Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 4 Saturday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros 6-2 to tie the best-of-seven series, 2-2.
Read MoreBrad Peacock tops players in World Series Game 3 as Astros take a 2-1 series lead
Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 3 Friday.
The Houston Astros win 5-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreGeorge Springer tops players in World Series Game 2, as Astros even series with Dodgers
George Springer of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 2 Wednesday.
The Houston Astros win 7-6 in 11 innings to tie the best-of-seven game series at 1-1.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw tops players in World Series Game 1, as Dodgers take 1-0 lead over Astros
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers win 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead over the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreJustin 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.
Read MoreEnrique Hernandez tops players in NLCS Game 5 as Dodgers eliminate 2016 champion Cubs
Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 5, as Los Angeles eliminates the Chicago Cubs.
Read MoreDodgers' Rich Hill tops players in NL Championship Series Game 2
Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreDallas Keuchel tops players in Friday's ALCS opener, as Astros take Game 1 over Yankees
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Keuchel struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees. The Indians take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Read MoreALCS preview: Astros rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, but Yankees may hold pitching edge
The Houston Astros rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, though the New York Yankees hold an advantage in starting pitching and top-10 ranked players as they face off in the American League Championship Series starting Friday.
Read MoreCubs' Jose Quintana tops players in Monday's 4 League Division Series playoff games
Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Monday’s Box-Toppers top Player of the Game among the four League Division Series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Monday are Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, Yankees closer Tommy Kahnle and George Springer of the Astros.
Read More
Nationals, Astros each have most players (seven) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2017 at All-Star break
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.
Read MoreRangers' Cole Hamels tops players for Friday, July 7; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 10th in career Box-Toppers points
Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 7:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
Plus, three players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors:
- Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintained his spot in second place.
- Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rose from seventh to sixth place.
- Greinke rose from ninth to seventh place.
Player of the Day—Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 10-0 win over the Angels.
Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 147.0 for his career, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Hamels now trails 23rd-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).
Passing Cabrera, Hamels now ranks eighth among active players in career points, trailing the seventh-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (148.7).
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 203.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 190.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 184.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 167.5 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | min al | 151.2 |
| 20 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 149.2 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
Hamels has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Reds.
Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising from ninth to seventh place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when player tracking began. He now has 167.5 career Box-Toppers points and with his points Friday, passes two players on the “all-time” list—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Greinke now trails ninth-place player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (169.7).
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in five runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Jesus Aguilar of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Yankees. Aguilar also went 3-for-4 and drove in seven runs.
Rankings—In addition to Greinke, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
- Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (7.2IP 6H 4R BB 10K ND in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season, maintaining his second-place spot in season player rankings, behind overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.1). Scherzer now has 148.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 21st-ranked player Chipper Jones (149.0).
- Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (7IP 9H 2R BB 11K W in the 11-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising from seventh to sixth in season player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the Red Sox (13.1) and Ervin Santana of the Twins (12.4).
Debut—Twins pitcher Trevor Hildenberger made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Hildenberger (2.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-6 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut June 23 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,846th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Greinke earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Springer and Aguilar each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 7/7 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.2 | TEX 10, LAA 0 | Cole Hamels (W, 4-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 9.0 | HOU 12, TOR 2 | George Springer (CF) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 9.0 | ARI 6, CIN 3 | Zack Greinke (W, 11-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 8.0 | MIL 9, NYY 4 | Jesus Aguilar (1B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | SEA 7, OAK 2 | James Paxton (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 6, PIT 1 | Kris Bryant (3B) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.1 | MIA 6, SF 1 | Dan Straily (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | COL 12, CHW 4 | Nolan Arenado (3B) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 4, PHI 3 | Austin Hedges (C) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CLE 11, DET 2 | Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 3.1 | MIN 9, BAL 6 | Trevor Hildenberger (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | `WSH 5, ATL 4 (F/10) | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 6, STL 5 | Jose Reyes (SS) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 4, KC 1 | Kenta Maeda (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | BOS 8, TB 3 | Dustin Pedroia (2B) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 | 42.7 | 120.9 | 148.7 | -8.7 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 23.8 | 52.5 | 57.9 | -1.0 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 | 21.1 | 90.4 | 167.5 | 1.7 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 | 15.7 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 1.7 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -3.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 | 11.4 | 18.1 | 18.1 | 2.6 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 5.5 | 16.2 | 26.2 | 26.2 | -5.2 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf dh cf | hou al | 5.0 | 11.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 | -1.5 |
| Hedges, Austin 3790 | ca | sd nl | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 20.8 | 72.0 | 147.0 | -14.8 |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b lf | chi nl | 2.5 | 13.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | -8.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | ss 3b | nym nl | 2.5 | 4.5 | 13.5 | 32.5 | 0.5 |
| Aguilar, Jesus 3787 | 1b | mil nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 38.5 | -4.0 |
| Hildenberger, Trevor 3846 | pi mr | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
A look at Box-Toppers All-Star leaders and how they compare to All-Star vote-getters
A look at top players in Box-Toppers points by position in both leagues over both 2017 and the combined 2016-17 seasons.
Read MoreNationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, May 31, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 31:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Scherzer struck out 11 in a five-hit complete game, allowing one run and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Giants.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the second player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and is second overall and among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (10.7).
This is the sixth straight season Scherzer has earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and his seventh season overall.
Scherzer also now has 141.7 career Box-Toppers points, 29th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8).
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Indians.
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros homered twice and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 17-6 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Eric Thames of the Brewers homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Mets.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manaea earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Springer and Thames each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 5/31 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | WSH 3, SF 1 | Max Scherzer (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.0 | OAK 3, CLE 1 | Sean Manaea (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 8.1 | SEA 5, COL 0 | James Paxton (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | STL 2, LAD 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | HOU 17, MIN 6 | George Springer, DH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | BOS 4, CHW 1 | Drew Pomeranz (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | BAL 10, NYY 4 | Adam Jones, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | TB 7, TEX 5 (F/10) | Austin Pruitt (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `SD 2, CHC 1 | Luis Perdomo | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.2 | MIA 10, PHI 2 | Dan Straily (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 7, NYM 1 | Eric Thames, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | ARI 6, PIT 5 (F/14) | T.J. McFarland (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3.0 | `LAA 2, ATL 1 | Jesse Chavez | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | DET 6, KC 5 | Justin Upton, LF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5, CIN 4 | Ryan Goins, SS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 | 35.7 | 113.9 | 141.7 | -15.7 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.5 | 17.9 | 32.6 | 32.6 | -6.9 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 5.0 | 9.4 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 0.6 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 | -2.3 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 4.0 | 11.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -3.0 |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | ss | tor al | 4.0 | 5.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.5 |
| Chavez, Jesse 2780 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 22.1 | 23.1 | 3.0 |
| Thames, Eric 2909 | lf 1b | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 3.0 |
| Pruitt, Austin 3773 | pi mr cp | tb al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 15.1 | 26.1 | 26.1 | -9.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf dh | hou al | 2.5 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -4.0 |
| Jones, Adam 2347 | cf | bal al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 34.5 | 52.0 | 1.5 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 2.0 | 8.7 | 34.9 | 53.1 | -4.7 |
| McFarland, T.J. 3585 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Perdomo, Luis D. 3715 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
Astros' George Springer tops players for Friday, June 24, a second straight lackluster day of performances
George Springer of the Astros is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 24:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 7 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 9.8 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 9.7 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 9.4 |
Springer hit a grand slam and a triple in the 13-4 win over the Royals. Springer went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five total runs.
National League Player of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-4 win over the Reds.
Both Springer and Myers had Box-Toppers game scores Friday of +5.0, but Springer held the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he hit a homer and a triple, while Myers hit a homer and a double.
Batters of the Day—There are no separate American League or National League Batters of the Day for Friday because both the overall Player of the Day and the NL Player of the Day were batters—Springer and Myers.
Notable—Mariners pitcher Wade LeBlanc earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
LeBlanc (6IP 3H 0R BB 3K ND in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) last earned Player of the Game honors and a Box-Toppers point on Aug. 15, 2010, when he was with the Padres.
Commentary—It was the second unremarkable day in a row for Box-Toppers Players of the Games, with no particularly outstanding performances contributing to team wins. Thursday’s Player of the Day had the season’s second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win that honor; Friday had the third-lowest high score of the season.
And while some of the blame on low scores Thursday was placed on the light schedule (only nine games played), Friday’s scores did not fare much better with a complete slate of 15 games.
It was a rare occurrence Friday when no pitchers earned Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall or league Player of the Day—batters won both spots.
Starting pitchers generally are the players with each day’s highest Box-Toppers game scores, but for the past two days only two starting pitchers have even earned Player of the Game honors (Friday—Wade LeBlanc of the Mariners, Thursday—Wei-Yin Chen of the Marlins. Interestingly, both pitchers earned no decisions.) There have been 12 middle relievers or closers with two or fewer innings pitched who earned Player of the Game honors over the 24 games played Thursday and Friday.
In addition, over the past two days, players earning Player of the Game honors have had relatively fewer season Box-Toppers points. It is as if the big stars have mostly taken the past two days off. Friday’s Player of the Game with the most season Box-Toppers points is Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Rays). Davis earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season, 27th among all players and fourth among AL batters.
Interestingly (or not), baseball’s other Khris Davis (of the Athletics) also earned Player of the Game honors Friday in the 7-4 win over the Angels (2-4 R 3BI).
Scoring—Springer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Myers earns 1.7 points for being NL Player 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/24 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.0 | HOU 13/KC 4 | George Springer, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 5.0 | SD 13/CIN 4 | Wil Myers, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYM 8/ATL 6 | James Loney, 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | `SEA 4/STL 3 | Wade LeBlanc | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | ARI 10/COL 9 | Yasmany Tomas, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 5/MIN 3 | Aroldis Chapman (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | BOS 8/TEX 7 | Koji Uehara (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | PIT 8/LAD 6 | Neftali Feliz (W,2-0; H,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 5/DC 3 | Carlos Torres (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | CHC 5/MIA 4 | Hector Rondon (S,13) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 7/LAA 4 | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 5/PHI 4 | Brandon Belt, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 3/TOR 2 | Nate Jones (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 6/TB 3 | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | CLE 7/DET 4 | Chris Gimenez, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 6.5 | 17.5 | 48.4 | 56.9 | -4.5 |
| Myers, Wil 3228 | 1b | sd nl | 5.7 | 8.7 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 2.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf | hou al | 5.5 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 4.5 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 4.2 | 8.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 0.2 |
| Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 4.0 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 2.5 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | nyy al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 41.0 | 42.0 | -5.0 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp mr | bos al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 25.0 | 29.0 | -2.0 |
| Rondon, Hector 3201 | pi cp | chi nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Tomas, Yasmany 3489 | lf rf | ari nl | 2.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Jones, Nate 3125 | pi cp mr | chi al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| Feliz, Neftali 2651 | pi mr cp | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 10.7 | 18.7 | 0.0 |
| Torres, Carlos 2668 | pi mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Gimenez, Chris 2870 | ca | cle al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Loney, James 2206 | 1b | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 33.4 | 1.0 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
Blue Jays' Dickey tops players for Friday, May 13; White Sox' Sale rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings
Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 12:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 7 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.7 |
| 8 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 5.5 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 |
Also Friday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, passing Manny Machado of the Orioles for the lead among all American League players.
Player of the Day—Dickey pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Rangers.
National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs (both unearned), in the 3-2 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Red Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—David Ross of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 9-4 win over the Pirates. This was Ross’ first Player of the Game honor in more than three years. He last earned Box-Toppers points on April 26, 2013, when he was AL Batter of the Day while playing for the Red Sox.
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Sale (CG 6H R 6K W in the 7-1 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. Sale also passes Manny Machado of the Orioles (6.7 points) to lead all AL players in Box-Toppers points. Though both Sale and Machado have 6.7 points, Sale wins the tiebreaker because he had more 2015 Box-Toppers points—18.8 vs. 7.5.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Brewers pitcher Junior Guerra (6IP 2H 0R 4K W in the 1-0 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut June 12, 2015, and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,633rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Rockies pitcher Jon Gray (7IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 5-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 2015, and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,634th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Dickey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hellickson earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Springer and Ross 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Blue Jays | R.A. Dickey (W,2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| NL | 9.0 | Phillies | Jeremy Hellickson (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,8-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Brewers | Junior Guerra (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Rockies | Jon Gray (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Astros | George Springer, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Cubs | David Ross, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Giants | Joe Panik, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Bryce Harper, RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Fernando Salas (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Indians | Zach McAllister (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Dodgers | Yasiel Puig, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Danny Valencia, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 6.7 | 25.5 | 77.7 | 79.7 | -12.1 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.4 | 9.4 | 33.1 | 36.1 | -0.6 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 4.0 | 8.7 | 37.8 | 39.8 | -0.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf | hou al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1.5 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 51.2 | 72.9 | -3.0 |
| Panik, Joe 3401 | 2b | sf nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.0 |
| Ross, David 1729 | ca | chi nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 10.0 | 26.1 | 1.5 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 1.0 | 10.0 | 23.5 | 23.5 | -8.0 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 1.0 | 10.0 | 25.4 | 25.4 | -8.0 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.5 |
| Valencia, Danny 2772 | 3b | oak al | 1.0 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 9.5 | -2.5 |
| McAllister, Zach 3088 | pi mr sp | cle al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| Salas, Fernando 2853 | pi cp | ana al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Astros' George Springer (HR 4-4 5R 3RBI) tops players for Monday, May 26
George Springer of the Astros is Monday’s Player of the Day. Springer homered, went 4-for-4, scored five times and drove in three runs in the 9-2 win over the Royals.
Ryan Howard of the Phillies is National League Player of the Day. Howard homered, went 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in five runs in the 9-0 win over the Rockies.
Notable: Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers player rankings (10th among NL pitchers) after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Ryu (7.1IP 3H 3R 7K W in the 4-3 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. Ryu was perfect through seven innings before giving up a double in the eighth, a day after teammate Josh Beckett pitched a no-hitter.
Springer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Howard receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day.
All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score