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The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the 10th straight week despite earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers point during the past week.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros bounce back to lead American League teams in Box-Toppers rankings on the strength of two August deadline acquisitions. The Astros also gained more Box-Toppers points than any other team during the past week mainly because of those trades.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the seventh straight week.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros maintain their lead in Box-Toppers rankings among American League teams for the 12th straight week and the Cleveland Indians picked up the most Box-Toppers points this week, after acquiring Jay Bruce from the New York Mets.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the sixth straight week and are the week’s hottest team.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros maintain their lead in Box-Toppers rankings among American League teams for the 11th straight week.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Tanaka struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Tanaka retired the first 17 batters and had a perfect game in the sixth inning before giving up his first hit.
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A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.
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Dodgers maintain top-ranking for second week & are week's hottest team. Astros maintain status as top AL team for 7th straight week.
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Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 12.1 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 9.4 |
| 8 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
Strasburg struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned), four hits and one walk, in the 8-4 win over the Cubs.
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season. He now ranks fourth among National League pitchers.
With Strasburg’s rise back into Box-Toppers’ top 10 players, Ryon Healy of the Athletics (8.7 Box-Toppers points) falls to 11th. He had been the only batter among the top 10 players.
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Orioles.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-8 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—Nick Hundley of the Giants homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rockies.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to 44th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Wainwright (6.1IP 8H 2R BB 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 116.5 career points. He passes two players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” points list—Torii Hunter (115.9) and Todd Helton (116.4) and now trails 43rd-ranked player Mark Buehrle (116.7). Wainwright has 4.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 23rd among NL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, with their first career Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reddick and Hundley 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.
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| 6/28 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | WSH 8, CHC 4 | Stephen Strasburg (W, 9-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | |
| AL | 9.2 | TOR 4, BAL 0 | Marcus Stroman (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | HOU 11, OAK 8 | Josh Reddick (RF-LF) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | NYM 8, MIA 0 | Steven Matz (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `LAA 3, LAD 2 | Alex Meyer | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 12, CHW 3 | Miguel Andujar (DH) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 7, ATL 4 | Brandon Maurer (S, 15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | MIN 4, BOS 1 | Adalberto Mejia (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | `CIN 4, MIL 3 | Luis Castillo | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 2.1 | CLE 5, TEX 3 | Trevor Bauer (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | KC 8, DET 2 | Salvador Perez (C) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | SF 5, COL 3 | Nick Hundley (C) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | PHI 5, SEA 4 | Hector Neris (S, 7) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.1 | STL 4, ARI 3 | Adam Wainwright (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1.0 | PIT 6, TB 2 | Jose Osuna (RF) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.4 | 24.5 | 83.6 | 92.3 | -5.7 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 5.5 | 9.5 | 24.7 | 27.2 | 1.5 |
| Meyer, Alex 3742 | pi sp | ana al | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.5 | 14.7 | 65.8 | 116.5 | -5.7 |
| Reddick, Josh 2936 | rf lf | hou al | 4.5 | 8.0 | 27.9 | 28.9 | 1.0 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 4.0 | 15.4 | 33.5 | 33.5 | -7.4 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 3.7 | 10.4 | 26.8 | 26.8 | -3.0 |
| Neris, Hector 3553 | pi cp mr | phi nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Hundley, Nick 2497 | ca | sf nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 15.0 | 25.5 | 2.0 |
| Mejia, Adalberto 3812 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Maurer, Brandon 3157 | pi cp | sd nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Osuna, Jose 3795 | 1b rf | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 13.1 | 16.6 | 16.6 | -11.1 |
| Andujar, Miguel 3839 | dh | nyy al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Castillo, Luis 3840 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Los Angeles Dodgers pass Washington Nationals to lead Box-Toppers team rankings. Astros remain top AL team. Indians are past week's hottest team.
Read MoreAstros end Nationals 4-week stint atop Box-Toppers team rankings. Nationals remain top NL team. Rangers were the hottest team of the past week.
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With trade deadline acquisitions, Dodgers are hottest team of the week. Other teams strengthened by trades include Mets, Blue Jays, Rangers, Giants, Twins, Orioles.
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Angels pitcher Hector Santiago is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 14.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 8 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Santiago pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the White Sox.
Santiago earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day giving him 10.4 for the season. He becomes the 14th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 12th in season player rankings, fifth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Giants.
Both Cashner and Santiago had Box-Toppers game scores Friday of +9.0, but Santiago edged out Cashner for overall Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched—7 vs. 6.
National League Batter of the Day—Chris Taylor of the Dodgers hit a grand slam, tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 13-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Taylor’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Taylor made his Major League debut July 24, 2014, and was playing in his 97th career game. He is the 3,684th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics homered and went 2-for-2, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Strasburg (8IP 3H R 2BB 6K W in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander rises to 30th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Verlander (7IP 4H 2R 2BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Royals) now has 129.6 career Box-Toppers points. He passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list. He trails 29th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (130.8). Verlander has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 26th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Santiago earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cashner earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Taylor and Reddick 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/15 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | LAA 7/CHW 0 | Hector Santiago (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| NL | 9.0 | SD 4/SF 1 | Andrew Cashner (W,4-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 8.0 | DET 4/KC 2 | Justin Verlander (W,9-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | LAD 13/ARI 7 | Chris Taylor, 2B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | DC 5/PIT 1 | Stephen Strasburg (W,13-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | OAK 8/TOR 7 | Josh Reddick, RF | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | COL 11/ATL 2 | Ryan Raburn, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6/TEX 0 | Kyle Hendricks (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 5/MIN 2 | Mike Napoli, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 5/PHI 3 | Jeurys Familia (S,32) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 5/MIL 4 | Anthony DeSclafani (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 7/STL 6 | A.J. Ramos (S,28) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5/NYY 3 | Koji Uehara (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 4/TB 3 | Pedro Alvarez, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | HOU 7/SEA 3 | Carlos Correa, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 | 25.4 | 71.5 | 79.2 | -2.6 |
| Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 10.4 | 18.4 | 30.8 | 30.8 | 2.4 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 7.7 | 14.9 | 14.9 | 14.9 | 0.5 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 | 15.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -3.7 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 5.0 | 11.4 | 74.6 | 129.6 | -1.4 |
| Familia, Jeurys 3446 | pi cp | nym nl | 4.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -4.0 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | bos al | 4.0 | 9.0 | 26.0 | 30.0 | -1.0 |
| Cashner, Andrew 2807 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.7 | 5.7 | 25.4 | 28.4 | -0.3 |
| Reddick, Josh 2936 | rf | oak al | 2.5 | 10.7 | 23.4 | 23.4 | -5.7 |
| DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -5.7 |
| Napoli, Mike 2161 | 1b | cle al | 2.0 | 6.5 | 34.2 | 53.2 | -2.5 |
| Raburn, Ryan 2340 | dh rf ph | col nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 19.7 | 37.7 | 0.0 |
| Taylor, Chris 3684 | 2b | lad nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Ramos, A.J. 3210 | pi cp | fla nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -4.0 |
| Alvarez, Pedro 2817 | dh 1b | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 21.7 | 22.7 | -2.0 |
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 12th among National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
Strasburg pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 14, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 22.1 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 19.1 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 26th place among all players. He becomes the 37th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
His Box-Toppers game score of 20.0 is only the sixth time a player has had a score that high this season. The highest Box-Toppers game score of the season was 25.0 by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber on May 13 (8IP H 0R 18K).
American League Player of the Day—Josh Reddick of Athletics hit a two-run homer an went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 17-6 win over the White Sox.
Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and rising to 10th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Dee Gordon of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Josh Reddick.
Notable—Two other NL pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday achieved notable milestones:
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reddick earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gordon earns 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/15 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | |
| 10.0 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 9.0 | `Cardinals | Carlos Martinez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Marlins | Dee Gordon, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Joe Smith (S,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S,46) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Rockies | Jairo Diaz (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Nick Franklin, SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Ramon Cabrera, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Dbacks | Brad Ziegler (S,26) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | Victor Martinez, DH | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Todd Cunningham, PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.1 | Royals | Kris Medlen (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Brewers pitcher Taylor Jungmann is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, A.J. Burnett of the Pirates became the fifth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting and rose to 30th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
Player of the Day—Jungmann pitched a complete game, allowing one run on three hits and striking out seven, in the 7-1 win over the Dodgers.
American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Angels.
Jungmann and Iwakuma both had Box-Toppers game scores of 9.0 Saturday, but Jungmann earned overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he pitched nine innings, while Iwakuma pitched eight.
National League Batter of the Day—J.T. Realmuto of the Marlins homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 14-3 win over the Reds.
Realmuto had a Box-Toppers game score of 4.0, tied with Yangervis Solarte of the Padres, Player of the Game in the 6-5 win over the Rangers, but Solarte earned NL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he had more at bats (five vs. three).
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 5-4 win over the Indians.
Reddick had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, tied with Danny Valencia of the Blue Jays, who was Player of the Game in the 6-2 win over the Royals, but Reddick earned AL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he had more hits (two vs. one).
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Sale (7IP 6H R 10K W in the 5-1 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (14.4 Box-Toppers points).
Notable—A.J. Burnett of the Pirates became the fifth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Burnett (HR 1-1 R BI in the 6-5, 14-inning win over the Cardinals) also rose to 30th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Saturday, Burnett has 127.8 career points and passes Roy Oswalt (127.2 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 29th-place player, Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Burnett has 6.0 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among NL pitchers.
Saturday was the first time in Burnett’s career he earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for batting. He made his Box-Toppers debut in 1999 and pitched for NL teams (where he was more likely to bat) all but six seasons.
Also notable—Mets pitcher Matt Harvey became the 11th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Harvey (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. (Harvey also hit his first career home run in the win Saturday.)
Scoring—Jungmann earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Realmuto and Reddick 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/11 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 8.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 5.2 | Rays | Jake Odorizzi (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Marlins | J.T. Realmuto, C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Padres | Yangervis Solarte, 3B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Danny Espinosa, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Danny Valencia, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Matt Harvey (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | `Rockies | Jorge De La Rosa | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Aaron Hicks, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | A.J. Burnett, P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (S,22) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth in player rankings.
Also Thursday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom was National League Player of the Day and rose to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings. Plus, Todd Frazier of the Reds takes the Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters, passing Bryce Harper of the Nationals.
| 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 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 6 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 9.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Keuchel pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 12 and allowing six hits, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—deGrom pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Brewers. deGrom earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising to fifth in player rankings. He is the seventh player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Buster Posey of the Giants hit two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-8 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs in the 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Notable—Todd Frazier of the Reds takes the lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points Thursday after earning Player of the Game honors. Frazier (HR 3-6 R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.2 for the season. He now ranks first among NL batters, passing Bryce Harper of the Nationals (6.5 Box-Toppers points). Frazier ranks 17th among all players.
Scoring—Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and deGrom earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Posey and Reddick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/25 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| NL | 11.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Doug Fister (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 6.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Giants | Buster Posey C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 2.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Rockies | Troy Tulowitzki PH, SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Orioles | Tommy Hunter (H, 5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | White Sox | Adam Eaton CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Dodgers | Jimmy Rollins SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Giants pitcher Chris Heston is Tuesday’s Player of the Day and is one of three players to rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season.
Heston rises to seventh place Tuesday, while Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to second place and Eric Hosmer of the Royals rises to fifth.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
Player of the Day—Heston pitched a complete game, allowing one run, two hits and striking out 10, in the 8-1 win over the Astros. Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, putting him in seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings, third among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.
National League Batter of the Day—Andre Ethier of the Dodgers homered, went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics homered, went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Red Sox.
Rankings—In addition to Heston, two other players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Scoring—Heston earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Ethier and Reddick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/12 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 11.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 4.2 | `Tigers | Alfredo Simon | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier RF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Mike Zunino C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Mark Trumbo RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Josh Harrison 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Rays | Chris Archer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Friday, Aug. 9:
Braves pitcher Brandon Beachy is Friday's Player of the Day. Beachy pitched eight scoreless innings in the 5-0 win over the Marlins.
Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman is American League Player of the Day. Tillman gave up only one run over eight innings and struck out nine, but left with no decision, in the 5-2, 10-inning win over the Giants.
Tillman became the 27th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Tillman earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, putting him in 21st place among all players.
Beachy and Tillman both had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 10.0, but Beachy earned overall Player of the Day because he earned the win in his game and Tillman had a no-decision.
Josh Reddick of the Athletics is AL Batter of the Day. Reddick hit three home runs (including a three-run shot) in the 14-6 win over the Blue Jays.
Wilin Rosario of the Rockies is National League Batter of the Day. Rosario homered, drove in four and went 3-for-5 in the 10-1 win over the Pirates.
Beachy receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Tillman receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Reddick and Rosario each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Friday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 809 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 10.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brandon Beachy (W, 1-0) | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | 10.0 | `Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Tillman | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 8.0 | Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bronson Arroyo (W, 10-9) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |||
| BAT | 6.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6.0 | Nationals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dan Haren (W, 7-11) | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rockies | Wilin Rosario C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Twins | Justin Morneau 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Angels | Josh Hamilton DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Greg Holland (S, 31) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Yuniesky Betancourt 1B | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Dodgers | Mark Ellis 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre DH | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | `Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ivan Nova | 7.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 2.0 | Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Rusin (W, 2-1) | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 2.0 | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brad Ziegler (W, 5-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1.0 | Twins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brian Duensing (W, 6-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 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.
With the 2013 All-Star Game here, it's time for a Box-Toppers examination of the choices for the game by fans and the managers.
Overall, not bad. The players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals in each league were almost always named to the American League and National League teams.
For example, Box-Toppers points leader and Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin was named to the NL roster (though Mets pitcher Matt Harvey was named the game's starter). And AL points leader and Indians pitcher Justin Masterson was named to the AL roster (though Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer was named AL starter).
The player with the most Box-Toppers points this season who was not selected as an All-Star is Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller, who has 11.4 Box-Toppers points, the fifth highest among NL pitchers and more than NL starter Harvey (11.0).
Other notable snubs (a full list is in the chart below) include:
The elected starters for the AL are generally stronger than the starters for the NL in terms of Box-Toppers points and player rankings (see the charts at right). Five players are among the top one or two players in Box-Toppers points at their position among AL starters, while only three players in the NL can say the same.
The chart shows the players Box-Toppers points for the season, BTP, and their rank according to their field position in their league. Generally speaking, the the lower the rank by position number, the better. For example, Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera, David Ortiz and Carlos Gonzalez all rank No. 1 among players in their respective positions. However, elected NL starter Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, ranks only 39th among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the season.
While the NL starting line-up is not as strong as the AL line-up, the NL reserves include most of the players leading in Box-Toppers points at their position. For example, in the reserves and pitchers chart at the right below the elected starters, you can see that four NL players leading in Box-Toppers points in their position were selected to the team by NL manager Bruce Bochy of the Giants. They include:
Often, players are chosen to the All-Star for sentimental and nostalgic reasons. That might seem to be the case for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who has only 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season and ranks 137th among AL pitchers in points. And though he's having a strong year (30 saves in 32 chances and a 1.83 ERA), he hasn't picked up a lot of Box-Toppers points since he hasn't been the player who most contributed to the win in most of the games in which he's appeared. Still, Rivera has a very strong career Box-Toppers total. He has 122.4 career Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players since 1995 and second among closing pitchers only to Trevor Hoffman (129.4). Even if he weren't having a great year statistically, his career Box-Toppers numbers would cry out for his selection to the All-Star Game in this, the year he is retiring.
Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars.
| ALL-STAR GAME TOP SNUBS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Anibal Sanchez | PI SP | Tigers | 8.0 | 10 |
| Derek Holland | PI SP | Rangers | 7.7 | 11 |
| Joe Saunders | PI SP | Mariners | 7.7 | 12 |
| R.A. Dickey | PI SP | Blue Jays | 6.7 | 13 |
| Hiroki Kuroda | PI SP | Yankees | 6.7 | 14 |
| Josh Donaldson | 3B | Athletics | 6.5 | 2 |
| Yunel Escobar | SS | Rays | 4.5 | 1 |
| J.P. Arencibia | CA | Blue Jays | 5.5 | 1 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | OF | Athletics | 4.5 | 2 |
| Josh Reddick | OF | Athletics | 4.5 | 3 |
| NL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Shelby Miller | PI SP | Cardinals | 11.4 | 5 |
| Zack Greinke | PI SP | Dodgers | 10.7 | 8 |
| Lance Lynn | PI SP | Cardinals | 10.4 | 9 |
| Gio Gonzalez | PI SP | Nationals | 8.7 | 11 |
| Mat Latos | PI SP | Reds | 8.7 | 12 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | Nationals | 6.7 | 1 |
| ALL-STAR GAME ELECTED STARTERS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Chris Davis | 1B | Orioles | 10.2 | 1 |
| Robinson Canó | 2B | Yankees | 7.0 | 2 |
| J. J. Hardy | SS | Orioles | 3.0 | 4 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 3B | Tigers | 13.4 | 1 |
| Joe Mauer | C | Twins | 5.0 | 2 |
| Mike Trout | OF | Angels | 3.5 | 9 |
| Adam Jones | OF | Orioles | 3.5 | 10 |
| José Bautista | OF | Blue Jays | 1.5 | 32 |
| David Ortiz | DH | Red Sox | 8.2 | 1 |
| NL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Joey Votto | 1B | Reds | 1.5 | 14 |
| Brandon Phillips | 2B | Reds | 5.0 | 2 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | SS | Rockies | 2.0 | 7 |
| David Wright | 3B | Mets | 1.0 | 12 |
| Yadier Molina | C | Cardinals | 3.0 | 5 |
| Carlos Beltrán | OF | Cardinals | 1.5 | 39 |
| Carlos González | OF | Rockies | 9.5 | 1 |
| Bryce Harper | OF | Nationals | 6.9 | 2 |
| ALL-STAR GAME RESERVES & PITCHERS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Jason Castro | C | Astros | 2.0 | 7 |
| Salvador Pérez | C | Royals | 0.0 | 18 |
| Prince Fielder | 1B | Tigers | 3.5 | 7 |
| Jason Kipnis | 2B | Indians | 7.0 | 1 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 2B | Red Sox | 1.5 | 9 |
| Ben Zobrist | 2B | Rays | 2.0 | 6 |
| Manny Machado | 3B | Orioles | 1.0 | 14 |
| Jhonny Peralta | SS | Tigers | 1.0 | 11 |
| Nelson Cruz | OF | Rangers | 4.5 | 1 |
| Alex Gordon | OF | Royals | 1.0 | 42 |
| Torii Hunter | OF | Tigers | 1.0 | 43 |
| Edwin Encarnación | DH | Blue Jays | 5.7 | 2 |
| Justin Masterson | PI SP | Indians | 13.7 | 1 |
| Matt Moore | PI SP | Rays | 13.1 | 2 |
| Chris Sale | PI SP | White Sox | 10.7 | 3 |
| Félix Hernández | PI SP | Mariners | 10.4 | 4 |
| Clay Buchholz | PI SP | Red Sox | 10.1 | 5 |
| Yu Darvish | PI SP | Rangers | 10.0 | 6 |
| Max Scherzer | PI SP | Tigers | 9.7 | 7 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | PI SP | Mariners | 9.7 | 8 |
| Justin Verlander | PI SP | Tigers | 8.0 | 9 |
| Bartolo Colón | PI SP | Athletics | 6.7 | 15 |
| Greg Holland | PI CP | Royals | 6.0 | 20 |
| Glen Perkins | PI CP | Twins | 6.0 | 21 |
| Chris Tillman | PI SP | Orioles | 4.0 | 35 |
| Joe Nathan | PI CP | Rangers | 3.0 | 59 |
| Grant Balfour | PI CP | Athletics | 3.0 | 60 |
| Brett Cecil | PI MR | Blue Jays | 2.0 | 93 |
| Jesse Crain | PI MR | White Sox | 2.0 | 96 |
| Steve Delabar | PI MR CP | Blue Jays | 1.0 | 112 |
| Mariano Rivera | PI CP | Yankees | 1.0 | 137 |
| NL PLAYERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | RANK BY POS. |
| Buster Posey | C | Giants | 6.0 | 2 |
| Brian McCann | C | Braves | 7.0 | 1 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Diamondbacks | 9.7 | 1 |
| Allen Craig | 1B | Cardinals | 1.0 | 15 |
| Freddie Freeman | 1B | Braves | 6.5 | 2 |
| Matt Carpenter | 2B | Cardinals | 6.0 | 1 |
| Marco Scutaro | 2B | Giants | 0.0 | 18 |
| Pedro Álvarez | 3B | Pirates | 6.2 | 2 |
| Everth Cabrera | SS | Padres | 4.5 | 1 |
| Jean Segura | SS | Brewers | 2.5 | 6 |
| Domonic Brown | OF | Phillies | 3.5 | 15 |
| Michael Cuddyer | OF | Rockies | 6.5 | 3 |
| Carlos Gómez | OF | Brewers | 2.0 | 35 |
| Andrew McCutchen | OF | Pirates | 2.0 | 27 |
| Patrick Corbin | PI SP | Diamondbacks | 14.4 | 1 |
| Clayton Kershaw | PI SP | Dodgers | 12.7 | 2 |
| Madison Bumgarner | PI SP | Giants | 11.7 | 3 |
| Adam Wainwright | PI SP | Cardinals | 11.7 | 4 |
| Matt Harvey | PI SP | Mets | 11.0 | 6 |
| Jordan Zimmermann | PI SP | Nationals | 10.7 | 7 |
| Cliff Lee | PI SP | Phillies | 9.4 | 10 |
| José Fernández | PI SP | Marlins | 8.0 | 14 |
| Aroldis Chapman | PI CP | Reds | 6.0 | 18 |
| Jason Grilli | PI CP | Pirates | 5.7 | 29 |
| Travis Wood | PI CP | Cubs | 5.0 | 33 |
| Jeff Locke | PI SP | Pirates | 5.0 | 36 |
| Craig Kimbrel | PI CP | Braves | 3.0 | 52 |
| Edward Mujica | PI CP | Cardinals | 3.0 | 58 |
| Sergio Romo | PI CP | Giants | 2.0 | 77 |
| Mark Melancon | PI MR | Pirates | 1.0 | 121 |
BTP: Box-Toppers points for the current season.
RANK BY POS.: A players ranking among players in the same position for the current season.
Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova is Friday's Player of the Day. Nova pitched a complete game and struck out 11 in the 3-2 win over the Orioles.
Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Skaggs is National League Player of the Day. Skaggs pitched eight scoreless innings and gave up only three hits in the 5-0 win over the Rockies.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Nieuwenhuis went 4-for-4 with five RBIs in the 12-5 win over the Brewers.
Josh Reddick of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Reddick went 2-for-3 and scored three runs in the 6-3 win over the Royals.
Notable: Mariners closing pitcher Oliver Perez (Save, 3K in 4-2 win vs. Reds) was Player of the Game for the first time in more than four years. The previous time Perez was Player of the Game was April 15, 2009, when he was a starting pitcher for the New York Mets. In 2004, Perez had 17.0 Box-Toppers points for the season as a starter for the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates. He has 43.1 career Box-Toppers points.
Nova receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Skaggs receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis and Reddick each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Friday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 705 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ivan Nova (W, 3-2) | 9.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyler Skaggs (W, 2-1) | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 8.0 | Mets | Kirk Nieuwenhuis RF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jeremy Hellickson (W, 8-3) | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |||
| 7.0 | Dodgers | Juan Uribe 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 6.0 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rick Porcello (W, 5-6) | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 6.0 | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mark Buehrle (W, 5-5) | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Francisco Liriano (W, 8-3) | 9.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |||
| 4.0 | `Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Rosenthal (H, 18) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Oliver Perez (S, 2) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 3.0 | Phillies | Humberto Quintero C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | David Ortiz PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Nelson Cruz RF | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Wilson Ramos C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 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.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday's Player of the Day. Kluber struck out eight over eight shutout innings in the 2-0 win over the Nationals.
Reds pitcher Alfredo Simon is National League Player of the Day. Simon earned a three-inning save, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Brewers.
Josh Reddick of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Reddick homered and went 4-for-5 in the 10-2 win over the Mariners.
Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Gonzalez homered and went 2-for-4 in the 5-2 win over the Phillies. With the Batter of the Day honor, Gonzalez rises to sixth place among players in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season (see updated top 10 standings on the home page). Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for the honor, giving him 9.5 points for the season. He becomes the top NL batter in Box-Toppers points, passing Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks (8.7). In addition, Gonzalez already has more Box-Toppers points this season than he did in 2012 (9.2).
Kluber receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Simon receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Reddick and Gonzalez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 616 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.0 | Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Corey Kluber (W, 5-4) | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Alfredo Simon (S, 1) | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6.2 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Doug Fister (W, 6-4) | 7.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 6.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Julio Teheran (W, 5-3) | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |||
| 5.0 | Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ricky Nolasco (W, 4-7) | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chien-Ming Wang (W, 1-0) | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Nick Markakis RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| BAT | 2.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Garrett Jones 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Travis Hafner DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Mets | Kirk Nieuwenhuis CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Astros | Jason Castro DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Padres | Kyle Blanks 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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. 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.