Royals pitcher Jason Hammel is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAstros' Charlie Morton tops players for Saturday, May 12, rises to 4th in player rankings
Astros pitcher Charlie Morton is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Morton struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Rangers.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position over several time frames (after 2017)
Here are Box-Toppers points leaders at each position over a variety of time frames.
For example, the all-time leader, Randy Johnson leads with 278.8 career Box-Toppers points (earned since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). Johnson also leads in Box-Toppers points among all pitchers since 1995. Chris Sale leads over past season, Max Scherzer leads over past two seasons and Clayton Kershaw leads over past six seasons and also leads all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top second basemen by time frame (after 2017 season)
Jeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.
Robinson Cano of the Mariners leads active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points. Other leaders at the position include Scooter Gennett, Jose Ramirez, Daniel Murphy and Rougned Odor.
Read MoreHow 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.
Read MoreRed Sox' Chris Sale tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 20, rises to lead Box-Toppers player rankings
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead season player rankings, passing Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who only took the lead Tuesday.
Sale struck out 13 over eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 9-0 win over the Orioles.
Read MoreYankees' Severino tops players for Saturday, Sept. 9, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers rankings; Sale rises to 2nd
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Meanwhile, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Read MoreCubs' Jose Quintana tops players for Sunday, July 16, rises to 9th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth 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 July 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 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 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Quintana, making his debut for the Cubs after being traded from the White Sox during the All-Star break, struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Orioles.
Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising to ninth place among all players, sixth place among National League pitchers. Quintana is the 10th player this season to reach 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Mike Fiers struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two hits, four hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-4 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Two players with 100.0 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
- Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (6IP 2H 0R 5BB 3K W in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 191.0 career points, fifth-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fourth-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Sabathia has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 13th among AL pitchers.
- Red Sox pitcher David Price (8IP 7H 0R 0BB 8K W in the 3-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.9 career points, rising to 55th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jeff Kent (109.7) and Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (109.7). Price has 3.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 46th among AL pitchers.
Debut—Nick Williams of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Williams (HR 2-4 R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,852nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fiers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphyearns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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| 7/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | CHC 8, BAL 0 | Jose Quintana, W (5-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 5, MIN 3 | Mike Fiers (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | BOS 3, NYY 0 | David Price (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 3, MIA 2 | Rich Hill (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | WSH 14, CIN 4 | Daniel Murphy (2B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ATL 7, ARI 1 | Jaime Garcia (W, 3-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | SEA 7, CHW 6 (F/10) | Edwin Diaz (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | SD 7, SF 1 | Trevor Cahill (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | `LAA 4, TB 3 | Parker Bridwell | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 5, MIL 2 | Nick Williams (RF) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 13, NYM 4 | Gerardo Parra (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 7, CLE 3 | Sean Manaea (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2.2 | `KC 4, TEX 3 | Ian Kennedy | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 3, BOS 0 | CC Sabathia (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, STL 3 | Wade LeBlanc (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | `DET 6, TOR 5 (F/11) | Bruce Rondon | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | +/- |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 | 20.4 | 45.2 | 45.2 | -0.4 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 | 22.1 | 26.1 | 45.8 | -6.7 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.4 | 9.4 | 24.1 | 46.6 | 3.4 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 6.0 | 13.5 | 34.5 | 38.5 | -1.5 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 12.0 | 38.5 | 191.0 | 0.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | -1.3 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 15.0 | 46.1 | 71.5 | -5.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 5.0 | 7.5 | 19.5 | 26.0 | 2.5 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 9.4 | 30.5 | 30.5 | -0.6 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -3.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 16.1 | 78.1 | 109.9 | -8.7 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi cp mr sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 10.0 | 28.1 | 45.8 | -6.0 |
| Bridwell, Parker 3844 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Rondon, Bruce 3245 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Williams, Nick 3852 | rf | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Indians' Corey Kluber tops players for Thursday, June 29; Kershaw extends Box-Toppers season player rankings lead
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 29:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.1 |
| 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 |
Also Thursday, Box-Toppers season points leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers extended his lead after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to 20th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Kluber struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Rangers.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to 13th among all players, fifth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck of 12 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 6-2 win over the Angels.
Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 18.1 for the season, extending his season player rankings lead over second-place player, Max Scherzer of the Nationals (14.0 Box-Toppers points). With his lead of 4.1 points, Scherzer would now need at least three starts to catch or pass Scherzer.
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 | 201.8 |
| 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 | 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 | dfa by braves | 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.
With the season at the halfway point, Kershaw is now on pace to earn 36.2 Box-Toppers points this season, which would break the single-season record of 33.7 set by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson, who did it twice, in 2000 and 2002 (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995). However, at this time last year, Kershaw led all players with 20.0 Box-Toppers points and was on pace to earn 40.0 points, but spent more than two months on the disabled list beginning in late June, and had only 4.4 points in the second half of the season, finishing with 24.4, in second place behind Scherzer’s 25.7.
The most Box-Toppers points Kershaw has earned in a single season is 31.5 in 2014, when he led all players. It is tied for the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers points by a player since tracking began in 1995.
Also, Kershaw now has 201.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-place player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw ranks first among all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a go-ahead, three-run, seventh-inning homer in the 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Grichuk also doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.
Notable—Two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Thursday:
- Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (6IP 3H R 3BB 7K ND in the 5-4 win over the Nationals) now has 149.2 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Thursday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Javier Vazquez (148.3) and Chipper Jones (149.0). Lester trails 19th-ranked player, Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2). Lester also now has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 12th among NL pitchers.
- Red Sox pitcher David Price (7IP 6H 3R 0BB 7K W in the 6-3 win over the Twins) now has 108.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 57th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Thursday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). He trails 56th-ranked player Jeff Kent (109.7). Price has 2.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 63rd among AL pitchers.
Rankings—Jay Bruce of the Mets rises to lead NL batters in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Bruce (2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, passing previous NL batting leader Matt Adams of the Braves (6.5). Bruce ranks 21st among all players.
Debut—Willy Garcia of the White Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Garcia (2B 2-3 0R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut April 14 and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,841st 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 Kershaw earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Correa 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| 6/29 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | CLE 5, TEX 1 | Corey Kluber (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| 13.0 | BAL 2, TOR 0 | Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | 13.0 | LAD 6, LAA 2 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 12-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| 10.0 | MIL 11, CIN 3 | Jimmy Nelson (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 10.0 | SD 6, ATL 0 | Dinelson Lamet (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | STL 10, ARI 4 | Randal Grichuk (CF-LF) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | HOU 6, OAK 1 | Carlos Correa (SS) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `CHC 5, WSH 4 | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.2 | DET 7, KC 3 | Michael Fulmer (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 6, MIA 3 | Jay Bruce (RF) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 6, MIN 3 | David Price (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 1.1 | PIT 4, TB 0 | Jameson Taillon (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1.0 | CHW 4, NYY 3 | Willy Garcia (RF) | 3 | 0 | 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 | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.1 | 42.5 | 142.2 | 201.8 | -6.3 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 8.0 | 29.2 | 73.4 | 73.4 | -13.2 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 7.0 | 15.5 | 32.7 | 65.8 | -1.5 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 4.0 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 | 28.1 | 73.6 | 149.2 | -16.1 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 4.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 | -8.0 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 4.0 | 11.7 | 18.9 | 18.9 | -3.7 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | rf cf lf | stl nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 3.0 |
| Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 15.1 | 77.1 | 108.9 | -9.7 |
| Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 6.7 | 38.6 | 81.5 | -2.7 |
| Garcia Willy 3841 | rf | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Athletics' Sonny Gray tops players for Sunday, June 25; Twins' Santana maintains 3rd-place rank in Box-Toppers points
Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana earns Player of the Game honors, maintaining his rank of third place in season player rankings, first among American League pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 25:| 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 | 10.1 |
| 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 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 10 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
Player of the Day—Gray struck out seven over seven innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 5-3 win over the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Rockies.
Bellinger earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.2 for the season, rising to second among NL batters, behind Matt Adams of the Braves (6.5).
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays homered and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Royals.
Bautista has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2017. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Pirates and has 64.4 career points, 10th among active AL batters. His best season was 2010 with the Blue Jays when he had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, first among AL batters. He’s had three seasons with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He’s barely kept the streak alive in two seasons, earning just 1.0 Box-Toppers point in both 2009 and 2016, both with the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Cody Bellinger.
Rankings—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana, third in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earns Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Santana (6IP 9H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He maintains his rank of third among all players in 2017 points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (16.4) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (13.0). Santana ranks first among AL pitchers, ahead of Chris Sale of the Red Sox (10.1).
Santana also now has 109.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 55th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Sunday, he passes Jeff Kent (109.7) on the “all-time” list and now trails 54th-ranked player Tom Glavine (110.6).
Debut—Kaleb Cowart of the Angels made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Cowart (2B 2-3 R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut Aug. 18, 2015, and was playing in his 66th career game. He is the 3,837th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bellinger earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Bautista earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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| 6/25 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | OAK 5, CHW 3 | Sonny Gray (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | HOU 8, SEA 2 | Michael Feliz (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| NL | 4.0 | LAD 12, COL 6 | Cody Bellinger, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIN 4, CLE 0 | Ervin Santana (W,10-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | `ARI 2, PHI 1 (F/11) | Randall Delgado | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.2 | NYM 8, SF 2 | Rafael Montero (W,1-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 6, WSH 2 | Scooter Gennett, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | TOR 8, KC 2 | Jose Bautista, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIL 7, ATL 0 | Keon Broxton, CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 8, TB 5 | Caleb Joseph, C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | STL 8, PIT 4 | Yadier Molina, C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 7, SD 5 | Justin Wilson (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | MIA 4, CHC 2 | AJ Ramos (S,12) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 4, BOS 2 | Kaleb Cowart, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 7, NYY 6 | Shin-Soo Choo, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 | 16.4 | 49.2 | 109.7 | 8.4 |
| Bellinger, Cody 3781 | 1b | lad nl | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b | cin nl | 4.5 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 2.0 |
| Broxton, Keon 3785 | cf | mil nl | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Ramos, A.J. 3210 | pi cp | fla nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 2.0 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.0 | 5.0 | 36.8 | 36.8 | 3.0 |
| Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf dh | tex al | 3.5 | 4.5 | 24.5 | 51.2 | 2.5 |
| Molina, Yadier 1967 | ca | stl nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 15.5 | 36.7 | -2.0 |
| Wilson, Justin 3140 | pi cp | det al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | tor al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 25.5 | 64.4 | 0.5 |
| Feliz, Michael 3632 | pi mr cp | hou al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -2.7 |
| Joseph, Caleb 3368 | ca | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1.0 |
| Delgado, Randall 2939 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.4 | 10.4 | 1.0 |
| Montero, Rafael 3410 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Cowart, Kaleb 3837 | 3b | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Twins' Ervin Santana tops players for Friday, June 9, ranks 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the third player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 9:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 7 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
| 10 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
Santana pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout, walking one and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Giants.
Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, maintaining his third-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among American League pitchers. He trails Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (12.0).
This is the fifth time Santana has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points in a season in the 13 seasons he has earned Box-Toppers points. He last did it in 2014 with the Braves, when he had 11.0 points for the season.
Santana also rises to 56th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday he now has 108.7 career Box-Toppers points, passing five players on the “all-time” list—Carlos Beltran of the Astros (107.6), Red Sox pitcher David Price (107.9), Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Santana now trails 55th-ranked player Jeff Kent (109.7).
National League Player of the Day—Tyler Moore of the Marlins hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-7 win over the Pirates.
American League Batter of the Day—Mallex Smith of the Rays homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 13-4 win over the Athletics.
This was Smith’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Smith made his Major League debut April 11, 2016, and was playing in his 82nd career game. He is the 3,819th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Tyler Moore.
Scoring—Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Moore earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Smith earns 1.5 points for being AL 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| 6/9 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | MIN 4, SF 0 | Ervin Santana (W,8-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| NL | 5.0 | MIA 12, PIT 7 | Tyler Moore, 1B-RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYY 8, BAL 2 | Jordan Montgomery (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | LAD 7, CIN 2 | Kenta Maeda (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | MIL 8, ARI 6 | Corey Knebel (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | TB 13, OAK 4 | Mallex Smith, CF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SD 6, KC 3 | Jhoulys Chacin (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `STL 3, PHI 2 | Matt Bowman (H,12) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 5, WSH 2 | Jonathan Lucroy, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 5, DET 3 | Mitch Moreland, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 7, CHW 3 | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 9, HOU 4 | Cameron Maybin, CF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 4, TOR 2 | Edwin Diaz (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 3, NYM 2 | Dansby Swanson, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | COL 5, CHC 3 | Ryan Hanigan, C | 4 | 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 | +/- |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 | 15.4 | 48.2 | 108.7 | 7.4 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.7 | 10.4 | 17.1 | 32.5 | -1.0 |
| Knebel, Corey 3757 | pi cp | mil nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp cp | lad nl | 3.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -7.0 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | cle al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 46.1 | 70.1 | -5.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -4.0 |
| Maybin, Cameron 2672 | lf cf | ana al | 3.0 | 6.0 | 11.5 | 18.5 | 0.0 |
| Moore, Tyler 3045 | 1b rf ph | fla nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 2.7 |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b ph | bos al | 2.0 | 5.5 | 18.7 | 20.7 | -1.5 |
| Bowman, Matt 3699 | pi mr | stl nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Smith, Mallex 3819 | cf | tb al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Lucroy, Jonathan 2744 | ca | tex al | 1.0 | 6.7 | 21.8 | 28.3 | -4.7 |
| Hanigan, Ryan 2708 | ca | col nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 |
A Box-Toppers look back at 2016, with a preview of the coming 2017 season
A compilation of player and team standings from the end of the 2016 season, featuring a plethora of posts to prep for the 2017 season, including preseason team standings and Box-Toppers 2017 playoff and World Series picks.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top players by position over several time frames
A look at Box-Toppers points leaders by position over several time frames, summarizing the series of nine High by Position posts.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top second basemen by time frame
Jeff Kent holds dominating lead among second basemen in Box-Toppers points since 1995. Jose Altuve led second basemen in 2016.
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 MoreNationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 30, extending his season Box-Toppers points lead
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and extends his lead in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 30:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Scherzer struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, three hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Phillies.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 22.7 for the season. Scherzer took the Box-Toppers points lead in his last start Aug. 25, passing previous leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points).
Scherzer’s 22.7 points is now his single-season career high, passing his 2014 point total of 22.1 he earned with the Tigers.
Scherzer also now has 128.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 32nd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Roy Oswalt (127.2), A.J. Burnett (127.8) and Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Scherzer now trails 31st-ranked player Trevor Hoffman (129.4).
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Collin McHugh pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Curtis Granderson of the Mets hit two homers and went 2-for-2, driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-7 win over the Mariners.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 111.3 career points, rising to 52nd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes Tom Glavine (110.6) on the “all-time” list and now trails 51st-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8).
Beltre has 9.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, fifth among AL batters.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 110.0 career Box-Toppers points—54th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Wainwright (7IP 3H R 0BB 7K ND in the 3-1, 10-inning win over the Brewers) passes Jeff Kent (109.7) on the “all-time” list and now trails 53rd-ranked player Tom Glavine (110.6).
Wainwright has 8.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, 21st among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks has 11.7 Box-Toppers points on the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Hendricks (7IP 3H 0R BB 4K W in the 3-0 win over the Pirates) ranks 18th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Rays pitcher Enny Romero made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Romero (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 22, 2013, and was playing in his 68th career game. He is the 3,726th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McHugh earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Granderson and Beltre each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/30 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | WSH 3, PHI 2 | Max Scherzer (W,15-7) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | `STL 2, MIL 1 (10) | Adam Wainwright | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | CHC 3, PIT 0 | Kyle Hendricks (W,13-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | HOU 3, OAK 1 | Collin McHugh (W,9-10) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.2 | CLE 5, MIN 4 | Dan Otero (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | NYM 7, MIA 4 | Curtis Granderson, PH-RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ATL 7, SD 3 | Julio Teheran (W,4-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | TEX 8, SEA 7 | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | NYY 5, KC 4 (10) | Dellin Betances (W,3-4; BS,4) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 4, CIN 2 | C.J. Cron, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 8, CHW 4 | J.D. Martinez, RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TB 4, BOS 3 | Enny Romero (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | BAL 5, TOR 3 | Brad Brach (W,8-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | ARI 4, SF 3 | Welington Castillo, C | 4 | 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 | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 | 43.7 | 108.3 | 128.7 | 1.7 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 11.7 | 21.4 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 2.0 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 9.5 | 22.0 | 47.9 | 111.3 | -3.0 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 8.2 | 11.2 | 59.3 | 110.0 | 5.2 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 | 14.7 | 42.8 | 42.8 | -0.7 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 6.7 | 16.4 | 28.2 | 28.2 | -3.0 |
| Castillo, Wellington 3251 | ca | ari nl | 5.0 | 8.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 1.5 |
| Martinez, J.D. 2922 | rf | det al | 4.5 | 6.2 | 16.2 | 16.2 | 2.8 |
| Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b dh | ana al | 3.7 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -2.3 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -1.0 |
| Granderson, Curtis 2051 | rf ph | nym nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 31.9 | 64.3 | -1.0 |
| Brach, Brad 3374 | pi mr | bal al | 3.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Otero, Dan 3365 | pi mr | cle al | 3.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 1.3 |
| Romero, Enny 3726 | pi mr | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Yankees' Chad Green tops players for Monday, Aug. 15; Mariners' Hernandez rises to 10th on career Box-Toppers points list
Yankees pitcher Chad Green is Monday’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. 15:| 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 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 12.5 |
Also Monday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors. Hernandez passes Johan Santana who had been among Box-Toppers “all-time” top 10 players for more than six years.
Player of the Day—Green pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing two hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher David Phelps struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a grand slam, going 1-for-2, in the 5-2 win over the Athletics.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 109.8 for his career, rising to 53rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, Beltre passes three players on the “all-time” list—Billy Wagner (108.7), Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (109.0) and Jeff Kent (109.7). Beltre now trails 52nd-ranked player Tom Glavine (110.6).
Beltre also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising to seventh place among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Wellington Castillo of the Diamondbacks hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-6 win over the Mets.
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 | released | 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 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 166.7 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 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 |
Hernandez—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Hernandez (6.2IP 4H 2R 4BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 166.7 for his career. He passes Johan Santana (166.6) on the “all-time” list. Santana has been in the top 10 since July 23, 2010, when he reached 151.9 career Box-Toppers points, passing Greg Maddux (151.7). Hernandez now trails ninth-place player Manny Ramirez (167.2).
Hernandez has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 15.4 points below his 2015 total of 19.4, when he ranked eighth among all players.
Notable—Red Sox pitcher Drew Pomeranz has the highest Box-Toppers season point total of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday.
Pomeranz (7.2IP 5H 2R 2BB 6K W in the 3-2 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising to 15th place among all players and fourth among AL pitchers. It is the first point he has earned since being traded from the Padres to the Red Sox July 15.
Scherzer—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had the chance to take the season Box-Toppers points lead Monday, but did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 5-4 win over the Rockies.
Scherzer (4IP 7H 4R 2BB 3K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of −10, uncharacteristically low for him. Player of the Game was Jayson Werth (HR 2-4 R 2BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has led Box-Toppers season player rankings since May 7 and continues to lead even after being on the disabled list for six weeks. Kershaw has 20.0 Box-Toppers points, Scherzer has 18.7. Had Scherzer won overall Player of the Day or NL Player of the Day honors, he would have passed Kershaw for the lead. Kershaw could return to pitch as soon as late August.
Scoring—Green earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Phelps earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Castillo 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/15 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | NYY 1, TOR 0 | Chad Green (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 6.0 | TB 8, SD 2 | Drew Smyly (W,5-11) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| NL | 4.1 | MIA 6, CIN 3 | David Phelps (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | TEX 5, OAK 2 | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | KC 3, DET 1 | Ian Kennedy (W,7-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | ARI 10, NYM 6 | Welington Castillo, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | PIT 8, SF 5 | Gregory Polanco, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | BOS 3, CLE 2 | Drew Pomeranz (W,9-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2.2 | SEA 3, LAA 2 | Felix Hernandez (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1.0 | WSH 5, COL 4 | Jayson Werth, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 11.4 | 14.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 | 8.4 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 8.0 | 20.5 | 46.4 | 109.8 | -4.5 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 | 14.7 | 58.5 | 64.5 | 1.3 |
| Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | tb al | 7.4 | 13.4 | 35.5 | 35.5 | 1.4 |
| Phelps, David 2994 | pi mr sp | fla nl | 5.7 | 9.1 | 22.5 | 22.5 | 2.3 |
| Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf | pit nl | 5.5 | 8.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 2.5 |
| Werth, Jayson 1664 | lf | dc nl | 4.5 | 7.5 | 21.5 | 48.7 | 1.5 |
| Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 4.0 | 23.4 | 89.4 | 166.7 | -15.4 |
| Castillo, Wellington 3251 | ca | ari nl | 3.0 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -0.5 |
| Green, Chad 3675 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Angels' Matt Shoemaker tops players for Saturday, July 16; Cardinals' Wainwright tops NL players
Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Saturday’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 July 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 14.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 8 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
Shoemaker pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 13 and allowing six hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, allowing two walks and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins.
Wainwright earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 109.0 for his career, rising to 54th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, Wainwright passes three players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Wainwright now trails 53rd-place player Jeff Kent (109.7). Wainwright has 7.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Sandy Leon of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 5-2 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Schimpf of the Padres homered, tripled and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 7-6, 10-inning win over the Giants.
This was Schimpf’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Schimpf made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 23rd career game. He is the 3,686th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Roark (8IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 6-0 win over the Pirates) has 8.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranking 21st among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Ryon Healy of the Athletics made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday,the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Healy (three-run HR 2-3 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut July 15 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,685th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Shoemaker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wainwright earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Leon and Schimpf each earn 1.5 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
| 7/16 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | LAA 1/CHW 0 | Matt Shoemaker (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 12.0 | SEA 1/HOU 0 | Hisashi Iwakuma (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | STL 5/MIA 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 7.0 | DC 6/PIT 0 | Tanner Roark (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | CHC 3/TEX 1 | Jason Hammel (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | MIL 9/CIN 1 | Jimmy Nelson (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | BOS 5/NYY 2 | Sandy Leon, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | OAK 5/TOR 4 | Ryon Healy, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 2/TB 1 | Zach Britton (S,29) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | SD 7/SF 6 | Ryan Schimpf, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | `MIN 5/CLE 4 | Fernando Abad | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 4/NYM 2 | Jeanmar Gomez (S,25) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | COL 4/ATL 3 | Carlos Estevez (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | `ARI 2/LAD 1 | Tyler Clippard | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | KC 8/DET 4 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 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 | +/- |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.7 | 9.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 7.7 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.2 | 10.2 | 58.3 | 109.0 | 4.2 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 | 15.7 | 39.1 | 52.2 | -3.7 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 6.0 | 11.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 0.3 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 4.0 | 13.0 | 26.5 | 26.5 | -5.0 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | -5.4 |
| Clippard, Tyler 2291 | pi mr | ari nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 30.4 | 2.0 |
| Gomez, Jeanmar 2759 | pi cp | phi nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 |
| Leon, Sandy 3676 | ca | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 | 15.1 | 50.2 | 50.2 | -11.1 |
| Britton, Zachary 2835 | pi cp | bal al | 2.0 | 10.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 | -6.7 |
| Abad, Fernando 3653 | pi mr | min al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Estevez, Carlos 3641 | pi mr cp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Schimpf, Ryan 3686 | 3b | sd nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | 3b | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 1, rises to 1st in season player rankings, 10th in ‘all-time' rankings
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 1:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 3 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf dh ph | nym nl | 4.5 |
| 5 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 4.4 |
| 6 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 |
| 7 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 4.2 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 10 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp mr | ari nl | 4.0 |
In addition, Kershaw rises to 10th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began).
Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Padres.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to first place in player rankings, displacing previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (5.0 Box-Toppers points).
Kershaw also now has 165.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 10th place in “all-time” rankings, passing two players—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (163.7) and Roger Clemens (164.8). Kershaw now trails ninth-place player Johan Santana (166.6).
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +20.0, the third time this season a player has had a game score of +20.0 or more. It is the second-highest game score of the season, behind only the +22.0 earned April 14 by Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez.
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.
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 | 179.0 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 175.3 |
| 7 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 8 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 9 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 10 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 165.3 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 12 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 163.7 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 16 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 17 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 19 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 148.4 |
| 20 | Javier Vazquez | pi sp | retired | 148.3 |
National League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Brewers homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-5 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered and went 1-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Velasquez (6IP 2H 0R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 53rd place in “all-time” Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Scherzer (7IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 6-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.0 for his career. With his point, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Scherzer now trails the 52nd-ranked player on the list, Jeff Kent (109.7). (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Scherzer has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Debut—Reds pitcher Tim Adleman made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adleman (6IP 3H 2R 6K ND in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,625th 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 Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Carter and Castellanos each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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
| 5/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 20.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |
| 13.0 | `Braves | Julio Teheran | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 12.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| AL | 10.0 | Blue Jays | Marcus Stroman (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | Phillies | Vince Velasquez (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Brewers | Chris Carter, 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Reds | Tim Adleman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Ian Kennedy (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Craig Kimbrel (S,8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Kole Calhoun, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Melky Cabrera, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Luke Gregerson (S,5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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 | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 31.7 | 131.8 | 165.3 | -19.7 |
| Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 3.5 | 12.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -5.0 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 | 24.0 | 88.6 | 109.0 | -18.0 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 9.7 | 53.5 | 59.5 | -3.7 |
| Castellanos, Nick 3349 | 3b | det al | 3.0 | 9.2 | 11.2 | 11.2 | -3.2 |
| Carter, Chris 2828 | 1b dh | mil nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 21.4 | 22.4 | 1.5 |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 19.0 | 89.0 | 94.7 | -15.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 51.7 | 52.7 | -4.0 |
| Gregerson, Luke 2563 | pi cp | hou al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 17.0 | -4.0 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 1.7 | 4.4 | 18.1 | 18.1 | -1.0 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 8.7 | 36.8 | 36.8 | -6.7 |
| Calhoun, Kole 3279 | rf | ana al | 1.0 | 4.2 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -2.2 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 16.5 | 27.5 | 0.0 |
| Adleman, Tim 3625 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs' Lackey tops players for Monday, April 18; Angels' Santiago tops AL players
Cubs pitcher John Lackey is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lackey struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 18:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 6 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.0 |
| 7 | Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 2.7 |
| 8 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 9 | Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 2.7 |
| 10 | Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.7 |
Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, giving him 109.8 for his career. Lackey rises to 51st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing five players on the “all-time” list—Max Scherzer of the Tigers (108.0), Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3), Billy Wagner (108.7) and Jeff Kent (109.7). He trails 50th-place player Tom Glavine (110.6).
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Hector Santiago struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 7-0 win over the White Sox.
Santiago earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, rising to seventh in season player rankings.
American League Batter of the Day—Byung Ho Park of the Twins homered and went 2-for-3, in the 7-4 win over the Brewers.
This was Park’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Park made his Major League debut April 4 and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,616th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Monday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Syndergaard (7IP 5H R 8K W in the 5-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Santiago earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Park 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Cubs | John Lackey (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| AL | 12.0 | Angels | Hector Santiago (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| 6.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Marlins | Jose Fernandez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | Rockies | Jordan Lyles (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | J.A. Happ (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Rubby De La Rosa (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | Twins | Byung Ho Park, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Box-Toppers point totals of Players of the Games
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 | +/- |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | -7.4 |
| Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 2.7 | 10.7 | 23.1 | 23.1 | -5.3 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 11.7 | 31.4 | 109.8 | -7.7 |
| Park, Byung Ho 3616 | dh | min al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 14.1 | 29.5 | 37.5 | -12.1 |
| De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi mr | ari nl | 1.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -5.0 |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 5.7 | 31.7 | 31.7 | -3.7 |
| Lyles, Jordan 3100 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 1.0 |