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Randy Johnson holds commanding lead in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw jumped from 13th to 6th on career list and at current pace could catch Johnson in 2020.
Read MoreIndians' Corey Kluber tops players for Sunday, Sept. 11, rising to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings and extending his lead among American League pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 11:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
Kluber struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 7-1 win over the Twins.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.2 for the season. He rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). He extends his lead among AL pitchers, trailed by Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8).
Kluber becomes the fourth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the second time in his career Kluber has earned 20 or more points. In 2014, he had 25.8 points to lead AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Astros.
American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 11-8 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable—Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy becomes the 38th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Kennedy (6IP H 0R 4BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 38th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
It is Kennedy’s second season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2011, he had 19.4 points with the Diamondbacks, fifth among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points—37th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Weaver (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rangers) now trails 36th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time" list. Weaver has 3.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urena earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Russell and Bradley each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/11 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | CLE 7, MIN 1 | Corey Kluber (W,16-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| NL | 8.2 | MIA 3, LAD 0 | Jose Urena (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7.0 | KC 2, CHW 0 | Ian Kennedy (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 6.1 | `MIL 2, STL 1 | Zach Davies | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | SF 5, ARI 3 | Matt Moore (W,10-11) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 5.0 | WSH 3, PHI 2 | Gio Gonzalez (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | LAA 3, TEX 2 | Jered Weaver (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CHC 9, HOU 5 | Addison Russell, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 8, PIT 0 | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | BOS 11, TOR 8 | Jackie Bradley, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | NYM 10, ATL 3 | Yoenis Cespedes, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `COL 3, SD 2 (10) | Chad Bettis | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 3, DET 1 | Chris Tillman (W,16-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TB 4, NYY 2 | Alex Colome (S,32) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 3, OAK 2 | Edwin Diaz (S,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 | 33.6 | 64.4 | 64.4 | 6.8 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 10.0 | 16.7 | 60.5 | 66.5 | 3.3 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.7 | 9.7 | 35.2 | 35.2 | 9.7 |
| Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf | nym nl | 8.0 | 18.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 | -2.9 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 8.0 | 13.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 3.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 8.0 | 12.7 | 41.8 | 43.8 | 3.3 |
| Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 6.7 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 1.3 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 | 15.7 | 72.8 | 86.5 | -3.7 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 5.5 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -4.0 |
| Russell, Addison 3559 | ss | chi nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 10.7 | 65.3 | 126.1 | -4.7 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 30.2 | 64.1 | -0.7 |
Nationals' Max Scherzer passes Kershaw for Box-Toppers points lead after topping players for Thursday, Aug. 25
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and takes the season lead in Box-Toppers points, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who had led since May 7.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 25:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.0 |
Also Thursday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rises to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Scherzer pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits and no walks, in the 4-0 win over the Orioles.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.7 for the season, rising from second to first among all players. Scherzer becomes the second player this season to 20 points; previous leader Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points) did it first it more than two months ago on June 20, the last time he earned Player of the Game before going on the disabled list.
Kershaw has led all players in Box-Toppers points this season since May 7, nearly 16 weeks, despite going on the disabled list two months ago on June 26. Kershaw is eligible to return from the disabled list Saturday and reports indicate he could return to pitch by mid-September.
Kershaw finished second in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 25.7, behind overall leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (29.1). Kershaw led all National League players in Box-Toppers points from 2011 to 2014 and led all players in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/3 | Francisco Liriano | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 4/4 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 4/14 | Vince Velasquez | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 4/21 | Jake Arrieta | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 5/1 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 5/3 | Jake Arrieta | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 5/7 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 8/25 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 20.7 |
This is Scherzer’s third straight 20-point season. He earned 22.1 points in 2014 with the Tigers, when he ranked fifth overall and second among American League pitchers. He earned 21.0 points in 2015 with the Nationals, when he ranked sixth overall and fourth among NL pitchers.
Scherzer now has 126.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 35th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Thursday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver (125.1) and Mariano Rivera (126.4). Scherzer now trails 34th-ranked player Roy Oswalt (127.2).
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and no walks, in the 9-0 win over the Indians.
Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.8 for the season, rising to fifth among all players and maintaining his spot in second place among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (17.2).
Hamels also now has 143.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 23rd place among players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Thursday, he passes three players (all active) on the “all-time” list—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8), David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (142.9). Hamels now has the seventh-most career Box-Toppers points among active players. Hamels now trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8).
National League Batter of the Day—Alejandro De Aza of the Mets hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 10-6 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—James McCann of the Tigers hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Twins.
Debut—Rays pitcher Tyler Sturdevant made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Sturdevant (0.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut May 24 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,718th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. De Aza and McCann each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/25 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | WSH 4, BAL 0 | Max Scherzer (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 14.0 | TEX 9, CLE 0 | Cole Hamels (W,14-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 11.2 | SF 4, LAD 0 | Matt Moore (W,8-10) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | NYM 10, STL 6 | Alejandro De Aza, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ATL 3, ARI 1 | Matt Wisler (W,5-11) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | DET 8, MIN 5 | James McCann, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | LAA 6, TOR 3 | Mike Trout, CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 5, MIA 2 | Kelvin Herrera (S,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | `TB 2, BOS 1 | Tyler Sturdevant | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 3, MIL 2 (10) | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 7, SEA 6 | Tim Anderson, SS | 4 | 2 | 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 | 20.7 | 41.7 | 106.3 | 126.7 | -0.3 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 | 32.2 | 83.8 | 143.0 | 1.4 |
| Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 8.5 | 20.5 | 45.0 | 45.0 | -3.5 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 7.7 | 7.7 | 33.2 | 33.2 | 7.7 |
| McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 5.5 | 16.0 | 46.7 | 52.4 | -5.0 |
| Wisler, Matt 3522 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| McCann, James 3649 | ca | det al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| De Aza, Alejandro 2950 | cf | nym nl | 1.5 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| Herrera, Kelvin 3149 | pi cp | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Sturdevant, Tyler 3718 | pi mr | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Clayton Kershaw rockets up ‘All-Time' Top 100 list, earning 36.7 Box-Toppers points since last year's All-Star break
Dodgers pitcher Kershaw has earned more Box-Toppers points in past year (36.7) than the 33.7 Randy Johnson earned in his record breaking single seasons (2000 and 2002).
Read MoreTwins' Ervin Santana tops players for Wednesday, July 6; Giants' Cueto rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings
Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 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, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Santana pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out eight and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.
Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first Box-Toppers points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons.
He earned his first points in 2005 with the Angels and has 95.3 for his career, ninth among active American League pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7 points, leading all AL pitchers. In 2015, he had 5.4 points with the Twins.
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto pitched a complete game, allowing one run, five hits, one walk and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Rockies.
Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season and rising from fourth to second in season player rankings, trailing overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0).
Cueto’s rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings is the first movement in that chart in a week. None of the players in the top 10 have earned Player of the Game honors since June 29.
National League Batter of the Day—Yangervis Solarte of the Padres hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-6 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-2 win over the Indians.
Notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 125.1 Box-Toppers points—37th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began—after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Weaver (6IP 4H R BB 5K W in the 7-2 win over the Rays) now trails the 36th-ranked player on the “all-time” list, Mariano Rivera (126.4). Weaver has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Debut—Bryce Brentz of the Red Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Brentz (2-4 2R 3BI in the 11-6 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 17, 2014, and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,680th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Solarte and Castellanos 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
| 7/6 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | MIN 4/OAK 0 | Ervin Santana (W,3-7) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | 9.0 | SF 5/COL 1 | Johnny Cueto (W,13-1) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 6.0 | TOR 4/KC 2 | Marcus Stroman (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | SD 13/ARI 6 | Yangervis Solarte, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | DET 12/CLE 2 | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CHW 5/NYY 0 | Miguel Gonzalez (W,2-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | LAA 7/TB 2 | Jered Weaver (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | DC 7/MIL 4 | Jonathan Papelbon (S,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 9/SEA 8 | Carlos Gomez, CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 11/TEX 6 | Bryce Brentz, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 6/LAD 4 | Mark Trumbo, RF | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 4/MIA 2 | Wilmer Flores, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 7/STL 5 | A.J. Schugel (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 5/CHC 3 | Tony Cingrani (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 4/ATL 3 | Freddy Galvis, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 | 26.2 | 77.4 | 96.8 | 0.6 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | rf | bal al | 7.2 | 9.7 | 32.9 | 32.9 | 4.7 |
| Castellanos, Nick 3349 | 3b | det al | 5.5 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -0.7 |
| Galvis, Freddy 3202 | ss | phi nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | chi al | 3.7 | 10.4 | 32.5 | 32.5 | -3.0 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 3.7 | 6.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 1.0 |
| Flores, Wilmer 3345 | 3b ss 2b | nym nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 9.7 | 64.3 | 125.1 | -5.7 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.0 | 7.4 | 45.8 | 95.3 | -3.4 |
| Papelbon, Jonathan 2110 | pi cp | dc nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 23.7 | 54.4 | -2.0 |
| Schugel, A.J. 3669 | pi mr | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Solarte, Yangervis 3304 | 3b | sd nl | 1.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -3.5 |
| Gomez, Carlos 2397 | cf | hou al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 17.5 | 28.5 | -5.0 |
| Cingrani, Tony 3158 | pi cp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 1.0 |
| Brentz, Bryce 3680 | lf | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs' Lester tops players for Monday, June 6; Indians' Bauer tops AL players
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 6-4 win over the Phillies.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.0 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 7.8 |
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 128.1 for his career, rising to 31st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Mariano Rivera (126.4), Roy Oswalt (127.2), Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (127.6) and A.J. Burnett (127.8). Lester now trails 30th-ranked player Vladimir Guerrero (128.3).
Lester ranks 12th among all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Lester has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked 14th among all players and 10th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Padres doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers went 4-for-4, scoring twice, in the 6-5 win over the Astros.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bauer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Kemp and Mazara each earn 1.5 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
| 6/6 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CHC 6/PHI 4 | Jon Lester (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | 9.2 | CLE 3/SEA 1 | Trevor Bauer (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 6.0 | COL 6/LAD 1 | Tyler Chatwood (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | DET 11/TOR 0 | Michael Fulmer (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | TB 6/ARI 4 | Chris Archer (W,4-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 5/LAA 2 | Andrew Miller (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 7/ATL 2 | Matt Kemp, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | BAL 4/KC 1 | Mike Wright (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TEX 6/HOU 5 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 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 | +/- |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.0 | 19.0 | 65.2 | 128.1 | -5.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 5.0 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 20.0 | 44.1 | 44.1 | -12.0 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 | 13.1 | 21.8 | 21.8 | -5.7 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf | sd nl | 3.0 | 8.5 | 33.0 | 54.6 | -2.5 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | nyy al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 18.0 | -1.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Wright, Mike 3471 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | -0.7 |
Brewers' Davies tops players for Wednesday, June 1; Nationals' Scherzer rises to 9th in Box-Toppers rankings
Brewers pitcher Zach Davies is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 1:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 9.7 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc al | 7.0 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
Also Wednesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Davies pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Alexei Ramirez of the Padres hit two homers and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 14-6 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-3 win over the Rays. Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season ranking second among AL batters, behind Manny Machado of the Orioles (8.7).
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Scherzer (8IP 5H 2R 11K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Scherzer also now has 113.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 50th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Kevin Brown (112.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 49th-ranked player Sammy Sosa (113.2).
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Lester (CG 4H R 10K W in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers) maintains his rank of 35th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 34th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4). Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Also notable—Matt Albers of the White Sox became the fourth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. He is the first AL pitcher to earn Player of the Game honors for batting in nearly seven years.
Albers (2B 1-1 R in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Mets) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 for batting and a score of 0.0 for pitching (2IPH 0R 2BB K W).
The last time an AL pitcher won Player of the Game honors for batting was June 12, 2009, by Rick Porcello of the Tigers.
Scoring—Davies earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fulmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Cain 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
| 6/1 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | MIL 3/STL 1 | Zach Davies (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 13.0 | CHC 2/LAD 1 | Jon Lester (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| AL | 11.2 | DET 3/LAA 0 | Michael Fulmer (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | `MIA 3/PIT 2 | Adam Conley | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 8.0 | DC 7/PHI 2 | Max Scherzer (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | SD 14/SEA 6 | Alexei Ramirez, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | HOU 5/ARI 4 | Michael Feliz (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | OAK 5/MIN 1 | Sean Manaea (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 3.2 | TOR 7/NYY 0 | Aaron Sanchez (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 5/SF 4 | Chris Withrow (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | KC 6/TB 3 | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | BAL 13/BOS 9 | Matt Wieters, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `CLE 5/TEX 4 | Dan Otero | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | CIN 7/COL 2 | Billy Hamilton, CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | CHW 2/NYM 1 | Matt Albers, P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 | 28.0 | 92.6 | 113.0 | -14.0 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 6.5 | 14.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -1.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 | 17.0 | 63.2 | 126.1 | -7.0 |
| Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | tor al | 4.7 | 6.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 2.7 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Wieters, Matt 2643 | ca | bal al | 3.5 | 4.5 | 22.5 | 28.2 | 2.5 |
| Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Feliz, Michael 3632 | pi cp | hou al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Ramirez, Alexei 2537 | ss | sd nl | 1.5 | 3.5 | 22.0 | 34.0 | -0.5 |
| Hamilton, Billy 3287 | cf | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -1.0 |
| Otero, Dan 3365 | pi mr | cle al | 1.0 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | -0.7 |
| Albers, Matt 2274 | pi cp | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Withrow, Chris 3273 | pi cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Yankees' Tanaka tops players for Friday, May 27; Orioles' Machado rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings
Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 27:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 7.4 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 |
Player of the Day—Tanaka pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 4-1 win over the Rays.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 7-5 win over the Red Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hill of the Brewers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, in the 9-5 win over the Reds.
Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Machado (2B 4-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He extends his lead among AL batters.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 125.1 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Lester (6.1IP 6H 2R 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Phillies) ranks 35th in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 34th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
Debut—Twins pitcher Pat Dean made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Dean (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut May 11 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,644th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Tanaka earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Friedrich earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Hill each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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
| 5/27 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | NYY 4/TB 1 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 8.1 | LAA 7/HOU 2 | Matt Shoemaker (W,3-5) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | SD 10/ARI 3 | Christian Friedrich (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 7.0 | MIN 7/SEA 2 | Pat Dean (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.2 | DET 4/OAK 1 | Michael Fulmer (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | TOR 7/BOS 5 | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | `NYM 6/LAD 5 | Jacob deGrom | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | COL 5/SF 2 | Tyler Chatwood (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | KC 7/CHW 5 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 9/CIN 5 | Aaron Hill, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | CHC 6/PHI 2 | Jon Lester (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 6/CLE 4 | Manny Machado, SS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 9/TEX 1 | Starling Marte, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | STL 6/DC 2 | Stephen Piscotty, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 4/MIA 2 | Arodys Vizcaino (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
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 | +/- |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 | 16.2 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 1.2 |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b 3b | mil nl | 4.5 | 7.5 | 21.5 | 40.5 | 1.5 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.0 | 16.0 | 62.2 | 125.1 | -8.0 |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 4.0 | 13.9 | 33.9 | 33.9 | -5.9 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 | 12.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | -4.0 |
| Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 4.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Marte, Starling 3122 | lf | pit nl | 2.5 | 7.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.5 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 | 24.4 | 37.4 | 37.4 | -20.4 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 2.0 | 11.0 | 24.5 | 24.5 | -7.0 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 7.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 | -3.7 |
| Piscotty, Stephen 3570 | rf | stl nl | 2.0 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | -2.2 |
| Friedrich, Christian 3024 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 1.7 |
| Vizcaino, Arodys 3533 | pi cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Dean, Pat 3644 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Tigers' Verlander tops players for Tuesday, May 24; Nationals' Strasburg tops NL players
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 24:| 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 | 7.7 |
| 6 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 7.4 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 8 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.7 |
| 9 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 |
Verlander pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing three hits, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies.
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season and has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons, all with the Tigers. He earned his first points in 2006 and has 126.6 career points, rising to 33rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Verlander passes Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 32nd-ranked player Roy Oswalt (127.2). Verlander ranks fourth among active American League pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.
Verlander’s best season was 2012 when he led all players with 24.8 Box-Toppers points. In 2011, he led all AL pitchers with 24.4 points. In 2015, Verlander had 6.4 points.
National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 7-4 win over the Mets.
Strasburg earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.4 for the season and rising to 11th in Box-Toppers player rankings, seventh among NL pitchers. Strasburg is the highest-ranked player among Tuesday’s Players of the Games.
National League Batter of the Day—Gregory Polanco of the Pirates homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—David Ortiz of the Red Sox doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 8-3 win over the Rockies.
Ortiz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 141.4 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 23rd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (142.1). Ortiz ranks eighth among all active players in career Box-Toppers points, third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0) and Albert Pujols (176.3).
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Strasburg earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Polanco and Ortiz each earn 1.5 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
| 5/24 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Tigers | Justin Verlander (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| NL | 7.2 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,8-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | |
| 7.0 | Rays | Jake Odorizzi (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Yankees | Nathan Eovaldi (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 5.1 | Mariners | Mike Montgomery (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Pirates | Gregory Polanco, RF-LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Rangers | Martin Perez (W,2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | `Brewers | Jimmy Nelson | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | `Astros | Tony Sipp | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Cubs | Jorge Soler, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Indians | Josh Tomlin (W,7-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.2 | Dodgers | Mike Bolsinger (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Red Sox | David Ortiz, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 | 20.4 | 66.5 | 74.2 | -7.6 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.7 | 6.7 | 23.8 | 23.8 | 2.7 |
| Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi sp | cle al | 4.0 | 8.7 | 21.4 | 23.4 | -0.7 |
| Ortiz, David | dh | bos al | 3.5 | 8.0 | 39.4 | 141.4 | -1.0 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 3.0 | 11.2 | 17.2 | 17.2 | -5.2 |
| Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 2.7 | 11.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 | -6.0 |
| Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf lf | pit nl | 2.5 | 5.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -0.5 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 10.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | -6.4 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 | 8.4 | 71.6 | 126.6 | -4.4 |
| Bolsinger, Mike 3318 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -4.7 |
| Montgomery, Mike 3513 | pi cp | sea al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Crawford, Brandon 2878 | ss | sf nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 | -2.5 |
| Soler, Jorge 3403 | lf | chi nl | 1.0 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | -2.2 |
| Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Sipp, Tony 2852 | pi mr | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 |
Box-Toppers' Franchise Four
Who are each franchise's top 4 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995?
Read MoreJason Giambi has most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points (19); Carlos Beltran is active leader (17)
Who are the players with the most consecutive seasons earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point? A list of consistent, durable players, dominated by batters over pitchers.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time'
Randy Johnson's perch atop 'all-time' 100 is safe. A-Rod is top active player. Pujols rises in top 10. Hernandez, Kershaw both make top 20 rises. Price, Scherzer, Bumgarner all make big jumps up the list.
Read MoreBraves' Miller tops players for Sunday, Oct. 4; Kershaw picks up 3rd season with 25+ Box-Toppers points
Braves pitcher Shelby Miller is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day on the season’s final day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 4 (Final standings).| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 29.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 25.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 21.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 21.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 19.0 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 18.8 |
Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw passed 25 Box-Toppers points in a single season for the third time, only the third player to do that since 1995.
Plus, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom maintained his spot in third place in player rankings, behind Kershaw. In addition, eight players who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday had more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Player of the Day—Miller pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven, in the 6-0 win over the Cardinals.
Miller earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 46th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 44th among all players, 17th among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched a complete game three-hitter, allowing two runs and striking out eight, in the 9-2 win over the Angels.
Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 15.4 for the season. He ranks 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.
Hamels rises to 33rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Sunday, he has 126.2 career points and passes Justin Verlander (124.6) on the “all-time” list. He trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
American League Batter of the Day—Joey Butler of the Rays hit two home runs—a grand slam and a two-run homer—and went 3-for-4, in the 12-3 win over the Blue Jays.
This was Butler’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Butler made his Major League debut Aug. 7, 2013, and was playing in his 102nd career game. He is the 3,607th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He is the 172nd and final player to debut in Box-Toppers during the 2015 season.
National League Batter of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Astros.
Goldschmidt earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.2 for the season. He becomes the 47th and final player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, 10th among batters. He ranks 42nd among all players and fourth among NL batters.
Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw picked up his third 25+ point season of his career Sunday—his 25.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 are tied for the 20th-most points in a single season since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began.| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 6 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 7 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 8 | *Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 9 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 13 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 15 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 16 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 18 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 18 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 20 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 20 | *Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2015 | 25.7 |
| 22 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| * Current season | |||||
Kershaw—Clayton Kershaw (3.2IP 2H 0R 7K ND in the 6-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 25.7 for the season. He maintains his rank of second among all players and among NL pitchers, behind overall leader Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (29.1).
But Kershaw has now earned more than 25 Box-Toppers points for the third time in his career, a feat only done by two other players in the 21-season history of Box-Toppers:
Randy Johnson did it five times—1998 (26.4), 1999 (31.5), 2000 (33.7), 2001 (29.4) and 2002 (33.7).
Pedro Martinez did it four times—1997 (26.7), 1999 (31.4), 2000 (33.5) and 2002 (28.8).
Roger Clemens and Johan Santana are the only other players who have earned 25 points in a single season more than once. (See Best seasons chart.)
Kershaw earned 26.1 points in 2011 and 31.5 points in 2014. Despite earning 25.7 points this season, Kershaw’s streak of four straight seasons leading NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points comes to an end this year as he was topped by Arrieta. Kershaw also led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Kershaw now has 159.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his spot in 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Kershaw trails 12th-place player John Smoltz (160.9).
Other notables who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday—
- Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (4IP 0H 0R 7K ND in the 1-0 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.4 for the season, maintaining his rank of third among all players and among NL pitchers, behind Arrieta and Kershaw.
- Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (5.1IP 4H R 6K W in the 3-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 22nd among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.
- Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ (6IP 3H 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 24th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
- Chris Davis of the Orioles (2HR 2B 3-4 3R 4BI in the 9-4 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 42nd among all players and fourth among AL batters.
- Cubs pitcher Dan Haren rose to 47th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Haren (6IP 3H R 3K W in the 3-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 113.2 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Sammy Sosa (113.2) on the “all-time” list. (It should be noted that Sosa began his career in 1989, before the advent of Box-Toppers. Were his entire career tracked, he would have about 135 career Box-Toppers points, according to rough estimates.) Haren trails 46th-ranked player Chris Carpenter (113.3).
Scoring—Miller earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Butler and Goldschmidt each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/4 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Braves | Shelby Miller (W,6-17) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 9.0 | `Mets | Jacob deGrom | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 8.2 | `Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | Rangers | Cole Hamels (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Rays | Joey Butler, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Pirates | J.A. Happ (W,11-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 6.2 | Braves | Matt Wisler (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | Tigers | Daniel Norris (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,14-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Mariners | Tom Wilhelmsen (S,13) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | `Phillies | David Buchanan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Dbacks | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Rockies | Justin Morneau, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Dan Haren (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cubs' Starlin Castro (2HR 6RBI) tops players for Friday, Sept. 18; 4 top 10 pitchers fail to earn Box-Toppers points
Starlin Castro of the Cubs is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also, despite four top 10 pitchers from Box-Toppers player rankings starting Friday, none of them earned Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 20.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 6 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
Player of the Day—Castro hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 8-3 win over the Cardinals.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out seven over 8 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals. Verlander did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the Royals tied the game after he exited with a 3-2 lead.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 124.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 33rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Friday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Verlander now trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
Among Friday’s 14 Players of the Game, Verlander has the most Box-Toppers points this season—6.4, ranking 111th among all players and 43rd among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit two homers and went 3-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day Friday because the overall Player of the Day was batter Starlin Castro.
Notable—Four pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Friday but none of them earned Player of the Game honors:
- Fifth-ranked Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, 19.7 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors, though the Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-2. Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 3K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Justin Ruggiano of the Dodgers (2-3 R BI) won Player of the Game honors with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.
- Eighth-ranked White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, 17.1 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 12-1 loss to the Indians. Sale (7IP 8H 7R 9K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Santana of the Indians (1-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.
- Ninth-ranked Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, 17.0 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 2-0 loss to the Diamondbacks. Bumgarner (8IP 5H 2R 7K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Player of the Game was Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa (5.2IP H 0R 5K W) with a Box-Toppers game score of +5.2.
- Tenth-ranked Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, 17.0 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game honors, though the Nationals beat the Marlins, 5-4 in 10 innings. Scherzer (7IP 5H 2R 6K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Nationals closing pitcher Casey Janssen (0.2IP 0H 0R K W) with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.2.
Scoring—Castro earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Cubs | Starlin Castro, 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.2 | Dbacks | Rubby De La Rosa (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| AL | 5.2 | `Tigers | Justin Verlander | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Athletics | Danny Valencia, 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Chad Bettis (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Juan Uribe, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Arodys Vizcaino (S,5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Mariners | Tom Wilhelmsen (S,12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Grady Sizemore, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | Nationals | Casey Janssen (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Blue Jays | Justin Smoak, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dodgers | Justin Ruggiano, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Reds | Brandon Finnegan (W,4-0) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
A look at Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 100 player list, led by Hall inductee Randy Johnson
The Big Unit leads the list of the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points since record keeping began in 1995. A look at all 100 ...
Read MoreMets' Niese tops players for Monday, July 6; White Sox' Sale rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Mets pitcher Jonathon Niese is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game Monday—Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett and Cardinals pitcher John Lackey.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 6.| 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 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 5 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 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—Niese pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
American League Player of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-5 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 10-7 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Monday since the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Nick Castellanos).
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Sale (CG 6H 2R 6K W in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (13.4).
Notable—Two pitchers with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Monday:
- A.J. Burnett of the Pirates rose to 31st place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Burnett (7.2IP 5H R 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 126.8 for his career. With his point, he passes Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-place player Roy Oswalt (127.2). Burnett has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 27th among NL pitchers.
- John Lackey of the Cardinals (7IP 6H 0R 4K in the 6-0 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.8 for his career. He maintains his spot in 57th place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. He trails 56th-place player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Lackey has 5.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranking 21st among NL pitchers.
Debut—Preston Tucker of the Astros made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Tucker (HR 2B 4-5 2R 2BI in the 9-4 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 7 and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,525th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Niese earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Castellanos earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Kendrick earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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
| 7/6 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Mets | Jonathon Niese (W, 4-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| AL | 5.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Preston Tucker RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Twins | Glen Perkins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Dodgers | Howie Kendrick 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Kelly Johnson 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | `Pirates | A.J. Burnett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Sunday, June 14, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rises to ninth in player rankings. Plus, Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett now has 125.8 career Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 14.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 12.4 |
| 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 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
| 10 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.7 |
Player of the Day—Scherzer pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout, striking out 16, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers. Scherzer allowed only two base runners, giving up one walk and one hit. He had a Box-Toppers game score of 23, the second-highest of the season. (Indians pitcher Corey Kluber had a higher Box-Toppers game score of 25 when he was Player of the Day on May 13.)
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and moving him to third in season Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks second among American League pitchers, behind overall leader Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (12.4). Scherzer is the sixth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray struck out nine over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 8-1 win over the Angels.
Gray rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Ryan Goins of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-5 win over the Red Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batters earned Player of the Game honors. In fact, in all 14 games completed Sunday, only one batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett now has 125.8 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Burnett (9IP 5H 0R 4K ND in the 1-0, 11-inning win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. His 125.8 career Box-Toppers points ranks 32nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 31st-place player Mariano Rivera (126.4). Burnett has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, ranked in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings, started Sunday but did not earn Player of the Game honors. Sale (6.2IP 3H 2R 12K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.2, but the White Sox lost to the Rays, 2-1. Rays pitcher Nathan Karns (6IP 7H R 8K ND, Box-Toppers game score of 4) was Player of the Game.
Sale has 10.4 Box-Toppers points for the season and fell from fourth to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings Sunday.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Mets pitcher Sean Gilmartin (2IP 0H 0R 3K W in the 10-8 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 10, and was playing in his 24th career game. He is the 3,500th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin (2IP H 0R 3K W in the 4-2 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut June 2, and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,501st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Goins earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/14 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 23.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | |
| AL | 10.2 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | `Pirates | A.J. Burnett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 6.0 | Tigers | Alfredo Simon (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Astros | Lance McCullers (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | `Yankees | Justin Wilson (H, 9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Ryan Goins 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Rubby De La Rosa (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `Cubs | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `Rays | Nathan Karns | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | Twins | Casey Fien (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Mets | Sean Gilmartin (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Josh Ravin (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | John Axford (S, 12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers' Bolsinger tops players for Saturday, May 23; Phillies' Hamels rises to 8th in Box-Toppers rankings
Dodgers pitcher Mike Bolsinger is Saturday’s Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. In addition, Hamels and Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett rose among the top 40 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 8 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.7 |
Player of the Day—Bolsinger pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight, in the 2-0 win over the Padres.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Kendall Graveman pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Rays.
American League Batter of the Day—Prince Fielder of the Rangers homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 15-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs hit a ninth-inning, three-run homer and drove in six total runs in the 9-6 win over the Diamondbacks.
Rankings—Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Hamels (8IP 5H R 5K W in the 8-1 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Saturday’s point also moves him up to 39th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Hamels now has 116.8 career points and passes Todd Helton (116.4) on that list. He trails Barry Zito (117.4) for 38th place. Hamels’ 116.8 career points ranks eighth among active pitchers currently in the NL.
Notable—Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett rises to 32nd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Burnett now has 124.8 career points and passes Gary Sheffield (124.1) on that list. Burnett now trails Mariano Rivera (126.4) for 31st place. Burnett’s 124.8 career points ranks sixth among active pitchers currently in the NL.
Burnett (7IP 5H R 10K W in the 8-2 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
Scoring—Bolsinger earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Graveman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Fielder and Rizzo 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
| 5/23 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Dodgers | Mike Bolsinger (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Pirates | A.J. Burnett (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | Marlins | Carter Capps (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | Athletics | Kendall Graveman (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Rangers | Prince Fielder DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Phillies | Cole Hamels (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Cubs | Anthony Rizzo 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Red Sox | Mike Napoli 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W, 2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Twins | Trevor May (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mariners | Fernando Rodney (S, 12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Luke Gregerson (S, 11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Braves | Jim Johnson | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Joe Panik 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Daniel Descalso SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||