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Randy Johnson leads all players in career Box-Toppers points and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The most likely rival to Johnson’s throne at the moment is Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has 214.8 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995 and most among active players.
Read MoreBlake Snell tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2018.
The Rays pitcher had 27.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the 12th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Wei-Yin Chen is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Chen struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Reds. Chen did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Sale struck out nine over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), four hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Rays.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rises to 10th place in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon, flirting with a perfect game at age 44, becomes the first player to earn Box-Toppers points in 20 different seasons after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreAlex Rodriguez has the most Box-Toppers points of any third baseman since tracking began in 1995.
Other leaders at third base include Jose Ramirez, Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado and Adrian Beltre.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads the list of Box-Toppers Active Career All-Stars and is one of three active players to be included on Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team.
The Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team consists of the best players by position since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and includes 12 players who have retired and three who are still active—Kershaw, along with Albert Pujols of the Angels and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to third place in Box-Toppers’ overall “all-time” list in 2017, becoming the active leader in career points. Also in 2017, Albert Pujols became the “all-time” leader in career Box-Toppers points among batters and Zack Greinke rose into the overall top 10 in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.
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Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Box-Toppers 2017 Player of the Year, finishing the season with the most Box-Toppers points among all players.
Sale earned 25.1 points in 2017, finishing just 0.1 point ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (25.0).
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Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to the lead in this week’s Box-Toppers team rankings report, passing last week’s leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Sale now has 25.1 Box-Toppers points, passing both Kershaw (23.1) and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (24.0). However, both Kershaw and Scherzer could pass Sale in their starts Sunday—Kershaw would need to earn Player of the Day honors (worth 2.0 points) and Scherzer would need to earn at least NL Player of the Day honors (worth 1.7 points).
Read MoreTwins pitcher Dillon Gee is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gee gave up one run over six innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 10-2 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Mike Clevinger is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers rises to lead National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreReds pitcher Luis Castillo is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Mariners pitcher James Paxton rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
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Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
deGrom struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 14-2 win over the Rockies.
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings, seventh place among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit two homers, including a ninth-inning, three-run shot, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins. Puig went 2-for-4, driving in four total runs.
Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 Box-Toppers points for 2017, which is his highest single-season total of his five-season career. His previous best seasons were 2015 and 2016 when he had 3.5 each season. He had just 1.5 points in 2013 and just 1.0 point in 2014.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Royals.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 113.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 49th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Beltre now trails 48th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).
Passing Sosa, Beltre now ranks 15th among all batters since 1995, trailing 14th-ranked Torii Hunter (115.9). Beltre also ranks 15th among active players in career Box-Toppers points, trailing 14th-ranked player, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (117.5). He ranks third among active batters in career points, behind second-ranked Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9).
Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Puig and Beltre each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | NYM 14, COL 2 | Jacob deGrom (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 8.1 | WSH 5, CIN 0 | Gio Gonzalez (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | OAK 5, CLE 0 | Sonny Gray (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6.0 | SEA 4, CHW 2 | James Paxton (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | LAD 6, MIA 4 | Yasiel Puig (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | PIT 5, STL 2 | Josh Bell (1B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `BOS 5, NYY 4 | Matt Barnes | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | TEX 5, KC 3 | Adrian Beltre (3B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHC 9, BAL 8 | Wade Davis (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 10, MIN 5 | Marwin Gonzalez (LF) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 9, PHI 6 | Ryan Braun (LF) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, DET 2 | Jose Bautista (RF) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 4, ARI 3 | Jim Johnson (S, 20) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | TB 2, LAA 1 (F/10) | Alex Colome (S, 26) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | SF 5, SD 4 | Gorkys Hernandez (LF) | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 | 19.4 | 54.8 | 54.8 | 0.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 8.0 | 12.4 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 3.6 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi cp | atl nl | 6.0 | 10.0 | 21.0 | 27.7 | 2.0 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 5.7 | 6.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 | 4.7 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 5.0 | 14.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | -4.0 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 4.5 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 60.1 | 89.5 | -3.0 |
| Barnes, Matt 3466 | pi mr cp | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 2.5 | 12.0 | 45.9 | 113.8 | -7.0 |
| Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | tor al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 26.5 | 65.4 | 1.5 |
| Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | lf | hou al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.5 |
| Hernandez, Goryks 3758 | cf lf | sf nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Braun, Ryan J. 2300 | lf | mil nl | 2.0 | 12.5 | 38.0 | 90.2 | -8.5 |
| Davis, Wade 2681 | pi cp | chi nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 21.0 | 28.0 | -2.0 |
| Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
Marlins pitcher Dan Straily is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 6 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 |
| 8 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 10 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 7.7 |
Also Friday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earned Player of the Game honors. Plus, two other players rose into Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rose to seventh and Red Sox closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rose to 10th.
Player of the Day—Straily struck out eight over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Braves.
American League Player of the Day—Melky Cabrera of the White Sox homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 11-4 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Paul DeJong of the Cardinals homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-2 win over the Orioles.
This was DeJong’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. DeJong made his Major League debut May 28 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,827th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Melky Cabrera.
Scherzer—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Scherzer (8IP 4H R 2BB 10K W in the 7-2 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He trails overall leader and NL pitching leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (14.4 Box-Toppers points).
Scherzer also rises to 26th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday he has 144.7 career points, passing Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 25th-ranked player David Ortiz (145.9).
Passing Hamels, Scherzer now ranks ninth among active players in career Box-Toppers points, seventh among active pitchers. He trails the eighth-ranked active player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9) and the sixth-ranked active pitcher Jon Lester of the Cubs (147.2).
Scherzer narrowly missed out on earning overall Player of the Day honors Friday. His Box-Toppers game score of 10.0 was topped by Straily’s game score of 10.1.
Rankings—Two players rose into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:
Notable—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers now has 112.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Beltre (1-2 2R 2BI in the 10-4 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season, and ranks 53rd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 52nd-ranked player Kevin Brown (112.8). Beltre ranks 16th among all batters since 1995 and third among all active batters in career points, behind Albert Pujols of the Angels (184.3) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9).
Also notable—DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Friday.
LeMahieu (2B 4-4 2R 2BI in the 10-8 win over the Giants) was also Box-Toppers NL Batter of the Day Thursday in the 10-9 win over the Giants. LeMahieu has 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, all earned in the past two days.
Scoring—Straily earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cabrera earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. DeJong earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
| 6/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.1 | MIA 5, ATL 0 | Dan Straily (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | WSH 7, NYM 2 | Max Scherzer (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 3, CIN 1 | Alex Wood (W,7-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | CHW 11, TOR 4 | Melky Cabrera, LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | STL 11, BAL 2 | Paul DeJong, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | KC 3, LAA 1 | Ian Kennedy (W,1-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.1 | CLE 8, MIN 1 | Carlos Carrasco (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | COL 10, SF 8 | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | DET 13, TB 4 | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.1 | `ARI 5, PHI 4 | Archie Bradley (H,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 9, PIT 5 | Willson Contreras, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 10, SEA 4 | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 7, NYY 6 | Santiago Casilla (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 2, HOU 1 | Craig Kimbrel (S,19) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | MIL 6, SD 5 (F/10) | Manny Pina, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 | 38.7 | 116.9 | 144.7 | -12.7 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 | 9.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 | 7.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 7.7 | 15.7 | 60.4 | 66.4 | -0.3 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 7.4 | 19.8 | 48.5 | 53.9 | -5.0 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.0 | 13.0 | 23.7 | 23.7 | -1.0 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf | chi al | 4.7 | 8.7 | 18.7 | 35.2 | 0.7 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 4.0 | 10.7 | 36.9 | 55.1 | -2.7 |
| Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca ph | chi nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Pina, Manny 3769 | ca | mil nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 13.0 | 44.1 | 69.5 | -7.0 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 2.5 | 10.5 | 23.5 | 23.5 | -5.5 |
| Dejong, Paul 3827 | 2b | stl nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 1.0 | 10.5 | 44.4 | 112.3 | -8.5 |
| Casilla, Santiago 2301 | pi cp | oak al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 19.7 | 24.7 | -2.0 |
| Bradley, Archie 3438 | pi mr sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Quintana allowed one run and one hit over eight innings, striking out seven and walking one, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Mariners. Quintana picked up the no-decision and did not earn the win because he exited with the score tied, 1-1.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.
American League Batter of the Day—Wellington Castillo of the Orioles hit two homers, including the game-winning, walk-off, two-run homer in the 10th inning, in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Castillo went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks hit two homers, going 2-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 10-1 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Wood (7.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Streak—Evan Longoria of the Rays has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor for 2017 on Friday.
Longoria (2B 4-5 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Yankees) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Rays and has 48.0 career points, second among active AL third basemen (behind Adrian Beltre of the Rangers who has 111.3). Longoria’s best season was 2009 with the Rays when he had 8.5 points, second among AL third basemen. In 2016, he had 6.5 points with the Rays, sixth among AL third basemen.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and deGrom earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Castillo and Lamb each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 5/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `CHW 2, SEA 1 (F/10) | Jose Quintana | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 9.0 | NYM 3, LAA 0 | Jacob deGrom (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | MIL 6, CHC 3 | Wily Peralta (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BAL 5, TOR 3 (F/10) | Welington Castillo, C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | ARI 10, SD 1 | Jake Lamb, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | LAD 7, MIA 2 | Alex Wood (W,5-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 12, CIN 6 | Alexi Amarista, SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 7, WSH 4 | Dansby Swanson, SS | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIN 4, KC 3 (F/10) | Kennys Vargas, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 5, DET 3 | Nick Martinez (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | SF 6, STL 5 | Bryan Morris (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.- | - | - | - | - | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | CLE 5, HOU 3 | Trevor Bauer (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2.0 | TB 5, NYY 4 | Evan Longoria, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 3, BOS 2 (F/10) | Mark Canha, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 7, PIT 2 | Jeremy Hellickson (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 5.0 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 | 14.4 | 39.2 | 39.2 | -6.4 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.0 | 16.1 | 37.1 | 47.8 | -10.1 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.7 | 12.4 | 47.8 | 47.8 | -7.0 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | 3b | ari nl | 2.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -1.5 |
| Vargas, Kennys 3511 | dh 1b ph | min al | 2.5 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 13.4 | 31.5 | 31.5 | -9.4 |
| Peralta, Wily 3123 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 1.0 |
| Canha, Mark 3454 | cf rf | oak al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 2.0 |
| Amarista, Alexi 3032 | ss ph | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 2.0 |
| Castillo, Wellington 3251 | ca | bal al | 1.5 | 6.5 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.5 |
| Longoria, Evan 2423 | 3b | tb al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 20.0 | 48.0 | -5.5 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Morris, Bryan 3369 | pi mr | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs pitcher John Lackey is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 6 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 7 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 9 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 10 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
Also Tuesday, Carlos Beltran of the Astros has now earned Box-Toppers points for 19 straight seasons, tying the “all-time” record set by Jason Giambi, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Plus, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Lackey struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 8-1 win over the Rockies.
Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 123.2 career points, ranked 39th among all player since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 38th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 6-0 win over the Blue Jays.
Streak |
Player |
Pos |
Duration |
Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995-2013 | 133.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Carlos Beltran* | rf | 1999-2017 | 105.9 |
| 3 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995-2012 | 146.7 |
| 3 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995-2012 | 149.0 |
| 3 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995-2012 | 63.0 |
| 3 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | 1996-2013 | 187.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995-2011 | 126.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996-2012 | 76.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998-2014 | 100.7 |
| 7 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999-2015 | 157.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999-2015 | 115.9 |
| 7 | 17 | David Ortiz | dh | 2000-2016 | 145.9 |
| 7 | 17 | CC Sabathia* | pi sp | 2001-2017 | 187.0 |
| 14 | 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf | 1995-2010 | 167.2 |
| 14 | 16 | Andy Pettitte | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 138.5 |
| 14 | 16 | Jamie Moyer | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 104.0 |
| 14 | 16 | Scott Rolen | 3b | 1996-2011 | 97.6 |
| 14 | 16 | Kevin Millwood | pi sp | 1997-2012 | 108.3 |
| 14 | 16 | Derek Lowe | pi sp | 1998-2013 | 91.5 |
| 14 | 16 | Aramis Ramirez | 3b | 2000-2015 | 105.8 |
| 14 | 16 | Mark Buehrle | pi sp | 2000-2015 | 116.7 |
| 14 | 16 | Albert Pujols* | dh 1b | 2001-2016 | 182.3 |
| 14 | 16 | Ichiro Suzuki* | rf | 2001-2016 | 53.7 |
| 24 | 15 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | 1995-2009 | 278.8 |
| 24 | 15 | Garret Anderson | lf | 1995-2009 | 86.5 |
| 24 | 15 | Ivan Rodriguez | ca | 1995-2009 | 79.0 |
| 24 | 15 | Tony Clark | 1b | 1995-2009 | 63.8 |
| 24 | 15 | Gary Sheffield | lf | 1995-2009 | 124.1 |
| 24 | 15 | Jason Kendall | ca | 1996-2010 | 40.9 |
| 24 | 15 | Vladimir Guerrero | rf | 1997-2011 | 128.3 |
| 24 | 15 | Bobby Abreu | rf | 1997-2011 | 95.5 |
| 24 | 15 | Mike Cameron | cf | 1997-2011 | 70.3 |
| 24 | 15 | Miguel Tejada | ss | 1997-2011 | 102.3 |
| 24 | 15 | Jorge Posada | ca | 1997-2011 | 79.5 |
| 24 | 15 | Livan Hernandez | pi sp | 1997-2011 | 76.7 |
| 24 | 15 | Kyle Lohse | pi sp | 2001-2015 | 89.0 |
| 24 | 15 | Jake Peavy | pi sp | 2002-2016 | 141.8 |
Carrasco earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.4 for the season, rising to fifth place in season player rankings and third among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the Red Sox (6.7) and Ervin Santana of the Twins (6.7).
National League Batter of the Day—Keon Broxton of the Brewers homered, tripled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the Red Sox.
American League Batter of the Day—Ben Gamel of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 10-9 win over the Phillies. Gamel went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs.
Streak—Carlos Beltran of the Astros tied Box-Toppers’ record for the longest consecutive season streak in which a player has earned Player of the Game honors.
Beltran was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 8-3 win over the Braves (HR 2-4 2R BI), marking the 19th straight season in which he has earned Box-Toppers points (1999 to 2017). That ties the record of Jason Giambi, who earned Box-Toppers points for 19 straight seasons from 1995 to 2013. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, the same year Giambi began his Major League career. Giambi earned points in each season he played except for his last season in 2014.)
Beltran earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Royals and has 105.9 career points, rising to 61st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Beltran earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1), Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7) and Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Beltran now trails 60th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2).
Beltran’s 105.9 career Box-Toppers points also ranks fourth among active AL batters.
Beltran’s best season was 2003 with the Royals when he had 13.9 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters, behind Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays (17.7). In 2016, Beltran had 6.0 points with the Yankees and Rangers, eighth among AL designated hitters.
Beltran barely kept the streak alive earning only 1.0 Box-Toppers points in two different seasons—in 2010 with the Mets and in 2014 with the Yankees.
Besides Beltran, there are only three other Major League players who earned Box-Toppers points in 1999 or earlier who are still listed as active players today:
Scoring—Lackey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Carrasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Broxton and Gamel 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.
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| 5/9 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | CHC 8, COL 1 | John Lackey (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| AL | 11.0 | CLE 6, TOR 0 | Carlos Carrasco (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 8.0 | TEX 11, SD 0 | A.J. Griffin (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | MIL 11, BOS 7 | Keon Broxton, CF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.1 | `LAD 4, PIT 3 (F/10) | Julio Urias | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | SEA 10, PHI 9 | Ben Gamel, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | COL 10, CHC 4 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 7, TB 6 (F/12) | Salvador Perez, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | STL 6, MIA 5 | Matt Adams, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 6, SF 1 | Zack Wheeler (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 5, WSH 4 (F/12) | Logan Verrett (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | LAA 7, OAK 3 | Yunel Escobar, 3B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | MIN 7, CHW 2 | Byron Buxton, CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | HOU 8, ATL 3 | Carlos Beltran, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | CIN 5, NYY 3 | Joey Votto, 1B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | DET 7, ARI 3 | Nicholas Castellanos, 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 | 17.8 | 46.5 | 51.9 | -7.0 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 22.2 | 54.9 | -0.5 |
| Griffin, A.J. 3074 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 23.4 | 23.4 | -2.7 |
| Gamel, Ben 3784 | rf | sea al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 2.5 | 13.0 | 27.7 | 66.7 | -8.0 |
| Broxton, Keon 3785 | cf | mil nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 15.4 | 41.8 | 123.2 | -11.4 |
| Castellanos, Nick 3349 | 3b | det al | 2.0 | 7.5 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -3.5 |
| Verrett, Logan 3518 | pi cp | bal al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh rf | hou al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 19.2 | 105.9 | -5.0 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -4.7 |
| Buxton, Byron 3604 | cf | min al | 1.0 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -3.7 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 20.2 | 22.7 | -3.0 |
| Escobar, Yunel 2331 | 3b | ana al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 17.5 | 42.0 | 0.0 |
| Adams, Matt 3220 | 1b ph | stl nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.0 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 1.0 |
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 tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.