White Sox' Miguel Gonzalez tops players for Monday, April 24; Dbacks' Greinke tops NL players

Shawn Plank April 25, 2017

White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez 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 2017 season as of April 24:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0
2	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc al	4.0
6	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	4.0
7	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	4.0
8	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	3.7
9	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Gonzalez allowed one run and two hits over eight innings, striking out five, in the 12-1 win over the Royals. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, most of any of Monday’s top players and rises to 13th in season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke struck out 11 over six innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 7-6 win over the Padres. Greinke had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, same as overall Player of the Day Gonzalez, but Gonzalez ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched than Greinke, eight vs. six.

Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 158.8 for his career, 14th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 13th-ranked player John Smoltz (160.9).

National League Batter of the Day—Eric Thames of the Brewers hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-7 win over the Reds.

This was Thames’ first Box-Toppers point in more than four years. He last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 1, 2012, when he was with the Mariners. It is only his third career Player of the Game honor—he was also Player of the Game on July 10, 2011, with the Blue Jays and now has 4.0 career Box-Toppers points.

Thames spent 2014, 2015 and 2016 playing in Korea, winning the the Korea Baseball Organization Most Valuable Player award in 2015. He currently leads Major League Baseball in season runs (24) and home runs (10).

American League Batter of the Day—Adam Jones of the Orioles homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Rays.

Jones has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2017. He earned his first points in 2007 with the Mariners and has 51.0 career points, fifth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2014 with the Orioles when he had 11.5 points, third among AL batters. In 2016 with the Orioles, he barely kept the streak alive, earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Streak—Giants pitcher Matt Cain has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Cain (6IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Giants and now has 100.7 career Box-Toppers points, 11th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2010 with the Giants when he had 16.1 points, seventh among NL pitchers. During the last three seasons he barely kept the streak alive earning Player of the Game honors two or fewer times each season. In 2014, he had just 1.0 Box-Toppers point, in 2015, he had 2.0 and in 2016 he had 2.7.

Cain also becomes the 76th player since 1995 to reach 100 career Box-Toppers points (100.7). With his point Monday, he rises to 73rd on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list, passing four players—Johnny Cueto of the Giants (99.8), Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7).

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

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

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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/24
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    CHW 12, KC 1
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    0
    1
    5
  

    NL
    9.0
    ARI 7, SD 6
    Zack Greinke (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    
    6.0
    SF 2, LAD 1
    Matt Cain (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    5.0
    MIL 11, CIN 7
    Eric Thames, 1B-LF
    3
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    COL 8, WSH 4
    Carlos Estevez (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    3.0
    BAL 6, TB 3
    Adam Jones, CF
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 2, TOR 1
    Jesse Chavez (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    7
  

    
    2.0
    CHC 14, PIT 3
    Addison Russell, SS
    6
    3
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIN 3, TEX 2
    Brandon Kintzler (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    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	+/-
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	3.0	12.1	40.9	40.9	-6.1
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	2.7	12.4	81.7	158.8	-7.0
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	2.0	5.5	8.0	8.0	-1.5
Chavez, Jesse 2780	pi sp	ana al	2.0	2.0	21.1	22.1	2.0
Kintzler, Brandon 3150	pi cp	min al	2.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	2.0
Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	1.5	2.5	33.5	51.0	0.5
Thames, Eric 2909	1b lf	mil nl	1.5	1.5	2.5	4.0	1.5
Estevez, Carlos 3641	pi cp mr	col nl	1.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-4.0
Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	sf nl	1.0	3.7	27.4	100.7	-1.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Ervin Santana tops players for Saturday, April 15, rises to lead Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank April 16, 2017

Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to take the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 15:


	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	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
6	Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0
7	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	3.0
8	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	2.7
10	Garcia, Avisail 3256	rf	chi al	2.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia rises to fifth place on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list (since record keeping began in 1995), moving ahead of Alex Rodriguez.

Player of the Day—Santana pitched a one-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 6-0 win over the White Sox.

Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season and rising to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He passes previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (4.0).

Santana also now has 102.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 69th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes six players on the “all-time” list: Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Jason Schmidt (101.2), Mark Teixiera (101.3) and Tim Wakefield (101.4). Santana now trails 68th-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out four and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians hit a pair of three-run homers and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six, in the 13-6 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Cubs.

Marte earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among NL batters.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	187.7
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	187.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	157.1
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	149.5
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Santana (7.1IP 3H R BB 6K W in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 187.0 for his career. With the point, he passes former teammate Alex Rodriguez, who also has 187.0 career points, but Sabathia ranks ahead because he has more 2017 points—2.0 vs. 0.0.

Sabathia now trails fourth-ranked player on the “all-time” list, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (187.7), who only passed Sabathia on Friday. Sabathia had briefly been the highest-ranked active player in career Box-Toppers points until being passed by Kershaw Friday. He now only trails Kershaw by 0.7 points.

In two days, Rodriguez has moved from fourth place to sixth place on the “all-time” list after being passed by Kershaw on Friday and Sabathia on Saturday. He had been in fourth place since April 2, 2011.

Rankings—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Sale (7IP 3H R 3BB 12K W in the 2-1 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

For the first time this season, all players in the season top 10 list have earned Player of the Game honors more than once in 2017.

Debut—Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut May 29, 2013, and was playing in his 393rd career game. He is the 3,770th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Hernandez and Marte both had Box-Toppers game scores Saturday of +2.0, but Marte won NL Batter of the Day honors over Hernandez on a tiebreaker—he had one stolen base in his game and Hernandez had none.

Scoring—Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chatwood earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Marte 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/15
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    MIN 6, CHW 0
    Ervin Santana (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    14.0
    SEA 5, TEX 0
    James Paxton (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    11.0
    BOS 2, TB 1
    Chris Sale (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    12
  

    NL
    10.0
    COL 5, SF 0
    Tyler Chatwood (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    9.0
    CLE 13, DET 6
    Jose Ramirez, 2B
    4
    3
    4
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    `TOR 2, BAL 1
    Marco Estrada
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    8
  

    
    7.1
    NYY 3, STL 2
    CC Sabathia (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.1
    LAD 8, ARI 4
    Alex Wood (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 10, OAK 6
    Will Harris (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 4, SD 2
    Jim Johnson (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 5, NYM 4
    AJ Ramos (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    KC 3, LAA 2
    Joakim Soria (W,1-0; BS,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    BAT
    2.0
    PIT 8, CHC 7
    Starling Marte, CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 4, WSH 2
    Cesar Hernandez, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 7, MIL 5
    Zack Cozart, SS
    3
    2
    2
    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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7	8.7	41.5	102.0	0.7
Marte, Starling 3122	lf cf	pit nl	3.0	5.5	15.0	15.0	0.5
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	2.7	16.1	84.1	89.1	-10.7
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	8.0	34.5	187.0	-4.0
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	2.0	6.4	13.1	13.1	-2.4
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	1.7	8.7	15.4	18.4	-5.3
Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	cle al	1.5	3.0	6.5	6.5	0.0
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	1.0	12.0	41.1	44.1	-10.0
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	atl nl	1.0	5.0	16.0	22.7	-3.0
Ramos, A.J. 3210	pi cp	fla nl	1.0	3.0	13.0	13.0	-1.0
Cozart, Zack 3012	ss	cin nl	1.0	3.0	12.0	12.0	-1.0
Wood, Alex 3246	pi mr sp	lad nl	1.0	2.0	20.4	20.4	0.0
Soria, Joakim 2258	pi mr cp	kc al	1.0	2.0	10.7	46.7	0.0
Harris, Will 3093	pi mr cp	hou al	1.0	2.0	7.7	7.7	0.0
Hernandez, Cesar 3770	2b	phi nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

A Box-Toppers look back at 2016, with a preview of the coming 2017 season

Shawn Plank March 22, 2017

A compilation of player and team standings from the end of the 2016 season, featuring a plethora of posts to prep for the 2017 season, including preseason team standings and Box-Toppers 2017 playoff and World Series picks.

How 2017 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers

Shawn Plank January 18, 2017

Bagwell, Raines, Rodriguez elected to Hall of Fame; Schilling, Hoffman, Kent, Guerrero among the Box-Toppers leaders who were overlooked.

Rockies' Tyler Chatwood tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 28; White Sox' Gonzalez tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 29, 2016

Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood 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 Sept. 28:


	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.

Chatwood pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out five, in the 1-0 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—John Jaso of the Pirates hit for the cycle (single, double, triple and three-run homer) in the 8-4 win over the Cubs. Jaso went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gomez of the Rangers hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning, three-run homer in the 8-5 win over the Brewers. Gomez also doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice. This was the second straight day Gomez earned Player of the Game honors. He has 4.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 2.5 earned in the past two days.

Notable—Two batters with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 6-3, five-inning win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 144.9 for his career. He rises to 23rd among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing two players on the “all-time” list—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) and David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). (Though Ortiz and Cabrera are tied, Cabrera holds the tiebreaker and ranks higher because he has more 2016 Box-Toppers points—12 vs. 7.) Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7). Cabrera also rises from ninth to seventh place in career points among active players, second among active batters behind only Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3).

Cabrera also has the highest season Box-Toppers point total (12.0) of any of the 15 who earnedPlayer of the Game honors Wednesday. Cabrera ranks 31st among all players, fourth among AL batters, behind Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7), Mike Trout of the Angels (12.5) and Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5).

Mark Teixeira of the Yankees (GS 1-3 R 4BI in the 5-3 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 101.3 for his career. Teixeira rises to 70th place among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Jason Schmidt (101.2). He trails 69th-ranked player Tim Wakefield (101.4). Teixeria, who is retiring at season’s end, has 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.

Also notable—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres, who made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday, one of two players who earned Box-Toppers points two days in a row. (The other was AL Batter of the Day Carlos Gomez.)

Renfroe (HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 6-5 win over the Dodgers) now has 2.5 Box-Toppers points.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with their first career Player of the Game honors:

Dansby Swanson of the Braves (3B 2B 2-3 3R 2BI in the 12-2 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 17 and was playing in his 34th career game. He is the 3,751st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Angels pitcher A.J. Achter (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 8-6 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Sept. 3, 2014, and was playing in his 44th career game. He is the 3,752nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/28
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    COL 2, SF 0
    Tyler Chatwood (W,12-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    AL
    10.1
    CHW 1, TB 0
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    3
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    7.0
    PIT 8, CHC 4
    John Jaso, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `KC 5, MIN 2
    Jason Vargas
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    TEX 8, MIL 5
    Carlos Gomez, LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 6, LAD 5
    Hunter Renfroe, RF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ATL 12, PHI 2
    Dansby Swanson, SS
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 3, WSH 0 (6)
    Shelby Miller (W,3-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 12, HOU 4
    Leonys Martin, CF
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 6, CLE 3 (5)
    Miguel Cabrera, 1B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYY 5, BOS 3
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 3, TOR 2
    Hyun Soo Kim, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 5, MIA 2
    Jeurys Familia (S,50)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 8, OAK 6
    A.J. Achter (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 2, STL 1
    Raisel Iglesias (S,5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

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

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	12.0	16.7	65.3	144.9	7.3
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	9.1	15.8	37.9	37.9	2.4
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	8.0	16.0	16.0	16.0	0.0
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	7.0	7.0	16.7	16.7	7.0
Jaso, John 2705	1b	pit nl	5.5	5.5	10.5	16.5	5.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf	tex al	4.5	10.5	21.0	32.0	-1.5
Teixeira, Mark 1738	1b	nyy al	4.0	11.5	32.2	101.3	-3.5
Iglesias, Raisel 3467	pi sp cp	cin nl	3.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	0.3
Renfroe, Hunter 3749	rf	sd nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	12.0	38.1	38.1	-8.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	bal al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	1.0	2.0	35.5	47.2	0.0
Martin, Leonys 3053	cf	sea al	1.0	1.0	7.5	7.5	1.0
Achter, A.J. 3752	pi mr	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Swanson, Dansby 3751	ss	atl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

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?

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

Shawn Plank July 22, 2016

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.2
    PIT 5, MIL 3
    Francisco Liriano (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    3
    2
    0
    13
  

    AL
    9.0
    BOS 13, MIN 2
    Steven Wright (W,12-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    1
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    LAD 6, WSH 3
    Justin Turner, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    MIA 9, PHI 3
    Tom Koehler (W,7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    3
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    6.0
    BAL 4, NYY 1
    Chris Tillman (W,14-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    3.0
    TB 7, OAK 3
    Corey Dickerson, DH
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 6, SD 5
    Stephen Piscotty, PH-1B-RF
    2
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    COL 7, ATL 3
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    DET 2, CHW 1 (7)
    Shane Greene (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	7.0	11.7	40.8	42.8	2.3
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	bos al	6.7	10.4	11.4	11.4	3.0
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	6.0	20.9	61.4	101.2	-8.9
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	rf	col nl	4.5	16.0	44.7	57.7	-7.0
Piscotty, Stephen 3570	rf	stl nl	4.0	8.2	8.2	8.2	-0.2
Dickerson, Corey 3222	lf dh	tb al	3.5	6.5	15.5	15.5	0.5
Koehler, Tom 3159	pi sp	fla nl	3.0	7.0	15.0	15.0	-1.0
Turner, Justin 2865	3b 2b	lad nl	2.5	6.5	12.0	12.0	-1.5
Greene, Shane 3381	pi sp	det al	2.0	5.0	12.0	12.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Shawn Plank June 20, 2016

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 19:


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/19
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    ATL 6/NYM 0
    Julio Teheran (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    CHC 10/PIT 5
    Kyle Hendricks (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    12
  

    
    7.0
    `SF 5/TB 1
    Jake Peavy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    AL
    7.0
    `KC 2/DET 1
    Chris Young
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    BAL 11/TOR 6
    Matt Wieters, C
    5
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    LAA 2/OAK 0
    Jered Weaver (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    5.2
    HOU 6/CIN 0
    Mike Fiers (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    5.0
    BOS 2/SEA 1
    David Price (W,8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    8
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    5.0
    ARI 5/PHI 1
    Archie Bradley (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 7/NYY 4
    Max Kepler, RF
    4
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIA 3/COL 0
    Tom Koehler (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    6
    6
  

    
    4.0
    SD 6/DC 3
    Fernando Rodney (S,14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    `LAD 2/MIL 1
    Kenta Maeda
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    3.0
    `CLE 3/CHW 2
    Cody Allen
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 5/STL 4
    Jurickson Profar, PH
    1
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Price, David 2593	pi sp	bos al	6.7	27.8	83.8	100.5	-14.4
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	6.0	7.0	25.0	30.7	5.0
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	chi nl	5.0	14.7	19.7	19.7	-4.7
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	5.0	12.7	40.8	40.8	-2.7
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	4.0	9.0	37.1	140.8	-1.0
Allen, Cody 3265	pi mr	cle al	4.0	8.0	13.0	13.0	0.0
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Young, Chris R. 1933	pi sp	kc al	3.7	11.7	27.8	77.8	-4.3
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp	sd nl	3.0	4.0	21.0	33.0	2.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	2.0	9.0	23.1	23.1	-5.0
Koehler, Tom 3159	pi sp	fla nl	2.0	6.0	14.0	14.0	-2.0
Bradley, Archie 3438	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	1.0	8.7	63.3	124.1	-6.7
Kepler, Max 3664	rf	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Profar, Jurickson 3665	ph	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Shawn Plank June 9, 2016

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 8:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	8.4
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
10	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	8.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher John Lackey and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer both rose into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner became the 71st player since 1995 with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Walker pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher John Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Phillies.

Lackey earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season and rising to eighth in season player rankings. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Lackey also rises to 43rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Lackey now has 116.2 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9), Angels pitcher Tim Lincecum (115.0) and Torii Hunter (115.9). Lackey now trails 42nd-ranked player Todd Helton (116.4).

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 2-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 12-7 win over the Reds.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Scherzer (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 11-4 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also rises to 47th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, Scherzer has 114.0 for his career and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Scherzer now trails 46th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).

Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner becomes the 71st player with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Bumgarner (6IP 4H R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.7 for his career. He rises to 68th place among all players since 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Bumgarner now trails 67th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9).

Bumgarner also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 12th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lackey earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Moss each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/8
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    SEA 5/CLE 0
    Taijuan Walker (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    NL
    12.0
    CHC 8/PHI 1
    John Lackey (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.2
    MIL 4/OAK 0
    Chase Anderson (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    8.1
    BAL 4/KC 0
    Chris Tillman (W,8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    8
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    7.0
    DC 11/CHW 4
    Max Scherzer (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    ATL 4/SD 2
    Julio Teheran (W,2-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    5.0
    TOR 7/DET 2
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    COL 1/LAD 0
    Chris Rusin (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 12/LAA 6
    Chris Parmelee, 1B
    5
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `SF 2/BOS 1
    Madison Bumgarner
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    TB 6/ARI 3
    Corey Dickerson, LF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIN 7/MIA 5
    Trevor Plouffe, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    STL 12/CIN 7
    Brandon Moss, LF-1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 6/PIT 5
    Michael Conforto, LF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    HOU 3/TEX 1
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    3
    0
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	8.4	18.1	37.8	116.2	-1.3
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	8.0	29.0	93.6	114.0	-13.0
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	8.0	25.0	95.0	100.7	-9.0
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	6.0	13.0	22.5	22.5	-1.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	5.5	15.4	35.4	35.4	-4.4
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	5.0	9.7	38.8	40.8	0.3
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	5.0	9.0	14.0	14.0	1.0
Conforto, Michael 3622	lf	nym nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Walker, Taijuan 3453	pi sp	sea al	4.7	18.4	18.4	18.4	-9.0
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	3.0	10.7	38.8	38.8	-4.7
Rusin, Chris 3236	pi sp	col nl	2.7	3.7	5.7	5.7	1.7
Plouffe, Trevor 2869	3b	min al	2.5	5.5	21.5	21.5	-0.5
Moss, Brandon 2520	rf lf	stl nl	1.5	6.5	22.5	24.5	-3.5
Dickerson, Corey 3222	lf	tb al	1.0	4.0	13.0	13.0	-2.0
Parmelee, Chris 2996	1b	nyy al	1.0	3.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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?

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

Shawn Plank May 15, 2016

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 15:


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santiago earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia and Bruce each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/15
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    AL
    10.0
    Angels
    Hector Santiago (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    11
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Athletics
    Danny Valencia, 3B
    5
    3
    3
    5
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Twins
    Tyler Duffey (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    5.1
    `Brewers
    Zach Davies
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    Red Sox
    Ryan Hanigan, C
    4
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `Royals
    Danny Duffy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Ian Desmond, CF
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Reds
    Jay Bruce, RF
    3
    3
    3
    0
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Carlos Beltran, DH
    3
    2
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rockies
    Ryan Raburn, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    Tigers
    Warwick Saupold (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    2.0
    Cardinals
    Yadier Molina, PH-C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Giants
    Hunter Strickland (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

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

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

How 2016 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers

Shawn Plank January 7, 2016

Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza elected to Hall; Curt Schilling, Mike Mussina, Jim Edmonds among players snubbed in voting.

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

Shawn Plank October 1, 2015

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

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/30
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Cubs
    Jon Lester (W,11-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    AL
    11.0
    Orioles
    Kevin Gausman (W,4-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Twins
    Kyle Gibson (W,11-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    8.0
    Cardinals
    Tyler Lyons (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    7.0
    Blue Jays
    Marcus Stroman (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Brewers
    Zach Davies (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Rays
    Drew Smyly (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Giants
    Mike Leake (W,11-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    1
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Indians
    Jose Ramirez, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Cervelli, C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Phillies
    Freddy Galvis, SS
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Red Sox
    Travis Shaw, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Luis Valbuena, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Wade Davis (S,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Braves
    Arodys Vizcaino (S,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Athletics
    Eric Sogard, 2B
    4
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Dbacks
    David Peralta, LF
    2
    0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Shawn Plank July 31, 2015

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/30
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Indians
    Carlos Carrasco (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    NL
    8.0
    Reds
    Brandon Phillips, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Carpenter, 3B-1B
    5
    4
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    6.2
    `Astros
    Scott Kazmir
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    3
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Padres
    Derek Norris, C
    5
    2
    5
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Twins
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Yoenis Cespedes, LF
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Josh Hamilton, DH
    4
    1
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Red Sox
    Steven Wright (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    
    3.0
    `Phillies
    Elvis Araujo (H,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Dioner Navarro, C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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

Shawn Plank May 8, 2015

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/7
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Dodgers
    Yasmani Grandal   C
    4
    3
    4
    8
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    9.2
    Cardinals
    John Lackey (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Dbacks
    Rubby De La Rosa (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    5.1
    Tigers
    Joakim Soria (S, 11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.1
    `Astros
    Collin McHugh
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    3.1
    Rangers
    Alex Claudio (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer   1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Marlins
    Dan Haren   P
    3
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Twins
    Glen Perkins (S, 10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Andrew McCutchen   CF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Alex Rodriguez   DH
    3
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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

Shawn Plank May 4, 2015

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

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

Top 10 players

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Lincecum earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gattis and Upton each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/3
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Giants
    Tim Lincecum (W, 2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    AL
    7.2
    Athletics
    Sonny Gray (W, 4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    2
    0
    0
    7
    10
  

    
    7.0
    Braves
    Julio Teheran (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    5.2
    Twins
    Ryan Pressly (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Astros
    Evan Gattis   DH
    4
    3
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `Dodgers
    Brett Anderson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.1
    Nationals
    Doug Fister (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Indians
    Jason Kipnis   2B
    5
    3
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Padres
    Justin Upton   LF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Aramis Ramirez   3B
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Orioles
    Zach Britton (S, 5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Yankees
    Jacoby Ellsbury   CF
    4
    2
    4
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Tigers
    Miguel Cabrera   1B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Cardinals
    Miguel Socolovich (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Phillies
    Ryan Howard   1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Box-Toppers' top 2 ‘all-time' players—Johnson & Martinez—among 4 new Hall inductees

Shawn Plank January 6, 2015

Pitchers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez—number one and number two respectively in Box-Toppers points (since record keeping began in 1995)—will be joined in July’s induction ceremony by pitcher John Smoltz and second baseman Craig Biggio.

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

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

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.