomlin is pitching on short rest, just three days, after having 58 pitches over 4 2/3 innings in Game 3 Friday.

But Tomlin was also outmatched in his Game 3 start vs. Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th) and the Indians still prevailed, 1-0, thanks to the Indians bullpen aces Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 5 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 5 progressed:

Corey Kluber tops players for 2nd time in World Series, as Indians take 3-1 series lead

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 4 Saturday.

The Cleveland Indians win 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-seven game series.

Kluber allowed one run over six innings, allowing five hits, one walk, striking out six and earning the win. Kluber had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Indians players, +4.0.

This is the second time this World Series Kluber has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game—he was also top player in his Game 1 start. This was the fourth time this postseason Kluber has earned Player of the Game honors, most of any player. In addition to his two top player honors in the World Series, he was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox and AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays.

During the regular season Kluber had 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players and first among AL pitchers.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score (+3.0) among Indians players (three-run HR, 2B 3-5 2R 3BI).

Opposing starting pitcher John Lackey of the Cubs had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (5IP 4H 3R BB 5K L).

The Indians could wrap up the championship as the World Series resumes Sunday in Chicago.

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 Indians in World Series Game 4: Indians 7, Cubs 2

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Indians who played in World Series Game 4 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.0 * Corey Kluber (W,4-1) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 1 6
3.0 Jason Kipnis, 2B 5 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Carlos Santana, 1B 4 1 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 c-Coco Crisp, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Andrew Miller - - - - - - 2.0 1 1 1 0 2
0.0 Francisco Lindor, SS 4 1 2 1 1 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Dan Otero - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 0
0.0 Andrew Miller, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Dan Otero, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Lonnie Chisenhall, RF 3 1 0 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Corey Kluber, P 2 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 a-Michael Martinez, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Tyler Naquin, CF 1 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mike Napoli, 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 b-Brandon Guyer, PH-LF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Rajai Davis, LF-CF 4 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Roberto Perez, C 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-5.0 Jose Ramirez, 3B 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Sunday in Chicago:

World Series Game 5, Indians lead Cubs in series, 3-1

The pitching matchup Sunday:

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers.

Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

On paper, the Cubs looked to dominate the depleted, injury-riddled Indians in this World Series. But so far, the Indians have prevailed with their patched-together pitching rotation.

But now, the Indians ace Kluber has pitched and won two games and will wait for an if-necessary Game 7. The Cubs dominant starter Lester is back for Game 5 and if the Cubs can win, Game 2-winner Jake Arrieta is likely for Game 6. Aside from Kluber, the Indians can’t match those starters. Though the Cubs are down, they have to feel good about their chances in the next two games. And if it goes that far, they have to hope that Kluber finally feels some of the fatigue on short rest in Game 7 that he seemed to fail to feel on his Saturday short-rest win in Game 4.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 4 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 4 progressed:

Corey Kluber tops players in World Series Game 1 as Indians take 1-0 series lead over Cubs

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 Tuesday, striking out nine Cubs over six scoreless innings.

The Indians win 6-0 to take a 1-0 lead over the Cubs in the best-of-seven series.

Kluber allowed four hits and no walks and earned a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, the highest of any Indians player Tuesday.

It is the third time this postseason Kluber has earned Player of the Game honors, the most of any player this postseason. Kluber was Player of the Game in American League Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox and in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays.

Kluber has 21.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, fifth among all players and first among AL pitchers. 

He outdueled Cubs starting ace Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers). Lester had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of −2.8 (5.2IP 6H 3R 3BB 7K L).

Catcher Roberto Perez led the way for Indians batters with two home runs (2-4 2R 4BI). He had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +4.0, second-best among Indians players.

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 Indians in World Series Game 1: Indians 6, Cubs 0

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Indians who played in World Series Game 1 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Indians player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
11.0 * Corey Kluber (W,3-1) - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 0 9
4.0 Roberto Perez, C 4 2 2 4 - - - - - -
3.0 Cody Allen - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 3
1.0 Andrew Miller (H,5) - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 2 3
0.0 Jose Ramirez, 3B 4 0 3 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Francisco Lindor, SS 4 1 3 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Brandon Guyer, LF 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Lonnie Chisenhall, RF 4 1 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Mike Napoli, 1B 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Carlos Santana, DH 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Rajai Davis, CF 5 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Jason Kipnis, 2B 5 0 0 0 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Wednesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 2, Indians lead Cubs, 1-0

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers.

Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this season. Bauer’s last start on Oct. 17 in the AL Championship Game 3 vs. the Blue Jays lasted only 2/3 of an inning when Bauer had to be pulled from the game because he was bleeding profusely from his pinky where he cut it days earlier on a drone. The Cubs have lost both postseason games Arrieta has started in 2016—on Oct. 10, the Cubs lost National League Division Series Game 3 to the Giants and on Oct. 18, they lost NL Championship Game 3 to the Dodgers.

Note: The game starts an hour earlier than normal at 7 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Central, because of weather concerns.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Jon Lester tops players in NLCS Game 5 Thursday as Cubs take 3-2 lead over Dodgers in series

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 5.

National League Championship Series Game 5: Cubs 8, Dodgers 4

Lester allowed one run over seven innings, allowing five hits, one walk and striking out six, as the Cubs take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Lester had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +5.0, highest among Cubs players. Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters (2B 3-5 R 3BI).

Opposing starting pitcher Kenta Maeda of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.2 (3.2IP 3H R 2BB 6K ND).

Lester, during the regular season, had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers. This was the second time this postseason he’s earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game in the NL Division Series Game 1 win over the Giants, 1-0, on Oct. 7.

The series resumes Saturday with Game 6 in Chicago. There are no games scheduled for Friday.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

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

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
5.0 CHC 8, LAD 4 Jon Lester (W,2-0) - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 6
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Ryan Merritt tops players as Indians eliminate Blue Jays in ALCS; Cubs' Rizzo tops players in NLCS Game 4 win

Pitcher Ryan Merritt led the Indians to a clinching American League Championship Series Game 5 win Wednesday, even though he has never earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors during the regular season.

Also Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the Cubs’ Game 4 win to even the National League Championship Series with the Dodgers at two games apiece.

American League Championship Series Game 5: Indians 3, Blue Jays 0

Merritt pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out three, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.

The Indians win the best-of-seven-game series over the Blue Jays, 4-1, and advance to the World Series beginning next Tuesday in Cleveland.

Merritt picked up a no decision because he did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win. However, he did pitch at least three innings, enough to qualify to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game.

Merritt had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +5.1, most of any Indians player. Left fielder Coco Crisp had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters (HR 1-2 R BI).

Opposing pitcher Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (6IP 5H 3R 0BB 7K L).

Merritt had no Box-Toppers points during the regular season and in fact is unranked because he has yet to earn his first career Player of the Game honor during the regular season. Merritt made his Major League debut May 30 and has played in four games, pitching a total of 11 innings.

The Indians ranked higher than the Blue Jays in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Indians ranked fourth with an accumulated 123.7 Box-Toppers points earned by their players in 2016. The Blue Jays ranked ninth with 114.0, the lowest of the five AL teams to qualify for the playoffs.

Yet, the Indians were weakened by the loss of two of their top starting pitchers—Danny Salazar (12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among AL pitchers) and Carlos Carrasco (12.4 points, ranked 10th among AL pitchers). Both were out with injuries. A third starter, Trevor Bauer (11.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers), was injured during the series—cutting his pinky finger repairing a drone—and could only pitch 2/3 of an inning in Game 3 before having to be removed because he was bleeding so profusely from his drone wound.

Yet, the Indians were able to cobble together four wins with bullpen stars like Andrew Miller (8.0 Box-Toppers points, first among AL middle relievers) and Cody Allen (7.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL closers), plus their ace starter Corey Kluber (21.2 Box-Toppers points, first among AL pitchers).

One final note: In March, Box-Toppers somehow made the correct preseason forecast that the Indians and Blue Jays would face off in the American League Championship Series and the Cubs and Dodgers would face off in the National League Championship Series.

The only problem with that: Box-Toppers picked the Blue Jays to win the ALCS and the World Series. Now, that ain’t gonna happen.

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

National League Championship Series Game 4: Cubs 10, Dodgers 2

Rizzo homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.

The Cubs now even the best-of-seven-game National League Championship Series with the Dodgers, 2-2.

Rizzo had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +3.0, most among Cubs players. Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3.0 (4IP 3H 2R 3BB 3K ND).

Opposing pitcher Julio Urias of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of −6.8 (3.2IP 4H 4R 2BB 4K L).

Rizzo had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 71st among NL batters and 16th among NL first basemen.

The series resumes Thursday with Game 5 in Los Angeles.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
5.1 `CLE 3, TOR 0 Ryan Merritt - - - - 4.1 2 0 0 0 3
3.0 CHC 10, LAD 2 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 5 2 3 3 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

National League Championship Series Game 5, Cubs at Dodgers, series tied, 2-2

The pitching matchup Thursday is a rematch of the Game 1 starters from Saturday. The Cubs won that game, 8-4:

Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Kenta Maeada, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

Cubs' Montero, Indians' Tomlin top players in Saturday's league championship series games

Miguel Montero of the Cubs is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Saturday in the National League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Dodgers.

And Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Saturday in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Championship Series Game 1: Cubs 8, Dodgers 4

Montero hit an eighth-inning, pinch-hit, grand slam homer to earn Player of the Game honors as the Cubs take a 1-0 lead over the Dodgers in the best-of-seven game series.

Montero had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.

He had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +5.0, highest among all Cubs players. Starting pitcher Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points in 2016, ranked fourth) had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (6IP 4H R BB 3K ND).

The series resumes Sunday with Game 2 in Chicago.

American League Championship Series Game 2: Indians 2, Blue Jays 1

Tomlin allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, two walks, striking out six and earning the win, as the Indians take a 2-0 lead over the Blue Jays in the best-of-seven game series.

Tomlin had 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 202nd among all players and 63rd among AL pitchers.

Tomlin had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +4.2. Middle reliever Andrew Miller had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+7.0) but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not earn the win or save and did not pitch the requisite three innings to earn the honor. However, he struck out five over two perfect innings. Designated hitter Carlos Santana had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters (HR 1-2 R BI).

Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ (14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th, third among AL pitchers) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 in the loss (5IP 4H 2R BB 4K L).

The series resumes Monday with Game 3 in Toronto.

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

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
5.0 CHC 8, LAD 4 Miguel Montero, PH 1 1 1 4 - - - - - -
4.2 CLE 2, TOR 1 Josh Tomlin (W,2-0) - - - - 5.2 3 1 1 2 6
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Sunday:

National League Championship Series Game 2, Cubs lead Dodgers, 1-0

The pitching matchup Sunday:

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

NLCS Preview: Cubs seem to have the advantages over the Dodgers—but these are the Cubs

Cubs rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, its four starters rank among the top 10 NL pitchers, they have Kris Bryant. Dodgers have Kershaw who they needed for each NLDS win. 

Read More

Indians' Corey Kluber tops players in ALCS Game 1 win over Blue Jays

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Player of the Game in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

The Indians beat the Blue Jays 2-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Kluber pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits, two walks and striking out six. It is the second time this postseason Kluber has earned Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game in the AL Division Series Game 2 win over the Red Sox on Oct. 7.

Kluber has 21.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, fifth among all players and first among AL pitchers.

Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +4.1. The Indians top batter, Francisco Lindor, had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 (HR 2-4 R 2BI).

On the losing side, Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada pitched a complete game and had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (8IP 6H 2R BB 6K L).

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

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
4.1 CLE 2, TOR 0 Corey Kluber (W,2-0) - - - - 6.1 6 0 0 2 6
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Saturday:

ALCS Game 2: Indians lead Blue Jays, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Blue Jays—J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players, third among AL pitchers.

Indians—Josh Tomlin, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 202nd among all players, 63rd among AL pitchers.

NLCS Game 1: Dodgers at Cubs

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Dodgers—Kenta Maeada, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Cubs' Lester tops players in 4 league division playoff games, Friday, Oct. 7

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.

The other three Players of the Game Friday:

  • Indians pitcher Corey Kluber.
  • Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen.
  • Blue Jays closing pitcher Roberto Osuna.

NLDS Game 1: Cubs 1, Giants 0

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out five.

During the regular season, Lester had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among National League pitchers.

He outdueled fellow Box-Toppers top 10 pitcher, Johnny Cueto of the Giants (8IP 3H R 0BB 10K L). In the loss, Cueto had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Lester (+13.0 vs. +8.0) but Lester still wins Player of the Game since he had the highest score on the winning team. Cueto, during the regular season, had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.

Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters, hitting the eighth-inning home run that was the only scoring of the game (2-3 R BI).

The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Chicago.

ALDS Game 2: Indians 6, Red Sox 0

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks.

During the regular season, Kluber led all American League pitchers with 21.2 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all players.

Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, same as Lester had for the Cubs in they NLDS win, but Lester’s game score ranks higher because he had more innings pitched (8 vs. 7).

Left fielder Brandon Guyer had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Indians batters (3-4 2R BI).

The Indians now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Boston.

NLDS Game 1, Dodgers 4, Nationals 3

Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.

During the regular season, Jansen had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 163rd among all players, 46th among NL pitchers and third among NL closing pitchers.

Jansen had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2, most of any Dodgers player in the win. Third baseman Justin Turner had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 2-3 R 2BI).

The game pitted Box-Toppers two top-ranked players against each other as starting pitchers, but neither had positive Box-Toppers game scores:

  • Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (24.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3.0 (5IP 8H 3R BB 7K W).
  • Max Scherzer of the Nationals (25.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first) had a Box-Toppers game score of −2.0 (6IP 5H 4R 0BB 5K L).

The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Washington.

ALDS Game 2: Blue Jays 5, Rangers 3

Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.

During the regular season, Osuna had 3.0 Box-Toppers points (all in April) and ranked 319th among all players, 87th among AL pitchers and 15th among AL closers.

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Blue Jays batters (HR 2-4 R 2BI).

The Blue Jays now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Toronto.

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
8.0 CHC 1, SF 0 Jon Lester (W,1-0) - - - - 8.0 5 0 0 0 5
8.0 CLE 6, BOS 0 Corey Kluber (W,1-0) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 3 7
3.2 LAD 4, WSH 3 Kenley Jansen (S,1) - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 0 3
2.2 TOR 5, TEX 3 Roberto Osuna (S,1) - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 0 2
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:

NL Division Series Game 2, Dodgers lead Nationals, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.

Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Dodgers and Nationals players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

NL Division Series Game 2, Cubs lead Giants, 1-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Giants—Jeff Samardzija, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 18th among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Giants and Cubs players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

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.

Blue Jays' Estrada, Indians' Miller top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 6

Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays and Andrew Miller of the Indians are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.

Estrada allowed one run over 8 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out six, in the 10-1 win over the Rangers. The Blue Jays now lead the Rangers 1-0 in the best-of-five series.

Estrada had 11.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 37th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.

Estrada had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +8.1. Blue Jays’ top batter in the game was third baseman Josh Donaldson (two doubles, 4-4 2R 2BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0. Rangers starting pitcher Cole Hamels had a bad day (3.1IP 6H 7R 3BB K L), earning a Box-Toppers game score of −17.9. During the regular year, Hamels had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, sixth among all players and second among AL pitchers.

Indians 5, Red Sox 4—In the other ALDS Game 1, Indians pitcher Andrew Miller earned Player of the Game, allowing no runs over two innings of middle relief. He allowed one hit, one walk and struck out four.

During the regular season, Miller had 8.0 Box-Toppers points as a closer and middle reliever. He earned 4.0 points for the Yankees before his midseason trade to the Indians. He ranks 92nd among all players in Box-Toppers points, 32nd among AL pitchers, third among AL closing pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.

Indians’ top batter Thursday was second baseman Jason Kipnis (HR 3-4 R 2BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.

Neither starting pitcher fared particularly well. Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello (4.1IP 6H 5R 0BB 6K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.9. Indians starter Trevor Bauer (4.2IP 6H 3R 0BB 6K ND) had a game score of −1.8.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
8.1 TOR 10, TEX 1 Marco Estrada (W,1-0) - - - - - - 8.1 4 1 1 0 6
4.0 CLE 5, BOS 4 Andrew Miller (W,1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 1 4
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

AL Division Series Game 2, Blue Jays lead Rangers, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Blue Jays—J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players, third among AL pitchers.

Rangers—Yu Darvish, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among AL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Blue Jays and Rangers players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

AL Division Series Game 2, Indians lead Red Sox, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Red Sox—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, 27th among all players, ninth among AL pitchers.

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among AL pitchers.

Price and Kluber are the top two AL pitchers over the past two seasons. Over 2015 and 2016, Kluber ranks first among AL pitchers with 34.6 Box-Toppers points; Price ranks second with 33.5.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Red Sox and Indians players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

NL Division Series Game 1, Dodgers at Nationals

Though the Washington Nationals have the better winning percentage (.586 vs. .562), the Los Angeles Dodgers rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings. Dodgers players have accumulated 125.2 Box-Toppers points, third-most among all teams, while the Nationals have 116.1, ranked eighth.

The pitching matchup Friday features the season’s top two players in Box-Toppers player rankings:

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among all players, ranked second among NL pitchers. 

Nationals—Max Scherzer, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among all players, ranked first among NL pitchers.

Kershaw led in Box-Toppers points much of the season and had earned 20.0 Box-Toppers points before the end of June, on pace to shatter the single-season Box-Toppers point record of 33.7. But then in late June, he went on the disabled list for two months. Despite his time away, Kershaw did not slip much down Box-Toppers rankings and was only passed by Scherzer in late August.

Kershaw and Scherzer are also the top two NL pitchers over the past two seasons. Over 2015 and 2016, Kershaw ranks first with 50.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer ranks second with 46.7. They are also the top two NL pitchers over the past six seasons. From 2011 to the present, Kershaw ranks first with 150.2 points and Scherzer ranks second with 111.3.

In addition to Kershaw, the Dodgers have one other player in a season’s top 10 Box-Toppers category list: Rich Hill with 14.4 Box-Toppers points ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

In addition to Scherzer, the Nationals have one other player a season’s top 10 Box-Toppers category list: Stephen Strasburg with 15.1 Box-Toppers points ranks 10th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.

Dodgers vs. Nationals

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. 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.  

Los Angeles Dodgers Washington Nationals
Player Pos BTP Player Pos BTP
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp 24.4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp 25.7
Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp 14.4 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp 15.1
Maeda, Kenta 3609 pi sp 10.0 Roark, Tanner 3261 pi sp 12.7
Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp 8.7 Murphy, Daniel 2589 2b 7.5
Grandal, Yasmani 3058 ca 7.2 Gonzalez, Gio 2626 pi sp 6.0
Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp 6.0 Werth, Jayson 1664 lf 6.0
Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 1b 5.7 Ross, Joe 3499 pi sp 5.7
Urias, Julio 3652 pi sp 5.7 Rendon, Anthony 3258 3b 5.5
Stripling, Ross 3629 pi sp 4.7 Latos, Mat 2644 pi sp 3.7
Kendrick, Howie 2191 2b lf 1b 4.0 Espinosa, Danny 2804 ss 2b 3.2
Seager, Corey 3587 ss 4.0 Harper, Bryce 3011 rf 3.0
Pederson, Joc 3621 cf 4.0 Melancon, Mark 2792 pi cp 3.0
Toles, Andrew 3692 rf lf cf ph 4.0 Turner, Trea 3730 2b cf 2.5
Reddick, Josh 2936 rf 3.5 Petit, Yusmeiro 2337 pi mr sp 2.0
Puig, Yasiel 3193 rf 3.5 Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 pi sp mr 2.0
McCarthy, Brandon 2082 pi sp 2.7 Solis, Sammy 3651 pi mr 2.0
Turner, Justin 2865 3b 2b 2.5 Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 1b 3b 1.5
Howell, J.P. 2016 pi mr 2.0 Ramos, Wilson 2904 ca 1.5
Stewart, Brock 3722 pi sp 1.7 den Dekker, Matt 3534 lf ph 1.5
Taylor, Chris 3684 2b 1.5 Taylor, Michael 3447 cf 1.0
Wood, Alex 3246 pi sp 1.0 Robinson, Clint 3475 1b 1.0
Hatcher, Chris 3420 pi mr 1.0 Kelley, Shawn 2630 pi cp mr 1.0
Hernandez, Enrique 3541 lf 1.0 Revere, Ben 2886 cf 1.0
Utley, Chase 1861 2b 1.0 Lobaton, Jose 3216 ca 1.0
Baez, Pedro 3678 pi mr 1.0 Cole, A.J. 3727 pi sp 1.0
Totals 125.2 Totals 116.1
What are those numbers after players' names?

NL Division Series Game 1, Giants at Cubs

The Cubs are the runaway leader in Box-Toppers team rankings, leading nearly all the season with 139.5 Box-Toppers points. The Giants are the lowest-ranking team to qualify for the postseason, ranked 10th with 112.7. 

But the Giants have won the World Series each of the past three even-numbered years (2010, 2012 and 2014)—2016 is an even-numbered year. The Cubs last won the World Series in an even-numbered year, but that year was 1908, 106 years ago.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Giants—Johnny Cueto, 16.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Cueto is the only Giants players in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category.

The Cubs have four other players in season top 10 lists:

  • Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among all players and sixth among NL pitchers. (Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points).
  • John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among NL pitchers.
  • Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks 10th among NL pitchers.
  • Kris Bryant, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks second among NL batters.

Giants vs. Cubs

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. 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.  

San Francisco Giants Chicago Cubs
Player Pos BTP Player Pos BTP
Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp 16.4 Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp 22.1
Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp 13.0 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp 15.7
Moore, Matt 2975 pi sp 12.4 Lackey, John 1640 pi sp 13.4
Samardzija, Jeff 2495 pi sp 10.7 Hendricks, Kyle 3386 pi sp 13.4
Belt, Brandon 2943 1b 7.0 Hammel, Jason 2235 pi sp 13.0
Panik, Joe 3401 2b 5.5 Bryant, Kris 3465 lf 3b rf 10.5
Nunez, Eduardo 2795 3b 2b ss 5.5 Chapman, Aroldis 2826 pi cp 7.4
Peavy, Jake 1635 pi sp 5.0 Montgomery, Mike 3513 pi cp mr sp 5.0
Posey, Buster 2745 ca 1b 3.5 Rondon, Hector 3201 pi cp 5.0
Pence, Hunter 2287 rf 3.5 Zobrist, Ben 2216 2b rf lf 4.0
Casilla, Santiago 2301 pi cp 3.0 Russell, Addison 3559 ss 3.5
Kontos, George 3106 pi cp mr 3.0 Rizzo, Anthony 3063 1b 3.0
Span, Denard 2502 cf 3.0 Cahill, Trevor 2658 pi mr sp 3.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619 2b ph 3.0 Soler, Jorge 3403 lf 2.5
Cain, Matt 2081 pi sp 2.7 Coghlan, Chris 2610 3b rf ph 2.5
Brown, Trevor 3610 ca 2.5 Ross, David 1729 ca 2.5
Crawford, Brandon 2878 ss 2.0 Montero, Miguel 2304 ca ph 2.0
Gillaspie, Conor 3218 3b ph 2.0 Smith, Joe 2388 pi cp mr 2.0
Blach, Ty 3754 pi sp 2.0 Baez, Javier 3395 2b ss 2.0
Law, Derek 3657 pi sp mr 2.0 LaStella, Tommy 3367 3b 2b 2.0
Pagan, Angel 2184 lf 1.0 Fowler, Dexter 2698 cf 1.5
Beckham, Gordon 2620 2b 1.0 Szczur, Matt 3704 cf 1.5
Strickland, Hunter 3546 pi mr 1.0 Wood, Travis 2777 pi mr sp 1.0
Okert, Steven 3745 pi mr 1.0 Heyward, Jason 2695 rf 1.0
Osich, Josh 3677 pi mr 1.0
Totals 112.7 Totals 139.5
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.

White Sox' Carlos Rodon tops players for Sunday, Sept. 25; Cubs' Lester rises to 4th in Box-Toppers rankings

White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon 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 Sept. 25:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 24.7
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 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 15.7
8 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym al 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.

Also Sunday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Plus, Sunday: Jose Fernandez, 24, died in a Miami boating accident. Two of his friends also died. The Miami Marlins pitcher ranked third in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 22.4 Box-Toppers points. Box-Toppers will have more on Fernandez in a coming, separate post. 

Player of the Day—Rodon struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and walking three, in the 3-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Robert Gsellman struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 17-0 win over the Phillies.

This was Gsellman’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Gsellman made his Major League debut Aug. 23 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,748th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Alex Gordon of the Royals hit a homer and two doubles, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-9 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a game-tying, eighth-inning, pinch-hit, two-run homer in the 10-7 win over the Pirates.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Lester (6.2IP 3H 0R BB 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season.

Lester now has 143.2 career Box-Toppers points, 26th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 25th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list.

Scoring—Rodon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gsellman earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Gordon and Werth 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.

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

9/25 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 CHW 3, CLE 0 Carlos Rodon (W,8-10) - - - - 8.0 2 0 0 3 11
11.1 `BOS 3, TB 2 (10) Eduardo Rodriguez - - - - 5.1 3 1 1 2 13
NL 10.0 NYM 17, PHI 0 Robert Gsellman (W,3-2) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 2 8
9.2 CHC 3, STL 1 Jon Lester (W,19-4) - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 1 7
BAT 7.0 KC 12, DET 9 Alex Gordon, LF 4 2 3 3 3.0 0 0 0 0 0
7.0 OAK 7, TEX 1 Jharel Cotton (W,2-0) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 0 5
6.0 `TOR 4, NYY 3 Marco Estrada - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 7
6.0 CIN 4, MIL 2 Brandon Finnegan (W,10-11) - - - - 5.0 3 0 0 0 4
4.0 BAL 2, ARI 1 Dylan Bundy (W,10-6) - - - - 5.0 3 1 1 1 5
3.0 SEA 4, MIN 3 Nelson Cruz, DH 3 2 2 2 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 WSH 10, PIT 7 Jayson Werth, PH 1 1 1 2 - - - - - -
2.1 `LAD 4, COL 3 (10) Brandon McCarthy - - - - 5.1 4 2 2 1 6
2.0 HOU 4, LAA 1 Joe Musgrove (W,4-4) - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 0 4
1.2 SD 4, SF 3 Brad Hand (S,1) - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 stl-chc - - - - - - - - - - -
`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 +/-
Lester, Jon 2173 pi sp chi nl 22.1 34.1 80.3 143.2 10.1
Estrada, Marco 2847 pi sp tor al 11.0 19.0 43.1 43.1 3.0
Rodon, Carlos 3494 pi sp chi al 7.0 15.1 15.1 15.1 -1.1
Finnegan, Brandon 3535 pi sp cin nl 7.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 4.0
Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 dh sea al 6.5 8.5 34.2 53.7 4.5
Werth, Jayson 1664 lf dc nl 6.0 9.0 23.0 50.2 3.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655 pi sp bal al 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Hand, Brad 2907 pi mr sd nl 5.0 6.0 10.0 10.0 4.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 pi sp bos al 4.7 10.7 10.7 10.7 -1.3
Musgrove, Joe 3705 pi sp hou al 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
McCarthy, Brandon 2082 pi sp lad nl 2.7 4.7 27.8 36.5 0.7
Cotton, Jharel 3733 pi sp oak al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Gsellman, Robert 3748 pi sp nym nl 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7
Gordon, Alex 2328 lf kc al 1.5 6.0 22.0 31.5 -3.0
What are those numbers after players' names?