Four players appear on Box-Toppers All-Star teams over all three major time periods (2016, 2015-16, 2011-16)—Kershaw, Scherzer, Hamels and Trout.
Read MorePadres' Clayton Richard tops players for Thursday, Sept. 8; Yankees' McCann tops AL players
Padres pitcher Clayton Richard is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 8:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | 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 |
Richard pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing six hits and two walks, in the 14-1 win over the Rockies.
American League Player of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees hit two homers and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Hernan Perez of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 12-5 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Brian McCann.
Notable—Kyle Seager of the Mariners has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the seven who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Seager (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and seventh among AL batters.
Seager had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, the same as AL Player of the Day Brian McCann. Both also had identical line scores (3-4 2R 2BI), but McCann held the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day because he had two home runs and Seager had one.
Debut—Phillies pitcher Alec Asher made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Asher (6IP 2H 0R BB 0K W in the 4-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2015, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,735th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Richard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McCann earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Perez earns 1.5 points for being NL 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
| 9/8 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | SD 14, COL 1 | Clayton Richard (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 5.0 | PIT 4, CIN 1 | Ivan Nova (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 12, STL 5 | Hernan Perez, 2B-3B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 3.0 | NYY 5, TB 4 | Brian McCann, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | SEA 6, TEX 3 | Kyle Seager, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 10, HOU 7 | Francisco Lindor, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 4, WSH 1 | Alec Asher (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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 | +/- |
| Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 9.5 | 14.5 | 28.5 | 28.5 | 4.5 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 28.1 | 29.1 | 5.0 |
| Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | cle al | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 4.5 |
| Perez, Hernan 3577 | 3b ss 2b | mil nl | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 |
| McCann, Brian 2179 | ca | nyy al | 3.2 | 9.7 | 35.4 | 58.4 | -3.3 |
| Richard, Clayton 2584 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 11.2 | 29.6 | 1.0 |
| Asher, Alec 3735 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, June 29, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 29:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Mets.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, rising to third among all players and third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (13.4).
Scherzer also now has 118.0 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 39th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes five players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4), Mark Buehrle (116.7), Cubs pitcher John Lackey (117.2), Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.
Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (10.8) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).
Salazar also becomes the 10th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees hit two home runs, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.
With his first Player of the Game honor of the season, McCann has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons, beginning in 2006 with the Braves. He has 56.7 career Box-Toppers points, first among active catchers and fifth among all catchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 points, first among NL catchers. In 2015, he had 6.5 points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1 win over the Mariners.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. McCann and Rodriguez 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
| 6/29 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.1 | DC 4/NYM 2 | Max Scherzer (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 11.0 | MIL 7/LAD 0 | Junior Guerra (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 10.0 | CLE 3/ATL 0 | Danny Salazar (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | TB 4/BOS 0 | Matt Moore (W,4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | NYY 9/TEX 7 | Brian McCann, C | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | PIT 8/SEA 1 | Sean Rodriguez, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | HOU 10/LAA 4 | Jose Altuve, 2B | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.2 | `KC 3/STL 2 | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 12/SD 6 | Mark Trumbo, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 10/MIA 3 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | OAK 7/SF 1 | Sean Manaea (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 9/MIN 6 | Tyler Saladino, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5/COL 3 | Edwin Encarnacion, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 9/ARI 8 | Cody Asche, LF | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | CHC 9/CIN 2 | Javier Baez, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 | 33.0 | 97.6 | 118.0 | -9.0 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 | 23.9 | 33.3 | 33.3 | -2.9 |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 8.5 | 15.5 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 1.5 |
| Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 6.4 | 13.4 | 38.1 | 64.2 | -0.6 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | rf | bal al | 6.2 | 8.7 | 31.9 | 31.9 | 3.7 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | tor al | 6.0 | 16.4 | 44.6 | 65.1 | -4.4 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | tb al | 5.7 | 5.7 | 31.2 | 31.2 | 5.7 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Saladino, Tyler 3645 | ss 3b | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| McCann, Brian 2179 | ca | nyy al | 1.5 | 8.0 | 33.7 | 56.7 | -5.0 |
| Asche, Cody 3268 | lf 3b | phi nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.5 |
| Rodriguez, Sean 2729 | rf1b 2b | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.5 | 17.5 | 1.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 |
| Saltalamacchia, Jarod 2355 | ca | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 18.0 | 1.0 |
Mets' Steven Matz tops players for Wednesday, May 25, rises to 5th in player rankings
Mets pitcher Steven Matz is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 25:| 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 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 6 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 7.7 |
| 7 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 7.4 |
| 8 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 9 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.7 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 |
Matz pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Nationals.
Matz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising to fifth in player rankings, fourth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Adam Lind of the Mariners hit two homers and a double, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 13-3 win over the Athletics.
Lind has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Blue Jays and has 55.8 career points, seventh among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2009 with the Blue Jays when he had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters. He had 6.5 points in 2015 with the Brewers.
National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-8 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter, Adam Lind.
Streak—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Martin (2HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 8-4 win over the Yankees) earned his first points in 2006 with the Dodgers and has 43.5 career points, second among active AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (55.2). His best season was 2007 with the Dodgers when he had 8.5 points, first among NL catchers. He had 5.0 points in 2015 with the Blue Jays.
Scoring—Matz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lind earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bryant earns 1.5 points for being NL 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
| 5/25 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | NYM 2/DC 0 | Steven Matz (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 10.0 | LAD 3/CIN 1 | Scott Kazmir (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | SEA 13/OAK 3 | Adam Lind, 1B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.1 | CLE 4/CHW 3 | Corey Kluber (W,4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 4.0 | TEX 15/LAA 9 | Ryan Rua, LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CHC 9/STL 8 | Kris Bryant, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `MIL 3/ATL 2 | Junior Guerra | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | `MIA 4/TB 3 | David Phelps (H,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | `HOU 4/BAL 3 | Ken Giles (H,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 8/NYY 4 | Russell Martin, C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 10/COL 3 | Travis Shaw, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 8/DET 5 | Andres Blanco, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 7/KC 5 | Miguel Sano, RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | SF 4/SD 3 | George Kontos (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | PIT 5/ARI 4 | Gregory Polanco, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 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 | +/- |
| Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 5.2 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 4.4 | 17.8 | 48.6 | 48.6 | -9.0 |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | lf 3b | chi nl | 3.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -5.0 |
| Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf lf | pit nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.5 |
| Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 | 15.7 | 43.6 | 99.4 | -9.7 |
| Phelps, David 2994 | pi mr | fla nl | 3.0 | 6.4 | 19.8 | 19.8 | -0.4 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 1b | bos al | 2.5 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -1.7 |
| Blanco, Andres 2980 | ss 3b | phi nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| Rua, Ryan 3631 | lf 1b | tex al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b | sea al | 1.7 | 8.2 | 28.2 | 55.8 | -4.8 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | rf dh | min al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -5.0 |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | tor al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 22.5 | 43.5 | -4.0 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi mr | hou nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -2.0 |
| Kontos, George 3106 | pi cp | sf nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -1.0 |
Box-Toppers all-time All-Star teams, 1995-2015
A look at Box-Toppers top players by position "all-time" (since 1995) and a look at the top active players by position with the most career Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2010-15 All-Star teams
Of the 27 All-Stars for 2010-15, 14 are also among Box-Toppers' 2014-15 All-Stars and seven are among Box-Toppers All-Stars for three periods—2015, 2014-15 and 2010-15.
Read MoreHow 2015 Silver Slugger winners fared in Box-Toppers points and rankings
Only 5 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2015 year-end All-Star teams
Cubs lead year-end All-Star teams with 3 players, including overall leader, Jake Arrieta. Six players return from 2014 All-Star teams.
Read MoreMets' deGrom tops players in 4 league division playoff games, Friday, Oct. 9
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
Other Players of the Game Friday:
- Cardinals pitcher John Lackey.
- Rangers closing pitcher Ross Ohlendorf.
- Salvador Perez of the Royals.
NLDS Game 1: Mets 3, Dodgers 1
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 13 and allowing five hits.
During the regular season deGrom had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.
He outdueled Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who was ranked second overall in Box-Toppers points with 25.7. Kershaw (6.2IP 4H 3R 11K) had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2 and picked up the loss.
The Mets now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Los Angeles.
NLDS Game 1: Cardinals 4, Cubs 0
Cardinals pitcher John Lackey pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.
During the regular season, Lackey had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.
The Cardinals now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in St. Louis.
ALDS Game 2: Rangers 6, Blue Jays 4
Rangers pitcher Ross Ohlendorf pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out the side, allowing no hits and earning the save.
During the regular season, Ohlendorf had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 651st among all players and 163rd among the 189 AL pitchers who earned Box-Toppers points this season.
The Rangers now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Texas.
ALDS Game 2: Royals 5, Astros 4
Salvador Perez of the Royals homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs.
During the regular season, Perez had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 211th among all players, 45th among AL batters and third among AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (6.5) and Russell Martin of the Blue Jays (5.0).
The best-of-five game series is tied 1-1 and resumes Sunday in Houston.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/9 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 14.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| POG | 9.1 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| POG | 4.0 | Rangers | Ross Ohlendorf (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| POG | 2.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:
NL Division Series Game 2, Cardinals lead Cubs, 1-0
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.
Cardinals—Jaime Garcia, 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 59th among all players, 25th among NL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 2, Mets lead Dodgers, 1-0
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Zack Greinke, 20.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.
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.
Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 29, maintains 2nd place in player rankings
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his spot at second place in season player rankings.
Kershaw pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 13, in the 8-0 win over the Giants.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 29.| 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 |
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 24.7 for the season. He still trails overall and National League pitching leader Jake Arrieta (27.1) by 2.4 Box-Toppers points. And with five days left in the season, Kershaw has no realistic shot of catching him, ending his streak of four straight years leading NL pitchers and two straight years of leading all players in Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +20. It is the eighth time this season that a player has had a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more.
Kershaw also rose to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Tuesday, Kershaw has 158.3 career Box-Toppers points and passes Tim Hudson (157.0), who had earlier passed Kershaw. John Smoltz (160.9) is ranked just ahead of Kershaw on the “all-time” list at 12th place. Kershaw is the third-ranked active pitcher in career Box-Toppers points, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (162.7).
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Athletics.
American League Batter of the Day—Blake Swihart of the Red Sox hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 10-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Pierzynski of the Braves hit two homers and went 3-for-3 in the 2-1 win over the Nationals.
With Tuesday’s Player of the Game honor, his first of the season, Pierzynski has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2001 with the Twins, but his current 13-season streak began in 2003 with the Twins. His best year was 2012 with the White Sox, when he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL catchers. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Red Sox (and later played with the Cardinals that season).
Pierzynski has 47.2 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 331st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. However, he ranks sixth among all catchers in that time and ranks second among active catchers in career Box-Toppers points, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (55.2).
Notable—Others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday had notable achievements:
- Adrian Beltre of the Rangers rose to third place among AL batters in season Box-Toppers points. Beltre (3-5 R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He trails Mike Trout of the Angels (12.0) and Prince Fielder of the Rangers (11.5). Beltre becomes the 43rd player—and eighth batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
- Phillies pitcher Adam Loewen earned his first Box-Toppers points in four years and his first points as a pitcher in nine years Tuesday. Loewen (0.1IP 0H 0R K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) last earned Box-Toppers points as a right fielder with the Blue Jays on Sept. 28, 2011. He last earned Box-Toppers points as a pitcher with the Orioles on Aug. 22, 2006.
- Cubs pitcher Dan Haren maintains his rank of 49th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Haren (7.1IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 112.2 for his career. He trails 48th-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8). Haren has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Silvino Bracho made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Bracho (1.2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 30 and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,605th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tropeano earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Swihart and Pierzynski each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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
| 9/29 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,16-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| AL | 11.2 | Angels | Nick Tropeano (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 10.1 | Cubs | Dan Haren (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Blake Swihart, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Braves | A.J. Pierzynski, C | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | `Dbacks | Silvino Bracho (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Jean Segura, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Asdrubal Cabrera, SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Carlos Sanchez, 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Phillies | Adam Loewen (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Indians' Danny Salazar (7IP R 4H 5K) tops players for Monday, Aug. 17
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Indians pitcher Danny Salazar is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 17.
Salazar allowed one run and four hits over seven innings, striking out five, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 17.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 18.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 16.1 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 16.1 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 14.7 |
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha allowed one run over seven innings, striking out six, in the 2-1 win over the Giants. Wacha did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied, 1-1.
Wacha has the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Earning 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, Wacha now has 9.7 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 27th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Yonder Alonso of the Padres homered and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 5-3 win over the Braves.
Scoring—Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wacha earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. McCann and Alonso each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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
| 8/17 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann, C | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | `Cardinals | Michael Wacha | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 3.1 | Dbacks | Jeremy Hellickson (W,9-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Asdrubal Cabrera, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Fernando Salas (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | Padres | Yonder Alonso, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Orioles | Steve Clevenger, DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Marlins | Casey McGehee, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Pirates' Locke tops players for Saturday, July 4; Tigers' Price rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Tigers pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Joe Mauer of the Twins earned a Box-Toppers point for his 12th straight season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 4.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Locke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Indians.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10, in the 3-2 win over the Rays. Pineda did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because after he exited, the Rays tied the game 2-2.
American League Batter of the Day—C.J. Cron of the Angels homered and went 3-for-4, driving in six runs, in the 13-0 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs hit two home runs, including a grand slam and drove in six total runs, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.
Rankings—Tigers pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Price (7IP 8H R 7K W in the 8-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (13.4).
Streak—Joe Mauer of the Twins has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Mauer (HR 4-5 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Mauer earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2004 with the Twins. His best season was 2008 with the Twins, when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points.
Mauer has 67.6 career Box-Toppers points, fourth-most among active AL first basemen. Mauer spent most of his career as a regular catcher and if he were considered a catcher in ranking his career points, he would finish ahead of the current active AL catcher in career points, Brian McCann of the Yankees (50.7 Box-Toppers points).
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Grienke now has 134.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Grienke (7IP 4H 0R 4K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) maintains his spot in 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He now has 9.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, sixth among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Cliff Pennington of the Diamondbacks earned Player of the Game honors Saturday for the second straight day. Pennington (PH 1-1 R BI in the 7-3 win over the Rockies) was also Player of the Game in the Diamondback’s win Friday.
Scoring—Locke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pineda earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Cron and Bryant each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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
| 7/4 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Pirates | Jeff Locke (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 11.0 | `Yankees | Michael Pineda | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 9.2 | `White Sox | Jeff Samardzija | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 9.0 | Red Sox | Clay Buchholz (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Angels | C.J. Cron DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Cubs | Kris Bryant 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | `Nationals | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Joe Mauer 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Cameron Maybin CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | David Price (W, 8-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Adam Lind 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Cliff Pennington PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Kendall Graveman (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Seth Maness (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
A look at determining Box-Toppers midseason 2015 All-Star teams
Looking at Box-Toppers points leaders over three time spans (2015, 2014-15 and 2010-15) and selecting AL & NL All-Star teams.
Read MoreDodgers' Greinke tops players for Thursday, June 18, rises to 26th in Box-Toppers points among players since 1995
Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits, in the 1-0 win over the Rangers. Greinke did not earn the win because he left with the score tied 0-0. The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off balk.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 18.| 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 |
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 132.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Greinke passes Jake Peavy (131.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-place player Miguel Cabrera (132.9). Greinke has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranking 16th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season. Wilson is the season’s highest ranked player of the 14 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday—he ranks 15th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Domingo Santana of the Astros hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 8-4 win over the Rockies. This was Santana’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut July 1, 2014, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,507th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Streak—Brian McCann of the Yankees has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. McCann was Player of the Game in Thursday’s 9-4 win over the Marlins (3-4 2R BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
McCann earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Braves. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, first among NL catchers. In 2014, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.
McCann has 49.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 22nd among active AL batters and first among active AL catchers (second place is Russell Martin of the Blue Jays—38.5 career Box-Toppers points).
Notable—Two pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points this season started games on Thursday, but did not earn Player of the Game honors:
- Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, second place in overall Box-Toppers player rankings with 12.0 points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 3-2 win over the White Sox. Cole (7IP 3H 2R 4K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of 1. Player of the Game was closer Mark Melancon (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv), who had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.
- Rays pitcher Chris Archer, fourth place in overall Box-Toppers player rankings with 11.0 points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 5-3 win over the Nationals. Archer (5IP 8H 3R 3K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −8. Player of the Game was closer Brad Boxgerger (1IP H 0R 2K Sv), who had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Santana 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
| 6/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 7.2 | Giants | Ryan Vogelsong (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 4.1 | Blue Jays | R.A. Dickey (W, 3-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 4.1 | Indians | Zach McAllister (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Astros | Domingo Santana PH, RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Twins | Mike Pelfrey | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `Phillies | Sean O’Sullivan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (S, 14) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 23) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Brad Boxberger (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
If Box-Toppers points measured Silver Sluggers, most winners would be different
Only four of this year’s 18 Silver Slugger-award winners announced this week would receive the honor if it were measured by Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreIndians' Corey Kluber, top player for Sunday, Sept. 21, regains Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, Sunday’s Player of the Day, regains the lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points after losing the lead for a day.
Kluber struck out 14 over eight innings in the 7-2 win over the Twins. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 24.1 for the season. He moves from fourth to second place among all players in Box-Toppers player rankings, trailing only overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (30.5 Box-Toppers points). (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.)
Kluber passes Max Scherzer of the Tigers (22.1 Box-Toppers points) for the lead among AL pitchers, a day after Scherzer took the lead from Kluber.
Pirates pitcher Vance Worley is National League Player of the Day. Worley pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out five in the 1-0 win over the Brewers.
Matt Kemp of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Kemp homered and went 4-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 8-5 win over the Cubs.
Brian McCann of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. McCann homered twice and went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Notables: Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg ranks 11th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Strasburg (7IP 0R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom ranks 23rd in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. deGrom (6IP 10K W in the 10-2 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks 23rd among NL pitchers.
Kluber receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Worley receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Kemp and McCann each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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
| 921 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 10.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W, 17-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | |
| NL | 9.0 | Pirates | Vance Worley (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 7.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 13-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 6.0 | Athletics | Sean Doolittle (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Dodgers | Matt Kemp RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Reds | Jay Bruce RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rangers | Neftali Feliz (S, 11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Yasmani Grandal 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 43) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Avisail Garcia RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Jake Marisnick CF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Drew Stubbs CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Joe Kelly (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Royals' James Shields tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 10, rises to 16th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Royals pitcher James Shields is Wednesday’s Player of the Day. Shields pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.
Shields earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players and 10th among American League pitchers.
Braves pitcher Aaron Harang is National League Player of the Day. Harang struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-2 win over the Nationals.
Brian McCann of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. McCann homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Rays.
Matt Clark of the Brewers is NL Batter of the Day. Clark homered and went 1-for-2, driving in two runs, in the 4-1 win over the Marlins. This was Clark’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,411th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut Sept. 2 and was playing in his sixth game.
Notable: Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchison rises to 13th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Day honors Wednesday. Hutchison (6.1IP R 10K W in the 11-1 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. He ranks eighth among AL pitchers.
Shields receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Harang receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. McCann and Clark each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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
| 910 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Royals | James Shields (W, 14-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.1 | Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison (W, 10-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | Braves | Aaron Harang (W, 11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | Dodgers | Dan Haren (W, 13-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | Orioles | Wei-Yin Chen (W, 15-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.1 | Mets | Rafael Montero (W, 1-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Astros | Darin Downs (H, 10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Reds | Aroldis Chapman (S, 32) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | `Giants | Ryan Vogelsong | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Brewers | Matt Clark 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Angels | Efren Navarro PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `White Sox | Chris Bassitt | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 28) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | J.D. Martinez LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, pitching no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, June 18, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, pitching a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Player of the Day and rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Kershaw struck out 15 over nine innings, allowing no runs, hits or walks in the 8-0 win over the Rockies. The Rockies only baserunner reached on an error. This was Kershaw’s first no-hitter and the second thrown this season—the other by Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett on May 25.
Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He rises from eighth to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season (see the updated top 10 list on the home page). He is now in second place in Box-Toppers points among National League pitchers, behind Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (12.0).
Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2013 with 21.7.
Red Sox pitcher John Lackey is American League Player of the Day. Lackey pitched nine shutout innings and struck out nine in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Twins. Lackey, however, did not pick up the win because he left with the game tied 0-0 after nine innings.
Brian McCann of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. McCann homered, tripled and drove in five runs in the 7-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Marlon Byrd of the Phillies is NL Batter of the Day. Byrd homered, went 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in three runs in the 10-5 win over the Braves.
Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lackey receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. McCann and Byrd each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Wednesday, click here.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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
| 618 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 24.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |
| AL | 14.0 | `Red Sox | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 8.2 | Royals | Jeremy Guthrie (W, 4-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Padres | Kevin Gausman (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.1 | Dbacks | Brad Ziegler (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Phillies | Marlon Byrd RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | White Sox | Adamn Dunn DH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Joaquin Benoit (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Sean Doolittle (S, 9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Skip Schumaker LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Rafael Soriano (S, 15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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.
Nats & Tigers have most players on Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star teams
The Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers lead the way with the most players on Box-Toppers’ 2014 preseason all-star team.
The Nationals have four players on the National League team and the Tigers have three players on the American League team. The teams were selected based on which player had the highest Box-Toppers points total at their position in 2013. (The top three outfielders and top four starting pitchers in each league were also selected.)
Preseason All-Star Team
Here is Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star team, featuring top players in each position in both the American and National Leagues. The column at right (BTP) shows the number of Box-Toppers points the player scored in 2013. Players are listed based on positions they primarily played during 2013. It is expected some players will change positions in 2014, including Miguel Cabrera, moving from third to first base. The bottom four lines list the top overall pitchers and batters in both leagues in 2013.| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | |||
| 1B | Davis, Chris 2478 | bal al | 12.7 |
| 2B | Cano, Robinson 2092 | sea al | 12.5 |
| SS | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | oak al | 8.0 |
| 3B | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | det al | 16.9 |
| CA | McCann, Brian 2179 | nyy al | 7.0 |
| OF | Soriano, Alfonso 1445 | nyy al | 12.9 |
| OF | Raburn, Ryan 2340 | cle al | 9.5 |
| OF | Jones, Adam 2347 | bal al | 8.0 |
| DH | Ortiz, David | bos al | 12.4 |
| SP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | det al | 18.1 |
| SP | Sanchez, Anibal 2187 | det al | 17.1 |
| SP | Masterson, Justin 2462 | cle al | 16.4 |
| SP | Sale, Chris 2806 | chi al | 16.1 |
| CP | Holland, Greg 2906 | kc al | 11.0 |
| NL | |||
| 1B | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | ari nl | 13.7 |
| 2B | Murphy, Daniel 2589 | nym nl | 8.5 |
| SS | Desmond, Ian 2673 | dc nl | 5.5 |
| 3B | Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 | dc nl | 9.2 |
| CA | Ramos, Wilson 2904 | dc nl | 7.5 |
| OF | Cuddyer, Michael 1826 | col nl | 11.5 |
| OF | Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | col nl | 11.0 |
| OF | Harper, Bryce 3011 | dc nl | 9.4 |
| SP | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 21.7 |
| SP | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | stl nl | 20.2 |
| SP | Greinke, Zack 1871 | lad nl | 19.4 |
| SP | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | fla nl | 19.0 |
| CP | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | atl nl | 12.7 |
| ALMVP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | det al | 18.1 |
| ALBAT | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | det al | 16.9 |
| NLMVP | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 21.7 |
| NLBAT | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | ari nl | 13.7 |
The four Nationals players include:
• Shortstop Ian Desmond, who had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.
• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2.
• Catcher Wilson Ramos with 7.5.
• Outfielder Bryce Harper with 9.4.
The three Tigers players include:
• Third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 (Cabrera is slated to move to first base for the 2014 season).
• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer with 18.1.
• Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez with 17.1.
If Cabrera’s move to first base were taken into account, he would bump Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points) from the AL first base all-star spot. Cabrera’s third base spot would be filled by Josh Donaldson of the Athletics, who had the second-most points among AL third basemen in 2013 with 9.5.
The NL team is led by overall Box-Toppers points leader for 2013, pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who had 21.7 points. The top NL batter is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, who had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013.
Scherzer led all AL players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera’s 16.9 led all AL batters.
Five other teams had two players on the all-star teams, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Indians, the Rockies and the Dodgers.
Two of the all-stars are on new teams in 2014:
• AL second baseman Robinson Cano (12.5 points) moved from the Yankees to the Mariners.
• AL catcher Brian McCann (7.0 points) moved from the Braves to the Yankees.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.
What are those numbers after players' names?
All-Star rosters include most Box-Toppers points leaders, only a few minor snubs
With the 2013 All-Star Game here, it's time for a Box-Toppers examination of the choices for the game by fans and the managers.
Overall, not bad. The players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals in each league were almost always named to the American League and National League teams.
For example, Box-Toppers points leader and Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin was named to the NL roster (though Mets pitcher Matt Harvey was named the game's starter). And AL points leader and Indians pitcher Justin Masterson was named to the AL roster (though Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer was named AL starter).
The player with the most Box-Toppers points this season who was not selected as an All-Star is Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller, who has 11.4 Box-Toppers points, the fifth highest among NL pitchers and more than NL starter Harvey (11.0).
Other notable snubs (a full list is in the chart below) include:
- Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez, the AL player with the most Box-Toppers points (8.0) left off the roster.
- Yunel Escobar of the Rays, who has more Box-Toppers points than any other AL shortstop (4.5).
- J.P. Arencibia of the Blue Jays, who has more points than any other AL catcher (5.5).
- Athletics outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick, who are among the top three AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points. Both have 4.5.
- Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals, who has more points than any other NL third basemen (6.7).
The elected starters for the AL are generally stronger than the starters for the NL in terms of Box-Toppers points and player rankings (see the charts at right). Five players are among the top one or two players in Box-Toppers points at their position among AL starters, while only three players in the NL can say the same.
The chart shows the players Box-Toppers points for the season, BTP, and their rank according to their field position in their league. Generally speaking, the the lower the rank by position number, the better. For example, Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera, David Ortiz and Carlos Gonzalez all rank No. 1 among players in their respective positions. However, elected NL starter Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, ranks only 39th among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the season.
While the NL starting line-up is not as strong as the AL line-up, the NL reserves include most of the players leading in Box-Toppers points at their position. For example, in the reserves and pitchers chart at the right below the elected starters, you can see that four NL players leading in Box-Toppers points in their position were selected to the team by NL manager Bruce Bochy of the Giants. They include:
- Brian McCann of the Braves, leading among NL catchers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.
- Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, leading among NL first basemen with 9.7 Box-Toppers points.
- Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals, leading among NL second basemen with 6.0 Box-Toppers points.
- Everth Cabrera of the Padres, leading among NL shortstops with 4.5 Box-Toppers points.
Often, players are chosen to the All-Star for sentimental and nostalgic reasons. That might seem to be the case for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who has only 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season and ranks 137th among AL pitchers in points. And though he's having a strong year (30 saves in 32 chances and a 1.83 ERA), he hasn't picked up a lot of Box-Toppers points since he hasn't been the player who most contributed to the win in most of the games in which he's appeared. Still, Rivera has a very strong career Box-Toppers total. He has 122.4 career Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players since 1995 and second among closing pitchers only to Trevor Hoffman (129.4). Even if he weren't having a great year statistically, his career Box-Toppers numbers would cry out for his selection to the All-Star Game in this, the year he is retiring.
Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars.
| ALL-STAR GAME TOP SNUBS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Anibal Sanchez | PI SP | Tigers | 8.0 | 10 |
| Derek Holland | PI SP | Rangers | 7.7 | 11 |
| Joe Saunders | PI SP | Mariners | 7.7 | 12 |
| R.A. Dickey | PI SP | Blue Jays | 6.7 | 13 |
| Hiroki Kuroda | PI SP | Yankees | 6.7 | 14 |
| Josh Donaldson | 3B | Athletics | 6.5 | 2 |
| Yunel Escobar | SS | Rays | 4.5 | 1 |
| J.P. Arencibia | CA | Blue Jays | 5.5 | 1 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | OF | Athletics | 4.5 | 2 |
| Josh Reddick | OF | Athletics | 4.5 | 3 |
| NL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Shelby Miller | PI SP | Cardinals | 11.4 | 5 |
| Zack Greinke | PI SP | Dodgers | 10.7 | 8 |
| Lance Lynn | PI SP | Cardinals | 10.4 | 9 |
| Gio Gonzalez | PI SP | Nationals | 8.7 | 11 |
| Mat Latos | PI SP | Reds | 8.7 | 12 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | Nationals | 6.7 | 1 |
| ALL-STAR GAME ELECTED STARTERS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Chris Davis | 1B | Orioles | 10.2 | 1 |
| Robinson Canó | 2B | Yankees | 7.0 | 2 |
| J. J. Hardy | SS | Orioles | 3.0 | 4 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 3B | Tigers | 13.4 | 1 |
| Joe Mauer | C | Twins | 5.0 | 2 |
| Mike Trout | OF | Angels | 3.5 | 9 |
| Adam Jones | OF | Orioles | 3.5 | 10 |
| José Bautista | OF | Blue Jays | 1.5 | 32 |
| David Ortiz | DH | Red Sox | 8.2 | 1 |
| NL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Joey Votto | 1B | Reds | 1.5 | 14 |
| Brandon Phillips | 2B | Reds | 5.0 | 2 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | SS | Rockies | 2.0 | 7 |
| David Wright | 3B | Mets | 1.0 | 12 |
| Yadier Molina | C | Cardinals | 3.0 | 5 |
| Carlos Beltrán | OF | Cardinals | 1.5 | 39 |
| Carlos González | OF | Rockies | 9.5 | 1 |
| Bryce Harper | OF | Nationals | 6.9 | 2 |
| ALL-STAR GAME RESERVES & PITCHERS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Jason Castro | C | Astros | 2.0 | 7 |
| Salvador Pérez | C | Royals | 0.0 | 18 |
| Prince Fielder | 1B | Tigers | 3.5 | 7 |
| Jason Kipnis | 2B | Indians | 7.0 | 1 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 2B | Red Sox | 1.5 | 9 |
| Ben Zobrist | 2B | Rays | 2.0 | 6 |
| Manny Machado | 3B | Orioles | 1.0 | 14 |
| Jhonny Peralta | SS | Tigers | 1.0 | 11 |
| Nelson Cruz | OF | Rangers | 4.5 | 1 |
| Alex Gordon | OF | Royals | 1.0 | 42 |
| Torii Hunter | OF | Tigers | 1.0 | 43 |
| Edwin Encarnación | DH | Blue Jays | 5.7 | 2 |
| Justin Masterson | PI SP | Indians | 13.7 | 1 |
| Matt Moore | PI SP | Rays | 13.1 | 2 |
| Chris Sale | PI SP | White Sox | 10.7 | 3 |
| Félix Hernández | PI SP | Mariners | 10.4 | 4 |
| Clay Buchholz | PI SP | Red Sox | 10.1 | 5 |
| Yu Darvish | PI SP | Rangers | 10.0 | 6 |
| Max Scherzer | PI SP | Tigers | 9.7 | 7 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | PI SP | Mariners | 9.7 | 8 |
| Justin Verlander | PI SP | Tigers | 8.0 | 9 |
| Bartolo Colón | PI SP | Athletics | 6.7 | 15 |
| Greg Holland | PI CP | Royals | 6.0 | 20 |
| Glen Perkins | PI CP | Twins | 6.0 | 21 |
| Chris Tillman | PI SP | Orioles | 4.0 | 35 |
| Joe Nathan | PI CP | Rangers | 3.0 | 59 |
| Grant Balfour | PI CP | Athletics | 3.0 | 60 |
| Brett Cecil | PI MR | Blue Jays | 2.0 | 93 |
| Jesse Crain | PI MR | White Sox | 2.0 | 96 |
| Steve Delabar | PI MR CP | Blue Jays | 1.0 | 112 |
| Mariano Rivera | PI CP | Yankees | 1.0 | 137 |
| NL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Buster Posey | C | Giants | 6.0 | 2 |
| Brian McCann | C | Braves | 7.0 | 1 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Diamondbacks | 9.7 | 1 |
| Allen Craig | 1B | Cardinals | 1.0 | 15 |
| Freddie Freeman | 1B | Braves | 6.5 | 2 |
| Matt Carpenter | 2B | Cardinals | 6.0 | 1 |
| Marco Scutaro | 2B | Giants | 0.0 | 18 |
| Pedro Álvarez | 3B | Pirates | 6.2 | 2 |
| Everth Cabrera | SS | Padres | 4.5 | 1 |
| Jean Segura | SS | Brewers | 2.5 | 6 |
| Domonic Brown | OF | Phillies | 3.5 | 15 |
| Michael Cuddyer | OF | Rockies | 6.5 | 3 |
| Carlos Gómez | OF | Brewers | 2.0 | 35 |
| Andrew McCutchen | OF | Pirates | 2.0 | 27 |
| Patrick Corbin | PI SP | Diamondbacks | 14.4 | 1 |
| Clayton Kershaw | PI SP | Dodgers | 12.7 | 2 |
| Madison Bumgarner | PI SP | Giants | 11.7 | 3 |
| Adam Wainwright | PI SP | Cardinals | 11.7 | 4 |
| Matt Harvey | PI SP | Mets | 11.0 | 6 |
| Jordan Zimmermann | PI SP | Nationals | 10.7 | 7 |
| Cliff Lee | PI SP | Phillies | 9.4 | 10 |
| José Fernández | PI SP | Marlins | 8.0 | 14 |
| Aroldis Chapman | PI CP | Reds | 6.0 | 18 |
| Jason Grilli | PI CP | Pirates | 5.7 | 29 |
| Travis Wood | PI CP | Cubs | 5.0 | 33 |
| Jeff Locke | PI SP | Pirates | 5.0 | 36 |
| Craig Kimbrel | PI CP | Braves | 3.0 | 52 |
| Edward Mujica | PI CP | Cardinals | 3.0 | 58 |
| Sergio Romo | PI CP | Giants | 2.0 | 77 |
| Mark Melancon | PI MR | Pirates | 1.0 | 121 |
BTP: Box-Toppers points for the current season.
RANK BY POS.: A players ranking among players in the same position for the current season.