Box-Toppers top first basemen by time frame (after 2017 season)

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers has the most Box-Toppers points of any first basemen since tracking began in 1995, passing previous leader Jim Thome.

Cabrera has 146.9 career Box-Toppers points and in 2017 passed former player and newly elected Hall of Famer Thome, who has 146.7 points. Other leaders at first base include Anthony Rizzo, Edwin Encarnacion and Paul Goldschmidt.

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How 2018 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers

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.

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A 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.

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A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players of 'all-time' after the 2017 season

Randy Johnson leads Box-Toppers "all-time" career top 100 list, since record-keeping began in 1995. Clayton Kershaw, ranked third overall, leads all active players. And Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year Chris Sale makes the biggest jump up the top 100 chart.

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Nationals' Stephen Strasburg tops players for Wednesday, June 28, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth 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 June 28:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 16.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 14.0
3 Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp min al 12.4
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp bos al 12.1
5 Ray, Robbie 3502 pi sp ari nl 10.0
6 Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 9.4
7 Carrasco, Carlos 2885 pi sp cle al 9.4
8 McCullers, Lance 3488 pi sp hou al 9.4
9 Wood, Alex 3246 pi sp lad nl 9.0
10 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp ari nl 8.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Strasburg struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned), four hits and one walk, in the 8-4 win over the Cubs.

Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season. He now ranks fourth among National League pitchers.

With Strasburg’s rise back into Box-Toppers’ top 10 players, Ryon Healy of the Athletics (8.7 Box-Toppers points) falls to 11th. He had been the only batter among the top 10 players.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-8 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Hundley of the Giants homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to 44th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Wainwright (6.1IP 8H 2R BB 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 116.5 career points. He passes two players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” points list—Torii Hunter (115.9) and Todd Helton (116.4) and now trails 43rd-ranked player Mark Buehrle (116.7). Wainwright has 4.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 23rd among NL pitchers.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, with their first career Player of the Game honors:

  • Miguel Andujar of the Yankees (3-4 0R 4BI in the 12-3 win over the White Sox) was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,839th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Reds pitcher Luis Castillo (5.2IP 5H 2R 3BB 9K ND in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 23 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,840th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reddick and Hundley each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

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 

6/28 Score Game Player of the Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 WSH 8, CHC 4 Stephen Strasburg (W, 9-2) - - - - 7.0 4 3 2 1 13
AL 9.2 TOR 4, BAL 0 Marcus Stroman (W, 8-4) - - - - 7.2 5 0 0 1 8
BAT 4.0 HOU 11, OAK 8 Josh Reddick (RF-LF) 4 2 3 3 - - - - - -
4.0 NYM 8, MIA 0 Steven Matz (W, 2-1) - - - - 7.0 6 0 0 1 4
4.0 `LAA 3, LAD 2 Alex Meyer - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 5 4
3.0 NYY 12, CHW 3 Miguel Andujar (DH) 4 0 3 4 - - - - - -
3.0 SD 7, ATL 4 Brandon Maurer (S, 15) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.2 MIN 4, BOS 1 Adalberto Mejia (W, 3-3) - - - - 5.2 5 0 0 1 3
2.2 `CIN 4, MIL 3 Luis Castillo - - - - 5.2 5 2 2 3 9
2.1 CLE 5, TEX 3 Trevor Bauer (W, 7-6) - - - - 6.1 4 1 1 1 3
2.0 KC 8, DET 2 Salvador Perez (C) 5 2 2 3 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 SF 5, COL 3 Nick Hundley (C) 3 1 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 PHI 5, SEA 4 Hector Neris (S, 7) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.1 STL 4, ARI 3 Adam Wainwright (W, 8-5) - - - - 6.1 8 2 2 1 8
1.0 PIT 6, TB 2 Jose Osuna (RF) 4 1 2 2 - - - - - -
MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
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 +/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736 pi sp dc nl 9.4 24.5 83.6 92.3 -5.7
Perez, Salvador 2972 ca kc al 5.5 9.5 24.7 27.2 1.5
Meyer, Alex 3742 pi sp ana al 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 4.0
Wainwright, Adam 2150 pi sp stl nl 4.5 14.7 65.8 116.5 -5.7
Reddick, Josh 2936 rf lf hou al 4.5 8.0 27.9 28.9 1.0
Bauer, Trevor 3065 pi sp cle al 4.0 15.4 33.5 33.5 -7.4
Stroman, Marcus 3327 pi sp tor al 3.7 10.4 26.8 26.8 -3.0
Neris, Hector 3553 pi cp mr phi nl 3.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 1.0
Hundley, Nick 2497 ca sf nl 3.0 4.0 15.0 25.5 2.0
Mejia, Adalberto 3812 pi sp min al 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Maurer, Brandon 3157 pi cp sd nl 2.0 4.0 7.0 7.0 0.0
Osuna, Jose 3795 1b rf pit nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Matz, Steven 3516 pi sp nym nl 1.0 13.1 16.6 16.6 -11.1
Andujar, Miguel 3839 dh nyy al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Castillo, Luis 3840 pi sp cin nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

A 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.

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A 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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Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, June 29, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 29:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 13.4
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 12.0
4 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 11.7
5 Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp cle al 10.8
6 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 10.7
7 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 10.7
8 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 10.5
9 Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp tex al 10.4
10 Syndergaard, Noah 3472 pi sp nym nl 10.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Mets.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, rising to third among all players and third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (13.4).

Scherzer also now has 118.0 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 39th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes five players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4), Mark Buehrle (116.7), Cubs pitcher John Lackey (117.2), Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (10.8) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).

Salazar also becomes the 10th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees hit two home runs, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.

With his first Player of the Game honor of the season, McCann has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons, beginning in 2006 with the Braves. He has 56.7 career Box-Toppers points, first among active catchers and fifth among all catchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 points, first among NL catchers. In 2015, he had 6.5 points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1 win over the Mariners.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. McCann and Rodriguez 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

6/29 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.1 DC 4/NYM 2 Max Scherzer (W,9-5) - - - - 7.1 2 0 0 1 10
11.0 MIL 7/LAD 0 Junior Guerra (W,5-1) - - - - 8.0 2 0 0 2 7
AL 10.0 CLE 3/ATL 0 Danny Salazar (W,10-3) - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 0 8
8.0 TB 4/BOS 0 Matt Moore (W,4-5) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 2 6
BAT 6.0 NYY 9/TEX 7 Brian McCann, C 3 3 2 4 - - - - - -
BAT 5.0 PIT 8/SEA 1 Sean Rodriguez, RF 3 2 2 4 - - - - - -
4.0 HOU 10/LAA 4 Jose Altuve, 2B 5 4 4 1 - - - - - -
3.2 `KC 3/STL 2 Edinson Volquez - - - - 6.2 6 0 0 1 4
3.0 BAL 12/SD 6 Mark Trumbo, RF 5 2 2 4 - - - - - -
3.0 DET 10/MIA 3 Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C 3 1 3 2 - - - - - -
2.2 OAK 7/SF 1 Sean Manaea (W,3-4) - - - - 5.2 6 0 0 1 4
2.0 CHW 9/MIN 6 Tyler Saladino, 3B 4 2 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 TOR 5/COL 3 Edwin Encarnacion, 1B 3 2 2 1 - - - - - -
1.0 PHI 9/ARI 8 Cody Asche, LF 5 0 3 3 - - - - - -
0.0 CHC 9/CIN 2 Javier Baez, 2B 5 1 3 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 +/-
Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 12.0 33.0 97.6 118.0 -9.0
Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 10.5 23.9 33.3 33.3 -2.9
Altuve, Jose 3007 2b hou al 8.5 15.5 25.0 25.0 1.5
Volquez, Edinson 2220 pi sp kc al 6.4 13.4 38.1 64.2 -0.6
Trumbo, Mark 2851 rf bal al 6.2 8.7 31.9 31.9 3.7
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 dh tor al 6.0 16.4 44.6 65.1 -4.4
Moore, Matt 2975 pi sp tb al 5.7 5.7 31.2 31.2 5.7
Guerra, Junior 3633 pi sp mil nl 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Manaea, Sean 3637 pi sp oak al 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Saladino, Tyler 3645 ss 3b chi al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
McCann, Brian 2179 ca nyy al 1.5 8.0 33.7 56.7 -5.0
Asche, Cody 3268 lf 3b phi nl 1.0 4.5 10.0 10.0 -2.5
Rodriguez, Sean 2729 rf1b 2b pit nl 1.0 1.0 12.5 17.5 1.0
Baez, Javier 3395 2b chi nl 1.0 1.0 3.5 3.5 1.0
Saltalamacchia, Jarod 2355 ca det al 1.0 1.0 12.0 18.0 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Pirates' Jameson Taillon tops players for Tuesday, June 14; Lackey, Bumgarner rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon is Tuesday’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 14:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 17.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 11.7
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 10.0
4 Lackey, John 1640 pi sp chi nl 9.4
5 Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 9.0
6 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 9.0
7 Salazar, Danny 3223 pi sp cle al 8.8
8 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 8.7
9 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 8.7
10 Machado, Manny 3087 ss 3b bal al 8.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher John Lackey and Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Taillon pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Mets.

This was Taillon’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Taillon made his Major League debut June 8 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,658th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Player of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit a grand slam and two doubles, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five total runs, in the 11-3 win over the Phillies.

Donaldson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.2 for the season, rising to second place among AL batters, trailing only Manny Machado of the Orioles (8.7 Box-Toppers points). Donaldson ranks 19th among all players.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies homered and doubled, going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-10 win over the Yankees.

Gonzalez, who led NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 11.5, has 2.5 points in 2016.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Josh Donaldson.

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

  • Cubs pitcher John Lackey rises to fourth place in season rankings with 9.4 Box-Toppers points. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday and now has 117.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 41st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4) and Mark Buehrle (116.7). Lackey now trails 40th-ranked player Barry Zito (117.4).
  • Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to fifth place in season rankings with 9.0 Box-Toppers points. Bumgarner (8IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday and now has 101.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 64th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes four players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9), Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (101.4). Bumgarner now trails 63rd-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

Scoring—Taillon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Donaldson earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/14 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 10.0 PIT 4/NYM 0 Jameson Taillon (W,1-0) - - - - 8.0 2 0 0 1 5
AL 7.0 TOR 11/PHI 3 Josh Donaldson, 3B 4 3 3 5 - - - - - -
7.0 SF 3/MIL 2 Madison Bumgarner (W,8-2) - - - - 8.0 4 2 2 1 8
5.0 BAL 3/BOS 2 Chris Tillman (W,9-1) - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 2 7
BAT 4.0 COL 13/NYY 10 Carlos Gonzalez, RF 5 3 4 2 - - - - - -
4.0 TB 8/SEA 7 Corey Dickerson, LF 4 2 3 3 - - - - - -
4.0 DET 11/CHW 8 Justin Upton, LF 4 2 2 4 - - - - - -
4.0 TEX 10/OAK 6 Ryan Rua, 1B 3 2 2 3 - - - - - -
4.0 LAD 7/ARI 4 Kenley Jansen (S,18) - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.1 HOU 5/STL 2 Doug Fister (W,7-3) - - - - 7.1 5 2 2 1 6
3.0 MIA 5/SD 2 Jeff Mathis, C 3 1 1 4 - - - - - -
3.0 `CHC 4/DC 3 John Lackey - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 2 7
2.0 LAA 5/MIN 4 Kole Calhoun, RF 3 1 2 2 - - - - - -
2.0 CIN 3/ATL 1 Brandon Finnegan (W,3-4) - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 3 5
1.2 KC 3/CLE 2 Joakim Soria (W,3-2) - - - - 1.2 1 0 0 1 2
`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 +/-
Lackey, John 1640 pi sp chi nl 9.4 19.1 38.8 117.2 -0.3
Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 9.0 26.0 96.0 101.7 -8.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b tor al 7.2 17.1 37.1 37.1 -2.7
Tillman, Chris 2754 pi sp bal al 6.0 10.7 39.8 41.8 1.3
Calhoun, Kole 3279 rf ana al 4.0 7.2 14.7 14.7 0.8
Rua, Ryan 3631 1b lf tex al 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 rf col nl 2.5 14.0 42.7 55.7 -9.0
Upton, Justin 2411 lf det al 2.0 11.0 37.9 46.4 -7.0
Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp lad nl 2.0 6.0 32.4 32.4 -2.0
Dickerson, Corey 3222 lf tb al 2.0 5.0 14.0 14.0 -1.0
Finnegan, Brandon 3535 pi sp cin nl 2.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 -1.0
Taillon, Jameson 3658 pi sp pit nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Soria, Joakim 2258 pi cp kc al 1.0 6.7 13.7 45.7 -4.7
Fister, Doug 2688 pi sp hou al 1.0 3.0 48.5 52.2 -1.0
Mathis, Jeff 2412 ca fla nl 1.0 1.0 6.0 11.5 1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' Walker tops players for Wednesday, June 8; Lackey, Scherzer rise into Box-Toppers top 10

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker 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 June 8:  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 15.0
2 Fernandez, Jose 3147 pi sp fla nl 11.7
3 Cueto, Johnny 2400 pi sp sf nl 9.0
4 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 8.7
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 8.7
6 Machado, Manny 3087 ss 3b bal al 8.7
7 Matz, Steven 3516 pi sp nym nl 8.7
8 Lackey, John 1640 pi sp chi nl 8.4
9 Hill, Rich 2215 pi sp oak al 8.4
10 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 8.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher John Lackey and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer both rose into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner became the 71st player since 1995 with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Walker pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher John Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Phillies.

Lackey earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season and rising to eighth in season player rankings. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Lackey also rises to 43rd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Lackey now has 116.2 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9), Angels pitcher Tim Lincecum (115.0) and Torii Hunter (115.9). Lackey now trails 42nd-ranked player Todd Helton (116.4).

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 2-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 12-7 win over the Reds.

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Scherzer (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 11-4 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

Scherzer also rises to 47th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, Scherzer has 114.0 for his career and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Scherzer now trails 46th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).

Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner becomes the 71st player with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Bumgarner (6IP 4H R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 100.7 for his career. He rises to 68th place among all players since 1995, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Bumgarner now trails 67th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (100.9).

Bumgarner also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 12th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lackey earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Moss 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

6/8 Score Game Player of Game AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 16.0 SEA 5/CLE 0 Taijuan Walker (W,3-6) - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 0 11
NL 12.0 CHC 8/PHI 1 John Lackey (W,7-2) - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 0 8
8.2 MIL 4/OAK 0 Chase Anderson (W,4-6) - - - - 6.2 2 0 0 0 4
8.1 BAL 4/KC 0 Chris Tillman (W,8-1) - - - - 7.1 8 0 0 0 9
7.0 DC 11/CHW 4 Max Scherzer (W,7-4) - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 6
6.0 ATL 4/SD 2 Julio Teheran (W,2-6) - - - - 8.0 5 2 2 1 8
BAT 5.0 TOR 7/DET 2 Josh Donaldson, 3B 4 3 3 3 - - - - - -
5.0 COL 1/LAD 0 Chris Rusin (W,2-4) - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 1 3
4.0 NYY 12/LAA 6 Chris Parmelee, 1B 5 3 3 3 - - - - - -
4.0 `SF 2/BOS 1 Madison Bumgarner - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 1 5
3.0 TB 6/ARI 3 Corey Dickerson, LF 4 2 3 2 - - - - - -
3.0 MIN 7/MIA 5 Trevor Plouffe, 3B 4 2 2 3 - - - - - -
BAT 2.0 STL 12/CIN 7 Brandon Moss, LF-1B 5 2 2 3 - - - - - -
2.0 NYM 6/PIT 5 Michael Conforto, LF 3 1 1 3 - - - - - -
1.0 HOU 3/TEX 1 Jose Altuve, 2B 3 0 2 2 - - - - - -
`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 +/-
Lackey, John 1640 pi sp chi nl 8.4 18.1 37.8 116.2 -1.3
Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 8.0 29.0 93.6 114.0 -13.0
Bumgarner, Madison 2753 pi sp sf nl 8.0 25.0 95.0 100.7 -9.0
Altuve, Jose 3007 2b hou al 6.0 13.0 22.5 22.5 -1.0
Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b tor al 5.5 15.4 35.4 35.4 -4.4
Tillman, Chris 2754 pi sp bal al 5.0 9.7 38.8 40.8 0.3
Anderson, Chase 3328 pi sp mil nl 5.0 9.0 14.0 14.0 1.0
Conforto, Michael 3622 lf nym nl 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Walker, Taijuan 3453 pi sp sea al 4.7 18.4 18.4 18.4 -9.0
Teheran, Julio 3176 pi sp atl nl 3.0 10.7 38.8 38.8 -4.7
Rusin, Chris 3236 pi sp col nl 2.7 3.7 5.7 5.7 1.7
Plouffe, Trevor 2869 3b min al 2.5 5.5 21.5 21.5 -0.5
Moss, Brandon 2520 rf lf stl nl 1.5 6.5 22.5 24.5 -3.5
Dickerson, Corey 3222 lf tb al 1.0 4.0 13.0 13.0 -2.0
Parmelee, Chris 2996 1b nyy al 1.0 3.0 6.5 6.5 -1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

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Randy Johnson's perch atop 'all-time' 100 is safe. A-Rod is top active player. Pujols rises in top 10. Hernandez, Kershaw both make top 20 rises. Price, Scherzer, Bumgarner all make big jumps up the list.

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Diamondbacks' Anderson tops players for Friday, Aug. 7; Mets' deGrom extends Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to third place—first place among American League pitchers—in Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 7.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 17.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
3 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 15.8
4 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 15.1
6 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 15.0
7 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
8 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 14.4
9 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 14.0
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 13.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Reds.

American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, allowing one run and five hits, striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Astros.

Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 15.8 for the season. He rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and first among AL pitchers, passing previous leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).

American League Batter of the Day—Torii Hunter of the Twins hit a go-ahead ninth-inning homer in the 10-9 win over the Indians. Hunter also doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs. 

Hunter earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 115.9 for his career, rising to 43rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Friday, Hunter passes Tim Lincecum (115.0) on the “all-time” list. He trails 42nd-place player Todd Helton (116.4). Hunter’s 115.9 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active AL batters.

Hunter also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among AL batters behind Mike Trout of the Angels (10.0) and Lorenzo Cain of the Royals (8.2).

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam in the 5-4 win over the Nationals. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 in the game.

Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and ranks fourth among NL batters.

Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

deGrom (6.1IP 6H 2R 7K ND in the 4-3 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He has led players in Box-Toppers points since July 26.

Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place among NL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. McCutchen (2B 2-3 2R BI in the 10-inning 5-4 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He ranks 32nd among all players. McCutchen trails overall NL batting leader Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5 Box-Toppers points).

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debuts Friday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Rusney Castillo of the Red Sox (3-5 3R BI in the 7-2 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 17, 2014, and was playing in his 47th career game. He is the 3,552nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Phillies pitcher Hector Neris (1IP H 0R 2K W in the 4-3, 12-inning win over the Padres) made his Major League debut Aug. 5, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,553rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Hunter and Gonzalez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

8/7 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Dbacks Chase Anderson (W,5-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 2 7
AL 7.0 Athletics Sonny Gray (W,12-4) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 1 0 5
6.0 Cardinals Carlos Villanueva (S,2) - - - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 4.0 Twins Torii Hunter, RF 5 3 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.1 `Mets Jacob deGrom - - - - - - 6.1 6 2 2 0 7
BAT 3.0 Rockies Carlos Gonzalez, RF 4 1 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels C.J. Cron, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.2 Cubs Hector Rondon (S,18) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 1 2
2.0 Red Sox Rusney Castillo, RF 5 3 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Braves Nick Markakis, RF 4 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Pirates Andrew McCutchen, CF 3 2 2 1 2 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Royals Edinson Volquez (W,11-6) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 3
2.0 Phillies Hector Neris (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
1.0 Mariners Hisashi Iwakuma (W,3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 6 3 3 0 6
1.0 Blue Jays Roberto Osuna (S,9) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Wednesday, July 29; Peavy, Verlander each earn 1st Box-Toppers points of 2015

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, two players who earned their first Player of the Game honors of the season extended their streaks of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

  • Giants pitcher Jake Peavy—14 seasons.
  • Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander—10 seasons.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 29.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 16.4
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 15.4
3 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
4 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 14.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp oak al 13.1
7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 13.0
8 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 13.0
9 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 13.0
10 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 12.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lester struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 117.1 for his career, rising to 40th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Todd Helton (116.4) and Mark Buehrle (116.7). He trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).

Lester is also the season’s highest-ranked of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. With 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season, Lester ranks 31st among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.

Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of 12 Wednesday, the same as Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (Player of the Game in the win over the Rays) but Lester won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Verlander (14 vs. 10).

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Rays.

Verlander, earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2015, has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Tigers. His best season was 2012 with the Tigers when he had 24.8 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. Verlander also led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2011, when he had 24.4. In 2014, he had 4.0 Box-Toppers points.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day and now has 119.9 for his career, rising to 35th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 34th-place player Cole Hamels (120.8).

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.

Harper earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and rises to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (8.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays homered, doubled twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Phillies.

This was Tulowitzki’s first game since being traded from the Rockies. Tulowitzki led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 11.6. With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned Wednesday for being AL Batter of the Day, Tulowitzki now has 6.0 for the season and ranks eighth among AL batters.

Streak—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy has now earned Box-Toppers points for 14 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Peavy (6IP 4H 0R 3K ND in the 5-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season. 

Peavy earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Padres. His best year was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. In 2014, Peavy had 5.7 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox and Giants.

Peavy has 132.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 26th-place player Miguel Cabrera (132.9). Peavy’s 132.8 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active NL pitchers.

Debut—Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (PH 2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 10-7 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut July 1, 2014, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,541st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Harper and Tulowitzki each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

7/29 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 12.0 Cubs Jon Lester (W,6-8) - - - - - - 8.0 5 2 2 1 14
AL 12.0 Tigers Justin Verlander (W,1-3) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 0 10
7.0 Indians Corey Kluber (W,6-11) - - - - - - 9.0 5 1 1 1 6
6.2 Orioles Chris Tillman (W,8-7) - - - - - - 8.2 4 0 0 0 2
BAT 6.0 Nationals Bryce Harper, RF 4 3 3 4 0 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Astros Lance McCullers (W,5-3) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 0 5
5.0 Dbacks Patrick Corbin (W,2-3) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 2 6
5.0 `Giants Jake Peavy - - - - - - 6.0 4 0 0 0 3
BAT 4.0 Blue Jays Troy Tulowitzki, SS 5 3 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Reds Anthony DeSclafani (W,6-7) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 3 3
3.0 Pirates Andrew McCutchen, CF 4 2 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Enrique Hernandez, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rangers Shawn Tolleson (S,18) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Padres Yangervis Solarte, 3B 5 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 White Sox Adam Eaton, CF 6 2 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Saturday, July 18, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th in season player rankings.

Also Saturday, Robinson Cano of the Mariners earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season and three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Kershaw, Aramis Ramirez and Jon Lester—earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 18.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 15.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 14.4
3 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 13.4
4 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 13.4
5 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 13.1
6 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
7 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
8 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 11.7
9 Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp hou al 11.1
10 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 11.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 10th place in season Box-Toppers player rankings. Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5. He also led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011 and 2013.

Kershaw is the 15th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the seventh straight season Kershaw has had 10.0 or more points.

Kershaw has 144.6 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 20th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a pair of two-run homers and went 3-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Yankees.

Cano has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor for 2015. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Yankees. His best season was 2013 with the Yankees, when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points with the Mariners.

Cano has 62.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks sixth among all second baseman since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He ranks second in career points among active second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).

Notables—In addition to Kershaw, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

  • Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7.1IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 115.1 career Box-Toppers points. He rises to 42nd place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Saturday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Torii Hunter (114.4), Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 41st-place player Todd Helton (116.4).
  • Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers (HR 3-3 2R 2BI in the 8-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.3 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 58th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 57th-place player John Lackey (103.8).

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

  • Matt den Dekker of the Nationals (2-R HR in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,534th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
  • Royals pitcher Brandon Finnegan (2IP H 0R 2K W in the 7-6, 13-inning win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 6, 2014, and was playing in his 21st career game. He is the 3,535th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tillman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Cano each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/18 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 19.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W,7-6) - - - - - - 8.0 3 0 0 0 14
AL 14.0 Orioles Chris Tillman (W,7-7) - - - - - - 8.0 1 0 0 1 8
12.0 Angels Garrett Richards (W,10-6) - - - - - - 9.0 2 0 0 1 6
11.1 Cubs Jon Lester (W,5-8) - - - - - - 7.1 2 0 0 1 7
BAT 8.0 Cardinals Randal Grichuk, CF-LF-RF 3 2 3 6 1 0 - - - - - -
6.1 Rangers Colby Lewis (W,9-4) - - - - - - 7.1 4 2 2 0 7
5.1 `Athletics Scott Kazmir - - - - - - 8.1 5 1 1 1 5
BAT 5.0 Mariners Robinson Cano, 2B 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Giants Buster Posey, 1B-C 4 1 3 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Brewers Aramis Ramirez, 3B 3 2 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Padres Craig Kimbrel (S,25) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Nationals Matt den Dekker PH LF 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Brandon Finnegan (W,3-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 2
2.2 `Rays Erasmo Ramirez - - - - - - 4.2 4 1 1 0 4
2.0 Indians Carlos Santana, 1B 3 2 2 1 2 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Phillies Chad Billingsley (W,2-3) - - - - - - 5.0 4 0 0 1 2
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

A look at Box-Toppers 'all-time' top 100 player list, led by Hall inductee Randy Johnson

The Big Unit leads the list of the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points since record keeping began in 1995. A look at all 100 ...

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Indians' Carlos Carrasco, with near no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, July 1

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who was one strike away from a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned Player of the Game honors and rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” top 50 player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 1.  


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 14.0
2 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 13.4
3 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 12.0
4 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 12.0
5 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 11.4
6 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 11.4
7 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 11.1
8 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 10.7
9 Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp stl nl 10.7
10 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 9.7
What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco struck out 13 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one run, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Carrasco had a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning before allowing his first hit to Joey Butler, who was down to his final strike.

Carrasco also has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and is ranked 16th among all players. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates hit two homers and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-5 win over the Royals.

Notables—Two pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings top 50:

  • Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle rose to 40th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Buehrle (7IP 4H R 7K W in the 11-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 116.7 career Box-Toppers points. He passes Todd Helton (116.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).
  • Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 45th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Lester (7IP 5H 0R 7K ND in the 2-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 114.1 for his career. He passes Sammy Sosa (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 44th-place player Torii Hunter (114.4). Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season—he has earned 4.0 of those points when he’s earned a no decision.

Debut—Braves pitcher Matt Wisler made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Wisler (5.1IP H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 19 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,522nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Walker and Altuve each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

7/1 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 16.2 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 8.2 1 1 1 2 13
12.0 Mariners Taijuan Walker (W, 7-6) - - - - - - 6.0 1 0 0 0 7
NL 9.0 Reds Johnny Cueto (W, 5-5) - - - - - - 8.0 4 1 1 1 8
8.0 Blue Jays Mark Buehrle (W, 9-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 0 7
8.0 `Cubs Jon Lester - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 7
6.0 White Sox Jose Quintana (W, 4-7) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 0 8
5.1 Braves Matt Wisler (W, 2-1) - - - - - - 5.1 1 0 0 5 6
BAT 4.0 Pirates Neil Walker 2B 6 3 4 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Jesse Hahn (W, 6-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 6
4.0 Orioles Zach Britton (S, 23) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Brewers Scooter Gennett 2B 5 2 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Brett Anderson (W, 5-4) - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 2 7
2.2 `Yankees Chasen Shreve (H, 5) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 0 1
BAT 2.0 Astros Jose Altuve 2B 4 2 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Justin Bour 1B 4 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.