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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 pitcher James Paxton is the most deserving player not selected to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Paxton has 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, fifth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreSix of the 10 leaders in baseball’s Wins Above Replacement statistic for 2017 are among the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
However, four of the top 10 in WAR, including overall leader, Jose Altuve, rank well outside Box-Toppers’ top 100 players for 2017.
Read MoreGiancarlo Stanton of the Marlins, who ranked second among National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points, was named NL Most Valuable Player Thursday.
But Jose Altuve of the Astros was named American League MVP despite his low Box-Toppers rankings—with just 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, he ranked 90th among AL batters and 387th among all players.
Read MoreBox-Toppers pitching leaders and top rookies are among the finalists for the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year honors. But Box-Toppers batting leaders are excluded from the list of finalists for Most Valuable Player Awards.
Read MorePirates pitcher Trevor Williams is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked second in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earns Player of the Game honors and moves within 1.1 Box-Toppers points of season leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Read MoreHow 2017 All-Star Home Run Derby participants fare in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreA look at top players in Box-Toppers points by position in both leagues over both 2017 and the combined 2016-17 seasons.
Read More
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in season player rankings.
Scherzer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad 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 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to third in player rankings, first among National League pitchers, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Though Scherzer and Kershaw both have 6.0 points on the season, Scherzer ranks ahead because he had more 2016 Box-Toppers points—25.7 vs. 24.4. Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016; Kershaw was second.
Scherzer also now has 137.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Matt Andriese pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits, in the 5-1 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Ben Gamel of the Mariners doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-3 win over the Angels.
This was Gamel’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Gamel made his Major League debut May 6, 2016, and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,784th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds doubled twice and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Pirates.
Debut—Keon Broxton of the Brewers made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor. Broxton (HR 2B 4-5 R 2BI in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 21, 2015, and was playing in his 107th career game. He is the 3,785th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Andriese earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gamel and Votto 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.
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| 5/4 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | WSH 4, ARI 2 | Max Scherzer (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| AL | 7.0 | TB 5, MIA 1 | Matt Andriese (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 6.2 | CHW 8, KC 3 | Derek Holland (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | SEA 11, LAA 3 | Ben Gamel, RF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BAL 8, BOS 3 | Seth Smith, RF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | OAK 8, MIN 5 | Jharel Cotton (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 3.1 | `COL 3, SD 2 (F/11) | Kyle Freeland | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | CIN 4, PIT 2 | Joey Votto, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | MIL 5, STL 4 | Keon Broxton, CF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 10, HOU 4 | Joey Gallo, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHC 5, PHI 4 (F/13) | Koji Uehara (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 | 31.7 | 109.9 | 137.7 | -19.7 |
| Gallo, Joey 3485 | 3b | tex al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.0 |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 29.1 | 48.8 | -1.0 |
| Andriese, Matt 3505 | pi sp mr | tb al | 2.7 | 4.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 0.7 |
| Smith, Seth 2489 | rf | bal al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 19.5 | 40.2 | -3.0 |
| Cotton, Jharel 3733 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 1.5 | 12.0 | 26.7 | 65.7 | -9.0 |
| Gamel, Ben 3784 | rf | sea al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | chi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 31.0 | -3.0 |
| Broxton, Keon 3785 | cf | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Albert Pujols leads all first basemen in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. Miguel Cabrera leads first basemen over past season and past six seasons.
Read More3 of 4 major postseason award winners are among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers or batters on their teams. The exception: AL Cy Young Rick Porcello, who ranks 6th among Red Sox players.
Read MoreDJ LeMahieu of the Rockies led players in 2016 with a .348 batting average and ranks 85th in Box-Toppers player rankings. Five of top 10 in batting average rank among Box-Toppers' top 100 players.
Read MoreRookie of the Year finlists Fulmer, Maeda lead newcomers in Box-Toppers points. Cy Young finalists Scherzer, Kluber lead pitchers in points. But Box-Toppers batting leaders Arenado, Machado not among MVP finalists.
Read MoreOnly 6 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points in 2016.
Read More
Scherzer tops all players in Box-Toppers points to win Player of the Year honors. Kluber tops AL players. Machado tops AL batters. Arenado tops NL batters with record-low score to lead a category.
Read More
Nationals pitcher Scherzer leads Box-Toppers points for 5th week. Indians' Kluber secures 2016 Box-Toppers AL pitching crown. Rockies' Arenado takes narrow lead in wide-open race among NL batters.
Read More
Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka rises to 10th place in player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Hill pitched seven perfect innings, striking out nine, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins. Despite allowing no base runners for seven innings, he was pulled after 89 pitches to preserve his health—he had spent time recently on the disabled list. While three Dodgers relievers preserved the shutout, they did give up two hits.
Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka struck out 10 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.
Tanaka earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 14.1 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
With the rise of Hill to ninth place and Tanaka to 10th place in season player rankings, two other players were displaced from Box-Toppers top 10 list for the season—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (14.0) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (13.7).
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Wieters of the Orioles hit two homers and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Pence of the Giants homered and went 3-for-3, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 11-3 win over the Diamondbacks. It is the second straight day Pence has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his first place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Scherzer (6.2IP 4H 0R BB 8K ND in the 3-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 23.7 for the season. He leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (20.4) by 3.3 points.
Scherzer also now has 129.7 career Box-Toppers points, 31st-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-ranked Jason Giambi (133.4).
Notable—Three other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points on the season also earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:
Debut—Twins pitcher J.T. Chargois made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Chargois (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Indians) made his Major League debut June 11 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,736th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wieters and Pence 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/10 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | LAD 5, MIA 0 | Rich Hill (W,12-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 14.0 | SD 6, COL 3 | Christian Friedrich (W,5-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | 10.1 | NYY 5, TB 1 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| 9.2 | `WSH 3, PHI 0 | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | BAL 11, DET 3 | Matt Wieters, C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | SF 11, ARI 3 | Hunter Pence, RF | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SEA 14, OAK 3 | Nelson Cruz, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | HOU 2, CHC 1 | Collin McHugh (W,10-10) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | STL 5, MIL 1 | Adam Wainwright (W,11-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 8, PIT 7 | Joey Votto, 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 8, LAA 5 | Carlos Gomez, LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | KC 6, CHW 5 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 3, BOS 2 | J.A. Happ (W,18-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 2, CLE 1 (12) | J.T. Chargois (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | ATL 4, NYM 3 (10) | Matt Kemp, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 | 44.7 | 109.3 | 129.7 | 2.7 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 38.1 | 10.4 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 | 22.1 | 34.8 | 34.8 | 6.1 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 13.7 | 26.8 | 42.2 | 50.2 | 0.6 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 10.5 | 15.5 | 32.2 | 64.2 | 5.5 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.2 | 13.2 | 61.3 | 112.0 | 7.2 |
| Wieters, Matt 2643 | ca | bal al | 9.5 | 10.5 | 28.5 | 34.2 | 8.5 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 8.5 | 17.5 | 31.0 | 31.0 | -0.5 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 | 17.4 | 29.2 | 29.2 | -2.0 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf lf | atl nl | 6.5 | 12.0 | 36.5 | 58.1 | 1.0 |
| Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | sea al | 5.5 | 7.5 | 33.2 | 52.7 | 3.5 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 3.5 | 5.5 | 24.5 | 52.2 | 1.5 |
| Friedrich, Christian 3024 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 2.7 |
| Gomez, Carlos 2397 | cf lf | tex al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 29.5 | -4.0 |
| Chargois, J.T. 3736 | pi cp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his rank of second place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 12.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
Fernandez struck out 14 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Phillies. Fernandez picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Marlins were trailing when he exited the game.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks second, 3.6 points (and at least two more stellar starts) behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points), who went on the disabled list with a herniated disk in late June. Kershaw’s return date is uncertain.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Twins.
American League Batter of the Day—Jarrod Dyson of the Royals hit a grand slam and tripled, going 2-for-3, in the 7-3 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Braves.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 15th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (7.2IP 4H R 3BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the Mets) now has 10.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 11th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers. This is the eighth season in which Lester has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points, the fourth consecutive season.
Lester now has 131.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-place player Jason Giambi (133.4.). Lester ranks 12th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Dyson and Votto 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.1 | `MIA 3, PHI 2 (11) | Jose Fernandez | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |
| 9.0 | STL 10, SD 2 | Mike Leake (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | DET 1, MIN 0 | Matt Boyd (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | `LAA 9, TEX 5 | Jhoulys Chacin | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | KC 7, CLE 3 | Jarrod Dyson, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | CIN 8, ATL 2 | Joey Votto, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SEA 4, CHW 3 | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 7, TB 4 | Trevor Story, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 7, HOU 4 | Yonder Alonso, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | CHC 5, NYM 1 | Jon Lester (W,10-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 2, BAL 1 | Ivan Nova (W,7-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 | 21.1 | 47.1 | 47.1 | 11.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 | 22.7 | 68.9 | 131.8 | -1.3 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 4.5 | 9.5 | 26.2 | 58.2 | -0.5 |
| Leake, Mike 2709 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.0 | 14.0 | 39.1 | 43.6 | -6.0 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 25.1 | 26.1 | 2.0 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp mr | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 17.4 | 25.1 | 3.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b ph | sea al | 2.7 | 9.2 | 29.2 | 56.8 | -3.8 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Dyson, Jarrod 2813 | cf | kc al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 7.0 | 8.0 | -0.5 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -0.5 |
Carlos Sanchez of the White Sox is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Monday.
Sanchez hit two homers and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the Rockies. Sanchez had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox.
Sanchez had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +5.0, tied with Whit Merrifield of the Royals, who was Player of the Game in the 11-3 win over the Padres. But Sanchez won Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more runs batted in (4 vs. 3).
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez allowed one run over six innings, striking out four, in the 3-1 win over the Mets. Martinez had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015, leading all Cardinals players and ranking 11th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-8, walk-off win over the Brewers. Votto had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, most among returning Reds batters in 2016. Votto has 53.7 career Box-Toppers points since 2007, which ranks fourth among active NL first basemen. He has two seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points (2008 and 2009). In 2008, his 11.0 points ranked 10th among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was an AL batter, Carlos Sanchez.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Sanchez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Martinez would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Votto would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Fifteen spring training games were scheduled for Monday—13 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Cubs vs. Dodgers) and one other game was cancelled (Marlins vs. Nationals).
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 3/28 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.0 | White Sox | Carlos Sánchez 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Royals | Whit Merrifield LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | Astros | George Springer RF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| NL | 5.0 | Cardinals | Carlos Martínez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5.0 | `Yankees | Luis Cessa | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Twins | Daniel Palka PH-DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `Blue Jays | Marcus Stroman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Reds | Joey Votto 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Justin Turner 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mariners | Brock Hebert 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Nolan Reimold DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | David Peralta RF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Indians | Yan Gomes C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Four of Box-Toppers' top 10 players appear on the top 10 list of players with the most wins above replacement for 2015. Four others in the WAR top 10 are among their league's top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points.
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.