Box-Toppers projects Nationals to edge Dodgers in NL, Red Sox to beat Indians in the AL. World champion Cubs remain strong but return trip to World Series is not projected.
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Dodgers, Nationals top Box-Toppers 2017 preseason team rankings; Cubs slip to 5th
Los Angeles Dodgers edge out Washington Nationals as Box-Toppers' top preseason team. Champion Cubs slip to 5th after key player losses. Indians rank 1st among AL teams.
Read MoreBox-Toppers' top-ranked rookie Michael Fulmer wins AL Rookie of the Year; Corey Seager wins NL rookie honors despite low Box-Toppers ranking
Tigers' Michael Fulmer wins AL Rookie of the Year and is Box-Toppers' top-ranked rookie. Corey Seager of the Dodgers is unanimous NL Rookie of the Year, but isn't among Box-Toppers' top five NL rookies.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2016
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads the list of the top 100 players for 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 20th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
Read MoreDodgers' Rich Hill, Blue Jays' Aaron Sanchez top players in Tuesday's League Championship Series games
Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill and Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez are top players in Tuesday’s two League Championship Series games.
In both LCS games Tuesday, the top 10 pitcher was outdueled by a lesser-ranked starter:
- Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (21.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among all players and first among AL pitchers) lost against the Blue Jays’ Sanchez (10.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all players and 19th among AL pitchers).
- Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked ninth among all players and sixth among NL pitchers) lost against the Dodgers’ Hill (14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers).
National League Championship Series Game 3: Dodgers 6, Cubs 0
Hill pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out six to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. The Dodgers take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Hill had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +8.0, most among Dodgers players. Top Dodgers batter was catcher Yasmani Grandal, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (HR 1-3 R 3BI).
Opposing starting pitcher Jake Arrieta of the Cubs had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0 (5IP 6H 4R 0BB 5K L).
The series resumes Wednesday in Los Angeles.
American League Championship Series Game 4: Blue Jays 5, Indians 1
Sanchez allowed one run over six innings, giving up two hits, two walks and striking out five to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. The Blue Jays stave off elimination and now trail the Indians 3-1 in the best-of-seven game series.
Sanchez had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +5.0, most among Blue Jays players. Top Blue Jays batter was first baseman Edwin Encarnacion who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (2-4 0R 2BI).
Opposing starting pitcher Corey Kluber of the Indians had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (5IP 4H 2R 2BB 7K L).
The series resumes Wednesday in Toronto.
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
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 8.0 | LAD 6, CHC 0 | Rich Hill (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 5.0 | TOR 5, CLE 1 | Aaron Sanchez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Wednesday\
American League Championship Series Game 5: Indians lead Blue Jays, 3-1
Though the Blue Jays are on the brink of elimination, they hold the distinct advantage in pitching.
The Indians staff depleted by injury, throw a rookie on the mound to start Game 5 who has never earned a Box-Toppers point. Meanwhile, the Indians have already used their one healthy ace Corey Kluber, who leads AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points, twice during this series already. The Blue Jays counter with starter Marco Estrada, who ranks among the top 15 AL pitchers. And with Kluber unavailable for at least a couple of games, the Blue Jays may be able to stave off elimination and possibly make the series competitive.
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Indians—Ryan Merritt, 0.0 Box-Toppers points, unranked. Merritt made his Major League debut May 30 and has played in four games but has yet to make his Box-Toppers debut—he has never earned Player of the Game honors.
Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
National League Championship Series Game 4, Dodgers lead Cubs, 2-1
The Cubs lost Game 3 though they had a slight pitching advantage with Arrieta (15.7 Box-Toppers points) over Hill (14.4). They hold a more distinct advantage Wednesday when the higher-ranked and veteran pitcher John Lackey with 24 games of postseason experience takes on the rookie Julio Urias with two innings of postseason experience.
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Cubs—John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Julio Urias, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 179th among all players, 51st among NL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
Andrew Miller tops players in ALCS Game 3 Monday, giving Indians 3-0 series lead over Blue Jays
Indians closing pitcher Andrew Miller is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Monday in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
Miller pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks, striking out three and earning the save, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays. The Indians take a 3-0 lead over the Blue Jays in the best-of-seven game series.
Miller had 8.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 92nd among all players and 32nd among AL pitchers. Miller earned 3.0 of his Box-Toppers points as a middle reliever and 5.0 as a closer during the season. He ranks third among AL closers and first among AL middle relievers. He started the season with the Yankees (earning 4.0 Box-Toppers points) before being traded to the Indians (earning 4.0 more points).
This is the second time this postseason Miller has earned Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game on Oct. 6 in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Red Sox.
Miller had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +3.1, most among Indians players. He narrowly beat first baseman Mike Napoli, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (HR 2B 2-3 2R 2BI).
Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of −3.9 (5.1IP 3H 4R 3BB 5K L).
The series resumes Tuesday with Game 4 in Toronto (more details below).
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
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
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 3.1 | CLE 4, TOR 2 | Andrew Miller (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Tuesday:
American League Championship Series Game 4: Indians lead Blue Jays, 3-0
The tentative pitching matchup Tuesday:
Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among AL pitchers. Kluber was also Player of the Game in ALCS Game 1 and ALDS Game 2.
Blue Jays—Aaron Sanchez, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
National League Championship Series Game 3, Cubs at Dodgers, series tied, 1-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
NLCS Preview: Cubs seem to have the advantages over the Dodgers—but these are the Cubs
Cubs rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, its four starters rank among the top 10 NL pitchers, they have Kris Bryant. Dodgers have Kershaw who they needed for each NLDS win.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw, with rare save, tops players in NLDS Game 5, as Dodgers eliminate Nationals
Clayton Kershaw picked up his first career save, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, as the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the Washington Nationals Thursday in Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
National League Division Series Game 5: Dodgers 4, Nationals 3
Kershaw got the final two outs, allowing no runs, no hits, no walks, striking out one and earning the save.
The Dodgers beat the Nationals in the best-of-five game series, 3-2.
Kershaw, far and away the most dominant starting pitcher of the 2010s decade, earned his first career save only two days after starting in Game 4.
During the regular season, Kershaw had 24.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among all players, behind only Max Scherzer (25.7), who started Game 5 for the Nationals. Since 2011, Kershaw has 150.2 Box-Toppers points, far ahead of the second-place player, who is also Scherzer (111.3).
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +1.2. Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill also had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.2 (2.2IP 3H R 2BB 6K ND). But Kershaw won Player of the Game honors on a tiebreaker because he earned the save while Hill earned a no decision. Had Kershaw not earned a win or save, Hill would have won Player of the Game because he had more innings pitched. Hill had 14.4 Box-Toppers points on the season, eighth among NL pitchers.
Joc Pederson had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 2-3 R BI). The usual Dodgers closing pitcher, Kenley Jansen, pitched middle relief in the seventh, eighth and part of the ninth inning before being relieved by Kershaw. Jansen had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.1 (2.1IP H 0R 4BB 4K ND).
Scherzer, the season leader in Box-Toppers points who started for the Nationals, seemed on track to earn Player of the Game honors while his team led. Scherzer had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 (6IP 5H R 2BB 7K ND). The Nationals top batter was Chris Heisey, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (HR 1-1 R 2BI).
Though the Washington Nationals had the better regular season 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 Dodgers now face the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series beginning Saturday in Chicago.
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
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 1.2 | LAD 4, WSH 3 | Clayton Kershaw (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Nationals' Max Scherzer, Box-Toppers' top-ranked player in 2016, faces Dodgers in NLDS deciding game Thursday
Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player for 2016 takes the mound for a deciding Game 5 in the National League Division Series Thursday.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Oct. 2 (2016 final standings):| 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 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 16.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points for 2016 with 25.7 and gets the start as his team faces the Dodgers for the right to play in the NL Championship Series.
The best-of-five series is tied at two games apiece and moves to Washington for the deciding game. The pitching matchup Thursday:
Dodgers—As of early Thursday, the Dodgers starter was still to be announced but was expected to be one of two pitchers:
- Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers. Hill started Game 2 of the series, which the Dodgers lost 5-2.
- Julio Urias, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 179th among all players, 51st among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Max Scherzer, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among all players, ranked first among NL pitchers. In his previous start in Game 1 of the series, the Nationals lost 4-3, Scherzer picked up the loss and had a Box-Toppers game score of −2.0 (6IP 5H 4R 0BB 5K L).
The winner of this game will face the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series beginning Saturday in Chicago.
There were no games Wednesday.
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.
Travis Wood tops players in Cubs' NLDS Game 2 win over Giants
Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s National League Division Series Game 2 win over the Giants.
Wood pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits, no walks and striking out two, in the 5-2 win.
During the regular season, Wood had just 1.0 Box-Toppers point (earned May 30), which ranks him 563rd among all players, 144th among NL pitchers and 33rd among NL middle relievers. Wood had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in both 2013 and 2014 when he was a starter for the Cubs, his two best seasons.
Wood had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.1. Cubs’ top batter in the game was pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 for batting. Hendricks (1-1 2BI) hit a second-inning single, driving in two runs. Hendricks had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.8 as starting pitcher (3.2IP 4H 2R 0BB 0K ND).
Wood had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Cubs’ batters. His score was also +2.0, tied with Hendricks, but Hendricks ranked ahead because he had more runs batted in (2 vs. 1). Wood (1-1 R BI) hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series 2-0. The series resumes Monday in San Francisco.
NLDS Game 2 between the Dodgers and Nationals was rained out Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday. More details below.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 3.1 | CHC 5, SF 2 | Travis Wood (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Sunday: Three division series playoff games:
NL Division Series Game 2, Dodgers lead Nationals, 1-0
NLDS Game 2 between the Dodgers and Nationals was rained out Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday.
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
AL Division Series Game 3, Indians lead Red Sox, 2-0
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Indians—Josh Tomlin, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 202nd among all players, 63rd among AL pitchers.
Red Sox—Clay Buchholz, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 200th among all players, 62nd among AL pitchers.
AL Division Series Game 3, Blue Jays lead Rangers, 2-0
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Rangers—Colby Lewis, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 96th among all players, 34th among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—Aaron Sanchez, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
Cubs' Lester tops players in 4 league division playoff games, Friday, Oct. 7
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Friday:
- Indians pitcher Corey Kluber.
- Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen.
- Blue Jays closing pitcher Roberto Osuna.
NLDS Game 1: Cubs 1, Giants 0
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out five.
During the regular season, Lester had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among National League pitchers.
He outdueled fellow Box-Toppers top 10 pitcher, Johnny Cueto of the Giants (8IP 3H R 0BB 10K L). In the loss, Cueto had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Lester (+13.0 vs. +8.0) but Lester still wins Player of the Game since he had the highest score on the winning team. Cueto, during the regular season, had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.
Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters, hitting the eighth-inning home run that was the only scoring of the game (2-3 R BI).
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Chicago.
ALDS Game 2: Indians 6, Red Sox 0
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks.
During the regular season, Kluber led all American League pitchers with 21.2 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all players.
Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, same as Lester had for the Cubs in they NLDS win, but Lester’s game score ranks higher because he had more innings pitched (8 vs. 7).
Left fielder Brandon Guyer had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Indians batters (3-4 2R BI).
The Indians now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Boston.
NLDS Game 1, Dodgers 4, Nationals 3
Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Jansen had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 163rd among all players, 46th among NL pitchers and third among NL closing pitchers.
Jansen had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2, most of any Dodgers player in the win. Third baseman Justin Turner had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 2-3 R 2BI).
The game pitted Box-Toppers two top-ranked players against each other as starting pitchers, but neither had positive Box-Toppers game scores:
- Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (24.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3.0 (5IP 8H 3R BB 7K W).
- Max Scherzer of the Nationals (25.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first) had a Box-Toppers game score of −2.0 (6IP 5H 4R 0BB 5K L).
The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Washington.
ALDS Game 2: Blue Jays 5, Rangers 3
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Osuna had 3.0 Box-Toppers points (all in April) and ranked 319th among all players, 87th among AL pitchers and 15th among AL closers.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Blue Jays batters (HR 2-4 R 2BI).
The Blue Jays now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Toronto.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 8.0 | CHC 1, SF 0 | Jon Lester (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8.0 | CLE 6, BOS 0 | Corey Kluber (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 3.2 | LAD 4, WSH 3 | Kenley Jansen (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2.2 | TOR 5, TEX 3 | Roberto Osuna (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:
NL Division Series Game 2, Dodgers lead Nationals, 1-0
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 2, Cubs lead Giants, 1-0
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Giants—Jeff Samardzija, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 18th among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
Blue Jays' Estrada, Indians' Miller top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 6
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.
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.
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 | |||
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
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.| 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 | |||
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.
Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 20, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers season player rankings
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 |
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.
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
| 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
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 | +/- |
| 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 |
Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Saturday, Sept. 10, rises to 9th; Nationals' Scherzer bolsters lead in Box-Toppers rankings
Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth 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. 10:| 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 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka rises to 10th place in player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven perfect innings, striking out nine, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins. Despite allowing no base runners for seven innings, he was pulled after 89 pitches to preserve his health—he had spent time recently on the disabled list. While three Dodgers relievers preserved the shutout, they did give up two hits.
Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.
Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
With the rise of Hill to ninth place and Tanaka to 10th place in season player rankings, two other players were displaced from Box-Toppers top 10 list for the season—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (14.0) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (13.7).
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Wieters of the Orioles hit two homers and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Pence of the Giants homered and went 3-for-3, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 11-3 win over the Diamondbacks. It is the second straight day Pence has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 0R BB 8K ND in the 3-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 23.7 for the season. He leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (20.4) by 3.3 points.
Scherzer also now has 129.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-ranked Jason Giambi (133.4).
Notable—Three other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season also earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:
- Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (6IP 4H 2R BB 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season, 13th among all players and fourth among AL pitchers.
- Joey Votto of the Reds (HR 2B 4-5 2R BI in the 8-7 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season, 33rd among all players and second among NL batters, behind Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5). (Bryant holds the higher rank because he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points—8.5 vs. 5.)
- Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (8IP 6H R 4BB 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.2 for the season, 36th among all players and 17th among NL pitchers. Wainwright now has 112.0 career Box-Toppers points, 52nd-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (111.3) in “all-time” rankings and now trails 51st-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8).
Debut—Twins pitcher J.T. Chargois made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Chargois (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Indians) made his Major League debut June 11 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,736th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wieters and Pence 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.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/10 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | LAD 5, MIA 0 | Rich Hill (W,12-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 14.0 | SD 6, COL 3 | Christian Friedrich (W,5-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | 10.1 | NYY 5, TB 1 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| 9.2 | `WSH 3, PHI 0 | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | BAL 11, DET 3 | Matt Wieters, C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | SF 11, ARI 3 | Hunter Pence, RF | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SEA 14, OAK 3 | Nelson Cruz, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | HOU 2, CHC 1 | Collin McHugh (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | STL 5, MIL 1 | Adam Wainwright (W,11-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 8, PIT 7 | Joey Votto, 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 8, LAA 5 | Carlos Gomez, LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | KC 6, CHW 5 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 3, BOS 2 | J.A. Happ (W,18-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 2, CLE 1 (12) | J.T. Chargois (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | ATL 4, NYM 3 (10) | Matt Kemp, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 | 44.7 | 109.3 | 129.7 | 2.7 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 38.1 | 10.4 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 | 22.1 | 34.8 | 34.8 | 6.1 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 13.7 | 26.8 | 42.2 | 50.2 | 0.6 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 10.5 | 15.5 | 32.2 | 64.2 | 5.5 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.2 | 13.2 | 61.3 | 112.0 | 7.2 |
| Wieters, Matt 2643 | ca | bal al | 9.5 | 10.5 | 28.5 | 34.2 | 8.5 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 8.5 | 17.5 | 31.0 | 31.0 | -0.5 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 | 17.4 | 29.2 | 29.2 | -2.0 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf lf | atl nl | 6.5 | 12.0 | 36.5 | 58.1 | 1.0 |
| Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | sea al | 5.5 | 7.5 | 33.2 | 52.7 | 3.5 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 3.5 | 5.5 | 24.5 | 52.2 | 1.5 |
| Friedrich, Christian 3024 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 2.7 |
| Gomez, Carlos 2397 | cf lf | tex al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 29.5 | -4.0 |
| Chargois, J.T. 3736 | pi cp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers' Rich Hill tops players for Saturday, Sept. 3; Orioles' Gausman tops AL players
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 |
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.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/3 | 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
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 | +/- |
| 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 |
Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 24, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 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 Aug. 24:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 15.1 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.0 |
Fernandez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing six hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Royals.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.4 for the season, rising from fourth to third place among all players and among all National League pitchers in 2016.
Fernandez is now 1.6 Box-Toppers points behind overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 points), meaning Fernandez could pass Kershaw for the season lead in his next start if he earns NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7 points) or overall Player of the Day (worth 2.0 points). Kershaw has led all players since May 7 and maintained his lead despite spending the past nearly two months on the disabled list.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing six hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Mariners.
Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising to 15th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered and went 4-for-6, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-8 win over the Nationals.
Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He maintains his rank of second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5 points). Machado ranks 18th among all players.
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks homered, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-9, 11-inning win over the Braves. Lamb and teammate Paul Goldschmidt both had Box-Toppers game scores of +2.0 Wednesday with similar line scores (3-6 3R 2BI), but Lamb won Player of the Game honors over Goldschmidt because he had both a homer and a double, while Goldschmidt had just a home run.
Notable—Three other players became the 28th, 29th and 30th players to reach the 10.0-Box-Toppers point threshold for the 2016 season:
- Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks (6IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 6-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, becoming the 28th player with 10 or more this season. Hendricks rises to 22nd place among all players and 14th among NL pitchers. He is the fifth Cubs pitcher this season with 10 or more points.
- Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill (6IP 5H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 1-0 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, becoming the 29th player with 10 or more this season. Hill ranks 29th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers. It is Hill’s second 10-point season; his other was 2007 with the Cubs when he had 11.7. Wednesday marked Hill’s first Player of the Game honor since being traded from the Athletics to the Dodgers.
- Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (HR 2B 4-5 2R 2BI in the 9-4 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, becoming the 30th player (and third batter) with 10 or more this season. Cabrera ranks third among AL batters and 30th among all players. It is his seventh season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Cabrera also now has 142.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 23rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Cabrera passes David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9) on the “all-time” list, to become the seventh-ranked active player in career points, second among all active batters, behind Albert Pujols of the Angels (181.3). While Cabrera and Ortiz both have the same 142.9 career Box-Toppers point total, Cabrera now ranks ahead because he has more points in 2016—10.0 vs. 5.0. Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (145.8).
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Machado and Lamb each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/24 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | MIA 3, KC 0 | Jose Fernandez (W,13-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| AL | 5.0 | NYY 5, SEA 0 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,11-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | LAA 8, TOR 2 | Matt Shoemaker (W,8-13) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BAL 10, WSH 8 | Manny Machado, 3B | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | STL 8, NYM 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | MIL 7, COL 1 | Zach Davies (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6, SD 3 | Kyle Hendricks (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 1, SF 0 | Rich Hill (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | `TB 4, BOS 3 (11) | Alex Colome | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | DET 9, MIN 4 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 5, PIT 4 | Ken Giles (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | ARI 10, ATL 9 (11) | Jake Lamb, 3B | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | PHI 5, CHW 3 | Aaron Altherr, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | TEX 6, CIN 5 | Nomar Mazara, LF-RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | OAK 5, CLE 1 | Ryon Healy, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 | 23.1 | 49.1 | 49.1 | 13.7 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 12.4 | 20.4 | 33.1 | 33.1 | 4.4 |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 11.7 | 19.2 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 4.2 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 | 20.4 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 1.0 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 34.1 | 6.4 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 10.0 | 14.7 | 63.3 | 142.9 | 5.3 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.7 | 21.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 | -6.0 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 | 12.7 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 1.3 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 7.0 | 12.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 2.0 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | tex al | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | 3b | ari nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | 3b | oak al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Altherr, Aaron 3563 | rf lf | phi nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 |
| Giles, Ken 3402 | pi mr cp | hou nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -1.0 |
Chicago Cubs hold slim edge over Los Angeles Dodgers in Box-Toppers team rankings report
With trade deadline acquisitions, Dodgers are hottest team of the week. Other teams strengthened by trades include Mets, Blue Jays, Rangers, Giants, Twins, Orioles.
Read MoreToronto Blue Jays have most players (seven) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2016 at All-Star break
A look at Box-Toppers 100 top-ranked players for 2016 at the All-Star break. Blue Jays and top-ranked Cubs have most representatives on the list.
Read MoreAngels' Hector Santiago tops players for Thursday, July 7; Padres' Drew Pomeranz rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings
Angels pitcher Hector Santiago is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 7:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | sd nl | 10.4 |
Also Thursday, Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Santiago pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits and four walks, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, striking out six, in the 6-0 win over the Dodgers.
Pomeranz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, rising to 10th place among all players. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers. Pomeranz also becomes the 11th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Four pitchers among Thursday’s Players of the Game were tied for highest Box-Toppers game score of the day (+9.0)—Santiago, Pomeranz, plus Athletics pitcher Rich Hill and Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey. Santiago and Pomeranz ranked ahead of Hill and Duffey because they had more innings pitched (7 vs. 6). Santiago ranked ahead of Pomeranz to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts (9 vs. 6).
National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Rockies hit two homers and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-2 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals hit a ninth-inning, walk-off, two-run double in the 4-3 win over the Mariners. Perez went 3-for-4, scoring once.
Notable—Wilmer Flores of the Mets has earned Box-Toppers points two days in a row and three times in the past five days after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Flores (HR 1-2 R 3BI in the 9-7 win Thursday over the Nationals) was also Player of the Game Wednesday and was NL Batter of the Day in the Mets’ win Sunday, July 3. Flores has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, all earned in the past five days.
Also notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 107.3 career Box-Toppers points—57th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began—after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Wainwright (7IP 5H R BB 9K W in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) now trails 56th-ranked player on the “all-time” list, Lance Berkman (108.1). Wainwright has 5.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 25th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Santiago earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pomeranz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Story and Perez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Note—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team power rankings report and player rankings report will be delayed until the All-Star break on Monday.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/7 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | LAA 5/TB 1 | Hector Santiago (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | |
| NL | 9.0 | SD 6/LAD 0 | Drew Pomeranz (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 9.0 | OAK 3/HOU 1 | Rich Hill (W,9-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 9.0 | MIN 10/TEX 1 | Tyler Duffey (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 8.0 | STL 5/PIT 1 | Adam Wainwright (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | COL 11/PHI 2 | Trevor Story, SS | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | `ATL 4/CHC 3 | Lucas Harrell | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 9/DC 7 | Wilmer Flores, 1B-3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | KC 4/SEA 3 | Salvador Perez, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | TOR 5/DET 4 | Michael Saunders, LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 5/CLE 4 | Chase Headley, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
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 | +/- |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | sd nl | 10.4 | 13.4 | 21.4 | 21.4 | 7.4 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 33.1 | 5.4 |
| Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 8.4 | 16.4 | 28.8 | 28.8 | 0.4 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.5 | 8.5 | 56.6 | 107.3 | 2.5 |
| Saunders, Michael 2768 | lf | tor al | 4.2 | 4.2 | 13.9 | 14.9 | 4.2 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 4.0 | 8.5 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -0.5 |
| Duffey, Tyler 3558 | pi sp | min al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Flores, Wilmer 3345 | 3b 1b | nym nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.0 |
| Headley, Chase 2552 | 3b | nyy al | 3.5 | 5.5 | 17.0 | 27.5 | 1.5 |
| Harrell, Lucas 2988 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 2.0 |
A late June look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams, led by Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw
Eight AL players and five NL players occupy All-Star spots at their position in both the 2016 season and the combined 2015-16 seasons.
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