Justin Verlander tops players in ALCS Game 6 as Astros tie series with Yankees, 3-3

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s American League Championship Series Game 6, as Houston pulls even in the series with the New York Yankees.

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David Ross tops players in World Series Game 7 as Cubs defeat Indians to secure 1st championship in 108 years

David Ross is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 7 as the Chicago Cubs win their first championship in 108 years.

The Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-7 Wednesday in 10 innings, winning the best-of-seven-game series, 4-3.

Ross hit a sixth-inning solo home run, going 1-for-1 with a walk, and earning a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0, the highest among all Cubs players Wednesday.

During the regular season, Ross had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, 91st among National League batters and ninth among NL catchers. Ross has said he will retire after the 2016 season.

It is the first time this World Series and only the fifth time in 35 postseason games this year that a batter has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.

Mike Montgomery, who earned the save, had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+0.1) among Cubs pitchers (0.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K), getting the game’s final out with two pitches in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.8 (4.2IP 4H 2R BB 2K ND). Hendricks had 13.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester, who pitched three innings of relief, had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (3IP 3H 2R BB 4K ND). Lester had the highest regular season Box-Toppers point total of any player in the World Series, 22.1, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of −10.0 (4IP 6H 4R 0BB 0K ND). Kluber had 21.2 regular season Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among American League pitchers. He earned Box-ToppersPlayer of the Game honors four times during the postseason, most of any player, including twice in the World Series. Pitching on short rest for the second time in the World Series, Kluber got off to a rocky start, giving up a lead-off solo home run to Dexter Fowler.

Cubs left fielder Ben Zobrist was named World Series Most Valuable Player, though he never had a Box-Toppers game score of more than 0.0 in any of the Cubs’ four wins. Box-Toppers would have chosen pitcher Jake Arrieta as MVP; he was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the Cubs’ Game 2 and Game 6 wins.

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

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

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

Top Cubs in World Series Game 7: Cubs 8, Indians 7 (10 innings)

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 7 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
2.0 * David Ross, C 1 1 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Miguel Montero, C 1 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Albert Almora Jr., PR-DH 0 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.1 Mike Montgomery (S,1) - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 5 1 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 3 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Willson Contreras, C 2 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Jon Lester - - - - - - 3.0 3 2 1 1 4
0.0 Chris Coghlan, PR - - - - - - - - - - - -
-1.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 4 2 1 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.8 Kyle Hendricks - - - - - - 4.2 4 2 1 1 2
-2.0 Kyle Schwarber, DH 5 0 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 5 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Javier Baez, 2B 5 1 1 1 0 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Addison Russell, SS 3 0 0 1 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.8 Carl Edwards Jr. (H,4) - - - - - - 0.2 1 1 1 1 1
-3.9 Aroldis Chapman (W,2-0; BS,3) - - - - - - 1.1 3 2 2 0 2
-5.0 Jason Heyward, RF 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Game 7 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 7 progressed:

Jake Arrieta tops players in World Series Game 6 as Cubs tie series with Indians, 3-3

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 6 Tuesday.

The Chicago Cubs win 9-3 and even the best-of-seven game series with the Cleveland Indians at three games apiece, setting up a decisive Game 7 Wednesday.

Arrieta struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks, earning the win. Arrieta had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Cubs players, +4.2.

This is the second time this postseason (and second time in the World Series) Arrieta has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game. He was also top player in the Game 2 win against the Indians.

Arrieta had 15.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. In 2015, he led all players in Box-Toppers points with 29.1.

Shortstop Addison Russell had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+4.0) among Cubs batters (GS 2B 2-5 R 6BI). Russell was the leading candidate for Box-Toppers Player of the Game during much of Game 6 after his third-inning grand slam homer, but his game score fell just below Arrieta’s after hitless at-bats later in the game.

Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of −10.9 (2.1IP 6H 6R BB 0K L).

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

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

Top Cubs in World Series Game 6: Cubs 9, Indians 3

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 6 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.2 * Jake Arrieta (W,2-1) - - - - - - 5.2 3 2 2 3 9
4.0 Addison Russell, SS 5 1 2 6 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 5 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.1 Travis Wood - - - - - - 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 4 2 2 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mike Montgomery - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 1 0
-1.8 Pedro Strop - - - - - - 0.2 1 0 0 1 0
-1.9 Aroldis Chapman - - - - - - 1.1 1 1 1 1 1
-2.0 Kyle Schwarber, DH 4 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Javier Baez, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-3.0 Willson Contreras, C 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-4.0 Jason Heyward, RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Wednesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 7, Cubs at Indians, series tied, 3-3

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among National League pitchers. Hendricks was Player of the Game in the National League Championship Series Game 6 vs. the Dodgers.

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among American League pitchers. Kluber was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox, in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays, in World Series Game 1 vs. the Cubs and World Series Game 4 vs. the Cubs.

Kluber has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game four times during the postseason, more than any other player and twice during the World Series, tied with Arrieta of the Cubs.

Kluber is Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked AL pitcher in 2016 with 21.2 Box-Toppers points.

Given that, the Indians should be favored in Game 7. But Kluber is pitching on short rest. But again, he’s done that before in Game 4 and earned Player of the Game honors.

Hendricks has only been Player of the Game once this postseason. In his previous World Series start in Game 3, which the Cubs lost, he didn’t do badly. He had a positive Box-Toppers game score, +2.1 (4.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 6K ND). Unlike Kluber, he is pitching on full rest and making just his second appearance in the World Series. And though he has fewer regular season Box-Toppers points than Kluber, Hendricks is among the top 10 NL pitchers in 2016.

Given how both managers have put starters on a short leash and relied on middle relievers and closers to carry the load, it would be odd to see both pitchers go deep in a Jack Morris-John Smoltz style Game 7 1991 World Series pitching duel.

It would be far more likely to see the bullpens handle the load, as has happened most of the series. That would give the Indians the edge with strong relievers Cody Allen (7.0 Box-Toppers points) and Andrew Miller (8.0 Box-Toppers points), neither of whom pitched Tuesday. The Cubs counter with their closer Aroldis Chapman (7.4 Box-Toppers points), but Chapman pitched Tuesday and had a long 2 2/3-inning outing to secure Game 5 on Sunday.

But on the other hand, the Cubs have the best starting pitching line-up in baseball and have the luxury of bringing in two of their starting aces in relief in Game 7. Both Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth, third among NL pitchers) and John Lackey (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers) would be available as relievers for the season’s final game. 

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 6 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 6 progressed:

Cubs' Aroldis Chapman tops players in World Series Game 5; Indians lead series, 3-2

Cubs closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 5 Sunday.

The Chicago Cubs win 3-2 as the Cleveland Indians maintain a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Chapman pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks, striking out four and earning the save. Chapman had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Cubs players, +5.2.

This is the second time this postseason Chapman has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game. He was also top player in the National League Division Series Game 4 win vs. the Giants.

Chapman had 7.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 104th among all players, 33rd among NL pitchers and second among NL closers, behind Jeurys Familia of the Mets (8.0).

Starting pitcher Jon Lester had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Cubs players, +3.0 (6IP 4H 2R 0BB 5K W). Lester has the highest regular season Box-Toppers point total of any player remaining in the postseason 22.1, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Kris Bryant had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Cubs batters Sunday, 0.0 (HR 1-3 R BI).

Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0 (4IP 6H 3R 0BB 7K L).

Monday is a travel day in the World Series. Game 6 is Tuesday in Cleveland.

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

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

Top Cubs in World Series Game 5: Cubs 3, Indians 2

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 5 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
5.2 * Aroldis Chapman (S,4) - - - - - - 2.2 1 0 0 0 4
3.0 Jon Lester (W,3-1) - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 0 5
0.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 3 1 1 1 1 2 - - - - - -
0.0 David Ross, C 1 0 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Carl Edwards Jr., P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-0.9 Carl Edwards Jr. (H,3) - - - - - - 0.1 1 0 0 0 0
-1.0 Addison Russell, SS 4 0 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 3 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 a-Miguel Montero, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Aroldis Chapman, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Willson Contreras, C 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Jon Lester, P 2 0 0 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-3.0 Jason Heyward, RF 4 0 1 0 0 3 - - - - - -
-3.0 Javier Baez, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 3 - - - - - -
-3.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Tuesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 6, Indians lead Cubs in series, 3-2

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. Arrieta was Player of the Game in World Series Game 2.

Indians—Josh Tomlin, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 202nd among all players, 63rd among American League pitchers. Tomlin was Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 2 vs. the Blue Jays.

On paper, the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Arrieta outmatches Tomlin. In addition, Arrieta is pitching on five days rest having last pitched and won in Game 2. Tomlin is pitching on short rest, just three days, after having 58 pitches over 4 2/3 innings in Game 3 Friday.

But Tomlin was also outmatched in his Game 3 start vs. Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th) and the Indians still prevailed, 1-0, thanks to the Indians bullpen aces Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 5 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 5 progressed:

Corey Kluber tops players for 2nd time in World Series, as Indians take 3-1 series lead

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 4 Saturday.

The Cleveland Indians win 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-seven game series.

Kluber allowed one run over six innings, allowing five hits, one walk, striking out six and earning the win. Kluber had the highest Box-Toppers game score of all Indians players, +4.0.

This is the second time this World Series Kluber has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game—he was also top player in his Game 1 start. This was the fourth time this postseason Kluber has earned Player of the Game honors, most of any player. In addition to his two top player honors in the World Series, he was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox and AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays.

During the regular season Kluber had 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players and first among AL pitchers.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score (+3.0) among Indians players (three-run HR, 2B 3-5 2R 3BI).

Opposing starting pitcher John Lackey of the Cubs had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (5IP 4H 3R BB 5K L).

The Indians could wrap up the championship as the World Series resumes Sunday in Chicago.

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

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

Top Indians in World Series Game 4: Indians 7, Cubs 2

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Indians who played in World Series Game 4 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.0 * Corey Kluber (W,4-1) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 1 6
3.0 Jason Kipnis, 2B 5 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Carlos Santana, 1B 4 1 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 c-Coco Crisp, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Andrew Miller - - - - - - 2.0 1 1 1 0 2
0.0 Francisco Lindor, SS 4 1 2 1 1 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Dan Otero - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 0
0.0 Andrew Miller, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Dan Otero, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Lonnie Chisenhall, RF 3 1 0 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Corey Kluber, P 2 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 a-Michael Martinez, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Tyler Naquin, CF 1 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mike Napoli, 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 b-Brandon Guyer, PH-LF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Rajai Davis, LF-CF 4 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Roberto Perez, C 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-5.0 Jose Ramirez, 3B 5 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Sunday in Chicago:

World Series Game 5, Indians lead Cubs in series, 3-1

The pitching matchup Sunday:

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers.

Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.

On paper, the Cubs looked to dominate the depleted, injury-riddled Indians in this World Series. But so far, the Indians have prevailed with their patched-together pitching rotation.

But now, the Indians ace Kluber has pitched and won two games and will wait for an if-necessary Game 7. The Cubs dominant starter Lester is back for Game 5 and if the Cubs can win, Game 2-winner Jake Arrieta is likely for Game 6. Aside from Kluber, the Indians can’t match those starters. Though the Cubs are down, they have to feel good about their chances in the next two games. And if it goes that far, they have to hope that Kluber finally feels some of the fatigue on short rest in Game 7 that he seemed to fail to feel on his Saturday short-rest win in Game 4.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 4 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 4 progressed:

Reliever Andrew Miller tops players in World Series Game 3 as Indians take 2-1 series lead

Indians pitcher Andrew Miller is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 3 Friday.

The Cleveland Indians win 1-0 to take a 2-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-seven-games series.

Miller struck out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits, no walks and picking up the win. Miller had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.1, highest among Indians players. 

Miller relieved starter Josh Tomlin in the fifth inning with two outs and also pitched the sixth inning.

Miller was pulled for pinch hitter Coco Crisp in the seventh inning, who drove in the game’s only run. That made Miller the pitcher of record, earning him the win, since he was the last Indians pitcher on the mound before the Indians took the lead.

Miller had 8.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 92nd among all players, 32nd among American League pitchers and first among AL middle relievers. He earned 4.0 of his points with the Yankees before being traded to the Indians.

This is the third time this postseason Miller has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game, tied for the most such honors with teammate Corey Kluber (who starts for the Indians Saturday). Previously, Miller was Player of the Game in the AL Division Series Game 1 win vs. the Red Sox on Oct. 6 and in the AL Championship Series Game 3 win vs. the Blue Jays on Oct. 17.

Closer Cody Allen had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score (+3.1) among Indians (1.1IP H 0R 0BB 3K). Starter Josh Tomlin had the third-highest score (+2.2) among Indians (4.2IP 2H 0R BB K). Pinch hitter Coco Crisp had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters, driving in the game’s only run with a single in the seventh inning (1-1 BI).

Opposing starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.1 (4.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 6K ND). Hendricks had 13.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among National League pitchers.

The World Series resumes Saturday in Chicago with Game 4.

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

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

Top Indians in World Series Game 3: Indians 1, Cubs 0

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Indians who played in World Series Game 3 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.1 Andrew Miller (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 3
3.1 Cody Allen (S,6) - - - - - - 1.1 1 0 0 0 3
2.2 Josh Tomlin - - - - - - 4.2 2 0 0 1 1
1.0 a-Coco Crisp, PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.2 Bryan Shaw (H,4) - - - - - - 1.2 2 0 0 0 1
0.0 Michael Martinez, PR-CF-3B 1 1 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Andrew Miller, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Bryan Shaw, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Brandon Guyer, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Cody Allen, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Rajai Davis, LF-CF 0 0 0 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Tyler Naquin, CF 2 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Carlos Santana, LF 1 0 0 0 2 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Yan Gomes, C 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Josh Tomlin, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Francisco Lindor, SS 4 0 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Jose Ramirez, 3B 4 0 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Jason Kipnis, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Roberto Perez, C 3 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-4.0 Mike Napoli, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 3 - - - - - -
-4.0 Lonnie Chisenhall, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 - - - - - -
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Saturday in Chicago:

World Series Game 4, Indians lead Cubs in series, 2-1

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among AL pitchers. Kluber was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox, in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays and in World Series Game 1 vs. the Cubs.

Cubs—John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers.

Kluber is pitching on short rest, having pitched and won World Series Game 1 on Oct. 25. He has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors three times this postseason, tied for the most of any player with Indians middle reliever Andrew Miller (Friday’s Player of the Game). Lackey comes in on full rest, having not pitched since Oct. 19 and is among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers player rankings. However, Lackey has not earned Player of the Game honors in his two postseason appearances (combined 8IP 10H 5R 5BB 7K) and last earned regular season Player of the Game honors on Sept. 4.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

 

Game 3 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 3 progressed:

Jake Arrieta tops players in World Series Game 2 as Cubs even series with Indians, 1-1

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 2 Wednesday.

The Chicago Cubs win 5-1 to even the best-of-seven series with the Cleveland Indians, 1-1.

Arrieta allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, three walks and striking out six. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.2, most of any Cubs player Wednesday. It is the first time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors.

Arrieta has 15.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.

Kyle Schwarber had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Cubs batters Wednesday (2-4 R 2BI). Opposing starting pitcher Trevor Bauer of the Indians had a Box-Toppers game score of −6.8 (3.2IP 6H 2R 2BB 2K L).

Thursday is a travel day and the World Series resumes Friday in Chicago with Game 3.

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

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

Top Cubs in World Series Game 2: Cubs 5, Indians 1

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Cubs who played in World Series Game 2 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
4.2 * Jake Arrieta (W,1-1) - - - - - - 5.2 2 1 1 3 6
3.0 Mike Montgomery - - - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 1 4
2.1 Aroldis Chapman - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 1 2
1.0 Kyle Schwarber, DH 4 1 2 2 1 2 - - - - - -
1.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 3 2 1 1 2 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Ben Zobrist, LF 4 1 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Addison Russell, SS 4 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Jorge Soler, RF 2 0 0 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Jason Heyward, PR-RF 2 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Kris Bryant, 3B 5 1 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Willson Contreras, C 3 0 0 0 2 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Dexter Fowler, CF 5 0 1 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-4.0 Javier Baez, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 2 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Friday in Chicago:

World Series Game 3, Indians at Cubs, series tied, 1-1

The pitching matchup Friday:

Indians—Josh Tomlin, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 202nd among all players, 63rd among American League pitchers. Tomlin was Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 2 vs. the Blue Jays.

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among National League pitchers. Hendricks was Player of the Game in the National League Championship Game 6 vs. the Dodgers.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Game 2 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 2 progressed:

Corey Kluber tops players in World Series Game 1 as Indians take 1-0 series lead over Cubs

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 Tuesday, striking out nine Cubs over six scoreless innings.

The Indians win 6-0 to take a 1-0 lead over the Cubs in the best-of-seven series.

Kluber allowed four hits and no walks and earned a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, the highest of any Indians player Tuesday.

It is the third time this postseason Kluber has earned Player of the Game honors, the most of any player this postseason. Kluber was Player of the Game in American League Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox and in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays.

Kluber has 21.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, fifth among all players and first among AL pitchers. 

He outdueled Cubs starting ace Jon Lester (22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers). Lester had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of −2.8 (5.2IP 6H 3R 3BB 7K L).

Catcher Roberto Perez led the way for Indians batters with two home runs (2-4 2R 4BI). He had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +4.0, second-best among Indians players.

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

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

Top Indians in World Series Game 1: Indians 6, Cubs 0

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Indians who played in World Series Game 1 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.

BTG Indians player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
11.0 * Corey Kluber (W,3-1) - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 0 9
4.0 Roberto Perez, C 4 2 2 4 - - - - - -
3.0 Cody Allen - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 3
1.0 Andrew Miller (H,5) - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 2 3
0.0 Jose Ramirez, 3B 4 0 3 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Francisco Lindor, SS 4 1 3 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Brandon Guyer, LF 2 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Lonnie Chisenhall, RF 4 1 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Mike Napoli, 1B 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Carlos Santana, DH 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Rajai Davis, CF 5 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Jason Kipnis, 2B 5 0 0 0 - - - - - -
* Player of the Game
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Wednesday in Cleveland:

World Series Game 2, Indians lead Cubs, 1-0

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers.

Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this season. Bauer’s last start on Oct. 17 in the AL Championship Game 3 vs. the Blue Jays lasted only 2/3 of an inning when Bauer had to be pulled from the game because he was bleeding profusely from his pinky where he cut it days earlier on a drone. The Cubs have lost both postseason games Arrieta has started in 2016—on Oct. 10, the Cubs lost National League Division Series Game 3 to the Giants and on Oct. 18, they lost NL Championship Game 3 to the Dodgers.

Note: The game starts an hour earlier than normal at 7 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Central, because of weather concerns.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings

Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end

Box-Toppers ALCS Preview

Box-Toppers NLCS Preview

Kyle Hendricks tops players in NLCS Game 6 as Cubs advance to first World Series in 71 years

Kyle Hendricks is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Saturday as the Cubs win their first pennant in 71 years, defeating the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series Game 6.

National League Championship Series Game 6: Cubs 5, Dodgers 0

Hendricks pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out six.

The Chicago Cubs win the best-of-seven game series over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2, becoming National League champions and advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945.

Hendricks had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.1, most of all Cubs players. Anthony Rizzo had the highest Box-Toppers game score (0.0) among Cubs batters (HR 2B 2-4 R BI).

Opposing starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of −7.0 (5IP 7H 5R 0BB 4K L). Kershaw ranked second among all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 24.4.

Hendricks had 13.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

The Cubs rank first in Box-Toppers team rankings with players accumulating 139.5 Box-Toppers points in 2016. They ranked first nearly the entire season—in 24 Box-Toppers weekly team rankings reports, they were ranked first in 22 of them, missing only April 14 and July 21.

The Dodgers ranked third among all teams in Box-Toppers points with 125.2, second among NL teams, behind the Cubs.

The Cubs now face the Indians in the World Series beginning Tuesday in Cleveland. The Indians have not won the World Series since 1948. The Cubs have not won since 1908.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

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

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

BTG Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
11.1 CHC 5, LAD 0 Kyle Hendricks (W,1-1) - - - - 7.1 2 0 0 0 6
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Cubs could reach World Series for 1st time in 71 years with win Saturday in NL Championship Series Game 6 vs. Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs could reach the World Series for the first time since 1945 (that’s 71 years if you’re counting) with a win Saturday over the Los Angeles Dodgers:

National League Championship Series Game 6: Cubs lead Dodgers, 3-2

The pitching matchup Saturday is a rematch of Game 2 of the series, won by the Dodgers, 1-0:

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.

In Game 2, both pitchers did well, with Kershaw pitching seven scoreless innings and Hendricks allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings—a solo home run by Adrian Gonzalez, the only scoring in the game.

If the Dodgers win Game 6, they tie the series, 3-3, and Game 7 happens Sunday in Chicago. If the Cubs win, they win the series and face the Cleveland Indians in the World Series beginning Tuesday in Cleveland.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

Factoid—The Cubs hold the record for the longest streak between World Series championships. It is 108 years and counting since their 1908 win.

In 1945, the last time the Cubs made the World Series, they had the longest streak of any team since winning their last World Series. At the time, they had not won a World Series in the 37 years since they won in 1908. However, in 1945, three franchises had yet to earn their first World Series title:

  • The St. Louis Browns, franchise begun in 1901, won their first title in 1966 as the Baltimore Orioles.
  • The Philadelphia Phillies, franchise begun in 1883, won their first title in 1980.
  • The Brooklyn Dodgers, franchise begun in 1884, won their first title in 1955. They are now the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs have been the longest-suffering team between World Series championships since 1922. That year, the New York Giants won the World Series for the first time since 1905, ending the then longest drought between championships of 17 years. The Cubs’ 14-year drought then became the longest and has grown each year for the past 94 years.

The Cubs franchise began in 1876 and has won two World Series titles in 1907 and 1908. They made it to seven World Series between 1910 and 1945—including four from 1929 to 1939—losing all of them.

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.

Kelvin Herrera tops players as Royals defeat Mets in World Series in 5 games

Kelvin Herrera pitched three scoreless innings—the seventh, eighth and ninth—to earn Player of the Game honors as the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series Sunday.

The Royals again came from behind in Game 5, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game 2-2 and scoring five in the top of the 12th inning to defeat the Mets, 7-2 in the 12-inning game and 4-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Herrera kept the Mets off the board for three innings, giving up one hit and striking out three. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. While he did not earn the win or the save, picking up a no-decision, he did pitch the requisite three innings required to be eligible to earn Player of the Game honors. He is the only pitcher this postseason to earn Player of the Game honors without earning a win or a save.

Had Herrera not pitched three innings, Player of the Game honors would have gone to Royals top batter, pinch hitter Christian Colon, who hit the go-ahead 12th-inning single (1-1 R BI). Colon had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.

Closing pitcher Wade Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (1IP H 0R 3K), but was not eligible to earn Player of the Game honors because he pitched fewer than three innings and did not pick up the win or the save. Davis was not eligible to earn the save because the Royals led by more than three runs when he entered.

Herrera, during the regular season, had no Box-Toppers points. In both 2013 and 2014, Herrera had 2.0 points each season. It is the third straight World Series game in which the Player of the Game had zero regular season Box-Toppers points:

Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 (6IP 2H 2R 5K ND). Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0 (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K ND), highest among all players Sunday.

Mets pitcher Jeurys Familia, who had a blown save pitching in the ninth and 10th innings, had the Mets second-highest Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 (2IP 0H 0R 2K). Curtis Granderson had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of 0.0 (HR 1-4 2R BI). Addison Reed, who picked up the loss for the Mets, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of all players of −5.9 (0.1IP 3H 5R BB 0K).

Royals catcher Salvador Perez was named World Series Most Valuable Player. He did not earn Player of the Game honors in any World Series game and had a positive Box-Toppers game score in only one game the Royals won—in Game 4, he had a score of +1.0, highest among Royals batters.

Game 5 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey had complete control of World Series Game 5—until he didn't. Here are real-time tweets from @BoxToppers as the game progressed, complete with real-time statistical errors:

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

Top Royals in World Series Game 5

Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Royals who played in World Series Game 5 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Kelvin Herrera is Player of the Game (POG).

11/1 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 5.0 `Royals Kelvin Herrera - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 0 3
3.0 Royals Wade Davis - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 3
2.0 Royals Christian Colon, PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain, CF 5 1 2 3 1 2 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, PR 0 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Edinson Volquez - - - - - - 6.0 2 2 1 5 5
1.0 Royals Luke Hochevar (W,2-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 1 0
0.0 Royals Drew Butera, C 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Kelvin Herrera, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Luke Hochevar, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Wade Davis, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Edinson Volquez, P 2 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Kendrys Morales, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 6 1 2 1 0 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 3 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Alcides Escobar, SS 6 1 1 1 0 2 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 5 0 1 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Ben Zobrist, 2B 5 1 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Alex Gordon, LF 4 0 0 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 6 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Though the baseball season is now over, in coming days, Box-Toppers will feature season-end features, including Box-Toppers 2015 All-Star teams, top 100 player rankings and analysis of the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards, among many other things. Stay current on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to Box-Toppers’ RSS feed.

Royals' Ryan Madson, with perfect 7th inning, tops players in World Series Game 4, Saturday, Oct. 31

Royals pitcher Ryan Madson pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out two and picking up the win, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday in World Series Game 4.

The Kansas City Royals came from behind, scoring three runs in the eighth inning, to beat the New York Mets, 5-3. The Royals take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Madson entered the game with the Royals trailing 3-2 and retired the side on 16 pitches, striking out Travis d’Arnaud of Michael Conforto, who had homered in his previous two at bats. After Madson exited, the Royals scored three runs in the eighth, making Madson the pitcher of record and allowing him to pick up the win.

Madson had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. Closer Wade Davis, who pitched two innings to earn the save, was leading Madson in the ninth inning in Box-Toppers game score until he gave up two hits. Davis had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals of +2.0.

Catcher Salvador Perez had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +1.0 (2B 3-4 R BI).

Madson, during the regular season, had 0.0 Box-Toppers points. In fact, Madson has not earned Box-Toppers points since the last time he was Player of the Game more than four years ago—May 30, 2011, when he was with the Phillies. Madson has 20.7 career Box-Toppers points from 2004 to 2011, all with the Phillies.

Royals starting pitcher Chris Young had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (4IP 2H 2R BB 3K ND). Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0. (5IP 7H 2R 5K ND).

Left fielder Michael Conforto had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets players of +3.0 (2HR 2-3 2R 2BI). Mets middle reliever Tyler Clippard, who picked up the loss pitching in the eighth inning, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of the night of −5.9 (0.1IP 0H 2R 2BB 0K L).

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

Top Royals in World Series Game 4

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 4 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Ryan Madson is Player of the Game (POG).

10/31 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 3.0 Royals Ryan Madson (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Royals Wade Davis (S,4) - - - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 0 2
1.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 4 1 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Luke Hochevar - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain, CF 3 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Ben Zobrist, 2B 3 2 1 0 1 2 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Kendrys Morales, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Chris Young - - - - - - 4.0 2 2 2 1 3
0.0 Royals Danny Duffy, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Luke Hochevar, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Ryan Madson, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Chris Young, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Wade Davis, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Alex Gordon, LF 4 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 1.0 2 1 1 0 1
-3.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 4 1 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Alcides Escobar, SS 5 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -

Coming Sunday in New York:

World Series Game 5, Royals lead Mets, 3-1

The pitching match-up Sunday:

Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers. Volquez has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 16, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1. 

Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers. Harvey has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 17, he was top player in the National League Championship Series Game 1.

This is a rematch of World Series Game 1, which the Royals won 5-4 in 14 innings. Neither starting pitcher was particularly effective. Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0 and Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0.

World Series preview 

Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report

Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end

Mets' David Wright (HR 2-5 4BI) tops players in World Series Game 3, Friday, Oct. 30

David Wright hit a two-run homer and drove in four total runs as the New York Mets won Game 3 of the World Series Friday, beating the Kansas City Royals, 9-3.

Wright, who also had two hits, is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game as the Royals now lead the Mets 2-1 in the best-of-seven games series.

Wright had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +2.0, tied for the highest among Mets players with two other batters, Curtis Granderson (HR 2-3 3R 2BI) and Juan Uribe (1-1 R BI). But Wright beat both his teammates on tiebreakers—Wright beat Granderson because he had more runs batted in (4 vs. 2) and he beat Uribe because he had more at bats (5 vs. 1).

Pitcher Jeurys Familia also had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. But in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers under Box-Toppers rules. Also, Familia did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not have at least three innings pitched and did not earn the win or save.

Wright, during the regular season had 0.0 Box-Toppers points, playing in only 38 games due to injury. It is the first time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. In fact, it is the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors since July 11, 2014. That was the only time during the 2014 season that Wright earned Player of the Game honors, giving him 1.5 Box-Toppers points for 2014. Wright does have 74.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among active National League third basemen, and had regular season Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons from 2004 to 2014.

Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard picked up the win but had the second-lowest Box-Toppers game score Friday of all Mets players of −3.0 (6IP 7H 3R 2BB 6K). However, Syndergaard had a higher Box-Toppers game score for batting of 0.0 (1-2 R).

Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura picked up the loss and had the lowest Box-Toppers game score among all players Friday of −12.9 (3.1IP 7H 5R BB 2K). Alex Rios had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals players eligible to earn Player of the Game honors of 0.0 (1-3 R BI).

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

Top Mets in World Series Game 3

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Mets who played in World Series Game 3 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). David Wright is Player of the Game (POG).

10/30 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 2.0 Mets David Wright, 3B 5 1 2 4 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Mets Curtis Granderson, RF 5 3 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Mets Juan Uribe, PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Mets Jeurys Familia - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Mets Addison Reed - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
1.0 Mets Tyler Clippard - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Mets Michael Conforto, LF 2 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Mets Juan Lagares, PH-CF 2 1 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Mets Noah Syndergaard, P 2 1 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Mets Addison Reed, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Mets Tyler Clippard, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Mets Jeurys Familia, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - 0
-1.0 Mets Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF 3 0 1 1 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Mets Kirk Nieuwenhuis, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Mets Travis d'Arnaud, C 4 0 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Mets Lucas Duda, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Mets Wilmer Flores, SS 3 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Mets Noah Syndergaard (W,2-1) - - - - - - 6.0 7 3 3 2 6
-4.0 Mets Daniel Murphy, 2B 4 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -

Coming Saturday in New York:

World Series Game 4, Royals lead Mets, 2-1

The pitching match-up Saturday:

Royals—Chris Young, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 78th among all players, 29th among AL pitchers. Young was Player of the Game in World Series Game 1.

Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.

World Series preview (Corrected 10/31: Previously, David Wright’s 2015 Box-Toppers point total was listed as 1.5, which was his total during 2014. Wright actually had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015)

Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report

Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end

Royals' Johnny Cueto (2-hit complete game) tops players in World Series Game 2, Wednesday, Oct. 28

Johnny Cueto pitched a complete-game two-hitter to lead the Royals to a Game 2 World Series win over the Mets Wednesday, picking up Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.

Cueto allowed one run, struck out four and walked three in the 7-1 win, giving the Kansas City Royals a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets in the best-of-seven series.

Cueto had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, the highest of all Royals players Wednesday. During the regular season, Cueto had 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players and 13th among AL pitchers. However, Cueto earned nearly all of his points while pitching with the Cincinnati Reds before he was traded in late July to the Royals. He had 10.8 points with the Reds and 2.0 with the Royals, earning Player of the Day honors on Aug. 10. 

This was the second time Cueto earned Player of the Game honors this postseason. He was also Player of the Game in the American League Division Series Game 5 against the Astros on Oct. 14.

Alex Gordon (2B 1-2 2R BI) had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +2.0.

Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom ranked third in Box-Toppers points during the regular season (22.4), but had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of any player in Game 2. deGrom (5IP 6H 4R 3BB 2K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −10.0.

Only three Mets players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or more in Wednesday’s Game 2 as most pitchers gave up multiple hits or runs and most batters were shut down by Cueto and did not earn hits, runs or RBIs. The top three Mets were:

  • Middle reliever Hansel Robles (1IP 0R 0H 0K), Box-Toppers game score of +1.0.
  • Middle reliever Sean Gilmartin (0.2IP 0R 0H 0K), Box-Toppers game score of +0.2.
  • First baseman Lucas Duda (2-3 BI), Box-Toppers game score of 0.0. Duda had both of the Mets’ hits off Cueto.

Thursday is a travel day. The World Series resumes with Game 3 Friday in New York.

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

Top Royals in World Series Game 2

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 2 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score. Johnny Cueto is Player of the Game (POG).

10/28 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 6.0 Royals Johnny Cueto (W,2-1) - - - - - - 9.0 2 1 1 3 4
2.0 Royals Alex Gordon, LF 2 2 1 1 2 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 4 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 3 1 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 0 0 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Alcides Escobar, SS 5 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 1 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 4 1 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Kendrys Morales, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain, CF 4 0 0 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-5.0 Royals Ben Zobrist, 2B 5 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -

Coming Friday in New York:

World Series Game 3, Royals lead Mets, 2-0

The pitching match-up Friday:

Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.

Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

World Series preview

Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report

Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end

Royals' Chris Young pitches extra-innings relief to top players in World Series Game 1, Tuesday, Oct. 27

Chris Young pitched three innings of extra-innings relief to earn Player of the Game honors Tuesday in World Series Game 1, as the Royals came from behind to win 5-4 in 14 innings.

Young, slated to be the Game 4 starter, came on in relief in the 12th inning and finished out the game, allowing no hits or runs, striking out four and allowing one walk, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, the highest among Royals players.

The Royals take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series.

The Royals trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Alex Gordon hit a one-out home run to tie the game, forcing extra innings. Eric Hosmer hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. While no Royals batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score, Hosmer had the highest score among Kansas City batters of −1.0 (2SF 0-3 2BI).

Chris Young, during the regular season, had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 78th among all players and 29th among American League pitchers.

Royals Game 1 starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had the lowest Box-Toppers game score among Kansas City players of −4.0 (6IP 6H 3R BB 3K ND).

Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0 (6H 5K 3R 2BB 2K ND). Harvey had 15.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among National League pitchers.

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

Top Royals in World Series Game 1

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 1 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score. Chris Young is Player of the Game (POG).

10/27 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 6.0 Royals Chris Young (W,1-0) - - - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 1 4
4.0 Royals Wade Davis - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
1.2 Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 0.2 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Royals Ryan Madson - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 1 2
0.0 Royals Luke Hochevar - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 0
-0.9 Royals Kelvin Herrera - - - - - - 1.1 3 1 0 0 2
-1.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 3 0 0 2 2 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Ben Zobrist, 2B 6 1 3 0 1 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Alcides Escobar, SS 6 2 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Alex Gordon, LF 5 1 1 1 1 2 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, PR-DH 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 6 0 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Kendrys Morales, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 6 0 2 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain, CF 6 1 1 0 1 2 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Edinson Volquez - - - - - - 6.0 6 3 3 1 3

Coming Wednesday in Kansas City:

World Series Game 2, Royals lead Mets, 1-0

The pitching match-up Wednesday:

Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

Box-Toppers World Series preview

Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report

Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end

In World Series, Royals rank higher in Box-Toppers ratings, but Mets have a big edge in starting pitching

Royals rank 2nd in Box-Toppers team rankings, Mets rank 7th. But Mets' top four starters have edge in combined Box-Toppers points over Royals' top four—54.9 vs. 39.5.

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Madison Bumgarner earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game for third time in World Series, leading Giants to title in Game 7, Wednesday, Oct. 29

Box-Toppers Daily Postseason.png

Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.

Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.

In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.

Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:

• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.

• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.

• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.

• Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.

Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.

Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.

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. 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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 4 players in World Series Game 7 

Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.

1029 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 7.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (S, 1) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 0 4
2.0 Giants Pablo Sandoval 3B 3 2 3 0 0 0 - - - - - -
1.1 Giants Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.1 1 0 0 0 0
0.0 Giants Michael Morse DH 3 0 1 2 0 2 - - - - - -

Lorenzo Cain tops players as Royals blow out Giants in World Series Game 6, Tuesday, Oct. 28

Lorenzo Cain led an offensive onslaught in World Series Game 6 as the Royals beat the Giants 10-0, pushing the series to a decisive seventh game Wednesday. Cain is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Cain doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs as the Royals evened the series 3-3. 

Cain had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Royals player in Tuesday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 2 win over the Orioles on Oct. 11.

During the regular season, Cain had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 421st among all players, 107th among AL batters and 50th among AL outfielders.

Royals starting pitcher in Game 6, Yordano Ventura, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the same as Cain’s. But under Box-Toppers rules, in cases of game score ties, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers. Ventura pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked five and struck out four, earning the win.

Giants starting pitcher in Game 6, Jake Peavy, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −13.9. He gave up five runs and six hits over 1 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two.

The baseball season ends Wednesday:

World Series Game 7: Giants at Royals, series tied 3-3

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Royals: Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113rd among all players, 40th among AL pitchers.

Giants: Tim Hudson, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 71st among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.

This is a rematch of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the Royals 3-2. Guthrie picked up the win (5IP 4H 2R 0K) and Hudson picked up the loss (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K). Royals middle relief pitcher Wade Davis was Box-Toppers Player of the Game.

Guthrie has started twice this postseason and Hudson has started three times. Neither pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this postseason.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 7 players in World Series Game 6 

Here are the top seven Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 6, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Lorenzo Cain, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Starting pitcher Yordano Ventura also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, but under Box-Toppers rules, batters hold the tiebreaker over pitchers in cases of game score ties.

1028 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 3.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain CF, RF 3 1 2 3 2 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 5 4
2.0 Royals Mike Moustakas 3B 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Royals Tim Collins - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
0.0 Royals Eric Hosmer 1B 5 1 2 2 0 2 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Omar Infante 2B 4 2 2 0 0 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Norichika Aoki RF 3 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - -