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Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale maintained his third-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Sale also bolstered his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the third player this season to reach 20 Box-Toppers points and is now only 1.0 point away from overall leader Clayton Kershaw.
Also Sunday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, Box-Toppers’ second-ranked player in 2017, moved within 0.1 point of Kershaw after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to fifth in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Verlander is one of three with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points to earn Player of the Game honors. Twins pitcher Bartolo Colon rises to 19th place in career points since 1995 (with 152.2) after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Washington Nationals have led Box-Toppers team rankings seven of the past nine weeks. Astros lead AL teams for fifth straight week.
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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.
| 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 |
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.
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.
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
Nationals lead Box-Toppers rankings for 2nd straight week & 6th week of past 8. Astros lead AL teams in Box-Toppers rankings for 4th week. Mariners are hottest team of the week.
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Marlins pitcher Edison Volquez, pitching a no-hitter, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 |
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.
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.
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
After two-week absence, Nationals regain top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings and are hottest team of the week. Astros top AL teams for third week.
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Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth in season player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Albert Pujols of the Angels extends his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 17—only six players in Box-Toppers tracking history (since 1995) have longer streaks.
| 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 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Player of the Day—Ray pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking none, in the 3-0 win over the Pirates.
Ray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, rising to fifth among all players and third among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Eric Skoglund pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 1-0 win over the Tigers.
This was Skoglund’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Skoglund was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,811th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Streak |
Player |
Pos |
Duration |
Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995-2013 | 133.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Carlos Beltran* | rf | 1999-2017 | 107.6 |
| 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 | 188.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Albert Pujols* | dh 1b | 2001-2017 | 183.3 |
| 15 | 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf | 1995-2010 | 167.2 |
| 15 | 16 | Andy Pettitte | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 138.5 |
| 15 | 16 | Jamie Moyer | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 104.0 |
| 15 | 16 | Scott Rolen | 3b | 1996-2011 | 97.6 |
| 15 | 16 | Kevin Millwood | pi sp | 1997-2012 | 108.3 |
| 15 | 16 | Derek Lowe | pi sp | 1998-2013 | 91.5 |
| 15 | 16 | Aramis Ramirez | 3b | 2000-2015 | 105.8 |
| 15 | 16 | Mark Buehrle | pi sp | 2000-2015 | 116.7 |
| 15 | 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 |
| 24 | 15 | Miguel Cabrera* | 1b | 2003-2017 | 145.9 |
American League Batter of the Day—Elvis Andrus of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 9-5 win over the Rays. Andrus went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five total runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Austin Hedges of the Padres homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Cubs.
Streak—Albert Pujols of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons—tied for the seventh-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history—after earning his first Player of the Game honors of the season Tuesday. He also hit his 599th career home run.
Pujols (HR 2-4 R 3BI in the 9-3 win over the Braves) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Cardinals and now has 183.3 career points, seventh among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails sixth-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0).
In career Box-Toppers points Pujols is second among all batters (behind Rodriguez), third among all active players (behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s 194.3 and Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia’s 188.0) and first among all active batters (ahead of second-place Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who has 145.9).
Pujols’ best season was 2009 with the Cardinals when he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, leading all NL batters and ranking eighth among all players that season. Pujols has led NL batters in Box-Toppers points five times—leading the league in season Box-Toppers points more than any other batter—all with the Cardinals:
In 2016, Pujols had 8.0 Box-Toppers points with the Angels, fourth among AL designated hitters.
Pujols’ 17 consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points is tied for the second-longest currently active streak. Only Carlos Beltran of the Astros (19 seasons) has a longer streak among active players (his streak is tied for the longest since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995). Pujols streak is tied with Sabathia’s 17-season streak.
Pujols’ 17-season streak is tied with seven other players. (See Box-Toppers season streaks chart for details.)
Scoring—Ray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Skoglund earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Andrus and Hedges 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.
| 5/30 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | ARI 3, PIT 0 | Robbie Ray (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 8.1 | KC 1, DET 0 | Eric Skoglund (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 7.0 | CLE 9, OAK 4 | Trevor Bauer (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TEX 9, TB 5 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | SEA 10, COL 4 | Kyle Seager, 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | BOS 13, CHW 7 | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.1 | NYY 8, BAL 3 | Luis Severino (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | NYM 5, MIL 4 (F/12) | Josh Smoker (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `MIA 7, PHI 2 | Justin Nicolino | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 6, CHC 2 | Austin Hedges, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | HOU 7, MIN 2 | Alex Bregman, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `TOR 6, CIN 4 | Danny Barnes | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 9, STL 4 | Chase Utley, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 9, ATL 3 | Albert Pujols, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | WSH 6, SF 3 | Michael Taylor, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 | 0.3 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.7 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 3.7 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 3.5 | 12.7 | 17.7 | 23.2 | -5.7 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 3.0 | 14.4 | 32.5 | 32.5 | -8.4 |
| Smoker, Josh 3725 | pi mr cp | nym nl | 2.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0.7 |
| Hedges, Austin 3790 | ca | sd nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 2.0 | 7.5 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -3.5 |
| Utley, Chase 1861 | 2b 1b | lad nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 75.1 | 1.0 |
| Barnes, Danny 3807 | pi mr | tor al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Skoglund, Eric 3811 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 1.0 | 10.5 | 29.5 | 29.5 | -8.5 |
| Pujols, Albert 1438 | dh 1b | ana al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 33.5 | 183.3 | -7.0 |
| Nicolino, Justin 3576 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Taylor, Michael 3447 | cf | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
Also Monday, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Roark pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing six hits, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
American League Player of the Day—Carlos Beltran of the Astros hit a three-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring three times, in the 16-8 win over the Twins.
Beltran earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 107.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 59th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Frank Thomas (106.2), Red Sox pitcher David Price (106.2) and Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (106.7), who was the starting opposing pitcher in Beltran’s game Monday. Beltran ranks 19th among all batters in career points since 1995 and fourth among all active batters.
Beltran has 2.7 Box-Toppers points in 2017 and earlier this season tied the record for longest consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points at 19 (1999-2017).
Streak |
Player |
Pos |
Duration |
Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995-2013 | 133.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Carlos Beltran* | rf | 1999-2017 | 107.6 |
| 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 | 188.0 |
| 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 |
| 24 | 15 | Miguel Cabrera* | 1b | 2003-2017 | 145.9 |
National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit a grand slam, going 1-for-4, in the 5-2 win over the Cubs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Carlos Beltran.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Carrasco (7IP 4H 2R BB 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Streaks—Two players extended streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning their first Player of the Game honors of the season Monday:
Cabrera (2-3 R 3BI in the 10-7 win over the Royals) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2003 with the Marlins, making his 15-season streak tied (with 14 others) for the 24th-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history. It is the fifth-longest currently active streak.
Cabrera has 145.9 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 23rd place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Monday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (145.2) and David Ortiz (145.9). (While Cabrera and Ortiz both have the same career Box-Toppers point total, Cabrera ranks ahead because he has more 2017 points—1.0 vs. 0.0.) Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).
Cabrera now has the seventh-most career Box-Toppers points among active players after passing Lester. And he has the seventh-most career points among all batters since 1995, passing Ortiz and trailing sixth-ranked Thome (146.7). Cabrera maintains his second-place rank in career points among active batters, trailing Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3).
Cabrera’s best season was 2013 with the Tigers when he had 16.9 Box-Toppers points, first among AL batters and eighth among all players. Cabrera also led AL batters in 2009 with the Tigers with 16.5 points, ninth among all players that season. In 2016, Cabrera had 12.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL batters.
Volquez (6IP 3H R 2BB 4K W in the 4-1 win over the Phillies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 65.2 career points, 19th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Reds when he had 15.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers. In 2016, he had 6.4 points with the Royals.
Scoring—Roark earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Beltran earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Renfroe earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 5/29 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | WSH 3, SF 0 | Tanner Roark (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| AL | 5.0 | HOU 16, MIN 8 | Carlos Beltran, DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | TOR 17, CIN 2 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | CLE 5, OAK 3 | Carlos Carrasco (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | NYM 4, MIL 2 | Robert Gsellman (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | TB 10, TEX 8 | Alex Colome (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 5, BOS 4 | Melky Cabrera, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 10, KC 7 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 5, CHC 2 | Hunter Renfroe, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIA 4, PHI 1 | Edinson Volquez (W,1-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | `PIT 4, ARI 3 | Trevor Williams | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 5, STL 1 | Rich Hill (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 3, NYY 2 | Brad Brach (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 6, COL 5 | Edwin Diaz (S,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 6, LAA 3 | Jim Johnson (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 | 18.8 | 47.5 | 52.9 | -6.0 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 16.7 | 32.7 | 32.7 | -8.7 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 4.0 | 13.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -5.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 3.5 | 7.0 | 20.2 | 26.4 | 0.0 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi cp | atl nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 18.0 | 24.7 | -1.0 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf ph | chi al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 17.0 | 33.5 | -1.0 |
| Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | rf | sd nl | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh rf | hou al | 2.7 | 8.7 | 20.9 | 107.6 | -3.3 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 16.4 | 20.4 | 40.1 | -12.4 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -5.0 |
| Williams, Trevor 3792 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 1.0 | 13.0 | 58.8 | 145.9 | -11.0 |
| Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 7.4 | 37.1 | 65.2 | -5.4 |
| Brach, Brad 3374 | pi cp mr | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Gsellman, Robert 3748 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | -0.7 |
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.
| 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 |
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).
| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
Cubs pitcher John Lackey is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 |
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.
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 |
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:
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.
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.
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.
| 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 |
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:
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.
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
Padres pitcher Clayton Richard is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia resumed the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points only one day after losing that lead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
| 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 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 6 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 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 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 148.5 |
Sabathia earned Player of the Game honors in the win over the Rays, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point and giving him 186.0 for his career. On Monday, Kershaw passed him by earning overall Player of the Day honors, giving him 185.7 career points. With Tuesday’s point, Sabathia resumes his spot in fifth place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
In addition, Sabathia has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the seventh-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history and currently the second-longeststreak among active players (behind only Carlos Beltran’s 18-season streak).
Player of the Day—Richard pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Dodgers.
Richard now ranks third among all players in season Box-Toppers points with 2.0.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 6-3 win over the White Sox.
Verlander has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and has 141.0 career Box-Toppers points, 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8). Verlander ranks 10th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Verlander, who has played his entire career with the Tigers, earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006. His best seasons were 2011 (24.4 points) and 2012 (24.8), when he led all AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Gorkys Hernandez of the Giants doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 8-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Hernandez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut May 21, 2012, and was playing in his 105th career game. He is the 3,758th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Sabathia, one day after losing the lead, regained the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Sabathia (5IP 3H 0R 2BB 2K W in the 5-0 win over the Rays) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 186.0 for his career. That puts him ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (185.7), who only passed Sabathia on Monday. Sabathia again ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He now trails fourth-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0) by only 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Sabathia also has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied for the seventh-longest streak in Box-Toppers history with six others who had 17-year streaks—Mariano Rivera (1995-2011), Derek Jeter (1996-2012), Paul Konerko (1998-2014), Tim Hudson (1999-2015), Torii Hunter (1999-2015) and David Ortiz (2000-2016). Sabathia’s streak is the second-longest streak among active players, behind only Carlos Beltran, who has earned Box-Toppers points for 18 straight seasons from 1999-2016 and could extend it to 19 seasons if he earns Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Sabathia earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Indians. His best season was 2008 with the Indians and Brewers when he had 26.7 Box-Toppers points, ending the season ranked first among NL pitchers. In 2014, he barely kept the streak alive earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers point as a Yankee.
Scoring—Richard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hernandez 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.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/4 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | SD 4, LAD 0 | Clayton Richard (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | CHC 2, STL 1 | Jake Arrieta (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 4.1 | DET 6, CHW 3 | Justin Verlander (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 4.0 | HOU 2, SEA 1 | Lance McCullers Jr. (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.2 | CLE 4, TEX 3 | Carlos Carrasco (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 6, MIL 5 | Greg Holland (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | SF 8, ARI 4 | Gorkys Hernandez, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | NYY 5, TB 0 | CC Sabathia (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 7, OAK 6 | Cam Bedrosian (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Richard, Clayton 2584 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 12.2 | 31.6 | 0.0 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 1.7 | 16.4 | 61.6 | 141.0 | -13.0 |
| Hernandez, Goryks 3758 | cf | sf nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 16.7 | 71.5 | 76.5 | -14.7 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 13.4 | 42.1 | 47.5 | -11.4 |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 7.1 | 13.8 | 13.8 | -5.1 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 33.5 | 186.0 | -5.0 |
| Bedrosian, Cam 3694 | pi cp | ana al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 31.0 | 34.0 | 1.0 |
A compilation of player and team standings from the end of the 2016 season, featuring a plethora of posts to prep for the 2017 season, including preseason team standings and Box-Toppers 2017 playoff and World Series picks.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position over several time frames, summarizing the series of nine High by Position posts.
Read MorePujols leads all DHs in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 and all active DHs in career points. Kendrys Morales led DHs in 2016 and Edwin Encarnacion led DHs over past two and past six seasons.
Read MoreManny Ramirez leads outfielders in career Box-Toppers points. Carlos Beltran leads active outfielders in career points. Mike Trout leads outfielders in recent seasons.
Read MoreJason Giambi leads list of players who earned Box-Toppers points in most consecutive seasons (19). Carlos Beltran, with 18 straight seasons earning points, could tie Giambi if he earns Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Read MoreRandy Johnson holds commanding lead in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw jumped from 13th to 6th on career list and at current pace could catch Johnson in 2020.
Read MoreBox-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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.