Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw led the list of Box-Toppers Active Career All-Stars at the end of the 2018 season.
Kershaw was one of four active players to be included on Box-Toppers All-Time All-Star team at the end of 2018.
Read MoreMarlins’ Caleb Smith tops players for Tuesday, July 23; Nationals’ Strasburg rises to 6th in player rankings
Marlins pitcher Caleb Smith is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBraves’ Mike Soroka tops players for Sunday, July 14; Rays’ Yarbrough tops AL players
Braves pitcher Mike Soroka is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Soroka struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Padres.
Read More
Box-Toppers picks Yankees over Cubs in 2019 World Series
Box-Toppers picks the New York Yankees to beat the Chicago Cubs in the 2019 World Series.
In addition, Box-Toppers projects the Yankees will win 111 games in 2019, one of four teams projected to win 100 or more games this season. All 2018 American League playoff teams are projected to return to the postseason, while three different teams are forecast for the National League postseason—the Nationals, Phillies and Mets.
Read More
Yankees top Box-Toppers 2019 preseason team rankings; champion Red Sox fall to 2nd
The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.
Read MoreHow 2019 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
Four players—Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday.
The three pitchers selected—Rivera, Halladay and Mussina—are among the top 40 players in career Box-Toppers points (tracking began in 1995). Martinez ranks ninth among designated hitters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, but he started his career in 1987, before the advent of Box-Toppers tracking.
Read MoreBox-Toppers votes eight players to Hall of Fame in internet writers’ ballot
Box-Toppers is voting for eight players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) ballot.
Read MoreAthletics’ Mike Fiers tops players for Monday, Aug. 20; Brewers’ Anderson tops NL players
Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Fiers struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Rangers.
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 MoreYankees' Luis Severino tops players for Wednesday, May 2, rises to retake season player rankings lead
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to retake the lead in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Mookie Betts of the Red Sox rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings—and is the only batter among the top 10—after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAthletics’ Sean Manaea tops players for Saturday, April 21, pitching a no-hitter
Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a no-hitter and rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Angels pitcher Garrett Richards rises to ninth place in player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Box-Toppers top second basemen by time frame (after 2017 season)
Jeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.
Robinson Cano of the Mariners leads active second basemen in career Box-Toppers points. Other leaders at the position include Scooter Gennett, Jose Ramirez, Daniel Murphy and Rougned Odor.
Read MoreHow 2018 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
Four players—Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday. Key players overlooked: Curt Schilling, Jeff Kent, Johan Santana and the PED-clouded five of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa.
Read MoreBox-Toppers All-time All-Star teams, 1995-2017
Dodgers 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 MoreCarlos Beltran ties Jason Giambi in 2017 for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points (19)
In 2017, Carlos Beltran tied Jason Giambi for the longest streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 19. With Beltran's retirement, CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols now have the longest active streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 17.
Read MoreMariners' Robinson Cano is Box-Toppers Player of the Game as AL wins 2017 All-Star Game
Robinson Cano of the Mariners is Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star Player of the Game.
Cano hit a 10th-inning, go-ahead homer in the American League’s 2-1 win over the National League. Cano went 1-for-2, striking out while entering the game in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter.
Cano was also named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
Cano had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +1.0. One other player, Astros pitcher Chris Devenski, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND), but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game honors because he did not earn the win or save and did not pitch at least three innings.
Seven AL players had Box-Toppers game scores Tuesday of +1.0, but Cano beat them on tiebreakers. He automatically beat the four pitchers with game scores of +1.0 (Chris Sale of the Red Sox, Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox, Andrew Miller of the Indians and Brandon Kintzler of the Twins), since batters always best pitchers in game score ties. He beat two batters with game scores of +1.0 (Miguel Sano of the Twins and Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles) because he had more at bats—Cano had two at bats, while both Sano and Schoop had one.
While Devenski had the highest Box-Toppers game score among AL pitchers, Kimbrel (1IP 0H 0R 2BB 2K W) was the highest-ranking pitcher qualified to earn Player of the Game honors because he earned the win.
Cano has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 20th among AL batters and second among AL second basemen, behind Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles (4.5). In 2016, Cano had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5). Cano has 79.4 career Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among active AL batters. He made his Box-Toppers debut in 2005 with the Yankees and has earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons.
Overall Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.1), was selected to the NL All-Star team but did not pitch in the game since he pitched in his regular start only two days earlier.
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who started for the NL team and ranks second in overall 2017 Box-Toppers points (17.0), had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +2.0 (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K ND).
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, who started for the AL team and leads AL players in 2017 Box-Toppers points (13.1), ranking third overall, had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +1.0 (2IP 3H 0R 0BB 2K ND).
Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who has the most Box-Toppers points among AL batters in the All-Star Game (8.2), went 0-for-3 in the All-Star Game and had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.0, tied for the lowest among AL players. A night earlier, Judge won the All-Star Home Run Derby.
Ryon Healy of the Athletics has the most Box-Toppers points among AL batters (8.7), but was not selected for the All-Star Game.
Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers, who leads NL batters in Box-Toppers points (7.7), went 0-for-3 in the All-Star Game and had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.0.
Top player for the NL team was Yadier Molina of the Cardinals, who hit a sixth-inning, game-tying, solo homer and had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.
Scoring—Just as All-Star Game statistics don’t count in a player’s regular season statistics, no Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.
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 game scores of AL All-Star players
Here are all the players who played for the the winning American League team in Tuesday's All-Star Game, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Robinson Cano is Box-Toppers Player of the Game (POG) with a game score of +1.0. Astros pitcher Chris Devenski had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not earn the win or save and did not pitch at least three innings. Seven AL players had Box-Toppers game scores of +1.0, but Cano beat them on tiebreakers.| 7/11 | Score | AL All-Stars | Team | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 2.0 | Chris Devenski | Astros | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| POG | 1.0 | Robinson Cano (PH-2B) | Mariners | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Miguel Sano (3B) | Twins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Jonathan Schoop (2B) | Orioles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Craig Kimbrel (W, 0-0) | Red Sox | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Andrew Miller (S, 0) | Indians | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Brandon Kintzler (H, 0) | Twins | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Jose Ramirez (3B) | Indians | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Yonder Alonso (1B) | Athletics | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Justin Smoak (1B) | Blue Jays | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Dellin Betances | Yankees | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | Jason Vargas | Royals | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Roberto Osuna | Blue Jays | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| -1.0 | Justin Upton (RF) | Tigers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Michael Brantley (LF) | Indians | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Ervin Santana (B, 0) | Twins | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| -2.0 | Jose Altuve (2B) | Astros | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Mike Moustakas (3B) | Royals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Carlos Correa (SS) | Astros | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Francisco Lindor (SS) | Indians | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Corey Dickerson (DH) | Rays | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Nelson Cruz (PH) | Mariners | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Salvador Perez (C) | Royals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Gary Sanchez (C) | Yankees | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Mookie Betts (CF) | Red Sox | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Avisail Garcia (CF) | White Sox | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Aaron Judge (RF) | Yankees | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | George Springer (LF) | Astros | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
No Box-Toppers points are awarded for the All-Star Game.
Red Sox' Mookie Betts tops players for Wednesday, June 14; Mets' Blevins tops NL players
Mookie Betts of the Red Sox is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Betts homered twice and doubled in the 7-3 win over the Phillies. Betts also went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 14:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 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 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
| 10 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.5 |
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Jerry Blevins pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out three, allowing no hits and no walks and earning the win in the 9-4 win over the Cubs.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Phillips of the Braves hit two doubles and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-2 win over the Nationals.
Phillips has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor for 2017. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2002 with the Indians, but began his current 12-season streak in 2006 with the Reds. He has 65.6 career Box-Toppers points, fifth among all second basemen since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He ranks third in career points among active second basemen, behind Robinson Cano of the Mariners (78.4) and Chase Utley of the Dodgers (75.1).
Phillips’ best season was 2012 with the Reds when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. He had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016 with the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall Player of the Day is AL batter Mookie Betts.
Notable—Trey Mancini of the Orioles has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Mancini (2B 3-4 3R BI in the 10-6 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.2 for the season and ranks 30th among all players in 2017 season player rankings, fifth among AL batters.
Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 105.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Liriano (7IP 5H 3R 2ER 2BB 9K ND in the 7-6 win over the Rays) rises to 65th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began. He passes Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 64th-ranked player Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (105.7).
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Astros pitcher Francis Martes (5IP 3H R 2B 7K W in the 13-2 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut June 9 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,822nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Angels pitcher Blake Parker (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 7-5 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut May 17, 2012, and was playing in his 124th career game. He is the 3,823rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Raimel Tapia of the Rockies (2B 4-4 3R 0BI in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut Sept. 2, 2016, and was playing in his 36th career game. He is the 3,824th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Betts earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Blevins earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Phillips earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 6/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | BOS 7, PHI 3 | Mookie Betts, RF | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | HOU 13, TEX 2 | Francis Martes (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| NL | 4.1 | NYM 9, CHC 4 | Jerry Blevins (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | ATL 13, WSH 2 | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | ARI 2, DET 1 | Fernando Rodney (S,18) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `TOR 7, TB 6 | Francisco Liriano | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 3.1 | LAA 7, NYY 5 | Blake Parker (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 5, PIT 1 | Raimel Tapia, RF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 7, SF 2 | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 10, CHW 6 | Trey Mancini, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 7, STL 6 | Eric Thames, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 11, OAK 6 | Dee Gordon, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 6, CLE 4 | Enrique Hernandez, PH-2B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SD 4, CIN 2 | Brandon Maurer (S,12) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.2 | `SEA 6, MIN 4 | James Pazos (H,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Mancini, Trey 3766 | lf 1b ph | bal al | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Thames, Eric 2909 | 1b lf | mil nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 3.5 | 10.0 | 24.2 | 24.2 | -3.0 |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 3.5 | 9.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -2.7 |
| Rodney, Fernando 1803 | pi cp | ari nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 26.0 | 38.0 | -2.0 |
| Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 59.7 | 105.2 | -6.0 |
| Pazos, James 3786 | pi mr | sea al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Blevins, Jerry 2788 | pi mr | nym nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 1.7 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | atl nl | 1.5 | 3.5 | 25.2 | 65.6 | -0.5 |
| Maurer, Brandon 3157 | pi cp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Hernandez, Enrique 3541 | 2b ph | lad nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Gordon, Dee 2990 | 2b | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.0 |
| Martes, Francis 3822 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Parker, Blake 3823 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Tapia, Raimel 3824 | rf | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Tuesday, June 6; Reds' Gennett hits 4 homers
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.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 6:| 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:
- On May 2, 2002, Mike Cameron of the Mariners (4HR 4-5 4R 4BI in the 15-4 win over the White Sox) had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0.
- On May 23, 2002, Shawn Green of the Dodgers (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 7BI in the 16-3 win over the Brewers) had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, apparently now the third-highest game score by a batter in the Box-Toppers era.
- On Sept. 25, 2002, Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays (4HR 4-4 4R 6BI in the 10-8 win over the Devil Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0.
- On May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers (4HR 2B 5-5 4R 8BI in the 10-3 win over the Orioles) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
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:
- On May 10, 1999, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox (3HR 3-4 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Mariners) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
- On April 26, 2005, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (3HR 4-5 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Angels) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
- On Aug. 21, 2007, Garret Anderson of the Angels (2HR 2-2B 4-6 3R 10BI in the 18-9 win over the Yankees) had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0.
- On April 30, 2017, Rendon had his 10 RBI game in which he had a +15.0 game score, apparently the highest for a batter in the Box-Toppers era.
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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| 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 |
Rays' Chris Archer tops players for Wednesday, May 10; Athletics' Triggs rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 10:| 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 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 7 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
Also Wednesday, Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Archer struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 12-1 win over the Royals.
National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher German Marquez struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk-in the 3-0 win over the Cubs.
This was Marquez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Marquez made his Major League debut Sept. 8, 2016, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,788th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Phillies.
Cano has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Yankees and has 76.9 career points, sixth among active AL batters. His best season was 2013 with the Yankees, when he had 12.5 points, fourth among AL batters. In 2016, Cano had 8.0 points with the Mariners, second among AL second basemen.
National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cardinals hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead triple in the 7-5 win over the Marlins. Fowler went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in two runs.
Rankings—Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Triggs (6IP 3H R 3BB 4K W in the 3-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season. Triggs ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Marquez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cano and Fowler each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 5/10 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | TB 12, KC 1 | Chris Archer (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | 12.0 | COL 3, CHC 0 | German Marquez (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 6.0 | ARI 7, DET 1 | Zack Godley (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | LAD 5, PIT 2 | Kenta Maeda (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | SEA 11, PHI 6 | Robinson Cano, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | WSH 7, BAL 6 | Matt Albers (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 8, CLE 7 | Ezequiel Carrera, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | STL 7, MIA 5 | Dexter Fowler, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | SF 6, NYM 5 | Buster Posey, 1B-C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 4, SD 3 | Shin-Soo Choo, DH | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 4, ATL 2 | Carlos Correa, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 3, LAA 1 | Andrew Triggs (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1.0 | MIL 7, BOS 4 | Travis Shaw, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 4.4 |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 3b 1b | mil nl | 2.5 | 9.5 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -4.5 |
| Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf ph | stl nl | 2.5 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 20.5 | 1.0 |
| Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf dh | tex al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 23.5 | 50.2 | 1.5 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -8.0 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 | 11.0 | 51.1 | 51.1 | -7.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 2.0 | 5.5 | 30.5 | 35.0 | -1.5 |
| Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 1.5 | 9.5 | 39.0 | 76.9 | -6.5 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 1.0 | 8.7 | 15.9 | 15.9 | -6.7 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 0.0 |
| Albers, Matt 2274 | pi cp | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Carrera, Ezequiel 2873 | rf | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 1.0 |
Angels' JC Ramirez tops players for Tuesday, April 25; Dodgers' Kershaw maintains top ranking in Box-Toppers points
Angels pitcher JC Ramirez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, making his Box-Toppers debut.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 25:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
| 3 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 7 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 3.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawmaintains his first-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. And Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rises to second place—first among American League players—after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Ramirez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Athletics. Ramirez picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
This was also Ramirez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ramirez made his Major League debut June 23, 2013, and was playing in his 114th career game. He is the 3,778th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Player of the Day—Trea Turner of the Nationals hit for the cycle and went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in seven runs, in the 15-12 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 19-9 win over the Mariners.
Kinsler has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 63.6 career points, second Among active AL second basemen (trailing Robinson Cano of the Mariners, who has 75.4). Kinsler’s best season was 2009 with the Rangers, when he had 11.2 points, eighth among AL batters. He had 6.0 points in 2016 with the Tigers, fifth among AL second basemen.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Trea Turner.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw maintained his spot atop Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kershaw (7IP 6H R BB 7K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. Kershaw also now has 189.7 career Box-Toppers points, fourth-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-ranked player Curt Schilling (194.1). Kershaw leads active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Also, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Santana (7IP 4H R 2BB 6K W in the 8-1 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.7 for the season, rising from fourth to second place among all players and first among AL players, passing Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (5.0).
Santana also now has 103.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 67th-place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Tuesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and Miguel Tejada (102.3). (It should be noted that if Griffey’s entire career from 1989 were tracked, rough estimates would give him about 150 Box-Toppers points.) Santana now trails 66th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).
Scoring—Ramirez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Turner earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Kinsler earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 4/25 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | `LAA 2, OAK 1 (F/11) | JC Ramirez | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| NL | 9.0 | WSH 15, COL 12 | Trea Turner, SS | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TB 2, BAL 0 | Chase Whitley (W,1-0; H,2) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | DET 19, SEA 9 | Ian Kinsler, 2B | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ARI 9, SD 3 | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | MIL 9, CIN 1 | Hernan Perez, SS-CF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | LAD 2, SF 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | MIN 8, TEX 1 | Ervin Santana (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | TOR 6, STL 5 (F/11) | Jason Grilli (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | CHW 10, KC 5 | Dan Jennings (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 1, PIT 0 | Kyle Hendricks (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | HOU 4, CLE 2 | Norichika Aoki, RF-LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 30.4 | 130.1 | 189.7 | -18.4 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 | 9.7 | 42.5 | 103.0 | 1.7 |
| Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 2.0 | 6.5 | 37.9 | 41.9 | -2.5 |
| Grilli, Jason 2209 | pi cp mr | tor al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 16.7 | 27.4 | 1.0 |
| Ramirez, JC 3778 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | dc nl | 1.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | -0.8 |
| Kinsler, Ian 2144 | 2b | det al | 1.5 | 7.5 | 29.5 | 63.6 | -4.5 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 14.4 | 29.1 | 29.1 | -12.4 |
| Perez, Hernan 3577 | ss cf 3b 2b | mil nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -4.0 |
| Jennings, Dan 3591 | pi mr cp | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Aoki, Norichika 3110 | rf lf | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 |
| Whitley, Chase 3352 | pi mr sp | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 1.0 |