Nationals' Jayson Werth tops players in Monday's League Division Series playoff games

Jayson Werth of the Nationals is top player in Monday’s three league division series playoff games.

Other Players of the Game Monday:

• Giants middle reliever Derek Law.
• Coco Crisp of the Indians.

National League Division Series Game 3: Nationals 8, Dodgers 3

Werth homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs to earn Player of the Game.

Werth had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 165th among all players and 23rd among NL batters.

Werth had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 Monday to lead all Nationals players.

The Nationals now lead the Dodgers in the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in Los Angeles.

National League Division Series Game 3: Giants 6, Cubs 5 (13 innings)

Giants middle reliever Derek Law pitched two scoreless innings—the sixth and seventh—and allowed no hits, one walk and struck out two.

So how did Law earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game? Under Box-Toppers rules, pitchers can qualify to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch a minimum of three innings or earn the win or save. Law did not meet any of those requirements. However, pitchers can also earn Player of the Game honors if their Box-Toppers game score is higher than the pitcher who otherwise would have earned Player of the Game—if they have the same or more innings pitched. Closer Ty Blach (2IP 2H 0R 0BB K W) was in line to earn Player of the Game based on the fact that he earned the decision and had the highest Box-Toppers game score of qualifying pitchers (+1.0). But since Law pitched the same number of innings and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0), he wins Player of the Game.

Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner would have qualified to earn Player of the Game honors (because he had more than three innings pitched) but he had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of −5.0 (5IP 7H 3R BB 4K ND). Giants top batter was catcher Buster Posey (3-5 R BI) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0.

Law has 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked ninth among all players) had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 0.0 in the loss (6IP 6H 2R BB 5K ND).

The Giants now trail the Cubs in the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in San Francisco.

American League Division Series Game 3: Indians 4, Red Sox 3

Coco Crisp of the Indians hit a sixth-inning two-run homer to earn Player of the Game honors as the Indians swept the Red Sox to advance to the AL Championship Series.

Crisp went 1-for-2 and had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.

During the regular season, Crisp had 3.0 Box-Toppers points.

The Indians sweep the Red Sox in the NL Division Series in three games and now face the Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series beginning Friday in Cleveland.

The Red Sox ranked first among all AL teams in Box-Toppers rankings with 128.3 Box-Toppers points (ranking second overall behind the Cubs). The Indians ranked fourth with 123.7, second among AL teams.

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
3.0	WSH 8, LAD 3	Jayson Werth, LF	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
3.0	`SF 6, CHC 5 (13)	Derek Law	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	1	2
2.0	CLE 4, BOS 3	Coco Crisp, LF	2	1	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Tuesday, the NL Division Series playoff games resume:

NL Division Series Game 4: Nationals lead Dodgers, 2-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Nationals—Joe Ross, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 173rd among all players, 50th among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second 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 4: Cubs lead Giants, 2-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cubs—John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers.

Giants—Matt Moore, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 31st, 16th 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.

Cubs' Hendricks tops players for Saturday, May 28; Rangers' Darvish tops AL players

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Hendricks pitched a complete game, allowing one run and five hits, striking out seven, in the 4-1 win over the Phillies.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 28:  

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

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish struck out seven over five innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-2 win over the Pirates.

National League Batter of the Day—Buster Posey of the Giants hit two three-run homers in the 10-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-9 win over the Red Sox.

Scoring—Hendricks 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. Posey and Martin each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

5/28	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	CHC 4/PHI 1	Kyle Hendricks (W,3-4)	-	-	-	-		9.0	5	1	1	0	7
AL	6.0	TEX 5/PIT 2	Yu Darvish (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	1	1	1	7
BAT	5.0	SF 10/COL 5	Buster Posey, C	5	2	2	6		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	HOU 4/LAA 2	Dallas Keuchel (W,3-6)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	2	0	5
BAT	4.0	TOR 10/BOS 9	Russell Martin, C	5	3	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	LAD 9/NYM 1	Chase Utley, 2B	5	2	2	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	TB 9/NYY 5	Hank Conger, C	4	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CIN 7/MIL 6	Adam Duvall, LF	5	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	ARI 8/SD 7	Michael Bourn, RF	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	OAK 12/DET 3	Danny Valencia, 3B	4	3	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	ATL 7/MIA 2	Gordon Beckham, 2B	4	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	MIN 6/SEA 5	Eduardo Nunez, 3B	5	2	4	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	STL 9/DC 4	Greg Garcia, 3B	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	KC 8/CHW 7	Drew Butera, C	1	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	CLE 11/BAL 4	Juan Uribe, 3B	4	2	2	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	+/-
Valencia, Danny 2772	3b	oak al	3.5	7.0	9.0	12.0	0.0
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	2b ss 3b	min al	3.5	5.5	11.5	13.0	1.5
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	3.0	12.7	17.7	17.7	-6.7
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	2.5	7.5	24.0	45.0	-2.5
Posey, Buster 2745	1b ca	sf nl	2.5	6.5	27.5	32.0	-1.5
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	2.0	23.4	37.8	37.8	-19.4
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	1.7	1.7	46.9	46.9	1.7
Uribe, Juan 1542	3b	cle al	1.0	4.0	12.0	47.7	-2.0
Bourn, Michael 2505	rf	ari nl	1.0	3.5	5.5	12.0	-1.5
Duvall, Adam 3573	lf	cin nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5
Conger, Hank 2843	ca	tb al	1.0	2.0	6.5	6.5	0.0
Garcia, Greg 3331	3b	stl nl	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0.0
Beckham, Gordon 2620	2b	atl nl	1.0	2.0	7.5	13.5	0.0
Utley, Chase 1861	2b	lad nl	1.0	1.0	13.0	73.1	1.0
Butera, Drew 2883	ca	kc al	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Astros' Keuchel, Mets' deGrom top players for Thursday, June 25, rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth in player rankings.

Also Thursday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom was National League Player of the Day and rose to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings. Plus, Todd Frazier of the Reds takes the Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters, passing Bryce Harper of the Nationals.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 25.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
4	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
5	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	11.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	11.1
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.4
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	9.7
9	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	9.7
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Keuchel pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 12 and allowing six hits, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—deGrom pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Brewers. deGrom earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising to fifth in player rankings. He is the seventh player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Buster Posey of the Giants hit two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-8 win over the Padres.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs in the 6-3 win over the Rangers.

Notable—Todd Frazier of the Reds takes the lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points Thursday after earning Player of the Game honors. Frazier (HR 3-6 R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.2 for the season. He now ranks first among NL batters, passing Bryce Harper of the Nationals (6.5 Box-Toppers points). Frazier ranks 17th among all players.

Scoring—Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and deGrom earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Posey and Reddick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

6/25	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W, 9-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	6	0	0	1	12
NL	11.0	Mets	Jacob deGrom (W, 8-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	0	0	0	7
	6.0	Nationals	Doug Fister (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	4
	6.0	Cardinals	Lance Lynn (W, 5-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	4	6
BAT	4.0	Giants	Buster Posey C	5	3	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Athletics	Josh Reddick RF	3	0	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki PH, SS	1	1	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Orioles	Tommy Hunter (H, 5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Reds	Todd Frazier 3B	6	1	3	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	White Sox	Adam Eaton CF	4	2	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Dodgers	Jimmy Rollins SS	4	1	2	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Nationals' Ross tops players for Friday, June 19; Angels' Pujols rises to 6th in 'all-time' Box-Toppers rankings

Nationals pitcher Joe Ross is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Albert Pujols rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Ross struck out 11 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Pirates.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 19.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.4
2	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	11.0
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	11.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	10.1
7	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	9.7
8	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	9.7
9	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	9.7
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Roenis Elias struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 5-2 win over the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Albert Pujols of the Angels hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 12-7 win over the Athletics.

Pujols earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 171.3 career points. Pujols rises to sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began, passing Roy Halladay (170.7). Pujols trails fifth-place player CC Sabathia (175.3). Pujols is the second-ranked batter on Box-Toppers “all-time” list, trailing Alex Rodriguez (183.8 Box-Toppers points).

Pujols has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranked 13th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Buster Posey of the Giants his a grand slam and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Dodgers.

Notable—Tyler Lyons of the Cardinals became the third pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting (2-2 3R BI in the 12-4 win over the Phillies).

Debut—Shane Peterson of the Brewers made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Peterson (3-4 2R 2BI in the 9-5 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 16, 2013, and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,508th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Ross earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Elias earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Pujols and Posey each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

6/19	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.1	Nationals	Joe Ross (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	6	1	1	1	11
AL	9.0	Mariners	Roenis Elias (W, 4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	0	10
	9.0	Reds	Mike Leake (W, 4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	3	7
	8.0	Twins	Phil Hughes (W, 5-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	1	1	0	4
	6.0	Blue Jays	Marco Estrada (W, 5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	1	1	4	6
BAT	5.0	Angels	Albert Pujols 1B	5	3	2	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Giants	Buster Posey C	4	2	3	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Yankees	Brett Gardner LF	5	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cardinals	Tyler Lyons P	2	3	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rangers	Colby Lewis (W, 7-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	9	1	1	0	7
	3.0	Brewers	Shane Peterson LF	4	2	3	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Braves	Jason Grilli (S, 19)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.1	Red Sox	Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	6	1	1	1	5
	2.0	Dbacks	Rubby De La Rosa (W, 6-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	1	3	6
	1.0	Rays	Steven Souza Jr. RF	4	2	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

Box-Toppers 2014 All-Star teams led by Kershaw, Kluber, Abreu, Tulowitzki

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2014 regular season are led by overall top player for the second straight season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Nine teams each have two different players on the teams and a total of 20 teams are represented on the American League and National League teams.

The All-Star teams are comprised of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league, the top player who was predominately a middle-reliever and the top closing pitcher.

Kershaw was Box-Toppers Player of the Season, the top overall player, with 31.5 Box-Toppers points. Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is the top AL player with 25.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked second overall.

The top AL batter is White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu with 15.5 points, ranked 14th overall. The top NL batter is Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki with 11.6 points, ranked 39th overall. (Tulowitzki was out with injuries nearly half the season, but still surpassed all other NL batters in Box-Toppers points—second among NL batters is Giants catcher Buster Posey with 8.5 points.)

Nine teams each had two players make the teams. In the AL, the Mariners, Angels, Orioles, Indians and Tigers each had two players. In the NL, the Giants, Braves, Marlins and Cardinals each had two players.

Three players from the All-Star teams are still active in the World Series:

• Wade Davis of the Royals, who led AL middle relief pitchers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.

• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants, who ranked second among NL pitchers with 22.6 points.

• Buster Posey of the Giants, who led NL catchers with 8.5 points.

Six players were on Box-Toppers’ 2013 All-Star teams and returned to the 2014 teams:

• AL 2B: Robinson Cano, last year with the Yankees, this year with the Mariners (12.5 points in 2013, 6.5 in 2014).

• AL OF: Adam Jones, Orioles (8.0 points in 2013, 11.5 in 2014).

• AL Starting pitcher: Max Scherzer, Tigers (18.1 points in 2013, 22.1 in 2014).

• NL Starting pitcher: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (21.7 points in 2013, 31.5 in 2014).

• NL Starting pitcher: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (20.2 points in 2013, 18.7 in 2014).

• NL Closing pitcher: Craig Kimbrel, Braves (12.7 points in 2013, 11.0 in 2014).

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.

End-of-season 2014 Box-Toppers All-Star teams 

Here are the Box-Toppers All-Stars by position for both leagues. It includes players with the highest Box-Toppers points (BTP) by position in each league. Also included is the players' overall rank among all players.

Pos	American League	Team	BTP	Rank		National League	Team	BTP	Rank
1B	Jose Abreu	White Sox	15.5	14		Lucas Duda	Mets	8.5	79
2B	Robinson Cano	Mariners	6.5	135		Jedd Gyorko	Padres	7.2	103
SS	Erick Aybar	Angels	6.0	155		Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	11.6	39
3B	Josh Donaldson	Athletics	10.5	40		Aramis Ramirez	Brewers	5.0	194
CA	Brian McCann	Yankees	6.5	136		Buster Posey	Giants	8.5	76
OF	Adam Jones	Orioles	11.5	40		Justin Upton	Braves	8.2	80
OF	Nelson Cruz	Orioles	8.5	77		Marcell Ozuna	Marlins	8.0	88
OF	Mike Trout	Angels	8.5	78		Matt Holliday	Cardinals	7.5	97
DH	Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	9.5	63
SP	Corey Kluber	Indians	25.8	2		Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	31.5	1
SP	Max Scherzer	Tigers	22.1	5		Madison Bumgarner	Giants	22.6	3
SP	Felix Hernandez	Mariners	20.8	6		Johnny Cueto	Reds	22.4	4
SP	David Price	Tigers	19.1	7		Adam Wainwright	Cardinals	18.7	8
MR	Wade Davis	Royals	7.0	117		Michael Dunn	Marlins	6.0	159
CP	Carlos Carrasco	Indians	10.7	52		Craig Kimbrel	Braves	11.0	45

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

The San Francisco Giants have the clear Box-Toppers advantage over the Kansas City Royals in the upcoming 2014 World Series.

Giants players accumulated more Box-Toppers points during the regular season and position-by-position match-ups tend to favor Giants in both batting and pitching.

But in a postseason dominated by underdog Davids beating baseball’s Goliaths, it would be folly to rule out the Royals slaying these Giants.

The best-of-seven game World Series begins Tuesday in Kansas City.

Both teams entered the postseason as Wild Cards with no division title. Both had to endure a one-game Wild Card playoff. Both went on to beat the top-seeded team in their league in their League Division Series. All around them, the mighty teams fell, leaving two final teams no one could have predicted. 

The Giants have the fewest Box-Toppers points of any team to qualify to play in one of the National League Division Series—they are ranked eighth among all teams with 110.8 Box-Toppers points. The Royals have the fewest Box-Toppers points of any American League team to qualify for the playoffs—they are ranked 10th, with 101.1 Box-Toppers points.

With the downtrodden, underdog quality of both teams, it’s hard to cast the Giants as “Goliath.” If anything, the 2014 World Series between the Royals and Giants will not be a contest of David and Goliath, but one of David and a slightly-larger David.

But is it possible that in this topsy-turvy postseason that being the lesser team actually is the thing that gives a team the advantage? If so, then the Royals are bound to win. They are the bigger underdog, having not won a World Series since 1985 and have endured a playoff drought ever since. Meanwhile, the Giants win the Fall Classic every even-numbered year. (But the Royals bigger underdog status does have one flaw—they actually won more games during the regular season than did the Giants—89 to 88.)

The Royals may also have the advantage in the bullpen with three pitchers closing down teams at the end of playoff games. They may also have an advantage with speed on the bases and defense, factors Box-Toppers doesn’t directly measure. 

Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the highest-rated starting pitchers in Box-Toppers points, the top closing pitcher and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player’s Box-Toppers points earned in 2014, along with their overall rank among all players.

Matching up 15 key players against each other position-by-position, the Giants have the advantage in nine spots, the Royals only in six spots (the players with the advantage below are denoted with a checkmark in the “Adv” column). The Giants have the advantage in both batting and pitching. In the nine key batting positions, the Giants have the advantage in five spots, the Royals four. In six key pitching spots, the Giants have the advantage, 4-2.

When adding the Box-Toppers points of those 15 key players together, the Giants have the advantage over the Royals—92.1 Box-Toppers points to 83.1.

The Giants have two players who will be on Box-Toppers end-of-season NL All-Star team:

• Madison Bumgarner, starting pitcher, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players and second among NL pitchers.

• Buster Posey, catcher, 8.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among NL batters.

The Royals have one player who will be on Box-Toppers end-of-season AL All-Star team:

• Wade Davis, middle relief pitcher, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, first among AL middle relievers.

We have taken some liberties with the “starting” players listed below. We’ve plugged Michael Morse into the designated hitter spot for the Giants (when they play in Kansas City) because he is the batter with the most regular season Box-Toppers points who hasn’t regularly started in postseason games. Tim Lincecum has not pitched yet this postseason and hasn’t started a game since August, but he is listed because he is still on postseason rosters and still has the second-most Box-Toppers points among Giants starters this season (he pitched a no-hitter on June 25). Sergio Romo is listed as closer for the Giants (even though Santiago Casilla has been closing games recently) because Romo has more Box-Toppers points.

World Series Game 1: Giants at Royals

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Giants: Madison Bumgarner, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 22nd among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.

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.

World Series player comparisons

Likely starting players for the Giants and Royals listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2014 regular season and their overall player rank among all players. The column "Adv" shows which team's position player has a higher Box-Toppers player ranking. 

	Giants	BTP	Rank	Adv		Royals	BTP	Rank	Adv
1B	Brandon Belt	2.0	412			Eric Hosmer	2.5	368	✓
2B	Joe Panik	1.0	701			Omar Infante	4.0	243	✓
SS	Brandon Crawford	3.0	322			Alicides Escboar	5.0	190	✓
3B	Pablo Sandoval	4.5	220	✓		Mike Moustakas	4.0	251
CA	Buster Posey	8.5	76	✓		Salvador Perez	4.7	210
CF	Gregor Blanco	3.0	346	✓		Lorenzo Cain	2.0	421
LF	Travis Ishikawa	1.0	644			Alex Gordon	3.0	203	✓
RF	Hunter Pence	2.5	367	✓		Norichika Aoki	2.0	443
DH	Michael Morse	6.5	144	✓		Billy Butler	2.5	365
SP	Madison Bumgarner	22.6	3	✓		James Shields	13.7	22
SP	Tim Lincecum	10.4	54	✓		Danny Duffy	10.0	58
SP	Tim Hudson	8.7	71	✓		Yordano Ventura	8.7	75
SP	Ryan Vogelsong	8.7	74	✓		Jason Vargas	7.0	107
CP	Sergio Romo	4.0	242			Greg Holland	7.0	106	✓
PI	Jake Peavy	5.7	165			Jeremy Guthrie	7.0	113	✓

NLCS Preview: Cardinals have slight Box-Toppers points edge, but Giants have 2 of NL's top stars

The St. Louis Cardinals are fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings, the highest-ranked team remaining in the playoffs. That would seem to give them the advantage as they take on the eighth-ranked San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series.

But the Giants can lay claim to two of the league’s top players—pitcher Madison Bumgarner (22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players and second among NL pitchers) and catcher Buster Posey (8.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among NL batters). The best-of-seven game NLCS begins Saturday in St. Louis.

Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the highest-rated starting pitchers in Box-Toppers points, the top closing pitcher and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player’s Box-Toppers points earned in 2014, along with their overall rank among all players.

Cardinals players accumulated more Box-Toppers points than the Giants during the regular season—114.8 vs. 110.8. (Team rankings report.)

Both the Cardinals and Giants will have two players each on Box-Toppers end-of-season NL All-Star team. Bumgarner and Posey are the Giants’ All-Stars—Posey led NL catchers in Box-Toppers points and Bumgarner was second among NL pitchers. Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (18.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among NL pitchers) and Matt Holliday (7.5 points, ranked third among NL outfielders) will also be on Box-Toppers NL All-Star team.

Matching up the eight prospective starting batters on each team position-by-position, the teams are evenly split—both have the advantage in four positions. However, the Giants may have the advantage from the bench. Their top batter who has not started recently is Mike Morse, who has 6.5 Box-Toppers points.

Matching up pitchers from highest to lowest Box-Toppers points, the Giants have the advantage matching up Bumgarner’s 22.6 Box-Toppers points against anyone, including Wainwright and his 18.7. But after that, the Cardinals have the advantage matching up the remaining three starting pitchers, the closing pitchers and the next highest-rated pitcher. We’ve listed Sergio Romo as the closer for the Giants (even though Santiago Casilla has been closing games recently) because Romo has more Box-Toppers points.

Adding up Box-Toppers points for the eight batters and six pitchers listed below, the Cardinals have the slight point total advantage—85.8 Box-Toppers points vs. 85.6.

The Giants had the largest opening day payroll of the four playoff teams remaining, $154 million, ranked seventh among all teams. The Cardinals had an opening day payroll of $111 million, ranked 13th, above both American League Championship Series teams (Orioles, 15th and the Royals, 19th).

NLCS Game 1, Giants at Cardinals

Both teams will start their aces Saturday:

Giants: Madison Bumgarner, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright, 18.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among all players, fourth among NL pitchers.

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.

NL Championship Series player comparisons

Likely starting players for the Giants and Cardinals listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2014 regular season and their overall player rank among all players

Pos	Giants	BTP	Rank		Cardinals	BTP	Rank
1B	Brandon Belt	2.0	412		Matt Adams	1.0	530
2B	Joe Panik	1.0	701		Kolten Wong	5.5	182
SS	Brandon Crawford	3.0	322		Jhonny Peralta	6.0	112
3B	Pablo Sandoval	4.5	220		Matt Carpenter	2.0	407
CA	Buster Posey	8.5	76		Yadier Molina	0	754
CF	Gregor Blanco	3.0	346		Jon Jay	3.0	314
LF	Travis Ishikawa	1.0	644		Matt Holliday	7.5	97
RF	Hunter Pence	2.5	367		Randal Grichuk	-*	-*
SP	Madison Bumgarner	22.6	3		Adam Wainwright	18.7	8
SP	Tim Lincecum	10.4	54		Lance Lynn	10.7	48
SP	Tim Hudson	8.7	71		John Lackey	10.7	50
SP	Ryan Vogelsong	8.7	74		Shelby Miller	9.0	64
CP	Sergio Romo	4.0	242		Trevor Rosenthal	5.0	187
PI	Jake Peavy	5.7	165		Justin Masterson	6.7	124

* Randal Grichuk has yet to earn Player of the Game honors and has not made his Box-Toppers debut. He made his Major League debut April 28 and played in 47 regular season games.