Yankees' Micheal Pineda tops players for Monday, April 10; Giants' Moore tops NL players

Shawn Plank April 11, 2017

Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Pineda struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Pineda retired the first 20 Rays batters.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
2	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.7
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
5	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	2.0
6	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
7	Finnegan, Brandon 3535	pi sp	cin nl	2.0
8	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf	tex al	2.0
9	Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	2.0
10	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Pineda receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season and rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Matt Moore allowed one run and three hits over eight innings, striking out five, in the 4-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

National League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Nationals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-6 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Verlander (7IP 3H R 2BB 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

Verlander now has 142.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0).

Streaks—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers (6IP 4H R BB 7K ND). Lester earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and has 144.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 24th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9). Lester also rises to eighth among active players in career Box-Toppers points. Lester’s best season was 2010 with the Red Sox when he led all players with 23.4 points. In 2016, he was fourth among all players with 22.1.
Jay Bruce of the Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 4-3 win over the Phillies (2HR 2-3 3R 3BI). Bruce earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Reds and has 59.8 career Box-Toppers points, 10th among active NL batters. His best season was 2010 with the Reds when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, third among active NL batters. In 2016, he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among NL batters.

Debut—Reds pitcher Cody Reed made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Reed (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND in the 7-1 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut June 18, 2016, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,765th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Pineda earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Drew 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.

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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    4/10
    Score
    Game
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.2
    NYY 8, TB 1
    Michael Pineda (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    
    9.0
    SEA 6, HOU 0
    James Paxton (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    NL
    8.0
    SF 4, ARI 1
    Matt Moore (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    8.0
    OAK 2, KC 0
    Jharel Cotton (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    7.0
    `CIN 7, PIT 1
    Cody Reed
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    6.0
    WSH 14, STL 6
    Stephen Drew, SS
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `CHC 3, LAD 2
    Jon Lester
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    NYM 4, PHI 3
    Jay Bruce, RF
    3
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `DET 2, BOS 1
    Justin Verlander
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    SD 5, COL 3
    Wil Myers, 1B
    4
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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 Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	2.7	17.4	62.6	142.0	-12.0
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	8.0	24.4	36.1	-4.0
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	1.7	14.1	37.6	39.6	-10.7
Drew, Stephen 2210	ss 2b	dc nl	1.5	1.5	17.5	37.5	1.5
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	1.0	23.1	68.6	144.2	-21.1
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	1.0	10.7	19.2	19.2	-8.7
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	1.0	9.5	26.7	59.8	-7.5
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	1.0	5.4	12.1	12.1	-3.4
Cotton, Jharel 3733	pi sp	oak al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Reed, Cody 3765	pi mr	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

How baseball stars are trending: Kershaw remains strong over past half decade—who is rising & who is declining

Shawn Plank March 7, 2017

Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer hold dominant lead among players in Box-Toppers points over last several years. Using longer term measure, Chris Sale rises to lead AL pitchers, Yoenis Cespedes rises to lead NL batters.

Box-Toppers top pitchers by time frame

Shawn Plank February 13, 2017

Randy Johnson leads pitchers in career Box-Toppers points. CC Sabathia and Clayton Kershaw lead active pitchers in points.

Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team in 2016

Shawn Plank January 16, 2017

3 of 4 major postseason award winners are among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers or batters on their teams. The exception: AL Cy Young Rick Porcello, who ranks 6th among Red Sox players.

Box-Toppers 2011-16 All-Star teams

Shawn Plank January 7, 2017

Four players appear on Box-Toppers All-Star teams over all three major time periods (2016, 2015-16, 2011-16)—Kershaw, Scherzer, Hamels and Trout.

Box-Toppers leader Max Scherzer wins NL Cy Young Award; wins leader Porcello wins AL Cy Young despite low Box-Toppers ranking

Shawn Plank November 17, 2016

Box-Toppers points leader Max Scherzer of the Nationals wins the NL Cy Young Award. But Rick Porcello of the Red Sox, who ranked just 31st among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, win the AL Cy Young.

Box-Toppers rookie, pitching leaders among finalists for top postseason awards, but batting leaders excluded from MVP finalists

Shawn Plank November 14, 2016

Rookie of the Year finlists Fulmer, Maeda lead newcomers in Box-Toppers points. Cy Young finalists Scherzer, Kluber lead pitchers in points. But Box-Toppers batting leaders Arenado, Machado not among MVP finalists.

Blue Jays' Estrada, Indians' Miller top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 6

Shawn Plank October 7, 2016

Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays and Andrew Miller of the Indians are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.

Estrada allowed one run over 8 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out six, in the 10-1 win over the Rangers. The Blue Jays now lead the Rangers 1-0 in the best-of-five series.

Estrada had 11.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 37th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.

Estrada had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +8.1. Blue Jays’ top batter in the game was third baseman Josh Donaldson (two doubles, 4-4 2R 2BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0. Rangers starting pitcher Cole Hamels had a bad day (3.1IP 6H 7R 3BB K L), earning a Box-Toppers game score of −17.9. During the regular year, Hamels had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, sixth among all players and second among AL pitchers.

Indians 5, Red Sox 4—In the other ALDS Game 1, Indians pitcher Andrew Miller earned Player of the Game, allowing no runs over two innings of middle relief. He allowed one hit, one walk and struck out four.

During the regular season, Miller had 8.0 Box-Toppers points as a closer and middle reliever. He earned 4.0 points for the Yankees before his midseason trade to the Indians. He ranks 92nd among all players in Box-Toppers points, 32nd among AL pitchers, third among AL closing pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.

Indians’ top batter Thursday was second baseman Jason Kipnis (HR 3-4 R 2BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.

Neither starting pitcher fared particularly well. Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello (4.1IP 6H 5R 0BB 6K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.9. Indians starter Trevor Bauer (4.2IP 6H 3R 0BB 6K ND) had a game score of −1.8.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    BTG
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    8.1
    TOR 10, TEX 1
    Marco Estrada (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    4.0
    CLE 5, BOS 4
    Andrew Miller (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BTG: Box-Toppers game score
  

AL Division Series Game 2, Blue Jays lead Rangers, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Blue Jays—J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players, third among AL pitchers.

Rangers—Yu Darvish, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among AL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Blue Jays and Rangers players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

AL Division Series Game 2, Indians lead Red Sox, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Red Sox—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, 27th among all players, ninth among AL pitchers.

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among AL pitchers.

Price and Kluber are the top two AL pitchers over the past two seasons. Over 2015 and 2016, Kluber ranks first among AL pitchers with 34.6 Box-Toppers points; Price ranks second with 33.5.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Red Sox and Indians players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

NL Division Series Game 1, Dodgers at Nationals

Though the Washington Nationals have the better winning percentage (.586 vs. .562), the Los Angeles Dodgers rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings. Dodgers players have accumulated 125.2 Box-Toppers points, third-most among all teams, while the Nationals have 116.1, ranked eighth.

The pitching matchup Friday features the season’s top two players in Box-Toppers player rankings:

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among all players, ranked second among NL pitchers.

Nationals—Max Scherzer, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among all players, ranked first among NL pitchers.

Kershaw led in Box-Toppers points much of the season and had earned 20.0 Box-Toppers points before the end of June, on pace to shatter the single-season Box-Toppers point record of 33.7. But then in late June, he went on the disabled list for two months. Despite his time away, Kershaw did not slip much down Box-Toppers rankings and was only passed by Scherzer in late August.

Kershaw and Scherzer are also the top two NL pitchers over the past two seasons. Over 2015 and 2016, Kershaw ranks first with 50.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer ranks second with 46.7. They are also the top two NL pitchers over the past six seasons. From 2011 to the present, Kershaw ranks first with 150.2 points and Scherzer ranks second with 111.3.

In addition to Kershaw, the Dodgers have one other player in a season’s top 10 Box-Toppers category list: Rich Hill with 14.4 Box-Toppers points ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

In addition to Scherzer, the Nationals have one other player a season’s top 10 Box-Toppers category list: Stephen Strasburg with 15.1 Box-Toppers points ranks 10th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.

Dodgers vs. Nationals

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Los Angeles Dodgers			Washington Nationals
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	24.4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	25.7
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	14.4	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	15.1
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	10.0	Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	12.7
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	8.7	Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	7.5
Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca	7.2	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	6.0
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	6.0	Werth, Jayson 1664	lf	6.0
Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	5.7	Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	5.7
Urias, Julio 3652	pi sp	5.7	Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	5.5
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	4.7	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	3.7
Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b lf 1b	4.0	Espinosa, Danny 2804	ss 2b	3.2
Seager, Corey 3587	ss	4.0	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	3.0
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	4.0	Melancon, Mark 2792	pi cp	3.0
Toles, Andrew 3692	rf lf cf ph	4.0	Turner, Trea 3730	2b cf	2.5
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf	3.5	Petit, Yusmeiro 2337	pi mr sp	2.0
Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	3.5	Lopez, Reynaldo 3712	pi sp mr	2.0
McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	2.7	Solis, Sammy 3651	pi mr	2.0
Turner, Justin 2865	3b 2b	2.5	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	1b 3b	1.5
Howell, J.P. 2016	pi mr	2.0	Ramos, Wilson 2904	ca	1.5
Stewart, Brock 3722	pi sp	1.7	den Dekker, Matt 3534	lf ph	1.5
Taylor, Chris 3684	2b	1.5	Taylor, Michael 3447	cf	1.0
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	1.0	Robinson, Clint 3475	1b	1.0
Hatcher, Chris 3420	pi mr	1.0	Kelley, Shawn 2630	pi cp mr	1.0
Hernandez, Enrique 3541	lf	1.0	Revere, Ben 2886	cf	1.0
Utley, Chase 1861	2b	1.0	Lobaton, Jose 3216	ca	1.0
Baez, Pedro 3678	pi mr	1.0	Cole, A.J. 3727	pi sp	1.0
Totals		125.2	Totals		116.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

NL Division Series Game 1, Giants at Cubs

The Cubs are the runaway leader in Box-Toppers team rankings, leading nearly all the season with 139.5 Box-Toppers points. The Giants are the lowest-ranking team to qualify for the postseason, ranked 10th with 112.7.

But the Giants have won the World Series each of the past three even-numbered years (2010, 2012 and 2014)—2016 is an even-numbered year. The Cubs last won the World Series in an even-numbered year, but that year was 1908, 106 years ago.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Giants—Johnny Cueto, 16.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Cueto is the only Giants players in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category.

The Cubs have four other players in season top 10 lists:

Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among all players and sixth among NL pitchers. (Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points).
John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among NL pitchers.
Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks 10th among NL pitchers.
Kris Bryant, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks second among NL batters.

Giants vs. Cubs


San Francisco Giants			Chicago Cubs
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	16.4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	22.1
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	13.0	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	15.7
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	12.4	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	13.4
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	10.7	Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	13.4
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	7.0	Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	13.0
Panik, Joe 3401	2b	5.5	Bryant, Kris 3465	lf 3b rf	10.5
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	3b 2b ss	5.5	Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	7.4
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	5.0	Montgomery, Mike 3513	pi cp mr sp	5.0
Posey, Buster 2745	ca 1b	3.5	Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	5.0
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	3.5	Zobrist, Ben 2216	2b rf lf	4.0
Casilla, Santiago 2301	pi cp	3.0	Russell, Addison 3559	ss	3.5
Kontos, George 3106	pi cp mr	3.0	Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	3.0
Span, Denard 2502	cf	3.0	Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr sp	3.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619	2b ph	3.0	Soler, Jorge 3403	lf	2.5
Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	2.7	Coghlan, Chris 2610	3b rf ph	2.5
Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	2.5	Ross, David 1729	ca	2.5
Crawford, Brandon 2878	ss	2.0	Montero, Miguel 2304	ca ph	2.0
Gillaspie, Conor 3218	3b ph	2.0	Smith, Joe 2388	pi cp mr	2.0
Blach, Ty 3754	pi sp	2.0	Baez, Javier 3395	2b ss	2.0
Law, Derek 3657	pi sp mr	2.0	LaStella, Tommy 3367	3b 2b	2.0
Pagan, Angel 2184	lf	1.0	Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	1.5
Beckham, Gordon 2620	2b	1.0	Szczur, Matt 3704	cf	1.5
Strickland, Hunter 3546	pi mr	1.0	Wood, Travis 2777	pi mr sp	1.0
Okert, Steven 3745	pi mr	1.0	Heyward, Jason 2695	rf	1.0
Osich, Josh 3677	pi mr	1.0
Totals		112.7	Totals		139.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Giants' Madison Bumgarner tops players in NL Wild Card Game win over Mets

Shawn Plank October 6, 2016

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie who hit the ninth-inning, three-run homer that put the Giants ahead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (HR 2-4 R 3BI).

Bumgarner had 13.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 19th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. Over the past two seasons, Bumgarner has 30.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among NL pitchers. Gillaspie had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.

The Giants, 10th-ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings (112.7), beat the Mets, ranked sixth (119.1). The Giants are the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason but among the 10 teams in the playoffs, they were hottest down the stretch—in the season’s final 10 games, they picked up 8.7 Box-Toppers points.

The Giants will face the Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best record and highest accumulated Box-Toppers point total of 139.5.

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

  
    BTG
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  
    9.0
    SF 3, NYM 0
    Madison Bumgarner (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  
    BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series:

AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers

The Blue Jays rank 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings (114.0 Box-Toppers points) while the Rangers rank fifth (122.5). In the final 10 days of the season, the Rangers picked up 7.5 Box-Toppers points while the Blue Jays picked up 6.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.

Rangers—Cole Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players, second among AL pitchers.

The Blue Jays have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:

J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks third among AL pitchers.
Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers poitns, ranks seventh among AL batters.

The Rangers also have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:

Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers, sixth among all players.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre, 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus, 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL batters.

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

Here are players for both teams in the AL Divisional Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.


Toronto Blue Jays			Texas Rangers
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	17.8
Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	10.4
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	9.5
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5	Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	9.2
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7	Lewis, Colby 1567	pi sp	7.7
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0	Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	7.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0	Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	6.5
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0	Beltran, Carlos 1194	dh rf	6.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7	Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	5.7
Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2	Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	5.7
Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5	Gomez, Carlos 2397	lf	4.5
Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0	Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	4.0
Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5	Desmond, Ian 2673	cf lf	4.0
Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0	Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	3.5
Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0	Harrell, Lucas 2988	pi sp	3.0
Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5	Rua, Ryan 3631	1b lf	3.0
Bautista, Jose 2169	rf	1.0	DeShields, Delino 3557	cf lf	2.0
Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0	Perez, Martin 3213	pi sp	2.0
Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0	Barnette, Tony 3670	pi mr	2.0
Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0	Bush, Matt 3673	pi mr cp	2.0
Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0	Tolleson, Shawn 3077	pi cp	1.0
Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0	Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	1.0
Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0	Claudio, Alex 3459	pi mr	1.0
Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0	Jeffress, Jeremy 3473	pi cp	1.0
			Diekman, Jake 3266	pi mr	1.0
			Alvarez, Dario 3663	pi mr	1.0
			Profar, Jurickson 3665	ph	1.0
Totals		114.0	Totals		122.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians

The Red Sox rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (128.3 Box-Toppers points) while the Indians rank fourth (123.7). In the final 10 days of the season, the Indians picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points while the Red Sox picked up 5.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Red Sox—Rick Porcello, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 91st among all players, 31st among AL pitchers. (Despite leading all pitchers with 22 wins, Porcello did not rank highly in Box-Toppers player rankings in 2016.)

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers. (Bauer ranks higher than Porcello in Box-Toppers player rankings but has 10 fewer wins—he was 12-8 in 2016.)

The Red Sox are the AL’s top-ranked team in Box-Toppers points, but have only one player ranked in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among AL pitchers.

The Indians have three pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers list, none of whom is starting Game 1:

Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, ranks first among AL pitchers and fifth among all players.
Danny Salazar, 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks eighth among AL pitchers.
Carlos Carrasco, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks 10th among AL pitchers.

Red Sox vs. Indians


Boston Red Sox			Cleveland Indians
Player	Pos	BTP	Player	Pos	BTP
Price, David 2593	pi sp	12.4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	21.2
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	12.4	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	12.5
Wright, Steven 3224	pi sp	8.4	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	12.4
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	8.0	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	11.4
Ortiz, David	dh	8.0	Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp mr	8.0
Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	8.0	Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	7.0
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	7.0	Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	7.0
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	7.0	Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	6.5
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	6.2	Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp	5.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	5.5	Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf	3.5
Hill, Aaron 2056	2b	5.5	Crisp, Coco 1876	lf	3.0
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	5.0	Otero, Dan 3365	pi mr	3.0
Pedroia, Dustin 2320	2b	5.0	Shaw, Bryan 2995	pi mr	3.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	4.7	Clevinger, Mike 3707	pi mr sp	3.0
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi cp	4.0	Byrd, Marlon 1751	rf	2.5
Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999	pi cp mr sp	3.0	Santana, Carlos 2757	dh 1b	2.5
Leon, Sandy 3676	ca	3.0	Almonte, Abraham 3554	rf ph	2.0
Holt, Brock 3340	3b lf	2.5	Naquin, Tyler 3662	cf ph	2.0
Ziegler, Brad 2504	pi cp	2.0	Anderson, Cody 3509	pi sp	1.7
Abad, Fernando 3653	pi mr	2.0	Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	1.5
Hembree, Heath 3620	pi cp	1.7	Brantley, Michael 2785	lf	1.0
Swihart, Blake 3565	lf ca	1.0	McAllister, Zach 3088	pi mr sp	1.0
Kelly, Joe 3066	pi sp	1.0	Gomes, Yan 3177	ca	1.0
Bogaerts, Xander 3383	ss	1.0	Guyer, Brandon 3363	lf	1.0
Hanigan, Ryan 2708	ca	1.0	Gimenez, Chris 2870	ca	1.0
Tazawa, Junichi 3151	pi mr	1.0
Vazquez, Christian 3380	ca	1.0
Brentz, Bryce 3680	lf	1.0
Totals		128.3	Totals		123.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Max Scherzer wins Box-Toppers Player of the Year for 2016; Kluber tops AL players

Shawn Plank October 3, 2016

Scherzer tops all players in Box-Toppers points to win Player of the Year honors. Kluber tops AL players. Machado tops AL batters. Arenado tops NL batters with record-low score to lead a category.

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?

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

Shawn Plank September 28, 2016

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 27:


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best seasons
Here are all players who have earned 25 or more Box-Toppers points in a single season since 1995, ranked by their single-season Box-Toppers point total. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer’s 2016 point total of 25.7 now is tied for the 20th-best in a single season. 
 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Rank
    Player
    Team
    Pos
    Year
    BTP
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2000
    33.7
  

    1
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    33.7
  

    3
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2000
    33.5
  

    4
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    1999
    31.5
  

    4
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2014
    31.5
  

    6
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    1999
    31.4
  

    7
    Randy Johnson
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2001
    29.4
  

    8
    Jake Arrieta
    Cubs
    pi sp
    2015
    29.1
  

    9
    Pedro Martinez
    Red Sox
    pi sp
    2002
    28.8
  

    10
    Curt Schilling
    Dbacks
    pi sp
    2002
    28.4
  

    11
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1997
    27.4
  

    12
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2004
    26.8
  

    13
    Pedro Martinez
    Expos
    pi sp
    1997
    26.7
  

    13
    CC Sabathia
    Indians/Brewers
    pi sp
    2008
    26.7
  

    15
    Randy Johnson
    Mariners/Astros
    pi sp
    1998
    26.4
  

    16
    John Smoltz
    Braves
    pi sp
    1996
    26.1
  

    16
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2011
    26.1
  

    18
    Roger Clemens
    Blue Jays
    pi sp
    1998
    25.8
  

    18
    Corey Kluber
    Indians
    pi sp
    2014
    25.8
  

    20
    Johan Santana
    Twins
    pi sp
    2006
    25.7
  

    20
    Clayton Kershaw
    Dodgers
    pi sp
    2015
    25.7
  

    20
    *Max Scherzer
    Nationals
    pi sp
    2016
    25.7
  

    23
    Cliff Lee
    Phillies
    pi sp
    2011
    25.4
  

    
    * Current season
  
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Renfroe and Anderson each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Friday, Sept. 23, rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 24, 2016

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 23:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	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?

Also Friday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his spot of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, rising to seventh place in season player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.

With Arrieta rising back into Box-Toppers top 10 list, he displaces Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (14.7 points) from the list, who falls to 11th.

Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1. This was Arrieta’s first Player of the Game honor in a month—he was Player of the Day on Aug. 23.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher James Paxton struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 10-1 win over the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians homered, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Giants.

Myers earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL batters, 1.0 point behind leader Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7).

Rankings—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his rank of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hamels (7IP 6H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.8 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (21.2).

Hamels now has 144.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). Hamels also rises to eighth place in career points among active players.

Hamels has earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and in each season has earned 10 or more points. The 17.8 points he’s earned in 2016 is his best season; his previous best was 2011 with the Phillies when he had 15.8.

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

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer (7IP 8H R 0BB 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He ranks 23rd among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
Red Sox pitcher Drew Pomeranz (5IP 4H R 0BB 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 28th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.

Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 103.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Liriano (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K in the 9-0 win over the Yankees) rises to 66th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing Miguel Tejada (102.3) on the “all-time” list. He trails 65th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Liriano has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 24th among AL pitchers.

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

Rafael Ortega of the Angels (PH 2B 1-1 3BI in the 10-6 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut Sept. 30, 2012, and was playing in his 60th career game. He is the 3,746th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Alen Hanson of the Pirates (2-3 2R in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut May 16 and was playing in his 18th career game. He is the 3,747th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Paxton earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Myers 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/23
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    CHC 5, STL 0
    Jake Arrieta (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    9.0
    SEA 10, MIN 1
    James Paxton (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    7.0
    TOR 9, NYY 0
    Francisco Liriano (W,8-13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    DET 8, KC 3
    Michael Fulmer (W,11-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    6.0
    TEX 3, OAK 0
    Cole Hamels (W,15-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    5.2
    NYM 10, PHI 5
    Hansel Robles (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CLE 10, CHW 4
    Jose Ramirez, 3B
    5
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    SD 7, SF 2
    Wil Myers, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 10, HOU 6
    Rafael Ortega, PH
    1
    0
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 2, TB 1
    Drew Pomeranz (W,11-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 5, COL 2
    Ross Stripling (W,5-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.0
    `BAL 3, ARI 2 (12)
    Mychal Givens
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 3, MIA 2
    Brandon Cunniff (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    1.0
    MIL 5, CIN 4
    Chris Carter, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 6, WSH 5 (11)
    Alen Hanson, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8	33.2	84.8	144.0	2.4
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7	44.8	72.5	75.5	-13.4
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	bos al	12.4	15.4	23.4	23.4	9.4
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	9.7	12.7	18.2	18.2	6.7
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	9.5	10.5	28.4	29.4	8.5
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	tor al	8.0	22.9	63.4	103.2	-6.9
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.4	5.4	11.1	11.1	3.4
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	bal al	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Cunniff, Brandon 3698	pi mr	atl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ramirez, Jose 3436	3b	cle al	1.5	4.0	5.0	5.0	-1.0
Robles, Hansel 3580	pi cp	nym nl	1.0	3.7	3.7	3.7	-1.7
Hanson, Alen 3747	2b	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Ortega, Rafael 3746	ph	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

With a week to go, Scherzer leads 5-player race for 2016 Box-Toppers points crown

Shawn Plank September 23, 2016

Nationals pitcher Scherzer leads Box-Toppers points for 5th week. Indians' Kluber secures 2016 Box-Toppers AL pitching crown. Rockies' Arenado takes narrow lead in wide-open race among NL batters.

Yankees' Gary Sanchez tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 21; Scherzer extends Box-Toppers lead, Kluber secures AL Player of Year, Arenado rises to lead NL batters

Shawn Plank September 22, 2016

Gary Sanchez of the Yankees 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. 21:


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, three players reached notable milestones after earning Player of the Game honors:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber all but secured his status as Box-Toppers American League Player of the Year, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Nolan Arenado of the Rockies rose to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Sanchez hit two home runs—including a three-run shot—in the 11-5 win over the Rays. Sanchez went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

National League Player of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-1 win over the Cardinals.

Arenado earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to first place among NL batters, passing previous leader Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5).

If Arenado’s lead with 10.7 points stands with a little more than week to go in the season, it will be the lowest point total to lead a category in Box-Toppers’ 22-season history. The record was set in 2015 when Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies led NL batters with 11.5 points. Interestingly, the previous record was 2014 when Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies led NL batters with 11.6. So if Arenado’s lead holds, not only will the low-point record be broken three years in a row, it will be broken each time by a batter from the Colorado Rockies.

Arenado becomes the 45th player (and ninth batter) in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Wednesday because both the overall Player of the Day (Gary Sanchez) and NL Player of the Day (Nolan Arenado) are batters.

Rankings—Two players among Box-Toppers top five in season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 3R 2BB 8K W in the 8-3 win over the Marlins) extended his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 24.7 for the season. He is now 2.0 Box-Toppers points ahead of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7), meaning Kershaw still has a chance to pass Scherzer on his next start.

Scherzer now has 130.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 30th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (6.1IP 6H 2R 2BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Royals) all but secured his status as Box-Toppers American League Player of the Year. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.2 for the season, extending his lead among AL pitchers and is now 4.4 points ahead of second-place AL pitcher Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8). Hamels would need at least three starts to pass Kluber in Box-Toppers points—he likely only has two starts remaining in the season’s final 10 days.

This will be the second time Kluber has led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in a season. He also did it in 2014 when he had 25.8 points and also won the AL Cy Young Award. In 2015 he had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL pitchers. Kluber also rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Notable—Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points on the season earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Mike Trout of the Angels (HR 1-4 R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to third among AL batters, behind leader Manny Machado of the Orioles (12.7) and Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5).
Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda (5IP 3H 2R 2BB 6K W in the 9-3 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the 46th player in 2016 with 10 or more points and ranks 46th among all players, 19th among NL pitchers.

Also notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez now has 168.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Hernandez (7IP 2H 0R 3BB 4K ND in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Blue Jays) maintains his ninth-place rank in career Box-Toppers points since Box-Toppers player tracking began in 1995. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” list. (See Box-Toppers career top 20 list on the home page.) Hernandez has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. If that total stands, it would be his lowest season total in his 12-year career. His previous low was 7.4 in 2008 with the Mariners.

Scoring—Sanchez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arenado earns 1.7 points for being NL Player 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    NYY 11, TB 5
    Gary Sanchez, C
    4
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    `SEA 2, TOR 1 (12)
    Felix Hernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    4
  

    NL
    5.0
    COL 11, STL 1
    Nolan Arenado, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 5, BAL 1
    Clay Buchholz (W,8-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 4, MIL 1
    Chad Kuhl (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.1
    CLE 4, KC 3
    Corey Kluber (W,18-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 6, OAK 5
    Evan Gattis, DH
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 3, SD 2
    Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAD 9, SF 3
    Kenta Maeda (W,16-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    2
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    2.2
    WSH 8, MIA 3
    Max Scherzer (W,18-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    3
    3
    2
    8
  

    
    2.0
    CHC 9, CIN 2
    Miguel Montero, C
    5
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PHI 8, CHW 3
    Tommy Joseph, 1B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    `ATL 4, NYM 3
    Chaz Roe
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    LAA 5, TEX 4
    Mike Trout, CF
    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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	24.7	45.7	110.3	130.7	3.7
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2	34.6	65.4	65.4	7.8
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	11.0	23.0	47.5	47.5	-1.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	10.7	19.2	20.7	20.7	2.2
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0	25.4	91.4	168.7	-13.4
Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	5.0	11.0	39.2	58.9	-1.0
Gattis, Evan 3179	ca	hou al	5.0	9.0	11.0	11.0	1.0
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	4.5	14.7	39.9	39.9	-5.7
Sanchez, Gary 3701	ca dh	nyy al	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Joseph, Tommy 3681	1b ph	phi nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Kuhl, Chad 3687	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	chi nl	1.0	6.5	20.7	30.9	-4.5
Roe, Chaz 3597	pi mr	atl nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 20, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers season player rankings

Shawn Plank September 21, 2016

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in third place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 20:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Nationals.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 22.4 for the season. He moves to within 0.3 points of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) and within 1.3 points of season Box-Toppers points leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). That means with one or two more starts remaining this season, Fernandez has a chance to rise to the overall lead for the first time this year.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6 win over the White Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Angels.

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

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7IP 6H R 0BB 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season, rising from fifth to fourth place in season rankings.

Lester now also has 142.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0). Lester now ranks 10th among all active players in career points, seventh among active pitchers.

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (5IP 6H 2R BB 8K W in the 10-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season, rising to 10th in season player rankings. He rises to third among AL pitchers, behind Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (20.2) and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (16.8). Happ displaces Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill (14.4) from the top 10 list.

Debut—Giants pitcher Steven Okert made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Okert (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,745th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/20
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    MIA 1, WSH 0
    Jose Fernandez (W,16-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    12
  

    AL
    9.0
    DET 8, MIN 1
    Matt Boyd (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    7.2
    HOU 2, OAK 1 (10)
    Chris Devenski (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    6.1
    `NYY 5, TB 3
    Michael Pineda
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    
    4.2
    CLE 2, KC 1
    Andrew Miller (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.1
    BOS 5, BAL 2
    Eduardo Rodriguez (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    PHI 7, CHW 6
    Odubel Herrera, CF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    STL 10, COL 5
    Randal Grichuk, CF
    4
    4
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 5, ARI 2
    Adam Rosales, 2B
    2
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 6, CIN 1
    Jon Lester (W,18-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    3.2
    `SF 2, LAD 0
    Steven Okert (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 5, NYM 4
    Adonis Garcia, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 6, MIL 3
    Tony Watson (S,14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    TEX 5, LAA 4
    Nomar Mazara, RF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 10, SEA 2
    J.A. Happ (W,20-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    6
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    
    `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	22.4	27.1	53.1	53.1	17.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	21.1	33.1	79.3	142.2	9.1
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	14.7	27.8	43.2	51.2	1.6
Mazara, Nomar 3614	rf lf	tex al	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Boyd, Matt 3550	pi sp	det al	6.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	5.1
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	6.0	16.7	34.1	34.1	-4.7
Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp	cle al	6.0	10.0	14.0	21.0	2.0
Garcia, Adonis 3613	3b	atl nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Watson, Tony 3215	pi cp	pit nl	4.0	5.0	8.0	8.0	3.0
Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	pi sp	bos al	3.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	-2.3
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr sp	hou nl	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Herrera, Odubel 3449	cf	phi nl	3.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	-0.5
Grichuk, Randal 3474	cf	stl nl	1.0	10.5	10.5	10.5	-8.5
Rosales, Adam 2647	2b	sd nl	1.0	3.0	6.0	11.7	-1.0
Okert, Steven 3745	pi mr	sf nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Sunday, Sept. 11, rising to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank September 12, 2016

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings and extending his lead among American League pitchers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 11:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
3	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	18.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
9	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
10	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	14.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kluber struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 7-1 win over the Twins.

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.2 for the season. He rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). He extends his lead among AL pitchers, trailed by Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8).

Kluber becomes the fourth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the second time in his career Kluber has earned 20 or more points. In 2014, he had 25.8 points to lead AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.

National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 11-8 win over the Blue Jays.

Notable—Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy becomes the 38th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Kennedy (6IP H 0R 4BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 38th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.

It is Kennedy’s second season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2011, he had 19.4 points with the Diamondbacks, fifth among NL pitchers.

Also notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points—37th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Weaver (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rangers) now trails 36th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time" list. Weaver has 3.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urena earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Russell and Bradley each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/11
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    CLE 7, MIN 1
    Corey Kluber (W,16-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    0
    2
    10
  

    NL
    8.2
    MIA 3, LAD 0
    Jose Urena (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    4
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    7.0
    KC 2, CHW 0
    Ian Kennedy (W,11-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    4
    6
  

    
    6.1
    `MIL 2, STL 1
    Zach Davies
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    SF 5, ARI 3
    Matt Moore (W,10-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    2
    2
    1
    11
  

    
    5.0
    WSH 3, PHI 2
    Gio Gonzalez (W,11-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.2
    LAA 3, TEX 2
    Jered Weaver (W,11-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    4
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    CHC 9, HOU 5
    Addison Russell, SS
    4
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 8, PIT 0
    Brandon Phillips, 2B
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    BOS 11, TOR 8
    Jackie Bradley, CF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 10, ATL 3
    Yoenis Cespedes, LF
    4
    1
    1
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `COL 3, SD 2 (10)
    Chad Bettis
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 3, DET 1
    Chris Tillman (W,16-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    TB 4, NYY 2
    Alex Colome (S,32)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 3, OAK 2
    Edwin Diaz (S,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2	33.6	64.4	64.4	6.8
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	10.0	16.7	60.5	66.5	3.3
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	9.7	9.7	35.2	35.2	9.7
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	nym nl	8.0	18.9	39.9	39.9	-2.9
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	8.0	13.0	16.7	16.7	3.0
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	8.0	12.7	41.8	43.8	3.3
Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	6.7	12.1	12.1	12.1	1.3
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	6.0	15.7	72.8	86.5	-3.7
Davies, Zach 3581	pi sp	mil nl	6.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	3.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp	sea al	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293	cf	bos al	5.5	15.0	16.0	16.0	-4.0
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	3.5	6.0	6.0	6.0	1.0
Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	3.0	10.7	65.3	126.1	-4.7
Urena, Jose 3492	pi sp	fla nl	2.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	1.7
Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	2.0	4.7	30.2	64.1	-0.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Saturday, Sept. 3; Orioles' Gausman tops AL players

Shawn Plank September 4, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Hill pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 3:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 18th among all players and 11th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Brewers hit a two-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—Byron Buxton of the Twins homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 11-3 win over the White Sox.

Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Bumgarner (6IP 5H 2R 0BB 10K in the 3-2 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

Bumgarner now also has 105.7 career points, 61st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his point Saturday, he passes Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 60th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8).

Also notable—Two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

David Ortiz of the Red Sox (2-2B 3-4 R 2BI in the 11-2 win over the Athletics) now has 143.9 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Saturday, he passes Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0) on the “all-time” list and now ranks eighth among active players in career points. Ortiz trails 23rd-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. Both Cabrera and Ortiz have 143.9 career points, but Cabrera holds the tiebreaking edge because he has more 2016 Box-Toppers points—11.0 vs. 6.0.
Carlos Beltran of the Rangers (2B 2-3 R 2BI in the 12-4 win over the Astros) now has 104.9 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 63rd place since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Saturday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 62nd-ranked player, Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1). Beltran has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Carter and Buxton 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    9/3
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    LAD 5, SD 1
    Rich Hill (W,11-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    AL
    10.0
    BAL 2, NYY 0
    Kevin Gausman (W,7-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    7.0
    SF 3, CHC 2
    Madison Bumgarner (W,14-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    0
    10
  

    
    7.0
    TB 7, TOR 5
    Blake Snell (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIL 7, PIT 4
    Chris Carter, 1B
    5
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    ATL 6, PHI 4 (10)
    Adonis Garcia, 3B
    4
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    MIN 11, CHW 3
    Byron Buxton, CF
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 10, SEA 3
    Kole Calhoun, RF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 3, WSH 1
    Jeurys Familia (S,45)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    KC 5, DET 2
    Wade Davis (S,22)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    0.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    CLE 8, MIA 3
    Francisco Lindor, SS
    4
    1
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ARI 9, COL 4
    Chris Owings, SS
    4
    1
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 11, OAK 2
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 12, HOU 4
    Carlos Beltran, DH
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 9, STL 1
    Joey Votto, 1B
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	13.0	30.0	100.0	105.7	-4.0
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	12.4	16.4	16.4	36.1	8.4
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	9.5	14.5	31.2	63.2	4.5
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	9.1	14.8	22.5	22.5	3.4
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	8.5	9.5	27.4	28.4	7.5
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	nym nl	6.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	-2.0
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	6.0	10.5	41.9	143.9	1.5
Beltran, Carlos 1194	dh rf	tex al	6.0	9.5	26.9	104.9	2.5
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	5.0	8.2	15.7	15.7	1.8
Lindor, Francisco 3586	ss	cle al	4.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	3.5
Buxton, Byron 3604	cf	min al	3.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	2.2
Davis, Wade 2681	pi cp	kc al	3.0	7.0	22.0	25.0	-1.0
Garcia, Adonis 3613	3b	atl nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Snell, Blake 3688	pi sp	tb al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Owings, Chris 3347	cf ss	ari nl	2.0	3.0	5.5	5.5	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

Shawn Plank September 3, 2016

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

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

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Shaw and Kemp each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    
    1.0
    CIN 3, STL 2
    Zack Cozart, SS
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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


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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Angels' Ricky Nolasco tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 31; Indians' Kluber extends Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank September 1, 2016

Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
6	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	15.4
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	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?

Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Nolasco pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.

National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-1 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Andrew Toles of the Dodgers hit a ninth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 10-8 win over the Rockies. Toles also doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs.

Rankings—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kluber (8IP 6H 3R 2BB 11K W in the 8-4 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.2 for the season, ahead of second-place AL pitcher Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8). Kluber maintains his rank of fourth place among all players. Kluber led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 25.8.

Notable—Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season also earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel (6IP 3H R 3BB 6K W in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 18th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (7IP 3H 2R 0BB 9K ND in the 3-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 33rd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers. He becomes the 34th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. This is his eighth season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, his first since 2013 (10.0). In 2014, he had 4.0 points and in 2015 he had 6.4. Verlander led AL pitchers in both 2011 (24.4) and 2012 (24.8).

Verlander now has 134.6 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (136.5).

Scoring—Nolasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garza earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Odor and Toles 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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

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

    MLB
    12.0
    LAA 3, CIN 0
    Ricky Nolasco (W,5-12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    `DET 3, CHW 2
    Justin Verlander
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    9
  

    NL
    8.0
    MIL 3, STL 1
    Matt Garza (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    7.0
    ATL 8, SD 1
    Matt Wisler (W,6-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    10
  

    BAT
    5.0
    TEX 14, SEA 1
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    LAD 10, COL 8
    Andrew Toles, LF
    4
    1
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CLE 8, MIN 4
    Corey Kluber (W,15-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    3
    3
    2
    11
  

    
    5.0
    WSH 2, PHI 1
    Gio Gonzalez (W,10-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    4.1
    SF 4, ARI 2
    Matt Moore (W,9-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 8, TB 6
    Hanley Ramirez, 1B
    3
    2
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHC 6, PIT 5
    Jason Hammel (W,14-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    6
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 4, OAK 3
    Michael Feliz (W,8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    `NYY 5, KC 4 (13)
    Chasen Shreve
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.1
    COL 7, LAD 0
    Tyler Anderson (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 5, BAL 3
    Michael Saunders, LF
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 5, MIA 2
    Addison Reed (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

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

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


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2	31.6	62.4	62.4	4.8
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	chi nl	12.0	21.7	45.1	58.2	2.3
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	10.0	16.4	79.6	134.6	3.6
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	8.7	8.7	34.2	34.2	8.7
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	7.7	9.7	30.4	83.5	5.7
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	bos al	6.0	6.0	28.7	56.6	6.0
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	5.5	8.5	10.0	10.0	2.5
Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	tor al	5.2	5.2	14.9	15.9	5.2
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	5.0	14.7	71.8	85.5	-4.7
Wisler, Matt 3522	pi sp	atl nl	4.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	1.0
Toles, Andrew 3692	rf lf cf ph	lad nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Feliz, Michael 3632	pi cp mr	hou al	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	mil nl	2.7	4.4	34.1	70.8	1.0
Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr	nym nl	2.0	3.0	11.0	11.0	1.0
Anderson, Tyler 3656	pi sp	col nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Shreve, Chasen 3482	pi mr	nyy al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top player from each game

AL Division Series Game 2, Blue Jays lead Rangers, 1-0

AL Division Series Game 2, Indians lead Red Sox, 1-0

NL Division Series Game 1, Dodgers at Nationals

Dodgers vs. Nationals

NL Division Series Game 1, Giants at Cubs

Giants vs. Cubs

Top player from NL Wild Card Game

AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians

Red Sox vs. Indians

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Best seasons

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

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.