Angels' Nolasco tops players for Saturday, July 1; Red Sox' Sale rises to lead AL pitchers in '17 Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank July 2, 2017

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

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 1:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
6	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
7	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	10.0
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.4
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings—first among American League pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors. Two others who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday also rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco and Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke.

Player of the Game—Nolasco pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Mariners.

Nolasco had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +13.0, tied with two others who earned Player of the Game Saturday—Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill and Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale. But Nolasco beat them both on a tiebreaker since he had more innings pitched (9 vs. 7 vs. 7).

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Eddie Rosario of the Twins went 5-for-5, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 10-5 win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—Orlando Arcia of the Brewers homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 8-4 win over the Marlins.

Rankings—Three players who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings:

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (7IP 4H 0R BB 11K W in the 7-1 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He rises from fourth to third place in season player rankings, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.1) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (14.0). Sale also rises to first place among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Ervin Santana of the Twins (12.4).
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (7IP 4H R BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He rises from eighth to fifth place in season player rankings and third among AL pitchers. He is the seventh player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the fourth straight season Carrasco has earned 10 or more points.
Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke (7IP 3H 2R 0BB 8K in the 6-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He rises to eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fifth among NL pitchers. He also now has 165.8 career Box-Toppers points, 12th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 11th-place player Johan Santana (166.6).

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

Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (6.2IP 2H 2R 0BB 6K W in the 10–4 win over the White Sox) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Phillies and has 145.0 career points, 27th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 26th-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (145.7). Hamels’ best season was 2016 with the Rangers when he had 17.8 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers.
Asdrubal Cabrera of the Mets (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-6 win over the Phillies) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Indians and has 43.7 career points, 21st among active NL batters. His best season was 2011 with the Indians, when he had 14.7 points, first among AL batters. Interestingly, his second-best season is not within 10 Box-Toppers points of that—he had 4.5 points in both 2008 and 2009 with the Indians. He had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016 with the Mets.

Scoring—Nolasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hill earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Rosario and Arcia 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.

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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/1
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    LAA 4, SEA 0
    Ricky Nolasco (W, 4-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    NL
    13.0
    LAD 8, SD 0
    Rich Hill (W, 5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    
    13.0
    BOS 7, TOR 1
    Chris Sale (W, 11-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    11
  

    
    10.0
    STL 2, WSH 1
    Michael Wacha (W, 5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    
    8.0
    ARI 6, COL 2
    Zack Greinke (W, 10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    7.0
    CLE 4, DET 1
    Carlos Carrasco (W, 9-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    6.2
    TEX 10, CHW 4
    Cole Hamels (W, 3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    2
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIN 10, KC 5
    Eddie Rosario (LF)
    5
    3
    5
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 7, NYY 6
    Yuli Gurriel (1B)
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    TB 10, BAL 3
    Logan Morrison (1B)
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    KC 11, MIN 6
    Brandon Moss (DH)
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 7, CLE 4
    Justin Wilson (S, 8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 4, OAK 3
    Jim Johnson (S, 18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    `SF 2, PIT 1 (F/11)
    George Kontos
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    MIL 8, MIA 4
    Orlando Arcia (SS)
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 7, PHI 6
    Asdrubal Cabrera (2B)
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    CIN 5, CHC 3
    Raisel Iglesias (S, 15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1	26.5	94.5	99.5	-0.3
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4	22.8	51.5	56.9	-2.0
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7	19.4	88.7	165.8	0.0
Rosario, Eddie 3542	lf	min al	5.2	8.2	9.7	9.7	2.2
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	4.7	19.1	23.1	42.8	-9.7
Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	4.2	6.2	16.2	21.7	2.2
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	4.0	15.4	32.1	91.2	-7.4
Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	atl nl	4.0	8.0	19.0	25.7	0.0
Wilson, Justin 3140	pi cp	det al	4.0	5.0	10.0	10.0	3.0
Gurriel, Yuli 3796	1b	hou al	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Moss, Brandon 2520	dh rf lf 1b	kc al	2.0	6.0	27.0	29.0	-2.0
Iglesias, Raisel 3467	pi cp	cin nl	2.0	5.0	7.7	7.7	-1.0
Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	2.0	4.0	21.7	21.7	0.0
Arcia, Orlando 3717	ss	mil nl	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.5
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	1.0	18.8	70.0	145.0	-16.8
Kontos, George 3106	pi mr cp	sf nl	1.0	4.0	8.7	8.7	-2.0
Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	2b ss	nym nl	1.0	3.0	13.0	43.7	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers player rankings for 8th straight week

Shawn Plank June 30, 2017

Kershaw maintains top spot in player rankings. Athletics' Ryon Healy is new leader among AL batters, Mets' Jay Bruce regains lead among NL batters.

Red Sox' Chris Sale tops players for Monday, June 26, ranks 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 27, 2017

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and ranks fourth in season player rankings.

Also Monday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 26:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	12.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
7	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	8.7
10	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Sale struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Twins.

Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season. He maintains his rank of fourth place in season player rankings, second place among American League pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (12.4).

National League Player of the Day—Jedd Gyorko of the Cardinals homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 15-9 win over the Rangers.

All-time leaders

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	200.1
4	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	190.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	184.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	164.8
13	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
14	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	151.2
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

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

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

Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Greinke (5IP 3H R 3BB 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Greinke also now rises to 12th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Monday, Greinke has 164.8 career points and passes Roger Clemens (164.8) on the “all-time” list. (Though both Greinke and Clemens have identical career Box-Toppers point totals, Greinke ranks higher because he has more Box-Toppers points in 2017.) And it should be noted that Clemens’ entire career from 1984 was not tracked by Box-Toppers—only his career from 1995 on. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his career Box-Toppers point total at 320.

Greinke now trails 11th-ranked player Johan Santana (166.6) on the “all-time” Box-Toppers career points list.

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

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/26
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.1
    BOS 4, MIN 1
    Chris Sale (W, 10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    
    7.0
    NYY 6, CHW 5
    Jordan Montgomery (W, 6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    4.1
    LAA 4, LAD 0
    Ricky Nolasco (W, 3-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    5
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    CLE 15, TEX 9
    Lonnie Chisenhall (RF)
    5
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    3.0
    STL 8, CIN 2
    Jedd Gyorko (3B)
    3
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 9, COL 2
    Buster Posey (C)
    4
    0
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ARI 6, PHI 1
    Zack Greinke (W, 9-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    1.0
    CHC 5, WSH 4
    Albert Almora Jr. (CF)
    1
    0
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	12.1	25.5	93.5	98.5	-1.3
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	8.7	18.4	87.7	164.8	-1.0
Posey, Buster 2745	ca 1b	sf nl	5.5	9.0	34.0	38.5	2.0
Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf cf	cle al	3.5	7.0	15.0	17.0	0.0
Montgomery, Jordan 3814	pi sp	nyy al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	2.0	13.4	30.1	89.2	-9.4
Almora, Albert Jr. 3764	cf	chi nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Gyorko, Jedd 3164	3b	stl nl	1.7	4.2	16.9	16.9	-0.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Athletics' Sonny Gray tops players for Sunday, June 25; Twins' Santana maintains 3rd-place rank in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank June 26, 2017

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana earns Player of the Game honors, maintaining his rank of third place in season player rankings, first among American League pitchers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 25:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	10.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
7	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
9	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2
10	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	8.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Gray struck out seven over seven innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 5-3 win over the White Sox.

National League Player of the Day—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Rockies.

Bellinger earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.2 for the season, rising to second among NL batters, behind Matt Adams of the Braves (6.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays homered and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Royals.

Bautista has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2017. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Pirates and has 64.4 career points, 10th among active AL batters. His best season was 2010 with the Blue Jays when he had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, first among AL batters. He’s had three seasons with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He’s barely kept the streak alive in two seasons, earning just 1.0 Box-Toppers point in both 2009 and 2016, both with the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Cody Bellinger.

Rankings—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana, third in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earns Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Santana (6IP 9H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He maintains his rank of third among all players in 2017 points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (16.4) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (13.0). Santana ranks first among AL pitchers, ahead of Chris Sale of the Red Sox (10.1).

Santana also now has 109.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 55th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Sunday, he passes Jeff Kent (109.7) on the “all-time” list and now trails 54th-ranked player Tom Glavine (110.6).

Debut—Kaleb Cowart of the Angels made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Cowart (2B 2-3 R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut Aug. 18, 2015, and was playing in his 66th career game. He is the 3,837th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/25
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    6.0
    OAK 5, CHW 3
    Sonny Gray (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    6.0
    HOU 8, SEA 2
    Michael Feliz (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    NL
    4.0
    LAD 12, COL 6
    Cody Bellinger, RF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 4, CLE 0
    Ervin Santana (W,10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    9
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    4.0
    `ARI 2, PHI 1 (F/11)
    Randall Delgado
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    3.2
    NYM 8, SF 2
    Rafael Montero (W,1-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    3.0
    CIN 6, WSH 2
    Scooter Gennett, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    TOR 8, KC 2
    Jose Bautista, RF
    5
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 7, ATL 0
    Keon Broxton, CF
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 8, TB 5
    Caleb Joseph, C
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 8, PIT 4
    Yadier Molina, C
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 7, SD 5
    Justin Wilson (S,6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    MIA 4, CHC 2
    AJ Ramos (S,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    LAA 4, BOS 2
    Kaleb Cowart, 3B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TEX 7, NYY 6
    Shin-Soo Choo, RF
    3
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4	16.4	49.2	109.7	8.4
Bellinger, Cody 3781	1b	lad nl	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2
Gennett, Scooter 3254	2b	cin nl	4.5	7.0	16.0	16.0	2.0
Broxton, Keon 3785	cf	mil nl	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Ramos, A.J. 3210	pi cp	fla nl	4.0	6.0	16.0	16.0	2.0
Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	4.0	5.0	36.8	36.8	3.0
Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf dh	tex al	3.5	4.5	24.5	51.2	2.5
Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	stl nl	2.0	6.0	15.5	36.7	-2.0
Wilson, Justin 3140	pi cp	det al	2.0	3.0	8.0	8.0	1.0
Bautista, Jose 2169	rf	tor al	1.5	2.5	25.5	64.4	0.5
Feliz, Michael 3632	pi mr cp	hou al	1.0	4.7	4.7	4.7	-2.7
Joseph, Caleb 3368	ca	bal al	1.0	1.0	6.5	6.5	1.0
Delgado, Randall 2939	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	1.0	9.4	10.4	1.0
Montero, Rafael 3410	pi sp	nym nl	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	1.0
Cowart, Kaleb 3837	3b	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers player rankings for 7th week

Shawn Plank June 23, 2017

Kershaw tops players in Box-Toppers player rankings for seventh straight week. Matt Adams takes the lead among NL batters. Santana, Judge lead AL players.

Indians' Carlos Carrasco tops players for Wednesday, June 21, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 22, 2017

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 21:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	10.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
7	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	8.0
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	8.0
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Carrasco struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Orioles.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, rising to sixth place among all players and third among American League pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (11.4) and Chris Sale of the Red Sox (10.1).

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Dan Straily struck out six over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Nationals. Straily picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the Marlins trailed, 1-0, when he exited.

Straily earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to sixth place among NL pitchers, 12th overall.

Opposing pitcher Max Scherzer of the Nationals had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning, but gave up two hits and two unearned runs that inning, picking up the loss. Had the Nationals won, Scherzer (8IP 2H 2R 0ER BB 11K L) would have been overall Player of the Day with a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0, beating out Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco’s Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. But Scherzer picks up no Box-Toppers points in the loss.

Scherzer ranks second in Box-Toppers points on the season with 13.0, behind overall leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4).

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 16-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam in the 6-4 win over the Red Sox. Perez also went 3-for-3.

Notable—Craig Stammen of the Padres (2B 1-1 R in the 3-2 win over the Cubs) became the fourth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.

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

Jose Martinez of the Cardinals (HR 2B 2-2 2R BI in the 7-6, 10-inning win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Sept. 6, 2016, and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,830th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb (6IP 3H R BB 3K ND in the 5-3, 11-inning win over the Giants) made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,831st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Austin Romine of the Yankees (3-4 R 2BI in the 8-4 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut Sept. 11, 2011, and was playing in his 177th career game. He is the 3,832nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Mariners pitcher Tony Zych (1.2IP 0H 0R BB K W in the 7-5 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2015, and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,833rd 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 Straily earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Drury and Perez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/21
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    CLE 5, BAL 1
    Carlos Carrasco (W,8-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    10
  

    
    7.0
    MIN 4, CHW 2
    Jose Berrios (W,7-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    NL
    6.0
    `MIA 2, WSH 1
    Dan Straily
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    ARI 16, COL 5
    Brandon Drury, 2B
    6
    1
    4
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    KC 6, BOS 4
    Salvador Perez, C
    3
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    LAD 8, NYM 2
    Rich Hill (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    3.0
    STL 7, PHI 6 (F/10)
    Jose Martinez, PH-RF
    2
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 5, OAK 1
    Mike Fiers (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    3.0
    `ATL 5, SF 3 (F/11)
    Sean Newcomb
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    2.2
    TB 8, CIN 3
    Chase Whitley (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    NYY 8, LAA 4
    Austin Romine, C
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIL 4, PIT 3
    Domingo Santana, RF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 7, TEX 5
    Steve Pearce, LF
    3
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    SEA 7, DET 5
    Tony Zych (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

    
    1.0
    SD 3, CHC 2
    Craig Stammen, P
    1
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4	21.8	50.5	55.9	-3.0
Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	fla nl	7.7	14.7	25.4	25.4	0.7
Berrios, Jose 3791	pi sp	min al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Perez, Salvador 2972	ca	kc al	3.5	7.5	22.7	25.2	-0.5
Drury, Brandon 3744	2b	ari nl	3.5	5.0	5.0	5.0	2.0
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	3.0	17.4	21.4	41.1	-11.4
Whitley, Chase 3352	pi cp mr	tb al	3.0	3.0	6.7	6.7	3.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	2.7	7.7	28.8	28.8	-2.3
Pearce, Steve 2371	lf	tor al	2.0	4.0	16.0	18.0	0.0
Santana, Domingo 3507	rf	mil nl	2.0	2.0	3.5	3.5	2.0
Stammen, Craig 2506	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	9.0	13.0	1.0
Martinez, Jose 3830	rf ph	stl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Newcomb, Sean 3831	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Romine, Austin 3832	ca	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Zych, Tony 3833	pi mr	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Corey Seager tops players for Tuesday, June 20; Red Sox' Sale rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 21, 2017

Corey Seager of the Dodgers 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 2017 season as of June 20:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	10.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2
7	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	8.0
8	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	8.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7
10	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	7.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, becoming the fifth player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Seager homered three times and doubled in the 12-0 win over the Mets. Seager also went 4-for-5 and drove in six runs.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out 10 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, four hits and one walk, in the 8-3 win over the Royals.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.1 for the season, rising from fifth to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (11.4).

Sale is the fifth player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. It is also the sixth straight season in which Sale has earned 10 or more points.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered twice, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall Player of the Day is NL batter Corey Seager.

Scoring—Seager earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Machado earns 1.5 points for being AL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/20
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    LAD 12, NYM 0
    Corey Seager, SS
    5
    3
    4
    6
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    7.1
    BOS 8, KC 3
    Chris Sale (W,9-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    3
    3
    1
    10
  

    BAT
    7.0
    BAL 6, CLE 5
    Manny Machado, 3B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    PIT 7, MIL 3
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    3
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CHC 4, SD 0
    Mike Montgomery (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.0
    `STL 8, PHI 1 (F/11)
    Mike Leake
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    MIN 9, CHW 7
    Miguel Sano, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    WSH 12, MIA 3
    Daniel Murphy, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    LAA 8, NYY 3
    Cameron Maybin, CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TB 6, CIN 5
    Corey Dickerson, LF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 8, OAK 4
    Alex Bregman, 3B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    TEX 6, TOR 1
    Nick Martinez (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    2
    1
    1
    3
    2
  

    
    1.0
    SEA 5, DET 4 (F/10)
    Ben Gamel, LF
    5
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    SF 6, ATL 3
    Austin Slater, LF
    4
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    COL 4, ARI 3
    Greg Holland (S,25)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	10.1	23.5	91.5	96.5	-3.3
Sano, Miguel 3527	3b	min al	7.5	10.5	16.5	16.5	4.5
Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	7.0	7.0	37.0	40.0	7.0
McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	4.0	11.0	42.5	57.9	-3.0
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	4.0	9.0	39.4	48.6	-1.0
Seager, Corey 3587	ss	lad nl	4.0	8.0	9.5	9.5	0.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672	lf cf	ana al	4.0	7.0	12.5	19.5	1.0
Gamel, Ben 3784	rf lf	sea al	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	dc nl	3.0	10.5	31.5	35.5	-4.5
Martinez, Nick 3430	pi sp	tex al	3.0	3.0	6.7	6.7	3.0
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	2.5	15.2	26.2	26.2	-10.2
Montgomery, Mike 3513	pi cp sp	chi nl	2.0	7.0	11.0	11.0	-3.0
Dickerson, Corey 3222	dh lf	tb al	2.0	6.5	18.5	18.5	-2.5
Bregman, Alex 3721	3b	hou al	2.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Slater, Austin 3818	lf	sf nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings for 6th straight week

Shawn Plank June 16, 2017

Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points. Twins' Santana leads AL players. Judge, Bruce are new leaders among batters.

Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Tuesday, June 13; Royals' Vargas rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 14, 2017

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester 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 2017 season as of June 13:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4
4	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
6	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2
7	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	8.0
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7
9	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	7.7
10	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	7.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Lester struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 14-3 win over the Mets.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 147.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Lester now trails 21st-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).

Lester also rises to seventh among active players in career Box-Toppers points, passing Cabrera. He trails sixth-ranked active player Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2). Lester has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.

American League Player of the Day—Eddie Rosario of the Twins hit three home runs and went 4-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 20-7 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 7-5 win over the Indians. Bellinger also doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Eddie Rosario.

Rankings—Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Vargas (7IP 5H R BB 6K W in the 8-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (11.4) and Chris Sale of the Red Sox (8.4).

Debut—Franchy Cordero of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Cordero (2HR 3-5 3R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut May 27 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,821st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/13
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    CHC 14, NYM 3
    Jon Lester (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    AL
    7.0
    MIN 20, SEA 7
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    5
    3
    4
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    STL 6, MIL 0
    Lance Lynn (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    8
  

    
    5.1
    TB 8, TOR 1
    Jacob Faria (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    5.0
    LAD 7, CLE 5
    Cody Bellinger, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    WSH 10, ATL 5
    Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    KC 8, SF 1
    Jason Vargas (W,9-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    TEX 4, HOU 2
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIL 8, STL 5
    Keon Broxton, CF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIA 8, OAK 1
    Jose Urena (W,5-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 7, DET 6
    Brandon Drury, 2B
    5
    1
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SD 6, CIN 2
    Franchy Cordero, CF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 5, COL 2
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 6, BAL 1
    Matt Davidson, 3B
    4
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.2
    `LAA 3, NYY 2 (F/11)
    JC Ramirez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    2
    2
    3
    7
  

    
    0.0
    BOS 4, PHI 3 (F/12)
    Andrew Benintendi, LF
    5
    0
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    Player of the Game
    Pos
    Team
    ’17
    ’16-17
    ’12-17
    Career
    +/-
  

    Vargas, Jason 2055
    pi sp
    kc al
    8.0
    9.0
    34.4
    55.2
    7.0
  

    Lynn, Lance 2992
    pi sp
    stl nl
    4.7
    4.7
    60.6
    60.6
    4.7
  

    Zimmerman, Ryan 2180
    1b
    dc nl
    4.5
    6.0
    25.7
    60.8
    3.0
  

    Lester, Jon 2173
    pi sp
    chi nl
    4.0
    26.1
    71.6
    147.2
    -18.1
  

    Ramirez, JC 3778
    pi sp
    ana al
    4.0
    4.0
    4.0
    4.0
    4.0
  

    Rosario, Eddie 3542
    lf
    min al
    3.7
    6.7
    8.2
    8.2
    0.7
  

    Bellinger, Cody 3781
    1b lf
    lad nl
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
  

    Broxton, Keon 3785
    cf
    mil nl
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
  

    McCutchen, Andrew 2637
    cf
    pit nl
    3.0
    10.0
    41.5
    56.9
    -4.0
  

    Benintendi, Andrew 3815
    lf
    bos al
    2.5
    2.5
    2.5
    2.5
    2.5
  

    Urena, Jose 3492
    pi sp
    fla nl
    2.0
    4.7
    5.7
    5.7
    -0.7
  

    Drury, Brandon 3744
    2b lf
    ari nl
    2.0
    3.5
    3.5
    3.5
    0.5
  

    Faria, Jacob 3816
    pi sp
    tb al
    2.0
    2.0
    2.0
    2.0
    2.0
  

    Odor, Rougned 3336
    2b
    tex al
    1.0
    7.5
    12.0
    12.0
    -5.5
  

    Davidson, Matt 3292
    3b
    chi al
    1.0
    1.0
    3.0
    3.0
    1.0
  

    Cordero, Franchy 3821
    cf
    sd nl
    1.0
    1.0
    1.0
    1.0
    1.0
  

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.

Twins' Ervin Santana tops players for Friday, June 9, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank June 10, 2017

Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the third player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	8.0
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7
7	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	7.7
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	7.4
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	7.4
10	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	7.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Santana pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout, walking one and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Giants.

Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, maintaining his third-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among American League pitchers. He trails Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (12.0).

This is the fifth time Santana has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points in a season in the 13 seasons he has earned Box-Toppers points. He last did it in 2014 with the Braves, when he had 11.0 points for the season.

Santana also rises to 56th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday he now has 108.7 career Box-Toppers points, passing five players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Beltran of the Astros (107.6), Red Sox pitcher David Price (107.9), Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Santana now trails 55th-ranked player Jeff Kent (109.7).

National League Player of the Day—Tyler Moore of the Marlins hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-7 win over the Pirates.

American League Batter of the Day—Mallex Smith of the Rays homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 13-4 win over the Athletics.

This was Smith’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Smith made his Major League debut April 11, 2016, and was playing in his 82nd career game. He is the 3,819th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Tyler Moore.

Scoring—Santana 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. Smith earns 1.5 points for being AL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/9
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    MIN 4, SF 0
    Ervin Santana (W,8-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    NL
    5.0
    MIA 12, PIT 7
    Tyler Moore, 1B-RF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    NYY 8, BAL 2
    Jordan Montgomery (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    LAD 7, CIN 2
    Kenta Maeda (S,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    4.1
    MIL 8, ARI 6
    Corey Knebel (S,8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    TB 13, OAK 4
    Mallex Smith, CF
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SD 6, KC 3
    Jhoulys Chacin (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    2
    6
  

    
    4.0
    `STL 3, PHI 2
    Matt Bowman (H,12)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 5, WSH 2
    Jonathan Lucroy, C
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 5, DET 3
    Mitch Moreland, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 7, CHW 3
    Edwin Encarnacion, DH
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 9, HOU 4
    Cameron Maybin, CF
    4
    4
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 4, TOR 2
    Edwin Diaz (S,10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 3, NYM 2
    Dansby Swanson, SS
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    COL 5, CHC 3
    Ryan Hanigan, C
    4
    1
    2
    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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4	15.4	48.2	108.7	7.4
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi sp	sd nl	4.7	10.4	17.1	32.5	-1.0
Knebel, Corey 3757	pi cp	mil nl	4.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	3.0
Swanson, Dansby 3751	ss	atl nl	3.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	2.5
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp cp	lad nl	3.0	13.0	13.0	13.0	-7.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	3.0	11.0	46.1	70.1	-5.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690	pi cp	sea al	3.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	-4.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672	lf cf	ana al	3.0	6.0	11.5	18.5	0.0
Moore, Tyler 3045	1b rf ph	fla nl	2.7	2.7	7.2	7.2	2.7
Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b ph	bos al	2.0	5.5	18.7	20.7	-1.5
Bowman, Matt 3699	pi mr	stl nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Montgomery, Jordan 3814	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Smith, Mallex 3819	cf	tb al	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	tex al	1.0	6.7	21.8	28.3	-4.7
Hanigan, Ryan 2708	ca	col nl	1.0	2.0	5.0	12.0	0.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers weekly player rankings for 5th straight week

Shawn Plank June 9, 2017

Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings for fifth straight week. Miguel Sano retakes Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters. Santana leads AL pitchers, Harper leads NL batters.

Marlins' Edinson Volquez, pitching no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, June 3; Pujols hits 600th & earns Player of the Game

Shawn Plank June 4, 2017

Marlins pitcher Edison Volquez, pitching a no-hitter, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 3:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	12.7
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7
6	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	7.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	7.4
8	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	7.0
9	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
10	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	7.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, Albert Pujols of the Angels hit his 600th career home run and also earned Player of the Game honors, bolstering his status as top active batter in career Box-Toppers points with 184.3.

Player of the Day—Volquez pitched a no-hitter in the 3-0 win over the Diamondbacks, allowing two walks and striking out 10.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher David Price struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Orioles.

Price now has 107.9 career Box-Toppers points. With his points Saturday, he rises to 59th place among all players in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (106.7) and Carlos Beltran of the Astros (107.6). Price now trails 58th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1).

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Zunino of the Mariners hit a grand slam and doubled in the 9-2 win over the Rays. Zunino went 3-for-4 and drove in seven runs.

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Taylor of the Dodgers hit a go-ahead, ninth-inning grand slam in the 10-8 win over the Brewers. Taylor also doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times.

Rankings—Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Chatwood (8IP 4H R BB 8K W in the 10-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season. He ranks 21st among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Albert Pujols of the Angels now has 184.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday, a game in which he hit his 600th career home run.

Pujols (GS 1-4 R 4BI in the 7-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season. His 184.3 career Box-Toppers points ranks seventh among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began, trailing sixth-place player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). Pujols is second among all batters since 1995 in Box-Toppers points behind Rodriguez. He is also third among active players in career Box-Toppers points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (196.4) and Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (188.0).

Debut—Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Montgomery (6IP 3H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 7-0 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut April 12 and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,814th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Volquez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Zunino and Taylor 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/3
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    MIA 3, ARI 0
    Edinson Volquez (W,2-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    
    9.0
    COL 10, SD 1
    Tyler Chatwood (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    AL
    8.0
    BOS 5, BAL 2
    David Price (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    7.0
    SEA 9, TB 2
    Mike Zunino, C
    4
    1
    3
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    6.0
    LAD 10, MIL 8
    Chris Taylor, CF
    4
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    OAK 10, WSH 4
    Ryon Healy, 3B
    4
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    NYY 7, TOR 0
    Jordan Montgomery (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    ATL 6, CIN 5 (F/12)
    Matt Adams, 1B
    6
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    KC 12, CLE 5
    Lorenzo Cain, CF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    DET 10, CHW 1
    Jose Iglesias, SS
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    HOU 6, TEX 5
    Chris Devenski (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    CHC 5, STL 3
    Kyle Schwarber, LF
    3
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    LAA 7, MIN 2
    Albert Pujols, DH
    4
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 4, PIT 2
    Neil Walker, 2B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 5, SF 3
    Odubel Herrera, CF
    4
    0
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	5.4	12.4	19.1	22.1	-1.6
Healy, Ryon 3685	1b 3b dh	oak al	4.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	1.5
Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr	hou al	4.0	7.7	7.7	7.7	0.3
Iglesias, Jose 3532	ss	det al	3.5	3.5	4.5	4.5	3.5
Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	fla nl	3.0	9.4	39.1	67.2	-3.4
Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	atl nl	3.0	4.0	12.5	12.5	2.0
Pujols, Albert 1438	dh 1b	ana al	2.0	10.0	34.5	184.3	-6.0
Schwarber, Kyle 3536	lf ca	chi nl	2.0	2.0	7.0	7.0	2.0
Price, David 2593	pi sp	bos al	1.7	14.1	76.1	107.9	-10.7
Taylor, Chris 3684	cf	lad nl	1.5	3.0	3.0	3.0	0.0
Zunino, Mike 3390	ca	sea al	1.5	1.5	5.0	5.0	1.5
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	1.0	7.5	21.7	21.7	-5.5
Walker, Neil 2756	2b	nym nl	1.0	4.5	23.5	31.5	-2.5
Herrera, Odubel 3449	cf	phi nl	1.0	4.5	8.5	8.5	-2.5
Montgomery, Jordan 3814	pi sp	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers player rankings for fourth straight week

Shawn Plank June 2, 2017

Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points for fourth week in a row. Aaron Judge of the Yankees regains player rankings lead among AL batters.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers player rankings for 3rd straight week

Shawn Plank May 26, 2017

Kershaw leads player rankings for 3rd straight week. New players rise to lead AL categories—Ervin Santana leads pitchers, Miguel Sano leads batters, both are Twins.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, May 23, rises to 3rd in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, passing Schilling

Shawn Plank May 24, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his top spot in season player rankings and rising to third place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 23:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.7
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	6.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
6	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	6.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	6.0
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0
10	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	6.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors: Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rose to second place and Astros pitcher Lance McCullers rose to sixth place.

Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over nine innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Cardinals. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 1-1 when he exited after nine innings.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He is the first player to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, the ninth straight season he’s earned 10 or more points in a season. Kershaw was also the first player to 10 points in 2016, reaching the milestone a week earlier than this year (May 17).

All-time leaders

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


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	194.4
4	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	188.0
6	Alex Rodriguez	dh	released	187.0
7	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	182.3
8	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
9	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	169.7
10	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
11	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
12	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
13	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	162.8
14	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
15	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
16	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
17	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
18	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
19	Bartolo Colon	pi sp	atl nl	151.2
20	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0

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

Kershaw maintains his top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, ahead of second-place player, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (9.4 Box-Toppers points), who was American League Player of the Day Tuesday.

Kershaw also rises to third place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw now has 194.4 career Box-Toppers points and passes Curt Schilling (194.1) on the “all-time” list. It should be noted that Schilling began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so would likely have more total career points. Rough Box-Toppers projected estimates put Schilling’s actual career total at 232. (A look at projected Box-Toppers point totals for pitchers who began their careers before 1995.)

Kershaw has risen steadily up Box-Toppers career points rankings in recent years but his rise will now become more difficult. Kershaw now trails second-place player Pedro Martinez on the “all-time” list, who has 244.8 career Box-Toppers points since 1995. The 50.4-point gap between Martinez and Kershaw is the largest between any two players in “all-time” Box-Toppers rankings. In essence, Kershaw has whizzed by the close-together “inner planets” of players with fewer than 200 Box-Toppers points and now has to travel much greater distances to reach the “gas giants” of players with more than 200 career Box-Toppers points since 1995—Martinez and Randy Johnson (the overall leader with 278.8 points).

However, given Kershaw’s pace, perhaps the 50.4-point gap between Martinez and Kershaw is not so great and insurmountable. Kershaw has earned 50.8 points since July 23, 2015, less than two complete seasons (which included time on the disabled list). If Kershaw were able to maintain that pace, he might catch Martinez by the end of the 2018 season.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.

Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, rising from third to second place in season player rankings, first among AL pitchers, passing previous AL pitching leader, Chris Sale of the Red Sox (8.4 points). Santana trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (10.7 points).

Santana also now has 106.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 59th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes six players on the “all-time” list: Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1), Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7), Aramis Ramirez (105.8), Carlos Beltran of the Astros (105.9), Frank Thomas (106.2) and Red Sox pitcher David Price (106.2). Santana now trails 58th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1).

National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals homered twice and doubled in the 10-1 win over the Mariners. Rendon went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rangers.

Rankings—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. Rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

McCullers (5IP H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 145.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday (CG 4H R 0BB 10K W in the 4-1 win over the Giants). Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, but lost out on earning Player of the Game honors to Kershaw, who had a game score of +14.0. So Lester only earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game.

That point boosts him to 24th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz (145.9). Lester now ranks seventh among active players in career points, trailing Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2).

Debut—Blue Jays pitcher Danny Barnes made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Barnes (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 2, 2016, and was playing in his 26th career game. He is the 3,807th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Rendon and Bogaerts 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/23
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    `LAD 2, STL 1 (F/13)
    Clayton Kershaw
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    13.0
    CHC 4, SF 1
    Jon Lester (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    AL
    11.0
    MIN 2, BAL 0
    Ervin Santana (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    7.0
    WSH 10, SEA 1
    Anthony Rendon, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    HOU 6, DET 2
    Lance McCullers Jr. (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    5.1
    LAA 4, TB 0
    Matt Shoemaker (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    5.0
    MIA 11, OAK 9
    Justin Bour, 1B
    5
    4
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    BOS 11, TEX 6
    Xander Bogaerts, SS
    5
    4
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    NYM 9, SD 3
    Michael Conforto, LF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    TOR 4, MIL 3
    Danny Barnes (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    COL 8, PHI 2
    Charlie Blackmon, CF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CLE 8, CIN 7
    Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
    4
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    ATL 6, PIT 5
    Matt Adams, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    KC 6, NYY 2
    Danny Duffy (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    3
    7
  

    
    1.0
    ARI 5, CHW 4
    Fernando Rodney (S,11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.7	35.1	134.8	194.4	-13.7
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4	13.4	46.2	106.7	5.4
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	6.0	12.1	18.8	18.8	-0.1
Conforto, Michael 3622	cf lf	nym nl	4.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	-1.0
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	3.5	9.0	15.5	15.5	-2.0
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	3.0	13.7	31.7	32.7	-7.7
Shoemaker, Matt 3290	pi sp	ana al	3.0	10.0	28.4	28.4	-4.0
Blackmon, Charlie 2891	cf	col nl	2.7	6.7	13.2	14.7	-1.3
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	2.0	24.1	69.6	145.2	-20.1
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	cle al	2.0	10.0	45.1	69.1	-6.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp	ari nl	2.0	7.0	25.0	37.0	-3.0
Bour, Justin 3433	1b	fla nl	2.0	4.5	14.5	14.5	-0.5
Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	atl nl	2.0	3.0	11.5	11.5	1.0
Bogaerts, Xander 3383	ss	bos al	1.5	2.5	8.0	8.0	0.5
Barnes, Danny 3807	pi mr	tor al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw leads Box-Toppers player rankings report for 2nd straight week

Shawn Plank May 19, 2017

Kershaw tops player rankings for second straight week. Other category leaders unchanged from last week: AL pitchers—Chris Sale, NL batters—Bryce Harper, AL batters—Aaron Judge.

Dodgers' Alex Wood tops players for Saturday, May 13; Red Sox' Sale rises to lead Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank May 14, 2017

Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to retake the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 13:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	7.7
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
5	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	5.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	5.4
8	Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	5.4
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	5.0
10	Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Wood struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Rockies.

American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing three runs on two hits, in the 6-3 win over the Rays.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season, rising from third to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He passes previous leader Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (7.7 Box-Toppers points), who only took the lead after Friday’s games. It is the second time this season Sale has led player rankings—he also led from May 2 to 5.

National League Batter of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Brewers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-4 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—J.D. Martinez of the Tigers hit two homers and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Angels.

2017 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.
 
    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/2
    Carlos Martinez
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/3
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    2.0
  
    4/9
    Noah Syndergaard
    nym nl
    3.0
  
    4/14
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    4.0
  
    4/15
    Ervin Santana
    min al
    4.7
  
    4/19
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    5.0
  
    5/2
    Chris Sale
    bos al
    6.7
  
    5/6
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
        7.0

     5/12
    Ervin Santana
    min al
    7.7
  
    5/13
    Chris Sale
    bos al
    8.4

Notable—Bryce Harper of the Nationals leads batters in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Harper (HR 1-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to 11th place among all players. He passes previous batting leader, Aaron Judge of the Yankees (5.0 Box-Toppers points). Though both Harper and Judge have 5.0 Box-Toppers points, Harper ranks higher because he had more 2016 Box-Toppers points (3.0 vs. 0.0).

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

Marlins pitcher Jose Berrios (7.2IP 2H R BB 4K W in the 4-1 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut April 27, 2016, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,791st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams (5IP 4H R BB 4K W in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut Sept. 7, 2016, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,792nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Shaw and Martinez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/13
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    LAD 4, COL 0
    Alex Wood (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    AL
    9.0
    BOS 6, TB 3
    Chris Sale (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    3
    3
    2
    12
  

    
    7.0
    `KC 4, BAL 3
    Nate Karns
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    12
  

    
    6.2
    MIN 4, CLE 1
    Jose Berrios (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    5.0
    ATL 3, MIA 1
    Julio Teheran (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    4.2
    `CHW 5, SD 4
    Anthony Swarzak
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    MIL 11, NYM 4
    Travis Shaw, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    DET 4, LAA 3
    J.D. Martinez, RF
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 5, CHC 3
    Tommy Pham, LF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 6, OAK 5
    Matt Bush (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 7, SEA 2
    Kevin Pillar, CF
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 4, ARI 3
    Trevor Williams (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    1.1
    SF 3, CIN 1
    Matt Moore (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    8
    1
    1
    3
    7
  

    
    1.0
    WSH 6, PHI 4
    Bryce Harper, RF
    4
    2
    1
    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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4	21.8	89.8	94.8	-5.0
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	5.0	8.0	32.4	32.4	2.0
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp mr	lad nl	5.0	6.0	24.4	24.4	4.0
Shaw, Travis 3544	3b	mil nl	4.5	11.5	15.7	15.7	-2.5
Karns, Nathan 3414	pi sp	kc al	3.7	6.7	12.7	12.7	0.7
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	2.7	15.1	38.6	40.6	-9.7
Pham, Thomas 3596	lf	stl nl	2.5	4.0	5.5	5.5	1.0
Swarzak, Anthony 2603	pi mr	chi al	2.0	2.0	6.0	9.7	2.0
Martinez, J.D. 2922	rf	det al	1.5	7.0	16.7	18.7	-4.0
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	11.7	47.5	47.5	-9.7
Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	tor al	1.0	3.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0
Bush, Matt 3673	pi cp	tex al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Berrios, Jose 3791	pi sp	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Williams, Trevor 3792	pi sp	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Angels' Matt Shoemaker tops players for Friday, May 12; Twins' Santana retakes Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank May 13, 2017

Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 12:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	7.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	6.7
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
5	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	5.4
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	5.4
8	Triggs, Andrew 3723	pi sp	oak al	5.4
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	5.0
10	Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana regains the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Shoemaker pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits, in the 7-0 win over the Tigers.

Shoemaker had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, tied with Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who was Player of the Game in the 5-1 win over the Yankees (6IP 4H 0R 0BB 7K W). But Shoemaker won overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he allowed one fewer hit than McCullers (three vs. four). Yet, because of that one-hit difference, Shoemaker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day while McCullers earns only 1.0 point for being Player of the Game.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Eddie Butler pitched six scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing two hits, in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals.

National League Batter of the Day—Tyler Flowers of the Braves homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Marlins.

2017 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.
 
    Date
    Player
    Team
    BTP
  
    4/2
    Carlos Martinez
    stl nl
    2.0
  
    4/3
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    2.0
  
    4/9
    Noah Syndergaard
    nym nl
    3.0
  
    4/14
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    4.0
  
    4/15
    Ervin Santana
    min al
    4.7
  
    4/19
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    5.0
  
    5/2
    Chris Sale
    bos al
    6.7
  
    5/6
    Clayton Kershaw
    lad nl
    7.0
  
5/12
    Ervin Santana
    min al
    7.7

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Friday because no AL batters earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday in the 1-0 win over the Indians (7IP 2H 0R 4K W).

Santana earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, passing previous leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (7.0 Box-Toppers points). It is the second time this season Santana has led players in Box-Toppers points; he previously led from April 15 to 18. Santana also takes the lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Chris Sale of the Red Sox (6.7).

Santana also now has 105.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 65th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday, he passes Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano (104.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 64th-ranked player, Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1).

Streak—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the 2017 season.

Cueto (8IP 5H 2R 3BB 6K ND in the 3-2, 17-inning win over the Reds) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Reds and has 100.8 career Box-Toppers points, becoming the 78th player with 100 or more Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995.

Cueto ranks 74th among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 and Friday passed four players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Giants pitcher Matt Cain (100.7). Cueto now trails 73rd-ranked player Matt Holliday of the Yankees (100.8). Though both Cueto and Holliday both have 100.8 career Box-Toppers points, Holliday ranks higher because he has more 2017 Box-Toppers points than Cueto (3.0 vs. 1.0).

Cueto’s best season was 2014 with the Reds, when he had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players. In 2016, he had 16.4 points with the Giants, eighth among all players.

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

Rangers closer Kela Keone (2IP 0H 0R BB 2K W in the 5-2 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut April 7, 2015, and was playing in his 115th career game. He is the 3,789th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Austin Hedges of the Padres (HR 2B 2-4 R 3BI in the 6-3 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut May 4, 2015, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,790th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Shoemaker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Butler earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Flowers earns 1.5 points for being NL 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/12
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    LAA 7, DET 0
    Matt Shoemaker (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    9.0
    HOU 5, NYY 1
    Lance McCullers Jr. (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    NL
    6.0
    CHC 3, STL 2
    Eddie Butler (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ATL 8, MIA 4
    Tyler Flowers, C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIN 1, CLE 0
    Ervin Santana (W,6-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    5
    4
  

    
    4.0
    TOR 4, SEA 0
    Joe Biagini (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 7, NYM 4
    Eric Sogard, SS
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 5, OAK 2
    Keone Kela (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    2.1
    TB 5, BOS 4
    Alex Colome (S,9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    ARI 11, PIT 4
    Brandon Drury, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SD 6, CHW 3
    Austin Hedges, C
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    LAD 6, COL 2
    Chase Utley, 1B
    1
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `SF 3, CIN 2 (F/17)
    Johnny Cueto
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    3
    6
  

    
    1.0
    KC 3, BAL 2
    Joakim Soria (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	7.7	11.7	44.5	105.0	3.7
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	4.0	10.1	16.8	16.8	-2.1
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	3.0	12.0	20.7	20.7	-6.0
Shoemaker, Matt 3290	pi sp	ana al	2.0	9.0	27.4	27.4	-5.0
Soria, Joakim 2258	pi mr cp	kc al	2.0	3.0	11.7	47.7	1.0
Butler, Eddie 3483	pi sp	chi nl	1.7	2.7	3.7	3.7	0.7
Flowers, Tyler 3101	ca	atl nl	1.5	4.0	12.5	12.5	-1.0
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	1.0	17.4	71.0	100.8	-15.4
Biagini, Joe 3646	pi sp	tor al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0
Drury, Brandon 3744	2b lf	ari nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5
Utley, Chase 1861	1b 2b	lad nl	1.0	2.0	13.0	74.1	0.0
Sogard, Eric 3174	ss 2b	mil nl	1.0	1.0	5.0	5.0	1.0
Hedges, Austin 3790	ca	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Kela, Keone 3789	pi cp	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Lackey tops players for Tuesday, May 9; Astros' Beltran ties Box-Toppers record, earning points in 19 straight seasons

Shawn Plank May 10, 2017

Cubs pitcher John Lackey 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 2017 season as of May 9:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	7.0
2	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	6.7
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	6.7
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
5	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	5.4
6	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	5.0
7	Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	5.0
8	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
9	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	5.0
10	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	5.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Carlos Beltran of the Astros has now earned Box-Toppers points for 19 straight seasons, tying the “all-time” record set by Jason Giambi, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Plus, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Lackey struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 8-1 win over the Rockies.

Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 123.2 career points, ranked 39th among all player since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 38th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 6-0 win over the Blue Jays.

Box-Toppers season streaks

Here are the players who have earned Box-Toppers points in the most consecutive seasons. Carlos Beltran has tied Jason Giambi for the longest streak—19 straight seasons. Beltran has earned points each season from 1999 to 2017; Giambi earned points each season from 1995 to 2013. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Players are listed by length of their streak. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.


	Streak	Player	Pos	Duration	Career BTP
1	19	Jason Giambi	1b	1995-2013	133.4
1	19	Carlos Beltran*	rf	1999-2017	105.9
3	18	Jim Thome	1b dh	1995-2012	146.7
3	18	Chipper Jones	3b	1995-2012	149.0
3	18	Johnny Damon	lf	1995-2012	63.0
3	18	Alex Rodriguez	3b	1996-2013	187.0
7	17	Mariano Rivera	pi cp	1995-2011	126.4
7	17	Derek Jeter	ss	1996-2012	76.4
7	17	Paul Konerko	1b	1998-2014	100.7
7	17	Tim Hudson	pi sp	1999-2015	157.0
7	17	Torii Hunter	cf	1999-2015	115.9
7	17	David Ortiz	dh	2000-2016	145.9
7	17	CC Sabathia*	pi sp	2001-2017	187.0
14	16	Manny Ramirez	lf	1995-2010	167.2
14	16	Andy Pettitte	pi sp	1995-2010	138.5
14	16	Jamie Moyer	pi sp	1995-2010	104.0
14	16	Scott Rolen	3b	1996-2011	97.6
14	16	Kevin Millwood	pi sp	1997-2012	108.3
14	16	Derek Lowe	pi sp	1998-2013	91.5
14	16	Aramis Ramirez	3b	2000-2015	105.8
14	16	Mark Buehrle	pi sp	2000-2015	116.7
14	16	Albert Pujols*	dh 1b	2001-2016	182.3
14	16	Ichiro Suzuki*	rf	2001-2016	53.7
24	15	Randy Johnson	pi sp	1995-2009	278.8
24	15	Garret Anderson	lf	1995-2009	86.5
24	15	Ivan Rodriguez	ca	1995-2009	79.0
24	15	Tony Clark	1b	1995-2009	63.8
24	15	Gary Sheffield	lf	1995-2009	124.1
24	15	Jason Kendall	ca	1996-2010	40.9
24	15	Vladimir Guerrero	rf	1997-2011	128.3
24	15	Bobby Abreu	rf	1997-2011	95.5
24	15	Mike Cameron	cf	1997-2011	70.3
24	15	Miguel Tejada	ss	1997-2011	102.3
24	15	Jorge Posada	ca	1997-2011	79.5
24	15	Livan Hernandez	pi sp	1997-2011	76.7
24	15	Kyle Lohse	pi sp	2001-2015	89.0
24	15	Jake Peavy	pi sp	2002-2016	141.8

BTP: Box-Toppers points
* Active streak of a player active in 2017
Updated Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Details

Carrasco earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to fifth place in season player rankings and third among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the Red Sox (6.7) and Ervin Santana of the Twins (6.7).

National League Batter of the Day—Keon Broxton of the Brewers homered, tripled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—Ben Gamel of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 10-9 win over the Phillies. Gamel went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs.

Streak—Carlos Beltran of the Astros tied Box-Toppers’ record for the longest consecutive season streak in which a player has earned Player of the Game honors.

Beltran was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 8-3 win over the Braves (HR 2-4 2R BI), marking the 19th straight season in which he has earned Box-Toppers points (1999 to 2017). That ties the record of Jason Giambi, who earned Box-Toppers points for 19 straight seasons from 1995 to 2013. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, the same year Giambi began his Major League career. Giambi earned points in each season he played except for his last season in 2014.)

Beltran earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Royals and has 105.9 career points, rising to 61st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Beltran earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1), Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7) and Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Beltran now trails 60th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2).

Beltran’s 105.9 career Box-Toppers points also ranks fourth among active AL batters.

Beltran’s best season was 2003 with the Royals when he had 13.9 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters, behind Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays (17.7). In 2016, Beltran had 6.0 points with the Yankees and Rangers, eighth among AL designated hitters.

Beltran barely kept the streak alive earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers points in two different seasons—in 2010 with the Mets and in 2014 with the Yankees.

Besides Beltran, there are only three other Major League players who earned Box-Toppers points in 1999 or earlier who are still listed as active players today:

Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon, who has 2.7 points this season, but he earned no points in 2010, so his consecutive season streak stands only at seven.
Adrian Beltre of the Rangers, though he hasn’t earned Box-Toppers points yet this season. Also, Beltre did not earn points in 2005 or 2014, so his longest consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points is eight. His current streak is two seasons (2015 and 2016).
Pitcher Joe Nathan of the Nationals, though he hasn’t earned Box-Toppers points since Sept. 25, 2014.

Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Carrasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Broxton and Gamel 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 





  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    5/9
    Score
    Game
    Player of the Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    CHC 8, COL 1
    John Lackey (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    AL
    11.0
    CLE 6, TOR 0
    Carlos Carrasco (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    8.0
    TEX 11, SD 0
    A.J. Griffin (W,4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    7.0
    MIL 11, BOS 7
    Keon Broxton, CF
    3
    3
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.1
    `LAD 4, PIT 3 (F/10)
    Julio Urias
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    1
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    BAT
    6.0
    SEA 10, PHI 9
    Ben Gamel, RF
    5
    3
    4
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    COL 10, CHC 4
    Mark Reynolds, 1B
    4
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    KC 7, TB 6 (F/12)
    Salvador Perez, C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    STL 6, MIA 5
    Matt Adams, PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 6, SF 1
    Zack Wheeler (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    4
    4
  

    
    2.0
    BAL 5, WSH 4 (F/12)
    Logan Verrett (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    1.0
    LAA 7, OAK 3
    Yunel Escobar, 3B
    5
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    MIN 7, CHW 2
    Byron Buxton, CF
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    HOU 8, ATL 3
    Carlos Beltran, DH
    4
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    CIN 5, NYY 3
    Joey Votto, 1B
    2
    0
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    DET 7, ARI 3
    Nicholas Castellanos, 3B
    3
    0
    1
    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


Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	5.4	17.8	46.5	51.9	-7.0
Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	col nl	3.5	7.5	22.2	54.9	-0.5
Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	tex al	3.0	8.7	23.4	23.4	-2.7
Gamel, Ben 3784	rf	sea al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	2.5	13.0	27.7	66.7	-8.0
Broxton, Keon 3785	cf	mil nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	2.0	15.4	41.8	123.2	-11.4
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	2.0	7.5	15.7	15.7	-3.5
Verrett, Logan 3518	pi cp	bal al	2.0	3.0	6.0	6.0	1.0
Beltran, Carlos 1194	dh rf	hou al	1.0	7.0	19.2	105.9	-5.0
Urias, Julio 3652	pi sp	lad nl	1.0	6.7	6.7	6.7	-4.7
Buxton, Byron 3604	cf	min al	1.0	5.7	6.7	6.7	-3.7
Perez, Salvador 2972	ca	kc al	1.0	5.0	20.2	22.7	-3.0
Escobar, Yunel 2331	3b	ana al	1.0	2.0	17.5	42.0	0.0
Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	stl nl	1.0	2.0	10.5	10.5	0.0
Wheeler, Zack 3204	pi sp	nym nl	1.0	1.0	12.7	12.7	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Red Sox' Chris Sale passes Kershaw to lead Box-Toppers weekly player rankings

Shawn Plank May 6, 2017

Sale rises to lead Box-Toppers weekly player rankings. Scherzer rises to lead NL pitchers, Judge rises to lead AL batters. Harper maintains lead among NL batters

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

All-time leaders

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

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

All-time leaders

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

2017 lead changes

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

2017 lead changes

Top player from each game

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

Top 10 players

Box-Toppers season streaks

Top player from each game

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

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.