Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Tuesday, April 18, rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank April 19, 2017

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.

Scherzer struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hit and three walks, in the 3-1 win over the Braves.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 18:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
3	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
4	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
6	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
7	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0
8	Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	3.0
9	Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp	ana al	3.0
10	Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season. He also now has 134.7 career points and rises to 30th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs struck out five over six innings, allowing two runs (none earned) and three hits, in the 4-2 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.

Streak—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 consecutive seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Encarnacion (HR 1-3 2R 3BI in the 11-4 win over the Twins) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Reds and has 68.1 career points, ninth among active AL batters. His best season was 2015 with the Blue Jays, when he had 10.4 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL batters.

Rankings—Angels closing pitcher Cam Bedrosian rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Bedrosian (2IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 5-2 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Notable—Starling Marte of the Pirates was suspended Tuesday for 80 games for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. Marte currently ranks 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 3.0 Box-Toppers points. He was NL Batter of the Day on April 9 and April 15.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Triggs earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Arenado and Betts 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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/18
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    WSH 3, ATL 1
    Max Scherzer (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    
    7.0
    MIA 5, SEA 0
    Wei-Yin Chen (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    AL
    6.0
    OAK 4, TEX 2
    Andrew Triggs (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    5.1
    CHW 4, NYY 1
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    4.1
    ARI 11, SD 2
    Shelby Miller (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    COL 4, LAD 3
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 9, BAL 3
    Adam Duvall, LF
    4
    1
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TB 5, DET 1
    Matt Andriese (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    BOS 8, TOR 7
    Mookie Betts, RF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 9, MIL 7
    Miguel Montero, C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 11, MIN 4
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    3
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 5, HOU 2
    Cam Bedrosian (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 6, NYM 2 (F/10)
    Aaron Altherr, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 2, KC 1 (F/11)
    Mark Melancon (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    1.0
    `STL 2, PIT 1
    Matt Bowman (H,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.

  AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.

  BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.

All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

` 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 (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	28.7	106.9	134.7	-22.7
Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp	ana al	3.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	2.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	1.7
Duvall, Adam 3573	lf	cin nl	2.0	8.5	10.0	10.0	-4.5
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	1.5	12.2	22.2	22.2	-9.2
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	1.5	7.7	12.7	12.7	-4.7
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	1.0	10.1	38.9	38.9	-8.1
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	1.0	9.0	44.1	68.1	-7.0
Melancon, Mark 2792	pi cp	sf nl	1.0	4.0	20.0	25.0	-2.0
Altherr, Aaron 3563	lf ph	phi nl	1.0	3.5	4.5	4.5	-1.5
Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	3.0	39.1	39.1	-1.0
Chen, Wei-Yin 3026	pi sp	fla nl	1.0	3.0	28.1	28.1	-1.0
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	chi nl	1.0	3.0	16.7	32.9	-1.0
Andriese, Matt 3505	pi sp mr	tb al	1.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Bowman, Matt 3699	pi mr	stl nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers top closing pitchers by time frame

Shawn Plank February 15, 2017

Trevor Hoffman leads closing pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, ahead of Mariano Rivera, the all-time saves leader.

Box-Toppers top shortstops by time frame

Shawn Plank January 30, 2017

Miguel Tejada leads shortstops in career Box-Toppers points, though 2nd-place Derek Jeter seen as superior shortstop.

Tigers' Justin Verlander tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 27; Nationals' Scherzer extends Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank September 28, 2016

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 Sept. 27:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. But Scherzer (25.7 Box-Toppers points) is now just 1.3 points ahead of second-place player Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.4), meaning Kershaw could still pass Scherzer for the season points title in his scheduled start Saturday. The season ends Sunday.

In addition Tuesday, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Verlander pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 12-0 win over the Indians.

Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.7 for the season, rising to 12th place among all players and fourth place among American League pitchers.

Verlander also rises to 28th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he now has 139.3 points, passing 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). He trails 27th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Moore struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 12-3 win over the Rockies.

Moore earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season. He becomes the 49th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to 33rd place among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in the 7-1 win over the Dodgers. Renfroe went 2-for-4.

This was Renfroe’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Renfroe made his Major League debut Sept. 21 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,749th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Tim Anderson of the White Sox homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-6 win over the Rays.

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. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer’s 2016 point total of 25.7 now is tied for the 20th-best in a single season. 
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    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
  

    20
    *Max Scherzer
    Nationals
    pi sp
    2016
    25.7
  

    23
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

Box-Toppers points leader—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Scherzer now has 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 23rd time in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history that a player has earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a season.

Scherzer (6IP 6H 2R 2BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) is now 1.3 points ahead of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.4). Kershaw is scheduled to start Saturday, meaning he could pass Scherzer if he earns NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7 points) or overall Player of the Day (worth 2.0 points). However, Scherzer is also in line to make his final start of the season Sunday.

Scherzer took the Box-Toppers points lead from Kershaw on Aug. 25. Kershaw had been in the lead since May 7 and raced to a commanding lead with 20.0 points by the end of June, but went on the disabled list for two months after that, allowing Scherzer to catch and pass him.

Scherzer’s 25.7 points now ranks tied for 20th among the highest single-season Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Two other players achieved 25.7 in a single season—Johan Santana of the Twins in 2006 and Kershaw in 2015. (See the Best seasons chart.)

Scherzer also now has 131.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).

Rankings—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Syndergaard (6IP 5H R 0BB 8K W in the 12-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.7 for the season, passing Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7) on the season top 10 list and now trails sixth-place player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (17.8). Syndergaard ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco now has 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Nolasco (8IP 5H R 2BB 4K W in the 8-1 win over the Athletics) ranks 32nd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.

Debut—Raul A. Mondesi of the Royals made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Mondesi (BB R 0-0 in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Oct. 30, 2015, and was playing in his 46th career game. He is the 3,750th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Mondesi is the son of outfielder Raul R. Mondesi, who played from 1993 to 2005. The elder Mondesi earned 59.9 career Box-Toppers points from 1995, when tracking began, through 2003, when he last earned points.

Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Renfroe and Anderson 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/27
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.2
    DET 12, CLE 0
    Justin Verlander (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    12
  

    NL
    10.2
    SF 12, COL 3
    Matt Moore (W,12-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    BAT
    7.0
    SD 7, LAD 1
    Hunter Renfroe, RF
    4
    2
    2
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    NYM 12, MIA 1
    Noah Syndergaard (W,14-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    6.0
    TOR 5, BAL 1
    Aaron Sanchez (W,14-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    3
    10
  

    
    5.0
    STL 12, CIN 5
    Jhonny Peralta, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    LAA 8, OAK 1
    Ricky Nolasco (W,8-14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 4, ARI 2
    Max Scherzer (W,19-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    10
  

    BAT
    3.0
    CHW 13, TB 6
    Tim Anderson, SS
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 7, PHI 6
    Tyler Flowers, C
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 6, BOS 4
    Tyler Austin, 1B
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 8, SEA 4
    George Springer, RF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `CHC 6, PIT 4
    Trevor Cahill (H,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 6, MIL 4
    Carlos Gomez, LF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    KC 4, MIN 3 (11)
    Raul Mondesi, 2B
    0
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

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

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7	46.7	111.3	131.7	4.7
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7	27.1	27.1	27.1	6.3
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	14.7	21.1	84.3	139.3	8.3
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	11.4	13.4	34.1	87.2	9.4
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	11.4	11.4	36.9	36.9	11.4
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	9.7	11.7	13.7	13.7	7.7
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	6.5	7.5	10.5	10.5	5.5
Anderson, Tim 3659	ss	chi al	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf cf	tex al	3.0	9.0	19.5	30.5	-3.0
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr sp	chi nl	3.0	4.0	27.1	40.2	2.0
Flowers, Tyler 3101	ca	atl nl	2.5	3.5	11.0	11.0	1.5
Austin, Tyler 3732	1b	nyy al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Renfroe, Hunter 3749	rf	sd nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Peralta, Jhonny 1815	3b ss	stl nl	1.0	1.0	12.0	39.4	1.0
Mondesi, Raul A. 3750	2b	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Giants' Jeff Samardzija tops players for Thursday, Sept. 22; Tigers' Verlander tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 23, 2016

Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija 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. 22:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Padres.

Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the 47th player this season with 10 Box-Toppers points and ranks 35th among all players, 18th among National League pitchers. This is the second season Samardzija has reached 10 Box-Toppers points. In 2012, he had 12.7 points with the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 11 over six innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Twins.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, most among the 11 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. He ranks 21st among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.

Verlander also now has 137.3 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list.

National League Batter of the Day—Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 7-4 win over the Rockies. Grandal also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3 and driving in four runs, in the 5-2 win over the Royals.

Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco became the 48th player with 10 Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Nolasco (7IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.

This is Nolasco’s fourth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and his first since 2010. In both 2008 and 2009, he had 16.7 points each season with the Marlins. In 2010, he had 11.7 points, also with the Marlins.

Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Grandal and Santana 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/22
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    SF 2, SD 1
    Jeff Samardzija (W,12-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    7.0
    LAD 7, COL 4
    Yasmani Grandal, C
    4
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    7.0
    DET 4, MIN 2
    Justin Verlander (W,15-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    2
    11
  

    
    6.0
    LAA 2, HOU 0
    Ricky Nolasco (W,7-14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    4.2
    MIL 3, PIT 1
    Chase Anderson (W,9-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CLE 5, KC 2
    Carlos Santana, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 9, MIN 2
    Victor Martinez, PH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 6, MIA 3
    Matt Kemp, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TB 2, NYY 0
    Blake Snell (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 5, BAL 3
    Craig Kimbrel (S,29)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 9, PHI 8 (11)
    Jose Reyes, 3B
    5
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	12.7	19.1	82.3	137.3	6.3
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	sf nl	10.7	20.1	48.8	49.8	1.3
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	10.4	12.4	33.1	86.2	8.4
Martinez, Victor 1695	dh	det al	8.5	12.0	31.9	72.1	5.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	8.0	14.0	57.7	58.7	2.0
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf lf	atl nl	7.5	13.0	37.5	59.1	2.0
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	lad nl	7.2	9.2	17.2	17.2	5.2
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	7.0	11.0	16.0	16.0	3.0
Snell, Blake 3688	pi sp	tb al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Santana, Carlos 2757	dh 1b	cle al	2.5	7.0	21.7	22.7	-2.0
Reyes, Jose 1759	3b ss	nym nl	2.0	2.0	14.0	30.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Shawn Plank September 10, 2016

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/9
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    MIA 4, LAD 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,14-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    14
  

    AL
    9.2
    `TEX 2, LAA 1
    Yu Darvish
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    7.0
    CHC 2, HOU 0
    Jon Lester (W,16-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    NYY 7, TB 5
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    NYM 6, ATL 4
    Curtis Granderson, CF
    2
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 13, TOR 3
    Dustin Pedroia, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `DET 4, BAL 3
    Michael Fulmer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 7, KC 2
    Carlos Rodon (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    2
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    4.0
    `WSH 5, PHI 4
    Tanner Roark
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    3.0
    SF 7, ARI 6 (12)
    Hunter Pence, RF
    5
    4
    4
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 5, MIN 4
    Cody Allen (S,27)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `STL 4, MIL 3
    Kevin Siegrist (H,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    `SEA 3, OAK 2
    Steve Cishek (H,4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    COL 4, SD 1
    Adam Ottavino (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 4, PIT 3
    Tim Adleman, P
    2
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4	25.1	51.1	51.1	15.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1	30.1	76.3	139.2	6.1
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	11.7	12.7	27.7	27.7	10.7
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7
Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	cle al	7.0	11.0	16.0	16.0	3.0
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	6.4	6.4	51.6	51.6	6.4
Rodon, Carlos 3494	pi sp	chi al	5.0	13.1	13.1	13.1	-3.1
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	5.0	6.0	25.0	25.0	4.0
Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf cf ph	nym nl	4.5	8.5	33.4	65.8	0.5
Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr cp	stl nl	4.0	8.0	10.0	10.0	0.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	bos al	4.0	4.0	24.4	36.5	4.0
Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	3.0	10.5	31.2	100.3	-4.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	2.0	4.0	23.0	50.7	0.0
Ottavino, Adam 3054	pi cp	col nl	2.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Adleman, Tim 3625	pi sp	cin nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Carlos Carrasco tops players for Friday, Sept. 2; Cubs' Lester rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 3, 2016

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

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 2:


	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	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing six hits and one walk, in the 6-2 win over the Marlins.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched a complete game, allowing one run, three hits, two walks and striking out four, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.

Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 17.1 for the season, rising from sixth to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Lester also now has 138.2 career Box-Toppers points, 28th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and two doubles in the 16-2 win over the Athletics. Shaw went 3-for-6, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Braves hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Phillies.

Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers now has 11.0 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Cabrera (HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 7-6 win over the Royals) now ranks 25th in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5) and Manny Machado of the Orioles (11.7).

Cabrera also rises to 23rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He now has 143.9 career points, passing Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8). Cabrera rises to seventh place among active players in career Box-Toppers points.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

Nationals pitcher A.J. Cole (6IP 3H R 2BB 5K in the 4-1 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 28, 2015, and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,727th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Brewers pitcher Jhan Marinez (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 1-0 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut July 16, 2010, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,728th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Shaw and Kemp 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/2
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.1
    CLE 6, MIA 2
    Carlos Carrasco (W,10-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    6
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    NL
    6.0
    CHC 2, SF 1
    Jon Lester (W,15-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    4.2
    BAL 8, NYY 0
    Dylan Bundy (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    2
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    
    4.2
    SD 4, LAD 2
    Brad Hand (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    BOS 16, OAK 2
    Travis Shaw, 3B-1B
    6
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 11, MIN 4
    Adam Eaton, CF
    5
    4
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ATL 8, PHI 4
    Matt Kemp, LF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 7, KC 6
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    COL 14, ARI 7
    Nick Hundley, C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    WSH 4, NYM 1
    A.J. Cole (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    TB 8, TOR 3
    Logan Morrison, DH
    2
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SEA 11, LAA 8
    Dae-Ho Lee, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 10, HOU 8
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `MIL 1, PIT 0
    Jhan Marinez (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 3, STL 2
    Zack Cozart, SS
    2
    2
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1	29.1	75.3	138.2	5.1
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	12.4	30.4	46.5	46.5	-5.6
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	11.0	15.7	64.3	143.9	6.3
Lee, Dae-Ho 3627	1b	sea al	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	bos al	7.0	11.2	11.2	11.2	2.8
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	6.7	6.7	14.2	17.2	6.7
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf lf	atl nl	5.5	11.0	35.5	57.1	0.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	bal al	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Eaton, Adam 3253	rf cf	chi al	4.0	9.5	12.0	12.0	-1.5
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr	sd nl	4.0	5.0	9.0	9.0	3.0
Morrison, Logan 2794	1b dh	tb al	2.0	6.0	16.0	17.5	-2.0
Cozart, Zack 3012	ss	cin nl	2.0	5.0	11.0	11.0	-1.0
Hundley, Nick 2497	ca	col nl	1.0	4.5	17.0	22.5	-2.5
Cole, A.J. 3727	pi sp	dc nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Marinez, Jhan 3728	pi mr	mil nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Carlos Carrasco tops players for Monday, Aug. 22; Cubs' Lester rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank August 23, 2016

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Monday’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 Aug. 22:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	17.2
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	15.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	15.1
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	13.0
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Athletics.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the 27th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 24th among all players, 10th among American League pitchers. It is his third straight season with 10 or more points (10.7 in 2014, 18.0 in 2015).

National League Player of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers hit three home runs and went 3-for-6, driving in eight runs, in the 18-9 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Kyle Seager of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-5 win over the Yankees.

Seager earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 points for the season, rising to fourth among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Adrian Gonzalez.

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

Lester (6IP 5H R 2BB 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth among all players. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

With Lester’s rise to 15.4 points, it marks the first time this season that all players in Box-Toppers season top 10 list have different Box-Toppers point totals—on Monday, Lester and Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto both had 14.4 points.

Lester now also has 136.5 career Box-Toppers points, 28th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Notable—Red Sox pitcher David Price rises to 64th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after he earned Player of the Game honors Monday.

Price (8IP 2H 0R 2BB 8K W in the 6-2 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.2 career points. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Miguel Tejada (102.3) and Carlos Beltran of the Rangers (102.9). He trails 63rd-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Price has 9.4 Box-Toppers points on the season, 13th among AL pitchers.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/22
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    CLE 1, OAK 0
    Carlos Carrasco (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    12.0
    BOS 6, TB 2
    David Price (W,12-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    9.0
    HOU 3, PIT 1
    Doug Fister (W,12-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    NL
    8.0
    LAD 18, CIN 9
    Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
    6
    3
    3
    8
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CHC 5, SD 1
    Jon Lester (W,14-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    SEA 7, NYY 5
    Kyle Seager, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 9, ATL 8
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 4, WSH 3
    Zach Britton (S,38)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 4, COL 2
    Tyler Thornburg (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	15.4	27.4	73.6	136.5	3.4
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4	28.4	44.5	44.5	-7.6
Price, David 2593	pi sp	bos al	9.4	30.5	86.5	103.2	-11.7
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	8.5	13.5	27.5	27.5	3.5
Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	5.7	9.7	36.4	72.3	1.7
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	bal al	5.0	13.7	33.1	33.1	-3.7
Thornburg, Tyler 3195	pi cp	mil nl	5.0	5.0	11.0	11.0	5.0
Fister, Doug 2688	pi sp	hou al	4.0	6.0	51.5	55.2	2.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	3.5	13.7	38.9	38.9	-6.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rays' Chris Archer tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 17; Cubs' Lester rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 18, 2016

Rays pitcher Chris Archer 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 Aug. 17:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	17.2
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	14.4
7	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Player of the Day—Archer pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Padres.

National League Player of the Day—Yasmany Tomas of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and tripled, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 13-5 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a two-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1, six-inning, rain-shortened win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the NL Player of the Day was batter Yasmany Tomas.

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

Lester (6.2IP 3H R 2BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Lester also now has 135.5 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/17
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.1
    TB 2, SD 0
    Chris Archer (W,7-16)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    NL
    8.0
    ARI 13, NYM 5
    Yasmany Tomas, RF
    4
    3
    3
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    STL 8, HOU 2
    Carlos Martinez (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    6.2
    CHC 6, MIL 1
    Jon Lester (W,13-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    5.0
    LAD 7, PHI 2
    Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    BOS 8, BAL 1 (6)
    Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.1
    `KC 4, DET 1
    Yordano Ventura
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 7, NYY 4
    Melvin Upton Jr., CF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    COL 12, WSH 10
    Gerardo Parra, RF
    5
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 6, SF 5
    Matt Joyce, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 6, OAK 2
    Yu Darvish (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    
    2.1
    SEA 4, LAA 3
    Drew Storen (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 10, ATL 3
    Trevor Plouffe, 3B
    5
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 10, CLE 7
    Adam Eaton, RF
    5
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 3, MIA 2
    Josh Smith (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	14.4	26.4	72.6	135.5	2.4
Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	8.0	24.0	48.1	48.1	-8.0
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	6.7	20.4	21.4	21.4	-7.0
Tomas, Yasmany 3489	rf lf	ari nl	6.2	9.7	9.7	9.7	2.7
Ventura, Yordano 3294	pi sp	kc al	6.0	17.7	27.4	27.4	-5.7
Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	4.7	4.7	49.9	49.9	4.7
Plouffe, Trevor 2869	3b	min al	4.5	7.5	23.5	23.5	1.5
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	bos al	4.0	13.5	14.5	14.5	-5.5
Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	4.0	8.0	34.7	70.6	0.0
Joyce, Matt 2480	rf dh ph	pit nl	4.0	4.0	20.2	29.7	4.0
Eaton, Adam 3253	rf cf	chi al	3.0	8.5	11.0	11.0	-2.5
Parra, Gerardo 2746	rf	col nl	2.5	9.0	20.0	21.0	-4.0
Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	tor al	2.5	2.5	15.5	37.2	2.5
Smith, Josh 3674	pi mr	cin nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Storen, Drew 2750	pi mr	sea al	1.0	3.0	11.0	13.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cardinals' Jaime Garcia tops players for Friday, Aug. 5; Cubs' Lester bolsters 8th place spot in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank August 6, 2016

Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place rank 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 Aug. 5:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Braves.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine and allowing one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring three times, in the 13-7 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Cameron Rupp of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4 and driving in four total runs, in the 5-4 win over the Padres.

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

Lester (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Lester now also has 134.5 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander now has 131.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Verlander (6IP 4H 2R BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) ranks 30th in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Verlander has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 20th among AL pitchers, and exceeding his 6.4 point total he earned in 2015.

Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wright earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Rupp 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/5
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    STL 1, ATL 0
    Jaime Garcia (W,8-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    AL
    14.0
    BOS 9, LAD 0
    Steven Wright (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    11.0
    HOU 5, TEX 0
    Dallas Keuchel (W,7-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    9.0
    WSH 5, SF 1
    Gio Gonzalez (W,7-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    NYY 13, CLE 7
    Starlin Castro, SS-2B
    3
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    DET 4, NYM 3
    Justin Verlander (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    
    5.0
    CHC 7, OAK 2
    Jon Lester (W,12-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    4.1
    MIN 6, TB 2
    Ervin Santana (W,5-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 7, CHW 5
    Zach Britton (S,34)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    SEA 6, LAA 4
    Edwin Diaz (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    `MIA 5, COL 3
    David Phelps
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.1
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    PHI 5, SD 4
    Cameron Rupp, C
    4
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `PIT 3, CIN 2
    Jameson Taillon
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3, MIL 2 (11)
    Adam Loewen (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 4, KC 3
    Brett Cecil (W,1-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4	25.4	71.6	134.5	1.4
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	bos al	8.4	12.1	13.1	13.1	4.7
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	8.0	17.4	35.1	43.8	-1.4
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	7.0	13.4	76.6	131.6	0.6
Rupp, Cameron 3556	ca	phi nl	6.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	5.5
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	6.0	27.4	41.8	41.8	-15.4
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	nyy al	5.5	10.0	23.0	24.0	1.0
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	4.0	13.7	70.8	84.5	-5.7
Phelps, David 2994	pi mr	fla nl	4.0	7.4	20.8	20.8	0.6
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	bal al	3.0	11.7	31.1	31.1	-5.7
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	3.0	8.4	46.8	96.3	-2.4
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp mr	sea al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	tor al	1.0	3.0	9.7	21.8	-1.0
Loewen, Adam 2212	pi cp	ari nl	1.0	2.0	3.0	5.7	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Sunday, July 31, rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank August 1, 2016

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead American League pitchers in season player rankings.

Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 8-0 win over the Athletics.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	17.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	12.4
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.5 for the season, rising to fourth among all players. He rises to first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Cole Hamels of the Rangers (14.1).

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Cain pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no hits, four walks and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-0 win over the Astros.

Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 139.9 for his career, rising to 26th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, Cabrera passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (140.3).

Cabrera has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 10th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Mets homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Rockies.

Streak—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Sunday.

Garza (5IP 4H 2R BB 5K W in the 4-2 win over the Pirates) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Twins and has 69.1 career points, 18th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Rays when he had 12.7 points, ninth among AL pitchers. He had 1.7 points in 2015 with the Brewers.

Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cain earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cabrera and Walker 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/31
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    CLE 8, OAK 0
    Corey Kluber (W,10-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    DET 11, HOU 0
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    6.0
    SF 3, WSH 1
    Matt Cain (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    0
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    NYM 6, COL 4
    Neil Walker, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    LAD 14, ARI 3
    Yasmani Grandal, C
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 6, CHW 4
    Brian Dozier, DH
    4
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 5, KC 3
    Mitch Moreland, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 5, LAA 3
    Clay Buchholz (W,4-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 7, SEA 6 (12)
    Hector Rondon (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    3.0
    TB 5, NYY 3
    Alex Colome (S,25)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 3, SD 2
    Tony Cingrani (S,13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 4, PIT 2
    Matt Garza (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    2
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    1.0
    MIA 5, STL 4
    J.T. Realmuto, C
    3
    0
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    ATL 2, PHI 1
    Mauricio Cabrera (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    0.0
    BAL 6, TOR 2 (12)
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Correction made Feb. 27, 2017: Jonathan Schoop, Player of the Game in the Orioles 6-2, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays, was previously incorrectly listed as a pitcher. 

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	14.5	27.9	58.7	58.7	1.1
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	7.0	11.7	60.3	139.9	2.3
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	6.0	11.0	14.7	14.7	1.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	chi nl	5.0	7.0	10.0	10.0	3.0
Realmuto, J.T. 3491	ca	fla nl	4.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	-0.5
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	lad nl	4.0	6.0	14.0	14.0	2.0
Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	tex al	3.5	9.7	17.7	18.7	-2.7
Walker, Neil 2756	2b	nym nl	3.5	7.5	25.0	30.5	-0.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	3.5	6.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	2.7	4.7	37.5	99.7	0.7
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp mr	bos al	2.0	8.0	36.2	55.9	-4.0
Dozier, Brian 3219	2b dh	min al	2.0	5.7	13.7	13.7	-1.7
Cingrani, Tony 3158	pi cp	cin nl	2.0	2.0	9.4	9.4	2.0
Cabrera, Mauricio 3689	pi cp mr	atl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	2.7	32.4	69.1	-0.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rangers' Cole Hamels tops players for Thursday, July 28, takes lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 29, 2016

Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to take the season Box-Toppers points 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 July 28:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
6	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	12.4
8	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	11.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hamels struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing two runs, six hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Royals.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth in overall season player rankings. He rises to first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Corey Kluber of the Indians (12.5).

Hamels also takes the lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2015. He has 29.5 Box-Toppers points in the span, the same totals as Chris Sale of the White Sox and David Price of the Red Sox, but Hamels holds the tiebreaker and ranks higher because he has more points in 2016.

Hamels also now has 140.3 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 25th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Thursday, Hamels passes two players on the “all-time” list—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (138.4) and Andy Pettitte (138.5). Hamels now trails 24th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8). Hamels also now ranks 10th in career Box-Toppers points among active players.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits or walks and striking out two, in the 3-1 win over the White Sox. It is his first Player of the Game honor he has earned since being traded from the Yankees earlier this week.

Chapman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.4 for the season, rising to first among all closing pitchers, passing previous leader David Robertson of the White Sox (5.0).

National League Batter of the Day—Aaron Altherr of the Phillies hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Max Kepler of the Twins homered, tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Debut—Angels closing pitcher Cam Bedrosian made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Bedrosian (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut June 3, 2014, and was playing in his 93rd career game. He is the 3,694th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chapman earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Altherr and Kepler 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/28
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    TEX 3, KC 2
    Cole Hamels (W,12-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    12
  

    NL
    3.1
    CHC 3, CHW 1
    Aroldis Chapman (S,21)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    3.0
    PHI 7, ATL 5
    Aaron Altherr, RF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIN 6, BAL 2
    Max Kepler, RF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 2, BOS 1
    Cam Bedrosian (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    STL 5, MIA 4
    Aledmys Diaz, SS
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 6, ARI 4
    Hernan Perez, SS
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    COL 2, NYM 1
    Carlos Estevez (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.1
    WSH 4, SF 2
    Shawn Kelley (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1	29.5	81.1	140.3	-1.3
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	chi nl	6.4	14.4	44.4	45.4	-1.6
Diaz, Aledmys 3612	ss	stl nl	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5
Estevez, Carlos 3641	pi cp	col nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Kepler, Max 3664	rf	min al	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Perez, Hernan 3577	3b ss ph	mil nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Altherr, Aaron 3563	rf	phi nl	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.5
Kelley, Shawn 2630	pi cp mr	dc nl	1.0	3.0	7.0	10.0	-1.0
Bedrosian, Cam 3694	pi cp	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Phillies' Zach Eflin tops players for Friday, July 22; Mariners' Paxton tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 23, 2016

Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Eflin pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out six and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 22:


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher James Paxton struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Paxton had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, tied with Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea, who was Player of the Game in the 1-0, 13-inning win over the Blue Jays. But Paxton edged Manaea to earn AL Player of the Day because he earned the win in his game, while Manaea picked up a no decision (8IP 5H 0R 7K ND).

National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cubs homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-2 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-5 win over the White Sox.

Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 138.4 for his career, regaining the 26th place spot among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (138.3) on the “all-time” list. Hamels had passed Cabrera on July 17 when he earned Player of the Day. Cabrera now trails 25th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Cabrera again ranks 10th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.

Cabrera has 5.5 points on the season, more than the 4.7 points he earned in 2015, which was his lowest total since his 2003 rookie season. Cabrera’s 5.5 points ranks 15th among AL batters this season.

Notable—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday.

Tanaka (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season, 20th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Eflin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Paxton earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Fowler and Cabrera 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/22
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    PHI 4, PIT 0
    Zach Eflin (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    AL
    10.0
    SEA 2, TOR 1
    James Paxton (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    
    10.0
    `OAK 1, TB 0 (13)
    Sean Manaea
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    MIN 2, BOS 1
    Kyle Gibson (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    8.0
    HOU 2, LAA 1
    Lance McCullers (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    10
  

    
    6.0
    COL 4, ATL 3
    Jon Gray (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    4.2
    `STL 4, LAD 3 (16)
    Tyler Lyons
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.2
    1
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CHC 5, MIL 2
    Dexter Fowler, CF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 5, WSH 3
    Matt Kemp, RF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `NYY 3, SF 2
    Masahiro Tanaka
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 5, CLE 1
    Dylan Bundy (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    1
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    DET 7, CHW 5
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    4
    1
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 6, ARI 2
    Joey Votto, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 5, MIA 3
    James Loney, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    KC 3, TEX 1
    Danny Duffy (W,6-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    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.
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	8.7	16.7	29.4	29.4	0.7
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	6.7	10.7	25.7	25.7	2.7
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	5.5	10.5	27.2	59.2	0.5
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	5.5	10.2	58.8	138.4	0.8
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	4.4	11.1	11.1	11.1	-2.3
Kemp, Matt 2151	rf	sd nl	4.0	9.5	34.0	55.6	-1.5
Eflin, Zach 3679	pi sp	phi nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Gibson, Kyle 3312	pi sp	min al	3.0	11.0	17.0	17.0	-5.0
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Loney, James 2206	1b ph	nym nl	2.0	2.0	13.0	34.4	2.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi mr sp	bal al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	1.7	2.7	8.4	8.4	0.7
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	chi nl	1.5	4.0	17.0	18.0	-1.0
Lyons, Tyler 3178	pi mr sp	stl nl	1.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	-2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cole Hamels of the Rangers rises to 10th place among active players in career Box-Toppers points, passing Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (136.9).

Mets' Jacob deGrom tops players for Sunday, July 17; Rangers' Hamels rises to 6th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank July 18, 2016

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 17:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	14.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	12.5
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	12.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	11.4
8	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rises to sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—deGrom pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Phillies.

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels allowed one run over eight innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.

Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being American League Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season and rising to sixth in player rankings, second among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (12.5).

Hamels also rises to 26th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Hamels now has 138.3 career points, passing Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (136.9) on the “all-time” list. Hamels now trails 25th-place player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Hamels now also ranks 10th among active players in career points.

American League Batter of the Day—Albert Pujols of the Angels hit a pair of two-run homers an went 2-for-3, in the 8-1 win over the White Sox.

Pujols now has 177.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his sixth-place rank among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. (See the updated top 20 rankings on the home page.) He trails Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (179.3). He remains in second among all batters since 1995, trailing Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0). Pujols has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 35th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Christian Bethncourt of the Padres homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 5-3 win over the Giants.

Streak—Tigers closing pitcher Francisco Rodriguez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honors of the year Sunday.

Rodriguez (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 4-2 win over the Royals) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2003 with the Angels and has 61.4 career points, most among active closing pitchers and 11th among all closing pitchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. His best years were 2005 and 2008 with the Angels when he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points each season—he was second among AL closers in 2005 and third in 2008. Rodriguez had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Brewers.

Debut—Pirates pitcher Chad Kuhl made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Kuhl (6IP H 0R 0BB 5K ND in the 2-1, 18-inning win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 26 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,687th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—deGrom 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. Pujols and Bethancourt 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/17
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    NYM 5/PHI 0
    Jacob deGrom (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    10.0
    TEX 4/CHC 1
    Cole Hamels (W,10-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    10.0
    `PIT 2/DC 1
    Chad Kuhl
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    8.0
    ARI 6/LAD 5
    Robbie Ray (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    8.0
    HOU 8/SEA 1
    Collin McHugh (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    4
    10
  

    
    8.0
    `ATL 1/COL 0
    Julio Teheran
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    7.0
    NYY 3/BOS 1
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,7-2) 
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    7.0
    `CIN 1/MIL 0
    Dan Straily
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    LAA 8/CHW 1
    Albert Pujols, DH
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    MIA 6/STL 3
    Kyle Barraclough (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    TB 5/BAL 2
    Oswaldo Arcia, LF
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TOR 5/OAK 3
    Jason Grilli (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    CLE 6/MIN 1
    Josh Tomlin (W,10-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    2.0
    DET 4/KC 2
    Francisco Rodriguez (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    BAT
    1.0
    SD 5/SF 3
    Christian Bethancourt, C
    4
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	12.1	27.5	79.1	138.3	-3.3
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	7.7	15.7	28.4	28.4	-0.3
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	6.0	28.4	41.4	41.4	-16.4
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	6.0	13.7	41.8	41.8	-1.7
McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	5.0	14.7	26.5	26.5	-4.7
Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp	cle al	5.0	9.7	22.4	24.4	0.3
Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	3.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	-0.3
Pujols, Albert 1438	1b dh	ana al	3.5	10.5	40.5	177.8	-3.5
Bethancourt, Christian 3407	ca ph	sd nl	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	2.0
Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	tor al	1.0	6.0	16.7	25.4	-4.0
Rodriguez, Francisco 1707	pi cp	det al	1.0	2.0	15.0	61.4	0.0
Barraclough, Kyle 3583	pi mr	fla nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Arcia, Oswaldo 3166	lf	tb al	1.0	1.0	8.0	8.0	1.0
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	11.7	11.7	1.0
Kuhl, Chad 3687	pi sp	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Shawn Plank June 1, 2016

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

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	9.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/31
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    `LAD 5/CHC 0
    Scott Kazmir
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    10.0
    MIA 3/PIT 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,8-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    6
  

    
    9.0
    SF 4/ATL 0
    Jake Peavy (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    AL
    6.0
    BOS 6/BAL 2
    Mookie Betts, RF
    5
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    COL 17/CIN 4
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    4
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    STL 10/MIL 3
    Matt Carpenter, 3B
    5
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    SEA 16/SD 4
    Kyle Seager, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    HOU 8/ARI 5
    George Springer, RF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    LAA 11/DET 9
    C.J. Cron, DH
    4
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    DC 5/PHI 1
    Joe Ross (W,5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    4.0
    KC 10/TB 5
    Lorenzo Cain, CF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 6/NYM 4
    Tyler Saladino, SS
    2
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 7/CLE 3
    Colby Lewis (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    2
  

    
    3.0
    OAK 7/MIN 4
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 4/NYY 1
    Joe Biagini (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	9.7	14.4	40.4	40.4	5.0
Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	tex al	5.7	13.4	31.6	43.0	-2.0
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	lad nl	5.0	17.7	45.6	101.4	-7.7
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	5.0	13.2	19.2	19.2	-3.2
Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	4.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	-0.3
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	4.7	7.7	9.7	9.7	1.7
Valencia, Danny 2772	3b	oak al	4.5	8.0	10.0	13.0	1.0
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	3.5	10.5	16.5	16.5	-3.5
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b 1b	stl nl	3.5	9.0	23.5	23.5	-2.0
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	3.5	8.5	22.5	22.5	-1.5
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	3.5	4.5	7.5	7.5	2.5
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	7.0	35.1	138.8	-3.0
Cron, C.J. 3338	dh 1b	ana al	1.0	7.0	8.0	8.0	-5.0
Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	tor al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Saladino, Tyler 3645	ss	chi al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rays' Andriese tops players for Saturday, May 14; Cubs' Arrieta rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank May 15, 2016

Rays pitcher Matt Andriese is Saturday’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 14:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	6.7
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	6.7
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	6.0
6	Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	5.7
7	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp	ari nl	5.7
8	Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7
9	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	5.5
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	5.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings and David Ortiz of the Red Sox extended his consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points to 17.

Player of the Day—Andriese pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 6-0 win over the Athletics.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 8-2 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season and rising from fourth to second in season player rankings, trailing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (9.0).

American League Batter of the Day—Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers. Schoop went 2-for-3 with five total RBIs.

National League Batter of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Nationals.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Nola (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Box-Toppers season streaks
Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Jason Giambi earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 19 straight seasons from 1995 to 2013, more than any other player. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Players are listed by duration of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total. 







  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    Streak
    Player
    Pos
    Duration
    Career
BTP
  

    1
    19
    Jason Giambi
    1b
    1995-2013
    133.4
  

    2
    18
    Jim Thome
    1b dh
    1995-2012
    146.7
  

    2
    18
    Chipper Jones
    3b
    1995-2012
    149.0
  

    2
    18
    Johnny Damon
    lf
    1995-2012
    63.0
  

    2
    18
    Alex Rodriguez
    dh
    1996-2013
    187.0
  

    2
    18
    Carlos Beltran*
    rf
    1999-2016
    99.9
  

    7
    17
    Mariano Rivera
    pi cp
    1995-2011
    126.4
  

    7
    17
    Derek Jeter
    ss
    1996-2012
    76.4
  

    7
    17
    Paul Konerko
    1b
    1998-2014
    100.7
  

    7
    17
    Tim Hudson
    pi sp
    1999-2015
    157.0
  

    7
    17
    Torii Hunter
    cf
    1999-2015
    115.9
  

    7
    17
    David Ortiz*
    dh
    2000-2016
    138.9
  

    13
    16
    Manny Ramirez
    lf
    1995-2010
    167.2
  

    13
    16
    Andy Pettitte
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    138.5
  

    13
    16
    Jamie Moyer
    pi sp
    1995-2010
    104.0
  

    13
    16
    Scott Rolen
    3b
    1996-2011
    97.6
  

    13
    16
    Kevin Millwood
    pi sp
    1997-2012
    108.3
  

    13
    16
    Derek Lowe
    pi sp
    1998-2013
    91.5
  

    13
    16
    Aramis Ramirez
    3b
    2000-2015
    105.8
  

    13
    16
    Mark Buehrle*
    pi sp
    2000-2015
    116.7
  

    13
    16
    Albert Pujols*
    dh 1b
    2001-2016
    175.3
  

    13
    16
    Ichiro Suzuki*
    rf
    2001-2016
    52.7
  

    13
    16
    CC Sabathia*
    pi sp
    2001-2016
    180.0
  


BTP: Box-Toppers points

* Active streak


 

Streak—Two players extended notable streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:

David Ortiz of the Red Sox (HR 3B 2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 6-5 win over the Astros) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 17 straight seasons—only six players in Box-Toppers tracking history (going back to 1995) have longer streaks.

Ortiz had his first Box-Toppers points in 1997 with the Twins, but his current 17-season streak began in 2000 with the Twins. He has 138.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 23rd among all players since 1995, passing Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. Ortiz now trails 22nd-ranked player Bartolo Colon of the Mets (142.1). Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995 and third among active batters.

Ortiz had his best seasons in 2005 and 2006 with the Red Sox, when he led AL batters in Box-Toppers points both seasons (14.7 in 2005 and 16.7 in 2006). He had 4.5 points in 2015 with the Red Sox.

Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (6IP 3H R 5K ND in the 8-7 win over the Brewers) has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2002 with the Padres and has 137.8 career points, 25th among all players since 1995. He trails 24th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Peavy’s best season was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among NL pitchers. He had 5.0 points in 2015 with the Giants.

Debut—Juan Centeno of the Twins made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Centeno (HR 2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Sept. 18, 2013, and was playing in his 28th career game. He is the 3,635th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Andriese earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arrieta earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Schoop and Ozuna each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/14
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Rays
    Matt Andriese (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    NL
    10.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,7-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    11
  

    
    7.0
    Phillies
    Aaron Nola (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    1
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Orioles
    Jonathan Schoop, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    5
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Braves
    Mike Foltynewicz (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    5.0
    `Rangers
    Colby Lewis
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    `Padres
    Brad Hand
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    4.2
    Dodgers
    Scott Kazmir (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    5
    3
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Angels
    Kole Calhoun, RF
    4
    3
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Giants
    Jake Peavy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Juan Centeno, C
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Aroldis Chapman (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    5
    1
    3
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Marlins
    Marcell Ozuna, CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Nationals
    Michael Taylor, CF
    3
    2
    2
    0
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

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


Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7	36.8	64.5	67.5	-21.4
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	5.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	3.7
Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	tex al	2.7	10.4	28.6	40	-5
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	lad nl	2.0	14.7	42.6	98.4	-10.7
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	2.0	9.0	15.0	15.0	-5.0
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	2.0	5.2	12.7	12.7	-1.2
Andriese, Matt 3505	pi mr	tb al	2.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	cf	fla nl	1.5	4.5	15.0	15.0	-1.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	bal al	1.5	4.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	nyy al	1.0	9.0	39.0	40.0	-7.0
Taylor, Michael 3447	cf	dc nl	1.0	6.5	6.5	6.5	-4.5
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	1.0	6.0	34.1	137.8	-4.0
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	1.0	5.5	36.9	138.9	-3.5
Foltynewicz, Mike 3455	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	3.7	3.7	3.7	-1.7
Hand, Brad 2907	pi mr sp	sd nl	1.0	2.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Centeno, Juan 3635	ca	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers' Franchise Four

Shawn Plank January 14, 2016

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

Giants' Bumgarner, nearly perfect, tops players for Saturday, Sept. 12, rises to 9th in player rankings

Shawn Plank September 13, 2015

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0
10	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 8-0 win over the Padres. Bumgarner was perfect through 7 2/3 innings before allowing the only hit and only baserunner of the game.

Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Mike Moustakas of the Royals hit a grand slam and a three-run homer, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in nine runs, in the 14-6 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Corey Seager of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Seager’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Seager made his Major League debut Sept. 3 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,587th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Mike Moustakas.

Notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 137.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Ortiz (2HR 3-4 2R 4BI in the 10-4 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and maintains his rank of 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Ortiz trails 23rd-place player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995. He ranks third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0) and Albert Pujols (174.3). He has 4.5 Box-Toppers points this season. On Saturday, Ortiz became the 27th player to hit 500 career home runs.

Debuts—In addition to Seager, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

Athletics pitcher Sean Nolin (5.2IP 5H R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut May 23, 2013, and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,588th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Carlos Sanchez of the White Sox (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut July 13, 2014, and was playing in his 132nd career game. He is the 3,589th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/12
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    AL
    10.0
    Royals
    Mike Moustakas, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    9
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    9.0
    Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,5-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    7.1
    Mariners
    Roenis Elias (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    1
    2
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    7.0
    `Phillies
    Jerad Eickhoff
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    6.1
    Pirates
    Jeff Locke (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Corey Seager, SS
    4
    3
    4
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista, RF
    4
    3
    2
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Reds
    Aroldis Chapman (S,30)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Huston Street (S,35)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Ben Revere, LF
    6
    2
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mets
    Jeurys Familia (S,40)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.2
    Athletics
    Sean Nolin (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Carlos Sanchez, 2B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Pirates' Cole tops players for Sunday, Sept. 6; Astros' Keuchel rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank September 7, 2015

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in player rankings.

Also Sunday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to lead American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, rising to fourth place in overall player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 6.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
4	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	17.4
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Cole pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven, in the 7-1 win over the Cardinals.

Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season and rising to ninth in season player rankings. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing three runs and five hits, in the 8-5 win over the Twins.

Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 19.4 for the season. He rises to first place among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader David Price of the Blue Jays (19.1). Keuchel also rises to fourth place among all players in season player rankings.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 10-4 win over the Orioles.

Bautista earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to seventh place among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Miguel Montero of the Cubs hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Notable—David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 136.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Ortiz (HR 1-1 R 3BI in the 6-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and maintains his rank of 24th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Ortiz trails 23rd-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Ortiz has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debut—Nationals pitcher Felipe Rivero made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rivero (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K W in the 8-4 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 17 and was playing in his 35th career game. He is the 3,579th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Bautista and Montero 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/6
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    7
  

    AL
    7.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,17-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    3
    3
    2
    12
  

    
    6.0
    Indians
    Cody Anderson (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Blue Jays
    Jose Bautista, RF
    3
    3
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Cubs
    Miguel Montero, C
    3
    1
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    Nationals
    Felipe Rivero (MR) (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Reds
    Brandon Phillips, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Santiago Casilla (S,32)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Adam Eaton, CF
    5
    3
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Brian McCann, C
    3
    1
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Justin Bour, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Hector Santiago (W,8-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    6
    3
  

    
    1.1
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W,7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    0.0
    Dodgers
    Justin Turner, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    0
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Mets' Colon tops players for Monday, Aug. 31; Keuchel rises to 5th in player rankings, Archer rises to 10th

Shawn Plank September 5, 2015

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31.

Also Monday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to 10th place.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 31.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	19.1
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	18.1
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	17.7
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	17.0
8	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	16.4
9	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	16.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Colon pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies.

Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 140.1 for his career, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Monday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 21st-ranked player Zack Greinke (142.7 points).

Colon has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season. He becomes the 29th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Canha of the Athletics homered, scored twice and drove in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the 13-6 win over the Cubs.

This was Duvall’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Duvall made his Major League debut June 26, 2014, and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,573rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (7IP 6H 2R 10K W in the 8-3 win over the Mariners) rose to fifth place with 17.7 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind David Price of the Blue Jays (18.1 Box-Toppers points).
Rays pitcher Chris Archer (6IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 6-3 win over the Orioles) rose to 10th place with 16.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rises to 57th place among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 8K ND in the 8-5 win over the Nationals) now has 104.8 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0 points) on the “all-time” list and trails 56th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Lackey has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debut—In addition to Duvall, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Monday: Rockies pitcher Simon Castro earned his first career Player of the Game honor. Castro (2IP 0R 0H K W in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 5, 2013, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,574th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Canha and Duvall 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/31
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Mets
    Bartolo Colon (W,12-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Padres
    Tyson Ross (W,10-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    6.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,12-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    10
  

    
    6.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,16-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Chris Archer (W,12-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    4.1
    Marlins
    Chris Narveson (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    2
    0
    0
    2
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Athletics
    Mark Canha, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    4
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Dodgers
    Chris Hatcher (W,2-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Reds
    Adam Duvall, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Cardinals
    John Lackey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    1
    4
    8
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Simon Castro (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Jackie Bradley Jr., LF
    3
    2
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Best seasons

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Box-Toppers season streaks

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.