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

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/9 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 15.0 MIA 4, LAD 1 Jose Fernandez (W,14-8) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 3 14
AL 9.2 `TEX 2, LAA 1 Yu Darvish - - - - 6.2 3 1 1 1 9
7.0 CHC 2, HOU 0 Jon Lester (W,16-4) - - - - 7.0 7 0 0 0 7
BAT 5.0 NYY 7, TB 5 Mark Teixeira, 1B 3 2 2 4 - - - - - -
BAT 5.0 NYM 6, ATL 4 Curtis Granderson, CF 2 2 2 3 - - - - - -
4.0 BOS 13, TOR 3 Dustin Pedroia, 2B 4 1 3 4 - - - - - -
4.0 `DET 4, BAL 3 Michael Fulmer - - - - 7.0 3 2 2 1 5
4.0 CHW 7, KC 2 Carlos Rodon (W,7-8) - - - - 6.0 6 2 1 2 9
4.0 `WSH 5, PHI 4 Tanner Roark - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 2 8
3.0 SF 7, ARI 6 (12) Hunter Pence, RF 5 4 4 0 - - - - - -
3.0 CLE 5, MIN 4 Cody Allen (S,27) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 `STL 4, MIL 3 Kevin Siegrist (H,15) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 `SEA 3, OAK 2 Steve Cishek (H,4) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 COL 4, SD 1 Adam Ottavino (S,3) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 CIN 4, PIT 3 Tim Adleman, P 2 1 2 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

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

Pirates' Francisco Liriano tops players for Thursday, July 21; Red Sox' Wright tops AL players

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 73rd player since 1995 with 100 or more Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 16.4
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 14.0
4 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 13.4
5 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 12.5
6 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 12.1
7 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 11.4
8 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 11.0
9 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 11.0
10 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 10.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Liriano struck out 13 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, four hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Brewers.

Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 101.2 for his career, rising to 69th place among all players since 1995, passing four players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Jason Schmidt (101.2). Liriano now trails 68th-ranked player Tim Wakefield (101.4). Liriano has 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 25th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright struck out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs (one earned), four hits and one walk, in the 13-2 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Justin Turner of the Dodgers hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, driving in five runs, in the 6-3 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Corey Dickerson of the Rays homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Athletics.

Notable—Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman had the most season Box-Toppers points among the nine who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Tillman (7IP 4H R 2BB 7K W in the 401 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, 45th among all players and 16th among AL pitchers.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/21 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.2 PIT 5, MIL 3 Francisco Liriano (W,6-9) - - - - 6.2 4 3 2 0 13
AL 9.0 BOS 13, MIN 2 Steven Wright (W,12-5) - - - - 8.0 4 2 1 1 9
BAT 6.0 LAD 6, WSH 3 Justin Turner, 3B 3 2 2 5 - - - - - -
6.0 MIA 9, PHI 3 Tom Koehler (W,7-8) - - - - 8.0 2 3 1 1 5
6.0 BAL 4, NYY 1 Chris Tillman (W,14-2) - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 7
BAT 3.0 TB 7, OAK 3 Corey Dickerson, DH 3 1 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 STL 6, SD 5 Stephen Piscotty, PH-1B-RF 2 1 1 3 - - - - - -
2.0 COL 7, ATL 3 Carlos Gonzalez, RF 3 1 1 3 - - - - - -
1.2 DET 2, CHW 1 (7) Shane Greene (S,2) - - - - 0.2 0 0 0 0 1

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 +/-
Tillman, Chris 2754 pi sp bal al 7.0 11.7 40.8 42.8 2.3
Wright, Steven 3224 pi sp bos al 6.7 10.4 11.4 11.4 3.0
Liriano, Francisco 2104 pi sp pit nl 6.0 20.9 61.4 101.2 -8.9
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 rf col nl 4.5 16.0 44.7 57.7 -7.0
Piscotty, Stephen 3570 rf stl nl 4.0 8.2 8.2 8.2 -0.2
Dickerson, Corey 3222 lf dh tb al 3.5 6.5 15.5 15.5 0.5
Koehler, Tom 3159 pi sp fla nl 3.0 7.0 15.0 15.0 -1.0
Turner, Justin 2865 3b 2b lad nl 2.5 6.5 12.0 12.0 -1.5
Greene, Shane 3381 pi sp det al 2.0 5.0 12.0 12.0 -1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Braves' Teheran tops players for Sunday, June 19; Royals' Young tops AL players

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran 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 June 19:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 18.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 11.7
3 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 10.7
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 10.0
5 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 10.0
6 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 10.0
7 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp ari nl 9.7
8 Lackey, John 1640 pi sp chi nl 9.4
9 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 9.0
10 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 8.8
What are those numbers after players' names?

Teheran pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 6-0 win over the Mets.

American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Chris Young struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Tigers. Young did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 1-1 when he exited.

American League Batter of the Day—Matt Wieters of the Orioles homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-6 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no National League Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Streak—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday, his first of the season.

Weaver (CG 3H 0R BB K W in the 2-0 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Angels and has 124.1 points for his career, rising to 37th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Sunday, he passes one player on the “all-time” list, Gary Sheffield (124.1).

Weaver’s best season was 2011 with the Angels when he had 22.8 Box-Toppers points, second-most among AL pitchers. He had four straight seasons with 15.0 or more points (2009—15.0, 2010—19.4, 2011—22.8, 2012—15.4) all with the Angels. Weaver had 7.7 points in 2015 with the Angels.

Notable—In addition to Weaver, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:

  • Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (6IP 4H R BB 8K ND in the 5-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 140.8 for his career. He ranks 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, and trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (141.4). Peavy has 4.0 points on the season.
  • Red Sox pitcher David Price (8IP 8H R 0BB 7K W in the 2-1 win over the Mariners) becomes the 72nd player since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points. He earns 1.0 point, giving him 100.5 for his career, rising to 70th among all players and passing two players—Larry Walker (100.1) and Jeff Bagwell (100.4)—on the “all-time” list. He now trails 69th-ranked player Paul Konerko (100.7). Price also has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of Sunday’s 15 Players of the Games. Price has 6.7 points on the season, ranking 22nd among all players, seventh among AL pitchers.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debuts Sunday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Max Kepler of the Twins (HR 2B 3-4 3R 2BI in the 7-4 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut Sept. 27, 2015, and was playing in his 30th career game. He is the 3,664th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Jurickson Profar of the Rangers (1-1 2BI in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 2, 2012, and was playing in his 115th career game. He is the 3,665th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Teheran earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Young earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wieters earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/19 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 15.0 ATL 6/NYM 0 Julio Teheran (W,3-7) - - - - 9.0 1 0 0 0 7
9.0 CHC 10/PIT 5 Kyle Hendricks (W,5-6) - - - - 6.0 7 1 1 0 12
7.0 `SF 5/TB 1 Jake Peavy - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 1 8
AL 7.0 `KC 2/DET 1 Chris Young - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 1 7
BAT 6.0 BAL 11/TOR 6 Matt Wieters, C 5 3 4 4 - - - - - -
6.0 LAA 2/OAK 0 Jered Weaver (W,6-6) - - - - 9.0 3 0 0 1 1
5.2 HOU 6/CIN 0 Mike Fiers (W,5-3) - - - - 5.2 4 0 0 1 5
5.0 BOS 2/SEA 1 David Price (W,8-4) - - - - 8.0 8 1 1 0 7
5.0 ARI 5/PHI 1 Archie Bradley (W,3-3) - - - - 6.0 3 1 0 2 5
4.0 MIN 7/NYY 4 Max Kepler, RF 4 3 3 2 - - - - - -
4.0 MIA 3/COL 0 Tom Koehler (W,6-6) - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 6 6
4.0 SD 6/DC 3 Fernando Rodney (S,14) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.1 `LAD 2/MIL 1 Kenta Maeda - - - - 6.1 6 1 1 3 8
3.0 `CLE 3/CHW 2 Cody Allen - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 1 3
2.0 TEX 5/STL 4 Jurickson Profar, PH 1 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

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 +/-
Price, David 2593 pi sp bos al 6.7 27.8 83.8 100.5 -14.4
Wieters, Matt 2643 ca bal al 6.0 7.0 25.0 30.7 5.0
Hendricks, Kyle 3386 pi sp chi nl 5.0 14.7 19.7 19.7 -4.7
Teheran, Julio 3176 pi sp atl nl 5.0 12.7 40.8 40.8 -2.7
Peavy, Jake 1635 pi sp sf nl 4.0 9.0 37.1 140.8 -1.0
Allen, Cody 3265 pi mr cle al 4.0 8.0 13.0 13.0 0.0
Maeda, Kenta 3609 pi sp lad nl 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
Young, Chris R. 1933 pi sp kc al 3.7 11.7 27.8 77.8 -4.3
Rodney, Fernando 1803 pi cp sd nl 3.0 4.0 21.0 33.0 2.0
Fiers, Michael 3029 pi sp hou al 2.0 9.0 23.1 23.1 -5.0
Koehler, Tom 3159 pi sp fla nl 2.0 6.0 14.0 14.0 -2.0
Bradley, Archie 3438 pi sp ari nl 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0
Weaver, Jered 2178 pi sp ana al 1.0 8.7 63.3 124.1 -6.7
Kepler, Max 3664 rf min al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Profar, Jurickson 3665 ph tex al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

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

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 +/-
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?

Dodgers' Kazmir tops players for Tuesday, May 31; Marlins' Fernandez rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 70th player since 1995 to earn 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 31:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 14.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 9.7
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 Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp oak al 8.4
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?

Also Tuesday, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Kazmir pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven, in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. Kazmir did not earn the win, picking up a no decision because the game was tied when he exited.

Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 101.4 career Box-Toppers points. He becomes the 70th player with 100 or more points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he rises to 64th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” list, passing seven players—Red Sox pitcher David Price (99.5), Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9), Jason Schmidt (101.2) and Tim Wakefield (101.4). Kazmir trails 63rd-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

Kazmir has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 15th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox hit three home runs, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies homered and hit two doubles, going 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 17-4 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the AL Player of the Day is a batter, Mookie Betts.

Rankings—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Fernandez (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 3-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising to second in season player rankings, trailing only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.0). 

Notable—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy rises to 24th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Peavy (7IP H 0R 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 138.8 career points, passing Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (141.4). Peavy has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

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

  • Tyler Saladino of the White Sox (HR 2-2 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut July 10, 2015, and was playing in his 93rd career game. He is the 3,645th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Blue Jays pitcher Joe Biagini (1IP H 0R 2K W in the 4-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,646th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Betts earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. LeMahieu 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.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/31 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 `LAD 5/CHC 0 Scott Kazmir - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 1 7
10.0 MIA 3/PIT 1 Jose Fernandez (W,8-2) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 0 6
9.0 SF 4/ATL 0 Jake Peavy (W,2-5) - - - - 7.0 1 0 0 0 3
AL 6.0 BOS 6/BAL 2 Mookie Betts, RF 5 3 3 5 - - - - - -
BAT 6.0 COL 17/CIN 4 DJ LeMahieu, 2B 4 4 4 2 - - - - - -
5.0 STL 10/MIL 3 Matt Carpenter, 3B 5 4 4 2 - - - - - -
5.0 SEA 16/SD 4 Kyle Seager, 3B 4 2 3 4 - - - - - -
5.0 HOU 8/ARI 5 George Springer, RF 4 2 3 4 - - - - - -
5.0 LAA 11/DET 9 C.J. Cron, DH 4 2 2 5 - - - - - -
5.0 DC 5/PHI 1 Joe Ross (W,5-4) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 5
4.0 KC 10/TB 5 Lorenzo Cain, CF 4 2 2 4 - - - - - -
4.0 CHW 6/NYM 4 Tyler Saladino, SS 2 2 2 2 - - - - - -
4.0 TEX 7/CLE 3 Colby Lewis (W,5-0) - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 2 2
3.0 OAK 7/MIN 4 Danny Valencia, 3B 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
2.0 TOR 4/NYY 1 Joe Biagini (W,3-1) - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

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 +/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 9.7 14.4 40.4 40.4 5.0
Lewis, Colby 1567 pi sp tex al 5.7 13.4 31.6 43.0 -2.0
Kazmir, Scott 1947 pi sp lad nl 5.0 17.7 45.6 101.4 -7.7
Cain, Lorenzo 3171 cf kc al 5.0 13.2 19.2 19.2 -3.2
Ross, Joe 3499 pi sp dc nl 4.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 -0.3
Betts, Mookie 3404 rf bos al 4.7 7.7 9.7 9.7 1.7
Valencia, Danny 2772 3b oak al 4.5 8.0 10.0 13.0 1.0
LeMahieu, DJ 3091 2b col nl 3.5 10.5 16.5 16.5 -3.5
Carpenter, Matt 2987 3b 1b stl nl 3.5 9.0 23.5 23.5 -2.0
Seager, Kyle 3031 3b sea al 3.5 8.5 22.5 22.5 -1.5
Springer, George 3337 rf hou al 3.5 4.5 7.5 7.5 2.5
Peavy, Jake 1635 pi sp sf nl 2.0 7.0 35.1 138.8 -3.0
Cron, C.J. 3338 dh 1b ana al 1.0 7.0 8.0 8.0 -5.0
Biagini, Joe 3646 pi mr tor al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Saladino, Tyler 3645 ss chi al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Pirates' Cole tops players for Sunday, May 15; Beltran becomes 69th player to 100 career Box-Toppers points

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole 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 May 15:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 9.0
2 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 7.7
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 6.7
4 Machado, Manny 3087 3b ss bal al 6.7
5 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 6.0
6 Quintana, Jose 3040 pi sp chi al 5.7
7 De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 pi sp ari nl 5.7
8 Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 5.7
9 Davis, Chris 2478 1b bal al 5.5
10 Santiago, Hector 3109 pi sp ana al 5.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Carlos Beltran of the Yankees becomes the 69th player with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points (since player tracking began in 1995).

Player of the Day—Cole struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 2-1 win over the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Hector Santiago pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 3-0 win over the Mariners.

Santiago earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit three home runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth, in the 7-6 win over the Rays. Valencia went 3-for-5 with five total RBIs.

National League Batter of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.

Notable—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees becomes the 69th player—and 26th batter—with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Beltran (HR 1-3 2R 3BI in the 7-5 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.9 for his career. He rises to 66th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when player tracking began), passing three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Beltran now trails 65th-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2). Beltran has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Tigers pitcher Warwick Saupold made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Saupold (2.2IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 6-5 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 14 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,636th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He is the only player among the 3,636 to be named “Warwick.”

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santiago earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia and Bruce 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/15 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Pirates Gerrit Cole (W,4-3) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 0 7
AL 10.0 Angels Hector Santiago (W,3-2) - - - - - - 8.0 2 0 0 1 5
9.0 Marlins Jose Fernandez (W,5-2) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 3 11
BAT 6.0 Athletics Danny Valencia, 3B 5 3 3 5 0 2 - - - - - -
6.0 Twins Tyler Duffey (W,1-2) - - - - - - 7.0 6 0 0 1 6
5.1 `Brewers Zach Davies - - - - - - 6.1 3 2 2 0 6
5.0 Red Sox Ryan Hanigan, C 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 `Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 2 5
3.0 Rangers Ian Desmond, CF 4 1 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Reds Jay Bruce, RF 3 3 3 0 2 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Yankees Carlos Beltran, DH 3 2 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rockies Ryan Raburn, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.2 Tigers Warwick Saupold (W,1-0) - - - - - - 2.2 2 0 0 2 4
2.0 Cardinals Yadier Molina, PH-C 2 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Giants Hunter Strickland (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

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 Pos Team 16 15-16 11-16 Career +/-
Santiago, Hector 3109 pi sp ana al 5.4 13.4 25.8 25.8 -2.6
Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 5.0 9.7 35.7 35.7 0.3
Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 3.0 22.0 32.4 32.4 -16.0
Desmond, Ian 2673 cf lf tex al 3.0 4.0 19.7 26.2 2.0
Valencia, Danny 2772 3b oak al 2.5 6.0 8.0 11.0 -1.0
Bruce, Jay 2453 rf cin nl 2.5 5.7 25.7 52.8 -0.7
Beltran, Carlos 1194 rf dh nyy al 2.0 5.5 22.9 100.9 -1.5
Duffy, Danny 2915 pi sp kc al 1.0 5.0 20.0 20.0 -3.0
Duffey, Tyler 3558 pi sp min al 1.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 -3.0
Davies, Zach 3581 pi sp mil nl 1.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 -2.0
Raburn, Ryan 2340 dh rf ph col nl 1.0 3.0 18.7 36.7 -1.0
Hanigan, Ryan 2708 ca bos al 1.0 2.5 8.0 11.0 -0.5
Molina, Yadier 1967 ca stl nl 1.0 2.0 14.7 31.7 0.0
Strickland, Hunter 3546 pi mr sf nl 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0
Saupold, Warwick 3636 pi mr det al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers' Franchise Four

Who are each franchise's top 4 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995?

Read More

A look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2015

Analyzing 21 years of Box-Toppers season point leaders in pitching and batting in both leagues.

Read More

Cubs' Jon Lester (8IP R 9K) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 30

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Lester struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 10-3 win over the Reds.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 26th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 30.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 27.1
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 24.7
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 21.4
4 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 21.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 21.1
6 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 19.7
7 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 19.4
8 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 19.0
9 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 19.0
10 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 18.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Lester also now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 37th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 36th-ranked player Jered Weaver (123.1).

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 8-1 win over the Blue Jays.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals.

Rankings—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers maintained his rank of third among AL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Beltre (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.5 for the season. He ranks 31st among all players and third among AL batters behind Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) and Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5).

This was the second straight day Beltre earned Player of the Game honors. It was the fifth time in September Beltre earned the honor—he earned 6.0 total Box-Toppers points in September. In fact, Beltre has earned all his points since earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season on July 31. He had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in August. And despite a season when he had very similar numbers to this year, Beltre earned no Box-Toppers points in 2014—in fact this year, he has a lower batting average (.281 to .324) and lower home run totals (16 to 19) than in 2014. (One notable difference—the Rangers had 67 wins in 2014 and already have 86 in 2015, so Beltre has had more opportunity for Box-Toppers points this year, since players can only earn Player of the Game honors when their team wins.)

Beltre also Wednesday became the 68th player since 1995 to earn 100 or more career Box-Toppers points. Beltre now has 100.8 career points and rises to 65th place among all players since 1995. He passes three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). He trails 67th-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2).

It should be noted that Walker and Bagwell both started their careers before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995 and that if their entire career were tracked they would likely have more points. Walker’s first year was 1989 and rough estimates would put his Box-Toppers career point total at 135. Bagwell began in 1991 and his estimated career total would be 125. Konerko began in 1997, so his entire career was tracked by Box-Toppers.

Notable—Giants pitcher Mike Leake became the 44th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Leake (CG 2H 0R K W in the 5-0 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and 17th among NL pitchers.

Top 10—Two pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Wednesday, but did not earn Player of the Game honors:

  • Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (7IP 7H 2R 2K W in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals) had a Box-Toppers game score of -2. Player of the Game was Francisco Cervelli (GS 2B 2-4 2R 4BI), with a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Cole ranks ninth in Box-Toppers points with 19.0.
  • Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (3IP 5H 5R 5K L in the 7-1 loss to the Twins) had a Box-Toppers game score of -9. Player of the Game was Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson (6IP 4H 0R 9K W), with a Box-Toppers game score of +9. Carrasco ranks 10th in Box-Toppers points with 18.0.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/30 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Cubs Jon Lester (W,11-12) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 0 9
AL 11.0 Orioles Kevin Gausman (W,4-7) - - - - - - 8.0 5 1 1 0 10
9.0 Twins Kyle Gibson (W,11-11) - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 2 9
8.0 Cardinals Tyler Lyons (W,3-1) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 0 5
7.0 Blue Jays Marcus Stroman (W,4-0) - - - - - - 8.0 5 1 1 2 8
6.0 Brewers Zach Davies (W,3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 2 6
6.0 Rays Drew Smyly (W,5-2) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 3 8
5.0 Giants Mike Leake (W,11-10) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 3 1
BAT 4.0 Indians Jose Ramirez, 2B 4 2 2 4 1 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Pirates Francisco Cervelli, C 4 2 2 4 0 2 - - - - - -
3.0 Phillies Freddy Galvis, SS 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Red Sox Travis Shaw, 1B 5 2 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Rangers Adrian Beltre, 3B 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Astros Luis Valbuena, 3B 3 2 2 1 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Royals Wade Davis (S,15) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Braves Arodys Vizcaino (S,9) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Athletics Eric Sogard, 2B 4 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Dbacks David Peralta, LF 2 0 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -

Indians' Carrasco tops players for Thursday, July 30; Nationals' Scherzer rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

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

Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Brandon Phillips of the Reds earned Box-Toppers points for the 10th straight season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 30.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 16.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
3 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 13.1
6 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 13.1
7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
8 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
9 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 13.0
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out seven, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and becomes the 22nd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 15th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Brandon Phillips of the Reds hit two homers and went 4-for-5, driving in seven runs, in the 15-5 win over the Pirates.

Phillips earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but did not earn points in 2004 or 2005. His 10-season streak began in 2006 when he earned Box-Toppers points with both the Indians and the Reds. His best year was 2012 with the Reds, when he earned 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. In 2014, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Reds.

Phillips has 61.1 career Box-Toppers points and ranks eighth among second basemen since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He ranks second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).

American League Batter of the Day—Eddie Rosario of the Twins hit a three-run homer and also tripled and doubled, going 3-for-5 and scoring three times, in the 9-5 win over the Mariners.

This was Rosario’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rosario made his Major League debut May 6 and was playing in his 66th career game. He is the 3,542nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day is a batter (Brandon Phillips).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Scherzer (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.0 for the season. He also ranks second among NL pitchers, behind overall leader Jacob deGrom of the Mets (16.4).

Scherzer also rises to 64th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Thursday, Scherzer now has 101.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Scherzer trails 63rd-place player Jason Schmidt (101.2).

Notable—Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Kazmir (7.2IP 3H 0R 5K ND in the 3-0 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.

Debuts—In addition to Rosario, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Phillies pitcher Elvis Araujo (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-1 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut May 5 and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,543rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/30 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W,11-8) - - - - - - 9.0 2 1 1 1 7
NL 8.0 Reds Brandon Phillips, 2B 5 2 4 7 0 0 - - - - - -
7.0 Cardinals Matt Carpenter, 3B-1B 5 4 4 4 0 0 - - - - - -
7.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W,11-8) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 3 6
6.2 `Astros Scott Kazmir - - - - - - 7.2 3 0 0 3 5
6.0 Padres Derek Norris, C 5 2 5 4 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Twins Eddie Rosario, LF 5 3 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Yoenis Cespedes, LF 5 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Cubs Anthony Rizzo, 1B 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rangers Josh Hamilton, DH 4 1 2 4 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Red Sox Steven Wright (W,4-4) - - - - - - 7.0 6 2 2 2 8
3.0 `Phillies Elvis Araujo (H,1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Blue Jays Dioner Navarro, C 2 1 1 2 2 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, July 12; Nationals' Scherzer regains Box-Toppers points lead

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 12th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Also Sunday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the Box-Toppers season points lead and also earned his 100th career Box-Toppers point. Plus, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 12.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 14.4
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 13.4
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 13.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
7 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
8 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 11.7
9 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp hou al 11.1
10 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 11.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out nine, in the 3-1 win over the White Sox.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season. He is the 12th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among all players, seventh among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Indians.

Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season. He is the 13th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to ninth in season player rankings, fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets hit three homers and drove in four runs in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 11-10 win over the Blue Jays.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings Sunday after earning Player of the Game honors.

Scherzer (8.2IP 4H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (14.4 Box-Toppers points) for first place in Box-Toppers rankings. Scherzer previously led players in Box-Toppers points this season from June 26 to July 8, when he both took the lead from and lost the lead to Hernandez.

Scherzer also now has 100.0 career Box-Toppers points, becoming the 67th player with 100 since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Scherzer ranks 67th among all players and trails 66th-place player Larry Walker (100.1).

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis and Infante each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/12 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 Cubs Jake Arrieta (W,10-5) - - - - - - 9.0 2 1 1 0 9
AL 12.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W,10-3) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 1 6
7.2 Nationals Max Scherzer (W,10-7) - - - - - - 8.2 4 2 2 0 7
7.2 Padres Tyson Ross (W,6-7) - - - - - - 6.2 3 0 0 2 6
7.0 Angels Andrew Heaney (W,3-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 6
BAT 6.0 Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF 4 3 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
6.0 Twins Kyle Gibson (W,8-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 0 2 6
4.2 Giants Chris Heston (W,9-5) - - - - - - 6.2 7 1 1 0 7
3.0 Rockies Charlie Blackmon, CF 5 1 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Marlins Justin Bour, 1B 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Kenley Jansen (S,16) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
BAT 2.0 Royals Omar Infante, 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Pirates Gregory Polanco, RF 4 1 3 2 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Brian McCann, C 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rays David DeJesus, LF 3 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -

Dodgers' Grandal (2 3R HRs) tops players for Thursday, May 7; A-Rod hits 661st HR, rises to 9th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers is Thursday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees earned Player of the Game honors as he hit his 661st career home run, passing Willie Mays’ mark of 660. Rodriguez also moved up to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 7.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 7.7
2 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 6.0
3 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 5.0
4 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 4.7
5 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 4.7
6 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 4.7
7 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 4.7
8 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 rf fla nl 4.5
9 Rodriguez, Alex dh nyy al 4.5
10 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 4.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Grandal hit two three-run homers and drove in eight runs, going 4-for-4 and scoring three times, in the 14-4 win over the Brewers.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Joakim Soria struck out four over the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing no runs or hits and earning the save, in the 4-1 win over the White Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4 with two runs in the 7-4 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday since the overall Player of the Day (Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers) was a batter from the NL.

Rankings—Alex Rodriguez rises to ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game in the Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Orioles (HR 2-3 R 2BI). Rodriguez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.5 for the season. Rodriguez already has more Box-Toppers points this season than he did in 2013 (3.0) and as many as he had in all of 2012 (4.5). In 2011, he had 4.7 points and in 2010, he had 13.7, the last time he had 10.0 or more in a season.

In the game, Rodriguez moved to fourth place on the all-time home run list with his 661st home run, passing Willie Mays (660). Rodriguez now has 183.8 career Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players since record keeping began in 1995 and first among all batters during that time.

Notables—Two players had notable Box-Toppers achievements Thursday:

  • Dan Haren of the Marlins became the second pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Haren (2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 7-2 win over the Giants) also pitched seven innings and picked up the win. It is the third time in his career he has earned Player of the Game honors for batting—he last did it June 14, 2014. Haren earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season and 110.2 for his career. With the point, he rises to 49th among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, passing Jeff Kent (109.7) on that list.
  • Cardinals pitcher John Lackey becomes the 66th player to earn 100 or more Box-Toppers points after he earned Player of the Game honors Thursday (7.2IP R 10K W in the 5-1 win over the Cubs). Lackey earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.8 for his career. He moves to 62nd place among all players (since record keeping began in 1995) and passes four players on that list—Aramis Ramirez (100.8), Paul Konerko (100.7), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Larry Walker (100.1). Lackey’s career 100.8 Box-Toppers points ranks 13th among active pitchers currently in the NL.

Debut—Rangers pitcher Alex Claudio made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Claudio (1.1IP 0R 0H 2K W in the 5-4 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut Aug. 13, 2014, and was playing in his 21st career game. He is the 3,459th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/7 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Dodgers Yasmani Grandal C 4 3 4 8 2 0 - - - - - -
9.2 Cardinals John Lackey (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 7.2 5 1 1 1 10
9.0 Dbacks Rubby De La Rosa (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 2 7
AL 5.1 Tigers Joakim Soria (S, 11) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 4
4.1 `Astros Collin McHugh - - - - - - 7.1 5 2 2 1 7
3.1 Rangers Alex Claudio (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 2
BAT 3.0 Royals Eric Hosmer 1B 4 2 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Marlins Dan Haren P 3 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.1 Twins Glen Perkins (S, 10) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Pirates Andrew McCutchen CF 4 2 3 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Alex Rodriguez DH 3 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Tim Lincecum (8IP 0R) tops players for Sunday, May 3

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is Sunday’s Player of the Day.

Lincecum pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 5-0 win over the Angels.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 3.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 6.0
2 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 6.0
3 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 5.0
4 Cabrera, Miguel 1776 1b det al 4.7
5 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 4.7
6 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 4.7
7 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 4.7
8 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 rf fla nl 4.5
9 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp cin nl 4.4
10 Upton, Justin 2411 lf sd nl 4.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Lincecum earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season. He now has 111.3 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 46th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Sunday, he passed three players on that list—Jon Lester (111.1), Tom Glavine (110.6) and Jeff Kent (109.7). He ranks 32nd among all pitchers since 1995 and ninth among active pitchers currently in the NL.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits, in the 7-1 win over the Rangers. Gray rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings—he earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season.

American League Batter of the Day—Evan Gattis of the Astros hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 7-6 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Justin Upton of the Padres homered and hit two doubles, scoring twice and driving in three, in the 8-6 win over the Rockies. Upton rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season. He ranks second among NL batters, behind Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins (4.5 Box-Toppers points).

Rankings—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Royals). Cabrera earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season. He leads all AL batters.

With Sunday’s point, Cabrera now has 132.9 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 25th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He is just behind two players with 133.4 Box-Toppers points—David Ortiz and Jason Giambi.

Streak—Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers achieved two Box-Toppers milestones Sunday—he became the 65th player with 100 or more Box-Toppers points and also has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 16 straight seasons.

Ramirez was Player of the Game in Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Cubs (HR 2-3 R 3BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Ramirez earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2000 with the Pirates. His best season was 2005 with the Cubs when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points, fifth among NL batters. In 2014, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points with the Brewers, most among NL third basemen.

Ramirez has 100.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 62nd among all players (since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With Sunday’s point, he passes three players on that list—Paul Konerko (100.7), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Larry Walker (100.1). Ramirez ranks 21st among all batters since 1995 and sixth among active batters currently in the NL.

Debut—Cardinals pitcher Miguel Socolovich made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Socolovich (1IP 0R K W in the 3-2, 14-inning win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut July 14, 2012, and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,456th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lincecum earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gattis and Upton each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/3 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Giants Tim Lincecum (W, 2-2) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 1 4
AL 7.2 Athletics Sonny Gray (W, 4-0) - - - - - - 6.2 2 0 0 7 10
7.0 Braves Julio Teheran (W, 3-1) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 2 6
5.2 Twins Ryan Pressly (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.2 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 5.0 Astros Evan Gattis DH 4 3 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 `Dodgers Brett Anderson - - - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 0 4
4.1 Nationals Doug Fister (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 6.1 5 0 0 0 3
4.0 Indians Jason Kipnis 2B 5 3 4 2 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Padres Justin Upton LF 4 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Brewers Aramis Ramirez 3B 3 1 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
2.1 Orioles Zach Britton (S, 5) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 1 2
2.0 Yankees Jacoby Ellsbury CF 4 2 4 0 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Tigers Miguel Cabrera 1B 4 1 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Cardinals Miguel Socolovich (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Phillies Ryan Howard 1B 4 1 2 2 0 2 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

The 18 best single-season Box-Toppers point totals for batters, 1995-2014

In 2006, Lance Berkman of the Astros earned 20.8 Box-Toppers points, the most in a single season by a batter. But he did not win MVP that year. How did Box-Toppers' other 17-highest scoring batters do?

Read More

A look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2014

Box-Toppers leading pitchers win postseason awards four times as often as Box-Toppers leading batters. Randy Johnson has led his league category in Box-Toppers points more than any other player (six). And the Cardinals and Red Sox have had more players win season Box-Toppers points titles than any other team.

Read More