Four players—Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday. Key players overlooked: Curt Schilling, Jeff Kent, Johan Santana and the PED-clouded five of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2017
An analysis of 23 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' ‘all-time' top 10 lists—top overall players, top pitchers, top batters—since tracking began in 1995
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to third place in Box-Toppers’ overall “all-time” list in 2017, becoming the active leader in career points. Also in 2017, Albert Pujols became the “all-time” leader in career Box-Toppers points among batters and Zack Greinke rose into the overall top 10 in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.
Read More
Kershaw breaks record for most consecutive seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points
In 2017, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw broke the record for most consecutive seasons with 20 or more Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw earned 23.1 points in 2017, his seventh straight season with at least 20 points. Previously, pitcher Randy Johnson held the record, earning 20 points or more for six straight seasons, from 1997 to 2002. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)
Read More
In 2017, Clayton Kershaw has become new leader among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to 3rd on the ‘all-time’ top 100 list
During the 2017 season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has taken the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to third place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players list.
Kershaw has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw leads all players with 22.1 points in 2017.
Read MoreRed Sox' Chris Sale tops players for Monday, June 26, ranks 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and ranks fourth in season player rankings.
Also Monday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 26:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 12.1 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 9.4 |
| 7 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
| 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 10 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
Player of the Day—Sale struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Twins.
Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 for the season. He maintains his rank of fourth place in season player rankings, second place among American League pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (12.4).
National League Player of the Day—Jedd Gyorko of the Cardinals homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 15-9 win over the Rangers.
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 | 200.1 |
| 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 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 164.8 |
| 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 | atl nl | 151.2 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Jedd Gyorko.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Greinke (5IP 3H R 3BB 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now rises to 12th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Monday, Greinke has 164.8 career points and passes Roger Clemens (164.8) on the “all-time” list. (Though both Greinke and Clemens have identical career Box-Toppers point totals, Greinke ranks higher because he has more Box-Toppers points in 2017.) And it should be noted that Clemens’ entire career from 1984 was not tracked by Box-Toppers—only his career from 1995 on. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his career Box-Toppers point total at 320.
Greinke now trails 11th-ranked player Johan Santana (166.6) on the “all-time” Box-Toppers career points list.
Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gyorko earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Chisenhall earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 6/26 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.1 | BOS 4, MIN 1 | Chris Sale (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | NYY 6, CHW 5 | Jordan Montgomery (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | LAA 4, LAD 0 | Ricky Nolasco (W, 3-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | CLE 15, TEX 9 | Lonnie Chisenhall (RF) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 3.0 | STL 8, CIN 2 | Jedd Gyorko (3B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | SF 9, COL 2 | Buster Posey (C) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ARI 6, PHI 1 | Zack Greinke (W, 9-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | CHC 5, WSH 4 | Albert Almora Jr. (CF) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 12.1 | 25.5 | 93.5 | 98.5 | -1.3 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 | 18.4 | 87.7 | 164.8 | -1.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 5.5 | 9.0 | 34.0 | 38.5 | 2.0 |
| Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 | rf cf | cle al | 3.5 | 7.0 | 15.0 | 17.0 | 0.0 |
| Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 13.4 | 30.1 | 89.2 | -9.4 |
| Almora, Albert Jr. 3764 | cf | chi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Gyorko, Jedd 3164 | 3b | stl nl | 1.7 | 4.2 | 16.9 | 16.9 | -0.8 |
Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Thursday, June 1; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 1:| 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 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Player of the Day—Kluber struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Athletics.
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hicks of the Yankees hit three doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-3 win over the Mariners.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 1ER 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth place among players for 2017. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now has 163.8 career Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Greinke trails 12th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8).
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 115.5 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Wainwright (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) rises to 46th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began. With his 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Thursday, Wainwright passes two players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 45th-ranked player Torii Hunter (115.9).
Wainwright has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Debut—Twins pitcher Adalberto Mejia made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Mejia (6IP 5H R 2BB 5K ND in the 4-2 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2016, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,812th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Anderson earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Hicks and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 6/1 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CLE 8, OAK 0 | Corey Kluber (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 10.0 | MIL 2, NYM 1 | Chase Anderson (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | NYY 12, TOR 2 | Aaron Hicks, CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | ARI 3, MIA 2 | Zack Greinke (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | STL 2, LAD 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | COL 6, SEA 3 | Gerardo Parra, LF | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | BAL 7, BOS 5 | Mark Trumbo, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `MIN 4, LAA 2 | Adalberto Mejia | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
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 | +/- |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 | 17.4 | 86.7 | 163.8 | -2.0 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 4.0 | 25.2 | 69.4 | 69.4 | -17.2 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 4.0 | 6.5 | 18.5 | 25.0 | 1.5 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.7 | 10.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | -3.3 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.5 | 13.7 | 64.8 | 115.5 | -6.7 |
| Hicks, Aaron 3170 | cf | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | dh rf | bal al | 2.0 | 10.2 | 29.9 | 35.9 | -6.2 |
| Mejia, Adalberto 3812 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
For nearly 16 years, Curt Schilling held 3rd-place spot in Box-Toppers career points rankings, until Clayton Kershaw passed him this week
Curt Schilling rose into third place in Box-Toppers career points on July 21, 2001, and held that spot continuously for nearly 16 years until just this week, when Clayton Kershaw, in his 10th season, passed him.
Read MoreDbacks' Zack Greinke tops players for Monday, May 22, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers season player rankings
Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth 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 22:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 9 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 10 | Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 5.5 |
Greinke also rises to 13th place in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
Also Monday, Miguel Sano of the Twins rises to 10th place in season player rankings, first among American League batters, after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Greinke struck out 12 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-1 win over the White Sox.
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising to fourth in season player rankings, second among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (8.7 Box-Toppers points).
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 192.4 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 188.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 162.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 151.2 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
Greinke also now has 162.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 12th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8). It should be noted that both Smoltz and Clemens began their careers before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and so their career totals would likely be higher. Rough Box-Toppers projected estimates put Smoltz’s actual career total at 255 and Clemens’s at 320. (A look at projected Box-Toppers points totals for pitchers who began their careers before 1995.)
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out eight over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 1-0 win over the Tigers. Peacock did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win. But he did pitch at least three innings to automatically qualify to be considered as Player of the Game.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins homered and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-7 win over the Orioles.
Sano earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season. He rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers seasonplayer rankings and first among AL batters, passing previous leader Aaron Judge of the Yankees (5.0 Box-Toppers points).
National League Batter of the Day—Joe Panik of the Giants homered and doubled twice in the 6-4 win over the Cubs. Panik went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Debut—Rockies pitcher Jeff Hoffman made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Hoffman (7IP 3H R 0BB 7K W in the 8-1 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2016, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,806th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Sano and Panik each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 5/22 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.2 | ARI 5, CHW 1 | Zack Greinke (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| AL | 9.1 | `HOU 1, DET 0 | Brad Peacock | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | COL 8, PHI 1 | Jeff Hoffman (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | CIN 5, CLE 1 | Scott Feldman (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 14, BAL 7 | Miguel Sano, 3B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | SF 6, CHC 4 | Joe Panik, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | LAA 3, TB 2 | Bud Norris (S,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 5, PIT 2 | Ender Inciarte, CF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 4, KC 2 | Didi Gregorius, SS | 3 | 1 | 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 | +/- |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 | 16.4 | 85.7 | 162.8 | -3.0 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 5.5 | 8.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 2.5 |
| Feldman, Scott 2632 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 20.7 | 28.7 | 4.0 |
| Norris, Bud 2638 | pi cp | ana al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 33.4 | 49.1 | -2.7 |
| Inciarte, Ender 3360 | cf | atl nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 9.4 | 12.1 | 2.7 |
| Panik, Joe 3401 | 2b | sf nl | 1.5 | 7.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -4.0 |
| Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -1.0 |
| Hoffman, Jeff 3806 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Box-Toppers’ top single game performances for 2016
Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez has best single-game Box-Toppers game score in 2016. Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez each had two of the 12 best game scores of the year.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top closing pitchers by time frame
Trevor Hoffman leads closing pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, ahead of Mariano Rivera, the all-time saves leader.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top pitchers by time frame
Randy Johnson leads pitchers in career Box-Toppers points. CC Sabathia and Clayton Kershaw lead active pitchers in points.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top shortstops by time frame
Miguel Tejada leads shortstops in career Box-Toppers points, though 2nd-place Derek Jeter seen as superior shortstop.
Read MoreHow 2017 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
Bagwell, Raines, Rodriguez elected to Hall of Fame; Schilling, Hoffman, Kent, Guerrero among the Box-Toppers leaders who were overlooked.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2016
An analysis of 22 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching & batting in both leagues.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' ‘all-time' top 10 lists—top overall players, top pitchers, top batters—since tracking began in 1995
Randy Johnson tops the list, but Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez joined Box-Toppers "all-time" top 10 during 2016. Miguel Cabrera rose in the top 10 "all-time" batters list.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time'
Randy Johnson holds commanding lead in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw jumped from 13th to 6th on career list and at current pace could catch Johnson in 2020.
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Bioexodus: Alex Rodriguez leaves field after long career with taint, but as active career Box-Toppers points leader
Alex Rodriguez is expected to play in his final game Friday. He leads active players in career Box-Toppers points and ranks fourth among all players in points since 1995, first among batters.
Read MorePadres' Edwin Jackson tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 10; Blue Jays' Happ rises to 9th in Box-Toppers points
Padres pitcher Edwin Jackson is Wednesday’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 Aug. 10:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 16.2 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 8 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 |
| 9 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 12.7 |
| 10 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 12.4 |
Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez passes Roger Clemens on the career Box-Toppers points list, rising to 11th place.
Player of the Day—Jackson pitched seven scoreless innings,allowing two hit and three walks and striking out seven, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and two walks, in the 7-0 win over the Rays.
Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising to ninth in season player rankings, third among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jayson Werth of the Nationals hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Indians.
American League Batter of the Day—Gary Sanchez of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice, in the 9-4 win over the Red Sox.
This was Sanchez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Sanchez made his Major League debut Oct. 3, 2015, and was playing in his ninth career game. He is the 3,701st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Carpenter (HR 3B 2-3 2R BI in the 3-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 34th among all players. This was his first Player of the Game honor and first Box-Toppers point since June 28, when he took the lead among NL batters.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | nyy al | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 182.0 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 181.3 |
| 7 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 179.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 10 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 165.7 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Javier Vazquez | pi sp | retired | 148.3 |
Notable—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez passes Roger Clemens in Box-Toppers “all-time” rankings, rising to 11th place, after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Hernandez (7IP 3H R 4BB 8K ND in the 3-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 165.7 career points. He rises to 11th place among all players and eighth place among all pitchers (passing Clemens’s 164.8) in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Hernandez now trails 10th-place player Johan Santana (166.6).
While Hernandez passes Clemens on the “all-time” list, it should be noted that Clemens’s career began in 1984, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so he would likely have more Box-Toppers points (rough estimates based on projections put his career total at about 320 Box-Toppers points).
Hernandez’s meteoric rise up Box-Toppers “all-time” rankings has been slowed somewhat this year by injury. He only has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this year and has not earned points since May 21, when he inched within 0.1 point of Clemens’s career total. From 2009 to 2015, Hernandez had seven straight seasons with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, including two with more than 20 and five with 18 or more. He had 20.8 points in 2014 and 19.4 in 2015. Despite his consistently high totals, Hernandez has never led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in any season.
Also notable—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson became the 21st player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Hellickson (5IP 3H R BB 7K ND in the 6-2 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.1 for the season, rising to 21st place among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. It is Hellickson’s first 10-point season. His previous season high was 9.0 Box-Toppers points in 2012 with the Rays.
Scoring—Jackson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Werth and Sanchez 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/10 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | SD 4, PIT 0 | Edwin Jackson (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 8.0 | `ARI 3, NYM 2 (12) | Robbie Ray | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 7.0 | CHC 3, LAA 1 | Jason Hammel (W,12-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | TOR 7, TB 0 | J.A. Happ (W,16-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | `SEA 3, DET 1 | Felix Hernandez | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | `PHI 6, LAD 2 | Jeremy Hellickson | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | WSH 7, CLE 4 | Jayson Werth, LF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | KC 3, CHW 2 (14) | Dillon Gee (W,4-5) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | OAK 1, BAL 0 | Ross Detwiler (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | SF 1, MIA 0 | Jeff Samardzija (W,10-8) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | NYY 9, BOS 4 | Gary Sanchez, DH | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | STL 3, CIN 2 | Matt Carpenter, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 5, COL 4 | Matt Bush (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 4, ATL 3 | Tyler Thornburg (S,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/- |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 12.7 | 25.8 | 41.2 | 49.2 | -0.4 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 10.1 | 15.1 | 38.8 | 41.8 | 5.1 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.0 | 18.7 | 42.1 | 55.2 | -0.7 |
| Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 3b 1b 2b | stl nl | 8.5 | 14.0 | 28.5 | 28.5 | 3.0 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.7 | 15.1 | 43.8 | 44.8 | -3.7 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 0.7 |
| Werth, Jayson 1664 | lf | dc nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 20.5 | 47.7 | 0.5 |
| Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 3.0 | 22.4 | 88.4 | 165.7 | -16.4 |
| Thornburg, Tyler 3195 | pi cp mr | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Gee, Dillon 2808 | pi sp | kc al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 29.8 | 30.8 | 1.0 |
| Jackson, Edwin 1812 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 21.0 | 42.8 | 2.0 |
| Bush, Matt 3673 | pi mr cp | tex al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Sanchez, Gary 3701 | dh | nyy al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Detwiler, Ross 2971 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 |
Clayton Kershaw rockets up ‘All-Time' Top 100 list, earning 36.7 Box-Toppers points since last year's All-Star break
Dodgers pitcher Kershaw has earned more Box-Toppers points in past year (36.7) than the 33.7 Randy Johnson earned in his record breaking single seasons (2000 and 2002).
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