Yankees' CC Sabathia tops players for Wednesday, June 7; Kershaw tops NL players, extends Box-Toppers points lead

The top two active career leaders in Box-Toppers points were Wednesday’s Box-Toppers top two players.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 7:  


 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 9.4
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 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 7.4
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 7.4
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?

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia—second in active career points—is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day. And Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw—first in active career points—is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers National League Player of the Day. Kershaw also extends his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Player of the Day—Sabathia pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out five, in the 8-0 win over the Red Sox.

Sabathia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 190.0 career points, fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fourth-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Sabathia ranks second among active players in career points, trailing Kershaw (198.1). Sabathia has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 13th among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and three walks, in the 2-1 win over the Nationals.

Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, extending his lead in season player rankings ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (12.0).

Kershaw also now has 198.1 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw ranks first among active players in career points.

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +8.0, same as Sabathia. But Sabathia beat Kershaw to earn Player of the Game honors because he had more innings pitched (8.0 vs. 7.0).

American League Batter of the Day—Trey Mancini of the Orioles hit two home runs and went 2-for-2, driving in five runs, in the 9-6, 11-inning win over the Pirates.

National League Batter of the Day—Dansby Swanson of the Braves hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-1 win over the Phillies.

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

Rays pitcher Jacob Faria (6.1IP 3H R 2BB 5K W in the 3-1 win over the White Sox) was also making his Major League debut Wednesday. He is the 3,816th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Patrick Kivlehan of the Reds (pinch-hit 3-R HR 1-1 R 3BI in the 6-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2016, and was playing in his 49th career game. He is the 3,817th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

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 

6/7 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 NYY 8, BOS 0 CC Sabathia (W,7-2) - - - - 8.0 5 0 0 0 5
NL 8.0 LAD 2, WSH 1 Clayton Kershaw (W,8-2) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 3 9
7.2 DET 4, LAA 0 Buck Farmer (W,2-0) - - - - 6.2 3 0 0 1 5
BAT 7.0 BAL 9, PIT 6 (F/11) Trey Mancini, PH-LF 2 2 2 5 - - - - - -
BAT 5.0 ATL 14, PHI 1 Dansby Swanson, SS 4 3 3 3 - - - - - -
5.0 SEA 6, MIN 5 Mike Zunino, C 3 3 2 3 - - - - - -
4.1 TB 3, CHW 1 Jacob Faria (W,1-0) - - - - 6.1 3 1 1 2 5
4.0 CIN 6, STL 4 Patrick Kivlehan, PH 1 1 1 3 - - - - - -
3.1 COL 8, CLE 1 Kyle Freeland (W,7-3) - - - - 6.1 6 1 1 0 5
3.0 NYM 4, TEX 3 Jay Bruce, DH 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 ARI 7, SD 4 Jake Lamb, 3B 2 1 1 3 - - - - - -
3.0 KC 7, HOU 5 Kelvin Herrera (S,13) - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 3
3.0 MIL 6, SF 3 Corey Knebel (S,7) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 TOR 7, OAK 5 (F/10) Justin Smoak, 1B 5 2 3 2 - - - - - -
1.1 MIA 6, CHC 5 AJ Ramos (S,9) - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 1 1
MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

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

Player of the Game Pos Team ’17 ’16-17 ’12-17 Career +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 14.4 38.8 138.5 198.1 -10.0
Smoak, Justin 2731 1b tor al 5.5 9.0 22.2 28.4 2.0
Bruce, Jay 2453 rf nym nl 5.0 13.5 30.7 63.8 -3.5
Sabathia, C.C. 1492 pi sp nyy al 5.0 11.0 37.5 190.0 -1.0
Mancini, Trey 3766 lf ph bal al 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2
Freeland, Kyle 3763 pi sp col nl 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
Lamb, Jake 3517 3b ari nl 3.5 7.5 8.5 8.5 -0.5
Ramos, A.J. 3210 pi cp fla nl 3.0 5.0 15.0 15.0 1.0
Knebel, Corey 3757 pi cp mr mil nl 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 2.0
Farmer, Buck 3809 pi sp det al 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
Swanson, Dansby 3751 ss atl nl 2.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 1.5
Zunino, Mike 3390 ca sea al 2.5 2.5 6.0 6.0 2.5
Herrera, Kelvin 3149 pi cp kc al 1.0 2.0 6.0 6.0 0.0
Faria, Jacob 3816 pi sp tb al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Kivlehan, Patrick 3817 ph cin nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

For nearly 16 years, Curt Schilling held 3rd-place spot in Box-Toppers career points rankings, until Clayton Kershaw passed him this week

Curt Schilling rose into third place in Box-Toppers career points on July 21, 2001, and held that spot continuously for nearly 16 years until just this week, when Clayton Kershaw, in his 10th season, passed him.

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

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.

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 

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

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 +/-
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?

Mariners' Christian Bergman tops players for Wednesday, May 17; Kershaw regains Box-Toppers points lead

Mariners pitcher Christian Bergman is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, making his Box-Toppers debut with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 17:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 8.7
2 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 8.4
3 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 7.7
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 6.0
5 Harper, Bryce 3011 rf dc nl 6.0
6 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 6.0
6 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 5.4
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 5.4
9 Triggs, Andrew 3723 pi sp oak al 5.4
10 Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp tex al 5.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regains the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day—Bergman struck out nine over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.

This was Bergman’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Bergman made his Major League debut June 9, 2014, and was playing in his 58th career game. He is the 3,799th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Giants.

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
5/17 Clayton Kershaw lad nl 8.7

Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising from third to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (8.4 Box-Toppers points). Kershaw maintains his lead in Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers. This is the fifth time this season Kershaw has led Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Kershaw also now has 192.4 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Kershaw ranks first in career points among active players.

American League Batter of the Day—Jared Hoying of the Rangers homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times an driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Phillies.

Hoying had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0, tied with Tyler Collins of the Tigers, Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Orioles (2HR 2B 3-4 2R 4BI). But Hoying won AL Batter of the Day over Collins on a tiebreaker—Hoying had more hits (four vs. three).

This was Hoying’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hoying made his Major League debut May 23, 2016, and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,800th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Kurt Suzuki of the Braves homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-4 win over the Blue Jays.

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

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

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 

5/17 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.1 SEA 4, OAK 0 Christian Bergman (W,1-1) - - - - 7.1 2 0 0 2 9
NL 9.0 LAD 6, SF 1 Clayton Kershaw (W,7-2) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 0 5
BAT 5.0 TEX 9, PHI 3 Jared Hoying, CF 4 3 4 2 - - - - - -
5.0 DET 5, BAL 4 Tyler Collins, CF 4 2 3 4 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 ATL 8, TOR 4 Kurt Suzuki, C 3 2 2 3 - - - - - -
4.0 HOU 3, MIA 0 Lance McCullers Jr. (W,4-1) - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 2 3
3.0 LAA 12, CHW 8 Danny Espinosa, 2B 3 3 2 1 - - - - - -
3.0 PIT 6, WSH 1 Gerrit Cole (W,2-4) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 3
3.0 `CHC 7, CIN 5 Carl Edwards Jr. (H,5) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 NYY 11, KC 7 Starlin Castro, 2B 4 2 3 1 - - - - - -
2.0 TB 7, CLE 4 Jesus Sucre, C 4 2 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 BOS 5, STL 4 (F/13) Fernando Abad (W,1-0) - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 1 1
2.0 MIL 3, SD 1 Corey Knebel (S,2) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 1 2
1.0 ARI 5, NYM 4 (F/11) Jake Lamb, 3B 3 1 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

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 +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 8.7 33.1 132.8 192.4 -15.7
McCullers, Lance 3488 pi sp hou al 5.0 11.1 17.8 17.8 -1.1
Castro, Starlin 2767 2b nyy al 3.0 10.0 18.5 28.5 -4.0
Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 3.0 9.5 38.9 38.9 -3.5
Suzuki, Kurt 2344 ca atl nl 2.5 4.0 15.0 34.5 1.0
Collins, Tyler 3302 cf det al 2.5 2.5 5.5 5.5 2.5
Knebel, Corey 3757 pi mr cp mil nl 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0
Bergman, Christian 3799 pi sp sea al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Edwards, Carl Jr. 3775 pi mr chi nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Sucre, Jesus 3794 ca tb al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Hoying, Jared 3800 cf tex al 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Lamb, Jake 3517 3b ari nl 1.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 -3.0
Espinosa, Danny 2804 2b ana al 1.0 4.2 10.7 17.9 -2.2
Abad, Fernando 3653 pi mr bos al 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 -1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Pirates' Gerrit Cole tops players for Saturday, May 6; Kershaw rises to lead Box-Toppers player rankings

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

Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to lead 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 May 6:  


 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 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 5.0
6 Nova, Ivan 2796 pi sp pit nl 5.0
7 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 5.0
8 Holland, Greg 2906 pi cp col nl 5.0
9 Judge, Aaron 3767 rf nyy al 5.0
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 4.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Cole struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Brewers. Cole picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.

American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hicks of the Yankees hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 11-6 win over the Cubs. Hicks went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Phillies.

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

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (7.1IP 5H R 4BB 9K W in the 10-2 win over the Padres).

Kershaw earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, passing previous leader, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (6.7 points). This is the fourth time this season Kershaw has led players in Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw also now has 190.7 career Box-Toppers points, most among active players and fourth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1) on the “all-time” list.

Debut—Mariners pitcher James Pazos made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Pazos (1IP H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 8-2 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2015, and was playing in his 31st career game. He is the 3,786th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hicks and Zimmerman 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 

5/6 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.0 `PIT 2, MIL 1 (F/10) Gerrit Cole - - - - 7.0 2 1 1 2 8
AL 8.0 TB 6, TOR 1 Jake Odorizzi (W,2-1) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 0 6
7.0 COL 9, ARI 1 Tyler Anderson (W,2-3) - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 1 10
5.1 LAD 10, SD 2 Clayton Kershaw (W,5-2) - - - - 7.1 5 1 1 4 9
BAT 5.0 NYY 11, CHC 6 Aaron Hicks, CF 5 3 4 3 - - - - - -
5.0 `CLE 3, KC 1 Josh Tomlin - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 0 3
4.0 BOS 11, MIN 1 Rick Porcello (W,2-4) - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 0 6
4.0 CIN 14, SF 2 Robert Stephenson (S,1) - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 1 2
3.0 OAK 6, DET 5 Yonder Alonso, 1B 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 WSH 6, PHI 2 Ryan Zimmerman, 1B 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 BAL 6, CHW 5 Trey Mancini, LF 3 1 2 3 - - - - - -
3.0 SEA 8, TEX 2 James Pazos (W,1-1) - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 3
2.0 LAA 2, HOU 1 Bud Norris (W,1-1) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 NYM 11, MIA 3 Jay Bruce, RF 5 1 2 3 - - - - - -
1.0 STL 5, ATL 3 Aledmys Diaz, SS-LF 4 0 3 2 - - - - - -
MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

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

Player of the Game Pos Team ’17 ’16-17 ’12-17 Career +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 7.0 31.4 131.1 190.7 -17.4
Odorizzi, Jake 3291 pi sp tb al 3.4 9.8 29.5 29.5 -3.0
Bruce, Jay 2453 rf nym nl 3.0 11.5 28.7 61.8 -5.5
Mancini, Trey 3766 lf bal al 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 1b dc nl 2.5 4.0 23.7 58.8 1.0
Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 2.0 8.5 37.9 37.9 -4.5
Hicks, Aaron 3170 cf nyy al 1.5 2.5 6.5 6.5 0.5
Porcello, Rick 2573 pi sp bos al 1.0 9.0 31.7 43.7 -7.0
Norris, Bud 2638 pi cp sp ana al 1.0 6.7 31.4 47.1 -4.7
Diaz, Aledmys 3612 ss lf stl nl 1.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 -4.5
Tomlin, Josh 2771 pi sp cle al 1.0 6.0 19.4 25.4 -4.0
Alonso, Yonder 2945 1b oak al 1.0 3.0 12.5 14.0 -1.0
Anderson, Tyler 3656 pi sp col nl 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 -1.0
Stephenson, Robert 3617 pi cp cin nl 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0
Pazos, James 3786 pi mr sea al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Angels' JC Ramirez tops players for Tuesday, April 25; Dodgers' Kershaw maintains top ranking in Box-Toppers points

Angels pitcher JC Ramirez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, making his Box-Toppers debut.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 6.0
2 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 5.7
3 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 5.0
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 4.7
5 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc al 4.0
6 Harper, Bryce 3011 rf dc nl 4.0
7 Holland, Greg 2906 pi cp col nl 4.0
8 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 3.7
9 Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 pi mr sp sd nl 3.7
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 3.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawmaintains his first-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. And Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rises to second place—first among American League players—after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Ramirez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Athletics. Ramirez picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

This was also Ramirez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ramirez made his Major League debut June 23, 2013, and was playing in his 114th career game. He is the 3,778th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Player of the Day—Trea Turner of the Nationals hit for the cycle and went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in seven runs, in the 15-12 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 19-9 win over the Mariners.

Kinsler has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 63.6 career points, second Among active AL second basemen (trailing Robinson Cano of the Mariners, who has 75.4). Kinsler’s best season was 2009 with the Rangers, when he had 11.2 points, eighth among AL batters. He had 6.0 points in 2016 with the Tigers, fifth among AL second basemen.

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

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw maintained his spot atop Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Kershaw (7IP 6H R BB 7K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. Kershaw also now has 189.7 career Box-Toppers points, fourth-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Kershaw leads active players in career Box-Toppers points.

Also, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Santana (7IP 4H R 2BB 6K W in the 8-1 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season, rising from fourth to second place among all players and first among AL players, passing Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (5.0). 

Santana also now has 103.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 67th-place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Tuesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and Miguel Tejada (102.3). (It should be noted that if Griffey’s entire career from 1989 were tracked, rough estimates would give him about 150 Box-Toppers points.) Santana now trails 66th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).

Scoring—Ramirez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Turner earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Kinsler 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.

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

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/25 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 `LAA 2, OAK 1 (F/11) JC Ramirez - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 2 7
NL 9.0 WSH 15, COL 12 Trea Turner, SS 6 4 4 7 - - - - - -
6.0 TB 2, BAL 0 Chase Whitley (W,1-0; H,2) - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 5.0 DET 19, SEA 9 Ian Kinsler, 2B 5 4 4 2 - - - - - -
5.0 ARI 9, SD 3 Paul Goldschmidt, 1B 4 2 4 3 - - - - - -
5.0 MIL 9, CIN 1 Hernan Perez, SS-CF 3 2 3 3 - - - - - -
5.0 LAD 2, SF 1 Clayton Kershaw (W,4-1) - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 7
5.0 MIN 8, TEX 1 Ervin Santana (W,4-0) - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 6
4.0 TOR 6, STL 5 (F/11) Jason Grilli (W,1-2) - - - - 1 0 0 0 0 3
3.2 CHW 10, KC 5 Dan Jennings (W,2-0) - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 CHC 1, PIT 0 Kyle Hendricks (W,2-1) - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 2 3
1.0 HOU 4, CLE 2 Norichika Aoki, RF-LF 4 1 3 1 - - - - - -
MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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

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

Player of the Game Pos Team ’17 ’16-17 ’12-17 Career +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 6.0 30.4 130.1 189.7 -18.4
Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 5.7 9.7 42.5 103.0 1.7
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 1b ari nl 2.0 6.5 37.9 41.9 -2.5
Grilli, Jason 2209 pi cp mr tor al 2.0 3.0 16.7 27.4 1.0
Ramirez, JC 3778 pi sp ana al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Turner, Trea 3730 ss dc nl 1.7 4.2 4.2 4.2 -0.8
Kinsler, Ian 2144 2b det al 1.5 7.5 29.5 63.6 -4.5
Hendricks, Kyle 3386 pi sp chi nl 1.0 14.4 29.1 29.1 -12.4
Perez, Hernan 3577 ss cf 3b 2b mil nl 1.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 -4.0
Jennings, Dan 3591 pi mr cp chi al 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 0.0
Aoki, Norichika 3110 rf lf hou al 1.0 1.0 9.0 9.0 1.0
Whitley, Chase 3352 pi mr sp tb al 1.0 1.0 4.7 4.7 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Royals' Vargas tops players for Wednesday, April 19; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers season points lead

Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second 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 April 19:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 5.0
2 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 5.0
3 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 4.7
4 Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 pi mr sp sd nl 3.7
5 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 3.4
6 Morrison, Logan 2794 1b tb al 3.2
7 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 3.0
8 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 3.0
9 Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bos al 3.0
10 Devenski, Chris 3702 pi mr cp hou al 3.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regains first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Vargas pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He trails Kershaw, who also now has 5.0 Box-Toppers points, but ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he had more 2016 points than Vargas—24.4 vs. 1.0.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Jhoulys Chacin pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Chacin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 14-4 win over the Braves. Harper also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five total runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Mitch Haniger of the Mariners doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Marlins.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kershaw (7IP 5H 2R BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, regaining the season points lead for the third time this season. Kershaw passes previous leader, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (4.7 points), who drops to third place.

Kershaw also now has 188.7 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, trailing third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Kershaw is the active leader in career Box-Toppers points, ahead of Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (187.0).

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

  • Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano (5.1IP 4H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. Liriano earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Twins, but his consecutive seasons streak earning points began in 2008 with the Twins. He has 104.2 career Box-Toppers points, 65th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 64th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Astros (104.9). Liriano’s best season was 2013 with the Pirates when he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers.
  • Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (7.2IP 2H 0R 4BB 3K W in the 2-0 win over the Reds) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and has 80.5 career points, 12th among active AL pitchers. His best year was 2013, when he had 14.5 Box-Toppers points with the Indians, ninth among AL pitchers.

Debut—Rays closing pitcher Austin Pruitt made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Pruitt (3.1IP H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 8-7 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 2 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,773rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/19 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 KC 2, SF 0 Jason Vargas (W,3-0) - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 0 9
NL 9.0 SD 1, ARI 0 Jhoulys Chacin (W,2-2) - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 1 5
BAT 8.0 WSH 14, ATL 4 Bryce Harper, RF 4 3 4 5 - - - - - -
7.1 TB 8, DET 7 Austin Pruitt (W,1-0) - - - - 3.1 1 0 0 0 5
7.0 LAD 4, COL 2 Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1) - - - - 7.0 5 2 2 1 10
6.1 TOR 3, BOS 0 Francisco Liriano (W,1-1) - - - - 5.1 4 0 0 1 6
6.0 NYM 5, PHI 4 Jay Bruce, RF 4 2 3 5 - - - - - -
BAT 6.0 SEA 10, MIA 5 Mitch Haniger, RF 4 3 3 4 - - - - - -
4.2 BAL 2, CIN 0 Ubaldo Jimenez (W,1-0) - - - - 7.2 2 0 0 4 3
4.0 HOU 5, LAA 1 Josh Reddick, RF-LF 4 3 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 STL 2, PIT 1 Dexter Fowler, CF 4 2 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 CHC 7, MIL 4 Addison Russell, SS 4 1 2 4 - - - - - -
3.0 OAK 9, TEX 1 Khris Davis, LF 3 2 2 2 - - - - - -
3.0 NYY 9, CHW 1 Starlin Castro, 2B 2 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

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 +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 5.0 29.4 129.1 188.7 -19.4
Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 5.0 6.0 31.4 52.2 4.0
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 pi mr sp sd nl 3.7 9.4 16.1 31.5 -2.0
Harper, Bryce 3011 rf dc nl 3.0 6.0 30.4 30.4 0.0
Davis, Khris 3242 lf oak al 2.5 9.2 19.2 19.2 -4.2
Haniger, MItch 3772 rf sea al 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
Bruce, Jay 2453 rf nym nl 2.0 10.5 27.7 60.8 -6.5
Castro, Starlin 2767 2b nyy al 2.0 9.0 17.5 27.5 -5.0
Reddick, Josh 2936 rf lf hou al 2.0 5.5 25.4 26.4 -1.5
Liriano, Francisco 2104 pi sp tor al 1.0 9.0 58.7 104.2 -7.0
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349 pi sp bal al 1.0 5.7 37.6 80.5 -3.7
Russell, Addison 3559 ss chi nl 1.0 4.5 7.0 7.0 -2.5
Fowler, Dexter 2698 cf stl nl 1.0 2.5 16.5 19.0 -0.5
Pruitt, Austin 3773 pi cp tb al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Friday, April 14, rising in 3 Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises in three significant Box-Toppers player rankings:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 14:  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 4.0
2 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 3.4
3 Morrison, Logan 2794 1b tb al 3.2
4 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 3.0
5 Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp kc al 3.0
6 Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp det al 2.7
7 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 2.7
8 Garcia, Avisail 3256 rf chi al 2.5
9 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 2.0
10 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 2.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
  • He takes the overall season Box-Toppers points lead (earning 2.0 points, giving him 4.0 for the season), passing previous leader Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (3.0).
  • He takes the lead in career Box-Toppers points among active players with 187.7, passing previous leader Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (186.0).
  • He rises to fourth place among all players in Box-Toppers points since tracking began in 1995. Kershaw’s 187.7 career points puts him past Alex Rodriguez (187.0).

Kershaw struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

It is the second time this season Kershaw has led players in season Box-Toppers points, also leading from April 3 to 8. It is also the second time this season Kershaw has led active players in career Box-Toppers points. He briefly passed Sabathia for the lead on April 3 before Sabathia regained the lead the next day.

Kershaw now trails the third-place player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Curt Schilling (194.1). With his 2.0 points Friday, he actually moved up two spots on the "all-time" list, passing both Sabathia and Rodriguez.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.

All-time leaders

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Randy Johnson pi sp retired 278.8
2 Pedro Martinez pi sp retired 244.8
3 Curt Schilling pi sp retired 194.1
4 Clayton Kershaw pi sp lad nl 187.7
5 Alex Rodriguez dh released 187.0
6 CC Sabathia pi sp nyy al 186.0
7 Albert Pujols 1b dh ana al 182.3
8 Roy Halladay pi sp retired 170.7
9 Felix Hernandez pi sp sea al 169.7
10 Manny Ramirez lf dh retired 167.2
11 Johan Santana pi sp free agent 166.6
12 Roger Clemens pi sp retired 164.8
13 John Smoltz pi sp retired 160.9
14 Zack Greinke pi sp ari nl 157.1
15 Tim Hudson pi sp retired 157.0
16 Mike Mussina pi sp retired 155.6
17 Barry Bonds lf retired 153.2
18 Greg Maddux pi sp retired 151.7
19 Bartolo Colon pi sp atl nl 149.5
20 Chipper Jones 3b retired 149.0
BTP: Box-Toppers points
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.

Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL players.

Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, tied with Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Angels (7IP 3H R 2BB 6K W). But Keuchel won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts—seven vs. six.

National League Batter of the Day—Manny Pina of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.

This was Pina’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pina made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2011, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.

Morrison earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.

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

  • Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez has now earned Box-Toppers points for 13 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 2-1 win over the Rangers (7.1IP 6H R 0BB 3K W). Hernandez earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Mariners and has 169.7 career points, ninth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails eighth-place player Roy Halladay (170.7). Hernandez’s best season was 2014 with the Mariners when he had 20.8 Box-Toppers points, third among AL pitchers. Hernandez is the highest-ranked player in Box-Toppers career points (ranked ninth) who has never led his league category (AL pitching) in Box-Toppers points during a season.
  • Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors in the 8-2 win over the Rockies (3-4 R 2BI). Pence earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 53.2 career points, eighth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 points, seventh among NL outfielders.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pina and Morrison each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/14 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.1 LAD 7, ARI 1 Clayton Kershaw (W,2-1) - - - - 8.1 4 1 1 1 8
AL 6.0 HOU 7, OAK 2 Dallas Keuchel (W,2-0) - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 7
6.0 KC 7, LAA 1 Danny Duffy (W,2-0) - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 6
5.0 DET 7, CLE 6 Daniel Norris (W,1-0) - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 4 5
4.0 `WSH 3, PHI 2 (F/10) Stephen Strasburg - - - - 7.0 5 2 2 2 8
BAT 3.0 MIL 10, CIN 4 Manny Pina, C 5 2 4 2 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 TB 10, BOS 5 Logan Morrison, 1B 5 2 2 4 - - - - - -
3.0 BAL 6, TOR 4 Wade Miley (W,1-0) - - - - 6.0 5 3 3 0 8
3.0 CHW 2, MIN 1 David Robertson (S,2) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.1 SEA 2, TEX 1 Felix Hernandez (W,1-1) - - - - 7.1 6 1 1 0 3
2.0 PIT 4, CHC 2 David Freese, 3B 4 1 3 2 - - - - - -
2.0 SF 8, COL 2 Hunter Pence, RF 4 1 3 2 - - - - - -
2.0 ATL 5, SD 2 Ender Inciarte, CF 4 2 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 MIA 3, NYM 2 Miguel Rojas, SS-3B 3 2 3 0 - - - - - -
1.0 NYY 4, STL 3 Starlin Castro, 2B 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

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 +/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 4.0 28.4 128.1 187.7 -20.4
Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 3.4 10.4 46.2 46.2 -3.6
Morrison, Logan 2794 1b tb al 3.2 5.2 15.2 20.7 1.2
Inciarte, Ender 3360 cf atl nl 2.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 0.0
Pina, Manny 3769 ca mil nl 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 1.0 16.1 75.2 83.9 -14.1
Duffy, Danny 2915 pi sp kc al 1.0 11.7 29.7 30.7 -9.7
Castro, Starlin 2767 2b nyy al 1.0 8.0 16.5 26.5 -6.0
Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 1.0 7.0 80.7 169.7 -5.0
Miley, Wade 3006 pi sp bal al 1.0 7.0 37.4 37.4 -5.0
Robertson, David 2774 pi cp chi al 1.0 6.0 23.0 27.0 -4.0
Pence, Hunter 2287 rf sf nl 1.0 4.5 20.5 53.2 -2.5
Norris, Daniel 3548 pi sp det al 1.0 3.0 7.0 7.0 -1.0
Freese, David 2710 3b pit nl 1.0 3.0 19.2 25.2 -1.0
Rojas, Miguel 3642 ss 3b fla nl 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 -0.5
What are those numbers after players' names?

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Phillies' Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, July 25; Sale, Martinez rise in Box-Toppers' top 10

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter against the Cubs, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 25.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 14.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
7 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
9 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 12.7
10 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 12.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, two players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place and Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to ninth place. Plus, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, the active career Box-Toppers points leader, now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Hamels pitched a no-hitter in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. He faced 29 batters and allowed two walks and struck out 13.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He is the 19th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and now ranks 20th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.

Hamels has now earned at least 10 Box-Toppers points in each of his first 10 seasons.

In addition, Hamels now has 120.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 34th place in among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Saturday, Hamels passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 33rd-place player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Hamels ranks seventh in career Box-Toppers points among active NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit three home runs and drove in four runs in the 8-5 win over the Twins.

Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to third among AL batters.

Rodriguez also now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank in fourth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Rodriguez leads all batters and all active players in career Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 15-2 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter (Alex Rodriguez).

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

  • White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (7IP 7H 2R 7K W in the 10-3 win over the Indians) rose to third place with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. Sale, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).
  • Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 6H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Braves) rose to ninth place with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. Martinez, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto became the 20th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Cueto (8IP 4H 0R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rockies) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/25 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 20.0 Phillies Cole Hamels (W,6-7) - - - - - - 9.0 0 0 0 2 13
8.0 Dbacks Rubby De La Rosa (W,8-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 2 6
8.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W,7-6) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 1 5
7.0 Cardinals Carlos Martinez (W,11-4) - - - - - - 8.0 6 0 0 1 6
BAT 6.0 Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF-RF 4 2 4 4 1 0 - - - - - -
AL 6.0 Yankees Alex Rodriguez, DH 4 3 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.2 Orioles Miguel Gonzalez (W,9-6) - - - - - - 7.2 5 1 1 0 5
5.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W,11-5) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 7
3.0 Nationals Michael Taylor, CF 5 1 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 White Sox Chris Sale (W,9-5) - - - - - - 7.0 7 2 2 0 7
3.0 Padres Ian Kennedy (W,6-9) - - - - - - 6.0 7 1 1 1 7
3.0 `Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 1 3
2.0 Tigers Nick Castellanos, 3B 4 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Blue Jays Ezequiel Carrera, PH-LF 2 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Rangers Rougned Odor, 2B 4 2 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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Nationals' Scherzer pitches no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, June 20, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, pitching a no-hitter, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in player rankings.

Also Saturday, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees earned Player of the Game honors and now has 185.3 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995, first among batters since 1995 and extending his lead among active players.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 20.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 13.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 13.0
3 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
4 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 11.0
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 10.4
6 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 10.1
7 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 9.7
8 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 9.7
9 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 9.7
10 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 9.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Scherzer had a perfect game through 8 2/3 innings when he hit a batter, allowing the game’s only baserunner, before retiring the final batter. Scherzer struck out 10 through nine innings, allowing no hits, runs or walks, in the 6-0 win over the Pirates.

Scherzer had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of 19, which is the fourth-highest score for a Box-Toppers Player of the Game this season. In fact, it is lower than his Box-Toppers game score of 23 he had in his last start on June 14, when he pitched a one-hitter, striking out 16, in the 4-0 win over the Brewers.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season. He rises to second place among all players, trailing Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (13.4). Scherzer passes Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (12.0) to lead all National League players in Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker struck out 11 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees homered and drove in five runs, going 2-for-5 and scoring twice, in the 14-3 win over the Tigers.

Rodriguez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 185.3 for his career. He maintains his rank at fourth among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1) and leads fifth-place player CC Sabathia (175.3). Rodriguez leads all batters in Box-Toppers points since 1995 and leads all active players in Box-Toppers points.

Rodriguez has 6.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most he has had in one season since 2010 when he had 13.7. His 6.0 Box-Toppers points ranks second among AL batters this season, behind Prince Fielder of the Rangers (7.5).

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 10-1 win over the Phillies. Grichuk also doubled, going 3-for-5.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/20 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 19.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W, 8-5) - - - - - - 9.0 0 0 0 0 10
11.0 Padres Tyson Ross (W, 4-7) - - - - - - 9.0 4 1 1 1 9
AL 6.1 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W, 5-6) - - - - - - 6.1 5 3 3 0 11
BAT 6.0 Yankees Alex Rodriguez DH 3 2 2 5 1 0 - - - - - -
5.1 `Cubs Jon Lester - - - - - - 6.1 3 1 1 3 7
BAT 5.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk LF 5 3 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Marlins Derek Dietrich 3B 2 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 `Rays Erasmo Ramirez - - - - - - 3.0 2 0 0 0 3
4.0 `White Sox Zach Putnam (H, 4) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Braves Andrelton Simmons SS 4 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.1 Rockies Chad Bettis (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 6.1 5 1 1 2 5
2.0 Orioles Manny Machado 3B 5 2 3 2 0 2 - - - - - -
1.2 Athletics Jesse Hahn (W, 5-5) - - - - - - 7.2 4 1 1 4 4
1.0 Royals Mike Moustakas 3B 3 0 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Giants Norichika Aoki LF 0 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Rays' Archer tops players for Sunday, June 7, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second in player rankings.

Top 10 players

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


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 12.4
2 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 11.0
3 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 11.0
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 9.7
5 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 9.7
6 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 9.0
7 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 8.4
8 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 8.1
9 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 7.7
10 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 7.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole maintains his lead among National League pitchers, but falls from second to third in overall player rankings, despite earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to fourth place in player rankings. Plus, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points, the most of any active pitcher.

Player of the Day—Archer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one unearned run and six hits, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners. 

Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to second among all players, behind overall leader, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (12.4 Box-Toppers points). Archer also ranks second among AL pitchers behind Hernandez. Archer is the third player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 4-0 win over the Padres.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times, in the 7-6 win over the Astros.

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

Rankings—Two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:

  • Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole maintained his lead among NL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors. Cole (7IP 6H 0R 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. 

While Cole maintains his lead among NL pitchers, he actually falls from second to third in overall player rankings because he was passed by Sunday’s overall Player of the Day Chris Archer. Cole and Archer both have 11.0 Box-Toppers points for the season but Archer holds the tiebreaker because he has more Box-Toppers points in 2014—12.4 vs. 5.7.

  • Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. deGrom (7IP 10K W in the 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Cole.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Sabathia (6IP 2R 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 2.0 for the season. His 175.3 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks fourth among pitchers, behind Curt Schilling (194.1) and second among active players, behind Alex Rodriguez (183.8). He is the top-ranked active pitcher in Box-Toppers points.

Debut—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Urena (6IP R 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 14 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,492nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/7 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Rays Chris Archer (W, 7-4) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 0 0 11
NL 10.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W, 4-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 2 9
6.0 Twins Mike Pelfrey (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 8.0 8 0 0 1 7
5.0 Pirates Gerrit Cole (W, 9-2) - - - - - - 7.0 6 0 0 3 7
4.0 Mets Jacob deGrom (W, 7-4) - - - - - - 7.0 5 3 2 3 10
BAT 4.0 Blue Jays Jose Bautista RF 4 3 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Orioles Bud Norris (W, 2-4) - - - - - - 5.0 4 1 1 2 7
4.0 Cardinals Kevin Siegrist (W, 3-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.2 Phillies Ken Giles (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 1 3
3.1 Red Sox Steven Wright (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 3.1 1 0 0 1 2
3.0 Tigers Tyler Collins LF 3 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Yankees CC Sabathia (W, 3-7) - - - - - - 6.0 5 2 2 1 7
3.0 `Marlins Jose Urena - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 2 4
2.1 `Royals Jeremy Guthrie - - - - - - 6.1 3 2 2 2 5
2.1 `Cubs Justin Grimm (H, 4) - - - - - - 1.1 1 0 0 0 2
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.