A look at Box-Toppers 100 top-ranked players for 2016 at the All-Star break. Blue Jays and top-ranked Cubs have most representatives on the list.
Read MoreNationals' Max Scherzer ‘most worthy but unchosen' player for 2016 All-Star Game
A look at the All-Star rosters based on Box-Toppers points. Which players were worthy but unchosen? Which players made it but probably shouldn't have?
Read MoreTwins' Gibson tops players for Tuesday, June 28; Kluber, Hamels rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings
Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 28:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
Also Tuesday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings (first among American League pitchers) and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rises to seventh place. Plus, Matt Carpenter took the lead Tuesday in season Box-Toppers points among National League batters.
Player of the Day—Gibson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one walk, striking out four, in the 7-2, 15-inning win over the Reds. Lester did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because even though the Cubs led when he exited, the Indians later tied the game before the Cubs went ahead with the winning runs in the 15th inning.
Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 130.8 for his career, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 28th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Lester has 9.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 11th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a three-run homer and a double and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five total runs, in the 7-1 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-5 win over the Brewers.
Gonzalez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the 2016 season Tuesday. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Padres and has 67.6 career points, third among active NL first basemen (behind Matt Holliday of the Cardinals, 97.8 and Ryan Howard of the Phillies, 96.7). Gonzalez’s best season was 2010 with the Padres when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL batters. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers.
Rankings—Two players rise in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday, becoming the eighth and ninth players this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points:
- Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (8IP 3H 2R BB 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Braves) rises to fourth place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. He also takes the Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers, passing previous leader, Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).
- Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (7IP 6H 0R BB 7K W in the 7-1 win over the Yankees) rises to seventh place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. Hamels also now has 136.6 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 26th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (136.9). It is the 11th straight season Hamels has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In fact, Hamels has had 10 or more points each season since he made his Box-Toppers debut in 2006.
Notable—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals took the season lead in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Carpenter (HR 2-3 2R 2BI n the 8-4 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season. He passes Eugenio Suarez of the Reds (7.0) for the lead among NL batters. Carpenter ranks 23rd among all players.
Debut—Hyun Soo Kim of the Orioles made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Kim (HR 2B 2-3 2R 3BI in the 11-7 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his 37th career game. He is the 3,671st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Gibson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Correa and Gonzalez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/28 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | MIN 4/CHW 0 | Kyle Gibson (W,1-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 7.0 | CLE 5/ATL 3 | Corey Kluber (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | TEX 7/NYY 1 | Cole Hamels (W,9-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| NL | 5.2 | `CHC 7/CIN 2 | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | HOU 7/LAA 1 | Carlos Correa, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 8/TB 2 | Travis Shaw, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | BAL 11/SD 7 | Hyun Soo Kim, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | OAK 13/SF 11 | Stephen Vogt, C-1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | LAD 6/MIL 5 | Adrian Gonzalez, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | STL 8/KC 4 | Matt Carpenter, 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 14/COL 9 | Russell Martin, C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | DET 7/MIA 5 | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SEA 5/PIT 2 | Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | DC 5/NYM 0 | Bryce Harper, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 4/ARI 3 | Andres Blanco, 2B | 2 | 1 | 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 | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 | 24.2 | 55.0 | 55.0 | -2.6 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 | 25.8 | 77.4 | 136.6 | -5.0 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.7 | 21.7 | 67.9 | 130.8 | -2.3 |
| Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 3b 1b 2b | stl nl | 7.5 | 13.0 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 2.0 |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | tor al | 7.0 | 12.0 | 28.5 | 49.5 | 2.0 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 6.7 | 13.9 | 13.9 | 13.9 | -0.5 |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 5.5 | 12.0 | 41.0 | 72.9 | -1.0 |
| Castellanos, Nick 3349 | 3b | det al | 4.0 | 10.2 | 12.2 | 12.2 | -2.2 |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 1b 3b | bos al | 3.5 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -0.7 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 3.0 | 12.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 | -6.0 |
| Blanco, Andres 2980 | ss 3b 2b | phi nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | min al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -6.0 |
| Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 | 1b | lad nl | 1.5 | 5.5 | 32.2 | 68.1 | -2.5 |
| Vogt, Stephen 3503 | ca 1b | oak al | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | -1.5 |
| Kim, Hyun Soo 3671 | lf | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Monday, June 20, extends overwhelming dominance in Box-Toppers player rankings
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Player of the Day, extending his overwhelming dominance in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 20:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 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 |
Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Nationals.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.0 for the season. It is the sixth straight season Kershaw has had 20 or more Box-Toppers points. He now has twice as many Box-Toppers points this season than all but two players—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (10.7).
Kershaw’s 20.0 Box-Toppers points on June 20, less than halfway into the season, would have put him in eighth place among all players in 2015—at the end of the season.
Kershaw seems to be on track to earn more than 40.0 Box-Toppers points this season. Randy Johnson holds the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) with 33.5. Johnson did it twice—in 2000 and 2002 with the Diamondbacks.
At this point in the 2000 season, Johnson had 20.7 Box-Toppers points, meaning Kershaw is slightly behind his pace. But at this point in the 2002 season, Johnson had only 11.7 points, putting Kershaw well ahead of that pace.
In Kershaw’s best season, 2014, he had 31.5 Box-Toppers points, tied for the fourth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (since 1995). And at this point in the 2014 season, Kershaw had only 10.7 Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw also now has 179.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fifth-place player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0). (See homepage for updated rankings of top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.)
Kershaw is now 99.5 Box-Toppers points behind “all-time” leader Johnson’s career mark of 278.8 Box-Toppers points. Since the start of the 2013 season—a span of three and a half seasons—Kershaw has earned 98.9 points, meaning at his current torrid pace, Kershaw could catch Johnson’s career points mark by the end of the 2019 season, when he will be 31 years old.
(It should be noted that Johnson began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. If his entire career were tracked, Johnson would likely have many more Box-Toppers points. Rough Box-Toppers projections puts his estimated career total at 380—more than 100 more than his total from 1995 to 2009.)
American League Player of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a two-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-7 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Carlos Correa.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Correa earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/20 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | LAD 4/DC 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W,11-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 4.2 | PIT 1/SF 0 | Jeff Locke (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| AL | 4.0 | HOU 10/LAA 7 | Carlos Correa, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CLE 7/TB 4 | Bryan Shaw (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | ARI 3/PHI 1 | Shelby Miller (W,2-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | `CHW 3/BOS 1 | Miguel Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 5/MIA 3 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | DET 8/SEA 7 | Justin Upton, LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.2 | STL 3/CHC 2 | Jaime Garcia (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 0.0 | TEX 4/BAL 3 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 | 45.7 | 145.8 | 179.3 | -5.7 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 5.2 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | -2.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 14.4 | 32.1 | 40.8 | -4.4 |
| Locke, Jeff 3133 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.7 | 9.7 | 21.1 | 21.1 | -2.3 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 11.2 | 14.2 | 3.7 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 3.0 | 12.0 | 38.9 | 47.4 | -6.0 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 27.2 | 50.4 | -1.0 |
| Shaw, Bryan 2995 | pi mr | cle al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | chi al | 2.7 | 9.4 | 31.5 | 31.5 | -4.0 |
| Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 11.0 | 37.1 | 37.1 | -9.0 |
Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 29, extends lead in season Box-Toppers points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and extends his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 29:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 |
Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 4-2 win over the Mets. Kershaw picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Mets tied the game after he exited.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.0 for the season. He holds a dominating lead in player rankings, 5.0 points ahead of second-place player, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (9.0).
Kershaw also has 173.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails sixth-ranked player, Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out seven over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Wilson Ramos of the Nationals homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 13th inning in the 8-6 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Hill (6.1IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (8.7).
Streak—Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Pence (3-2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 8-3 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 49.7 career points, 10th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL outfielders. In 2015, Pence had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.
Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey rises to 46th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Lackey (7IP 4H R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 113.5 for his career. Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Lackey now ranks 46th and with his point Sunday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Lackey now trails 45th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Lackey has 5.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 11th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramos and Correa each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/29 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.2 | `LAD 4/NYM 2 | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | DC 10/STL 2 | Wilson Ramos, C | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.1 | ARI 6/SD 3 | Archie Bradley (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | MIA 7/ATL 3 | Derek Dietrich, 2B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| AL | 5.0 | MIN 5/SEA 4 | Ricky Nolasco (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4.0 | MIL 5/CIN 4 | Jonathan Villar, SS | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | HOU 8/LAA 6 | Carlos Correa, SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | OAK 4/DET 2 | Rich Hill (W,8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | SF 8/COL 3 | Hunter Pence, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 7/PHI 2 | John Lackey (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 2/TB 1 | Nathan Eovaldi (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 5/TOR 3 | Koji Uehara (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | KC 5/CHW 4 | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `BAL 6/CLE 4 | Darren O'Day | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | TEX 6/PIT 2 | Mitch Moreland, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 | 39.7 | 139.8 | 173.3 | -11.7 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 32.1 | 4.4 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.7 | 15.4 | 35.1 | 113.5 | -4.0 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.7 | 7.7 | 24.8 | 24.8 | 3.7 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 4.0 | 12.2 | 18.2 | 18.2 | -4.2 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | min al | 3.7 | 5.7 | 26.4 | 79.5 | 1.7 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 2.5 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -4.7 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi mr cp | bos al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 24.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| O’Day, Darren 2577 | pi mr | bal al | 2.0 | 3.7 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 0.3 |
| Ramos, Wilson 2904 | ca | dc nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 0.5 |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b | tex al | 1.0 | 7.2 | 15.2 | 16.2 | -5.2 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 22.0 | 49.7 | -1.0 |
| Dietrich, Derek 3199 | 2b | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Bradley, Archie 3438 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
Postseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 2 of 6 major honors
Box-Toppers pitching leaders Jake Arrieta and Dallas Keuchel won Cy Young Awards. But Box-Toppers leaders in four other award categories did not win awards.
Read MoreRookies with most Box-Toppers points fail to even receive votes in top rookie balloting
Giants pitcher Chris Heston led NL rookies in Box-Toppers points and Indians pitcher Carlos Rodon led AL rookies. Both were shut out of Rookie of the Year voting, losing to Kris Bryant (NL) and Carlos Correa (AL).
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders win only 2 of 9 Players Choice Awards
Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays wins Players Choice top player award, though Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Year.
Read MoreBlue Jays' Tulowitzki tops players in Sunday, Oct. 11's ALDS playoff games
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s two American League Division Series playoff games.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is top player in the other ALDS game.
ALDS Game 3: Blue Jays 5, Rangers 1
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four total runs.
During the regular season, Tulowitzki had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 133rd among all players, 28th among AL batters and third among AL shortstops, behind Eduardo Escobar of the Twins (7.7) and Carlos Correa of the Astros (7.2). Tulowitzkiled all National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 (11.6).
The Rangers lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Texas.
ALDS Game 3: Astros 4, Royals 2
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Keuchel had 21.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. It is the second time this postseason Keuchel has earned Player of the Game honors—he was also top player in the Astros’ Oct. 6 NL Wild Card playoff game win against the Yankees.
The Astros lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Houston.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/11 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Troy Tulowitzki, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 4.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Coming Monday: League Division Series playoff games resume:
AL Division Series Game 4, Astros lead Royals, 2-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Astros—Lance McCullers, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 120th among all players, 46th among AL pitchers.
AL Division Series Game 4, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 2-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Blue Jays—R.A. Dickey, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 180th among all players, 64th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Derek Holland, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 369th among all players, 106th among AL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 3, Cardinals at Cubs, series tied, 1-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Cardinals—Michael Wacha, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 53rd among all players, 23rd among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 29.1 Box-Toppers points, first among all players, first among NL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 3, Dodgers at Mets, series tied, 1-1
The pitching matchup Monday:
Dodgers—Brett Anderson, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 147th among all players, 46th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Friday, Oct. 2, secures Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, officially and mathematically securing Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors.
Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to 10th in player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Oct. 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 29.1 |
| 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 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 18.8 |
Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 6-1 win over the Brewers.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 29.1 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (24.7), by 4.4 Box-Toppers points. So even in the off-chance that Kershaw plays and earns Player of the Day honors in both of the final two games of the season, he would only earn 4.0 Box-Toppers points, not enough to catch Arrieta. While there hasn’t been much doubt since his last start (in which he earned Player of the Day) on Sunday that Arrieta would end the season leading in Box-Toppers points, his Friday start removed all doubt.
Arrieta’s 29.1 Box-Toppers points this season is the eighth-highest single-season total since record keeping began in 1995. Only three pitchers have earned more points in a single season than Arrieta in 21 seasons—Randy Johnson (who did it four times), Pedro Martinez (who did it twice) and Clayton Kershaw (who earned 31.5 points last season, tied for the fourth-most points in a single season). (See the Best seasons chart.)
Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta Friday rose to eighth place on the list (29.1 Box-Toppers points):| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Year | BTP |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2000 | 33.7 |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 33.7 |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2000 | 33.5 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 1999 | 31.5 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2014 | 31.5 |
| 6 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 1999 | 31.4 |
| 7 | Randy Johnson | Dbacks | pi sp | 2001 | 29.4 |
| 8 | *Jake Arrieta | Cubs | pi sp | 2015 | 29.1 |
| 9 | Pedro Martinez | Red Sox | pi sp | 2002 | 28.8 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | Dbacks | pi sp | 2002 | 28.4 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1997 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2004 | 26.8 |
| 13 | Pedro Martinez | Expos | pi sp | 1997 | 26.7 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | Indians/Brewers | pi sp | 2008 | 26.7 |
| 15 | Randy Johnson | Mariners/Astros | pi sp | 1998 | 26.4 |
| 16 | John Smoltz | Braves | pi sp | 1996 | 26.1 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | pi sp | 2011 | 26.1 |
| 18 | Roger Clemens | Blue Jays | pi sp | 1998 | 25.8 |
| 18 | Corey Kluber | Indians | pi sp | 2014 | 25.8 |
| 20 | Johan Santana | Twins | pi sp | 2006 | 25.7 |
| 21 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | pi sp | 2011 | 25.4 |
| * Current season | |||||
Arrieta nearly doubled his Box-Toppers point total from 2014, when he had 14.7 points with the Cubs and ranked eighth among National League pitchers. In Arrieta’s previous seasons, he had fewer than 10 points each season
- 2010—3.0 with the Orioles
- 2011—2.0 with the Orioles
- 2012—6.0 with the Orioles
- 2013—5.0 with the Orioles and Cubs
Arrieta has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 217th among all players since 1995. He ranks 25th among active NL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Tigers.
Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 18.8 for the season. He rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings and fourth among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in four runs, in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.
Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to third place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
McCutchen (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 6-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He becomes the 45th player—and ninth batter—this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 38th among all players. He trails two NL batters—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5) and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (10.9).
Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel started Friday but did not earn Player of the Game honors and so did not extend his Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers. However, with only two days left in the season and neither of the pitchers contending for the lead among AL pitchers scheduled to start, Keuchel appears to have wrapped up Box-Toppers AL Player of the Year honors.
Keuchel (6IP 6H 2R 3K W in the 21-5 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Carlos Correa (HR 3B 3-4 4R 4BI), who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.
Keuchel has 21.4 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. The only two pitchers who could catch him are not scheduled to start in the final two days of the season:
- David Price of the Blue Jays, 21.1 Box-Toppers points.
- Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, 19.4 Box-Toppers points.
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Correa and Santana each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,22-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa, SS | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 6.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,13-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W,11-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Kyle Kendrick (W,7-13) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.1 | `Royals | Chris Young | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Danny Valencia, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Russell Martin, C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Joe Smith (S,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dodgers | Justin Turner, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Nationals' Strasburg tops players for Saturday, Sept. 26; Cubs' Arrieta moves closer to winning Box-Toppers Player of the Year
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 26.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 20.4 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 19.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 18.0 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 17.8 |
Meanwhile, Cubs’ pitcher Jake Arrieta’s chances for winning the Box-Toppers Player of the Year crown were further solidified when perhaps the only player with a chance to catch him—Blue Jays pitcher David Price—did not earn Box-Toppers points Saturday.
Player of the Day—Strasburg struck out 13 over eight innings, allowing one runs and three hits, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Phillies. Strasburg did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied, 1-1.
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks 21st among all players and 11th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jarrett Parker of the Giants hit three home runs, including a grand slam, driving in seven total runs, in the 14-10 win over the Athletics.
This was Parker’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Parker made his Major League debut June 13 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,600th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Carlos Correa.
Rankings—Blue Jays pitcher David Price, the only player with a remote chance of catching Box-Toppers points leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, did not earn Box-Toppers points, meaning Arrieta will most likely win the crown as Box-Toppers Player of the Year.
Price entered the game ranked third in Box-Toppers points with 21.1, 4.0 points behind Arrieta (25.1). Price needed to win overall Player of the Day in what would likely be his final two starts to match Arrieta’s total of 25.1. Price would have ranked ahead of Arrieta on a tiebreaker.
Arrieta already leads second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) by 2.4 points. Since Kershaw likely only has one start remaining this season, he can only earn 2.0 more points this season and with 24.7, would still be short of Arrieta.
Arrieta starts Sunday against the Pirates. While he’s already got the Box-Toppers crown pretty well wrapped up now, earning overall Player of the Day honors would virtually seal it for him.
Two players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Saturday, but neither earned Box-Toppers points:
- Price (5IP 6H 5R 6K W in the 10-8 win over the Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5. Player of the Game was Jose Bautista (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI, Box-Toppers game score +5).
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, ranked seventh in Box-Toppers points (19.4), third among AL pitchers, did not earn Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (6IP 8H 2R 6K ND in the 3-2 loss to the Angels) had a Box-Toppers game score of −2. Player of the Game was Angels middle reliever Trevor Gott (1IP 0R 0H 2K ND, Box-Toppers game score of +3).
Notable—Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday had notable achievements:
- Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano had the highest season Box-Toppers point total of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. Liriano (7.2IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 4-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.9 for the season. He ranks 16th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
- Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays became the 42nd player—and seventh batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Bautista (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI in the 10-8 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 41st among all players and fourth among AL batters.
Debut—In addition to Parker, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Angels pitcher Trevor Gott (1IP 0R 0H 2K ND in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 44th career game. He is the 3,601st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Correa earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Parker earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/26 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | `Nationals | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| 9.2 | Pirates | Francisco Liriano (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 8.0 | Giants | Jarrett Parker, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | Padres | Robbie Erlin (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,10-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Bautista, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Mets | Lucas Duda, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Justin Miller (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Andrew Miller (S,36) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Angels | Trevor Gott (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Jose Ramirez, 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Justin Bour, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Mookie Betts, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mariners' Montgomery tops players for Tuesday, June 23; Archer, Price rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings
Mariners pitcher Mike Montgomery is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, two pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season earned Player of the Game honors—Rays pitcher Chris Archer and Tigers pitcher David Price.
Player of the Day—Montgomery pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout, striking out 10, in the 7-0 win over the Royals.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
This was Montgomery’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Montgomery made his Major League debut June 2 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,513th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Dodgers. Hammel picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he left the game with a scoreless tie. The Cubs won on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning.
National League Batter of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a three-run homer, a double and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-6 win over the Yankees. This was the second straight day Franco earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was NL Player of the Day on Monday, June 22.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-3 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Two pitchers rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
- Chris Archer of the Rays rose from fourth to third place. Archer (8IP 3H 2R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (13.4 Box-Toppers points).
- David Price of the Tigers rose from sixth to fifth place. Price (6.2IP 9H R 7K W in the 7-3 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.1 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Debut—Xavier Scruggs of the Cardinals also made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Scruggs (2B 3-4 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2014, and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,514th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Montgomery earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hammel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Franco and Correa each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/23 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Mariners | Mike Montgomery (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| NL | 9.2 | `Cubs | Jason Hammel | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 8.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W, 9-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Phillies | Maikel Franco 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | Brewers | Will Smith (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa SS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Nolan Arenado 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 24) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Phegley C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Orioles | David Lough CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Brandon Maurer (W, 5-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Tigers | David Price (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Xavier Scruggs 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | White Sox | Jake Petricka (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Athletics' Chavez tops players for Wednesday, June 17; Mariners' Hernandez extends lead in Box-Toppers player rankings
Athletics pitcher Jesse Chavez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings and Prince Fielder of the Rangers extended his lead in Box-Toppers points among American League batters.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 17.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 11.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 6 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 10.1 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
Player of the Day—Chavez struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 16-2 win over the Padres.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six, in the 17-0 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Todd Frazier of the Reds hit two home runs, including a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 13th inning, in the 8-4 win over the Tigers.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros homered and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 8-4 win over the Rockies. This was Correa’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Correa made his Major League debut June 8 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,506th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Two Box-Toppers category leaders earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
- Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, overall Box-Toppers points leader, was Player of the Game in the 2-0 win over the Giants (8IP 0R 4H 5K W). Hernandez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He has led all players in Box-Toppers points all but six days this season. Hernandez now has 156.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranking 12th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9).
- Prince Fielder of the Rangers, leader in Box-Toppers points among AL batters, was Player of the Game in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers (HR 2B 2-4 2R BI). Fielder earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season. Fielder is baseball’s top-ranked batter and ranks 14th among all players.
Notable—Tigers pitcher David Price, sixth in season player rankings, started on Wednesday but did not earn Player of the Game honors. Price (5IP 4H 2R 6K ND in the 8-4 loss to the Reds) had a Box-Toppers game score of 2. Todd Frazier of the Reds was Player of the Game (and NL Batter of the Day) with a Box-Toppers game score of 3. Price has 10.1 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debut—Rays pitcher Matt Andriese also made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Andriese (4IP 0R 2H W in the 5-0 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,505th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Chavez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wada earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Frazier and Correa 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.
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
| 6/17 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Athletics | Jesse Chavez (W, 3-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 10.2 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 7.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | Cubs | Tsuyoshi Wada (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 5.2 | Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison (W, 6-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Twins | Tommy Milone (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Pirates | Jeff Locke (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Braves | Alex Wood | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Matt Andriese (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Prince Fielder 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Orioles | Chris Parmelee RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Dbacks | Yasmany Tomas RF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||