Blog
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.
Kluber struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Carrasco struck out 11 over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Albert Pujols of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 18 consecutive seasons, tied with Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia for the longest active season streak; it is tied for the third-longest streak since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
In addition Thursday, Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked players for 2018 started Thursday but neither earned Player of the Game honors in their teams’ wins. Neither top-ranked Luis Severino of the Yankees nor second-ranked Max Scherzer of the Nationals were top players in their games.
Read MoreMark Reynolds of the Nationals is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording the highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter this season.
Also Saturday, Rays pitcher Blake Snell rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Nick Pivetta is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
Pivetta struck out 13 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Cardinals. Pivetta picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because although he left with the Phillies leading, 4-2, the Cardinals tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Sonny Gray is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gray struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 3-0, 13-inning win over the Blue Jays. Gray picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read More
Box-Toppers picks the Cleveland Indians to beat the Washington Nationals in the 2018 World Series.
Box-Toppers projects the Indians to defeat the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series and the Nationals to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.
Read More
The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
Read MoreAnthony Rendon of the Nationals had the best single-game performance by a batter in the 2017 season as measured by Box-Toppers game score.
It also appears to be the highest game score for a batter in Box-Toppers’ 23 seasons of record keeping.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka had the best single-game performance of the 2017 season as measured by Box-Toppers game score.
There were 2,430 games played in 2017. Here are the 10 games in which the Box-Toppers Player of the Game had the highest Box-Toppers game scores.
Read MoreAndrew McCutchen of the Pirates is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning the third-highest Box-Toppers game score by a batter this season.
Also Tuesday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale failed to secure Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors in his start Tuesday, as his team lost, leaving the door open for Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer or Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw to pass him in starts later this week in the season’s final days.
Read More
The Cleveland Indians top Box-Toppers team rankings for the second straight week, though the Los Angeles Dodgers briefly retook the lead in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals continue to lead National League teams for the second week and the Boston Red Sox are the hottest team of the past week.
Read More
The Cleveland Indians, on a 22-game winning streak, have risen to top Box-Toppers weekly team rankings, while the once-dominant Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen from first to third place.
The Indians are also Box-Toppers hottest team for the second week in a row. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals have risen to lead National League teams, ending the Dodgers’ 11-week reign atop the NL.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, achieving the highest Box-Toppers game score for any Player of the Game in 2017.
Meanwhile, Ray’s teammate J.D. Martinez became the 18th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game but despite that, earns no Box-Toppers points. Since Ray had such a high Box-Toppers game score, he beat Martinez for Player of the Game honors.
Read More
Angels pitcher Alex Meyer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meyer pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out seven, in the 7-0 win over the Nationals.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 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 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
National League Player of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit three home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 18-4 win over the Padres. Arenado went 5-for-6, scoring four times and driving in seven runs.
Arenado had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, the third-highest game score for a batter in 2017 and only the fourth that was +10.0 or greater. The others:
American League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Nolan Arenado.
Notable—Mariners pitcher James Paxton has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Paxton (7IP 6H R BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season and ranks 13th among all players, fifth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Meyer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arenado earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Moss earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | LAA 7, WSH 0 | Alex Meyer (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.0 | COL 18, SD 4 | Nolan Arenado (3B) | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 9.0 | `PIT 3, MIL 2 (F/10) | Gerrit Cole | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 6.0 | BAL 10, TEX 2 | Kevin Gausman (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 8, ATL 2 | Mike Montgomery (W, 2-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | SEA 4, HOU 1 | James Paxton (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 9, CHW 1 (F/8) | Corey Seager (SS) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | KC 4, DET 3 | Brandon Moss (DH) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 4, ARI 3 (F/11) | Michael Lorenzen (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | NYM 7, STL 3 | Addison Reed (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 10, MIA 3 | Maikel Franco (3B) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5, TOR 1 | Dustin Pedroia (2B) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 5, CLE 4 | Buster Posey (PH) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | MIN 6, NYY 1 | Jose Berrios (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | OAK 7, TB 2 | Yonder Alonso (1B) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 9.0 | 13.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 4.6 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 7.2 | 17.9 | 27.9 | 27.9 | -3.5 |
| Meyer, Alex 3742 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 6.5 | 10.0 | 35.0 | 39.5 | 3.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 | 12.5 | 41.9 | 41.9 | -0.5 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 5.4 | 16.2 | 29.6 | 29.6 | -5.4 |
| Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 5.0 | 9.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 1.0 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 4.0 | 6.0 | 15.5 | 17.0 | 2.0 |
| Moss, Brandon 2520 | dh | kc al | 3.5 | 7.5 | 28.5 | 30.5 | -0.5 |
| Montgomery, Mike 3513 | pi sp cp | chi nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.0 |
| Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | pi cp | cin nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | phi nl | 2.7 | 7.2 | 10.4 | 10.4 | -1.8 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 20.0 | 39.5 | -3.0 |
| Reed, Addison 3023 | pi cp mr | nym nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.
Read More
Anthony Rendon of the Nationals, Justin Bour of the Marlins and Logan Morrison of the Rays have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 10 players who are All-Star Game Final Vote candidates.
| BTP | ||||
| AL player | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16 |
| Logan Morrison | 1b | Rays | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| Elvis Andrus | ss | Rangers | 3.5 | 9.2 |
| Mike Moustakas | dh 3b | Royals | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Xander Bogaerts | ss | Red Sox | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Didi Gregorius | ss | Yankees | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| BTP | ||||
| NL player | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16 |
| Anthony Rendon | 3b lf | Nationals | 4.5 | 5.5 |
| Justin Bour | 1b | Marlins | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| Mark Reynolds | 1b | Rockies | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Kris Bryant | 3b lf | Cubs | 1.5 | 10.5 |
| Justin Turner | 3b lf | Dodgers | 1.0 | 2.5 |
But if players’ 2016 Box-Toppers point totals are taken into consideration, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers would be considered leading candidates.
Voting ends today as fans pick one of the five players in each league to fill the final roster spots on the 2017 American League and National League All-Star teams.
In the AL, Logan Morrison of the Rays has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five AL candidates with 4.2. That puts him 15th among AL batters for the season and fourth among AL first basemen.
However, Elvis Andrus of the Rangers, who has 3.5 Box-Toppers points this season, had 9.2 points in 2016, most of any of the five AL candidates. That ranked 10th among AL batters in 2016, second among AL shortstops. None of the other five AL candidates had more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.
In the NL, Anthony Rendon of the Nationals and Justin Bour of the Marlins have the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the five Final Vote candidates with 4.5. Rendon ranks 13th among NL batters and third among NL third basemen. Bour ranks 16th among NL batters and sixth among NL first basemen.
However, Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who has 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, has the most 2016 points among the five NL candidates with 10.5. That ranked second among NL batters in 2016, behind Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7). Bryant was also NL Most Valuable Player in 2016.
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.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, is the first player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 10.4 |
| 7 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
Kershaw struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season, extending his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks second with 16.0 Box-Toppers points.
This is the seventh consecutive season in which Kershaw has earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points, which is now one more than Randy Johnson, who earned 20 or more points in six straight seasons from 1997 to 2002. Johnson, the overall Box-Toppers points leader (278.8) earned 177.7 points in those six straight seasons. Kershaw has earned 170.3 in the seven straight seasons of earning 20 or more points each year (from 2011 to 2017).
Kershaw also now has 203.8 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-place player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads active players in career points.
American League Player of the Day—Andrew Benintendi of the Red Sox hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, driving in six total runs, in the 11-4 win over the Rangers. Benintendi also doubled, went 5-for-5 and scored four times.
Benintendi had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +10.0, the third-highest for a batter this season. The two higher Box-Toppers game scores by batters in 2017:
• +15.0—April 30 by Anthony Rendon of the Nationals (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets).
• +14.0—June 6 by Scooter Gennett of the Reds (4HR 5-5 10BI in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals).
Rendon and Gennett’s efforts seem to be the top two Box-Toppers game scores for batters since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 11-4 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Andrew Benintendi.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Benintendi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphy earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
| 7/4 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | LAD 4, ARI 3 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 13-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.0 | BOS 11, TEX 4 | Andrew Benintendi (LF) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | MIL 6, BAL 2 | Jimmy Nelson (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 8.0 | PIT 3, PHI 0 | Jameson Taillon (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | WSH 11, NYM 4 | Daniel Murphy (2B) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | HOU 16, ATL 4 | Josh Reddick (RF) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | TOR 4, NYY 1 | J.A. Happ (W, 3-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 7, CHW 6 | Yonder Alonso (1B) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 5, SF 3 | Justin Upton (LF) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 8, COL 1 | Scooter Gennett (PH) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 5, STL 2 | Jose Urena (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2.1 | `SD 1, CLE 0 | Trevor Cahill | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 5, LAA 4 | Byron Buxton (CF) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | TB 6, CHC 5 | Tim Beckham (2B) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | KC 7, SEA 3 | Eric Hosmer (1B) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.1 | 44.5 | 144.2 | 203.8 | -4.3 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 8.0 | 11.0 | 21.4 | 21.4 | 5.0 |
| Reddick, Josh 2936 | rf lf | hou al | 5.5 | 9.0 | 28.9 | 29.9 | 2.0 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b | cin nl | 5.5 | 8.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 3.0 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.4 | 8.4 | 23.1 | 45.6 | 2.4 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 5.0 | 11.7 | 37.9 | 56.1 | -1.7 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 4.5 | 12.0 | 33.0 | 37.0 | -3.0 |
| Benintendi, Andrew 3815 | lf | bos al | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -1.0 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.0 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.3 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 14.5 | 16.0 | 1.0 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 16.7 | 42.2 | 53.2 | -12.7 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 2.0 | 10.5 | 30.5 | 33.0 | -6.5 |
| Buxton, Byron 3604 | cf | min al | 2.0 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -2.7 |
| Beckham, Tim 3452 | 2b | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 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 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 |
Also Tuesday, Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Scooter Gennett of the Reds on Tuesday became the 17th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game and earned what seems to the be the second-highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter since player tracking began in 1995. However, that game score was not high enough to be the highest of Tuesday’s Players of the Game. And it also was not high enough to be the highest game score by a batter this season.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, maintaining his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (12.7). Scherzer also ranks second among NL pitchers behind Kershaw.
Scherzer also rises to 27th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he now has 143.7 career points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jake Peavy (141.8) and Tigers pitcher and former teammate Justin Verlander (142.0). Scherzer now trails 26th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0).
Scherzer rises to 10th in career points among active players, eighth among active pitchers.
It took Scherzer three fewer seasons than Verlander to rack up a comparable career Box-Toppers point total. Verlander was the 2,112nd player to debut in Box-Toppers, earning his first Player of the Game honor April 8, 2006. Scherzer was the 2,588th player to debut on May 26, 2009. Both Scherzer and Verlander have led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in past seasons. Verlander led American League pitchers in 2011 (24.4) and 2012 (24.8). Scherzer led AL pitchers in 2013 with the Tigers (18.1) and National League pitchers in 2016 (25.7).
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel struck out five over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one walk, in the 5-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Scooter Gennett of the Reds hit four home runs—only the 17th time in history that feat has been accomplished—in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals. Gennett went 5-for-5 and drove in 10 runs.
Gennett had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +14.0, which appears to be the second-highest game score for a batter in the 23 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping. The only batter to have a higher score happened earlier this season—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals on April 30 had a Box-Toppers game score of +15.0 (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets).
While Rendon earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points on April 30 for having the highest Box-Toppers game score of the day and earning overall Player of the Day honors, Gennett only earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for his high game score on Tuesday. Gennett’s +14.0 game score was second-best of Tuesday, behind Scherzer’s +15.0. That meant Gennett could not earn overall Player of the Day nor could he earn overall NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7). Tuesday’s AL Player of the Day Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points even though his Box-Toppers game score was far lower than Gennett’s (+5.1). Gennett easily beat out the next-highest NL batter who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies, who had a game score of +6.0.
Batters have hit four home runs in a game 17 times in Major League history, including five times during the Box-Toppers era (since 1995). Gennett’s Box-Toppers game of +14.0 is the highest of all four-home-run hitters in the Box-Toppers era. The other four-home run games during the Box-Toppers era:
Gennett became the 14th player in Major League history to have a game with 10 runs batted in. That’s a club that’s even rarer than the four-home run club. During the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), there have been four other games in which a player has had 10 RBIs:
While Gennett’s Box-Toppers game score is the second-highest for a batter this season, it is only the 14th-highest for a player this season. The highest score of +18.0 was by Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg on May 27 (7IP 3H 0R BB 15K W in the 3-0 win over the Padres). Scherzer’s +15.0 game score Tuesday is the 11th-highest of the season. Scherzer also has the 12th-highest score of the season (+14.2 on May 26).
National League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-3 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises from eighth to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Ray (6.2IP 3H R 2BB 11K W in the 10-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (12.7) and Scherzer (12.0).
Streak—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Tuesday.
Gonzalez (HR 2-2 4R 2BI in the 11-3 win over the Indians) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Athletics and has 59.7 career points, 12th among active NL batters, fifth among active NL outfielders. He has three seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. His best season was 2015 with the Rockies when he had 11.5 points, first among NL batters. In 2016, he had 5.5 points.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kimbrel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gennett and Cano 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.
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.
| 6/6 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | WSH 2, LAD 1 | Max Scherzer (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | |
| BAT | 14.0 | CIN 13, STL 1 | Scooter Gennett, LF | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10.2 | ARI 10, SD 2 | Robbie Ray (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 6.0 | COL 11, CLE 3 | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | PHI 3, ATL 1 | Aaron Nola (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | 5.1 | BOS 5, NYY 4 | Craig Kimbrel (S,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | SEA 12, MIN 3 | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | MIL 5, SF 2 | Chase Anderson (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | KC 9, HOU 7 | Mike Moustakas, DH | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 10, MIA 2 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 6, PIT 5 (F/10) | Jonathan Schoop, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 5, DET 3 | Kole Calhoun, RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `CHW 4, TB 2 | Jose Quintana | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 2.1 | `OAK 4, TOR 1 | Ryan Madson (H,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 10, NYM 8 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 | 37.7 | 115.9 | 143.7 | -13.7 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 | 14.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 1.3 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 6.7 | 14.7 | 59.4 | 65.4 | -1.3 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.0 | 15.4 | 40.2 | 40.2 | -5.4 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 4.7 | 11.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -2.3 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 30.5 | 30.5 | 0.5 |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 40.5 | 78.4 | -5.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -4.0 |
| Schoop, Jonathan 3307 | 2b | bal al | 3.0 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.5 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b lf | cin nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| Madson, Ryan 1841 | pi cp mr | oak al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 25.7 | -1.0 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -5.7 |
| Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | rf | col nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 39.7 | 59.7 | -4.5 |
| Calhoun, Kole 3279 | rf | ana al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | -4.0 |
| Moustakas, Mike 2967 | dh 3b | kc al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 21.2 | 23.2 | 0.0 |
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his top spot in season player rankings and rising to third place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
Also Tuesday, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors: Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rose to second place and Astros pitcher Lance McCullers rose to sixth place.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over nine innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Cardinals. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 1-1 when he exited after nine innings.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He is the first player to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, the ninth straight season he’s earned 10 or more points in a season. Kershaw was also the first player to 10 points in 2016, reaching the milestone a week earlier than this year (May 17).
| 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 | 194.4 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 188.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 162.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 151.2 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
Kershaw maintains his top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, ahead of second-place player, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (9.4 Box-Toppers points), who was American League Player of the Day Tuesday.
Kershaw also rises to third place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Kershaw now has 194.4 career Box-Toppers points and passes Curt Schilling (194.1) on the “all-time” list. It should be noted that Schilling began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, and so would likely have more total career points. Rough Box-Toppers projected estimates put Schilling’s actual career total at 232. (A look at projected Box-Toppers point totals for pitchers who began their careers before 1995.)
Kershaw has risen steadily up Box-Toppers career points rankings in recent years but his rise will now become more difficult. Kershaw now trails second-place player Pedro Martinez on the “all-time” list, who has 244.8 career Box-Toppers points since 1995. The 50.4-point gap between Martinez and Kershaw is the largest between any two players in “all-time” Box-Toppers rankings. In essence, Kershaw has whizzed by the close-together “inner planets” of players with fewer than 200 Box-Toppers points and now has to travel much greater distances to reach the “gas giants” of players with more than 200 career Box-Toppers points since 1995—Martinez and Randy Johnson (the overall leader with 278.8 points).
However, given Kershaw’s pace, perhaps the 50.4-point gap between Martinez and Kershaw is not so great and insurmountable. Kershaw has earned 50.8 points since July 23, 2015, less than two complete seasons (which included time on the disabled list). If Kershaw were able to maintain that pace, he might catch Martinez by the end of the 2018 season.
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.
Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, rising from third to second place in season player rankings, first among AL pitchers, passing previous AL pitching leader, Chris Sale of the Red Sox (8.4 points). Santana trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (10.7 points).
Santana also now has 106.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 59th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes six players on the “all-time” list: Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1), Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7), Aramis Ramirez (105.8), Carlos Beltran of the Astros (105.9), Frank Thomas (106.2) and Red Sox pitcher David Price (106.2). Santana now trails 58th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1).
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals homered twice and doubled in the 10-1 win over the Mariners. Rendon went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rangers.
Rankings—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. Rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
McCullers (5IP H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 6-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 145.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday (CG 4H R 0BB 10K W in the 4-1 win over the Giants). Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, but lost out on earning Player of the Game honors to Kershaw, who had a game score of +14.0. So Lester only earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game.
That point boosts him to 24th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (144.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz (145.9). Lester now ranks seventh among active players in career points, trailing Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2).
Debut—Blue Jays pitcher Danny Barnes made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Barnes (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 2, 2016, and was playing in his 26th career game. He is the 3,807th 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 Santana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Rendon and Bogaerts 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.
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.
| 5/23 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | `LAD 2, STL 1 (F/13) | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| 13.0 | CHC 4, SF 1 | Jon Lester (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| AL | 11.0 | MIN 2, BAL 0 | Ervin Santana (W,7-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | WSH 10, SEA 1 | Anthony Rendon, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | HOU 6, DET 2 | Lance McCullers Jr. (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 5.1 | LAA 4, TB 0 | Matt Shoemaker (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | MIA 11, OAK 9 | Justin Bour, 1B | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | BOS 11, TEX 6 | Xander Bogaerts, SS | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYM 9, SD 3 | Michael Conforto, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.2 | TOR 4, MIL 3 | Danny Barnes (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | COL 8, PHI 2 | Charlie Blackmon, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CLE 8, CIN 7 | Edwin Encarnacion, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 6, PIT 5 | Matt Adams, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | KC 6, NYY 2 | Danny Duffy (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 1.0 | ARI 5, CHW 4 | Fernando Rodney (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 | 35.1 | 134.8 | 194.4 | -13.7 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 | 13.4 | 46.2 | 106.7 | 5.4 |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 | 12.1 | 18.8 | 18.8 | -0.1 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | cf lf | nym nl | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -1.0 |
| Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 3.5 | 9.0 | 15.5 | 15.5 | -2.0 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 13.7 | 31.7 | 32.7 | -7.7 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 10.0 | 28.4 | 28.4 | -4.0 |
| Blackmon, Charlie 2891 | cf | col nl | 2.7 | 6.7 | 13.2 | 14.7 | -1.3 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 | 24.1 | 69.6 | 145.2 | -20.1 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | cle al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 45.1 | 69.1 | -6.0 |
| Rodney, Fernando 1803 | pi cp | ari nl | 2.0 | 7.0 | 25.0 | 37.0 | -3.0 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b | fla nl | 2.0 | 4.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -0.5 |
| Adams, Matt 3220 | 1b ph | atl nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 1.0 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.5 |
| Barnes, Danny 3807 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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. 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.