Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves rises to lead National League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Read MoreIndians’ Corey Kluber tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 5, rises to 5th in player rankings
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Kluber struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Royals.
Read MoreMets’ Noah Syndergaard tops players for Sunday, Sept. 2; Cubs’ Rizzo rises to lead NL batters in rankings
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreIndians’ Corey Kluber tops players for Friday, Aug. 31; Kluber, Severino rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning his first Player of the Game honor since July 1.
Read MoreRangers’ Mike Minor tops players for Wednesday, June 27; Red Sox’ Martinez rises to lead AL batter rankings
Rangers pitcher Mike Minor is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox rises to lead American League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MorePhillies’ Aaron Nola top players for Tuesday, June 12, rises to 7th in season player rankings
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
Nola struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 5-4 win over the Rockies.
Read MoreDodgers' Kenta Maeda tops players for Thursday, May 17; Red Sox' Price tops AL players
Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Maeda struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.
Read MoreClayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since start of 2012
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012.
Kershaw has 147.2 Box-Toppers points over the period 2012-2017, 18.3 points ahead of second-place player in that span, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (128.9). However, Kershaw’s lead in the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total is down from last year and is his narrowest lead since 2013.
Read MoreDodgers' Yu Darvish tops players for Monday, Sept. 25; Astros' Gonzalez tops AL players
Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Darvish struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 9-3 win over the Padres.
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 MoreRays' Jake Odorizzi tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 5; Nationals' Strasburg rises to 5th in rankings
Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke maintains his fourth-place spot in player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read More
In 2017, Clayton Kershaw has become new leader among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to 3rd on the ‘all-time’ top 100 list
During the 2017 season, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has taken the lead among active players in career Box-Toppers points, rising to third place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” top 100 players list.
Kershaw has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw leads all players with 22.1 points in 2017.
Read MoreDodgers' Alex Wood tops players for Monday, May 8; Cardinals' Martinez rises to 10th in player rankings
Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rises to 10th place in season Box-Toppers player rankings after becoming the second pitcher of the season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 8:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.5 |
Player of the Day—Wood struck out 11 over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 12-1 win over the Pirates.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 6-4 win over the Nationals.
National League Batter of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Marlins.
Martinez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, rising to 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings and fifth among NL pitchers.
He also becomes the second pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright did it on April 21. Not only has the feat been accomplished both times by Cardinals, but both pitchers also earned NL Batter of the Day honors when they did it.
This is the second time in his career Martinez has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. He also did it Sept. 19, 2016. During the 2016 season, pitchers won Player of the Game honors for batting eight times.
Martinez had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 for batting, highest among all Cardinals players Monday. He had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 for pitching (6IP 5H 3R 3ER 2BB 7K W).
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Yankees homered and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.
Holliday earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 100.8 for his career. He becomes the 77th player to earn 100 Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began. With his points Monday, he rises to 73rd on the “all-time” player list, passing six players—White Sox pitcher James Shields (99.4), Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (99.8), Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Giants pitcher Matt Cain (100.7). Holliday now trails 72nd-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2).
Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cahill earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Martinez and Holliday each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 5/8 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | LAD 12, PIT 1 | Alex Wood (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 6.1 | SD 5, TEX 1 | Trevor Cahill (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | BAL 6, WSH 4 | Kevin Gausman (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| 4.1 | KC 7, TB 3 | Nate Karns (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | STL 9, MIA 4 | Carlos Martinez, P | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `NYM 4, SF 3 | Jacob deGrom | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | NYY 10, CIN 4 | Matt Holliday, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | TOR 4, CLE 2 | Ryan Goins, SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | OAK 3, LAA 2 (F/11) | Jed Lowrie, 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.5 | 16.9 | 31.6 | 31.6 | -7.9 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.4 | 7.4 | 22.1 | 44.6 | 1.4 |
| Holliday, Matt 1836 | dh 1b lf | nyy al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 36.2 | 100.8 | -3.0 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp mr | lad nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 | 2.0 |
| Karns, Nathan 3414 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -0.3 |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | ss 2b | tor al | 2.0 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.5 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 1.7 | 12.5 | 25.9 | 25.9 | -9.1 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 46.1 | 46.1 | -8.7 |
| Lowrie, Jed 2437 | 2b ss | oak al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 16.5 | 28.0 | 0.0 |
Mets' Syndergaard tops players for Sunday, April 9, rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead all players in season Box-Toppers points.
Syndergaard struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-2 win over the Marlins.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 9:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.0 |
| 8 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr cp | hou al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 2.0 |
Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (2.0).
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four, in the 4-1 win over the White Sox.
Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season and rising to second place in season Box-Toppers rankings.
Santana also becomes the 75th player since Box-Toppers inception in 1995 to reach 100 career Box-Toppers points. With his points Sunday, he has exactly 100.0 and ranks 75th among all players since 1995. He passes five players on the “all-time” list—Ryan Howard of the Braves (98.7), Jim Edmonds (98.8), White Sox pitcher James Shields (99.4), Giants pitcher Matt Cain (99.7) and Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (99.8). Santana now trails 74th-ranked player Larry Walker (100.1).
American League Batter of the Day—Joey Gallo of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 8-1 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit a walk-off 10th-inning home run in the 6-5 win over the Braves. Marte also went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Notable—Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday are among the top 10 players in season Box-Toppers rankings:
- Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rises to fourth place with 2.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors in the 7-4 win against Brewers (7IP 3H 3R 2BB 10K W).
- Astros pitcher Chris Devenski rises to ninth place with 2.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals (4IP 3H R 0BB 7K W).
Currently, 12 players have 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. Ties are broken among those players based on how many Box-Toppers points the players had in 2016. For example, Kershaw ranks highest among those 13 players because he had 24.4 Box-Toppers points in 2016, while Arrieta, who ranks third, had 15.7.
Scoring—Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gallo and Marte 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.
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| 4/9 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | NYM 5, MIA 2 | Noah Syndergaard (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | CIN 8, STL 0 | Scott Feldman (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 7, MIL 4 | Jake Arrieta (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | MIN 4, CHW 1 | Ervin Santana (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 6.0 | HOU 5, KC 4 (F/12) | Chris Devenski (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | `PHI 4, WSH 3 | Jeremy Hellickson | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | TEX 8, OAK 1 | Joey Gallo, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | TB 7, TOR 2 | Steven Souza, RF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | BOS 7, DET 5 | Matt Barnes (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | PIT 6, ATL 5 (F/10) | Starling Marte, CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | ARI 3, CLE 2 | Patrick Corbin (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 7, BAL 3 | Dellin Betances (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 10, COL 6 | Corey Seager, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 5, SD 3 | Buster Posey, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 10, SEA 9 | Jefry Marte, PH | 1 | 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 Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 | 19.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 | -13.7 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 | 6.7 | 39.5 | 100.0 | -1.3 |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 17.7 | 72.5 | 77.5 | -13.7 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr cp | hou al | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -1.7 |
| Marte, Starling 3122 | lf | pit nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -1.0 |
| Gallo, Joey 3485 | 3b | tex al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 14.1 | 35.1 | 45.8 | -12.1 |
| Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf | tb al | 1.0 | 6.7 | 12.2 | 12.2 | -4.7 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr | nyy al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -3.0 |
| Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -3.0 |
| Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 4.7 | 33.5 | 33.5 | -2.7 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 29.5 | 34.0 | -2.5 |
| Marte, Jefry 3529 | 1b ph | ana al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Feldman, Scott 2632 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 17.7 | 25.7 | 1.0 |
| Barnes, Matt 3466 | pi mr | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
How baseball stars are trending: Kershaw remains strong over past half decade—who is rising & who is declining
Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer hold dominant lead among players in Box-Toppers points over last several years. Using longer term measure, Chris Sale rises to lead AL pitchers, Yoenis Cespedes rises to lead NL batters.
Read MoreDodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Thursday, May 12, solidifies lead in season Box-Toppers points, rises to 8th in ‘all-time' points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, pitching a three-hit shutout, is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and solidifies 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 May 12:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 6 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 7 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.7 |
| 8 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 5.5 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 |
Kershaw also rises two spots to eighth place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when tracking began.
Kershaw pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, allowing one walk and striking out 13, in the 5-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season, 2.3 more than second-place player, Manny Machado of the Orioles.
Kershaw also now has 168.3 career Box-Toppers points and rises from 10th to eighth on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings, passing two players—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Kershaw trails seventh-place player Roy Halladay (170.7).
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher David Price struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 11-1 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit two homers and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-10 win over the Angels.
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 | 180.0 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 175.3 |
| 7 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 8 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 168.3 |
| 9 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 10 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 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 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 149.4 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Javier Vazquez | pi sp | retired | 148.3 |
American League Batter of the Day—Chase Headley of the Yankees homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Royals.
Rankings—Besides Kershaw, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:
- Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (7IP 8H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to fourth place. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
- Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.5 for the season, rising to eighth place. He ranks second among AL batters, behind teammate Manny Machado (6.7). In addition, Davis Thursday earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day—he was Player of the Game Wednesday in the 9-2 win over the Twins.
Streak—Padres pitcher James Shields has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Shields (7IP 7H 0R 9K W in the 3-0 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rays and has 97.4 career points, 11th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2011 with the Rays when he had 20.1 points, third among AL pitchers. He had 5.7 points in 2015 with the Padres.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Holliday and Headley 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/12 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 18.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| AL | 9.2 | Red Sox | David Price (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| 8.0 | Padres | James Shields (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Cardinals | Matt Holliday, DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Yankees | Chase Headley, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Phillies | Odubel Herrera, CF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Johnny Cueto (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
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 | 9.0 | 34.7 | 134.8 | 168.3 | -16.7 |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 | 18.8 | 70.0 | 89.4 | -6.8 |
| Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 5.5 | 16.5 | 47.4 | 55.9 | -5.5 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 | 25.8 | 81.8 | 98.5 | -16.4 |
| Holliday, Matt 1836 | 1b dh lf | stl nl | 3.0 | 4.5 | 34.7 | 94.8 | 1.5 |
| Herrera, Odubel 3449 | cf | phi nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -2.0 |
| Headley, Chase 2552 | 3b | nyy al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 15.0 | 25.5 | -0.5 |
| Shields, James 2157 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 8.4 | 66.6 | 97.4 | -6.4 |
A look at how star players are trending over the long-term: Kershaw maintains his dominance, other stars rise and fall
Andrew McCutchen replaces Ryan Braun as leader among NL batters in six-year rolling Box-Toppers totals (2011-2016 vs. 2010-2015).
Read MoreBox-Toppers' Franchise Four
Who are each franchise's top 4 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995?
Read MoreBox-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team in 2015
Box-Toppers' high players by team does not include AL MVP Donaldson, who ranked 3rd among Blue Jays batters.
Read MoreStrikeout leaders among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw led in strikeouts (301) and ranked second in Box-Toppers points (25.7). AL strikeout leader Chris Sale of the White Sox (274) ranked 4th among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points (18.8).
Read More