The Houston Astros maintain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings for the fifth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead among National League teams and the Atlanta Braves are the week’s hottest team.
Read More
Houston Astros lead Box-Toppers team rankings for fourth straight week
The Houston Astros maintain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings for the fourth straight week and are the week’s hottest team.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead among National League teams.
Read More
Astros’ Justin Verlander tops Box-Toppers season player rankings report for third week
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the third straight week.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander continues to lead American League pitchers, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader continues to lead National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers continues to lead NL batters and Joey Gallo of the Rangers continues to lead AL batters.
Read More
Houston Astros top Box-Toppers team rankings for third straight week
The Houston Astros maintain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings for the third straight week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead among National League teams and the Tampa Bay Rays are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreTwins’ Devin Smeltzer tops players for Tuesday, May 28; Reds’ Dietrich tops NL players
Twins pitcher Devin Smeltzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, making his Major League debut.
Smeltzer struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Brewers. Smeltzer did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreBraves’ Teheran tops players for Sunday, May 5; Brewers’ Hader rises to lead player rankings
Braves pitcher Julio Teheran is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Brewers closing pitcher Josh Hader rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreYelich wins NL MVP & led NL batters in Box-Toppers points; Betts wins AL MVP, was 2nd among AL batters in B-T points
Christian Yelich of the Brewers, who led National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2018 with 11.5, was voted NL Most Valuable Player Thursday.
And Mookie Betts of the Red Sox, who ranked second among American League batters in Box-Toppers points with 10.9, was voted AL Most Valuable Player. Teammate J.D. Martinez, who led AL batters with 12.5 Box-Toppers points, finished fourth in AL MVP voting.
Read MoreAstros’ Verlander, Dodgers’ Baez top players in Saturday's League Championship Series games
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander and Dodgers pitcher Pedro Baez are Box-Toppers’ top players in Saturday’s pair of League Championship Series games.
Read MoreALCS preview: Red Sox hold Box-Toppers advantages in series, but defending champ Astros may be better than last year
The Boston Red Sox hold nearly all the advantages over the Houston Astros in the coming American League Championship Series.
But the Astros are the defending World Series champions and return in 2018 with a largely unchanged roster and even more wins than they had last season (103 vs. 101).
Read MoreRed Sox' Holt, Astros' McHugh, Dodgers' Machado top players in Monday's league Division Series games
Brock Holt of the Red Sox was one of three Box-Toppers Player of the Game honorees in Monday’s three league Division Series games.
Holt hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
Read MoreFour starting aces—Kershaw, Verlander, Sale, Chacin—top players in Friday's league division playoff games
Four starting pitching aces are Box-Toppers Players of the Games in Friday’s four league division series playoff games:
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is top player in Friday’s 3-0 win over the Braves.
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is top player in Friday’s 7-2 win over the Indians.
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is top player in Friday’s 5-4 win over the Yankees.
And Brewers pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is top player in Friday’s 4-0 win over the Rockies.
American League Division Series feature 4 of Box-Toppers’ top 5-ranked teams
Four of the top five teams in Box-Toppers team rankings square off in two American League Division Series beginning Friday.
One series includes the top two teams in Box-Toppers team rankings—the top-ranked Boston Red Sox and the second-ranked New York Yankees. If all teams qualifying for the postseason were seeded, these two would be in separate brackets in a hoped-for World Series best-of-seven game matchup. Instead, the two AL East teams meet in a best-of-five game semi-final to another semi-final.
Read MoreGiants’ Chris Stratton tops players for Monday, Aug. 27; Astros’ Bregman tops AL players
Giants pitcher Chris Stratton is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Stratton struck out six over eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 2-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
Read MoreAll-Star Game honors show why Box-Toppers is antidote to shortsighted baseball thinking
The 2018 All-Star Game is an almost perfect example of why Box-Toppers is an antidote to shortsighted baseball thinking.
Two players were honored in the game—one who earned the game’s Most Valuable Player award and the other who earned the win. But Box-Toppers metrics say neither of those players really deserve the honors.
Read MoreMariners’ Jean Segura is Box-Toppers Player of the Game as AL wins 2018 All-Star Game
Jean Segura of the Mariners is Box-Toppers 2018 All-Star Player of the Game.
Segura hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning, three-run, pinch-hit homer, in the American League’s 8-6, 10-inning win over the National League. Segura went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs.
Read MoreBraves’ Freddie Freeman leads Home Run Derby participants in 2018 Box-Toppers points
Freddie Freeman of the Braves may be seeded seventh among the eight players in Monday’s Home Run Derby, but he has the most 2018 Box-Toppers points in the group.
Freeman has 6.5 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings. However, his 16 home runs this season is seventh-most among the eight derby participants and has him seeded seventh in the tournament-style derby.
Read MoreOrioles' Dylan Bundy tops players for Thursday, May 24; Mets’ Nimmo tops NL players
Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Bundy pitched a complete game, striking out 14 and allowing three runs, two hits and one walk, in the 9-3 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team, 2017
Three of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.
The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players.
Read MoreReds' Anthony DeSclafani tops players for Saturday, Aug. 27; Mets' Syndergaard rises to 9th in Box-Toppers rankings
Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 27:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Also Saturday, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—DeSclafani pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out nine and walking one, in the 13-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana struck out eight over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 9-3 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-5 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies hit two homers and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-4, 11-inning win over the Nationals.
Rankings—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Syndergaard (7IP 2H R 2BB 7K W in the 12-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season, rising from 10th to ninth place for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Athletics pitcher Daniel Coulombe (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 16, 2014, and was playing in his 43rd career game. He is the 3,720th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Alex Bregman of the Astros (HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 6-2 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 25 and was playing in his 30th career game. He is the 3,721st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—DeSclafani earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Quintana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Blackmon each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/27 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CIN 13, ARI 0 | Anthony DeSclafani (W,8-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 8.0 | NYM 12, PHI 1 | Noah Syndergaard (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | `PIT 9, MIL 6 | Juan Nicasio (H,4) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 6.2 | CHW 9, SEA 3 | Jose Quintana (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 6.0 | TEX 7, CLE 0 | A.J. Griffin (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | ATL 3, SF 1 | Mike Foltynewicz (W,7-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | LAA 3, DET 2 | Jhoulys Chacin (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.1 | OAK 3, STL 2 | Daniel Coulombe (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | NYY 13, BAL 5 | Starlin Castro, 2B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | TOR 8, MIN 7 | Edwin Encarnacion, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 3, CHC 2 | Julio Urias (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 9, WSH 4 (11) | Charlie Blackmon, CF | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | HOU 6, TB 2 | Alex Bregman, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 1, MIA 0 | Kevin Quackenbush (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 8, KC 3 | Dustin Pedroia, 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 3.6 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 9.4 | 15.4 | 34.2 | 34.2 | 3.4 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | tor al | 8.0 | 18.4 | 46.6 | 67.1 | -2.4 |
| Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 8.0 | 9.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 7.0 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b ss | nyy al | 7.0 | 11.5 | 24.5 | 25.5 | 2.5 |
| Griffin, A.J. 3074 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 | 4.7 |
| DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -3.7 |
| Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 | pi sp | atl nl | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 1.3 |
| Blackmon, Charlie 2891 | cf | col nl | 4.0 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 1.5 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | ana al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 18.4 | 26.1 | 4.0 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 23.4 | 35.5 | 3.0 |
| Quackenbush, Kevin 3462 | pi mr cp | sd nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Coulombe, Daniel 3720 | pi mr | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |